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HISTORY 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE: 
 
 FROM ITS FOUNDATION, BY RURIC THE PIRATE, 
 
 TO THE 
 
 ACCESSION OF THE EMPEEOE ALEXANDEE 11. 
 
 BY HENRYT:YRRELL, ESQ 
 
 AUTHOR OF" THE HI8T0KY OF THE WAR WITH RUSSIA IN 1854 AND '55." 
 
 Ilkstrateb hrit^ kulM ^ngraiings 011 Stel 
 
 PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY 
 
 THE LONDON PRINTING AND PUBLISHING COMPANY (LIMITED), 
 
 LONDON AND NEW YORK. 
 
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INTRODUCTION 
 
 Before commencing a narrative of the History of tlie gigantic empire of Russia, 
 which comprehends nearly the half of both Europe and Asia^ within its do- 
 minions, it will be well to dwell briefly upon the present condition of that great 
 political power. Let us state what Russia now is ; and then proceed to inquire 
 how it obtained its enormous territory, and its almost overwhelming influence in 
 Europe. To the student, the politician, the merchant, and the philosopher, the 
 subject is one of intense interest ; while to the statesman the inquiry assumes the 
 aspect of an imperious necessity. That such an empire should have arisen from 
 the binding together of many barbarous tribes and semi-savage states, who were, 
 for the most part, in a condition of perpetual antagonism, if not' hostility, is one of 
 the wonders of modern history. No power, save an unrestrained despotism, could, 
 in the infancy of so vast and diversified a dominion, have saved it from dissolu- 
 tion. Nor are the constituent parts of the colossal dominion of the North 
 merely bound together by military force, like the dependencies and limbs of the 
 Austrian empire. What Russia acquires eventually becomes Russian ; it 
 resolves itself at length not merely into a constituent, but also an integral part of 
 herself. She acquires fresh states as much by treaties as by wars ; and has the 
 wondrous art of imbuing her new subjects with a Russian nationality ! Even 
 Poland, with all its despairing bravery and prolonged resistance, is undergoing 
 this change. Its patriotic exiles regard their conqueror with the profound bitter- 
 ness of burning hate ; but the masses — the clusters of human life which in 
 Poland represent the people — are becoming satisfied with the change of rule that 
 has passed over them : indifference, if not even contentment, is succeeding to a 
 sense of inevitable submission. 
 
 Not one star which glitters distantly in the awe-inspiring • immensity of the 
 mysterious universe — not one vast forest which spreads over hundreds of miles of 
 our earth — not one great empire which extends its sceptre over conquered or pro- 
 tected states, is an instantaneous or rapid creation. All great and powerful 
 things are growths ; which by gradual changes, development, accumulation, and 
 absorption of other matters, have become what they are. This growth is a uni- 
 versal law, applicable alike to worlds, to states, to systems of government, reli- 
 
 -wf^tsnzo 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 gion, and morals, and to the progression of peoples. An acorn or an empire, a 
 forest or a world, are equally governed by it. When, therefore, we would know 
 how the great empire of the hardy North became the mighty representative of 
 imperial military despotism on the part of its rulers, and of passive and reveren- 
 tial submission to authority on the part of its people ; when we would learn how 
 it acquired the profound and subtle principles of state-craft, and the military 
 might which enables it to keep half the independent states of Europe in awe, 
 and the rest in amazement, we must trace its growth. Behold, first, what it now 
 is; and then follow out, step by step, how it became so. We shall find the 
 career of Russia was a necessity — a great national destiny — proceeding, not in 
 its details, but in the principle of its progress, according to inevitable and unalter- 
 able law. If similar circumstances existed elsewhere, similar results must neces- 
 sarily follow. With a people possessed of hardy strength and persevering 
 bravery, and a government combining a large amount of intellect, with an utter 
 absence of moral principle, the aggressive policy of Russia was a natural and 
 unavoidable result. Altogether inland, like a monstrous serpent coiled up within 
 itself, it could not rest from extending its dominions by craft or conquest, until 
 its borders reached the sea, and it could create a navy and find an outlet for its 
 productions : nor will it yet rest until it has an entrance into that island-studded 
 sea which forms the great highway of Europe. 
 
 The sceptre of the Emperor of Russia extends over the north-eastern part 
 of Europe, over the whole of Northern Asia, and the north-western coast of 
 North America. Yet the nucleus of this gigantic dominion was comparatively 
 small ; and these enormous possessions are the fruits of constant acquisition 
 throughout centuries of warfare. No other sovereign in the world governs such 
 an extent of country, or is acknowledged by so many different races of men. 
 The inhabitants are chiefly of the Caucasian family ; those of Mongol origin not 
 forming one-hundredth part of the population. The people of Russia who 
 belong to the Caucasian race, consist of Slavonians, Tshudes or Fins, Tartars, 
 Germans, Jews, and Greeks. Nine-tenths of the population are of Slavonic 
 origin, comprising Russians, Poles, Lithuanians, and Lettes, Wallachians, and 
 Servians. The number of Russians constitute two-thirds of the whole population, 
 and inhabit, to the exclusion of all other nations, the central provinces of the 
 empire. They are divided into the Great and Little Russians ; the latter chiefly 
 inhabiting the country called the Ukraine. The Great Russians are mostly 
 bondsmen to the rich nobles who exist amongst them. These are the common 
 divisions of the Russian people ; though they are sometimes also classed as 
 White, Red, and Black Russians. White Russians are Polish Great Russians ; 
 Red Russian is chiefly Austrian ; while the term Black Russia, always indefinite, 
 is now obsolete. There is also a conventional division of the population into four 
 
INTRODUCTION. in 
 
 classes — the clergy, the nobility, the merchants and burghers, and the peasants. 
 Most of the latter are the serfs of the cro^vn, or of some landowner ; only a very 
 small number of them being free cultivators of the soil. So great is the variety of 
 races comprised in the Russian population, and forming the base from which the 
 power of that empire has its source, that Voltaire, in a pointed sentence, referred 
 to Russia as " the new world created by Peter the Great." At the time when 
 the French wit, poet, historian, and philosopher dazzled the court of Prussia, 
 and the voluptuous but gifted and magnificent Catherine swayed the sceptre of 
 Russia, that empire was indeed a new world to the rest of Europe. It is new in 
 its strangeness yet ; especially to the people of England. The great struggle of 
 1854 and '55 drew the attention of our press and our tourists in that direction ; and 
 much information was brought forward concerning the government, policy, and 
 people of Russia. It was natural, however, that Englishmen should regard the 
 latter with a prejudice which stood in the way of correct impressions. As is 
 usual with them, they were at first disposed to despise an enemy of whom they 
 were almost ignorant. The Allies fought with Russia until they learnt to 
 respect her on account of the military genius of her oflficers and the stolid 
 bravery of her troops. They learned that she was an enemy worthy of their 
 arms. Indeed, how else could she have excited their jealous apprehensions? 
 Our prejudices, nay, our transient antipathy, was not only natural, but inevitable. 
 We may now, however, gaze with more complacent feelings, and a more liberal 
 and philosophic tone of thought, upon this " new world" of our continent. Men 
 throughout Europe may be more or less refined, lively, or phlegmatic ; lovers of 
 freedom, or vassals of despotism ; superstitious or enlightened : but they have still 
 a great family resemblance. The " one touch of nature which makes the whole 
 world kin" must prevail, more or less, between people who inhabit the same 
 continent, and have, for the most part, the same religion and the same tastes for 
 the beautiful in nature, the elegant in literature, and the gorgeous and voluptuous 
 in art. 
 
 It was no light or unimportant task to fuse all the discordant ingredients, 
 the many nations and tribes, to which we have alluded. Ages of warfare have 
 been required to reduce the mighty chaos to order. Neither in the past nor the 
 present does history present us with the records of an empire which, in extent, 
 may be compared with that of Russia. Truly has it been said, that the superb 
 monarchy of Alexander, the vast compass of the Roman republic, the fabulous 
 progress of Arab conquest, are scarcely sufficient to give an idea of it. Where 
 does Russia begin ? — where will it end ? are questions not unfrequently asked by 
 the statesman and the philosopher. Such is its vast political influence, that it is 
 difficult to answer the latter question. It is represented in every government of 
 Europe ; and in every cabinet of Europe is its influence felt. In many, nay in 
 
iv INTRODUCTION. 
 
 most of the courts of Asiatic princes, its weight is apparent, and its power 
 regarded with mysterious awe. 
 
 According to official statements made in 1846, the area and population of 
 this colossal empire are as follows: — European Russia comprises 2,091,391 
 square miles, with a population of 60,604,702 ; Asiatic Russia, 4,735,185 square 
 miles, with a population of 2,937,000 ; American Russia, 370,300 square miles, 
 with a population of 61,000; while the Caucasian provinces extend over an 
 area of 66,083 square miles, and contain a population of 2,648,000 : forming a 
 total of 7,262,959 square miles, with a population of 66,250,702. Baron 
 Haxthausen, in his recent work upon Russia, states the population, in 1852, to 
 amount to 69,660,146; of whom 50,000,000 belong to the Greek church; 
 7,000,000 (chiefly Poles) are Catholics, and about 3,000,000 are Protestants; 
 the rest are Mohammedans, Buddhists, and the followers of obscure and vulgar 
 idolatries. Gifted with an almost boundless territory, with enormous tracts of 
 land yet unreclaimed from the primitive wilderness, with mines which yield pro- 
 lific stores of wealth, what a power of expansion such a population must neces- 
 sarily possess! What will that population be within a century? What, even in 
 the year 1900 ? Evidently an enormous, perhaps irresistible, power for good or 
 for evil. A solid foundation for European despotism, or a glorious aid to that 
 rationally free and constitutional government which appears to be so safe and 
 wise in action. Russia may abandon a policy which exhausts the energies of the 
 people, in adding to its already overgrown dominions countries it cannot benefit 
 by. Its present czar may strive to unlearn the ambitious lessons of Peter and of 
 Catherine : directing his attention to promoting the prosperity of the vast 
 empire he possesses, rather than to adding to it other lands which may prove 
 a source of weakness instead of strength. Russia, with all her craft and crime, 
 has yet been the pioneer of civilisation in the sterile and savage north : it is now 
 time that she should rest in her dazzling and feverish progress, and, turning back 
 her eyes on the lands and peoples she has subdued, devote herself to cultivating 
 the one, and elevating the other. Her nobles and officers are among the most 
 polished gentlemen of Europe ; but her people are yet scarcely more than semi- 
 Asiatic hordes, deeply plunged in barbarism and superstition, and almost as mudi 
 an anomaly in Europe as the Turks. In political, as well as in social progress, 
 it may be certainly pronounced that 
 
 " The bells of time are ringing changes fast." 
 
 The present age is one of transition for Russia. She cannot continue into the 
 future that which she was in the past. Nature cries aloud, in tones of com- 
 manding eloquence, to empires as well as to men — " Advance, or perish ! " The 
 statesmen of Russia are too wise to remain insensible to an injunction which is as 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 unalterable as destiny, as " unshunnable as death." Should their successors be 
 blind to the great problem which will stand before them for solution, the work of 
 an empire's progress and redemption will be done in other ways. Czardom is 
 not necessarily eternal ; and revolution may accomplish what the slow and silent 
 progress of genial reforms could not effect. In spite of political statistics and 
 ominous inferences, we have great hope for the. future of Russia. The young 
 giant is wilful and sullen, but we think he is growing wiser. 
 
 We shall here speak particularly of European Russia only ; the Asiatic and 
 American portions of that empire we shall briefly describe when we state how 
 they were annexed to the dominant power. European Russia comprises the 
 north-eastern portion of the continent most distinguished for power and for civili- 
 sation. The long range of the Ural Mountains and the river Ural divide it 
 from Asia. From thence it is bounded by the waters of the Caspian, the snow- 
 clad mountains of the Caucasus, and the rich and indurated shores of the Black 
 Sea. On the west, Russia extends to the banks of the Danube, which forms the 
 boundary between it and Turkey as far as the mouth of the river Pruth. The 
 last-mentioned river divides Russia from Moldavia, nearly to its source in the 
 Carpathian Mountains ; while further north, between Austrian Galicia, Silesia, and 
 Prussia, no natural boundary can be said to exist. On reaching the Baltic, the 
 confines of the empire are marked by nature by the gulfs of Riga and Finland, 
 and up to the northern extremity of the Gulf of Bothnia. Still further north, it 
 touches Sweden and Norway. On the extreme north this gigantic empire is 
 washed by the Arctic Ocean, which, at that point, forms the extensive gulf known 
 as the White Sea. 
 
 Russia is, for the most part, one extensive plain ; much of which is covered 
 with bogs, and swamps, and forests ; while in othei' districts there exist dry, 
 woodless, and indeed desert tracts, called Steppes. In some places the swamps 
 are from fifty to one hundred miles in width, though frequently interrupted by 
 tracts of drier and more elevated land. Other portions are covered with inter- 
 minable forests of pine and fir, and are nearly uninhabited. Some tracts of the 
 soil of Russia are almost as sterile as the Great African Desert ; while in others 
 its fertility will bear comparison with the most favoured spots of nature. 
 Bordering upon Archangel is the largest forest in Europe, if not on the entire 
 globe: it is said to cover 150,000 square miles, and consists chiefly of different 
 kinds of pine, mingled with fir, larch, and birch. Here and there occurs a 
 cultivated spot, on which rye, barley, oats, peas, hemp, and flax are grown ; but 
 as the brief summer which prevails in this gloomy region is frequently interrupted 
 with fogs and rain, the crops often fail. West of the river Onega lies the region 
 of rocks and lakes which extends over the immense tract between the gulfs of 
 Finland and of Bothnia on the west and south, and the White Sea on the north- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 east The land is level and very swampy, and though not devoid of fertility, 
 requires great labour for its successful cultivation. The consequence is, that 
 most of it is left in its natural state ; and even within twenty miles of the exten- 
 sive and gorgeous city of St. Petersburg (where, notwithstanding the trying 
 severity of the climate, the refinements of magnificence and the delights of all 
 that is rare and elegantly sensual in civilisation find a home), those forests com- 
 mence which spread over nearly the whole of the country. They consist almost 
 entirely of fir, pine, and birch ; among which are dispersed immense boulders of 
 granite. To an imaginative mind their vast and gloomy grandeur, and wild 
 saTage sublimity, may be regarded as a symbol of the empire itself. 
 
 The most important, and in many respects the most fertile, portion of the 
 empire, is the basin of the great river Volga, which occupies about 650,000 
 square miles, and is equal in extent to three times the area of France. All con- 
 nected with this interesting empire is on a scale of rude, uncultivated greatness. 
 The lower course of the Volga traverses an immense steppe or desert, which 
 stretches out eastward to the banks of the river Ural. This region, extending 
 over about 336,000 square miles, is unfit for cultivation, and merely supplies a 
 scanty pasture for the wandering tribes which inhabit it. Coarse tall grass grows 
 in tufts several feet apart ; a few vdld plants, such as wormwood and salsola, 
 are also found ; but with the exception of these, the soil consists of a bare yellow 
 day, without vegetation. The Kirghiz steppe, east of the river Ural, has a simi- 
 larly desert and forbidding aspect ; and it is conjectured that the whole region, as 
 far as the lake of Aral, w^as once covered by the waters of a now shrunken and 
 diminished sea. The soil is still impregnated with salt ; while saline plants and 
 short wormwood are the vegetation most commonly met with. 
 
 The principal rivers of European Russia are the Volga, the Dwina, the 
 Duna, the Niemen, the Neva, the Dnieper, the Dniester, the Danube, Don, 
 Vistula, and the Ural. On account of the flatness of the country, they present a 
 greater line of inland navigation than those of most other countries; though 
 necessarily, all are not equally subservient to the interests of man in this respect. 
 The Volga is navigable to its greatest length, extending as it does more than 
 2,000 miles over a course devoid of cataracts, rapids, or whirlpools. Lakes are 
 numerous in some parts of the empire, especially in the north-west and south- 
 east. Those of Ladoga and Onega are the most important ; the former being 
 the largest in all Europe. 
 
 The severity of the climate in Russia, though it has retarded the civilisation 
 of its people, has yet braced them up to a vigorous manliness. Her prolonged 
 winters, and her snowy deserts, have been the nurseries of a race hardened by pri- 
 Tations and inured to suffering. Though her people may be apathetic, they 
 spring to action at the call of their rulers. The North has ever been the cradle of 
 
INTRODUCTION. vii 
 
 conquering races ; and its dreary plains produce the simple man, neither contami- 
 nated nor unnerved by the enervating pleasures and vices of a higher civilisation. 
 But the serfs and the serf-soldiers of Russia are debilitated by the crushing 
 despotism of their government, apparently to a greater extent than they are 
 strengthened by the bracing severity of their climate. Happily, the thinking 
 citizen-soldiers of the West are fully a match for the ignorant, machine-like, 
 hardy warriors of the North. Russia, with all her political wisdom and her 
 military organisation, cannot make the serf the intelligent equal of the freeman. 
 
 With rearard to climate, Russia is divided into what is termed the Arctic 
 region, the cold region, and the temperate region. Russian Lapland, and the 
 broad district of Archangel, are comprised within the first,- over a considerable 
 portion of which the mean annual temperature is below 32 degrees. Near the 
 mouths of the rivers Pechora and Mezen the temperature is much lower, and, 
 with the exception of a shrub a few inches high, vegetation is rarely met with. 
 To the south of this locality lies the cold region, in which the mean annual tem- 
 perature varies between 32 and 40 degrees. The southern limit of this region 
 begins on the shores of the Baltic, on the Gulf of Riga, and runs thence east- 
 south-east to the confluence of the Moskwa and Oka, whence it continues in the 
 same direction towards the southern extremity of the Ural Mountiiins, termi- 
 natins: south of Uralsk, on the river Ural. In this latitude the winter lasts 
 from seven to eight months in the northern districts, and from five to six in the 
 southern. Spring and autumn are both short, and the transition from cold to 
 heat is rapid ; the latter is very great for two or three weeks during summer, 
 the thermometer rising to 86 and even 90 degrees. Both heat and cold are 
 greater in the interior than on the coast. The temperate region commences at 
 the boundary just mentioned, and extends over the southern provinces. It is 
 distinguished by severe though short winters, and by long and very hot summers. 
 The mean annual temperature varies between 40 and 50 degrees ; though in the 
 Crimea, and the country adjacent to it, it rises occasionally to 56 degrees. 
 
 Russia exports a large amount of grain, and is regarded as one of the most 
 important storehouses in Europe. Great crops of rye are produced in all parts 
 of the empire, except the steppes and the Arctic region. Oats do not succeed so 
 well, but wheat is extensively cultivated in the fertile tracts along the rivers in 
 the southern districts. Flax and hemp are grown more largely than in any 
 other country in Europe. Along the river Don, and even on the steppes of the 
 Volga, they are found in a wild state. Tobacco is cultivated in the Ukraine ; 
 and in some parts of southern Russia, millet and maize are grown in large quan- 
 tities. Fruit-trees are rare, except in the south ; but in the most favoured 
 portions of this district there are peaches, apricots, quinces, mulberries, and 
 walnuts. The orchards of the Crimea also produce almonds and pomegranates. 
 
viii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Grapes also are found, but the wine produced from them is generally badly 
 made, and of inferior quality. Hops and asparagus are found growing wild, and 
 Kquorice thrives luxuriantly on the banks of the Volga, Potatoes, cabbages, 
 turnips, and carrots are grown abundantly; while melons, especially water- 
 melons, are very numerous in the hot and dry countries near the steppes. The 
 forests of Russia, gloomy and impenetrable as they seem, also constitute one of 
 the principal sources of its wealth. Large quantities of timl^er, firewood, tar, 
 pitch, pearlash, and potash are exported. Horses are numerous in Russia, but 
 those in the north are of a small breed. The horses of the Cossacks, which 
 pasture on the steppes, and are almost wild in their nature, are famous for their 
 power of sustaining the greatest fatigue upon a very scanty allowance of food. 
 Cattle are abundant ; and although the home consumption of both tallow and 
 hides is great, yet large quantities of both are exported. Sheep are even more 
 numerous ; and although the wool is mostly of an indifferent quality, the skins 
 form the common dress of the peasantry during the winter. Goats are plentiful 
 in Russia ; hogs are largely reared (especially where oak forests are to be found) ; 
 buffaloes are found at Astrakhan ; while the nomadic tribes, which wander about 
 the steppes, keep a great number of camels. In the extreme north reindeer 
 are found. Where there is so much uncultivated land, wild animals necessarily 
 exist. The bison roams in the forests of Bialoviza ; while in those of the north 
 are to be found elks, deer, hares, wild hogs, bears, gluttons, badgers, wolves, 
 foxes, martens, polecats, weasels, ermines, otters, squirrels, and marmots. In 
 the steppes, besides wolves and foxes, wild asses, saiga antelopes, konsaks, and 
 the dipus jerboa, prowl and prey like nations — the stronger on the weaker. 
 Fierce contests are waged where perhaps the foot of man never left its impress, 
 and the jaws of the tyrants of the forest and the desert drip with the blood of 
 the weak or the defenceless. Nearly all the birds met with in England are to 
 be found in Russia, and the pelican is sometimes seen on the lonely and romantic- 
 looking shores of the Caspian and the Euxine. Fish, though plentiful, are not 
 largely exported, but isinglass and caviare are sent to foreign markets. In the 
 steppes serpents and lizards are common, while the districts adjoining these 
 sterile spots are occasionally infested by swarms of locusts. Wild bees are found 
 near the large forests ; and wax, though largely used in the churches, is exported. 
 Scorpions, millipedes, tarantulas, and the scorpion spider are among the noxious 
 insects to be found in Russia. 
 
 The mineral wealth of Russia is very great. Its European mines produce 
 gold, platinum, copper, and iron ; while from those of Siberia* silver is obtained. 
 
 * Siberia ia wonderfully rich in metals and gems. It has three extensive mining districts. 
 The first of these, in the neighbourhood of the Ural Mountains, yields gold, silver, and copper, 
 together with smaller amounts of iron and platinum. The second, at Bernaul, yields much 
 
INTRODUCTION. k 
 
 The mines most extensively worked are in the government of Perm, which lies 
 on both sides of the Ural Mountains. Here most of the inhabitants are employed 
 in the mines, of which there are 200 of different kinds in operation ; while 7,200 
 furnaces, and above 180,000 men, are engaged in different branches of metallurgy. 
 Besides iron, copper, and platinum, they produce a little lead, gold, silver, salt, 
 marble, jasper, agates, amethysts, loadstone, and some diamonds. The mines of 
 the Ural Mountains yield annually about 300 poods (a pood is thirty-six pounds) 
 of gold, 200,000 poods of copper, and 5,500,000 poods of iron. The neighbour- 
 ing government of Viaka and Orenburg are also important mining districts. In 
 addition to the metals we have enumerated, quicksilver, arsenic, nickel, cobalt, 
 antimony, and bismuth are found. Marble and granite are quarried at the 
 northern extremity of the Lake of Onega, and on the northern shores of Lake 
 Ladoga. 
 
 Agriculture in Russia is in a rude and infantine state. But a comparatively 
 small part of the land is cultivated, and that generally in a primitive and unsci- 
 entific way. According to a native statist, the total annual produce of Russian 
 cereals amounts to 186,875,000 imperial quarters; about 9,000,000 quarters of 
 which, chiefly wheat, are exported. Hemp, flax, timber, hides, tallow, and wool, 
 are the other chief articles of exportation. Although the government makes 
 great efforts to encourage agriculture, still less than one-fifth of the surface is in 
 corn-culture. Peter the Great, and his immediate predecessors, the czars Ivan the 
 Great and the Terrible, were the founders of the manufactures of Russia, which 
 they planted and fostered by means of inviting foreign artisans from Germany, 
 the Netherlands, and Italy. Most of the necessities and elegancies of civilised 
 life are manufactured in Russia. The Russian workman, though indolent, is 
 ingenious, and imitates with great facility ; but he is said to pay more attention 
 to the appearance than to the quality and durability of his work. The internal 
 commerce is carried on in a great measure by means of annual fairs. It is also 
 greatly promoted by the extensive system of inland navigation which exists, and 
 enables the inhabitants of the interior of the empire to send their goods to the 
 White Sea, the Baltic, the Black Sea, and the Caspian. The chief trading 
 ports are Riga, Cronstadt, and St. Petersburg, on the Baltic ; Odessa, on the 
 Black Sea ; and Astrakhan, on the Caspian. 
 
 The Emperor of Russia is an absolute monarch, and may be regarded as 
 
 silver and copper, and some lead and gold. The third district is that of Nertshinsk, situated on 
 the east' of the Yablonoi Khrebet, in the basin of the river Amur. Here the mines contain gold, 
 silver, iron, lead, zinc, antimony, and arsenic. Among the precious stones of Siberia, diamonds 
 have been found along the eastern declivity of the Uralian range. The amethysts, topazes, i 
 emeralds, and red turmalines, are of great beauty. The mountains of Da-uria contain beryls, 
 topazes, emeralds, and other stones of less value. The Baikal and Altai mountains respectively 
 contain lapis-lazuli and jasper, and porphyry of great beauty. 
 
 b 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the most distinguished and powerful representative of the autocratic principle in 
 Europe. The first Alexander was the originator and principal member of the 
 " Holy Alliance," which was established to bring about the utter suppression of 
 revolutionary principles throughout Europe. The czar is regarded by his 
 subjects vrith a superstitious reverence : in the estimation of the common people 
 he is the "god of Russia;" his office and person being alike invested with a 
 mysterious sanctity. They regard him as both priest and prince, for he is 
 patriarch of the church as well as emperor of the state. The right divine of 
 kings is not a threadbare fiction in Russia, but is maintained as a point of 
 indispensable faith, especially among the masses. The people are taught that 
 the authority of the emperor proceeds immediately from God. That worsliip^ 
 obedience, and fidelity are due to him from his subjects. In a catechism 
 prepared under the direction of the emperor Nicholas, for the use of public and 
 other schools, are the following questions and responses, which, though they jar 
 strangely on an English ear, appear to excite no wonder or repugnance in the 
 youthful mind of Russia, or in those who instruct and direct it: — " Question. What 
 duties does religion teach us, the humble subjects of his majesty the Emperor of 
 Russia, to practise towards him ? Anstver. Worship, obedience, fidelity, the 
 payment of taxes, service, love, and prayer ; the whole being comprised in the 
 words worship and fidelity. Ques. Wherein does this worship consist, and how 
 should it be manifested? Ans. By the most unqualified reverence in words, 
 gestures, demeanour, thoughts, and actions. Ques. What kind of obedience 
 do we owe him ? Ans. An entire, passive, and unbounded obedience in every 
 point of view. Ques. In what consists the fidelity we owe to the emperor? 
 Ans. In executing his commands most rigorously, without examination ; and in 
 performing the duties he requires from us, and in doing everything willingly and 
 withoutimurmuring." It will be observed, that in these words duties are enjoined 
 to be paid to the emperor which, among civilised nations, are commonly regarded 
 as being due to the Deity alone ! The Asiatic principle of government peeps 
 out here, and the Russian autocrat is presented to his people as a sort of Grand 
 Lama. The actual government of Russia is modified by the tone of mind 
 existing in surrounding countries; for no civilised state can altogether escape 
 from the influence of the public opinion of Europe. Strange as it may seem, 
 the free and powerful voice which proceeds from Printing-house-square is felt at 
 St. Petersburg, and reaches Moscow. Russia smiles on every foreigner of parts 
 or rank, and coquettes for the good opinion of the civilised world. A wise 
 despot also may be, as Peter the Great was, a blessing to a state ; but what is 
 to prevent the rise of another demon of cruelty like Ivan the Terrible, or whim- 
 sical madman like Paul ? Such fearful phases of despotism may be destroyed 
 by revolution or assassination, but what is to temper them while they last? 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Still, however, we repeat we are hopeful for Russia, for its government must 
 bend and change with the progress of time. It is as yet in advance of the 
 people, therefore it is strong ; but when the period arrives (as in the natural 
 course of events it will) when the people are in advance of the government, the 
 latter must change or perish. As yet in Russia there exist but the rulers and 
 the ruled ; there is not a people in the sense in which that word is used in free 
 states. Russia, however, is not China; and its masses are capable of both 
 understanding and enjoying a rational freedom. Serfdom sometimes rocks 
 uneasily beneath its yoke, and the government shows an apparently tender solici- 
 tude for the amelioration of the enslaved peasant. This is a necessary policy. 
 Blindly reverential as the masses are to those in authority over them, yet they 
 seem awakening to some sense of those feelings of a people's rights which obtain 
 in most other countries of Europe. Serfdom, with whatever mildness it may be 
 administered, is a galling institution, the nature of which is to elicit retribution 
 at some period, and that perhaps not a distant one. A recent traveller in Russia 
 (Mr. John Murphy) observes — " The whole atmosphere of the vast empire is 
 laden with dread whispers of a mujik insurrection. Nobody knows whence they 
 come, or who is the author ; but they exist, and create fear and trembling in 
 high places. Should such an insurrection, indeed, break out, God help 
 the noblesse; nothing that we have ever yet read of — of Jacquerie, of French 
 revolution, of St. Domingo, of Galicia — so near home, could compare for a 
 moment with the scenes which a universal outbreak of long pent-up mujik ven- 
 geance would produce in the wide dominions of the czar."* These poor people, 
 so oppressed and feared, are yet capable of great cultivation. They are said to 
 
 • We fear that, in too many instances, the poor serf-peasant has a painful amount of 
 injuries rankling in his remembrance against his owner. Mr. Murphy, from whom we quoted 
 above, says on this point : — " None but an eye-witness could realise the treatment to which the 
 poor mujik is obliged to submit. On one occasion, a friend of mine whom I believe to be in- 
 capable of saying the thing that was not, visited a landed proprietor near Moscow, who, as boyards 
 go, is by no means a bad master, but still he indulges in the luxury of the freeborn Yankee in 
 rather an energetic manner. While he and my friend were sipping a glass of undeniable Clicquot 
 — these boyards are princes in hospitality — a deputation of his peasants was ushered into the 
 saloon to tell him of some misfortune that had happened to the village — a hen-roost blown down, 
 or something of that sort. The head of the deputation was a venerable-looking old man, such as 
 llembrandt would have delighted to paint, and as he told his simple story and made his simple 
 apology his appearance was quite patriarchal. But whatever was the misfortune, it so excited 
 the ire of his master, a man in the prime of life, that he grasped the old man by the silver hair 
 that flowed majestically down the side of his head, dashed him upon the ground, and commenced 
 kicking him with ungovernable fury. Not one of the group, two sons amongst the rest, stirred a 
 limb, iifxl the poor victim himself only sought to kiss the foot whose mission seemed to be to 
 kick his brains out. My friend being rather unaccustomed to this sort of thing, sprung from his 
 much-beloved Clicquot and drew off the fury. The boyard submitted with a good grace — the 
 Eussian gentry are models of politeness — but seemed to think that the stranger's objection to his 
 little escapade arose from that singular crotchetty turn of mind that obtains for Englishmen the 
 reputation of being a little ' cracked' all over the continent. He averred that a thrashing was 
 
xii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 be gifted with a natural elegance, and a grace which makes everything which it 
 touches or arranges take a picturesque attitude. 
 
 We have said that the regal power of Russia is absolute, and that in the 
 strictest sense. To the masses the emperor is scarcely less than an incarnation 
 of Deity. He is the fountain of authority and honour, and several classes of his 
 subjects enjoy privileges and immunities under no other guarantee than the 
 pleasure of the monarch, who may abolish them just as he granted them. The 
 principal governing authority of Russia is the council of the empire, which is 
 presided over by the emperor, or by some one especially appointed by him. It 
 consists of four departments ; legislative, military and naval, civil and ecclesias- 
 tical, and financial. Each of these departments has a secretary of state, and 
 they deliberate either separately or together, in which latter case the meeting is 
 called the general assembly of the council. In either case their decisions are 
 submitted to the approbation of the emperor. The directing senate is the 
 supreme tribunal for all judicial cases ; but its authority also is subservient to 
 the will of the monarch. The senate is divided into eight departments, of which 
 the first superintends the general affairs of the country ; the second, third, and 
 fourth try civil cases; the fifth, criminal cases. These are all at St. Petersburg . 
 the sixth, which also tries criminal cases, and the seventh and eighth, which try 
 civil cases, sit at Moscow. One of the most mischievous effects in the Russian 
 administration and police is the insufiicient pay of magistrates, of whom the 
 highest receives only £l60 a-year. As a consequence, justice, or rather the 
 perversion of it, is constantly sold ; and bribery is the curse of the empire. The 
 synod, or the " most holy directing sjuod," is the supreme administrative and 
 
 the only thing a mujik understood, and that the most severe and harsh masters were universally 
 the most beloved by their serfs. The Englishman quoted the proverb — 
 
 " ' A woman, a spaniel, a walnut tree, 
 
 The more they're beaten the better they '11 be,' 
 
 with which his host was hugely delighted, and, substituting the word ' mujik' for ' spaniel,' at 
 once inserted the lines in his common- place book. But everything, even mujik endurance, has 
 its limits. I was informed that shortly before my arrival in Eussia, a dreadful tragedy had 
 occurred at a village about a hundred mUes south of the holy city. A young boyard, when 
 starting on a journey, left a favourite greyhound in the safe keeping of a boy, one of his father's 
 serfs. On his return he found his dog lame ; and making inquiry, learned that the accident had 
 occurred through some negligence on the part of the poor boy. Stung to fury by the misfortune 
 of his much-prized dog, he summoned the luckless lad into his presence, and having reproached 
 him for his crime, set his whole pack of dogs upon him, and let them tear him to pieces in the 
 saloon. The boy's father, who had been cutting wood in a neighbouring forest, hearing the cries, 
 rushed into the house, axe in hand, and on seeing the mangled and still quivering body of his son, 
 at once forgot all his habits of abject servility, nished upon the young tyrant, and clove his skull 
 open with the axe. The poor man immediately delivered himself up to justice, but whether 
 owing to the excitement which the offence had caused amongst the mujiks, or the extremity of 
 his provocation, he was merely sent to a monastery to spend the remainder of his days in quiet- 
 ness and comfort." 
 
INTRODUCTION. xiu 
 
 judicial court for all ecclesiastical affairs ; but its decisions are subject to the 
 control of the emperor, as head of the church. The existing customs and ordi- 
 nances of Russia were first collected into a code in 1497, by Ivan III. In 
 1550 it was revised and completed by order of Ivan the Terrible, under the 
 name of Sudebnik, or judgment-book. The czar Alexis Michaelovich gave 
 orders, in 1640, for the composition of a general code, which still remains the 
 basis of Russian law. Since that period legislation has been continued by 
 Ukases ; that is, ordinances issued either in the name of the njonarch himself, or 
 the senate ; the number of which, at the death of Alexander I., amounted to 
 30,920. The emperor Nicholas, on his accession, declared that a systematically 
 arranged collection of the existing laws and ordinances should become the basis 
 of legislation. A collection of all the laws and ordinances, from 1649 till the 
 death of the emperor Alexander I., was published in forty-eight volumes. In 
 1832-'3, it was followed by a collection of those of Nicholas, from his accession 
 to 1832 ; since which period it has been continued. From these collections was 
 extracted the Svod Zakonow, or corpus juris, which now constitutes the general 
 law of the empire. 
 
 It is not necessary here to speak of the capitals and chief towns of Russia ; 
 to endeavour to give word- pictures of St. Petersburg the magnificent ; or Moscow, 
 with its ancient aristocracy and cherished historical associations. Neither can 
 we dwell upon the national and social characteristics of the people ; for these 
 will be developed as we proceed, and be best pictured in the deeds which history 
 records concerning them. For the present, we shall be satisfied with quoting 
 the following reflections on the Russian empire, from the eloquent and flowing 
 pen of the historian Alison : — " Formidable as the power of Russia is, from the 
 boundless extent of its territory, and the great and rapidly increasing number of 
 its subjects, it is still more so from the military spirit and docile disposition by 
 which they are distinguished. The prevailing passion of the nation is the love 
 of conquest ; and this ardent desire, which bums as fiercely in them as demo- 
 cratic ambition does in the free states of Western Europe, is the unseen spring 
 which both retains them submissive under the standards of their chief, and 
 impels their accumulated force in ceaseless advance over all the adjoining states. 
 The energies of the people, great as the territory they inhabit, are never wasted 
 in internal disputes ; domestic grievances, how great soever, are overlooked in 
 the thirst for foreign aggrandisement ; in the conquest of the world the people 
 hope to find a compensation, and more than a compensation, for all the evils of 
 their internal administration. Revolutions of the most violent kind have fre- 
 quently occurred in the palace ; and the order of succession, as in all eastern 
 dynasties, has been often turned aside by the bloody hand of the assassin ; but 
 no republican spirit has ever animated any considerable part of the population. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The troops who returned from Paris in 1815, brought with them a strong admi- i 
 ration for the institutions of Western Europe ; and a large part of the officers j 
 who led the victorious armies of Alexander, were engaged for ten years after- ! 
 wards in a dark conspiracy, which embittered the last days, and perhaps shortened 
 the life of that great monarch, and certainly convulsed the army and the capital 
 on the accession of his successor. But the nation were strangers to that political 
 movement ; the private soldiers who engaged in it were entirely ignorant alike of 
 political rights, or the forms by which they are to be exercised ;* and the authority 
 of the czar is still obeyed with undiminished oriental servility in every part of 
 his vast dominions. 
 
 " If the belief in the ability of one Englishman to fight two Frenchmen is 
 universally impressed upon the British peasantry, and has not a little contributed 
 to the many fields of fame, both in ancient and modern times, where this result 
 has really taken place, it is not less true that every Russian is inspired with the 
 conviction, that his country is one day to conquer the world, and that the uni- 
 versal belief of this result is one of the chief causes of the rapid strides which 
 Russia, of late years, has made towards its realisation. The passion for conquest, 
 the thirst for aggrandisement, are among the strongest natural propensities of 
 the human mind : they need neither the schoolmaster nor the press for their 
 diffusion; they are felt even more strongly in the rudest than in the most 
 advanced and civilised ages ; and have, in almost every age, impelled the wave 
 of conquest from the regions of poverty over those of opulence. The north is, in 
 an especial manner, the seat of this devouring ambition, and the fountain from 
 whence it floods mankind; for there are to be found at once the hardihood 
 which despises danger, the penury which pants for riches, and the churlish soil 
 which denies them but to the sword of conquest. The meanest peasant in Russia 
 is impressed with the belief that his country is destined to subdue the world ; the 
 rudest nomad of the steppes pants for the period when a second Timour is to 
 open the gates of Derbend, and let loose upon Southern Asia the long pent-up 
 forces of its northern wilds. The fearful strife of 1812, the important conquests 
 of 1813 and 1814, have added immensely to this natural disposition; the march 
 through Germany, the capture of Paris, the overthrow of Napoleon, have spread, 
 on grounds which can hardly be denied to be just, the idea of their invincibility ; 
 while the tales recounted by the veteran warriors of the deeds of their youth, the 
 wines of Champagne, the fruits of Lyons, the women of Paris and Italy, have 
 
 • " At the time of the conspiracy to put Constantine on the throne, in 1825, which Nicholas 
 only stemmed by extraordinary courage and presence of mind, the cry of the party in the army 
 who supported him was, ' Constantine and the constitution.' Some of the soldiers being asked 
 what was meant by the 'constitution,' replied, they knew perfectly well. 'It was the new 
 carriage in which the emperor was to drive.' " 
 
INTRODUCTION. xv 
 
 inspired universally that mingled thirst for national elevation and individual 
 enjoyment, which constitute the principal elements in the lust of conquest. 
 
 " The institutions and government of Russia are calculated in an extraor- 
 dinary manner to foster in all ranks this ambitious spirit, and turn it in a 
 permanent manner to the purposes of national elevation. Though property is 
 hereditary in its descent, and titles follow the same destination, rank is personal 
 only, and depends entirely upon military grade or the emperor's employment. 
 Thus, a general of the emperor's creation takes precedence of a prince or count 
 by birth ; and the highest noble, if he has not a commission in the army, finds 
 himself without either a place or consideration in society. This curious combi- 
 nation of the European principle of the hereditary descent of honours, with the 
 Asiatic maxim that all rank is personal only, and flows from the gift or office 
 under the sovereign, leads, however, to hardly any of the embarrassments in 
 practice which might, a priori, be expected ; for as the necessity of military 
 office for personal rank is everywhere known, and, from the warlike turn of the 
 people, cordially acquiesced in, it is universally sought after, and no one thinks 
 of aspiring to any place in society who is not either actually, or by the emperor's 
 gift, in the imperial army. The necessity of this real or fictitious military rank 
 creates a multiplication of military honours and designations, which is not a little 
 perplexing to foreigners ; but it is admirably calculated to foster a warlike spirit 
 in the people, and, by keeping alive the feeling that distinction is to be won 
 only by military honours, to coin for the nation the reality of military success. 
 
 " In consequence of this universality of the military spirit, and all-prevailing 
 sway of military ambition, the whole energies of the nation are, to an extent 
 which appears almost incredible to one of the democratic states of Western 
 Europe, absorbed in the profession of arms. From the emperor's son to the 
 peasant's child, the career of ambition lies in the same channel ; the same objects 
 of desire inflame and animate the heart. In the first years of infancy, the mind 
 of the young Csesarowitch is warmed by the recital of the exploits of his father's 
 warriors ; the long series of Russian victories is ever present to his mind ; his 
 earliest feeling of exultation, his proudest day in life, is when he is first arrayed 
 in the mimic garb of the invincible grenadiers, who have carried the Muscovite 
 standards in triumph to Paris, Erivan, and Adrianople. He grows up under the 
 influence of the same feelings; the troops salute him, not with the title of 
 emperor, but ' father ;' and his familiar and uniform appellation to them is, not 
 soldiers, but * children.' The empire, in the opinion of the Muscovite peasant, 
 is a vast family, of which the czar is the head ; the chief interest of all its mem- 
 bers is to enlarge the possessions and extend the glory of the domestic circle ; 
 and their first duty, to obey the imperial commands, and sacrifice themselves or 
 their children, when required, to the imperial will. 
 
xvi INTRODUCTION. 
 
 " When such is the tone of mind which pervades the palace and the 
 peasantry, it may be readily believed, that the spirit of all the intermediate 
 classes, and, in effect, of the whole empire, is essentially military, and that their 
 energies are almost exclusively devoted to warlike pursuits. In truth, this object 
 entirely occupies their thoughts, and everything else is comparatively neglected. 
 Commerce, though flourishing, is held in little estimation, and is for the most 
 part engrossed by" the merchants of the English factory. Agriculture, though 
 not less than in the American states the main source of the national strength, is 
 left to the boors, who prosecute it as their fathers did before them ; and, in con- 
 sequence, make little advance in improved methods of cultivation. Judicial or 
 other civil employments, save diplomacy, are held in utter contempt : the whole 
 youth of the empire who aspire to any station in society, are bred for the army. 
 One hundred and eighty thousand young men, the flower of the empire, comprising 
 10,000 officers, among whom are found almost all its talent and energy, are con- 
 stantly at the public seminaries, where military education is taught in the very 
 best manner, and the whole knowledge communicated is of a kind to be available 
 in warlike pursuits. Europe has much need to consider well how the pressure 
 of 60,000,000 of men, doubling every half century, directed by the whole talent 
 of the nation, educated at such seminaries, is to be averted; and those who 
 believe that a pacific era is arising — that commercial interests are to rule the 
 world, and one great deluge of democracy to overwhelm all other institutions, 
 would do well to contemplate the spirit and institutions of this state, which now 
 possesses an eighth part of the whole surface of the globe.'' 
 
44 
 
 (^ 
 
 i-. 
 
 JJ^J^JtJ.yf. 
 
 ;i ^ -P^ TJ-S s IAN 
 
 \#t^ 
 
 
 jfciinwK"?: 
 
 ■oiii Ctrofiiwic]! 
 
 PmT,T'-,fTmQ C0ME&M7 .-X,rM;iTEr) 
 
 
(' ,V 1 1', V 
 
HISTORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE ANCIENT INHABITANTS OF RUSSIA ; KIEF AND NOVGOROD, THE NUCLEUS OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE ; THB 
 PIRATES OF THE BALTIC ; RUKIC'S CONQUEST, AND HIS ASSUMPTION OF THE GOVERNMENT OF NOVGOROD. 
 
 " What is history," said the emperor Na- 
 poleon, "but a fable agreed upon?" Though 
 we are by no means inclined to admit of 
 the extensive application of this aphoristic 
 inquiry, which was doubtless intended ; yet 
 it is certainly true with regard to the re- 
 mote records of most nations. The early 
 chronicles of all European nations are 
 clouded by the mists of antiquity, and dis- 
 torted by the national vanity of those who 
 have, perhaps, returned to the dust centu- 
 ries ago. Rays of truth struggle faintly 
 through clouds of suspicious traditions; and 
 it is ever difficult to say where fable ends 
 and actual history begins. 
 
 This is especially the case with the his- 
 tory of the Russian empire. Its early 
 chroniclers were the monks, whom we are 
 probably guilty of no injustice in describing 
 as partial, credulous, careless, and ignorant 
 of the importance of the labour they had 
 undertaken. The jealousy of its despotic 
 princes, also, led them rather to withhold 
 information concerning the states they 
 ruled ; and although manuscript chronicles 
 were deposited from age to age in the pub- 
 lic libraries, yet permission to inspect them 
 was rarely to be obtained. Unfortunately, 
 also, these records are written in the ancient 
 Slavonic dialect, which has become obso- 
 lete; and labour in this mine of informa- 
 tion has rather bewildered than enlightened 
 those who have attempted to profit by it. 
 Under these circumstances, a modern his- 
 torian observes, that "commentators some- 
 times grew bold, from the very want of 
 materials, which made detection doubtful 
 or impossible, and sometimes obscure, by 
 leaving the enigmas of dates, names, and 
 
 B 
 
 events, as unsolved as they found them." 
 Happily, the mystery of doubt hangs only 
 over the early portion of Russian history : 
 for the record of its marvellous progress 
 and proceedings in modern times, we have 
 generally ample materials. Necessarily, 
 the vital interest of Russian history com- 
 mences with the time when that state first 
 took a prominent part in the gi'eat drama 
 of European politics. Prior to that time, 
 it has the interest of a wild romance of 
 barbarous life; subsequently it possesses a 
 more sober tone, but is yet crowded with 
 startling adventure and gigantic events, and 
 is pregnant with that wisdom which the 
 observing mind gathers from the recital of 
 the great actions, the vices, the errors, and 
 the virtues of the past. 
 
 There are satisfactory reasons for the 
 supposition, that the greatest part of the 
 numerous tribes that inhabited Russia be- 
 fore the ninth century (about the middle of 
 which its history may be said to commence), 
 sprang from the Slavonic stock. The rest 
 were composed chiefly of the Fins, who 
 occupied the north, and the Scythes or 
 Scythians, who dwelt in the south. Of the 
 latter race very little is known ; and a mist 
 of doubt surrounds even the country from 
 which they came. Some writers speak of 
 them as sweeping into Europe from the 
 savage wilds of Tartary ; but various tracts, 
 both in Asia and Europe, have been spoken 
 of as the ancient Scythia — a country of 
 which the exact site is unknown, and the 
 inhabitants of which have been extinct as a 
 people for ages. The antiquity of the Slave 
 race in Europe is such, that no clue remains 
 to show when they first settled in it. 
 
 1 
 
THE SLAVONIANS.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [the SLAVONIANS. 
 
 Equally uncertain are the speculations as to 
 whence they came. Asia is presumed to 
 have been their cradle, though what portion 
 of it, is unknown. It is probable that they 
 were settled in Europe before Rome was 
 founded, or the progress of nations placed 
 upon record. Attempts have been made to 
 trace their descent from Japhet, the third 
 son of Noah; but the authors of such 
 speculations are guided rather by idle 
 imaginings than stern facts. The name 
 Slave, or Slavi, is supposed to signify "glory'' 
 or "glorious," one which it was natural for 
 a warlike and ambitious race to assume. 
 Other antiquarians, however, consider it to 
 be derived from the term Slovo, which 
 means "word" or "speech." Either they had 
 earned great fame by heroic achievements, 
 of which no records remain ; or their lan- 
 guage was distinguished by its power or 
 copiousness. In remote times they appear 
 to have subjugated every country into which 
 they pushed their arms ; and the extent of 
 dominion they acquired assumes propor- 
 tions almost incredible. From the shores 
 of the Adriatic (says an historian) to the 
 coast of the Frozen Ocean, and from the 
 shores of the Baltic, through the whole 
 length of Europe and Asia, as far as Ame- 
 rica, and to the neighbourhood of Japan, 
 we everywhere meet with Slavonian nations 
 either ruling or ruled. 
 
 From the pages of a writer who appears 
 to have spent much labour on this part of 
 his subject,* we extract the following ac- 
 count of a race which was, as we have said, 
 for the most part the parent of the modern 
 inhabitants of Russia : — " The cha)acter of 
 this people was such as the uncertainty and 
 peril of their habits were calculated to pro- 
 duce. They were courageous and reckless 
 of life J cruel and rapacious ; prompt to 
 secure, by any means, the conquest that 
 was necessary to their wants ; but as their 
 excursions were undertaken from meaner 
 motives than aggrandisement or ambition 
 (being chiefly to make provision for their 
 immediate necessities, or to procure re- 
 sources for a futiu-e supply), their intervals 
 of repose were passed in supineness and 
 indolence. They Avere hospitable to the 
 excess of that virtue. It w as a law amongst 
 them, that a poor man might steal from 
 his rich neighbour the means of entertain- 
 ing his guest. The debasing usages of the 
 East, respecting the treatment of females, 
 they carried with them into the North. 
 • Bell's History of Russia. 
 
 2 
 
 Women were considered as drudges and 
 slaves. Polygamy was allowed ; and the 
 power of the husband asserted beyond the 
 grave. Widowswere consumed at the funeral 
 pile ; and, as if to complete the last show of 
 household authority, a female slave was sacri- 
 ficed on the body of her master. This cus- 
 tom arose from the notion, that women, 
 wives, and slaves, were destined to serve 
 their lords in the next world as well as in 
 this, and they were accordingly put to 
 death, in order that their lord should not 
 be left in want of their attendance. It is 
 probable that the suttee of the Indians may 
 be traced to the same origin. All the male 
 children of the Slavi were dedicated to war; 
 but the curse of proscription awaited the 
 females, even at their birth. Whenever it 
 happened that the number of female infants 
 in a family appeared to exceed the probable 
 wants of the community, they were at once 
 destroyed. These inhuman customs of the 
 parents generated a corresponding inhu- 
 manity in their oflfspring. The old and 
 feeble were deserted by their children, and 
 left to expire of hunger and disease. These 
 revolting practices were to be attributed to 
 the unsettled and migratory habits of the 
 people. Their mode of life required that 
 they should always be prepared for action. 
 They struck oflF the incumbrances of age 
 and superabundant infancy, in order that 
 their motions might be free to rove wherever 
 their vagrant desires pointed. The same 
 inordinate thirst after new sceues and 
 strange adventures that enabled them to 
 conquer those sacred associations which, 
 under a diff'erent organisation of society, 
 are universally reverenced, also enabled 
 them to surmount the physical obstacles 
 that constantly lay before them. We know 
 that the Scythians removed their families 
 from place to place in Avaggous, covered 
 with hides, to protect them from the in- 
 clemency of the weather ; but we have no 
 means of ascertaining how the Slavi crossed 
 seas and rivers, traversed vast deserts, pene- 
 trated untrodden forests, and made their 
 way over trackless mountains. 
 
 " It was amongst such a people, who lived 
 in a constant state of excitement, that 
 poetry may be believed to have origiuated. 
 The earliest Slavonian records describe 
 them as practising the arts of music and 
 poetry. In the sixth century, the Winidse, 
 a northern extended branch of the Slavi, 
 informed the Emperor of Constantinople 
 that their highest pleasures were derived 
 
THE RELIGION OF THE SLAV!.] RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [XHE RELIGION OF THE SLAVI. 
 
 from music ; that in tlieir journeys they 
 seldom encumbered themselves with arms, 
 but always carried lutes and harps of their 
 own v/orkmanship. There were other musi- 
 cal instruments, too, whicli are still retained 
 amongst their descendants. In their war- 
 like expeditions they never appeared with- 
 out music. Procopius informs us, that 
 they were once so much engrossed by their 
 amusements within sight of the enemy, as 
 to have been surprised by a Greek general, 
 before they could arrange any measures of 
 defence. Many of the war odes and ballads 
 of the Slavi are still in existence. They 
 exhibit a wild and original spirit ; are re- 
 plete with mythological allusions ; and those 
 that are of a peaceful cast, are particularly 
 remarkable for the quiet sweetness of their 
 character, of a kind quite distinct from the 
 elaborate and artificial felicity of the Greek 
 and Roman pastorals. 
 
 "The religion of the Slavi resembled, in 
 all essential respects, the mythology of the 
 Romans, to which were superadded some 
 features of a more superstitious and cruel 
 nature. They offered up human victims to 
 their Jupiter, who, built up with a trunk of 
 hard wood, a head of silver, ears and mus- 
 tachios of gold, and legs of iron, was called 
 Peruue. Like all other rude nations of an- 
 tiquity, they trembled before thunder, which 
 they received as the voice of the god in 
 anger. But their notions of a supreme 
 deity were very vague ; for, although they 
 entertained some half-formed idea of the 
 existence of a First Cause, they yet incon- 
 sistently attributed all events to chance. 
 They personified the elements in a similar 
 way. They had their sacred rivers and 
 forests. They had their god of the waters, 
 and attendant dryads and sea-nymphs : also 
 a benevolent god, who presided over their 
 games and festivals ; a goddess of love and 
 marriage ; a pastoral divinity; and a goddess 
 of the chase; nor did they omit some hiero- 
 glyphical Penates, whom the boors of Rus- 
 sia, to this day, scrawl in uncouth figures 
 on the walls of their houses. The outline 
 of the Slavonian mythology was not desti- 
 tute of imaginative qualities. All the 
 leading or chief deities had subordinate 
 ones, to perform the functions identified 
 with the elements or objects to which they 
 were assigned. Their fauns, and satyrs, 
 and forest spirits, and demons of fire, and 
 of midnight dreams and pestilence, were all 
 conceived distinctly enough, and helped out 
 a sort of system that was well calculated to 
 
 act upon the fears of a superstitious race. 
 There were innumerable idols, of various 
 degrees of power, and all differing in par- 
 ticular attributes. The ceremonies by which 
 these were propitiated were usually very 
 costly, as were the temples in which they 
 were performed, and the apparel of the 
 priests who officiated. These ceremonies 
 were generally closed by horrible immola- 
 tions to the frenzy, or abandoned festivals 
 to the honour, of the god. The mixture of 
 the sanguinary and the ridiculous, of the 
 poetical and the animal nature, of the 
 elevated and the degraded, were visible 
 throughout all their rites. Not a solitary 
 want or enjoyment of mankind appears to 
 have escaped the fertile invention of the 
 Slavi, in the corresponding application of 
 their image-worship. They had gods for 
 all possible occasions, and gorgeous pre- 
 liminaries to their invocation. But this 
 kind of religion wanted unity. It was in- 
 complete, both in its materials and its pur- 
 pose. It made the savage more savage, 
 and the timid more timid. To quail before 
 the storm, or to dare it, were the only 
 effects it produced. It never softened fero- 
 city, nor inspired its believers with rever- 
 ence for eternal wisdom. It was the 
 rudest religion of external nature, and ex- 
 acted servitude without love, or reason, or 
 hope. In this, of course, the Slavonian 
 superstition was not singular; but, perhaps, 
 it was the most complicated and compre- 
 hensive that prevailed amongst- the bar- 
 barous tribes that flourished in the age of 
 the world in which it arose. 
 
 "The Slavi, in the original state in 
 which we find them, admitted no particular 
 form of authority in the government of 
 their affairs. Their paramount doctrine of 
 chance had much to do in settling the mode 
 by which their domestic concerns were 
 managed. The people at first met in large 
 bodies in some of their temples or holy 
 places. Gradually the national concerns 
 fell into the hands of particular persons, 
 who, according to their superior military 
 talent, and the amount of individual esteem 
 in which they were held, insensibly acquired 
 the ascendancy. Out of this unconscious 
 delegation, at last, sprung the hereditary 
 tenure : fathers who had deserved well of 
 their countrymen, bequeathed their honours 
 to their children ; that which was, in the 
 beginning, but a personal distinction, ulti- 
 mately became a permanent dignity; and 
 finally, the formless chaos assumed a shape; 
 
 . 8 
 
NUCLEUS OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 Pabout 700. 
 
 chiefs, and civil judges, and petty magistrates, 
 springing up rapidly enough when once the 
 la^vlessness of the great body had been 
 overcome. But the Slavi were slow to 
 yield the right of election. They asserted, 
 for a long time, the privilege of electing 
 and deposing their rulers. The principal 
 seats of power were, however, rendered 
 hereditary by force; and the popular pre- 
 rogative, thus extinguished by one decisive 
 innovation, could never again be recalled. 
 The manner of the election of a voyvode, or 
 duke, in Carinthia, may be taken as a proof 
 of the tenacity with which the people clung 
 to their electoral privileges as long as they 
 could. "U'hen the duke was elected, he was 
 ordered to appear before his constituents, 
 clothed in the poorest attire. A throne, 
 formed of a huge stone, was placed in the 
 centre, upon which was seated a common 
 labourer. Before this organ of the multi- 
 tude the new governor took the oaths of 
 office, which bound him to respect truth 
 and religion, and to support the friendless. 
 This temporary magistrate then descended ; 
 the duke ascended ; and the vows of fidelity 
 were immediately subscribed by the people. 
 Such was the simple, but impressive form, 
 by which rulers, in the early stages of 
 society, were pledged to the interests of 
 their subjects." 
 
 The Slavonians in Europe suffered many 
 vicissitudes. Overthrown in turn by other 
 races of barbarians, they appear to have 
 lost something of their original vigour and 
 ferocity, or, at least, of their conquering 
 power, and the close of the seventh cen- 
 tury found them located chiefly in Rus- 
 sia and in Poland. In the former country 
 they were cast away into a variety of widely 
 separate settlements ; and, as time rolled 
 on, became known by distinct appellations. 
 The aboriginal population of Russia was, 
 however, swelled from other sources, and 
 the Fins, the Tartars, and the Mongols, 
 contributed to the roots of what, after a 
 succession of wars and revolutions, was to 
 become, perhaps, the mightiest, though 
 rudest, state of modern Europe. 
 
 These various tribes were known by the 
 common name of Russians, prior to the 
 time of Ruric, the founder of the first 
 dynasty of the present empire ; and many 
 conjectures have been formed as to the 
 origin of this term. One is, that the name 
 was derived from a tribe called Rhoxolani 
 or Rhoxani, and thence corrupted into Rus- 
 sian ; another, that a prince called Russus 
 4 
 
 gave his name to the people. It has been 
 attempted to be shown, that the followers 
 of Ruric, the northern pirate (of whom we 
 shall speak presently), called themselves 
 Russians, and transferred the name to a 
 state which they had a large share in found- 
 ing. Again, it has been somewhat fancifully 
 conjectured, that the nymphs or goddesses 
 called Russalki (with which the vivid Sla- 
 vonian imagination, fertile as that of the 
 ancient Greeks, peopled the waters and the 
 forests), might have had their names assumed 
 by their devotees, as a token of regard and 
 veneration. M. Levesque, in his interest- 
 ing essay on the religion of the Slaves, 
 observes — " The Russalki were nymphs, the 
 subordinate goddesses of waters and forests. 
 They possessed all the graces of youth, en- 
 hanced by the charms of beauty. They 
 were frequently seeu sporting on the banks 
 of rivers and lakes ; sometimes bathing in 
 the limpid streams, or swimming on the 
 surface ; and in this exercise, some of their 
 charms were only concealed from the pry- 
 ing view for the sake of presenting more 
 enchanting attractions; to attitudes full of 
 grace succeeded movements still more volup- 
 tuous. Sometimes they were seen on the 
 margin of the waters, combing their fine 
 long azure locks ; at others swinging, now 
 with a rapid motion, now with a gentle 
 vibration, on the flexible branches of the 
 trees. Their light drapery, flowing to the 
 sport of the winds, in its varied undula- 
 tions alternately concealed and displayed 
 the treasures of beauty. Sacrifices were 
 made to these amiable beings." 
 
 We have said that the nucleus of the 
 Russian dominions was compai-atively small. 
 The first Slavonian state was established 
 on the banks of the Dnieper (the ancient 
 Borysthenes),* and possessed a chief city 
 called Kief, from Kivi ; a Sarmatian word, 
 signifying mountain. The capital of the 
 Slavi who had settled in the north, on the 
 river Volkhof, was called Novgorod or New- 
 Town, and stood a hundred miles from the 
 site of the present city of St. Petersburg. 
 Its early annals, like those of Kief, are in- 
 volved in obscurity. It is, however, suffi- 
 cient that we are enabled to arrive at the 
 conclusion, that the kingdoms or settle- 
 ments of which these cities were the capi- 
 tals, constituted tiie germ of the future 
 
 • The name Borysthenes signifies a rampart formed 
 by a forest of pines. It is derived from the word 
 bar, a forest of pines, and stena, a wall. The banks 
 of the Dnieper are still in many parts bordered with 
 dense pine forests. 
 
A.D. 860.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [ruric the pirate. 
 
 empire of Russia. So powerful were the 
 resources of Novgorod, and so great its dis- 
 tinction above rival states, that it gave rise 
 to a proverbial expression of remarkable 
 arrogance and audacity. "Who,'' said its 
 inhabitants and their dependents, " shall 
 dare to oppose the gods and great Nov- 
 gorod !" It extended its commercial in- 
 tercourse to Persia, and even to India, in 
 one direction, and to the settlers on both 
 shores of the Baltic in another. Its govern- 
 ment was a republic, and its people were 
 bold and hardy. Its prosperity, however, 
 excited the jealousy of its neighbours ; dis- 
 sensions arose within its walls, and the 
 famous city was at length torn by distrac- 
 tions from within, and surrounded by ene- 
 mies without. 
 
 At this period the waters of the Baltic 
 were haunted by Scandinavian pirates, who 
 necessarily were a great impediment to the 
 commerce of the people of Novgorod, which 
 their depredations threatened altogether to 
 annihilate in that direction. The North- 
 men, inhabiting that large peninsula an- 
 ciently known as Scandinavia, but now com- 
 prising Norway and Sweden, and located 
 chiefly in the vicinity of rivers, friths, and 
 ba3's, where the climate was severe and the 
 soil unproductive, became pirates, just as 
 the wandering Arabs of the desert became 
 robbers — from a stern necessity. In bar- 
 barous times, when agriculture was little 
 understood, and even when practised ren- 
 dered comparatively unproductive by the 
 barrenness of the soil and the severity of the 
 elements, it may be supposed that many 
 seasons of famine occurred. These drove 
 the hardy Scandinavians, who were no 
 strangers to the sea (which they loved to 
 brave in its fiercest moods), to seek from its 
 waters by fishing, that sustenance which 
 the hardened land, irresponsive to their 
 rude efforts, appeared to deny them. Once 
 upon the sea, the conversion of these fierce 
 people from fishermen into pirates was a 
 very rapid one. It was easier to take a 
 vessel laden with fish, than to discharge the 
 patient labour of catching fish for them- 
 selves. Piracy, from an accident, became 
 a vocation; and, by degrees, vessels were 
 equipped for that purpose alone : then the 
 villages on the coast were plundered ; and 
 any trading vessel that was unfortunate 
 
 • The term Varangian seems rather to indicate a 
 profession than a tribe. It was synonymous with 
 a pirate; but an old author says, that there were 
 Swedish, Norman, English, and Ilussian Varangians. 
 
 enough to come in the way of the rovers, 
 made a prize. The inevitable dangers at- 
 tending such a profession did not damp the 
 spirit of adventure. Courage was a part of 
 the religion of the Northman ; and if he 
 died fighting against his fellow-men, and 
 with his weapons stained with the blood of 
 his adversaries, his superstition induced him 
 to believe that he entered at once on the 
 enjoyments of the halls of Odin — the Scan- 
 dinavian paradise of the brave. 
 
 The dominant tribe of these Baltic pirates 
 were the Varangians j* and the citizens of 
 Novgorod, oppressed and enfeebled by the 
 attacks of many enemies, made overtures to 
 them for assistance. The hardy Northmen, 
 ever ready for war, and as mercenary as 
 they were fierce and brave, sold their ser- 
 vices to the wealthy traders of Novgorod. 
 Thus reinforced, the latter were enabled 
 effeotually to subdue their surrounding 
 enemies. Tranquillity was restored, the 
 mercenaries rewarded for their assistance, 
 and it was then expected that they would 
 return to their ships and their former 
 occupations. Like many other reasonable 
 expectations, however, this was not fulfilled. 
 The pirates were pleased with the locality 
 of their recent exploits, while a sense of 
 power made them ambitious. They had no 
 desire to depart. They felt also that a 
 wealthy body owed its safety to their 
 arms, and that they could not be too largely 
 rewarded for their services. The feeling 
 was natural, and the consequences result- 
 ing from it immense. A resolve to settle 
 on the banks of the Volkhof was soon 
 formed ; and under the direction of Ruric, 
 their leader, a town was built, and called 
 Ladoga. To secure themselves in this 
 position, the intruders surrounded it with a 
 rampart of earth. Ruric also established 
 his brothers, Sinaus and Truvor, in a similar 
 manner; and the alarmed Novgorodians 
 saw that, in inviting assistance, they had 
 created a fresh enemy. They repented of 
 the confidence they had shown, but it was 
 too late ; the new-comers had seen their 
 weakness, and were resolved to hold by 
 force what they had acquired by stratagem. 
 
 Enfeebled as the Novgorodians were by 
 dissensions and long-continued conflicts, 
 they yet resolved to expel their uncere- 
 monious invaders by force of arms. Such a 
 
 General Count Segur, in his History of Russia, ob- 
 serves, that everything leads us to believe that these 
 Russian Varangians were Normans. Perhaps they 
 were a confederation of outcasts of the Baltic shores. 
 
 5 
 
RTJRIC SUBDUES NOVGOROD.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 862. 
 
 step was doubtless expected by the Varan- 
 gians, -who, fearless and desperate, at once 
 turned their swords against those whom they 
 had so recently succoured. A conflict took 
 place, in which the republican traders were 
 defeated, their leader slain, and themselves 
 thrown into confusion. Ruric and his fierce 
 associates followed up their advantage, and 
 advanced upon Novgorod ; for an ambitious 
 project had arisen in the mind of the 
 Scandinavian pirate; — might not this fine 
 and well-reputed city become in his hand 
 the nucleus of a kingdom, and he the 
 founder of a regal dynasty ? It was a bril- 
 liant day-dream, which his courage and 
 
 energy enabled him to convert into a 
 reality. When he and his ruthless bands 
 appeared before Novgorod, the inhabitants 
 were thrown into despair. Demoralised 
 by recent defeat — without leaders, and with- 
 out hope — they anticipated the result of a 
 siege, and submitted. Ruric entered the 
 city a conqueror ; and assuming the reins 
 of government, converted the trading re- 
 public into an absolute monarchy.* Thus, 
 in the year 862, was laid the foundation- 
 stone of the Russian empire. Little, how- 
 ever, did Ruric dream of the mighty work 
 he was beginning ; or of the "vicissitudes to 
 which his descendants would be subject. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 BEIGN AND DEATH OF RUKIC ; THE REGENT 9LEG ; HE SUBDUES KIEF AND INVADES CONSTANTINOPLE ; HB 
 IS SUCCEEDED BY IGOK ; HIS FEROCIOUS EXPEDITION TOWARDS CONSTANTINOPLE, AND KETALIATIVE VEN- 
 GEANCE OF THE GREEKS ; HIS SECOND INVASION OF GREECE ; HIS OPPRESSION OF THE DREVLIANS, AND 
 ASSASSINATION. 
 
 The people of Novgorod, tired of a form of 
 government where individual ambition had 
 latterly pushed the forms of democracy 
 to the verge of anarchy, submitted pas- 
 sively to the new mode of rule forced upon 
 them, in the hope that it would be better 
 than the late one. Ruric assumed the title 
 «f Grand Prince, which, as it recognised 
 other princes subordinate to himself, was 
 calculated to satisfy the ambition of his own 
 immediate chieftains, and also to soothe the 
 national feelings of the people who had sub- 
 mitted to his sway : since by such an 
 arrangement minor princes might still arise 
 from amongst them. Ruric's government 
 was of a military character ; and the Varan- 
 gians regarding themselves as conquerors, 
 and having swords in their hands, naturally 
 seized upon all posts of honour or profit. 
 From this period the country, under the 
 sway of Ruric, took the general name of 
 Russia. That which the new sovereign had 
 acquired by force, he preserved with firm- 
 ness, and governed with some wisdom. He 
 
 * An ancient chronicle, to which no authority is 
 attached, represents the Novgorodians as soliciting 
 the powerful Ruric and his brothers to assume a sove- 
 reign power over them. The principal citizens are 
 reported to have sought an interview with the Va- 
 rangian princes, and observed, " Our country is large 
 6 
 
 gave laws to the people, enlarged the boun- 
 daries of the city, and endeavoured to re- 
 store its former prosperity and reputation. 
 Having established his authority, he re- 
 turned to Ladoga, which he made the chief 
 seat of the infant empire. 
 
 Ruric, in his capacity as grand prince, 
 claimed the right of granting separate prin- 
 cipalities to his two brothers, who in return 
 were to do him homage, and to be held as 
 his vassals. By a decision of Ruric's, or 
 perhaps in consequence of a custom existing 
 among the Varangians, the right to grant 
 was accompanied by the right to resume, 
 and also to remove the subordinate ruler 
 from principality to principality. Ac the 
 same time, any of these subordinate princes 
 who were left undisturbed in their pos- 
 sessions at the death of the grand prince, 
 acquired in consequence an hereditary title 
 and power. The result was extremely in- 
 jurious to the consolidation of the empire 
 contemplated by Ruric. In course of time 
 these princes became small independent 
 
 and fruitful, but it is without order; come and 
 
 govern it according to our laws." It is added, that 
 Luric hesitated, for he knew the licentiousness of the 
 people, but that he eventually complied with their 
 desires. Perhaps a few citizens were bribed or inti- 
 midated into this surrender of their independence. 
 
A.D. 879.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [death of ruric. 
 
 sovereigns, and instead of one powerful, 
 united state, there existed many feeble, 
 jealous, and even antagonistic principali- 
 ties. The curse of division was to affect the 
 new state, but not yet. Sinaus and Truvor, 
 the brothers of Ruric, who had been ap- 
 pointed to the government of chief towns 
 in dependent territories, both died childless 
 before the demise of the head of their 
 family, who, as if conscious of the error he 
 had made, then reunited their territories to 
 his own. 
 
 Ruric, doubtless, was a man of superior 
 talents, and of a firm and resolute character. 
 He appears not only to have been respected 
 by his subjects, but to have been looked up 
 to with admiration by the inhabitants of 
 surrounding territories. He had not swayed 
 his iron sceptre for any length of time be- 
 fore another city appealed to him for assis- 
 tance against its enemies. The inhabitants 
 of Kief, the other Slavonian city we have 
 mentioned as standing on the banks of the 
 Dnieper, appealed to him for protection 
 against the Khazares, and desired him to 
 appoint a prince of his own blood to be 
 their ruler. This was an opportunity for 
 the extension of his rule, which he was far 
 too active a man to neglect. Conferring 
 the new sovereignty on his step-son, Oskold, 
 he sent him at the head of a considerable 
 force on the mission of aid and annexation. 
 Oskold's sword was not drawn in vain ; he 
 defeated the Khazares, and assumed the 
 sovereignty of Kief, which thus became 
 subordinate to the growing power at Nov- 
 gorod. Dir, a Scandinavian warrior, was 
 united with him in the government. 
 
 Ruric reigned in peace during a period 
 of seventeen years, and died in 879. His 
 iron determination awed his fierce depen- 
 dents into tranquillity, and the firmness of 
 his rule restored to the state that security 
 without which commerce must ever decline 
 until it hovers on the verge of dissolu- 
 tion. His only son, Igor, was but a child ; 
 and although the right of the infant prince 
 to the throne was acknowledged, the affairs 
 of the government were placed in the hands 
 of Oleg, his guardian and relative, until the 
 young prince was of an age to administer 
 them himself. 
 
 Oleg, though possessed of many of those 
 qualities which are commonly found in the 
 characters of successful rulers, was cunning, 
 unprincipled, and savage. Count Segur, 
 the historian, himself a soldier, estimates 
 this barbarian as a great man; a circum- 
 
 stance which, he truly remarks, is sufficient 
 to account for the most remarkable events. 
 " Oleg," he says, " seems to have possessed 
 in a high degree the qualifications, the 
 vices, and all the passions most suitable to 
 the age in which he lived. A true speci- 
 men of barbaric greatness : brave, crafty, 
 insatiable, adventurous, indefatigable ; faith- 
 ful, as with respect to Igor, his ward, yet 
 with others occasionally treacherous." To 
 such a man it was not sufficient that he 
 should rule the dominions committed to 
 him in peace and wisdom. He desired the 
 excitement arising from war, and from un- 
 justly despoiling his neighbours of their 
 possessions. The habits of the pirate were 
 not forgotten in the dignity of the ruler, 
 and he remembered with pleasure the savage 
 exploits of earlier days. Similar feelings 
 dwelt in the minds of the Varangians. 
 Their love of the sea and of daring adven- 
 tures was not extinguished; and a citizen's 
 life was doubtless irksome to these wild 
 spirits. Even the warlike and ambitious 
 feelings of the Novgorodians were again 
 awakened; and a desire for war animated 
 the whole people. No enemy required 
 chastisement — no necessity existing for 
 taking up arms in self-defence; but war 
 was wanted merely for the excitement of 
 the pursuit and the love of plunder. Oleg 
 was the very man to respond to such a 
 feeling; and he speedily planned a cam- 
 paign that promised employment for the 
 idle, and reward for the discontented. That 
 it was wickedly aggressive and unjust was a 
 matter totally disregarded by his followers. 
 Semi-barbarians never seem to look at 
 events from that point of view. To the 
 state of mind apparently inseparable from 
 such a stage of existence, that which pro- 
 mises success is to be undertaken — that 
 which proves successful is deemed right. 
 
 The city of Kief owned the supremacy 
 of the grand prince of Novgorod ; while 
 Oskold and Dir, its rulers, had been fol- 
 lowers of Ruric, and appointed by him to 
 the authority they held. Yet against Kief 
 did Oleg resolve to direct his arms ; and 
 trampling upon the rights of the subordi- 
 nate princes, annex it to the dominions he 
 governed as regent. Such was his ambition, 
 that he even looked upon Kief only as a 
 step forward in the direction of the gorgeous 
 and wealthy city of Constantinople, then 
 the seat of the Greek emperor, and the 
 capital of the great empire of the East. In 
 such a direction conquest was perhaps not 
 
 7 
 
THE REGENT OLEG.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 879—904. 
 
 dreamed of; but a sudden attack upon the 
 rich city promised great opportunities for 
 plunder. Oleg soon collected a numerous 
 army, consisting certainly of discordant 
 materials; for it was composed of frag- 
 ments of tribes of different languages, cos- 
 tumes, and habits, but all animated by one 
 feeling — a love of violence and plunder. 
 Taking with him the young prince Igor, 
 he directed his march towards Kief, cap- 
 turing Smolensk, the capital of the Kri- 
 vitches, in his way, and spreading terror 
 among the inhabitants of the small towns 
 and villages through which he and his army 
 of marauders passed. 
 
 Oleg did not rely for success on force 
 alone, but had recourse to cunning and 
 treachery. On approaching Kief he hid his 
 troops in the neighbourhood of the river 
 Borysthenes, or Dnieper, and disguising 
 himself as a merchant of Novgorod, pro- 
 ceeded up the river with a few followers 
 only to the gates of the city. He had pre- 
 viously sent a messenger to the two princes, 
 to request permission to travel through 
 their territory into Greece. The messenger 
 added, that illness prevented his master 
 from attending to pay his respects to them 
 in person, and begged that they would come 
 and honour him with an internew. Oskold 
 and Dir, not suspecting villany, and de- 
 sirous of paying respect to a powerful mer- 
 chant of Novgorod, consented, and shortly 
 arrived at the rivers bank, attended only 
 by a very few followers. When they ap- 
 peared, the soldiers of Oleg sprung from 
 their vessel, and the ruffian chief holding 
 aloft the young Igor in his arms, shouted, 
 " You are neither princes, nor sprung from 
 princes ; but I am a prince ; and, behold, 
 here is the son of Ruric V The ferocious 
 soldiers, who had doubtless been instructed 
 in the part they were to take in this repul- 
 sive tragedy, rushed upon the unarmed 
 chiefs, and laid them dead upon the spot. 
 While the bodies of the victims were dis- 
 torted with the convulsions of dying agony, 
 and their blood yet dripped from the swords 
 of the murderers, Oleg shouted exultingly, 
 " Let Kief be the mother of all the Russian 
 cities \" An observation which revealed the 
 extensive schemes of territorial extension 
 his ambitious nature had engendered. 
 
 The inhabitants of Kief, struck with 
 amazement, and unprepared for defence, 
 opened their gates to the regent of Nov- 
 gorod; and the two Slavonian states were 
 soon united under one government. Oleg 
 8 
 
 transferred the seat of his government to 
 the city he had so unjustly obtained, and 
 fixed his residence there. His object in 
 doing so, was chiefly that he might be 
 nearer to Constantinople, with the promised 
 spoils of which he bought the mercenary 
 loyalty of his wild followers. His energy 
 raised new towns in the vicinity of Kief, 
 and subdued or won over all the neigh- 
 bouring tribes who had previously been 
 under subjection to the feeble khans of the 
 eastern Khozars. He was a man wise in 
 his generation, and eminently fitted to rule 
 the diverse tribes of barbarians whom fear 
 or interest induced to acknowledge his 
 authority. In their estimation, a just man 
 would have appeared an insipid character, 
 and a merciful one, an imbecile. The savage 
 nature of Oleg won their respect, while his 
 subtlety attracted their attachment. He 
 wisely relaxed the severity of the laws 
 within the neighbourhood of the city where 
 he resided, and reduced the amount of 
 tribute money. 
 
 He pursued his cherished design of the 
 invasion of Constantinople with remarkable 
 tenacity. The vanquished tribes flocked 
 readily to his standard ; for they were all 
 animated by a greedy desire of gain, and a 
 thirst for the excitement of war and its un- 
 bridled gratifications. In those barbarous 
 times, an army rather resembled an aggre- 
 gate of bands of robbers, each individual of 
 which followed his own lawless and savage 
 desires, than the rigidly disciplined and 
 machine-like masses of life which modern 
 military art has found to be most efficient. 
 Oleg collected an army said to amount to 
 80,000 men, whom he embarked on board 
 2,000 of the primitive vessels which the rude 
 constructive skill of his artisans enabled 
 them to build. Leaving Igor to rule at 
 Kief during his absence, the robber- warrior 
 and his hordes sailed down the waters of 
 the Borysthenes, or Dnieper, in their pro- 
 gress to the Black Sea. Elated with excite- 
 ment, and mad with the thirst for spoil and 
 blood, they met and overcame obstacles 
 which appear almost insurmountable even 
 in these days of science, when so many of 
 the forces of nature are rendered subservient 
 to the designs of man. For a considerable 
 distance the navigation of the river was im- 
 peded by cataracts, where its waters fell 
 in foam and spray over seven rocks. Bar- 
 barian energy was equal to this emergency. 
 Unloading their small vessels, the followers 
 of Oleg dragged them by sheer strength over 
 
A.D. 904.] 
 
 BUSSIAN EMPIRE, [oleg invades Constantinople. 
 
 the rocks; an enterprise attended by her- 
 culean labour, and gi'eat risk of life. Other 
 difficulties also lay in their path. On the 
 banks of the river dwelt hostile tribes 
 adverse to the advance of the marauders, 
 who had frequently to fight their way on- 
 ward, and leave behind them many ghastly 
 evidences of their destructive trail. At 
 length they emerged into the waters of 
 the Euxiue, or Black Sea ; and then their 
 vessels entered the Bosphorus, and took up 
 a position near the walls of the queen of 
 cities, and the seat of the power and mag- 
 nificence of the East. 
 
 The inhabitants of Constantinople were 
 almost taken by surprise at this formidable 
 visitation. The emperor Leo, surnamed *' the 
 philosopher," though without much justice, 
 as he employed his time rather in specu- 
 lating on abstruse theological questions than 
 in attending to his duties as a sovereign, 
 had made no other defensive preparations 
 than that of ordering a heavy iron chain to 
 be slung across the harbour, for the purpose 
 of preventing ships from entering it. This 
 obstacle Oleg is said to have overcome by a 
 laborious scheme, which in its singularity 
 has an air of incredibility to modern ears. 
 Unable to break or pass the chain, he 
 ordered his 2,000 vessels to be drawn up on 
 land. Then placing their flat-bottoms on 
 wheels, he caused all sails to be spread, and 
 actually proceeded in his ships on land up 
 to the gates of the city. As they passed 
 along, his ruffian troops committed every 
 sort of atrocity. They massacred the in- 
 habitants in mere wantonness, and left their 
 habitations in flames. They even appeared 
 to be actuated by a frenzy of cruelty ; and 
 not content with putting their victims to 
 death, subjected them to every torture and 
 indignity which a brutal nature could sug- 
 gest. These atrocities produced the in- 
 tended eff'ect. Oleg and his ruffian troops 
 created such terror, that on their arrival at 
 Constantinople, it submitted ; and the iu" 
 vnder having proudly hung his shield over 
 the gate as a sjTnbol of conquest, entered 
 the city in triumph. Thus the lance of 
 this warrior, "cut from the forests of 
 Lagoda, penetrated the gates of Byzan- 
 tium." 
 
 The emperor Leo attempted to accom- 
 plish by artifice what he had been unable 
 to effect by force. Inviting Oleg to a feast, 
 he endeavoured to remove him by poison. 
 The plot failed, and the baffled emperor 
 was compelled to purchase the retirement 
 
 of his enemies by a disgraceful peace. He 
 bound himself to pay a large tribute to 
 every vessel sailing under the flag of Oleg ; 
 or, according to other accounts, to give a 
 considerable gratuity to each of his fol- 
 lowers. In addition to this, he was to 
 remit all duties upon Russian merchants 
 trading in the Greek empire, to support 
 them for half a year, and to furnish them 
 on their departure with means to prosecute 
 their journey homewards. Such terms form 
 a painful comment on the insolence of the 
 aggressor, and the helplessness and humility 
 of his victims. The treaty being ratified, 
 Oleg and his barbarians returned in triumph 
 to Kief, laden with plunder and trophies. 
 The people, astonished at the ease with 
 which he had accomplished so great a 
 victory, received him on his return with 
 an enthusiasm approaching to veneration. 
 Their superstitious minds at once yielded to 
 the spreading belief, that a chieftain who 
 conquered so readily must be a favourite of 
 the gods. 
 
 For some years the victor seems to have 
 rested contented with the blood-stained 
 laurels he had acquired. During this period 
 the Greeks observed the galling treaty to 
 which they had bound themselves ; and the 
 Russians enjoyed all the advantages arising 
 from it. Oleg then exhibited a fresh in- 
 stance of his power, by extorting the ac- 
 quiescence of the emperor Leo to a fresh 
 treaty, embodying several stipulations which, 
 he said, he had omitted on the former oc- 
 casion by inadvertence. These conditions, 
 relating chiefly to the terms on which inter- 
 course should be conducted between the 
 two nations, were moderate, and might have 
 been regarded as inoffensive, but that they 
 were so couched, as to imply indirectly the 
 supremacy of the Russian sovereignty in all 
 matters over that of Greece. Oleg gov- 
 erned nominally as regent, but he was in 
 reality an actual sovereign during the whole 
 of his life. Such a man was too powerful 
 to be displaced from an authority it did not 
 please him to resign; and Igor passively 
 consented to wear a shadowy crown, while 
 the real one encircled the brows of his 
 relative. Resistance would have endangered 
 his safety, and probably have led to his 
 death. He did wisely in leaving the real 
 power in the hands of Oleg, whose iron 
 despotism and fierce energy cemented and 
 enlarged the infant state laid by the pirate 
 Ruric. Oleg ruled for three-and- thirty 
 years, and died in 913. The ancient chro- 
 
 9 
 
SUCXIESSION OF IGOR.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 913—941. 
 
 nicle of Nestor contains an account of 
 the mode of his death, wliich, however, has 
 all the air of a fable, and has been applied 
 to other characters in more modern times. 
 According to this narrative, he possessed a 
 favourite horse which he had ceased to use, 
 as the diviners had foretold it would be the 
 cause of his death. After a lapse of five years 
 something reminded him of the prediction, 
 and inquiring for the horse, he was informed 
 that it was dead. With a natural feeling of 
 exultation, in consequence of the presumed 
 failure of the prophecy, he desired to see the 
 body of the animal. On being conducted 
 to it, he placed his foot upon the skull, and 
 exclaimed, " So, this is my dreaded enemy !" 
 No sooner were the words uttered than a 
 serpent, which had lain concealed in the 
 cavity of the head, darted out and inflicted 
 a mortal wound on the foot of the sovereign, 
 whose death in consequence verified the 
 truth of the prediction. The world has 
 outlived a belief in diviners and secular 
 prophets, and will doubtless accept this 
 tradition for no more than it is worth. The 
 wild fancies of romance have ever a ten- 
 dency to intrude themselves into the early 
 history of nations. 
 
 Igor I., the son of Ruric, now ascended 
 the throne, which had long been his by 
 inheritance, though not in fact. Arrived at 
 the mature age of forty, he had been for 
 some time married to a Slavonian lady of 
 great personal attractions; a union wisely 
 intended to promote the gradual fusion of 
 the two races. As might be expected in so 
 young and unsettled a state, a new rule was 
 not commenced without some disturbances. 
 The recently subdued tribes evinced symp- 
 toms of insubordination, and resisted pay- 
 ment of the tributes imposed upon them. 
 Igor enforced his authority with some 
 energy, and succeeded in reducing to sub- 
 mission those who dared to oppose his 
 authority. One tribe, occupying the south- 
 em branch of the Dnieper, prolonged its 
 opposition during a period of three years ; 
 but was then subdued by the gallantry of 
 one of his chieftains. Events of this kind, 
 however, brought neither distinction to the 
 prince, or plunder to his followers. Their 
 military ardour was excited by the riches of 
 the capital of the eastern empire, where 
 wealth abounded, and commerce and arts 
 flourished. It was but a small and unpro- 
 ductive triumph to reduce tributary nations, 
 composed of poor tribes, living by their 
 cattle and rude methods of agriculture. 
 10 
 
 Igor also had made an inglorious peace with 
 the Petchenegans, a fierce people who had 
 descended on Russia from their lairs on the 
 Yaik and the Volga; and his subjects chafed 
 under the indignity. Grown used to con- 
 quest, and feeling the necessity of the ex- 
 citement produced by war, they felt no 
 regard for a sovereign who did not seek to 
 extend his rule by conquest, and impress 
 surrounding countries with the terror of his 
 arms, while he converted them into fields of 
 spoil for his followers. Igor seems to have , 
 felt this; and in an unhappy moment he | 
 resolved to imitate the aggressive career of \ 
 Oleg, by again directing the arms of Russia 
 against the Grecian empire. 
 
 A considerable period must have been 
 occupied in preparing for this wanton and 
 uncalled-for war, which was undertaken with 
 no other object than that of plunder. It 
 was not until the year 941 that Igor had 
 completed his arrangements. These were of 
 a gigantic nature. It is said that he had 
 collected an army of 400,000 troops on board 
 10,000 barks. This is doubtless a great 
 exaggeration; for it seems incredible that 
 such a sovereign could have raised and 
 maintained an army of a fourth part of that 
 number. We may, however, fairly assume 
 that Igor sailed for Constantinople with a 
 force which was regarded as not only power- 
 ful, but almost invincible. 
 
 His course was marked by barbarities 
 which far exceeded those of his predecessor 
 Oleg. He displayed all the ferocity of a 
 mean nature, intoxicated with the fatal 
 possession of irresponsible power. He 
 overran and ravaged Paphlagonia, Pontus, 
 and Bithynia. Unhappily for the inhabit- 
 ants of these countries, the troops of the 
 empire were at a distance, and therefore 
 unable to protect them. Such a circum- 
 stance might have elicited the forbearance 
 of generous foes; but it only aggravated 
 the ferocity of Igor and his savage fol- 
 lowers. None of the unfortunates who fell 
 into their hands were spared. The Russians 
 gave themselves up to the most revolting 
 excesses of what may be termed a carnival 
 of blood. Some of their helpless victims 
 they crucified; many they impaled, de- 
 liberately cut to pieces, or buried alive. 
 Others were suspended by the arms from 
 trees or gibbets, and then used as a target 
 for the arrows of these predatory fiends, to 
 whom their agonies afforded a horrible 
 [ amusement. The wretches especially sought 
 I out the priests, whom they bound and then 
 
.A.D. 941—944.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE, [igor's expeditions to greece. 
 
 put to a dreadful death, by driving with 
 their iron maces long nails into the heads 
 of their miserable victims. Everywhere the 
 track of the invaders was marked by burn- 
 ing villages and mutilated corpses. The 
 ferocious Igor, instead of restraining, en- 
 couraged his troops in these shameful out- 
 rages upon a defenceless people. 
 
 Reports of these terrors soon reached 
 Constantinople. The awe -struck Greeks 
 were roused from their apathy, and resolved 
 this time not to resort to the miserable ex- 
 pedient of purchasing a peace, but to meet 
 their invaders in the field, and extirpate 
 them, or hurl them back. While Igor and 
 his ruffians were leisurely wallowing in 
 blood, the Greeks prepared for vengeance. 
 Marching their troops from all parts, they 
 succeeded in surrounding the invaders, 
 whom they fell upon and slew with as little 
 mercy as they had shown during the time 
 of their unopposed triumph. Igor lost great 
 numbers of his followers, and was scarcely 
 able to reach his ships with the remainder. 
 There new and unexpected terrors awaited 
 them. Theophones, who commanded the 
 Grecian fleet, attacked them by surprise in 
 sight of the Pharos, and threw amongst 
 them that unquenchable preparation known 
 as the Grecian fire, the art of composing 
 which is lost, but which was ever regarded 
 with terror in ancient times. It was an 
 inflammable substance, which spontaneously 
 kindled on falling, and consumed everything 
 near it. Water made it burn with renewed 
 fury ; and only vinegar, wine, or sand were 
 supposed to have the power of restraining 
 its ravages. Its motion is said to have been 
 contrary to that of natural fire, and always 
 followed the direction in which it was 
 thrown — whether downwards, sideways, or 
 in any other manner. 
 
 The followers of Igor, terrified by a mode 
 of warfare with which they were unac- 
 quainted, leaped into the sea to avoid the 
 fires that appeared to threaten and pursue 
 them. Their dispersed vessels, left to them- 
 selves, were, many of them, consumed and 
 sunk ; others were run on shore ; and the 
 remains of the Russian army who escaped 
 death from fire and water, reached the 
 coasts of Bithynia, along which they fled in 
 panic-stricken confusion. In this situation 
 they were fallen upon by the Greek patri- 
 cian, Phocas, at the head of a small but 
 efficient array. The invaders had lost faith 
 in themselves ; to use a modern word, they 
 were altogether " demoralised :" great num- 
 
 bers perished beneath the weapons of the 
 Greeks, and the rest again fled in disorder. 
 
 Regaining the remains of their fleet, they 
 put out to sea under cover of the darkness 
 of night, but were pursued by Theophones, 
 who again attacked them, and burnt and 
 sunk several of their remaining barks. In- 
 deed, such were the retributive terrors of 
 this unprovoked aggression, that when Igor 
 reached his own territories, scarcely a third 
 of his immense army survived. 
 
 Disgraced and weakened, and advanced 
 in years, it might be supposed that this 
 feeble prince would have sought only to 
 spend the remainder of his life in peaceful 
 repose. Such was not the case; his vin- 
 dictive nature prompted him, by another 
 effort, to obliterate the stigma he had drawn 
 upon himself and his people. He devoted 
 his energies to the collection of a fresh 
 army ; and even purchased the mercenary 
 services of his natural enemies, the Petche- 
 negans. The latter eagerly consented ; for 
 mutual hatred was for the time forgotten 
 in the common hope of plunder. In the 
 year 944, Igor again advanced against the 
 capital of the Grecian empire. On this 
 occasion the savage monarch met with a 
 fortune he did not deserve. On arriving at 
 the Chersonesus Taurica, now named the 
 Crimea, he was met by messengers from 
 Romanus, the Greek emperor. That poten- 
 tate having usurped the throne of the 
 Caesars, felt more anxious to consolidate his 
 power than to repel the external enemies 
 who threatened him. With an almost in- 
 credible meanness, he off'ered to resume the 
 payment of the tribute which had been im- 
 posed on his predecessors by the conquering 
 Oleg. Igor was not disposed to accept this 
 ofi'er ; for barbarians appear to consider it a 
 sort of disgrace to obtain their demands with- 
 out bloodshed. His followers, humbled by a 
 remembrance of the issue of their last expe- 
 dition, were more reasonable than their chief. 
 " Is it not better,'^ said they, " to get gold, 
 silver, and precious stuflFs without fighting? 
 Can we tell who will be the victor, and who 
 the vanquished? and can we enter into a 
 covenant with the sea? We march not on 
 land ; we are borne upon the abyss of the 
 waters, and are menaced by one common 
 fate.^^ Igor yielded to these representa- 
 tions, accepted the off'ers of the Greek em- 
 peror, and withdrew his army. The Pet- 
 chenegans, who would not remain satisfied 
 without slaughter and plunder, he sent to 
 ravage the country of the Bulgarians. 
 
 11 
 
DEATH OF IGOK.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 945. 
 
 Haunted by a restless desire for excite- 
 ment, or by the insatiable rapacity of tbe 
 leaders of his troops, Igor now resolved on 
 a less dangerous project, and turned his 
 arms against the Drevlians, a people who 
 had already submitted to his authority. He 
 met with little resistance from a foe unable 
 to oppose his power with much hope of suc- 
 cess, and returned loaded with the addi- 
 tional contributions he had exacted. His 
 mean and grasping spirit urged him again i 
 to smite or terrify an unresisting people. * 
 Despising the Drevlians as a spiritless peo- 
 ple incapable of resistance, he dismissed a 
 great part of his army, and returned with 
 but a small body of troops to desolate their 
 country, iu the hope of extorting further 
 advantages. He demanded a double tribute, 
 and it was paid. This ready compliance 
 rather excited than satisfied his cupidity, 
 and he insisted on a threefold payment. 
 To enforce his orders, he imprudently 
 
 pushed forward into the country, blind to 
 danger in his thirst for gain. The oppressed 
 Drevlians, rendered desperate by repeated 
 outrages, resolved to assassinate him. " He 
 is a mere wolf,^' said they, " who begins by 
 stealing the sheep one by one, and then 
 comes to fetch away the whole flock. He 
 must be knocked on the head.^^ A number 
 of the Drevlians lay in ambush for their 
 oppressor, and rushing out upon him sud- 
 denly, left him dead and weltering in his 
 blood. This act of retribution took place in 
 the year 945, in the neighbourhood of a town 
 called Korosten. There he was buried, 
 and his widow afterwards raised a gigantic 
 mound or high hill over his grave. The 
 close of his inglorious reign of two-and- 
 twenty years terminates what is commonly 
 regarded as an epoch in the history of 
 Russia. The next period was distinguished 
 by the introduction into the country of the 
 Greek form of Christianity. 
 
 CHAPTER in. 
 
 EEGEKCY OF OLGA ; SHE AVENGES HER HTJSBAND'S ASSASSINATION ; BECOMES A CHRISTIAN ; RESIGNS THE 
 THRONE TO HER SON SVIATOSLAF ; DANGER OF KIEF ; SVIATOSLAF DIVIDES HIS TERRITORIES BETWEEN 
 HIS THREE SONS ; PROCEEDS TO BULGARIA ; INVADES GREECE ; IS DEFEATED AND SLAIN. 
 
 Igor left a son, named Sviatoslaf ; but as 
 he was very young at the time of his father's 
 death, Olga, his mother, assumed the gov- 
 ernment during his minority. She was the 
 Slavonian lady whom Igor had married at 
 the desire of his predecessor Oleg. Her 
 real name is said to have been Prekrasna, 
 which signifies "very beautiful/' but she 
 assumed that of Olga out of compliment to 
 Oleg, who desired her to do so as a mark of 
 the friendship he entertained towards her. 
 She was a woman of more than ordinary 
 ability, and possessed of a more than com- 
 mon portion of the savage temper charac- 
 teristic of those times. Her first act of 
 power was to avenge the murder of her 
 worthless husband ; and this, not upon the 
 assassins, but upon the whole people to 
 which they belonged. 
 
 The Drevlians were a Slavonian people, 
 who, dwelling in a locality thickly studded 
 with forests, derived their name, which 
 signifies "a wood," from the laud they inhab- 
 it 
 
 ited. This extended along the river Pri- 
 pet, where several of the towns once belong- 
 ing to them are still to be found. They 
 were long regarded as the most savage of 
 Slavonic tribes, and lived like barbarians, 
 without any form of government, or even 
 any idea of the social and civilising rite of 
 marriage. The great teacher Time had, 
 however, modified their barbarism ; and in 
 the period of which we are now speaking 
 they cultivated the land, dwelt in towns and 
 villages, and were governed by a prince, 
 named Male. Influenced by ambition (for 
 it cannot be supposed that he was smitten 
 with the faded charms of a princess advanced 
 in years), Male sent ambassadors to Olga to 
 make an ofl'er of his hand. The subtle 
 tigress listened with a seeming pleasure to 
 the description they gave of the person and 
 qualities of their master, and then, aban- 
 doning her dissimulation, caused them to be 
 hurled into a pit and buried alive. The 
 savage act was carefully concealed, and a 
 
A.D. 945—955.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [regency of olga. 
 
 second and more considerable deputation, 
 the attendance of Avhich had been requested 
 by herself, shared a similar fate. On their 
 arrival, the treacherous woman sent a mes- 
 senger, who desired them to enjoy the 
 luxury of a bath before they entered her 
 presence. They complied ; and while in the 
 bath the doors were made fast, the house set 
 on fire, and the whole of the unsuspecting 
 men perished in the flames. Still using 
 every conceivable precaution that a report 
 of these murders should not reach the ears 
 of the Drevlians, she set out on an expedi- 
 tion to their country, attended by a small 
 army. Arrived there, she dressed her face 
 in smiles, and invited some hundreds of the 
 principal citizens to a solemn banquet. 
 Solemn indeed was this entertainment ; for 
 death hovered in the air, and murder lurked 
 behind the seat of every guest. At a given 
 signal, they wei'e surrounded and massacred 
 by the orders of the regal demon, who, with 
 a dreadful sense of enjoyment, thus offered 
 up a sacrifice to the memory of her hus- 
 band. 
 
 Her vengeance, however, was not ap- 
 peased by this act of wholesale slaughter ; 
 for she next proceeded to ravage the whole 
 country, and especially to direct her arms 
 against Korosten, the city near which Igor 
 Avas slain by those whom his oppressions 
 had provoked past endurance. Though she 
 had ravaged the surrovmdiug country, she 
 was unable to take the capital by force of 
 arms. As usual, therefore, Olga had re- 
 course to artifice. She sent a message to 
 the Drevlians to this effect : — " Why do you 
 hold out so obstinately ? All your other 
 towns are in my power; the rest of your 
 people are peacefully tilling the fields whilst 
 you persist in dying of hunger. Yoli have 
 no more to fear from me ; I have sufficiently 
 revenged the death of my husband.^^ The 
 unfortunate Drevlians fell into the snare, 
 and offered her a tribute. Olga pretended 
 to disregard it, and said she would accept 
 nothing but a present of three sparrows 
 and a pigeon from each house. The birds 
 were sent readily, and the implacable 
 princess having caused lighted matches to 
 be attached to their tails, immediately set 
 them at liberty. Flying back to the nests 
 under the eaves of the wooden houses of the 
 city, they set it on fire in a thousand places. 
 The inhabitants rushed forth in terror, and 
 perished by the swords of the enemy, who 
 lay beneath the walls awaiting the result of 
 the catastrophe. The prince and all the 
 
 chief citizens were among the victims ; the 
 common people only being spared from mo- 
 tives of policy. The whole country of the 
 Drevlians was thus subjugated and incorpo- 
 rated with the territories of Russia. 
 
 Tlie regal fury then visited the northern 
 part of her dominions, where she built towns 
 and villages, constructed bridges and roads, 
 and left many traces of a superior administra- 
 tive ability. At this period, Christianity had 
 penetrated into pagan Russia, and obtained 
 a few converts at Kief, where they were not 
 only tolerated but respected. It may seem 
 strange that the merciless Olga should have 
 been attracted by its doctrines ; but such Avas 
 the fact. It has been acutely observed, that, 
 perhaps, the very fanaticism of mind which 
 produced such enormous crimes in the 
 satisfaction of Avhat she deemed a pious 
 revenge, led her, by a somewhat similar 
 impulse, to indulge in the consolations of 
 religion. However that may be, she re- 
 solved to become a Christian ; and, in order 
 to do so with a becoming dignity, she pro- 
 ceeded in 955 to Constantinople to be in- 
 structed in its doctrines, and to receive 
 baptism from the hands of the Greek patri- 
 arch. The numerous atrocities of which 
 she had been guilty, formed no obstacles in 
 the estimation of the Greek emperor and 
 priesthood, who were pleased to receive as a 
 convert the chief of a powerful and bar- 
 barous nation, which they had hitherto re- 
 garded only as a scourge. Constantino 
 Porphyrogeneta, the historian, then occupied 
 the throne of the empire of the East, and he 
 himself led Olga to the baptismal font, and 
 introduced her into the Christian commu- 
 nion under the name of Helena. During 
 her stay at Constantinople, she was treated 
 with an imperial ceremony and honour, and 
 on her departure the emperor made her 
 some valuable presents, consisting of vases 
 and beautiful stuffs, of a kind only to be 
 procured in the East. She, in return, pro- 
 mised to send him furs, wax, and soldiers; 
 for the troops of her nation were held in 
 great estimation by the Greeks ; but she 
 ncA'er kept her word. 
 
 The conduct of Olga was not of a kind 
 likely to induce her subjects to follow her 
 example with respect to religion. The mild 
 precepts of Christianity were despised by 
 such of the fierce Russian chieftains who 
 understood anything of them, and disre- 
 garded by those who did not. Sviatoslaf, 
 Olga's son, considered them as calculated to 
 effeminate a soldier and make him a coward. 
 
 13 
 
RULE OF SVIATOSLAF.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 955—968. 
 
 To the appeals of his mother he returned 
 the inquiry, " Would you have me be a 
 laughing-stock to my friends?" It is 
 worthy of remark, that the people, though 
 they generally held aloof from the new reli- 
 gion, did not attempt to resist it by persecu- 
 tion. To that very circumstance may be 
 attributed the tardiness of its progress. 
 Had the new converts been made martyrs to 
 their faith, it would have taken a rapid root 
 in the sympathy and superstition of the 
 multitude. Olga founded churches and 
 encouraged the residence of priests in her 
 capital with no better success. The Rus- 
 sian people were not prepared for Christi- 
 anity, and as yet it took no root. Olga's 
 new-born zeal for religion appears to have 
 dictated her next public act, which was the 
 resignation of the throne to her son. Some 
 uncertainty exists as to the time when this 
 event took place ; but it followed rapidly 
 upon her conversion, which appears to have 
 exercised a beneficial influence upon her 
 ferocious nature. 
 
 Sviatoslaf I. was a princely barbarian, 
 who revived the predatory and savage 
 habits of the Varangians, together with the 
 ambitious feelings of the Slavi. He was a 
 remarkable character ; animated with a pas- 
 sion for war, and a defiance of fatigue and 
 hardships. Segur terms him the Achilles, 
 the Charles XII. of that epoch. The 
 social and moral progress of a state, its ad- 
 vancement in agriculture, commerce, or 
 other primitive arts, he neither understood 
 or regarded. War, without any suitable 
 cause ; conquest, for the sake of extending 
 his authority; — these were the cherished 
 aims of his existence. Regarding the regal 
 palace at Kief as little better than a magni- 
 ficent prison, he abandoned it, and took to 
 the field with an army composed of the most 
 reckless and savage of his people. For the 
 future, the camp was his home ; and he ap- 
 peared ambitious of exhibiting the hardi- 
 hood and rough self-denial of his nature. 
 Emulating the roving Kalmuks, he lived 
 chiefly upon horseflesh, which he cut up 
 himself with his sword, and broiled upon the 
 naked fire. He used no vessels for culinary 
 purposes, and dined in common with his 
 guards. The use of horsefiesh was conve- 
 nient to one whose life was devoted to war, 
 since the same animal that carried the sol- 
 dier, served in times of extremity for his 
 food. The other habits of the new sove- 
 reign were as rude and as severely simple as 
 his diet. He disdained to sleep in a tent ; 
 14 
 
 but, braving the inclemency of the Russian 
 sky, passed his nights upon the bare earth,' 
 with a saddle for a pillow, and a saddle-cloth' 
 or a cloak for a covering. In matters of 
 personal indulgence, he abolished all dis- 
 tinction, and shared the hardships of the 
 meanest of his followers. Such a leader 
 was necessarily popular; and his soldiers 
 were prepared to follow and obey him with 
 a rigid submission amounting to devotion. 
 One point of the character of Sviatoslaf is 
 deserving of honourable notice. Unlike his 
 subtle mother, he did not avail himself of 
 the advantages likely to result from unex- 
 pected attacks, but always prefaced active 
 hostilities by a declaration of war. 
 
 For some time the warlike prince was at 
 a loss to find an enemy upon whom he could 
 exhibit his prowess. At length he turned 
 his arms against the Kozans, a people who 
 had poured down from the eastern shore of 
 the Euxine, and subdued some of the Sla- 
 vonic tribes dwelling in the south of Russia. 
 The khan of the Kozans was defeated in a 
 sanguinary battle, and his capital, a fortified 
 city on the Don, taken possession of by the 
 victor in the year 964. Other successes 
 over these people followed ; and thenceforth, 
 it has been dramatically said, the name of 
 the Kozans disappears from the page of 
 history. 
 
 The warlike services of Sviatoslaf were 
 next purchased by Nicephorus Phocas, the 
 Greek emperor. The repeated incursions of 
 the Hungarians upon the territories of the 
 latter had been secretly assisted by the 
 Bulgarians, and it was against them that 
 Nicephorus derived the aid of the Russians. 
 Sviatoslaf eagerly embraced the design, and 
 entering the Danube with a fleet contain- 
 ing 60,000 men, captured the chief towns 
 that lay along the banks of that extensive 
 river. His success inspired him with the 
 idea of annexing these newly acquired pos- 
 sessions to his Russian dominions. To ac- 
 complish this ambitious but unwise design, 
 he resolved to transfer the seat ot his gov- 
 ernment to the city of Yamboly. 
 
 While the grand prince was in the pur- 
 suit of conquest abroad, his own territories 
 were subjected to the rude feet of invaders. 
 Those ancient enemies of the Russians, the 
 Petchenegans, taking advantage of his ab- 
 sence, desolated the whole country in the 
 direction of Kief, and then set down before 
 the city in great force. Though it was 
 strongly built and enclosed within fortifica- 
 tions, yet the garrison it contained was 
 
A.D. 968—972.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 1 SVIATOSLAF IN BULGAIIIA. 
 
 feeble ; and the inhabitants, amongst whom 
 were the mother and sons of Sviatoslaf, were 
 in the most imminent danger. Besides, the 
 city was not supplied with provisions neces- 
 sary to enable it to stand a siege ; and the 
 only choice of its inhabitants appeared to lie 
 between famine and the swords of the inva- 
 ders. They contrived, however, by a stra- 
 tagem to inform Prititch, a Russian general, 
 who was posted with a small army on the 
 other side of the Dnieper, of the position iu 
 which they were placed ; and he resolved on 
 making an effort for their relief. Embark- 
 ing at daybreak, he commanded his soldiers 
 to blow their trumpets and raise their voices 
 in tumultuous shouts. These were answered 
 from within the city by the clang of military 
 instruments and joyous shouts of welcome. 
 The stratagem succeeded; the Petchenegans, 
 believing that the victorious array of Svia- 
 toslaf was approaching to the rescue, were 
 seized with terror, and scarcely restrained 
 by their leader from taking to an ignomini- 
 ous flight. Requesting an interview with 
 Prititch, he inquired whether he was the 
 grand prince. The Russian leader adroitly 
 replied that he was but the commander of 
 the vanguard of Sviatoslaf, who was himself 
 advancing with a formidable army. After 
 a courteous interview, and an exchange of 
 gifts, the two leaders parted ; the prince of 
 the Petchenegans retired with his followers, 
 and Kief was saved. 
 
 On receiving information of the danger of 
 his capital, Sviatoslaf hurried from his con- 
 quests in Bulgaria, and following the re- 
 treating Petchenegans, overtook and defeated 
 them, After the infliction of this punish- 
 ment, he generously permitted them to re- 
 turn to their homes without further chas- 
 tisement. Soon afterwards the aged princess 
 Olga, or Helena, was gathered to that silent 
 resting-place to which, during her turbulent 
 career, she had sent so many of her enemies. 
 History has accorded to her the merit of 
 being an able ruler ; yet it is scarcely pos- 
 sible, in its numerous records, to find a 
 woman more vindictive, savage, and remorse- 
 less. Her crimes did not prevent the Rus- 
 sian church from bestowing upon hermemory 
 the inappropriate honour of canonization ; 
 and the name of St. Olga was long cherished 
 as that of the princess who introduced 
 Christianity into Russia. 
 
 Sviatoslaf now resolved on returning to 
 Bulgaria, and concluding there the conquest 
 he had begun. The Bulgarians were at this 
 period rising rapidly into importance as a 
 
 trading nation, and they carried on extensive 
 commercial operations with Persia, India, 
 Greece, France, and, through Russia, with 
 the countries that lay to the north. Their 
 wealth aroused the avarice of Sviatoslaf; 
 and telling his chieftains that he preferred 
 Yamboly to Kief as a residence, he prepared 
 for a second expedition, with the intention 
 of converting the Bulgarian city into the 
 capital of Russia. Before departing, he 
 committed an error that might have led to 
 the utter ruin of the state, and which was 
 not rectified without much bloodshed. Con- 
 sidering the claims of his family, and regard- 
 less of the interests of his people, he divided 
 the Russian territories between his three 
 sons, retaining in himself only the nominal 
 sovereignty. Yaropolk he installed in the 
 government of Kief; Oleg, that of the coun- 
 try of the Drevlians ; and Vladimir, a natu- 
 ral son by one of Olga's attendants, in the 
 ancient throne of Novgorod. In addition 
 to the danger of thus partitioning a state, 
 the principle was introduced that the grand 
 prince had a right to divide his territories, 
 and regulate as he pleased the order of the 
 succession. 
 
 Having provided for the government of 
 his dominions, Sviatoslaf, in 970, set out on 
 his second expedition to Bulgaria, from 
 which he was destined never to return. 
 Advancing upon Yamboly, his troops were 
 attacked with great bravery and driven back 
 with terrible loss. Deeming their destruc- 
 tion certain, they determined to sell their 
 lives as dearly as they could. This resolve 
 once taken, they fought with such ferocity 
 as to strike terror into their assailants, and 
 to turn the scale of victory. The eff'orts of 
 the Russians appeared almost superhuman ; 
 the astonished Bulgarians were defeated, 
 and yielded their capital to the enemy, who 
 once more was master of the fertile territory 
 on the right bank of the Danube. 
 
 Submission did not restore peace to Bul- 
 garia: that country was yet to be the 
 theatre of more important struggles. The 
 Greek emperor Nicephorus, who had origi- 
 nally engaged Sviatoslaf to descend upon 
 Bulgaria, had been succeeded on the throne 
 by his assassin, John Zimisces. The latter at 
 once perceived the error his predecessor had 
 committed in attracting the ambitious Rus- 
 sians to the banks of the Danube ; for they 
 were a far more dangerous enemy than the 
 less warlike Bulgarians. Finding that a 
 pledge had been given to Nicephorus that 
 the Russians should not occupy the con- 
 
 15 
 
DE.VTH OF SVIATOSLAF. 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 973. 
 
 quered territory, Zimisces demanded of Svia- 
 toslaf the immediate evacuation of Bul- 
 garia. The Kussian prince not only refused 
 compliauce, but added^ that he would shortly 
 come to Constantinople and drive the 
 Greeks into Asia. On receiving this defiant 
 answer, Zimisces instantly prepared for 
 war; for he was a man who, to quote the 
 language of Gibbon, " in a diminutive body 
 possessed the spirit and abilities of a hero/^ 
 The Russian prince was secretly encoiiraged 
 in his breach of treaty by a Greek patrician, 
 named Kolokir, who aspired to the throne 
 of Constantinople himself, and hoped to ob- 
 tain it by the assistance of the Russians, 
 whom he intended to bribe by the relin- 
 quishment of Bulgaria. Sviatoslaf fell in 
 with the schemes of the traitor ; for it was 
 important to him to place an emperor of his 
 own choosing on the throne of the Eastern 
 world. 
 
 S\datoslaf commenced the war. Com- 
 pelling the conquered Bulgarians and other 
 nations to join his forces, he succeeded in 
 raising an army, said to amount to the 
 enormous' number of 300,000 men. Ad- 
 vancing into Thrace, he ravaged the country 
 as far as Adrianople, where his vast host 
 was defeated through a stratagem of the 
 commandant of that town, and driven back 
 upon Yamboly. He was followed and be- 
 sieged there the following year by a Greek 
 army, under Zimisces in person. The assault 
 was rapid and successful, aud the city taken 
 by the Greeks. Eight thousand Russians 
 threw themselves into the royal citadel; 
 though held to be impregnable, it was soon 
 set on fire by Zimisces, and the greater 
 part of these wretched men perished in the 
 flames. Sviatoslaf, however, kept the field 
 with a remnant of his army, whose fidelity 
 he attempted to secure by the ferocity with 
 which he punished disafi"ection. Victory 
 still sat upon the standards of the Greeks, 
 and most of the towns of Bulgaria sur- 
 rendered to them. The Russian prince, 
 after pursuing a wandering and predatory 
 career, shut himself and his followers up in 
 Durastole, the last important town which 
 had not yet submitted to the Greeks. There 
 he was followed by the energetic Zimisces, 
 and defeated in an obstinate combat in 
 which he ventured to engage. Blockaded 
 by land and sea, the Russians were threat- 
 ened with the horrors of starvation. In vain 
 did they frequently rush out upon their 
 foes, and exhibit the most despairing 
 courage. They were constantly repulsed; 
 16 
 
 and the advisers of Sviatoslaf implored him 
 to sue for peace. The undaunted prince re- 
 jected this advice, and resolved to risk every- 
 thing upon one last effort. Placing himself 
 at the head of his troops, he made a final 
 sortie ; and having no hope but from the 
 desperation of his followers, ordered the 
 gates of the city to be closed the moment 
 they had left it, thus leaving no alternative 
 but death or victory. The battle, though 
 obstinate and sanguinary, was but a brief 
 one, and ended in the total defeat of the 
 Russians. 
 
 Their prince was now compelled to beg 
 for peace, which the victors had the mode- 
 ration or prudence to grant. Having bound 
 himself, by the oaths he regarded as most 
 sacred, to observe the conditions dictated 
 to him, Sviatoslaf turned his steps towards 
 Russia, attended by the half-clothed and 
 half-starved remnant of his army. Notwith- 
 standing the entreaties of those by whom 
 he was surrounded, this wilful man insisted 
 on embarking on the Borysthenes, the 
 shores of which were inhabited by his 
 ancient foes the Petchenegans. The latter, 
 aware of the deplorable condition of the 
 retreating Russians, assembled in great 
 force, and awaited their approach near the 
 rock of the cataracts. The year was closing 
 when the grand prince arrived near that 
 spot ; and there he was compelled to pass 
 the winter, beset by the miseries of cold 
 and famine. On the return of spring he 
 endeavoured to cut a passage through the 
 ranks of his enemies; but defeat again 
 attended him, and this time he himself 
 perished in the encounter. The prince of 
 the Petchenegans had his skull converted 
 into a goblet, and encircled it with gold, on 
 which this moral reflection was inscribed — 
 " In the attempt to seize the property of 
 others, thou didst lose thine own." Svia- 
 toslaf fell a victim to his own turbulence in 
 the year 973. 
 
 Again are we about to enter upon what 
 is justly regarded as another phase in the 
 history of the Russian state. "The five 
 sovereigns," says a writer whom we have 
 previously quoted, " Ruric, Oleg, Igor, 
 Olga, and Sviatoslaf, reigned alone and 
 dominant. In each of these cases there 
 was but a single heir to the throne, so that 
 the country was, in its infancy, auspiciously 
 saved from the evils of partition, and en- j 
 abled to accumulate strength aud coherence, i 
 The only instances of delegated rule — those ! 
 of the two brothers of Ruric — lapsed before j 
 
A.D. 973—977.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [partition of RUSSIA. 
 
 the death of the sovereign ; the accession 
 was therefore regulated by an accident 
 tliat confirmed the conservation and power 
 of the state. During these reigns the cha- 
 racter of the sovereigns, with the exception 
 of the feeble Igor, harmonised admirably 
 with the demands of the time. The firm- 
 ness of Ruric, the boldness of Oleg, the 
 wild devotion and ferocity of Olga, and the 
 savage valour of Sviatoslaf, contributed seve- 
 rally to enlarge, to bind, and to establish 
 the empire. Many mistakes were doubtless 
 committed ; but the science of government 
 
 was then young; and better tempers and 
 more consistent laws might have failed to 
 preserve the allegiance, as they could hardly 
 have permitted the lawlessness, of the 
 banded savages that prowled over the face 
 of the country. But with the partition 
 of the land amongst three princes of unequal 
 capacity came a long train of misfortunes, 
 which we shall find alternately averted and 
 exasperated by circumstances quite as for- 
 tuitous as those by which the first struggles 
 of this formidable power were rendered suc- 
 cessful.'' 
 
 CHAPTER rV . I 
 
 tAROPOLK SEIZES UPON THE DOMIKIONS OF HIS BROTHERS; IS DRIVEN PROM THE THROXE BT VLADIMIR I, • 
 HE PUNISHES THE TRAITOR BLUDE ; EXTENDS HIS DOMINIONS ; INORDINATE LICENTIOUSNESS OF 
 VLADIMIR ; HE ADOPTS CHRISTIANITY, AND INTRODUCES THAT FORM OF RELIGION INTO RUSSIA ; HIS 
 SUBSEQUENT WEAKNESS AND DEATH. 
 
 Russia was now governed by three princes. 
 The title of grand-duke no longer existed, 
 and with it the paramount sovereignty was 
 destroyed. Yaropolk ruled in Kief, Oleg 
 in the country of the Drevlians, and Vladi- 
 mir in Novgorod. Yaropolk is described as 
 of a weak, inactive nature, ever prone to be 
 led into wrong by the counsels of his subor- 
 dinates. Oleg was rash, vindictive, gnd un- 
 principled; while Vladimir was ambitious, 
 romantically brave, inordinately licentious, 
 origiual in genius, and energetic in action. 
 Under such circumstances, it was not difii- 
 cult to predict which of these princes would 
 become paramount, if even he did not sub- 
 due his brothers and reunite their territories 
 to his own. 
 
 Svenald, an old warrior, who had been 
 the esteemed friend of Sviatoslaf, followed 
 the fortunes of Yaropolk. The savage Oleg 
 had, either from provocation or caprice, 
 conceived a dislike for the son of Svenald. 
 Meeting the young man in a wood during 
 a hunting party, Oleg fell upon and assassi- 
 nated him. The father resolved on revenge, 
 and instigated the feeble-minded Yaropolk 
 to raise an army and invade the country of 
 the Drevlians. The fierce Oleg collected 
 his forces, and the brothers met in battle. 
 The Drevlians were defeated : and in the 
 
 confusion of flight, Oleg was hurled over the 
 broken parapet of a bridge, and either 
 droAvned or crushed to death by the multi- 
 tude of horses and troops that fell upon 
 him. Yaropolk pretended to mourn for his 
 brother's fate ; but he took possession of his 
 territory, 
 
 Vladimir is described *as giving way to 
 such a passionate grief in consequence of 
 the violent death of Oleg, that he retired 
 from Novgorod ; and crossing the sea in a 
 fit of despondency, took up his abode with 
 the Varangians. It is far more probable 
 that he feared the power of his surviving 
 brother, and fled to provide for his own 
 safety. Yaropolk, finding Novgorod left 
 without a ruler, yielded to the importunities 
 of his followers, and seized that also. Thus 
 the Russian dominions became again united 
 under the sway of a single prince. 
 
 Vladimir remained a fugitive among the 
 Varangians for a period of two years, during 
 which he occupied himself in collecting a 
 band of adventurers sufiicient to enable him 
 to recover his lost territory. Returning 
 suddenly to Novgorod, he was received by 
 the people with joy. The chiefs who gov- 
 erned in the name of Yaropolk were taken 
 by surprise, and, without attempting resist- 
 ance, sought their safety by submission. 
 
 17 
 
VLADIMIR I.l 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 980. 
 
 Vladimir dismissed them with a message to 
 his brother, that he would soon see him at 
 Kief. 
 
 While Vladimir was preparing to seize 
 his brother's throne, he was attracted by the 
 charms of the daughter of Rogvolode, prince 
 of Polotsk. Yaropolk also was a suitor for 
 the hand of the lady ; and the father, fear- 
 ing to offend either of the brothers, referred 
 them to his daughter. The lady's choice 
 was rapid, and her answer coarsely uncour- 
 teous. Vladimir was the son of one of the 
 attendants of the princess Olga ; and in re- 
 ference to this stain on his birth, and also 
 to a custom which then existed for brides to 
 pull off the boots of their husbands on the 
 wedding night, she replied, "I will never 
 unboot the son of a slave. I choose Yaro- 
 polk." This insulting answer naturally 
 aroused the anger of Vladimir, and he re- 
 solved on a revenge in the severity of which 
 we forget the offence. He marched against 
 Rogvolode, defeated him in battle, slew him 
 and his two sons with his own hand ; and, 
 while reeking with their blood, compelled 
 the indiscreet princess, who had been the 
 cause of these calamities, to become his 
 wife. 
 
 Flushed with this savage triumph, Vladi- 
 mir led his army against Kief. The city 
 was capable of prolonged resistance, and its 
 inhabitants were faithful to their ruler. 
 The feeble mind of Yaropolk, however, was 
 influenced by the suggestions of a villanous 
 counsellor, named Blude. Though this 
 traitor had received the highest marks of 
 distinction from his prince, yet, influenced 
 by promises of reward, he entered into a 
 conspiracy with Vladimir for his destruction. 
 He persuaded Yaropolk that the people were 
 treacherously disposed towards him, and 
 convinced the shallow prince that his only 
 chance of safety lay in flight. The latter 
 adopted this suggestion ; and the inhabitants 
 of Kief, finding themselves deserted, were 
 induced to submit to Vladimir. The timid 
 Yaropolk did not by flight secure the safety 
 he coveted. The traitor Blude accompanied 
 him, and, as the wretched prince fled from 
 place to place like a hunted hare, informed 
 Vladimir of his hiding-place and his designs. 
 Yaropolk was at length rendered desperate 
 by a fear of his pursuers and the sufferings 
 he endured, and resolved to throw himself 
 on the mercy of his brother. He trusted to 
 a man devoid of fraternal emotions : as he 
 was advancing to throw himself into the 
 arms of Vladimir, he was assassinated by 
 18 
 
 some of the attendants of the latter. Again 
 the Russian dominions were united under 
 one prince, who, despite his crimes, possessed 
 the ability to govern them. 
 
 The throne was now filled by Vladimir I. 
 His first act was to seize and debauch the 
 widow of his brother Yaropolk^ a lady far 
 advanced in pregnancy. As a reward for 
 her submission to his desires, he adopted 
 the infant of which she subsequently became 
 the mother. His next was to punish the 
 traitor Blude, notwithstanding that he de- 
 rived the advantages arising from the guilt 
 of this northern Judas. Vladimir knew 
 that a man who was so ungrateful and 
 treacherous to one master, was incapable of 
 faithfully serving another. For three days 
 he entertained the miscreant at his court 
 with a royal magnificence, and conferred on 
 him the chief dignities of the state. On the 
 fourth, Blude was summoned to the pre- 
 sence of his sovereign, who said — " I have 
 kept my promise strictly. I have received 
 you Mith welcome, and heaped unwonted 
 honours upon your head. This I have done 
 as your friend. To-day, as judge, I con- 
 demn the traitor and assassin of his prince." 
 This sentence was followed by immediate 
 execution, and the traitor expiated his guilt 
 with his blood. 
 
 The fierce Varangians, by whose assistance 
 Vladimir had recovered his authority, were 
 clamorous for the reward of their services, 
 and desired that he would compel the inhab- 
 itants of Kief to pay them a tribute. The 
 grand prince had a wise objection to subject 
 his people to any oppression but his own. 
 Though unprepared to resist the demands of 
 his greedy dependents, he hesitated to com- 
 ply with their demands, and fed them with 
 promises, while he avoided giving any deci- 
 sive answer to their applications. During 
 the delay thus created, he so strengthened 
 himself that the Varangians became con- 
 vinced of the hopelessness of pressing their 
 claims. He was too powerful to be influ- 
 enced by intimidation, too crafty to be de- 
 ceived into compliance, and too firm to yield 
 to solicitation. Perceiving this state of 
 things, the Varangians requested his per- 
 mission to make an incursion into Greece, 
 and pay themselves by plunder. To this he 
 consented, after selecting the bravest of 
 them for his own service. Still unwilling i 
 to convert the Greek emperor into an enemy, ; 
 he secretly informed that potentate of the 
 designs of the desperadoes, and desired him 
 to arrest them and disperse them over his 
 
A.D. 985.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [vi.adimtr sseks a RELiotoif. 
 
 dominions, so that thus divided, they should 
 cease to be an object of alarm to either gov- 
 ernment. 
 
 The brave and subtle Vladimir was now 
 firmly seated upon his throne, the authority 
 of which he greatly extended by his ability 
 and warUke exertions. He subdued many 
 neighbouring peoples, and enlarged his do- 
 minions on almost every hand. Inflated by 
 success, he appears to have been inspired 
 with a sense of gratitude towards the pagan 
 gods of his nation, though it is not unlikely 
 he was desirous of captivating the people by 
 a pompous display of religious ceremonies. 
 He caused a new statue of the god Perune, 
 with a silver head, to be erected near his 
 palace, and announced his intention of pro- 
 pitiating the image by a sacrifice of some 
 prisoners taken in war. His followers sug- 
 gested that the god would be better pleased 
 with the blood of a victim selected from his 
 own people. Vladimir consented to this ar- 
 rangement ; and the lot, probably by design, 
 fell upon a young Varangian, who had been 
 educated by his father in the Christian 
 faith. Great preparations were made for 
 the savage ceremonial ; but, at the appointed 
 hour, the afflicted father not only refused to 
 surrender his son, but denounced the pro- 
 ceeding as a sanguinary superstition. The 
 priests and people, enraged equally by the 
 disappointment and the insult to their carved 
 deity, rushed into the house, and put both 
 father and son to death. The unfortunate 
 men were eventually canonised, and remain 
 the first and only martyrs of the Russian 
 church. 
 
 Vladimir indulged in an inordinate licen- 
 tiousness. He had married six wives ; and 
 had so many establishments of concubines, 
 that these female ministers to his pleasure 
 are said to have amounted altogether to 
 eight hundred. Still his lustful nature was 
 not satisfied ; every fresh pleasing face and 
 form attracted his attention, and he violated 
 the honour of the wives and daughters of 
 many of his subjects. An ancient chroni- 
 cler remarked, that no woman of any per- 
 sonal beauty was safe from the lust of this 
 second Solomon. He did not, however, 
 perceive the incongruity of this reckless 
 gratification of his passions with his zeal 
 for any religion that recognised even the 
 scantiest moral duties. A wild zeal for the 
 religion of his country filled his mind, and 
 communicated itself, in some degree, from 
 the ruler to the people. He built new 
 temples in honour of the pagan gods recog- 
 
 nised by his nation, and enriched them with 
 a magnificence new to their barbarous wor- 
 shippers. The valour of the Russian sove- 
 reign in war, his power over his dominions, 
 and his awakened zeal in favour of his reli- 
 gion, attracted the notice of distant states ; 
 the representatives of four of whom sought 
 to convert him to the faith they followed. 
 The eastern Bulgarians solicited his atten- 
 tion to the sensual and warlike religion of 
 Mohammed. The voluptuous mind of 
 Vladimir dwelt" with pleasure upon the de- 
 scription of its paradise, where rose-lipped 
 houris ministered to the pleasures of the 
 faithful ; but he was repelled by the doctrine 
 of circumcision and the interdiction of wine. 
 The Germans unfolded to him the doctrines 
 of the Roman church ; but this he rejected 
 on account of its pope, whose asserted power 
 over princes he regarded as not only inad- 
 missible, but monstrous. The laws of Moses 
 were laid before him by the professors of 
 Judaism ; but this he rejected, because he 
 thought it irrational to accept a religion 
 from a people without a country, who were, 
 moreover, wanderers under the curse of 
 heaven. A priest from Constantinople de- 
 scribed to him the doctrines and ceremonials 
 of the Christian church of the East, and 
 these did not seem open to any apparent 
 objection. 
 
 Discussion and reflection had shaken the 
 faith of Vladimir in the ancient supersti- 
 tions of his people; but a conflict took 
 place in his mind as to the religion he 
 should adopt in lieu of them. In this 
 situation, he composed a commission of ten 
 of the most thoughtful of his chiefs, and 
 sent them into the several countries where 
 the various religions were received, to in- 
 vestigate the arguments on which they were 
 based, and to report which was the most 
 worthy of adoption. The envoys proceeded 
 on their journey. The church of the Ara- 
 bian prophet was not to their taste, because 
 it made too many demands upon their self- 
 control. The Roman churches in Germany 
 repelled them, on account of the meanness 
 of their decorations and the tawdry finery 
 of their priests. When, however, they 
 beheld the minarets of St. Sophia at Con- 
 stantinople, and the extravagant magnifi- 
 cence of the Greek religion, they were 
 touched with emotions of wonder and awe, 
 and concluded that they had at length 
 found the true mode of worship. Return- 
 ing home, they made a highly favourable 
 report of it to Vladimir, and added — " If the 
 
 19 
 
VLADIMIR ADOPl-S CHRISTIANITY.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 988. 
 
 Greek religion was not the best, Olga, your 
 ancestress, the wisest of women, would 
 never have thought of adopting it." The 
 imagination of the grand prince was excited 
 by the narratives to which he listened ; aud 
 after some deliberatious M'ith his council, he 
 resolved to adopt the Greek form of Chris- 
 tianity, and undergo the public ceremony of 
 baptism. 
 
 Hce, however, a diflficulty arose ; for 
 Vladimir would not be made a member of 
 the Christian church unless the baptismal 
 rite was performed by an ecclesiastical digni- 
 tary of the highest order, and none such were 
 I to be found in Russia. To solicit from the 
 i Greek emperors, Basil and Coustantine, the 
 assistance of their archbishops, seemed de- 
 j rogatory to his imperious nature ; and 
 therefore he resorted to a singular and cir- 
 cuitous mode of obtaining that which he 
 would not condescend to accept as a favour. 
 Actuated even in this matter by the fierce 
 spirit of his times, he declared war upon 
 Greece, that he might extort from her 
 that service he was too haughty to obtain 
 by the readiest means ! Ha^'ing assembled 
 a numerous army, he proceeded, by sea, to 
 the rich and powerful city of Kherson, in 
 the Taurica Chersonesus, now called the 
 Crimea. Laying siege to the city, he put 
 up this strange prayer to the Deity : — " O 
 God, grant me thy help to take this town, 
 that I may carry from it Christians and 
 priests, to instruct me and my people, and 
 to convey the true religion into my do- 
 minions \" 
 
 The siege was prolonged over six months, 
 and a terrible destruction of human life took 
 place, to satisfy the whimsical pride of a 
 pagan prince. So obstinate was the resist- 
 ance, and so numerous the reverses expe- 
 rienced by the army of Vladimir, that he 
 would have been compelled to retire from 
 the walls of Kherson, but that a treacherous 
 priest within the city betrayed it to him. 
 This traitor, either from malignity or a 
 mad excess of zeal in favour of his religion, 
 contrived, by means of a letter tied to an 
 arrow, and shot into the Russian camp, to 
 inform Vladimir that the water-springs from 
 which the subterranean pipes of the city 
 were supplied, were situated immediately in 
 Lis rear. The springs were discovered, the 
 water diverted into other channels, and the 
 citizens, after suflfering the horrors of ex- 
 treme thirst, were compelled to surrender. 
 
 Vladimir could now be baptized with 
 such an amount of ceremony as he deemed 
 20 
 
 becoming his dignity. But his religious 
 emotions, though probably sincere, were 
 not unmixed with political motives of a very 
 worldly nature. He demanded from the 
 Grecian emperors the hand of their sister 
 Anna in marriage, and accompanied his 
 message by a threat, that he would lay 
 siege to Constantinople in the event of re- 
 fusal. It was his intention, by this match, 
 to acquire an indirect claim upon the 
 throne of the Greek empire, which, at some 
 favourable time, he or his successors might 
 enforce. The emperors Basil and Coustan- 
 tine Avere not in a condition to refuse com- 
 pliance ; and, after some hesitation, they 
 pelded — stipulating, however, that he should 
 embrace the Chriptian faith. Accordingly, 
 in the year 988, Aladimir was received into 
 the bosom of the Greek church, under the 
 name of Basil, and united to the Princess 
 Anna, who is reported to have been by no 
 means flattered with the conquest she had 
 made. The Russian sovereign, in return, 
 restored the territory he had so recently 
 captured, listened to an exposition of his 
 new creed, and returned to Kief, carrying 
 with him priests, relics, vases of holy water, 
 and images of saints. 
 
 The royal convert resolved on at once 
 forcing upon his subjects the religion of 
 which he had so recently become a member, 
 and with which he must necessarily have 
 been very imperfectly acquainted. With 
 a decision natural to a despotic barbarian, 
 he resolved on the disgrace and destruction 
 of the pagan gods, from the worship of 
 whom he had fallen so lately. Perune, the 
 silver-headed and golden-whiskered father 
 of the gods, first excited his anger. He 
 caused the image to be stripped of all its 
 costly ornaments, and after exposing the 
 naked log to the people, had it tied to the 
 tail of a horse, beaten with cudgels by 
 twelve stout soldiers, and then thrown into 
 the Borysthenes, amidst the shouts and 
 -groans of the multitude. No divine ven- 
 geance followed this seemingly impious act ; 
 and the people began to think that Perune 
 was but a wooden and powerless god after 
 all. A belief in his divinity was not, how- 
 ever, universally extinguished. For, some 
 time afterwards, a legend related, that when 
 the statue of Perune at Novgorod was 
 hurled into the river, the figure of the god 
 rose from the water, and, casting his staff 
 amongst the people, exclaimed, *' Citizens, 
 I leave you that in remembrance of me !" 
 The minor gods of Russia were disposed of 
 
A.D. 993.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE, [war with the peiyjhenegans. 
 
 in a similarly arbitraiy maimer; and Vladi- 
 mir then issued a proclamation, command- 
 ing all his subjects to assemble on a certain 
 day at Kief, and be baptized there, on the 
 banks of the river. The people appear to 
 have entertained but little affection for the 
 ancient faith, as they offered no opposition. 
 " That must be a good religion," said they, 
 " which is adopted by the prince and the 
 boyards." In the remote districts of Rus- 
 sia, however, paganism lingered for some 
 centuries ; it was more in acordance than 
 the new faith with the rude and wonder- 
 loving barbarians of those northern forests. 
 
 Not satisfied even with these vigorous 
 proceedings, Vladimir zealously endeavoured 
 to enforce Christianity wherever he had for- 
 merly enjoined the superstitions of paganism. 
 He lavished the revenues of his state in 
 building churches and houses for pious pur- 
 poses, and instituted public repasts, in imi- 
 tation of the love-feasts of the early Chris- 
 tians. Certainly, it must be admitted, that 
 the religion he adopted exercised a soften- 
 ing influence upon his mind, and induced 
 him to lead a purer life. He dismissed his 
 trains of concubines, and is reported to have 
 become a pattern of conjugal fidelity. In- 
 stead of the avidity he had shown to shed 
 blood in unjust wars, he hesitated even to 
 condemn a criminal to death. He also in- 
 troduced some good judicial regulations, 
 and effected many improvements in the 
 various towns throughout the country. 
 
 Always prone to go to extremes, Vladi- 
 mir now became effeminate and almost 
 imbecile in his mildness. The Petchene- 
 gans, taking advantage of this state of the 
 Russian prince, made frequent incursions 
 into his dominions. In one of these, the 
 two armies lay on opposite sides of the 
 river Sula, the waters of which fall into 
 the Dnieper. A battle appeared inevitable ; 
 when the Petchenegan chief proposed to 
 Vladimir to spare the blood of their res- 
 pective troops, by deciding the quarrel by 
 single combat betvv^een two champions, one 
 chosen from each army ; the people whose 
 representative should perish in the strife, 
 binding themselves to abstain from hostili- 
 ties for the space of three years. Vladimir's 
 pride forbade him to reject the proposal; 
 but he acceded to it unwilhngly; for he 
 knew not where to find a man of sufficient 
 strength and courage to cope with the 
 gigantic champion of the Petchenegans. 
 On the day appointed for the combat he 
 was compelled to request a delay. During 
 
 the interval thus obtained, an old man, who, 
 together with his four sons, had long served 
 in the Russian army, came forward and 
 offered the services of a fifth son, who, 
 though but a youth, was gifted with pro- 
 digious strength. Before the offer was ac- 
 cepted, the aspirant was ordered to exhibit 
 his prowess in an encounter with an infu- 
 riated bull. The animal was irritated with 
 red-hot irons, and then set at liberty. The 
 young athlete struck the bull down, and 
 speedily dispatching the animal, tore oft' his 
 skin as a trophy. Vladimir was satisfied, 
 and surveyed the beardless champion with 
 feelings of hope. The day of trial arrived, 
 and the combatants met in an open space 
 between the two camps. The bulky Petche- 
 negan looked contemptuously on the unde- 
 veloped yet Avell-proportioned and muscular 
 frame of his adversary. His feeling of 
 triumph was, however, premature; his an- 
 tagonist rushed upon him at once, brought 
 him to the earth with a well-directed blow, 
 and there dispatched him. It is said that 
 the Petchenegans fled in terror on seeing 
 the fall of their champion : this is doubtful ; 
 but they observed the agreement into which 
 they had entered, and abstained from ag- 
 gression for the space of three years. The 
 young victor, who followed the humble 
 occupation of a currier, Avas, together with 
 his father, raised to the rank of nobility, 
 and a town erected as a memorial of his 
 honourable encounter. 
 
 During the three years, the weakness of 
 Vladimir appeared to increase ; and on the 
 expiration of that period, the Petchenegans 
 again took to the field. They laid siege to 
 Vassilef, a town built by the grand prince, 
 who, in endeavouring to succour it, was de- 
 feated and wounded, and only saved his life 
 by hiding under the arch of a bridge, over 
 Avhich- his victorious enemies passed in pur- 
 suit of him. This was in 996; and in the 
 following year he was subjected to fresh in- 
 dignities by his untiring foes. 
 
 The latter years of the once fierce and 
 powerful monarch were bereft of the bril- 
 liancy which attended the earlier period of 
 his reign, arid his life was extinguished in 
 gloom and bitterness. Perplexed as to the 
 mode in which he should provide for his 
 numerous sons, he adopted the weak and 
 fatal expedient of partitioning his dominions 
 amongst them. This he did during his life; 
 and, Avhile parting with his provinces, re- 
 tained only the title of grand prince, and a 
 tribute from each of his sons. Yaroslaf, 
 
 21 
 
DEATH OF VLADIMIR.] 
 
 IIISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1015. 
 
 the one to •whom he had given Novgorod, 
 refused the tribute, and prepared to resist 
 the paramount authority of his father. The 
 aged parent, though struck to the heart by 
 this ingratitude, yet retained enough of his 
 former energy to collect an army and march 
 upon Novgorod, with the object of reducing 
 his rebellious son to submission. The 
 effort, however, was above his strength ; 
 and the contemplation of the unnatui'al 
 conflict was as a sword in his heart. Un- 
 able to reach the scene of expected strife, 
 he expired of grief on the road. His death 
 took place in 1015, after a protracted reign 
 of five-and-forty years. 
 
 Notwithstanding his serious defects of 
 character, it must be granted that Vladimir 
 was no common man. Bold, resolute, subtle, 
 and gifted with an acute though not pene- 
 trating intelligence, the force of his mind was 
 confined by caprice and unregulated im- 
 pulsiveness. A fratricide and a despot, he 
 might elicit our severest reprehension ; but 
 we ought not to judge his conduct in these 
 respects by our modern estimates of morality 
 and duty. He was tinctured with the bar- 
 barity of the age in which he dwelt, and 
 acted in compliance with its ferocious in- 
 stincts. Yet in some respects he was in 
 advance of his time. He rejected the effete 
 
 idolatry of his country, and replaced it by 
 the purer spirit of Christianity. He estab-', 
 lished schools for the education of different 
 classes of the community, and placed them 
 under the direction of learned men from 
 Greece. These efforts were regarded with 
 repugnance by his people, who considered 
 educational arts as identified with sorcery. 
 So great was their dislike to the instruction 
 introduced, that Vladimir could only obtain 
 scholars for these institutions by the unjus- 
 tifiable means of compelling the attendance 
 of the children of his people. He also strove 
 to improve the taste of his people by em- 
 ploying the architects of Greece to erect 
 palaces, churches, and other buildings, and 
 to redeem his dominions from the nativfe 
 desert by felling forests, and erecting towns 
 on spots which previously harboured only 
 wolves and other beasts of prey. Though 
 many of his reforms were vehemently re- 
 sisted by his people, yet they mourned his 
 loss, and he obtained from them the title of 
 the Great, on account of his abilities as a 
 ruler ; while the infant Christian church of 
 B.ussia canonised him as a saint, and pro- 
 nounced him as coequal with the apos- 
 tles. Nearly eight centuries afterwards 
 the empress Catherine instituted an order 
 of knighthood to his honour. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 SVIATOPOLK, BY TREACHERY AND MURDER, UMTES THE PRINCIPALITIES OF RUSSIA UNDER HIS SCEPTRE ; 
 HE IS SUPPORTED BY THE DUKE OF POLAND, BUT DRIVEN FROM THE THRONE BY YAROSLAF ; THE LATTER 
 BECOMES GRAND PRINCE ; HIS CODE OF LAWS ; HE PARTITIONS RUSSIA AMONGST HIS SONS, AND DIES. 
 
 The death of Vladimir was followed by a 
 period of confusion and unnatural warfare. 
 Sviatopolk, the adopted son of the late grand 
 prince, born of the beautiful widow of Yaro- 
 polk, resolved on the immediate execution 
 of a design he had long entertained of setting 
 aside his half-brothers and re-establishing 
 the divided country under his own authority. 
 With this view he caused three of them to 
 be assassinated ; and the other sons of Vla- 
 dimir, with one exception, fearing a similar 
 fate, refrained from opposing so reckless and 
 remorseless a man. 
 
 Yaroslaf, the Prince of Novgorod, resolved 
 22 
 
 on making a stand against the ambitious 
 projects of the usurping fratricide. So 
 vigorous were the efforts of Yaroslaf, and so 
 ably was he seconded by his subjects, whose 
 affection he had won by the clemency of his 
 rule, that he soon drove his unprincipled 
 brother out of Kief, and compelled him to 
 take refuge with his father-in-law, Boleslas, 
 the Duke of Poland. The latter yielded to 
 the solicitations of the fugitive, and advanced 
 into Russia at the head of a powerful force, 
 with the intention of restoring Sviatopolk to 
 the throne. Yaroslaf was prepared, and met 
 the invaders on the banks of the Bug. For 
 
A.D. 1015—1026.] 
 
 KUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [rule of yaroslaf. 
 
 some days each army remained encamped 
 ■within sight of the other, neither caring to 
 commence the conflict. At length a Russian 
 soldier stood upon the bank of the river and 
 mimicked the corpulent size and gait of the 
 Polish duke. Boleslas^ whose intrepidity 
 had obtained for him the surname of the 
 Lion-hearted, was incensed beyond the 
 bounds of prudence by this insult. Plunging 
 into the water, he commanded his soldiers to 
 follow him, and the Poles soon landed on 
 the other side, and stood face to face with 
 their foes. A protracted battle followed, but 
 the Russians were defeated, and Sviatopolk 
 re-seated on the throne he had won by 
 treachery and murder. 
 
 The disheartened Yaroslaf fled to Nov- 
 gorod, and was preparing to retire across 
 the Baltic, but the loyalty of his subjects 
 restrained him. Destroying the ships that 
 were to t^e him away, they laid heavy taxes 
 upon themselves for the sake of engaging 
 mercenary troops to assist his cause. The 
 prosperity of Sviatopolk was of brief dura- 
 tion. Influenced by a mean jealousy of the 
 Poles who had succoured him, he conceived 
 a design for their destruction. This trea- 
 cherous scheme was discovered by Boleslas, 
 who proceeded to take a decisive revenge. 
 He gave Kief over to be plundered by his 
 followers, who, infuriated at the baseness 
 of their allies, could with difficulty be re- 
 strained from reducing the city to ashes. 
 Loaded with spoil, they then returned to 
 their own country. They were followed by 
 Sviatopolk, who, maddened by wrath, sought 
 to obtain vengeance for the desolated capital ; 
 but he was defeated in a battle on the banks 
 of the Bug, and compelled to return to Kief 
 in confusion. Yaroslaf seized this opportu- 
 nity of hurling the usurper from his throne. 
 Marching rapidly against the fratricide, he 
 defeated him in a fiercely contested engage- 
 ment. Sviatopolk deserted his troops before 
 the battle was ended, and perished in a 
 miserable condition on the road. 
 
 Yaroslaf now ascended the throne as grand 
 prince, and it soon became apparent that 
 the government could not be in better hands. 
 His claim, however, was disputed by his 
 brother Motislaf, the seventh son of Vladi- 
 mir, and Prince of Tmutaracan, who had 
 gained some distinction as an able soldier. 
 Motislaf desired Yaroslaf to cede to himapart 
 of the fraternal appanage he governed. The 
 latter consented ; but the territory he gave 
 did not satisfy the expectations of his bro- 
 ther, who immediately resorted to arms to 
 
 obtain by force that which he was unable to 
 get by supplication. In the war which fol- 
 lowed, Motislaf was triumphant; but he 
 generously divided the Russian dominions 
 between himself and his brother, with whom 
 he continued to remain in amity until his 
 death, which took place seven years after- 
 wards. The Russian dominions were then 
 again united under one ruler. 
 
 The commencement of the reign of Yaros- 
 laf was rendered unsettled by numerous 
 wars, in most of which he was successful. 
 He carried hostilities into Finland, Livonia, 
 Lithuania, and Bulgaria, and even pene- 
 trated into Greece, where he suffered a 
 defeat. He did not, however, seek to ac- 
 quire distinction by feats of arms; he sel- 
 dom sought war, and usually entrusted the 
 command of his armies to his lieutenants. 
 Notwithstanding his ingratitude to his aged 
 father, he behaved well to his people. He 
 governed with wisdom, and addressed him- 
 self to the noble task of exalting the cha- 
 racter of his subjects. Especially devoting 
 himself to the spread of education and the 
 promotion of religion, he caused the Scrip- 
 tures to be translated into the Slavonian 
 language, and even accomplished the labo- 
 rious task of transcribing several copies 
 with his own hand. But the great work of 
 his life was the construction of a code of 
 laws, which, though it may read strangely 
 to modern ears, was doubtless adapted to 
 the wants of the time. Hitherto, written 
 laws were rare, and always liable to be in- 
 terpreted by the strong in their own favour. 
 Princes had been occupied rather in protect- 
 ing their dominions from aggression than 
 in administering justice to their subjects. 
 The result was a state of society in which 
 life and property was insecure, the arts un- 
 known, and commerce almost stagnant. 
 
 A rapid glance at this code of laws wiU 
 give some insight into the character of the 
 Russian people at this period. It was 
 couched in a spirit of paternal despotism. 
 " Respect this ordinance,'^ said the prince ; 
 " it must be the rule of your conduct. 
 Such is my will." Its first article consti- 
 tuted the law the public avenger only in 
 cases where the friends of the murdered 
 man were unable to retaliate on the crimi- 
 nal themselves. This, doubtless, was but the 
 reduction of an existing practice into a 
 written law, and the legal permission of 
 outrages the ruler felt it impossible to re- 
 strain. Though life was taken in retalia- 
 tion, the law was not broken, and order 
 
 23 
 
takoslaf's cx)de of laws.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1030. 
 
 appeared to exist. To have made the laws 
 ■widely different to all established customs, 
 would have been to run the risk of their 
 being laid aside altogether. If there were 
 no relatives to revenge the death of a mur- 
 dered man, the assassin was to pay a fine 
 regulated according to the rank of his vic- 
 tim. In this scale, the life of a woman was 
 estimated at only half the value of that of a 
 man — a circumstance which showed how 
 highly mere brute strength was regarded; 
 while no fine was imposed on the murderer 
 of a slave. In this case, the shedder of 
 human blood was to ^laj to the owner the 
 value of the slave, if he had been killed 
 wantonly; but if the victim had insulted 
 his assassin, the law required nothing at the 
 hands of the latter. It is also significant of 
 the scarcely disguised contempt which was 
 cherished against the pursuit of learning, 
 that while for the murder of the princess 
 cook, or other domestic, a penalty of forty 
 grivnas was to be paid to the state, only 
 twelve grivnas was the fiue demanded in the 
 event of the victim being a schoolmaster ! 
 
 Though Yaroslars code of laws paid so 
 small a respect to the lives of slaves that it 
 would not deprive the rich of the savage 
 gratification of slaying one on any caprice, 
 yet it held the honour of free Russians in 
 great estimation. For striking a blow, a 
 fine was exacted equal in amount to that 
 imposed for the murder of a schoolmaster or 
 artisan. The offence of pulhng a man by 
 the beard, or knocking out one of his teeth, 
 was visited with a similar penalty. ]\Iany 
 regulations were framed for the secuiity of 
 property; but one law seemed made as if 
 with the intention of favouring dishonest 
 men. If a man lent money to another who 
 denied the loan on oath, the latter was re- 
 leased from the debt. Such an enactment 
 in a country where the legal interest of 
 money was forty per cent., was calculated 
 to create fraud, and to extinguish trading 
 transactions. 
 
 The code divided the population into 
 three classes : namely, the nobles, the free- 
 men, and the slaves. Of these, the latter, 
 chiefly prisoners of war and their descen- 
 dants, were left wholly unprotected. The 
 law did not recognise the humanity of these 
 unhappy men, but placed them in the 
 same category with the inferior animals. 
 The freemen, composed of citizens, farmers, 
 landholders, and hired servants, were fenced 
 in from the encroachments of the nobles. 
 They were subdivided into centuries, each 
 24 
 
 of which elected its representative, or tri- 
 bune, who, by virtue of his office, took equal 
 rank with the boyards or nobles. The latter 
 were regarded as the voyevodes, or military 
 leaders of the state, and the direct coun- 
 sellors of the prince. The hereditary rights 
 of property were preserved unconditionally 
 in their families alone. Thus arose a class 
 of rich patricians, identified with the in- 
 terests of property, while commerce and the 
 popular privileges were represented in the 
 assemblies of the elected representatives of 
 the people. Here were the germs of a legis- 
 lative system which, but for subsequent cir- 
 cumstances which swept over and extin- 
 guished them, might have ripened into a 
 wise mode of government and a just social 
 balance. It must be added, that the people 
 paid no taxes for the support of their prince. 
 His revenue was derived from the fines im- 
 posed for infractions of the law, Jrom the 
 tribute, in kind, which he received from 
 the cultivators of his estates, and from the 
 voluntary offerings of his subjects. The 
 boyards did not pay taxes ; their allegiance 
 consisted in rendering military service when 
 called upon to do so. The position of the 
 grand prince was necessarily a difficult one, 
 which could scarcely be filled except by a 
 man of severe temper and of commanding 
 will. The throne stood, as it were, in a 
 plain surrounded by forests, from which 
 frequently issued hordes of ruthless savages, 
 whose violence threatened to overturn the 
 dawning institutions of civilisation. Under 
 such circumstances, it was a great matter to 
 maintain any advance that had been made, 
 and not again to recede into the darkness of 
 barbaric life. It was, indeed, difficult to 
 civilise barbarians surrounded by barba- 
 rians. The antipathy entertained towards 
 the Greeks by the people was a great ob- 
 stacle to their progress, as it extended itself 
 to the arts, the sciences, and the manners 
 introduced by these foreigners. Christi- 
 anity, as being to a Russian mind essentially 
 a Greek religion, bore some share of this 
 dislike. 
 
 Very Uttle is recorded of the reign of 
 Yaroslaf; which circumstance, connected 
 with his reputation for wisdom, leads to the 
 inference that Russia enjoyed peace and 
 prosperity under his sway. Towards the 
 close of his life, he committed a serious 
 error iu abandoning the city of Novgorod to 
 his son Vladimir. Scarcely had tlie latter 
 ascended the throne of the once republican 
 state, than, with all the ardour of a barbarian 
 
A.D. 1054.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [death of YAi;osr,AF. 
 
 in quest of plunder, he led an army into the 
 Grecian empire, under pretence of obtaining 
 satisfaction for the death of a Russian who 
 had been killed there. The iniquity of this 
 act elicited an appropriate but terrible retri- 
 bution. Fifteen thoxisand of the invaders 
 were left dead upon the plains of Greece, 
 and the aggressor driven back with disgrace 
 to his own dominions. Undeterred by the 
 criminal folly of one of his sons, Yaroslaf, 
 before his death, followed the evil example 
 of his predecessors, and partitioned the 
 whole of Russia amongst his sons, only or- 
 daining that the younger ones should be 
 subordinate to the eldest, who was autho- 
 rised to reduce them to obedience by force 
 of arms, should they exhibit a disposition 
 to dispute his authority — of course, if he 
 was powerful enough to do so. This 
 arrangement, enforced by death- bed ad- 
 
 monitions, he trusted would sufficiently 
 secure the empire from the afflictions of 
 civil commotion and disputes concerning 
 the succession. Such a confidence, placed 
 in the fleeting honour of ambitious and 
 greedy semi-barbarous princes, shakes our 
 faith concerning his possession of that 
 wisdom which the ancient chroniclers attri- 
 bute to him. Often, however, the wise in 
 one direction are guilty of folly in others ; 
 the purest golden ore is frequently found 
 mingled with baser metals and with mire. 
 Yaroslaf died in 1054, after a prolonged 
 reign of thirty-four years. Before he had 
 long lain in his grave, Russia became the 
 prey of internal dissensions and of servile 
 war ; the fatal result of that partitioning of 
 the empire which he had not the wisdom to 
 foresee. This tragic error almost led to the 
 dissolution of the infant empire. 
 
 CHAPTER yi. 
 
 ISIASLAF SUCCEEDS TO THE GRAND PRINCEDOM ; HE IS TWICE DRIVEN FROM THE THRONE, AND TWICE 
 RESTORED TO IT BY THE POLES ; THE LATTER RECALLED FROM KIEF BY THE INCONSTANCY OF THEIR 
 WIVES ; CONFUSION ARISING FROM THE WEAKNESS OF ISIASLAF ; HIS DEATH ; REVERSAL OF THE ORDER 
 OF SUCCESSION ; VSEVOLOD SUCCEEDS ; IS FOLLOWED BY SVIATOPOLK ; EXPULSION OF THE JEWS FROM 
 RUSSIA VLADIMIR MONOMACHUS CALLED TO THE THRONE ; HE ARRESTS THE DECLINE OF THE STATE ; 
 HIS FAREWELL ADMONITION AND DEATH. 
 
 IsiASLAP I., the eldest of the five sons of 
 Yaroslaf, succeeded as grand prince to the 
 regal seat of Kief, which, from its magnifi- 
 cence and civilisation in comparison with 
 the other important towns, had really be- 
 come, in accordance with the words of Oleg, 
 the mother, or chief, of Russian cities. 
 
 It is one matter to have a presumed au- 
 thority over other princes, and quite a dif- 
 ferent one to maintain it. The wisest and 
 most powerful sovereigns have been per- 
 plexed in such positions, and have commonly 
 been compelled to enforce their claims with 
 the sword. Isiaslaf was too feeble to pre- 
 serve his paramount authority, and its be- 
 queathment to him embittered his life and 
 distracted the country. Ucheslaf, Prince of 
 Polotsk, was the first of the brothers of 
 Isiaslaf who set him at defiance. Nor did 
 he stop at defiance : advancing with a well- 
 disciplined army against Kief, he compelled 
 the inhabitants to submit, and drove Isiaslaf 
 
 from his throne. The unfortunate prince 
 sought the protection of Boleslas II., grand- 
 duke of Poland, justly called the Bold, on 
 account of his fearlessness and skill in war. 
 Boleslas received the fugitive, to whom he 
 was distantly connected by marriage, with 
 sympathy, and at once adopted his cause. 
 His ostensible motive was of the purest and 
 most generous kind. " I am obliged to 
 succour that prince," said he, " by the blood 
 which unites us, and by the pity so justly 
 due to his misfortunes. Unfortunate princes 
 are more to be commiserated than ordinary 
 mortals. If calamities must necessarily 
 exist on earth, they should not be allowed 
 to affect such as are exalted for the happi- 
 ness of others." 
 
 This seeming nobility of conduct was, 
 however, but a cover for feelings of a selfish 
 character. His secret motive was the re- 
 covery of the possessions which his prede- 
 cessors had held in Russia, and of the do- 
 
 25 
 
WEAKNESS OF ISIASLAF.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1066—1077. 
 
 mains he conceived he had a right to 
 inherit through his mother and his queen, 
 both of whom were Russian princesses. 
 
 Boleslas the Bold, therefore, entered 
 Russia at the head of a numerous army 
 inured to victory, and full of confidence in 
 their leader, and advanced within a few 
 leagues of Kief before he was opposed by 
 Ucheslaf and his troops. Such was the 
 martial appearance and undaunted mien of 
 the Poles, that Ucheslaf s heart sank within 
 him ; and, quitting his tent secretly, he took 
 to flight. He had not, however, proceeded 
 far before he experienced the natural shame 
 arising from the dishonourable course he 
 was pursuing. He felt the inevitable con- 
 viction, that not only would his conduct 
 lead to a loss of his dominions, but that it 
 might also expose him to the vengeance of 
 his betrayed and irritated followers. Col- 
 lecting his resolution, he returned to the 
 camp he had so shamefully abandoned, and 
 gazed once more upon the formidable enemy 
 arrayed against him. His dastard spirit 
 could not bear the sight, and again he fled. 
 His troops being without a leader and with- 
 out a p\irpose, speedily dispersed, leaving 
 Kief unprotected. The city was infested by 
 the Poles, and no choice left to the inhabit- 
 ants but to receive the late fugitive Isiaslaf 
 as their prince. Polotsk followed the ex- 
 ample of Kief, and submitted ; but Ucheslaf, 
 who had taken refuge there after his igno- 
 minious flight, contrived to escape. 
 
 Boleslas, though a brave soldier, was an 
 abandoned sensualist. He and his troops 
 remained some time at Kief, and gave them- 
 selves up to the pleasures of this compa- 
 ratively polished city. During their stay, 
 it was the scene of a continued round of 
 profligacy. Fortunately for the Russians, 
 the aff'airs of Boleslas demanded his pre- 
 sence in Hungary, whither he and his army 
 departed, leaving Isiaslaf again in the pos- 
 session of his throne and the dangerous 
 claim to paramount authority bequeathed to 
 him by his father. 
 
 For seven years Isiaslaf contended against 
 his brothers and their kindred, who asserted 
 unjust claims, or prosecuted predatory ad- 
 ventures. The spirits of contention, exac- 
 tion, and misrule swept over the land like a 
 triple pestilence; and the empire seemed 
 abandoned to anarchy. At the end of the 
 seven years, the unfortunate prince was 
 again expelled from Kief by Vsevolod, a 
 prince of one of the tributary liefs. It 
 would have been better if a sovereign so in- 
 26 
 
 capable of standing alone as Isiaslaf had 
 shown himself to be, had accepted his fate, 
 and reconciled himself to the tranquil secu- 
 rity of private life. The annals of history 
 do not record many instances of moral 
 heroism of this kind ; and certainly the 
 again fugitive Prince of Kief did not possess 
 it. He applied for aid to several European 
 monarchs; and at length implored the in- 
 terference of Pope Gregory VIII. The pope 
 eagerly caught at an ofi'er which he thought 
 might ultimately lead to the transference of 
 the faith of the Russian people from the 
 Greek church to that of Rome ; but he gave 
 assistance in a second-hand and equivocal 
 manner. In other words, he did nothing 
 himself; but he instructed the Duke of 
 Poland to support Isiaslaf to the utmost of 
 his power. This Boleslas, actuated, as we 
 have shown, by secret views of his own, 
 consented to do. Necessarily, these selfish 
 views rose in proportion to the urgency of 
 the demand upon his services. This time, 
 though he resolved to restore Isiaslaf to his 
 throne, he was no less resolved to make him 
 tributary to Poland. With this design, he 
 speedily subjugated the whole of Volhynia, 
 as a place of retreat in case he experienced 
 a reverse of fortune. This done, he a second 
 time marched against Kief. His progress 
 was arrested by the forces of the reigning 
 prince, Vsevolod, and a terrible battle en- 
 sued, in which the army of the latter was 
 almost annihilated. Kief, however, was 
 ably prepared for resistance. Well gar- 
 risoned and provisioned, it withstood his 
 efibrts ; and he was obliged to subj'ect it to 
 the tedious process of a siege. As Boleslas 
 was as impatient as he was valorous, he 
 might have retired in consequence of this 
 obstinate resistance, but that an unsought 
 and unseen ally played into his hands. 
 This was a contagious fever, which broke 
 out amongst the inhabitants, and led them to 
 open the gates in terror, that they might 
 escape the effects of the pestilence. Just as 
 the latter had exhausted itself, Boleslas 
 poured in his troops; and the enfeebled 
 citizens submitted with patience to a fate 
 they could no longer avert. Thus was 
 Isiaslaf restored to a throne from which he 
 had been twice expelled. Boleslas acted 
 with the generosity of a noble nature. In- 
 stead of incorporating the territories of Kief 
 and its dependent provinces with his own 
 dominions, he preferred leaving friends ra- 
 ther than enemies behind him ; he merely 
 exacted a tribute from these territories, and 
 
^.D. 1078.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [evil state of RUSSIA. 
 
 caused himself to be acknowledged as sove- 
 reign paramount. 
 
 The generous and affable bearing of Bo- 
 leslas soon rendered him a favourite with 
 the people of Kief; and he and his com- 
 panions plunged into a dissipation even ex- 
 ceeding their former revels in that city. 
 His days were occupied in feasting and 
 drinking, while his nights were devoted to 
 the society of such of the frail ones of Kief 
 as possessed more charms than virtue. His 
 followers, down even to the humblest, soon 
 imitated the conduct of their chief, and all 
 ordinary business appeared superseded by 
 the wild vortex of incessant sensuality, 
 which drew both Poles and Russians into its 
 debilitating embrace. The gratitude of 
 Isiaslaf prompted him not to offer opposition 
 to the desires of his restorer ; but he sought 
 to win him from the numerous debaucheries 
 to which the Polish duke surrendered him- 
 self. Desiring, on one occasion, to obtain 
 a visit from Boleslas, the Russian prince 
 offered him as many marks of gold as his 
 horse should take steps in making the jour- 
 ney from one residence to the other. The 
 gift is said to have been one of a surpris- 
 ingly liberal kind. 
 
 While the Poles were thus wallowing in 
 the grossest sensuality at Kief, they received 
 information which filled them with a violent 
 desire to return to their homes, from which 
 they had been absent in Russia and Hun- 
 gary for the space of seven years. During 
 this period, their wives and children had 
 never seen them. The former, weary of 
 their cheerless condition, which was worse 
 than widowhood, forgot their chastity in 
 their desolation, and submitted to the em- 
 braces of their slaves. A rage for these 
 base amours seized the Polish women. De- 
 bauchery of this nature became the rule; 
 and it is said that but one of the wives of the 
 absent warriors had the virtue to refrain 
 from it. This is probably an exaggeration ; 
 but a fashionable frenzy, in any direction, 
 commonly overpowers every opposing feel- 
 ing, and dominates alike over reason or 
 honour. We shall not follow other writers 
 in any cheaply virtuous indignation respect- 
 ing the conduct of these unfortunate women ; 
 for men too often utter pompous rhapso- 
 dies in favour of a rigid chastity which 
 they never observe. The Polish women, 
 wounded by the evident indifference of their 
 husbands, deprived of those social endear- 
 ments and words of affection which enter 
 80 largely into the happiness of the fairer 
 
 sex, and incensed by the licentious conduct 
 of their partners (rumours of which must 
 have reached them), adopted the often-erring 
 principle of lex talionis, and returned like 
 for like. The Polish warriors, however, did 
 not reflect on the provocations of their ab- 
 sence and their infidelity ; and on hearing 
 of this unexpected depravity on the part of 
 their wives, they were distracted with shame 
 and fury, and begged permission of their 
 sovereign to return home. Actuated by a 
 confidence in his queen, or entranced by 
 the libidinous pleasures into which he was 
 plunged at Kief, Boleslas, though he pro- 
 mised his troops that he would return, made 
 no preparation for doing so. Many of his 
 irritated followers lost all patience, and de- 
 parted without his permission ; and Boleslas 
 was soon compelled, by this multitudinous 
 desertion, to follow their example. When 
 the Poles arrived at their homes, they found 
 their slaves presiding at their boards, and in 
 possession of all their privileges. In some 
 instances they were resisted to the last ex- 
 tremity, and in others, they were pacified 
 by submission and entreaties for pardon. 
 Some of the women and their paramours 
 fled, and others were put to death by the 
 enraged husbands. 
 
 Isiaslaf, left without his protectors, soon 
 showed his inability to use the authority be- 
 queathed to him. The subordinate princes 
 refused to recognise his supremacy, and se- 
 parated themselves from the grand prince- 
 dom. Fierce dissensions swept over the 
 empire, which was rapidly falling to pieces, 
 in consequence of the suicidal fury of con- 
 tending governments. Such a state of 
 things encouraged the hostile incursions of 
 the barbarous nations and tribes that lay 
 upon its borders. Poles, Hungarians, and 
 Tartars swept like a pestilence over the 
 Russian borders, and marked their track by 
 burning villages, the women of which they 
 had violated; while they put the men to 
 death, or carried them away into slavery. 
 The wretched Isiaslaf died in 1078, after a 
 reign of twenty-four years. 
 
 The discord that existed did not perish 
 with him, and even the order of succession 
 was reversed. No ancient custom was res- 
 pected; and the interests of the strong 
 towered over the rights of the weak. Isias- 
 laf was not succeeded by his eldest son, but 
 by his brother Vsevolod, who ascended the 
 throne with the consent of the children of 
 the deceased prince. Such a case was with- 
 out precedent in Russia ; for although the 
 
 27 
 
REVEKSAL OF THE SUCX3ESSI0N.] HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1078—1114. 
 
 warrior Gleg absolutely exercised the regal 
 power during his life, he did so with the 
 title of regent. But Vsevolod endeavoured 
 to perpetuate the example he had intro- 
 duced, by fixing the order of succession from 
 brother to brother as the law of the land. 
 He wore a tottering crown during a period 
 of fifteen years. History is almost silent 
 concerning him. It has been well remarked, 
 that his reign is " an agitated canvas, in 
 which the observer can discern nothing 
 more than the chaos of the elements, with 
 a single star of promise glittering distinctly 
 in the person of the prince.^^ He is most 
 remembered on account of the virtues and 
 wisdom of his son Vladimir Monomachus, in 
 whose arms he breathed his last, and to 
 whom he bequeathed the throne of Kief, in 
 contravention of the very rule of succession 
 he had himself introduced as law. 
 
 Yladimir, influenced by a noble self- 
 denial, refused to accept the regal legacy. 
 The peace of his country was dearer to him 
 than personal honours and interests. To 
 the entreaties of the citizens, he replied, 
 he would not violate the recently established 
 order of succession, which conferred the 
 title and position of grand prince upon his 
 cousin Sviatopolk. " His father," reasoned 
 "Vladimir, "was my father's senior, and 
 reigned first in the capital. I wish to pre- 
 serve Russia from the horrors of civil war." 
 
 Sviatopolk was a splenetic and feeble- 
 minded prince, who not only owed the 
 throne of Kief to the moderation of Vladi- 
 mir, but was preserved in it solely by the 
 wise counsels of the latter, which, neverthe- 
 less, he ventured frequently to disregard. 
 The reign of Sviatopolk is as barren in in- 
 cident as that of his predecessor, and is 
 neglected alike by ancient chroniclers and 
 modem historians. It appears to have been 
 chiefly passed in fierce but uninteresting con- 
 tentions between the rival Russian princes, 
 each one of whom seems to have neglected 
 his own territories, and turned all his atten- 
 tion towards seizing that of his neighbours. 
 Sviatopolk died in 1113, after a reign of 
 twenty years, leaving Kief and the Russian 
 empire generally in a state of apparently in- 
 extricable disorder. 
 
 The death of S\'iatopolk was followed by 
 a savage outbreak of the citizens of Kief 
 against the Jews. These unfortunate peo- 
 ple having excited there a feeling of enmity, 
 probably by the exhibition of a selfishly ac- 
 quisitive temper, a cruel design was formed 
 for a general massacre of them. Some, it 
 28 
 
 appears, fell victims to the popular fury; 
 but it would seem that many of the citizens 
 hesitated to slaughter unarmed men in cold 
 blood ; and Vladimir was appealed to to 
 arrest the progress of the savage tumult. 
 Order, however, was only restored by the 
 expulsion of the Jews from the whole of the 
 Russian territory — a banishment which en- 
 dured for six centuries. Vladimir, though 
 he could not save them from this doom, 
 protected their retreat, and caused their 
 exile to be respected. 
 
 Above all the clamour that shook the 
 ancient city of Kief, there rose a wild de- 
 mand that Vladimir Monomachus must now 
 assume the sceptre, for that he was the only 
 man who could restore tranquillity to the 
 state. Again he refused. He maintained 
 that the princedom was not elective, and 
 that he was not the true heir to it accord- 
 ing to the order of succession established by 
 his dead father. As he appeared fixed in 
 this resolution, the citizens broke into open 
 revolt, and declared that they would not 
 acknowledge any sovereign but the one 
 they had elected. Vladimir now saw that 
 further resistance would be merely irrational 
 obstinacy, and tend to plunge the country 
 still further into that anarchy from which 
 he had sought so earnestly to save it. 
 
 The accession of Vladimir to the throne 
 of Kief in 1114, gave a promise of coming 
 peace, and a hope of again binding together, 
 in a bond of union, the now discontented 
 states of the empire. Such a work was, 
 however, one both of time and difficulty, and 
 Vladimir was in the fall of life. During 
 the twelve years he bore the sceptre, he was 
 occupied with those important but unobtru- 
 sive labours which, though of inestimable 
 value, afi'ord but a narrow theme for the his- 
 torian. He appeased jealousies, satisfied 
 conflicting claims, repressed disorderly pas- 
 sions, maintained justice, and restored con- 
 fidence. To these labours he devoted himself 
 with an efficiency which was not oniy ap- 
 preciated by his subjects, but obtained for 
 him the esteem of foreign courts. It even 
 elicited from the Grecian emperor a com- 
 pliment the most distinguished such a mo- 
 narch could pay. Recognising in Vladimir 
 a greatness of mind worthy of the noblest 
 station, he sent him the ensigns of imperial 
 dignity, as a sign that he considered him 
 his equal. 
 
 Shortly before his death, Vladimir ame- 
 liorated the laws; softening the rigour of 
 some, and rendering others more exact and 
 
A.D. 1125.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE, [farewell advice of vladimir. 
 
 comprehensive. The last public act of his 
 life was to leave a farewell admonition to 
 his subjects or children, as he called them, 
 which is interesting, as being illustrative of 
 the habits and principles of one of the 
 heroes of an age struggling slowly and labo- 
 riously from a barbarism which it was neither 
 prepared to leave or to remain satisfied with. 
 This testament appears derived from a re- 
 membrance of his own actions, and offered 
 to his subjects as a guidance to theirs. 
 
 " My dear children,'^ ran the document, 
 " praise God and love men ; for it is neither 
 fasting nor solitude, nor monastic vows, that 
 can give you eternal life ; it is beneficence 
 alone. 
 
 " Be fathers to the orphan; be yourselves 
 judges for the widow. Put to death neither 
 the innocent nor the guilty, for nothing is 
 more sacred than the life and soul of a 
 Christian. 
 
 " Keep not the priests at a distance from 
 you ; do good to them, that they may offer 
 up prayers to God for you. 
 
 " Violate not the oath which you have 
 sworn on the cross. My brothers said to 
 me, ' Assist us to expel the sons of Rotislaf, 
 and seize upon their provinces, or renounce 
 our alliance.' But I answered, * I cannot 
 forget that 1 have kissed the cross.^ 
 
 " Bear in mind that a man ought to be 
 always employed : look carefully into your 
 domestic concerns, and fly from drunken- 
 ness and debauchery. 
 
 " Love your wives, but do not suffer them 
 to have any power over you. 
 
 " Endeavour constantly to obtain know- 
 ledge. Without having quitted his palace, 
 ray father spoke five languages; a thing 
 which wins for us the admiration of fo- 
 reigners. 
 
 " In war be vigilant ; be an example to 
 your boyards. Never retire to rest without 
 having posted your guards. Never take off 
 your arms while you are within reach of the 
 enemy ; and, to avoid ever being surprised, 
 always be early on horseback. 
 
 " When you travel through your pro- 
 vinces, do not allow your attendants to do 
 the least injury to the inhabitants. Enter- 
 tain always, at your own expense, the master 
 of the house in which you take up your 
 abode. 
 
 " If you find yourself affected by any ail- 
 ment, make three prostrations down to the 
 ground before the Lord ; and never let the 
 sun find you in bed. At the dawn of day, 
 my father, and the virtuous men bv whom 
 
 he was surrounded, did thus : They glorified 
 the Lord. They then seated themselves to 
 deliberate, or to administer justice to the 
 people, or they went to the chase ; and in 
 the middle of the day they slept; which 
 God permits to man, as well as to the 
 beasts and birds. 
 
 " For my part, I accustomed myself to do 
 everything that I might have ordered my 
 servants to do. Night and day, summer 
 and winter, I was perpetually moving about. 
 I wished to see everything with my own 
 eyes. Never did I abandon the poor or the 
 widow to the oppressions of the powerful. 
 I made it my duty to inspect the churches 
 and the sacred ceremonies of religion, as 
 well as the management of my property, 
 my stables, and the vultures and hawks of 
 my hunting establishment. 
 
 " I have made eighty-three' campaigns, 
 and many expeditions. I concluded nine- 
 teen treaties with the Polovtzy. I took 
 captive one hundred of their princes, whom 
 I set free again; and I put two hundred 
 of them to death, by throwing them into 
 rivers. 
 
 " No one has ever travelled more rapidly 
 than I have done. Setting out in the 
 morning from Tchernigof, I have arrived at 
 Kief before the hour of vespers. 
 
 " In my youth, what falls from my horse 
 did I not experience ! wounding my feet and 
 my hands, and breaking my head against 
 trees. But the Lord watched over me. 
 
 " In hunting, amidst the thickest forests, 
 how many times have I myself caught wild 
 horses, and bound them together ! How 
 many times have I been thrown down by 
 buffaloes, wounded by the antlers of stags, 
 and trodden under the feet of elks ! A 
 furious wild boar rent my sword from my 
 baldrick ; my saddle was torn to pieces by a 
 bear; this terrible beast rushed upon my 
 courser, whom he threw down upon me. 
 But the Lord protected me. 
 
 " O, my children, fear neither death nor 
 wild beasts. Trust in Providence; it far 
 surpasses all human precautions." 
 
 The perusal of this experience of a wise 
 and good barbarian (for we think that is 
 the most appropriate description of this 
 prince), leads back the imagination to an 
 imperfect realisation of the country and 
 state of society in which he lived. It shows 
 us man yet dwelling on the borders of dense 
 forests, and contending with beasts of prey 
 for the possession of the soil. It shows 
 cities enjoying peace, only in consequence 
 
 29 
 
DEATH OF VLADIMIR.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1125. 
 
 of the indolence or forbearance of hordes of 
 barbarians, with whom war was an occupa- 
 tion and murder a revolting pastime. What 
 promise-breaking and treachery is recorded 
 by the simple fact, that the truthful Vladi- 
 mir had to conclude nineteen diflFerent trea- 
 ties with the Polovtzy Tartars ; every one of 
 which these human wolves broke through as 
 soon as it suited their convenience to do so. 
 What a revelation of their cruelty, also, is 
 contained in the circumstance that this 
 simple-minded prince, who shrunk from 
 taking human life, was compelled to put 
 200 of these Tartar chiefs to death by 
 drowning; a doom which their treachery 
 and depravity no doubt justly deserved. It 
 shows us Vladimir himself as a just, merci- 
 ful, active, and, indeed, indefatigable ruler. 
 Temperate, chaste, and industrious ; in the 
 latter respect a slave to duty. Earnestly 
 pious, yet strongly impressed with what we 
 may designate the coarse materialism of 
 religious formula, rather than penetrated by 
 a spirit of devout aspiration. There is 
 something approaching even to the low 
 idolatry of fetish worship in the superstition 
 which dictated three prostrations before the 
 Deity as the means of curing the ague or a 
 fever. But Vladimir would, indeed, have 
 been in advance of his time if he had recog- 
 nised the important truth, that spiritual 
 evils must be cured by spiritual remedies, 
 and material evils by material remedies. A 
 patient suffering from consumption or 
 paralysis, does not apply to a clergyman for 
 
 aid ; or a sinner, writhing under the pangs 
 of an outraged and awakened conscience, 
 proceed to a physician. In the first case, 
 prayer is a secondary instrument of allevia- 
 tion ; in the second, the same may be said 
 of medical attention. There is an odd sim- 
 plicity, also, in the mode in which the good 
 Vladimir connects the inspection of the 
 churches and the management of his stables ; 
 but his evident good faith utterly exonerates 
 him from intentional levity on a serious 
 theme. His inoflFensive vanity, too, in re- 
 cording the trivial acts of his life — his fall 
 from his horse, and his conflicts with stags, 
 wild boars, and buffaloes — in a document 
 addressed as a solemn admonition to his 
 people, is amusing. Altogether, we should 
 estimate Vladimir as a man of the purest 
 integrity, a benevolent temper, and a mind 
 considerably above the average of his coun- 
 trymen, but not as one possessing genius 
 for government. His well-known virtues 
 caused men to have confidence in him ; and 
 that produced its natural results — tranquil- 
 lity and a return in the direction of national 
 prosperity. We say in the direction of na- 
 tional prosperity, for his rule was too brief 
 to permit him to consolidate the noble work 
 he had so happily began. He died in 1125, 
 after a reign of twelve years. He had been 
 thrice married, and left five children behind 
 him. Motislaf, the eldest, who succeeded 
 him as grand prince, was the son of Gyda, 
 daughter of Harold, the last Saxon king of 
 England. 
 
 CHAPTER Vn. 
 
 PERIOD OF ANARCHY ; IGOR OF SUZDAL ; HIS SON ANDREW ATTEMPTS THE CONSOLIDATION OF RUSSIA ; HB 
 IS MURDERED ; THE AGE OF WEAKNESS AND DARKNESS ; GHENGIS KHAN AND THE TARTAR INVASION OF 
 RUSSIA ; BATOU AND HIS TARTAR HOST RAVAGE THE COUNTRY, AND PERPETRATE GREAT ATROCITIES ; 
 WHILE OCCUPIED IN MARCHING UPON NOVGOROD, THEY SUDDENLY TURN AND ABANDON RUSSIA. 
 
 On the death of Vladimir Monomachus, 
 Kief and its dependent dominions com- 
 menced a backward motion to that state of 
 confusion and decay from which he had 
 partially rescued them. Motislaf, who in- 
 herited the virtues of his father, retained 
 the broken sceptre during six years only; 
 when his death gave the signal for a series 
 of selfish struggles which exhausted the life- 
 30 
 
 blood of the country, and prepared it for 
 that state of miserable and prolonged servi- 
 tude which ensued. A period followed which 
 partook of the nature of an interregnum. 
 Government and the protection of the 
 people was at an end, and the throne of 
 Kief was seized by an adventurer one year, 
 who was displaced by another the next. 
 History recoils from the wearisome task of 
 
A.D. 1154—1160.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [ANDREW OF SUZDAL. 
 
 chronicling the contests, the murders, the 
 treacheries, and the insane ambitions of 
 these paltry actors in the tragedy of a 
 country's ruin. It is sufficient to say, that 
 in the course of thirty-two years, eleven 
 princes mounted the tottering throne, which 
 each forfeited directly another arose armed 
 with sufficient power to tear it from him. 
 A curse had fallen upon Kief; its streets 
 ran with blood from the frequent contests 
 between rival factions which took place in 
 them. Its people were reduced to poverty ; 
 its soldiers became thieves and ruffians, 
 wandering aboxit in search of food and 
 plunder; and its merchants trembled for the 
 wealth which they scarcely dared employ in 
 its natural channels. The neighbouring 
 provinces were seized by whoever was strong 
 or daring enough to grasp them; and the 
 fields, once devoted to agriculture, were 
 wasted by fire and sword. This state of 
 things continued until the grand princi- 
 pality had dwindled to little more than the 
 city of Kief. " Its paramount authority,'' 
 said Segur, " was nothing but a vain title ; 
 and yet, whether it arose from the influence 
 of a name, or that it was still looked upon 
 as the Capua, the Babylon of the Russians, 
 the metropolis of their religion, the empo- 
 rium of their commerce, the source of their 
 civilisation, it is certain that all the anarchy 
 of the princes continued to be obstinately 
 bent against Kief; and the eye becomes be- 
 wildered in gazing upon the confusion." 
 
 One figure at length became the most 
 prominent among the crowd of rulers whose 
 fatal ambition had struck upon the heart of 
 their country. This was Igor, the Prince of 
 Suzdal, an immense territory, occupying 
 the centre of Russia. But this vast appa- 
 nage was to him only a source of discontent. 
 His dominions, he said, were distinguished 
 only by an inclement climate, uncultivated 
 deserts, gloomy forests, and a people sunk 
 in ignorance. This barbarian, therefore, 
 longed to possess himself of the once polished 
 but now humbled city of Kief, to which, at 
 this gloomy period, might almost be applied 
 the mournful language which the prophet 
 Jeremiah uttered concerning the abject de- 
 solation of Jerusalem — " How doth the city 
 sit solitary, that was full of people ! how is 
 she become as a widow ! She that was 
 great among the nations, and princess 
 among the provinces, how is she become 
 tributary!" 
 
 Igor of Suzdal marched upon the dis- 
 tracted city of Kief, and the helpless citizens 
 
 surrendered to the power he brought with 
 him. Seated upon a throne he had so easily 
 acquired, the barbarian abandoned himself 
 to an amount of riotous sensuality that 
 speedily ended his worthless life. Such a 
 mere warlike libertine would neither have 
 deserved nor received notice, but for the 
 perilous and important part afterwards played 
 by his son, known as Andrew of Suzdal. 
 This prince was not disposed to follow the 
 example of his father, but remained, at 
 least for a time, contented with his paternal 
 dominions. " There," he observed, with 
 the placid spirit of a philosopher, " still 
 abide simplicity of manners, the obedience 
 of the people, and the devoted fidelity of the 
 boyards ; while at Kief, a city which is on 
 the frontier of the Hungarians, the Poles, 
 and the Polovtzy, all is pillage, murder, 
 servile and foreign war." 
 
 Remaining at home, Andrew devoted 
 himself to the duties of the principality 
 which had descended to him from inheri- 
 tance ; and there he frequently gave himself 
 up to reflection upon the calamities of his 
 country. Those calamities were still pro- 
 longed at Kief, which continued the prey of 
 men whose ambition ever exceeded their 
 power. Chief after chief entered its gates 
 in petty triumph, rested for a brief time on 
 the royal seat, and was as speedily ejected. 
 Andrew at length saw the principal cause 
 of the misery of Kief and the disunion of 
 Russia. That cause was the partitioning 
 the empire into separate governments, and 
 the establishment of feudal principalities. 
 Satisfied of the correctness of this important 
 political truth, he determined to avoid, 
 within his own territory, that error of which 
 he saw so abundantly the fatal efl'ects else- 
 where. He therefore peremptorily abolished 
 the system of granting territorial tracts, 
 even to his relations and favourite boyards ; 
 and pronounced an opinion condemnatory 
 of princes dividing their dominions into 
 appanages for their sons. The wisdom of 
 his conduct was soon apparent : Vladimir, 
 his chief city, became worthy of being 
 the Russian capital; Moscow, a town 
 created by his father, rose into distinction ; 
 and a portion of the population of the south 
 was attracted to his dominions, where they 
 sought refuge from the horrors of war and 
 confusion. 
 
 Andrew at length, lured from the unam- 
 bitious simplicity of his early life, felt en- 
 couraged to attempt the regeneration and 
 consolidation of Russia. As Kief declined, 
 
 31 
 
Andrew's designs A^^^ death.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1174. 
 
 Novgorod, the earliest Eussian city, rose in 
 prosperity. It liad recently been admitted 
 into tlie Hanseatic league, and was become 
 the emporium of the commerce of the East. 
 The bravery of its people maintained its 
 independence, Avhile the extent of its com- 
 mercial transactions was a fertile source of 
 continually increasing wealth. We have 
 now to record what must be regarded as a 
 dark stain upon the character of Andrew. 
 Influenced by a base jealousy of the pros- 
 perity of Novgorod, which he was desirous 
 should not eclipse Vladimir, the capital of 
 his principality, he collected a powerful 
 army, and advanced upon the former city. 
 The motive appears an insufficient one, but 
 it sprung from an ambitious self-love. 
 Vladimir, he was resolved, should be the 
 new capital of Russia; then it would be 
 identified with his name and reputation, 
 and must therefore stand unrivalled. To 
 have raised it to an isolated elevation by 
 securing its tranquillity, extending its com- 
 merce, encouraging the arts practised within 
 it, and adorning it with noble buildings, 
 would have been a lofty way of accomplish- 
 ing this object; to weaken and humiliate 
 a prosperous rival, was a dastardly and vile 
 one. 
 
 His first expedition against Novgorod ter- 
 minated in disgrace; his troops were op- 
 posed by the citizens with great intrepidity, 
 and hurled back from the gates of the proud 
 city. Disappointed in not being able to smite 
 the powerful, he turned his arms against 
 the weak, and led his beaten soldiers in 
 an attack on the forlorn city of Kief. 
 Against a dispirited foe they fought brutally 
 and fiercely enough, and the city was taken 
 by storm and rendered dependent upon this 
 prince of yesterday, who had achieved vic- 
 tory without honour. The following year 
 he again led an enormous army against 
 Novgorod, and was again defeated by its 
 spirited and hardy citizens ! What he could 
 not win from them by force of arms, he had, 
 however, sufficient address to acquire by 
 policy. We are told the Novgorodians saw 
 the advantages of the system he proposed, 
 and consented to acknowledge the supre- 
 macy of a prince whose principles of govern- 
 ment seemed calculated to bind together 
 the now severed appanages of the empire. 
 We must confess to an incrgdulity that any 
 arguments he could use would be likely to 
 produce so remarkable an effect. Perhaps 
 his gold, judiciously administered to the 
 chiefs of Novgorod, removed difficulties his 
 32 
 
 sword could not hew down. However this 
 may be, he was now acknowledged as occu- 
 pying the throne of the grand princedom. 
 
 Andrew's success induced him to depart 
 still further from the moderation and wisdom 
 of his youth, and to push forward his scheme 
 of consolidation with a dangerous rapidity. 
 Great works, if intended for endurance, 
 must not be suddenly or violently accom- 
 plished. That which is hastily constructed 
 is often even more rapidly demolished. 
 Man, the most highly organised of animals, 
 is the slowest in arriving at maturity ; while 
 it is computed that a thousand years must 
 elapse before the soft and comparatively 
 worthless charcoal becomes, by the subtle 
 chemistry of nature, transmuted into the 
 hard and dazzling diamond. Thus, with 
 governments and peoples, unnaturally hasty 
 reforms are followed by an inevitable reac- 
 tion, which plunges them back still further 
 into the darkness from which an effort was 
 made to emerge. Andrew's design embraced 
 the subjection of every independent prince, 
 each of whom then began to regard him 
 with suspicion and hatred. It was his in- 
 terest to destroy that which it was theirs to 
 maintain. Each prince had boyards and 
 troops dependent upon him, and was neces- 
 sarily more or less formidable. One princi- 
 pahty after another revolted against the 
 authority of the grand prince ; and the people 
 so disliked the new system, that they were 
 ever ready to take to arms at the call of 
 their leaders. 
 
 Andrew's authority, beyond his own ap- 
 panage, soon extended only where he could 
 enforce it with his sword. Not only did he 
 refuse districts to his own kindred, but even 
 banished some of them for their resistance 
 to his will. His authority declined ; and the 
 troops he once employed to reduce refrac- 
 tory princes, were now occupied in fencing 
 in his own immediate dominions from at- 
 tack. Kief and Novgorod, taking advan- 
 tage of the weakness of the man who had 
 humbled them, declared themselves inde- 
 pendent of his authority. The example was 
 followed by other cities ; and the flame of 
 insurrection at last made its appearance in 
 Andrew's own capital of Vladimir. The 
 result may be conjectured: in 1174, six 
 years after his first descent upon Novgorod, 
 the grand prince was murdered by his own 
 subjects. He had committed the common 
 error of ambitious princes — that of under- 
 taking tasks beyond their strength to ac- 
 complish, and then urging them forward 
 
A.D. 1175—1220.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [anarchy m RUSSIA. 
 
 with a blind, unreasoning energy. Had 
 Andrew possessed the integrity and self- 
 denial of the good Vladimir Monomachus, 
 he might have been regarded as an illustri- 
 ous reformer. But he lacked the patient 
 perseverance of the true hero, and his 
 eflForts were corrupted by selfishness. When 
 he thought he was serving his country, he 
 was, perhaps unconsciously, bent on exalting 
 himself. The selfish nature does not recog- 
 nise its own vice, and so Andrew might not 
 see the obstacle that lay in his path. The 
 subordinate princes would naturally exclaim, 
 ** Who is this man, that we should surrender 
 our rights and interests to him ?" Neces- 
 sarily, he was not identical, in their minds, 
 with Russia. They did not esteem him as 
 essential to binding up the wounds of the 
 empire. His claim to the grand princedom 
 was only a usurped one ; right he had none. 
 Any other powerful prince might exclaim, 
 " Why not / as well as this man of yester- 
 day?'^ If Andrew had proposed his theory 
 for tlie regeneration of the country, and 
 offered, at a convention of the princes, to 
 support it in the person of another, that 
 would have been the act of a hero. As it 
 was, he resolved on beating down, with an 
 iron hand, all opposition to a plan for the 
 execution of which he had not obtained the 
 consent of those whose interests were af- 
 fected by it — that was the part of a despot. 
 In the hardness of a selfish and wrong- 
 headed will, he adopted the least noble 
 course ; and the harvest he reaped was the 
 natural fruit of the seed he sowed. Some 
 writers have recorded his assassination in 
 the language of pity : we waste no emotion 
 on any such event; but regard it as the 
 inevitable result of natural law ! 
 
 The successors of Andrew abandoned a 
 design at once so difiicult and unpopular. 
 They even followed the old practice of sub- 
 dividing their dominions, and thus promoted 
 the impending ruin of the state. The 
 prince who first succeeded Andrew parcelled 
 out the dominions of Suzdal into inferior 
 appanages ; the next permitted a dependent 
 to dispute with him his title to the sove- 
 reignty ; while the third released the tribu- 
 tary princes from the obligation of their 
 recognition of his power as their superior 
 lord, and declared that they were not res- 
 ponsible to him, but only accountable for 
 their trusts to God. 
 
 • His real name was Temugin ; but he discarded 
 it when barbarous victories over opponents had con- 
 ferred power upon him. His birth M'as noble ; but, in 
 F 
 
 The Russian empire now no longer ex- 
 isted, and anarchy prevailed throughout the 
 north of Europe. Government, commerce, 
 and civilisation were alike becoming rapidly 
 extinct. The population of the borders 
 sought the protection of the neighbouring 
 states ; while their room was supplied by 
 the barbarian vagabondage that swept over 
 tracts which yielded but little to the plun- 
 derer. Russia was ripe for bondage, and 
 its doom was at hand. 
 
 Ghengis, or Zingis Khan, whose adopted 
 name* signified the " most great," and who 
 boasted of a divine right to the conquest 
 and dominion of the whole earth, having 
 laid Asia at his feet, now turned his eyes 
 upon the adjoining continent of Europe. 
 This fearful barbarian, who, according to 
 the calculation of oriental historians, had 
 destroyed in the East no less than five mil- 
 lions of human beings, was the son of a 
 Mogul chief, who reigned over thirty or 
 forty thousand families of shepherd-warriors. 
 Ghengis, by the aid of craft, bravery, and 
 superstition, contrived to get himself pro- 
 claimed Great Khan, or emperor of the 
 Moguls and Tartars. As the savage race 
 who followed Ghengis are inseparably inter- 
 Avoveu with the next period of Russian his- 
 tory, we will quote from the well-digested 
 pages of Gibbon a sketch of these scourges 
 of the earth. To our mind the colours em- 
 ployed are too fiivourable (the historian, 
 disgusted with the vices of civilisation, looked 
 with a too lenient eye upon the atrocities of 
 barbarism) ; but an antidote will be supplied 
 to this error by the subsequent and painful 
 facts we have to relate. — " The code of laws 
 which Zingis dictated to his subjects was 
 adopted to the preservation of domestic 
 peace, and the exercise of foreign hostility. 
 The punishment of death was inflicted on 
 the crimes of adultery, murder, perjury, and 
 the capital thefts of a horse or ox ; and the 
 fiercest of men were mild and just in their 
 intercourse with each other. The future 
 election of the Great Khan was vested in the 
 princes of his family and the heads of the 
 tribes; and the regulations of the chase 
 were essential to the pleasures and plenty of 
 a Tartar camp. The victorious nation were 
 held sacred from all servile labours, which 
 were abandoned to slaves and strangers; 
 and every labour was servile except the pro- 
 fession of arms. The service and discipline 
 
 the pride of triumph, he or his people declared that 
 his seventh ancestor was born from the immaculate 
 conception of a virgin. 
 
 33 
 
INVASION BY THE TARTARS.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1221—1223. 
 
 of the troops, wlio were armed with bows, 
 scimitars, and irou maces, and divided by 
 hundreds, thousands, and ten thousands, 
 were the institutions of a veteran com- 
 mander. Each officer and soldier was made 
 responsible, under pain of death, for the 
 safety and honour of his companions ; and 
 the spirit of conquest breathed in the law, 
 that peace should never be granted unless 
 to a vanquished and suppliant enemy. But 
 it is the religion of Zingis that best deserves 
 oiu' wonder and applause.* The catholic 
 inquisitors of Europe might have been con- 
 founded by the example of a barbarian who 
 anticipated the lessons of philosophy, and es- 
 tablished by his laws a system of pure theism 
 and perfect toleration. His first and only 
 article of faith was the existence of one God, 
 the author of all good ; who fills by his pre- 
 sence the heavens and the earth, which he 
 has created by his power. The Tartars and 
 Moguls were addicted to the idols of their 
 peculiar tribes ; and many of them had been 
 converted by the foreign missionaries to the 
 religions of Moses, of Mohammed, and of 
 Christ. These various systems, in freedom 
 and concord, were taught and practised 
 within the precincts of the same camp ; and 
 the Bonze, the Iman, the Rabbi, the Nesto- 
 rian, and the Latin priest, enjoyed the same 
 honourable exemption from service and 
 tribute. In the mosque of Bochara, the in- 
 solent victor might trample the Koran 
 under his horse's feet ; but the calm legis- 
 lator respected the prophets and pontiff's of 
 the most hostile sect. The reason of Zingis 
 was not informed by books ; the khan could 
 neither read nor write; and, except the 
 tribe of the Ingours, the greatest part of the 
 Moguls and Tartars were as illiterate as 
 their sovereign. The memory of their ex- 
 ploits were preserved by tradition; and sixty- 
 eight years after the death of Zingis, these 
 traditions were collected and transcribed." 
 
 The first descent of the Tartars and Mo- 
 guls upon Russia took place in 1231 ; but 
 the information we possess concerning it, is 
 both meagre and contradictory. It was 
 conducted not by Ghengis himself, but by 
 a son of that formidable barbarian, named 
 Joodgee Khan. The invaders made them- 
 selves masters of the Caucasus, the rich 
 
 * Scarcely so, we think, if it is to be estimated by 
 the conduct of the Mogul conqueror and his army of 
 butchers. But this does not seem to have been 
 
 fuided by any bonds of religion or morality ; and the 
 istorian alludes to his speculative opinions. Such 
 men, or monsters, as Ghengis Khan, may be in- 
 34 
 
 valleys of the river Ural, and swept over 
 and destroyed many Russian [towns and 
 villages. After this they retired, leaving 
 the startled Russians astonished at the 
 seemingly almost supernatural visitation. 
 It was not until 1223 that the Tartars again 
 made their appearance. Then, traversing 
 the shores of the Caspian Sea, they reached 
 the river Dnieper, and subdued the Circas- 
 sians who dwelt there. The latter had 
 united with the Polovtzy, for the sake of 
 opposing their common enemy. But the 
 Tartars, whose craft was nearly equal to 
 their ferocity, separated them by bribes, 
 and then defeated them singly. Had Russia 
 been united under one head, it might have 
 successfully resisted the hordes of bar- 
 barians that fell upon it; but the insane 
 discord of its princes betrayed their country 
 to the enemy. Still they were aroused from 
 their apathy by alarm, and appear to have 
 made some overtures for a union, for their 
 common protection. The wily Tartars, who 
 always sought rather to slaughter their vic- 
 tims than encounter them fairly, resorted 
 to the arts of intrigue, to prevent the junc- 
 tion of those Russian princes whose forces, 
 taken singly, would fall by their swords hke 
 ripe wheat before the sickle of the reaper. 
 With this treacherous object, they even sent 
 ambassadors into Russia with instructions 
 to offer terms of alliance and friendship. 
 These barbarian diplomatists met the fate 
 they deserved, though its infliction was ex- 
 tremely impolitic. The Russian princes 
 saw through the snare; and, feeling con- 
 vinced that the enemy was not to be bound 
 by oaths and treaties, they, in a moment of 
 exasperation, put the Tartar ambassadors 
 to death, and then prepared for hostilities. 
 
 The act was both a crime and a mistake. 
 Unless the person of an ambassador is held 
 secure from injury or insult, all communi- 
 cation between hostile forces must neces- 
 sarily terminate. These murders were, more- 
 over, a serious error, because they gave 
 the Tartars and Moguls an excuse for the 
 ravages of war and the attempt at conquest. 
 Even in this hour of common danger, the 
 Russian princes, though both their country 
 and themselves stood on the verge of des- 
 truction, could not subdue their mutual 
 
 fluenced by superstition, but can scarcely be said 
 to possess a religion. We know of none — Pagan, 
 Boodist, Jewish, Christian, Mohammedan, Deist, or 
 Pantheist — that does not recognise moral duties as a 
 sequel to religious faith ; necessarily including self- 
 denial and forbearance. 
 
A.D. 1237.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [great tartar invasion. 
 
 jealousies. They were still unwilling to 
 co-operate, and their troops were for the 
 most part disorganised and worn out by 
 domestic contentions. The Tartars were 
 not slow to avail themselves of this advan- 
 tage, and the Russians were defeated with 
 great slaughter on the banks of the Kalka, 
 near the mouth of the Don, While the 
 forces of the Prince of Galitsh were being 
 thrown into confusion and beaten down by 
 their adversaries, those of the Prince of Kief 
 stood aloof, and looked with indifference, or 
 with secret satisfaction, at the carnage which 
 was proceeding. His malicious and idiotic 
 gratification was of very brief duration ; the 
 enemy having destroyed his rival, soon 
 trampled him and his forces beneath their 
 victorious feet. After the battle, the Tar- 
 tars entered the country, and ravaged the 
 whole of its southern side ; and then, leaving 
 it a desert, withdrew their armies. 
 
 Thirteen years elapsedbeforethese scourges 
 of humanity reappeared. During this period 
 the Russian princes remained inactive, and 
 neglected to fortify the vulnerable points of 
 approach, or to concert together means of 
 defence against the terrible enemy who 
 might at any time return. The princes 
 could not abandon their dissensions ; and 
 the people in the border districts seemed 
 passive and bewildered, like men exposed to 
 a fate against which it was useless to struggle. 
 Other afflictions, of a no less appalling cha- 
 racter, also fell upon the unhappy land; 
 and a famine, a plague, and an earthquake, 
 added to the horrors which racked it. The 
 measure of its woe seemed full; and yet, 
 even in these times of terror and darkness, 
 when the night of history seemed descending 
 with a starless and profound blackness upon 
 Russia, and the grave of empires seemed 
 yawning for a yet infant though decrepid 
 state, a greater woe was to come ! 
 
 Baton, a grandson of Ghengis Khan, with 
 a force said to consist of 500,000 Tartars 
 and Moguls, had started on a great expedi- 
 tion of conquest and destruction, bent on 
 accomplishing what the family of Ghengis 
 affected to consider the conquest and 
 punishment of the whole earth. In 1237 
 Baton fell upon the Bulgarians, the imme- 
 diate neighbours of the Russians, who natu- 
 rally applied to the latter for assistance. 
 It is astonishing that it was not granted at 
 whatever sacrifice ! Such, however, was 
 the fact; a selfish policy prevailed in the 
 counsels of the Russian princes, and they 
 declined to assist the Bulgarians. Yet the 
 
 grand prince of Vladimir, in this time of 
 probable national extinction, occupied him- 
 self in adorning the churches, bestowing 
 alms on beggars, and purchasing the prayers 
 of monks. So buried was he in the barren 
 formularies of his religion, that he had no 
 time for the performance of secular duties. 
 
 When Baton and his hordes had van- 
 quished the Bulgarians, and wasted their 
 country with fire and sword, they entered 
 Russia. The latter appeared almost too 
 exhausted for resistance. The principality 
 of Riazan fell at the approach of the Tartars; 
 and, in many places, the people came forth 
 and surrendered themselves to the invaders, 
 in the hope of thus obtaining a merciful 
 treatment. In this anticipation they were 
 fatally deceived. The brutal habits, and the 
 almost entirely carnivorous diet of the shep- 
 herd-soldiers, had closed their hearts to the 
 approach of compassion. The sentiment of 
 pity is imperceptibly weakened by the sight 
 and practice of domestic cruelty. Those 
 horrid objects which are disguised by the 
 arts of European refinement, were exhibited 
 in their most naked and disgusting simpli- 
 city in the tent of a Tartar shepherd. The 
 ox or the sheep were slaughtered by the 
 same hand from which they were accustomed 
 to receive their daily food, and the bleeding 
 limbs were served, with very little prepara- 
 tion, on the table of the unfeeling slaughter- 
 man. As the wandering habits of these 
 hordes did not permit of the pursuit of 
 agricultural arts, their food consisted, there- 
 fore, almost entirely of milk and of flesh in 
 the state to which we have alluded. Such 
 a diet, and a life spent in war, gradually 
 converted the natural man into a ferocious 
 creature, more akin to the brute than to the 
 human race. 
 
 We are, therefore, prepared to believe 
 that much cruelty was committed by the 
 Tartars on the submissive people who sought 
 to win their pity. Even then, reality out- 
 strips imagination. Mercy was an emotion 
 unknown to the Tartars; and they com- 
 mitted the most revolting atrocities on men 
 and women, age and infancy. All men 
 capable of bearing arms were butchered in 
 cold blood, and young girls and children 
 were tortured before the eyes of their 
 agonised parents. Plunder, violation, and 
 carnage succeeded each other ; and when a 
 town or village had been rendered little 
 more than a collection of open sepulchres, 
 the Tartars gave the houses to the flames or 
 razed them to the earth. They only re- 
 
 35 
 
ATROCITIES OF THE T.UITARS.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 ^ [a-d. 1238. 
 
 quired hunting-grounds. They dwelt in 
 rude tents, and had no need of cities ; there- 
 fore they would not spare what might be- 
 come the nucleus of an armed population, 
 and, perhaps in time, an instrument of re- 
 tribution. When unable to obtain admis- 
 sion into a fortified town, they promised 
 safety to the inhabitants if they would sub- 
 mit; and when, by this means, they had 
 obtained an entrance, they immediately vio- 
 lated their promises, and put the deceived 
 Russians to death. Indeed, the particulars 
 of their progress is an awful catalogue of all 
 that is wanton and revolting in crime ; all 
 that is appallingly refined in cruelty. One 
 is tempted — we trust not irreverently — to 
 wonder that the wrath of the Almighty was 
 not aroused to manifest itself by some 
 miraculous deed of retribution, in which 
 the destroying angel should have smitten 
 dead every one of that vast horde of trea- 
 cherous assassins and torturers ! 
 
 The Prince of Riazan, compelled to aban- 
 don his principality to the ravages of the 
 foe, solicited the assistance of Yury, the 
 grand prince of Vladimir; but this monk- 
 like simpleton was still busy painting 
 churches, testing the sound of bells, and 
 buying the prayers of his retinue of priests 
 with gold. The application was made too 
 late; the small force that circumstances 
 permitted him to send was totally inade- 
 quate to perform the gigantic task required 
 at their hands. The unhappy men were 
 massacred by the Tartars, and Riazan left 
 in flames. Onward, like a surging torrent, 
 went the dark tide of invasion and murder. 
 Town after town fell before the hosts of 
 human fiends; and in each were perpe- 
 trated many of those terrible tragedies of 
 which we have already spoken. Soon the 
 country was laid waste up to the very gates 
 of the city of Vladimir. Yury, finding it 
 necessary now to adopt some stringent mea- 
 sures, and being utterly unequal to the task, 
 confided the defence of the city to one of 
 his chieftains, and then sought his own 
 safety by retiring to a fortified camp on the 
 banks of the river Sit. 
 
 The inhabitants of Vladimir had lost all 
 confidence in themselves, and were para- 
 lysed with fear in consequence of the pre- 
 sence of Tartars before their walls. The 
 ofl&cer to whom the command of the city 
 had been entrusted shared the general feel- 
 ing of dread; and the inhabitants, aban- 
 doning themselves to terror, neglected all 
 
 36 
 
 rational means of defence, and, crowding 
 to the churches and the sanctuaries, pros- 
 trated themselves before the images of the 
 saints, and implored assistance. Many, 
 looking upon death as inevitable, embraced 
 some holy order, and, 'entering the cells of 
 some house devoted to the services of reli- 
 gion, resolved to die at least in the exercise 
 of their faith. 
 
 The Tartars soon discovered the abject 
 state of their victims, whom they accord- 
 ingly despised for cowardice. A party of 
 them having scaled the walls almost without 
 resistance, opened the gates to their coun- 
 trymen, who rushed in, and, with an almost 
 incredible thirst for blood, slaughtered every 
 person they found. It is actually said, that 
 not one Russian survived the massacre. 
 The wife and two sons of Yury were among 
 the victims; the former, together with her 
 attendant ladies, being massacred on the 
 steps of the sacred altar, to which they had 
 fled in the vain hope that within its shadow 
 they would be secure from the murderers. 
 While yet reeking with the blood of those 
 whom they had slain so remorselessly, the 
 Tartars set Vladimir on fire, and left it the 
 mere blackened and crumbling skeleton of a 
 city. This atrocity was perpetrated in the 
 February of 1238. The phlegmatic Yury 
 was roused at last ; but it was now too late. 
 He awaited the Tartars in his fortified posi- 
 tion, where, early in the following month, 
 he was attacked by overwhelming forces, 
 and fought bravely, until he was slain in 
 the heat of the battle. His scanty band of 
 followers were annihilated by their ruthless 
 foes. 
 
 After a brief rest, Batou and the Tartar 
 host directed their steps towards Novgorod ; 
 but, when within sixty miles of the city, 
 they suddenly halted and retraced their 
 steps. Whether the climate was not agree- 
 able to them, or they were wearied with 
 long marches in a country which did not 
 repay the toil of conquest, is unknown. 
 Many of the Russians attributed the de- 
 liverance to the intercessions of their fa- 
 vourite saints. Certain, however, is it, that 
 turning their backs upon Novgorod, they 
 abandoned the empire. During their pro- 
 gress they had destroyed fourteen fortified 
 cities, and a great number of inferior towns 
 and scattered villages. Those whom they 
 put to death have been so variously esti- 
 mated, that no confidence can be placed in 
 any of the statements. 
 
A.D. 1240—1242.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [the golden horde. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 KEAPPEARANCE OF THE TARTARS ; AFTER DESOLATING A PART OF RUSSIA, THEY CARRY THEIR ARMS INTO 
 POLAND AND IIUNGAUT ; TUEV RETURN TO RUSSIA, WHERE THEIR CHIEF, BATOU, ESTABLISHES A GOV- 
 ERNMENT ON THE BANKS OF THE VOLGA, UNDER THE NAME OF THE GOLDEN HORDE ; THE TARTAR 
 POLICY ; MEANNESS AND AVEAKNESS OF THE RUSSIAN PRINCES ; RISE OF ALEXANDER NEVSKY ; RESIST- 
 ANCE TO THE TARTAR TAX-GATHERERS ; DEATH OF ALEXANDER ; EXECUTION OF THE GRAND PRINCE. 
 
 The respite of the unhappy people of Russia 
 was but a brief one. Early in 1240, Batou 
 and his Tartar hordes again made their ap- 
 pearance. Such was the terror with which 
 they were regarded, that the inhabitants 
 fled at their approach, and sought for safety 
 in hiding-places and remote retreats. Batou 
 passed through a solitude of deserted towns 
 and villages ; and his fierce barbarians, dis- 
 appointed in their thirst for blood, gave the 
 silent habitations to the flames. The fortress 
 of Kief, which was strongly built and well 
 garrisoned, resisted the invaders for a time. 
 It was defended by a fearless and expe- 
 rienced officer, who repelled the first assaults 
 of the Tartars with great intrepidity. But 
 the contest was too unequal for continuance, 
 and their number too great to be long with- 
 stood. With one tremendous assault they 
 broke through the defences; and, having 
 obtained an entrance into the city, com- 
 menced their usual work of slaughter and 
 destruction. Having reduced Kief to heaps 
 of blackened and smouldering ruins, between 
 which stood the charred walls of palaces and 
 churches, they deliberated upon some more 
 than usually cruel way of putting to death 
 the Russian officer who had resisted them. 
 Yet such was the dignified and fearless 
 bearing of this man, that it won respect 
 even from the barbarian Batou ; who spared 
 his life, and even admitted him to his confi- 
 dence. The Russian represented to the 
 Tartar chieftain, that the country was so 
 impoverished that scarcely anything was to 
 be gained by a prosecution of the war. 
 With a view of getting rid of the aggressor, 
 he also pointed out Poland and Hungary, 
 which had been accumulating wealth during 
 a long interval of comparative repose, as 
 fields where far more abundant spoil could 
 be obtained. 
 
 Batou was convinced; and, abandoning 
 Kief, he and his vast army forced a passage 
 into Poland. Its king, Boleslas V., struck 
 with terror, fled into Hungary ; and, when 
 danger approached that country, retreated 
 
 to a monastery in the heart of Moravia. 
 Poland, rent by domestic factions, became 
 an easy prey to the invaders. Its towns 
 were taken and destroyed ; its rivers stained 
 with the blood of its people ; and its fields 
 desolated. Some of the Polish nobles made 
 a resolute stand, but they were crushed by 
 the overwhelming numbers of their foes. 
 After the battle of Lignitz, in which the 
 dukes of Silesia, the Polish palatines, and 
 the Teutonic knights were defeated, the 
 Tartars filled nine sacks with the right ears 
 of the slain. Thence the mighty tide of 
 barbarism rolled forward into Hungary, 
 which fell before their fury; cities and 
 towns were given to the flames, and the soil 
 whitened by the bones of its inhabitants. 
 Such was the savage insolence of the Tartars, 
 that they assigned but eighteen years for 
 the conquest of Europe ! The Roman pon- 
 tiff made an attempt to soften and convert 
 these barbarians by a mission of Franciscan 
 and Dominican friars; but Batou fiercely 
 replied, that the sons of God and of Ghengis 
 were invested with a divine power to subdue 
 or extirpate the nations, and that the pope 
 would be involved in the universal destruc- 
 tion, unless he visited in person, and as a 
 suppliant, the royal Horde. 
 
 On his return from Poland and Hungary, 
 Batou settled on the banks of the river 
 Volga. Having declared himself indepen- 
 dent of the parent authority, he here estab- 
 lished the empire of the khans of Kapts- 
 chak, or the Golden Horde ; a name derived 
 from the gorgeous tapestry and sumptuous 
 appearance of the tent of the Tartar prince. 
 Russia, as an independent state, no longer 
 existed ; all its principalities were subjected 
 to the iron supremacy of the Tartar khan. 
 The Russian princes could only purchase 
 peace by a humble attendance, with tribute, 
 at the Golden Horde, where they were also 
 compelled to submit to ceremonies of the 
 most humiliating kind. The Horde, form- 
 ing but one of five divisions of the empire 
 of the Mogul Tartars, derived its subsistence 
 
 37 
 
POLICY OF THE TARTARS.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1243. 
 
 from the revenues it extorted from t"he Rus- 
 sians. Its power, as will be seen, was pre- 
 served by a mixture of craft and cruelty. 
 
 It was part of the Tartar policy to weaken 
 and humiliate the Russian princes, probably 
 that no patriot should arise from among 
 them and succeed in throwing off the op- 
 pressive yoke they were made to bear. The 
 Russian people had been reduced to such a 
 state of national prostration, that they were 
 no longer able to drive back the border 
 nations, who at intervals poured in upon 
 their desolated districts; and, in their misery, 
 they were compelled to look even to the 
 khan for protection from the Lithuanians, 
 the Swedes, the Livonians, the Poles, and 
 the Hungarians. The Tartars, also, encou- 
 raged that tendency to religious observances 
 which despair had engendered in the Rus- 
 sian people. This they did with the subtle 
 intention of gradually weaning the latter 
 from warlike habits, and making them sub- 
 mit passively to the exactions of a grinding 
 and insulting tyranny. With this view they 
 conferred honours on the church, and in- 
 creased its revenues, while they used it as 
 an instrument for effeminating the people. 
 So far did they carry this assumed respect, 
 that they condescended, to listen to the 
 petitions of metropolitans and bishops: 
 while similar applications, on the part of 
 princes, were disdainfully rejected. Sacri- 
 lege they punished with death; and they 
 released the ecclesiastical domains from the 
 payment of taxes, either to themselves or to 
 the native princes. The influence of the 
 church thus became very great; the dis- 
 heartened Russian nobles retired to its 
 cloisters to spend the close of their lives, 
 and enriched its revenues with their pro- 
 perty. A pious resignation to calamity 
 became general : Russians acquired a habit 
 of leaving their property to the church ; 
 while numbers of the wealthy devoted their 
 means to the erection of religious houses ; 
 so that, eventually, it came to be observed, 
 that more churches and monasteries were 
 built during the sway of the Tartars than at 
 any other period of Russian history. In no 
 other point of domestic government did the 
 Tartars think it worth their while to inter- 
 fere. They were satisfied with having de- 
 graded the princes by an inordinate patron- 
 age of the church, and of reducing the 
 former to puppets ; while the latter, seem- 
 ingly honoured as it was, only existed by 
 their forbearance. 
 
 Russia had still a grand prince, although 
 88 
 
 his dignity was but a name, and his autho- 
 rity a delusion. This was Yaroslaf, who, on 
 the death of his brother Yury, had resigned 
 Novgorod to his son, and taken possession 
 of the principality and ruined city of Vladi- 
 mir. Though the empty title of grand 
 prince attached to this locality, yet Yaroslaf 
 could not obtain permission to assume it, 
 without first paying a large sum to the ava- 
 ricious Baton. By the means of lavish 
 bribes he obtained the indulgence he 
 sought, and was nominated grand prince, 
 on condition that he acknowledged the khan 
 of Kaptschak as his feudal lord, and the 
 supreme or head khan of all the Tartar 
 hordes as his sovereign in chief. His hol- 
 low dignity only provoked the jealousy of 
 his fellow-princes, who, irritated at his 
 selfishness, refused to acknowledge his sove- 
 reignty. They would even have made war 
 upon him, but that they feared he would be 
 supported by the power of the khan. Sooner 
 than acknowledge the paramount authority 
 of Yaroslaf, the princes voluntarily tendered 
 their obedience to the Tartars ! The word 
 of the khan settled all disputes as to terri- 
 tory and other matters, and from his deci- 
 sion there was no appeal. Each prince 
 strove to win the favour of the Tartar chief 
 by bribes ; and all of them earned his con- 
 tempt, by their base endeavours to induce 
 him to place them in the seat of the grand 
 princedom instead of Yaroslaf. It is impos- 
 sible to bestow even a passing thought of pity 
 upon these unprincipled men, whose insolent 
 despotism and cruelty in prosperity, was only 
 to be equalled by their abject humility and 
 greediness in adversity. Not one of them 
 seems to have been actuated by an active 
 sense of patriotism; country to them was 
 but as the quivering carcase whose scarcely 
 lifeless limbs are torn asunder by a horde of 
 wolves. National spirit seemed for a time 
 extinct in the Russian princes and nobles; 
 the highest dignity of manhood appeared 
 crushed beneath the starless darkness of a 
 stifling tyranny ; and, for a while, nothing 
 remained but the meanness of abject minds 
 and the weakness of helpless ones. 
 
 The terrible desolation inflicted by the 
 Tartars had caused the little land that had 
 been placed under cultivation to remain a 
 desert ; and now a series of famines added to 
 the calamities of the people. Border nations 
 also proceeded to appropriate to themselves 
 portions of the territory of a people who 
 seemed incapable of defending themselves. 
 Amongst these ungenerous foes who warred 
 
A.D. 1244—1256.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [ALEXANDER NEVSKY. 
 
 upon misery, were the Swedes, Danes, and 
 Livonians, who made preparations for a 
 descent upon Novgorod. This ancient city 
 had not been reached by the Tartars, and 
 had suflfered comparatively little from the 
 calamities that had fallen on the rest of 
 Russia. Somethiug of the ancient spirit 
 yet remained among its people ; and at the 
 call of their prince, Alexander, they prepared 
 to resist the march of the intruders. All 
 difficult emergencies require men of decision 
 and strength of character to grapple with 
 them. Alexander was a man of this kind. 
 Without waiting for an assistance which the 
 grand prince was unable to afford, he col- 
 lected an army, and, marching out of the 
 city, met his advancing foes on the banks 
 of the Neva, where, after a fierce contest, he 
 gained a decisive victory. Erecting strong 
 forts on the spot to check future aggression, 
 he returned in triumph to Novgorod, where 
 his delighted people bestowed upon him the 
 name of Nevsky, in commemoration of his 
 victory on the banks of the Neva. 
 
 Alexander Nevsky was but in the early 
 summer of life, and consequently easily ac- 
 cessible to the dangerous promptings of 
 ambition. The attachment evinced towards 
 him by his army, and the honours oflFered 
 by his people, made him desirous of extend- 
 ing his dominions. Novgorod, though gov- 
 erned by a prince, still retained much of its 
 original republican character and mode of 
 administration. Its citizens enjoyed a 
 proud exclusiveness. They had a strong 
 antipathy to be mixed with the people of 
 neighbouring principalities, and being also 
 apprehensive that their prince might abuse 
 his advantages, they vehemently opposed his 
 design of territorial extension. Finding 
 their remonstrances disregarded, they at 
 length broke into open rebellion, and Alex- 
 ander retired in disgust from the city, and 
 proceeded to Novgorod, Avhere he begged 
 from his father a sufficient force to enable 
 him to chastise his refractory subjects. 
 Yaroslaf wisely refused the mad request, and 
 appointing another of his sbns to rule over 
 Novgorod, conferred upon Alexander the 
 inferior principality of Pereislaf. 
 
 This state of things did not last long. 
 The new prince soon demonstrated his in- 
 capability of defending Novgorod from those 
 attacks which were encouraged by the 
 absence of Alexander. The citizens im- 
 plored the latter to return to them and 
 resume the reins of government. At first 
 he refused indignantly j but he yielded to 
 
 the entreaties of a second deputation. 
 Taking up arms, he was again victorious 
 against the invaders of his country, whom 
 he assailed in their turn, and defeated them 
 so decisively that his reputation spread 
 throughout Russia, and even elicited the 
 real or assumed approbation of the Golden 
 Horde. 
 
 Yaroslaf, the titular grand prince of 
 Russia, went to an inglorious tomb in 1246, 
 on wliich occasion the Tartar khan sum- 
 moned Alexander to make his appearance 
 at the Golden Horde. The young soldier 
 obeyed; and there he met many of the Rus- 
 sian princes, contending against each other 
 with valuable offerings for the favour of the 
 khan, and each hoping to obtain from him 
 the empty dignity of grand prince. Alex- 
 ander would not solicit a title to which he 
 felt he had a right not possessed by any of 
 the selfish triflers by whom he was sur- 
 rounded. His frank and fearless manner 
 elicited the admiration of the khan, who 
 treated him with unusual respect. But 
 the Tartar chief was anxious to show his 
 power, and to keep the order of succession 
 to the grand princedom in a state of uncer- 
 tainty ; therefore it was not until Alexander 
 made a second journey to the Golden 
 Horde, in 1252, that that dignity was con- 
 ferred upon him. 
 
 On attaining this new title, Alexander 
 led an expedition into Sweden, chiefly with 
 the object of inflicting chastisement upon a 
 foe who seemed ever ready to harass his 
 frontier districts. Success attended his 
 arms, and he returned home laden with 
 prisoners, spoil, and trophies. Such was his 
 military talent that, added to the favourable 
 impression he had made upon the khan, it 
 raised the grand princedom to an actual 
 dignity. When dissensions arose amongst 
 the princes, and they sought the adjudica- 
 tion of the khan, he either referred the 
 adjustment of their differences to Alexander, 
 or confiscated their dominions and annexed 
 them to the grand princedom. The princes 
 of Kief and Vladimir, probably influenced" 
 by some agents of the pope, signified their 
 submission to that potentate, and their 
 adoption of the Roman religion. This 
 fickleness was ofi'ensive to the khan, who 
 patronised the Greek church; and, in his 
 anger, immediately deprived them of their 
 territories, which, also, he bestowed upon 
 the favoured grand prince. 
 
 Hitherto the khan had been satisfied by 
 receiving from each of the princes a large 
 
 39 
 
Alexander's career and death.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1256—1264. 
 
 sum as tribute money, vrhicli lie left them 
 to collect from their subjects in the way 
 most in consonance with their feelings. 
 Now, however, he adopted a more strin- 
 gent method, and appointed Tartar offi- 
 cers to collect a tax imposed upon every 
 Russian according to his means, Avith the 
 exception of the clerg)^ This burden, in 
 the shape of direct taxation by a foreign 
 power, was heavily felt, and produced great 
 discontent among the people. The Tartar 
 tax-gatherers were regarded with aversion, 
 and, in some places, even received with 
 execration. Resistance produced increased 
 severity on their part. A spirit of opposi- 
 tion led to one of insurrection, in which the 
 citizens of Novgorod took the lead by re- 
 fusing to pay the tax, and threatened with 
 death those who were appointed to collect 
 it. The city was now governed by one of 
 Alexander's sons, who sanctioned this out- 
 break of popular feeling. The grand prince, 
 knowing that neither the people of Nov- 
 gorod, nor those of any other part of the 
 Russian dominions, were able to resist the 
 power of the khan, hurried to Novgorod to 
 appease the tumult. Rebuking the citizens 
 for having perilled the safety of the country, 
 he punished the advisers of his son, and ar- 
 ranged the payment of the tax, to the satis- 
 faction of the Tartar collectors. Still the 
 people were discontented, on account of the 
 inequality of the tax ; nor could Alexander 
 pacify them, until he personally undertook 
 the responsibility of the payment. 
 
 Novgorod was no sooner tranquillised 
 than the spirit of resistance broke out else- 
 where. The despotic insolence of the Tartar 
 tax-gatherers provoked retaliation from the 
 Russians, who sometimes drove them from 
 their cities, and at others put them to death. 
 Such events necessarily came to the ears of 
 the khan, who resolved on at once crushing 
 the insubordination by a terrible example. 
 To accomplish his vengeance, he craftily 
 summoned all the Russian princes to appear 
 before him at the head of their troops, say- 
 ing that he required their aid for a distant 
 campaign he was about to undertake. His 
 real object was to sweep over the land with 
 his barbarians, during the absence of its 
 armed population. Alexander detected the 
 treachery, and he resolved to go alone to 
 the Horde, and, at the risk of exciting the 
 anger of the khan, endeavour to avert his 
 vengeance. On arriving there, he was 
 treated with great contumely by the Tartar 
 chieftains. Persevering in his patriotic en- 
 40 
 
 deavours, he remained a whole year at the 
 Horde, before he was able to appease the 
 wrath of the khan. Then he was allowed 
 to return home, with a promise that the 
 Tartar prince would forgive the insubordi- 
 nation of the Russians, and abandon his 
 designs of vengeance. He set out on his re- 
 turn to his dominions in the year 1264; 
 but he had not proceeded far before he ex- 
 pired suddenly upon the road. His death 
 is attributed to poison, administered by the 
 Tartars, who had become jealous of the 
 great influence he had acquired over his 
 countrymen. The Tartars, in dealing with 
 their enemies, recognised no obligations 
 either of honour, religion, or humanity. 
 They were butchers in practice, Jesuits in 
 principle, and resorted to the profoundest 
 dissimulation in cases where they deemed 
 open violence to be injudicious or danger- 
 ous. On subsequent occasions, also, they 
 administered poison to some of the Russian 
 princes whom they wished to remove. A 
 modern writer has acutely observed of these 
 Tartar oppressors, that " the system of open 
 outrage had been gradually abandoned as 
 the sphere of their settled possessions be- 
 came determined. The excuse for putting 
 the vassal princes to death, which a war of 
 extermination yielded, no longer existed; 
 and they could not hope to maintain their 
 authority in Russia without an enormous 
 expenditure of blood, and an incessant ap- 
 peal to arms, unless they observed some ex- 
 ternal respect for the forms of justice. 
 Other causes, too, had imperceptibly di- 
 minished the passion for slaughter which 
 marked their predatory mode of life. A 
 love of luxury was springing up amongst 
 them. The change from a roving, maraud- 
 ing, and wild state, to that of permanent 
 location, brought with it a corresponding 
 desire for ease, and a cultivation of luxu- 
 rious habits. Public breaches of good faith 
 would have been attended with vexatious 
 consequences and endless disturbance; and 
 it is likely that, in such a frame of mind, 
 the Tartars preferred the secret assassina- 
 tion, which entailed no results, to the open 
 murder of the Russian princes, which must 
 have produced an attempt at retaliation." 
 
 To the memory of Alexander Nevsky 
 must be accorded the painful honour, that 
 he was the only distinguished Russian 
 patriot of his time. Amongst a crowd of 
 worthless princes he stands alone, as a man 
 who often risked, and finally lost his life, in 
 an endeavour to raise the depressed energies 
 
A.D. 1264—1319.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [depressed state of russia. 
 
 of his couutiy. A wise statesman, and a 
 gifted soldier, his rule was distinguished 
 alike by victories abroad and improvements 
 at home. Had the jealousy of the Russian 
 princes permitted them to acknowledge him 
 as their superior sovereign, and to serve 
 under his command with all the forces they 
 could raise, the oppressive sway of the Tar- 
 tars might have been broken, and the inde- 
 pendence of Russia restored. But the petty 
 dissensions of a class which had brought 
 upon the country the curse of a foreign 
 yoke, now prevented it from rising from the 
 dust, and again taking its place among the 
 nations. Alexander, however, was deeply 
 mourned by the people, who felt that a 
 great one had departed from them. So 
 impressed were men's minds with his death, 
 that supernatural events were believed to 
 have accompanied it. It was said, that the 
 approaching decease of the grand prince 
 >vas announced to the metropolitan by a 
 voice from heaven ; and that, while the body 
 lay in the coffin, the dead man opened one 
 of his hands as the prayer of absolution was 
 spoken over him. Such narrations, false 
 and puerile as they may seem to us, are not 
 to be regarded as idle inventions. In times 
 of national calamity, marvellous tales arise 
 from the mind-mists of popular superstition 
 and ignorance, as new and strange births 
 are supposed to have done from the reeking 
 slime of an infant world. The circum- 
 stances attending Alexander's death, neces- 
 sarily caused him to be canonised as a saint. 
 Centuries later, when Tartar oppression had 
 faded into a dim tradition among the masses 
 of the Russian people — when the empire was 
 born anew under the gifted Peter the Great, 
 that monarch erected a monastery to the 
 memory of Alexander, and caused his relics 
 to be removed, with much devotional cere- 
 mony, to St. Petersburg. His name was 
 further. honoured by being connected with a 
 new order of knighthood, which compre- 
 hended some of the monarchs of Europe 
 among its members. 
 
 Once again Russia, during the period of 
 its darkness, was without a single star which 
 might serve for guidance and for hope. We 
 have no glimpses of the people ; who, per- 
 haps, despised and disregarded, may still 
 have been, for the most part, exempt from 
 those terrors and sufiferings which fell upon 
 them in the advent of the Tartar bondage. 
 But the princes presented the same paltry 
 spectacle as ever. Each neglectful of his 
 own subjects, and perfectly oblivious of the 
 
 duties attaching to his station, was fighting 
 or intriguing for the shadowy honour of 
 the grand princedom. This internal confu- 
 sion was increased by a division which arose 
 among the Tartars. Nogay, a powerful 
 chieftain, declared himself independent of 
 the khan of Kaptschak, or . the Golden 
 Horde ; and setting up his sovereignty in the 
 southern provinces, contended with his rival 
 for the tribute, or rather taxes, of the Rus- 
 sians. Here was a great opportunity for 
 the princes of the latter people; for, by 
 united action, they might have aided one 
 division of the Tartars to ^exterminate the 
 other, and then have turned their arms un- 
 expectedly against those who remained. 
 Instead of this, the princes paid court to 
 whichsoever obtained an ascendancy for the 
 time, and thus incurred the anger of the 
 other when his day of power came. 
 
 Constant dissensions so enfeebled the 
 Russian princes, that at length most of 
 them fell into obscurity, and the struggle 
 for the grand princedom lay between two of 
 them only — the princes Michael of Twer and 
 Yury of Moscow; the latter city having 
 been rebuilt, and erected into a separate 
 appanage, since it had been destroyed by 
 the Tartars. Yury, as the weakest, must 
 probably have submitted, but that he had 
 the address so to insinuate himself into the 
 favour of the reigning khan, Usbek, as to 
 gain the hand of the sister of the Tartar in 
 marriage. This connection — a closer one 
 than had hitherto existed between the Rus-i 
 sians and their masters — encouraged Yury* 
 to make war upon Michael, who had as- 
 sumed the title of grand prince. A battle 
 followed, in which Yury was defeated, and 
 his new-made wife, the Tartar princess, 
 taken prisoner. The unfortunate lady soon 
 after expired at Twer, under circumstances 
 that led to the suspicion that her death was 
 the result of violence. Yury accused Mi- 
 chael of having poisoned the princess, and 
 Usbek-Khan summoned the victor to the 
 Golden Horde, to answer to the crime laid 
 to his charge. 
 
 It is generally assumed that the accusa- 
 tion was a calumny, or, at least, that if the 
 Tartar princess did come unfairly by her 
 death, yet that Michael was innocent of the 
 crime. Distrustful of the intentions of the 
 khan towards him, the prince sent one of 
 his sons to the latter to assure him of his 
 devotion, and to explain the malignant 
 motives of the Prince of Twer. The khan 
 was not to be appeased, and insisted on the 
 
 41 
 
EXECUTION OF MICHAEL.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1319—1339. 
 
 personal appearance of the grand prince to 
 meet the charge. After some hesitation, 
 Michael departed, conscious of his inability 
 to resist the will of the oppressor of his 
 country. With a presentiment of coming 
 evil, he made his will before he started on 
 his journey to the Horde, and carried with 
 him rich presents, by which to modify the 
 anger of his self-constituted judge. The 
 implacable Yury had been there before, and 
 striven to prejudice the Tartar chieftains 
 against his own countryman. A court was 
 formed — the Tartar general who had been 
 defeated by Michael was at its head, and 
 Yury was the accuser. Under such circum- 
 stances, the trial which followed was a judi- 
 cial mockery ; and a grand prince of Russia 
 was sentenced to death by a foreign court ! 
 Such a proceeding was a startling one ; and 
 even Usbek-Khan hesitated before carrying 
 it to extremities. Either to satisfy some 
 scruples that might have arisen in his seared 
 mind, or to make an idle parade of pretended 
 justice, he ordered the case to be again tried 
 before a new court. The same spirit per- 
 vaded both, and the same result followed. 
 Michael was kept in chains for five-and- 
 twenty days, during which his sons and 
 friends were permitted to visit him ; and he 
 then suffered death at the hands of the 
 headsman. This insulting exercise, or rather 
 abuse, of Tartar authority occurred in the year 
 1320. A deeper humiliation could scarcely 
 have been inflicted on either prince or people. 
 
 The implacable Y'^ury of Moscow suc- 
 ceeded to the throne of the grand prince ; 
 but he had only enjoyed his dignity a few 
 years when he was assassinated by the 
 eldest son of Michael, who, at the command 
 of the khan, shared the fate of his father, 
 and was put to death for the deed. 
 
 Michael's second son, Alexander, suc- 
 
 ceeded, in 1326, to the grand princedom. 
 Scarcely a year had elapsed since his acces- 
 sion, when a report reached him that the 
 Tartars living in Twer had formed a con- 
 spiracy to murder him. It is supposed that 
 no such design was entertained by them; 
 but that the calumnious report was spread 
 by Ivan, the Prince of Moscow, who had 
 succeeded to all his brother Yury's implaca- 
 ble hatred to the family of the unfortunate 
 Michael. But even on the assumption that 
 the Tartars were guilty of the treacherous 
 design attributed to them, justice and pru- 
 dence both demanded a calm investigation 
 into their conduct, that only those who were 
 really involved in the guilty intention should 
 suffer the punishment due to them. In- 
 stead of this, the grand prince acted like a 
 despot and a madman, and caused every 
 Tartar resident within his principality, who 
 would not adopt Christianity, to be put 
 to death. Such a wanton atrocity naturally 
 aroused the anger of Usbek-Khan, whose 
 power, fortunately for the subjects of the 
 grand prince, was on the decline, or he 
 would probably have executed an appalling 
 vengeance. Still he drove Alexander from 
 his throne ; gave his dominions to his rival, 
 Ivan of Moscow, whom he bound to pursue 
 the outlawed prince wherever he went, and 
 to deliver him a prisoner to the Tartars, 
 He was eventually captured, together with 
 his sou ; and both of them being sent to the 
 Golden Horde, perished by the weapon of 
 the headsman. 
 
 We now approach a period when Russia, 
 still feeble and humbled, and threatened 
 with another terrible Tartar visitation, was 
 yet slowly and insensibly collecting its 
 energies, prior to its resurrection to a 
 national life more promising than any it 
 had yet enjoyed. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 IVAN I.; HIS WEALTH AND CUNNING; SIMEON THE PROUD, AND IVAN 11.; THE MOSCOW LINE OP SUC- 
 CESSION SUSPENDED; RESTORED IN THE PERSON OF DMITRY DONSKOI; HIS CONFLICTS WITH THE 
 PRINCE OF TWER ; DMITRY DEFEATS THE TARTARS AT THE GREAT BATTLE OF THE DON ; THE TARTARS 
 BURN MOSCOW AND RECOVER THEIR ASCENDANCY ; DEATH OF DMITRY ; HE IS SUCCEEDED BY VAS8ILY : 
 INVASION OF KUSSIA BY TAMERLANE ; VASSILY THE BLIND ; HIS WILFULNESS, TROUBLES, AND DEATH. 
 
 The grand princedom now fell to Ivan I., 
 who obtained the surname of Kalita, or the 
 
 having a purse carried before him, to relieve 
 the wants of the poor ; but chiefly because 
 
 Purse ; partly, perhaps, on account of his ! of the immense wealth he eventually ac- 
 42 
 
A.D. 1339—1341.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [iVAN KALITA. 
 
 quired. He yt&s a covetous, crafty, and 
 unprincipled man, who still, however, had 
 the wisdom to perceive that his interests 
 were identical with those of his country ; 
 and that, in promotiug the one, he was 
 extending the other. 
 
 The wealth of Ivan enabled him to pur- 
 chase entire domains and appanages, the 
 protection of Usbek-Khan, and the pre- 
 ference of the primate of the Russian church, 
 who, by removing his residence from Vladi- 
 mir to Moscow, made the latter the capital 
 of the empire. It is important to show 
 how Ivan became possessed of so much 
 wealth, as his mode of acquiring it reveals 
 a trait in his character. He paid such as- 
 siduous and flattering attention to the khan, 
 as to become appointed the representative 
 in Russia of the Tartar chief, and collector 
 of the taxes imposed by that foreign poten- 
 tate. From the people he extorted, through 
 the terror of the Tartar name, far more than 
 he was authorised to do; and even sub- 
 jected to the tax the inhabitants of parts of 
 Russia who had not hitherto paid it at all. 
 As it may well be supposed, the latter sums 
 never reached the Tartar exchequer; and 
 the careful Ivan went on increasing his 
 wealth, and extending his dominions every 
 year. Such was his extortion, that he 
 sometimes exacted a double tribute, under 
 the pretence that it was the command of 
 the khan. He soon became far more 
 powerful than his rival, the Prince of Twer; 
 while the distance between him and the 
 ordinary princes of Russia was constantly 
 increasing. The Prince of Twer sometimes 
 courted the Tartar power, and at others 
 treated it with insulting neglect. Ivan 
 hated the Tartars quite as much as his 
 rival did ; but he saw that it was only by 
 the aid of the khan that he could ever hope 
 to consolidate Russia under his own sway, 
 and therefore he made frequent journeys to 
 the Horde, and ever sought to propitiate 
 the favour of the khan by flatteries and 
 costly presents. The Tartar power was 
 useful to Ivan, because he had cunning 
 enough to direct it in such a way as pro- 
 moted his interest ; and he was too skilful 
 an actor on the wide and varied theatre of 
 actual life, to betray any emotion he deemed 
 it prudent to conceal. It is not surprising 
 that a man so subtle and unprincipled, 
 should succeed in procuring the ruin of his 
 rival, the Prince of Twer. He brought 
 about a union of most of the Russian 
 princes, who now acknowledged the au- 
 
 thority of a ruler whose wealth, dominions, 
 and administrative abilities so far exceeded 
 their own. Directing their power against 
 the Prince of Twer, Ivan drove him as an 
 outcast from Russia, and finally hunted 
 him to death. 
 
 The crafty Ivan Kalita beheld with a 
 profound satisfaction the almost daily in- 
 crease of his power. In his hands the 
 grand princedom was becoming what it had 
 never been before in Russia, and its para- 
 mount authority was indisputable. Petty 
 princes regarded him with a deep respect; 
 the people looked upon him with awe ; and 
 his name was a terror in the ears of his 
 enemies. He settled all disputes between 
 the inferior princes ; and, as he had the 
 power to enforce his decisions, they were 
 respected. Success attended his footsteps ; 
 the clergy favoured his designs ; the boyards 
 submitted placidly to his authority ; and he 
 might be said, in eff'ect, to rule over the 
 whole of Russia. 
 
 Despotism is preferable to anarchy ; and 
 under the tortuous rule of Ivan — who pur- 
 sued even kinsmen who ofi'ended him with 
 as much ferocity as he would have displayed 
 towards external enemies — the country be- 
 came tranquil, and, to some extent, pros- 
 perous. He held his iron sceptre with 
 firmness, and awed down the host of petty 
 tyrants who were ever ready to prey upon 
 the people. Though with one hand he ex- 
 torted heavy imposts, with the other he 
 conferred protection on what he left. The 
 depredations to which the country had been 
 a prey were repressed ; commerce rose from 
 the dust; and markets and fairs appeared 
 in many parts of the country ; even in some 
 where they had been hitherto unknown. 
 At these fairs the produce of the East, of 
 Greece, and of Italy, were bought or bar- 
 tered for by the Russians, whose comforts 
 were thus enhanced, while the revenues of 
 the grand prince were promoted by the tax 
 arising from these commercial gatherings. 
 Kamenevitch, an old Russian chronicler, in 
 describing the great mart of Mologa, on the 
 Volga, where the commerce of Asia and 
 Europe met in the seventy inns of its Slavo- 
 nian suburbs, says, that at that place alone, 
 7,200 pounds^ weight of silver were col- 
 lected for the regal treasury. Ivan dimly 
 perceived that the commercial prosperity of 
 a people promoted the power of their sove- 
 reign, and he encouraged fairs and markets, 
 on account of their golden results. As in- 
 creasing wealth to some extent emancipated 
 
 43 
 
DMITRY DONSKOI.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1341—1362. 
 
 him from the declining power of the khan, 
 he laid heavy taxes — or what were then so 
 regarded — upon all saleable articles. 
 
 The Russian chronicles relating to this 
 period are extremely meagre. Notwith- 
 standing the power acquired by Ivan, his 
 reign was but a brief one, and he expired in 
 or about 1841. He left two sons — Simeon 
 (surnamed the Proud) and Ivan. These 
 princes vowed, on the grave of their father, 
 to agree to a peaceable division of his do- 
 minions; and, strange to say, they kept 
 their oath. Simeon took the dignity of 
 grand prince, and one-half the revenues ; 
 Ivan contented himself with the other half, 
 and became Prince of Moscow. Simeon 
 had to purchase his paramount title from 
 the khan, who guaranteed him in the pos- 
 session of it for an enormous pecuniary 
 consideration. Simeon pursued the policy 
 of his father ; but his reign of thirteen years 
 remains a blank on the scroll of history. 
 This silence may at least be received as in- 
 direct evidence that no great war or ca- 
 lamity fell upon Russia while he bore the 
 chief sway in it. 
 
 Simeon died childless in the year 1353, 
 and Ivan purchased the grand princedom of 
 the khan, and became paramount ruler, 
 under the title of Ivan II. Neither his 
 brother nor he possessed the subtle talents 
 of their father; but the influence of the 
 latter was felt long after he had been in his 
 grave. His shadow yet rested upon the 
 laud, and tranquillity was preserved. Some 
 of the minor princes attempted to promote 
 their ambition at the sacrifice of their 
 country^s peace ; but the paramount power 
 was strong enough to punish their unprin- 
 cipled presumption. 
 
 Ivan reigned during six eventless years ; 
 and then the design of his father, to pre- 
 serve the sovereign authority in the line of 
 the princes of Moscow, was for a time in- 
 terrupted. Naurus-Khan, the Tartar chief- 
 tain, then gave the grand princedom to 
 Prince Dmitry, of the Nevsky branch of the 
 descendants of Ruric. So brief and feeble 
 was his reign, that it had neither influence 
 nor result. For a few years he sat in the 
 regal seat rather than governed, and list- 
 lessly held a sceptre he could not wield. 
 In 1362 he was put down by one khan just 
 as he had been set up by another, and 
 Dmitry Donskoi, the son of Ivan II., made 
 ^ i grand prince in his stead. 
 
 The new sovereign was a man well adapted 
 to the exalted but dangerous position he was 
 44 
 
 called to occupy. With an ambitious temper 
 he united a calm and strong judgment. Con- 
 vinced that the restoration of Russian inde- 
 pendence depended upon the unity of the 
 empire, and the rigid maintenance of the 
 natural order of succession from father to 
 son, he convened a meeting of the sub- 
 sidiary princes, and obtained their consent 
 to this important measure. Won for once 
 to an act of reason and self-denial, they 
 signed a treaty renouncing the disastrous 
 mode of succession from brother to brother, 
 and engaging themselves to recognise the 
 authority of the grand prince, and that of 
 his son andj grandson after him. Vladimir 
 the Brave, uncle to Dmitry Donskoi, and 
 one of the most influential of Russian 
 princes, first placed his name to the treaty, 
 and his example was readily followed. This 
 self-denial produced an abundant reward. 
 By such attention to general, in preference 
 to individual interests, a power was rising 
 which was eventually to break the galling 
 yoke of the Tartars, and to raise the seem- 
 ing corpse of Russian independence to a 
 second and a better life. 
 
 " Such,'^ says a modern writer, " were the 
 circumstances under which Dmitry ascended 
 the throne. He clearly perceived the ex- 
 traordinary progress towards a concentra- 
 tion of the resources of the empire that had 
 been made in the two previous reigns, and 
 his earliest care Avas to carry it still farther, 
 by securing the right of succession in a 
 direct line, so that the same course of policy 
 might, with the more certainty, be trans- 
 mitted without deviation. This wise mea- 
 sure was useful in every way. It had the 
 effect "of consolidating the common interests, 
 which had hitherto been sacrificed to un- 
 seemly contentions ; while it gave to the 
 reigning prince a greater stake in tranquil- 
 lity and conservation, since he felt that the 
 labours of government were directed to the 
 maintenance of the rights of his children, 
 which, of course, were dearer to him than 
 the rights of nephews, or brothers, or 
 strangers. The heir, too, had the example 
 of his father to emulate, and a similar 
 motive actuated him on behalf of his suc- 
 cessor. The establishment of the heredi- 
 tary principle was also more acceptable to 
 the nobles, who, dwelling about the court, 
 were solicitous to cultivate the favour of the 
 acknowledged heir, in order that the per- 
 sonal attachments which grew out of habi- 
 tual intercourse, should descend to their 
 children, who might thus, in turn, succeed 
 
A.D. 1367.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [policy of DMITRY. 
 
 to the dignities enjoyed by their fathers. 
 In fact, the old order of succession, from 
 brother to brother, was hateful to the 
 boyards of the grand principality, as the 
 new prince was always attended by the 
 boyards of his own appanage, for whom he 
 was forced to provide by displacing all 
 those whom he already found stationed at 
 the capital." 
 
 Such was the liberal policy observed by 
 Dmitry towards the boyards of the empire, 
 that they became more attached to him 
 than to their own immediate princes. In 
 the last address he made to them, he ob- 
 served, " Under my reign, you were not 
 boyards, but really Russian princes." By 
 raising the power of the boyards he de- 
 pressed that of the princes, until both were 
 verging into an order of nobility in which 
 there were but small degrees of distinction. 
 Dmitry saw that if unity was to exist, the 
 grand prince must hold an unshared 
 sceptre; that all appanaged princes must 
 be actually subordinate to him as well as in 
 theory; and that he must have no power- 
 ful and half-independent subject near the 
 throne. Dmitry pursued his plans with a 
 cautious wisdom ; and so successful was 
 he, that, in 1392, the boyards of Roris, the 
 last Prince of Suzdal, surrendered him and 
 his dominions to the grand prince. 
 
 It must not be supposed that Dmitry was 
 enthroned on roses, and permitted to carry 
 out his plans of family advancement and 
 national regeneration without opposition. 
 He had to contend with foes both at home 
 and abroad. The Prince of Twer, the old 
 rival of his family, could not quietly aban- 
 don the struggle for supremacy. Michael, 
 or Mikhail, of Twer, assisted by his son-in- 
 law the fierce Olguerd, Prince of Lithuania, 
 rose in arms four times against him. Dur- 
 ing this suicidal conflict, Moscow itself was 
 twice subjected to siege, and would have 
 been taken but for the great strength of 
 the stone walls which had been recently 
 erected around it. For a time, victory 
 seemed to favour the insurgent prince ; but, 
 at last, Olguerd died ; and Dmitry, leading a 
 confederation of his kinsmen against Mi- 
 chael, defeated him, and finally induced 
 him to submit to a power he could no 
 longer hope successfully to resist. 
 
 The most distinguishing event of Dmitry's 
 reign was a war of a more dangerous and 
 important kind. The decline of the Tartar 
 power in Russia was still further accelerated 
 by the breaking up of the Golden Horde 
 
 into rival factions. Several of the chiefs 
 set themselves up as khans, and the vast 
 forces of the Tartars were broken into de- 
 tached bodies, following their own imme- 
 diate chief, and as likely to make war on 
 each other as to unite against a common 
 foe. A dissatisfied prince who was disposed 
 to seek the aid of the Tartars against his 
 sovereign, knew not to which khan to 
 apply. The Tartars were unable to conceal 
 their constantly increasing weakness, and 
 the princes were driven by necessity to seek 
 assistance from Dmitry, when their posses- 
 sions were invaded by bodies of vagrant 
 Tartars, or other foes. The grand prince 
 yielded aid, on condition of the return of 
 implicit submission ; and thus eventually all, 
 or nearly all, the princes of the empire be- 
 came his vassals. 
 
 Though the Tartars were broken up into 
 several hordes, each distinguished by the 
 name of the chief whose standard they fol- 
 lowed, yet the paramount authority was 
 claimed by Mamai, the khan of the Tartars 
 of the Don, who exacted tribute from 
 Dmitry. Mamai, with the quick perception 
 of his race, saw that the Russians were 
 making rapid strides toAvards independence. 
 Aware that this would lead to the final 
 expulsion or submission of the Tartars, he 
 resolved to re-establish his despotic sway 
 by the same ferocious means by which it 
 was at first imposed. Dmitry had many 
 spies at the Horde, who revealed to him 
 the intentions of the khan, and he prepared 
 for the coming struggle, by collecting around 
 him the dependent princes and their armed 
 followers. Mamai also appears to have had 
 his informants, and each side became con- 
 scious of the designs of the other. The 
 khan sought to gain time for the concentra- 
 tion of his strength by sending an embassy 
 to the grand prince, with complaints about 
 the insufficiency of the tribute money. 
 Dmitry did not object to a delay, which he, 
 also, could devote to increasing his strength, 
 and drawing around him all those princes 
 of Russia who could be convinced of their 
 common danger. He therefore sent a 
 counter-embassy to the khan, the members 
 of which referred to a treaty, by which it 
 was arranged that the tribute should be re- 
 duced. Mamai, baffled in diplomacy, re- 
 sorted to intimidation, and commanded the 
 grand prince to appear before him in person. 
 Had the latter obeyed this despotic injunc- 
 tion, he would doubtless have fallen a 
 victim to the fury of his oppressor, and have 
 
 45 
 
BATTLE OF THE DON.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1380. 
 
 been openly put to death, after a judicial 
 mockery, on some concocted charge, or have 
 been murdered secretly by the subtle arts 
 of the poisoner. Dmitry had proceeded 
 with prudence, and was in a condition to 
 resort to the only alternative which a re- 
 fusal to ohey the command of the khan left 
 open to him. The princes of Russia were 
 at length resolved to make a great effort 
 in vindication of the liberties of their 
 country; the people were possessed of a 
 painful remembrance of the atrocities of 
 the Tartars, and inspired by a bitter hatred 
 of them; and the clergy feared that if 
 Tartar violence was again let loose upon 
 the land, Christianity would be overthrown, 
 for the sake of seizing the large possessions 
 of the church. They consequently pro- 
 claimed the coming struggle to be a holy 
 war — a war for the honour of God and the 
 safety of man — a war alike for the church 
 of Christ and the nationality of the empire 
 — a war to preserve the altars of God from 
 desecration, and the homes of the people 
 from outrage and destruction. Such was 
 the natural and becoming ardour of the 
 priesthood for the war, that they declared 
 the crown of martyrdom would be placed 
 by angels on the head of every Russian 
 who perished in the conflict, and that the 
 gates of heaven would open of themselves 
 to receive his soul. 
 
 Such was the spirit pervading both princes 
 and people, that Dmitry was enabled to 
 take the field with a power said to amount 
 to 200,000 men; a force which, fighting 
 on its own territory for its religion and 
 nationality, ought to be invincible. Dmitry 
 did not permit the Tartars to ravage the 
 country between them and Moscow ; but he 
 led his troops at once to the river Don, to 
 the point where, at no great distance, the 
 Tartars were encamped on the opposite side. 
 After addressing his soldiers, he gave them 
 the choice of awaiting the assault of the 
 enemy, or of crossing the river and them- 
 selves commencing the attack. Animated 
 by patriotic ardour, they unanimously de- 
 cided for the latter; and seemed to long 
 impatiently for the hour which should 
 decide the fate of their country. Having 
 transported his battalions across the river, 
 the grand prince set the vessels adrift, so as 
 to cut off all hopes of retreat, and excite 
 that ferocity of valour which is the result of 
 desperation. The measure appears to have 
 been a necessary one : not only were the 
 Russians opposed to a race whom they bad 
 46 
 
 been accustomed to regard as conquerors 
 and masters, but the Tartars far exceeded 
 them in numbers. The old chroniclers 
 assert that the Tartars were thrice the 
 number of the Russians ; but this statement 
 bears an air of incredibility, and is, we 
 suspect, merely a flourish of pardonable 
 triumph. The Russians, who had genera- 
 tions of oppression to avenge, commenced 
 the assault with ungovernable fury. Such 
 was their impetuosity, that numbers even of 
 their own troops were thrown down and 
 trampled to death in the mighty shock. 
 The astonished Tartars reeled for a moment, 
 and then dashing onward, met the assault 
 with equal fury. Terrible was the slaughter 
 on each side ; but the superior numbers of 
 the Tartars enabling them to fill up every gap 
 that was made in their ranks, and continually 
 to pour down fresh supplies of men upon 
 the field, seemed to promise them the 
 victory. Apparently overwhelmed, the Rus- 
 sians seemed to waver, and would probably 
 have fled, but that the river was at their 
 backs, their ships were gone, and flight was 
 impossible. Nothing remained for them 
 but to conquer or to perish nobly after 
 having avenged their fall by the slaughter of 
 many of their foes. Wrought to an excite- 
 ment scarcely short of madness, it is related 
 that they fought rather with the ferocity 
 and strength attributed to demons than as 
 if animated Avith the common passions of 
 men. The slaughter of the Tartars was 
 enormous; but their great numbers and 
 stolid bravery might yet have won them the 
 victory, but for one of those incidents 
 which, occurring in the moment of exhaus- 
 tion, so often decide the result of battles. 
 Dmitry, with the wisdom of an able soldier, 
 had kept back a considerable detachment 
 from his army, to be called into action only 
 if their presence was urgently required. At 
 a critical time this reserve fell unexpectedly 
 upon the rear of the Tartars, whom their 
 attack threw into confusion and dismay. 
 The apprehensions of the Tartars magnified 
 the number of these fresh foes, and they 
 fell into that disorder which precedes panic. 
 The Russians perceived their advantage, 
 and renewed the assault with a fury at 
 once led by hope and pricked forward by 
 despair. Mamai and the Tartars fled head- 
 long from the well-contested and bloody 
 field, and the Russians had obtained a great 
 victory over their oppressors. Terrible was 
 the loss of life at which it was achieved; 
 but no price could be ^oo great for the 
 
A.D. 1382.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [the tartars burn Moscow. 
 
 glorious result that had been obtained. 
 The spell of Tartar invincibility had been 
 broken, and the infant liberty of Russia 
 baptized in blood; while the same red 
 stream had wiped away the shame of gene- 
 rations of national slavery. Eight days 
 were passed in bestowing the rites of 
 sepulture upon the Russian dead ; but the 
 bodies of the Tartars were regarded with 
 such aversion, that they were left unburied, 
 to become the prey of birds and beasts. 
 Those heaps of Tartar bones, which long 
 whitened the banks of the river, were an 
 eloquent though silent warning against 
 aggression, and an insolent scorn of the 
 claims of the helpless. It was in honour of 
 this victory, that the grand prince, Dmitry, 
 received from his applauding people the 
 surname of Donskoi, by which he stands 
 distinguished in the records of his country. 
 Great was the joy of the Russians, but 
 their national independence was not estab- 
 lished. The work was begun, and well 
 begun, but it remained to be completed; 
 and calamitous reverses were yet to be 
 experienced. Russia, exhausted by the 
 great effort it had made, was unable to 
 follow up the blow; and the defeated Tar- 
 tars had time to recover themselves. Bent 
 on vengeance, they cautiously prepared for 
 a renewal of the sti'uggle, but they did not 
 dare again to provoke hostilities until the 
 hordes of the Don and the Volga had eflfected 
 a union. The battle of the Don was fought 
 in 1380, and it took the Tartars two years 
 to recover from the effects of it. But in 
 1382 they swept with a mighty power over 
 the frontier provinces, and, ravaging the 
 country as they went, penetrated to the 
 strong walls of Moscow. The fortifications 
 of the city had lately been strengthened; 
 the ramparts were powerful; and the pon- 
 derous gates were of iron. Dmitry looked 
 upon them with pride and hopefulness, and 
 anticipated another victory over his despotic 
 and barbarous foes. Such was his confi- 
 dence, that he left the charge of the city to 
 one of his generals, while he went further 
 into the interior to recruit his army. The 
 act was an unfortunate one ; for the people 
 had more confidence in their sovereign than 
 in themselves. Yet all might have been 
 well but for the meanness and cowardice 
 of the priesthood. Had they placed a vital 
 trust in the Deity whose providence they 
 preached, they would have cheered the 
 fainting hearts of the timid, have roused 
 the fearful from their apathy, and have 
 
 strengthened the feeble to the heroism of 
 endurance. The calm and inspiring bear- 
 ing of a brave priest might, at such a time, 
 do more than the brawny arm of the 
 soldier. Heroes impart their spirit to all 
 around them; and, in like manner, the 
 craven temper of the coward corrupts and 
 depresses even the brave. The metro- 
 politan and priests of Moscow, accompanied 
 by a number of base and wealthy citizens, 
 taking advantage of the absence of Dmitrj"^, 
 abandoned the city on the approach of the 
 Tartar host. The act was contagious ; those 
 who should have remained in the city to the 
 last, offering the consolations of religion to 
 the dying, and the incitements of patriotism 
 to those who yet lived to Avreak the fury of 
 an injured people on the foe, had slunk 
 silently away, preferring to secure the safety 
 of their worthless lives to the discharge of 
 their duties on earth, and the attainment of 
 that bliss which awaits the just in heaven ! 
 
 The priesthood fled, and a sense of terror 
 sunk deep into the hearts of the people. 
 The garrison made a feeble show of resist- 
 ance upon the walls ; and the Tartars, be- 
 holding the strength of the defences, treache- 
 rously held out promises of pardon to the 
 inhabitants if they would submit without 
 further hostilities. Experience must have 
 taught the Russians that their foes were as 
 false as they were cruel; that their words 
 were as unstable as water, and as deceitful 
 as the sultry air oppressed by the coming 
 storm. Many a terrible tradition must 
 have told as to what had been the fate of 
 those who had trusted to Tartar mercy ! 
 They must have known that it was better 
 to die with weapons in their hands, dripping 
 with the blood of an implacable and unprin- 
 cipled foe, than have trusted to a horde of 
 robbers who never forgave, and who actually 
 experienced a satanic delight in slaughter. 
 But fear dulls the senses and blinds the 
 perception. The people of Moscow trusted 
 to the promises of their foes, and threw 
 open their gates to them. The result might 
 have been anticipated. The Tartars rushed 
 in, massacred every person they met in the 
 streets, and then set the city ou fire. Hav- 
 ing accomplished the revenge they meditated 
 for their defeat on the banks of the Don, the 
 barbarians returned to their haunts, flatter- 
 ing themselves that they had eftectually 
 trodden down the rising spirit of inde- 
 pendence and recovered their tottering 
 power over the Russians. For a time they 
 had so ; but no mortal means could stay the 
 
 47 
 
DEATH OF DMITRY.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1382—1389. 
 
 decline that was consuming their power, and 
 the time of their own doom was approach- 
 ing. " All they that take the sword, shall 
 perish with the sword," is a divine truth, 
 even more applicable to nations than to 
 individuals. Injustice and violence pro- 
 voke the spirit of retaliation ; and, if not in 
 one age, yet in another, the day of vengeance 
 will inevitably come. 
 
 When Dmitry returned to his smitten 
 capital, nothing was left him but to purchase 
 safety by an ignoble submission to the foe 
 over whom he had so recently triumphed as 
 a victor. His great heart must have swelled 
 with intense and suffocating emotion when 
 he had to propitiate the forbearance of the 
 khan, and once again perform the bitter 
 humiliation of begging his dignity at the 
 hands of the Tartar potentate. The empire 
 that had been within his grasp was shat- 
 tered into fragments ; the glorious dream of 
 national independence had melted like the 
 early frosts of autumn before a yet powerful 
 sun ; the hopes of a life — a life of wisdom, 
 toil, and heroism — were gone like the 
 memory of a chaotic and uneasy dream, 
 which has left behind it only a sense of 
 gloom and impending evil. 
 
 Russian independence, though checked, 
 was not destroyed ; the wounds on its infant 
 liberty began to heal even with the resto- 
 ration of Moscow. Princes, boyards, and 
 people were alike roused to the necessity 
 of unity, and all hoped for the time which, 
 though deferred, they yet expected. The 
 grand princedom was still acknowledged, 
 and the consolidation of the empire remained 
 unbroken. The recent outrage of the Tar- 
 tars had excited still more bitterly against 
 them the hatred of those whom they op- 
 pressed. During his reign of seven-and- 
 twenty years, Dmitry was unable again to 
 make head against the Tartar power; yet 
 he silently pursued his plans of raising the 
 power of the grand princedom, and of con- 
 solidating the empire. He died in 1389, 
 leaving a solemn injunction to his son to 
 persevere in his policy, and to direct all 
 his efforts] to the eventual expulsion of the 
 Tartars from Russia. Dmitry was a wise 
 prince ; and, but for the sad mistake of 
 once depending upon others where he 
 should have relied only upon himself, would 
 have been regarded as a great one. The 
 recreant priests who fled from Moscow 
 trampled the glory of their sovereign be- 
 neath their feet; and his fame was sullied 
 by the flames which enveloped the city. 
 48 
 
 Yet is the name of Dmitry Donskoi hon- 
 oured in the scroll of history ; as, indeed, it 
 truly deserves to be. The successful are the 
 most applauded by posterity ; but those who 
 aim highly, and labour worthily, even in 
 failure scarcely deserve less. 
 
 Vassily, the son of Dmitry, succeeded to 
 the throne of the grand princedom without 
 opposition. Of a haughty character and 
 unbending turn of mind, Yassily was fitted 
 to wield a sceptre in barbarous times. Stern, 
 even to ferocity, to his princes and people, 
 he was patient and pliant to his Asiatic and 
 European neighbours. He was resolved not 
 to waste his strength in contentions with 
 them, but to reserve it in case of another 
 collision with the Tartars. Though of a 
 remarkably aristocratic and imperious na- 
 ture, he felt it necessary to humble his 
 pride so far as to proceed to the Golden 
 Horde, and purchase of the Tartar khan 
 the right to his dignity. At the same time 
 he acquired permission to assume the sove- 
 reignty over seven appanages, which he 
 had wrung from as many of his kinsmen, 
 whom he reduced to the necessity of min- 
 gling in the ranks of his courtiers, or of dying 
 in exile. The Lithuanians, who had for 
 some time harassed his western frontier, 
 he opposed rather by policy than by force 
 of arms ; and he contrived to obtain from 
 their prince, who was his father-in-law, a 
 forbearance it would have been inconvenient 
 to extort. 
 
 A few years were passed in comparative 
 tranquillity, when Russia was threatened 
 by two fierce and powerful foes in opposite 
 directions. These were Vitovt, the prince 
 of the Lithuanians, in the west, and the 
 barbarous conqueror Tamerlane, and his 
 hordes of Tartars, in the east. Timour, or 
 Tamerlane, was one of those romantic bar- 
 barians who, though of humble birth, yet 
 cherished the ambitious and brutal dream 
 of universal conquest. Though reported to 
 have been merely an Asiatic shepherd, yet 
 he came of a tribe regarded as noble. Born 
 in unsettled and revolutionary times, bred 
 to the use of arms from his infancy, at the 
 age of five-and-twenty he stood forth as the 
 most distinguished man of his country. 
 Reverses, however, came upon him : he 
 experienced vicissitude of a romantic kind ; 
 and, for some time, led the life of a vagrant 
 and an outlaw. Again did he become the 
 favourite of fortune. At the age of thirty- 
 four, he was invested with that imperial 
 command supposed to reside only in the 
 
A.D. 1398—1425.1 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [invasion by tameri^\ne. 
 
 descendants of Ghengis Khan. Zagatai, 
 the kingdom of the usurper, was a fertile 
 territory, five hundred miles in length and 
 in breadth ; but this was so far from satis- 
 fying his ambition, that it was but one of 
 seven- and-twenty crowns which he seized 
 and wore before his death. After the con- 
 quest of Persia, Tamerlane resolved to re- 
 duce to submission those of the Tartars 
 who had proclaimed their independence of 
 the parent authority. In the execution of 
 this project, he marched, in 1398, at the 
 head of 400,000 soldiers, upon the Golden 
 Horde, or that branch of the Tartars who 
 had so long settled on the banks of the 
 Volga. He fell upon the combined Tartars 
 there, and inflicted upon them a severe 
 chastisement. To use the language of his 
 own chronicler, he gave them to the wind 
 of desolation. Some of the Tartars who 
 fled, lured the victor on in the direction of 
 Moscow. His course was marked by ruin 
 almost to the walls of the city, which, at 
 the same time, was threatened in another 
 direction by Vitovt, and an enormous army 
 of Lithuanians. The Russians were in 
 despair; the capital of their empire was 
 threatened with destruction from opposite 
 quarters, and stood between two fires ; while 
 the people themselves, enervated by bon- 
 dage and frequent defeat, placed all their 
 trust in an image of the Virgin, to which 
 miraculous powers were attributed. The 
 desponding Vassily beheld approaching de- 
 struction on every hand ; and it seemed as 
 if the extinction of the empire was at hand. 
 Under these circumstances, their impending 
 doom was averted by an unforeseen event, of 
 a kind which gave an apparently rational 
 colour to the statements of the Russians — 
 that it was the result of the merciful inter- 
 ference of the Virgin in their favour. 
 Tamerlane, recalled by his ambition to the 
 south, suddenly retraced his steps; while 
 Vitovt and his Lithuanians pushed forward 
 towards the Golden Horde. The invading 
 armies met, and fell upon each other. 
 Russia was thus relieved from the presence 
 of two terrible foes, neither of whom she 
 had the power or spirit to encounter. 
 When Tamerlane had subdued the Lithua- 
 nians, he turned towards the vast peninsula 
 of India, M'here a period of conquest and 
 plunder was followed by his assumption of 
 the title of emperor. 
 
 Happily, Tamerlane was too much occu- 
 pied elsewhere to permit him to return; 
 and, in this invasion, the Russians su fleered 
 n 
 
 far less than the Tartars of the Golden 
 Horde. Their wealth had been pillaged, 
 their forces scattered, and their military 
 reputation humbled. Notwithstanding the 
 tenacity with which they clung to the des- 
 potic power they had acquired by the 
 sword, it was evident that this blow must 
 rapidly accelerate their decline. The as- 
 cendancy of the princes of the Moscow line 
 continued to increase ; but yet Vassily was 
 not able to set the Tartars at defiance. 
 Some years afterwards, he made an experi- 
 ment in that direction ; but it only led to 
 his own humiliation. Without consulting 
 the khan, he caused himself to be crowned 
 at Moscow, with all the splendour of impe- 
 rial dignity. Not only was the act a breach 
 of treaty, but it was regai'ded by the Tar- 
 tars as an insult to their supremacy. The 
 anger of the khan was aroused ; and his 
 power, broken as it had been, was yet such 
 that the Russians feared to brave it. Vas- 
 sily acknowledged that he had committed 
 an error, and sued to the khan for pardou. 
 The Tartars had no desire to appeal to 
 arms, and the Russian prince was permitted 
 to retain his dignity as grand prince, on 
 condition that he again tendered fealty to 
 the khan as his superior lord. ? 
 
 Vassily died in 1425, after a reign of six- 
 and-thirty years, which he had devoted 
 chiefly to the promotion of the interests of 
 the grand princedom. Though destitute of 
 the great talents of his father, he had car- 
 ried out his principles with much persever- 
 ance. At the close of life, he compelled 
 the Russian princes and boyards to acknow- 
 ledge his infant son as the indisputable heir 
 to the throne. He also exacted from them 
 a vow that they would have no communica- 
 tion whatever with the Tartars or Lithua- 
 nians, but preserve against them a spirit of 
 implacable resentment. With the temper 
 of a despot, he banished all those who re- 
 fused to comply with these demands. It 
 was during the reign of Vassily that money 
 was first coined in Russia. Prior to this 
 time, mention had been made of grivnas ; 
 but the term did not refer to a coin, but to 
 a certain weight of silver. Foreign com- 
 merce was carried on either by barter, or by 
 gold and silver weighed in exchange for the 
 corresponding articles. Pieces of marten 
 skins, or other scraps of fur, were the cur- 
 rent money in petty ti'ansactious. At 
 length, a Tartar coin came into circulation 
 at Moscow and at Twer. Polish and German 
 coins also found their way into use among 
 
 49 
 
VASSILY THE BLINT).] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 Ta.d. 1425—1462. 
 
 the Russian people ; and, in 1420, a mint 
 was established at Novgorod. 
 
 Vassily Vassilievitch, the infant son of 
 the late sovereign, succeeded to the throne ; 
 but not without difficulty. Yury, Prince of 
 Galitsch, relying upon his own power, en- 
 deavoured to restore the old and disastrous 
 order of succession from brother to brother. 
 Claiming the throne, he appealed to his 
 followers for support. The time for a suc- 
 cessful opposition of this kind had passed, 
 and the principle of succession from father 
 to son had taken a firm root in the nation. 
 The clergy took the alarm ; and the primate, 
 who had proclaimed the young sovereign, 
 summoned the princes to support his au- 
 thority, and pronounced an excommunica- 
 tion against the rebellious Yury. It is pro- 
 bable that the feeble thunder of the church 
 might have been disregarded, but that it 
 happened to be followed by a pestilence, 
 which alarmed the malcontents, and checked 
 their hostile preparations. The effect, how- 
 ever, was but transitory ; and when the con- 
 tagious sickness passed away, Yury returned 
 to his demand. An appeal to the Golden 
 Horde was considered requisite, and both 
 the infant prince and his turbulent uncle 
 proceeded with their dependents to the 
 banks of the Volga, and laid their claims 
 before the khan. So strong was the assem- 
 blage of boyards on the side of the legiti- 
 mate sovereign, and so powerful were their 
 arguments, or bribes, that the khan re- 
 jected the pretensions of Yury, and con- 
 firmed the succession of the infant Vassily. 
 The Tartar chief even went so far as to re- 
 lease the latter from the payment of tribute 
 to the Horde, and to decree that Yury should 
 hold the bridle of his nephew's horse, on 
 the entrance of the latter into his capital. 
 
 The decisions of the Tartar khans were 
 no longer regarded as inevitable, and exempt 
 from all appeal. Yury put on a semblance 
 of submission ; but he resolved speedily to 
 seize by force what he had been unable to 
 obtain by his representations. Collecting 
 his forces, he appeared suddenly before 
 Moscow, took the city by surprise, and 
 compelled it to surrender. This done, he 
 banished Vassily, and seized the throne 
 which was the cause of his conspiracy. But 
 a public opinion had now grown up in Mos- 
 cow; and the moral influence of public 
 opinion is more powerful than the sword. 
 It soon neutralised the triumph of the 
 usurper; and that, too, without shedding 
 one drop of blood. Everv one declared for 
 50 
 
 the rights of the deposed prince; the au- 
 thority of Yury was disavowed by the 
 nobles, priests, and people : and the whole 
 popidation of the capital, in solemn proces- 
 sion, followed their legitimate sovereign into 
 banishment. An appalling silence reigned 
 in the streets of Moscow, which seemed as 
 if it had been smitten and depopulated by 
 the plague. Yury found himself deserted ; 
 and even his own son had left him. This 
 painful isolation struck terror to his heart, ' 
 and he felt how dependent a prince was 
 upon the submission of his people. Of 
 what value was a sceptre that could be held 
 only in a desert, or a throne that stood 
 amidst a silent wilderness of dwellings? 
 Yury was vanquished by this passive oppo- 
 sition ; and in a few days he descended 
 from his solitary throne, and restored it to 
 the legitimate heir. 
 
 The devotion of the boyards and citizens 
 of Moscow was not personal to the infant 
 grand prince ; it was merely an attachment 
 to the principle of legitimacy. Vassily was 
 imprudent, perverse, and obstinate. Un- 
 able to direct his own steps with wisdom, 
 he yet impatiently rejected the advice of 
 those who had proved their attachment to 
 his interests, and their ability to proflfer 
 valuable counsels. A calamity of after-life 
 procured for him the melancholy title of 
 Vassily the Blind, which was applied to him 
 in a double sense. Then sightless in body 
 and dark in mind, this wilful prince was in- 
 debted to the compassion of his people for 
 that support which he could not have ob- 
 tained from their respect. His caprice led 
 him into such errors as excited alike the 
 suspicion both of Russians and Tartars. 
 He is described as seeming to vacillate fron 
 choice, or in obedience to some infatuation 
 that was always leading him into crooked 
 paths of policy, and perplexing and pervert- 
 ing his views. Once the Tartars hurled 
 him from the throne; but they permitted 
 him to resume his regal dignity. Another 
 time the son of Yury, encouraged by the 
 discontent which prevailed, unfurled the 
 banner of insurrection. Vassily was a 
 second time deposed ; and his brutal cousin 
 put out the eyes of the unfortunate prince. 
 Hence his surname — the Blind. The bar- 
 barity of the deed produced a reaction Oi 
 popular feeling in favour of the down- 
 trodden monarch. Some emotion of pity 
 was mingled with an almost idolatrous res- 
 pect for the principle of hereditary succes- 
 sion. Tradition had much to say of do- 
 
A.D. 1462.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [death of VASSILY. 
 
 mestic conflicts waged by rival claimants of 
 the grand princedom; of Russian blood, 
 shed in torrents by Russian hands, to settle 
 questions in which the people had no in- 
 terest, and no part. Thus the principle of 
 succession from father to son had become 
 dear to the people ; for they regarded it as 
 a source of peace. True, by this means the 
 crown might descend upon the head of a 
 perverse prince like Vassily ; or, indeed, 
 upon one hopelessly devoid of intellect : yet 
 it was not the blindly obstinate man, or 
 the drivelling idiot, the people reverenced, 
 but the principles of order, peace, and jus- 
 tice. It mattered little by what machinery 
 they were obtained, so that the nation 
 really enjoyed them. Idiotic prince, if it 
 must be so ; yet even that painful alterna- 
 tive, rather than servile war. 
 
 Thus, the usurpation of the son of Yury 
 was as hateful to the people as that of his 
 father. Even in Russia, rude as its society 
 yet was, the time had passed when any 
 powerful chieftain could seize with impunity 
 
 that which he desired to possess. Neither 
 nobles nor people would tolerate the would- 
 be sovereign. All fell from his side, and 
 declared for their blind monarch. Trem- 
 bling for his unworthy life, the usurper fled 
 to Novgorod, where he was poisoned by his 
 own attendants ; a fate which, sombre as it 
 was, he well deserved. The city that had 
 sheltered him was compelled to pay a heavy 
 fine for having done so. No other incident 
 of importance diversified the long reign of 
 Vassily the Blind, who went unregretted to 
 his grave in the year 1462. But the prin- 
 ciple of hereditary succession was now es- 
 tablished ; and his son, Ivan III., ascended 
 without opposition a throne the power of 
 which he was to consolidate, and the dignity 
 of which he was to exalt in the eyes of Europe. 
 One hundred and thirty years had elapsed 
 since Ivan Kalita commenced his reign ; and 
 the people, during that period, had come to 
 regard the right of the princes of the Mos- 
 cow line to the sovereignty of Russia as 
 something unimpeachable, if not divine. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 IVAN ni., KNOWN AS THE GREAT ; HIS CRAFTY POLICY ; HE TAKES THE TARTAR CITY OF KASAN ; SUBDUES 
 NOVGOROD, AND ANNEXES IT TO HIS DOMINIONS ; TARTAR INVASION AND COWARDICE OF THE GRAND 
 PRINCE ; BREAKING UP OF THE GOLDEN HORDE AND ANNIHILATION OF THE TARTAR POWER ; IVAN 
 SUBDUES VIATKA AND PSKOF, AND THE INDEPENDENT PRINCES OF RUSSIA ; CAUSES THE DEATH OF HIS 
 BROTHER; WRESTS A LARGE TERRITORY FROM THE LITHUANIANS; ASSUMES THE TITLE OF CZAR; HIS 
 POLICY TO THE COURTS OF EUROPE ; DISCONTENT OF THE BOYARDS ; IVAN CAUSES HIS GRANDSON DMITRI 
 TO BE CROWNED AS HIS SUCCESSOR, BUT AFTERWARDS EXCLUDES HIM ; JEWISH HERESY IN THE RUSSIAN 
 CHURCH ; IVAN's REFORMS AND DESPOTISM ; HIS DEATH AND CHARACTER. 
 
 The time we are now approaching has been 
 justly termed the period of despotism. As 
 the principle of strengthening the power of 
 the grand prince met with fewer obstacles, 
 it went beyond the point at which it should 
 have been restrained, and eventually pro- 
 duced a government in which unmitigated 
 despotism was supported by frightful cruelty. 
 Ivan III., known as Ivan the Great (a 
 surname he can scarcely be said to have 
 deserved), ascended the throne of Moscow at 
 the early age of twenty-two. At this time 
 of life, the fresh mind of youth is seldom 
 contaminated by the sinister principles of 
 statecraft ; but the new grand prince was 
 one of those passionless natures who may 
 
 be said never to have been influenced by 
 the feelings of youth. Before the bounding 
 elasticities of boyhood had ceased in other 
 men, he was an adept in casuistry, and 
 gifted with the power of mental conceal- 
 ment. A worshipper of the autocratic prin- 
 ciple, the labours of his long reign of 
 forty -three years were devoted to the estab- 
 lishment of Russian independence and of 
 an unmitigated despotism ; and the princi- 
 ples established by Ivan still cast their 
 heavy shadows over the broad territories of 
 the Russian empire. He was prepared to 
 sacrifice everything to his interests ; and no 
 lofty emotions appear to have ever animated 
 his bosom. So intensely selfish was he, 
 
 51 
 
ACCESSION OF IVAN III.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1463—1469. 
 
 that the contemplation of much of his con- 
 duct excites emotions of disgust. Pro- 
 foundly crafty, he obtained all his objects 
 in some indirect and frequently ignoble 
 manner. His perseverance bordered upon 
 greatness; but his prudence degenerated 
 into abject cowardice. Such was the cau- 
 tion with which he proceeded, that the 
 early acts of his reign are described as more 
 resembling the subterfuges of a coward than 
 the crafty artifices of a despot. 
 
 He was placed in trying circumstances, 
 which required all the exercise of his subtle 
 talents ; of which, as yet, he knew not the 
 extent. Enemies abroad were to be met, 
 while independence at home was to be 
 created. On one hand were the Tartars, 
 and on the other the Lithuanians; while 
 within the Russian frontiers were the inde- 
 pendent states of Novgorod, Viatka, and 
 Pskof, besides other unsettled appanages, 
 the princes of which did not yet recognise 
 his authority. Truly there was work enough 
 both for diplomacy and the sword; but the 
 subtle and sometimes seemingly perplexed 
 Ivan was equal to the position it was his lot 
 to fill. Those evils he had most resolved to 
 check, he pretended at first to entirely ac- 
 quiesce in. His cold smile fell oftenest upon 
 the man he meant at some future time to 
 crush. Thus he betrayed his enemies into 
 carelessness, and patiently awaited for a 
 favourable hour in which he could exter- 
 minate them. He first practised upon the 
 khan by withholding the customary tribute, 
 but without any appearance of hostility or 
 opposition. He merely evaded the payment, 
 while he acknowledged the right of the 
 khan, who was induced to believe that the 
 grand prince was still his vassal. Such was 
 the seeming humility of Ivan, that he even 
 induced the khan to withdraw the Taitar 
 residents and their retinues, together with 
 the Tartar merchants, from Moscow. A 
 little bribery contributed to this result ; and 
 the haughty strangers, who insulted even 
 the precincts of the palace with the insolent 
 bearing of masters, were, in effect, banished 
 from the city. Such was the seeming 
 humility of this designing man, that his 
 wife, a high-spirited lady, had much diffi- 
 culty in persuading him to abandon the 
 humiliating and even disgusting ceremo- 
 nials with which Russian princes had been 
 compelled to receive the Tartar envoys. 
 Hitherto they had advanced to meet the 
 barbarian ambassadors — spread a carpet of 
 fur beneath the feet of his horse — gone upon 
 o<3 
 
 their knees while the khan's letter was read 
 to them — presented to the envoy a cup of 
 koumiss, and licked from the mane of the 
 horse any drops of the beverage that might 
 have fallen upon it ! 
 
 Kasan, the first and most important of 
 Tjirtar cities, was a standing insult and a 
 perpetual source of irritation to the Rus- 
 sians. Its inhabitants, rather thieves than 
 citizens, subsisted chiefly by predatory ex- 
 cursions. So general and indiscriminate 
 were their licentious proceedings, that even 
 neighbouring hordes of Tartars were not 
 unwilling to witness their humiliation. 
 Here, then, was an opportunity which in- 
 vited even the cautious Ivan to action. Col- 
 lecting all his available forces, he marched, 
 about the year 1468, against Kasan, with 
 the intention of driving out those restless 
 men who had brought the habits of robbers 
 within the walls of a city. At the time 
 Ivan conducted this movement, the armies 
 of the Golden Horde were advancing into 
 Russia, doubtless with the hope of restoring 
 that power which the khan must have seen 
 was crumbling into nothingness. Ivan's 
 array was not only numerous, but it con- 
 sisted of the flower of the Russian popula- 
 tion. So imposing was its appearance, that 
 the army of the khan retired at its approach. 
 Thus Ivan had all the honour of having won 
 a victory without the hazard of striking a 
 single blow; a kind of triumph quite in 
 harmony with his timid and fox-like nature. 
 Instead of being encouraged to decisive 
 action by this fortuitous success, Ivan de- 
 ferred his attempt on Kasan until the fol- 
 lowing year. Even then he held back his 
 impatient soldiery, and acted in a strangely 
 hesitating and equivocal way. Resolved not 
 to return without plunder, the Russians 
 attacked the city, even against the orders of 
 Ivan to the contrary. Electing a leader of 
 their own, they fell upon Kasan, and utterly 
 defeated its defenders. The spiritless grand 
 prince, perceiving that the enemy was no 
 longer capable of resistance, poured his 
 enormous forces upon the fallen city, and 
 once again obtained the semblance of a 
 victory. Yet feven in this proceeding, where 
 the Russian force was so overwhelming that 
 danger was almost an impossibility, Ivan 
 kept far from the scene of action, and issued 
 his orders from Moscow. 
 
 The attention of the grand prince was 
 
 now called to the three independent states 
 
 of Novgorod, Viatka, and Pskof. Nov- 
 
 1 gorod, as the most wealthy and powerful. 
 
A.D. 1470.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [designs against Novgorod. 
 
 openly exhibited its distrust of his inten- 
 tions. Its citizens solicited the assistance 
 of the inhabitants of Pskof, and expressed 
 their intention to march at once against the 
 grand prince, as a measure of anticipation. 
 They had detected his cowardice, and be- 
 lieved they could inspire him with a sense 
 of terror. Still, to protect themselves 
 against his power, they submitted to Casi- 
 mir. Prince of Lithuania, and became his 
 subjects. The politic Ivan sought by every 
 means to win over Pskof to his interests, 
 that he might deal Avith Novgorod alone. 
 So artfully did he proceed, that he suc- 
 ceeded in this design, and even contrived to 
 neutralise all the opposition he had reason 
 to fear. "When fully prepared, he demanded 
 that the citizens of Novgorod should ac- 
 knowledge his authority. As he anticipated, 
 the reply was conveyed in the language of 
 scorn and defiance. He had obtained the 
 pretext he desired, and his next messengers 
 to Novgorod were three powerful armies, 
 who entered the territories of the state in 
 different directions. Such was their over- 
 whelming superiority to the forces of Nov- 
 gorod, that resistance was hopeless. The 
 more so, as the troops of Ivan possessed tire- 
 arms and cannon — a recent acquisition, the 
 use of which he had learned from Aristotle 
 of Bologna, an Italian, whom he had taken 
 into his service as an architect, mint-master, 
 and founder. After a brief and gallant 
 struggle, the opposition of the Novgoro- 
 dians was trampled into the dust. Swarms 
 of peasantry, following in the rear of the 
 army of the grand prince, succeeded the 
 soldiers in the work of plunder and license, 
 Ivan had really encouraged these outrages ; 
 but with an aflfectation of compassion, he 
 pretended to repress them. He said he 
 grieved for the people, and wished to pro- 
 tect them from unnecessary violence; but, 
 in secret, he gloated over the severity of the 
 wound he had caused to be inflicted. Weak- 
 ened as Novgorod was, the victor did not at 
 once attach it to his dominions. That would 
 have involved its partition among those 
 princes by whose aid he had subdued it. 
 He had made promises to that effect ; but 
 without the least intention of fulfilling them. 
 He therefore affected a generous and mag- 
 nanimous tone, and merely exacted a rich 
 ransom and an act of submission from the 
 conquered city. Enfeebled as it had been, 
 he knew that it must fall into his hands 
 whenever, at some future time, he extended 
 them to receive it. Still he seized upon 
 
 some of its tributaries, under the transpa- 
 rent pretext of relieving an exhausted state 
 from some of the toilsome duties of govern- 
 ment. By this means he transferred much 
 of the commerce of Novgorod to his own 
 city of Moscow. 
 
 Availing himself of that feeling of discon- 
 tent and jealousy ever felt, to some extent, by 
 the poor towards the rich, Ivan succeeded in 
 sowing dissension between the nobles and the 
 people of Novgorod. That done, he induced 
 the latter to appeal to him for justice — an ap- 
 plication which he at once answered by pro- 
 ceeding to their city with great magnificence. 
 The people were dazzled by the almost 
 oriental splendour of his numerous retinue, 
 and captivated by the generous interest he 
 appeared to take in their affairs. The no- 
 bles and wealthy citizens of Novgorod whom 
 they accused, he loaded with chains, and 
 sent as prisoners to Moscow. Thus the 
 crafty despot got rid of those who alone 
 could efficiently oppose his selfish designs 
 upon the city. The blind animosity of the 
 people induced them to overlook, that, in 
 this proceeding of the grand prince, one of 
 those laws which had for centuries been the 
 basis of their liberty, was violated. The 
 ancient law of the state was, " that none of 
 its citizens should ever be tried or punished 
 out of the limits of its own territory." Yet 
 Ivan, in trampling down this safeguard of 
 the freedom of the citizens of Novgorod, 
 acted with such profound duplicity, that 
 he even won the popular favour by his vio- 
 lation of the charter of their independence. 
 
 Gradually the inhabitants of Novgorod 
 referred all their disputes to the decision of 
 the grand prince. Profiting by this disposi- 
 tion, he at length summoned offenders to 
 appear before him at Moscow. The Novgo- 
 rodians hesitated; submission seemed a 
 surrender of their national independence; 
 and yet they were won to submission by 
 the artful representations of Ivan. His 
 penetrating gaze was always bent deep into 
 the future. For seven years did this perse- 
 vering despot labour to lure them from those 
 distinctive habits, and that original charac- 
 ter, which separated them from the rest of 
 the empire. 
 
 At length he deemed events ripe for the 
 disclosure of the design he had so long 
 veiled. An envoy from Novgorod, in an 
 interview with the grand prince, either in- 
 advertently or in consequence of having 
 been bribed to do so, addressed him by the 
 title of liege lord, instead of by that of 
 
 53 
 
IVAN SUBDUES NOVGOROD.! 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1470—1478. 
 
 master, which had hitherto been th? custom. 
 Ivan grasped eagerly at the mistake, or 
 treachery, and at once claimed all the privi- 
 leges of an absolute master. He demanded 
 that the republican city should take an oath 
 to him as a legislator and its judge; that it 
 should receive his boyards with full autho- 
 rity to exercise their almost irresponsible 
 control ; that it should yield to them the 
 revered palace of Yaroslaf, esteemed as the 
 sacred temple of Novgorodian liberty, and 
 ■where, for more than five centuries, their 
 public assemblies had been held ; and, finally, 
 that each citizen should abdicate his sliare 
 of the sovereignty for the sake of the general 
 good. 
 
 The people of Novgorod were filled with 
 astonishment and rage; for hitherto they 
 appear not to have entertaiued any suspicion 
 that the extinction of their independence 
 was aimed at. The great bell of the city 
 summoned the people to the market-place. 
 Thither they rushed in furious crowds; and, 
 having seized on their imprudent envoy, 
 they placed him on his trial for treason 
 against the state; and on his being con- 
 demned, tore him limb from limb on the 
 spot. Some of the nobles, whom they also 
 suspected of being accessory to the sur- 
 render of their freedom, they murdered in 
 the streets, and they then again solicited 
 the aid of the Prince of Lithuania, and ac- 
 knowledged him as their sovereign. The 
 crafty Ivan was quite prepared for this 
 storm of passionate excitement; but when 
 the intelligence reached his ears, he pre- 
 tended to be overcome with surprise at 
 ■what he called the treachery and ingrati- 
 tude of the people. This man, who was 
 impenetrable to any other feeling than that 
 of the most concentrated selfishness, affected 
 much emotion, and groaned repeatedly. It 
 was not they, he declared, but he who had 
 been deceived. "With well-assumed vehe- 
 mence, he broke out into lamentations, 
 which blinded even those who knew his 
 habitual hypocrisy. He accused the people 
 of Novgorod of having spread a snare for 
 him. It was they, he said, who sought 
 him for their sovereign ; and when, yielding 
 to their wishes, he had assumed that title, 
 they disavowed him — they had the impu- 
 dence to give him the lie formally in the 
 face of all Russia — they had dared to shed 
 the blood of their compatriots who remained 
 faithful, and to betray heaven and the holy 
 land of the Russians, by calling within its 
 limits a foreign religion and domination. 
 54 
 
 These crafty lamentations were addressed 
 by Ivan to his priests, nobles, and people, 
 and to all his subordinate princes, whom he 
 sought to unite in a crusade against Novgo- 
 rod. Many entered warmly into the scheme, 
 which was supported strongly by the clergy. 
 The republic of Pskof and the principality 
 of Twer alone stood aloof; but the crafty 
 tyrant withdrew their military power, under 
 the form of a contingent, and left them 
 helpless. The citizens of Novgorod were 
 alarmed at the cloud which hung over them, 
 and endeavoured to obtain conditions. 
 These were refused by Ivan, who demanded 
 a surrender of everything. " I will reign 
 at Novgorod," he exclaimed, "as I do at 
 Moscow !" At the same time, as if to 
 temper his despotic bearing, he promised 
 to respect the liberties of the citizens; 
 though he carefully took away every means 
 of defending them. 
 
 The Novgorodians were in despair. Seve- 
 ral times they armed themselves, and ap- 
 peared resolved to risk a conflict which the 
 overwhelming number of their foes rendered 
 hopeless. Then, terrified by the desperate 
 nature of their afi"airs, they sunk into a 
 hopeless despondency. For a month the 
 armies of Ivan remained stationary, but 
 yet, as it were, with swords uplifted, as if 
 in the act to strike. He cared nothing for 
 military glory, but merely wanted the ac- 
 complishment of his purpose. To him the 
 mode was nothing; his mind regarded only 
 the end. He sought to domineer by terror 
 rather than by arms, and shrunk even from 
 encountering that loss which might attend 
 upon victory. He was patient ; and he had 
 collected so powerful a military force only 
 that he might avoid war. His calculations 
 were correctly made ; Novgorod, weakened, 
 oppressed, and distracted, at length sub- 
 mitted without a blow. The liberty of 
 Novgorod, held in his murderous embrace, 
 suffered the agonies of protracted suflfoca- 
 tion, and at length died in despair. On the 
 15th of January, 1478, the national assem- 
 blies ceased, and the people took the oath 
 of servitude. Three days later the boyards, 
 and the most influential of the inhabitants, 
 passively entered into the service of the 
 grand prince, who showed his now unim- 
 peachable power by confiscating the vast 
 revenues of the clergy, and bestowing them 
 upon the boyards and their followers, by 
 whose assistance he had smitten the pros- 
 trate and abject city. Nor did he go with- i 
 out his own share of the spoil ; for, in such 
 
A.D. 
 
 1479.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE, [apprehensions prom the tartars. 
 
 a distribution, he was not the man to forget 
 himself. He desired to bleed Novgorod of 
 its treasure, until the once prosperous city 
 should be so exhausted as never to be able 
 again to make head against his power. 
 With this view, quickened by the inordinate 
 selfishness which possessed him like an evil 
 spirit, he seized upon everything valuable to 
 which he could establish the faintest shadow 
 of a claim. An estimate may be formed of 
 the rapacity of this regal vulture, from the 
 fact, that he is said to have conveyed to 
 Moscow 300 cart-loads of gold, silver, and 
 precious stones, besides an enormous quan- 
 tity of furs, cloths, and other valuable mer- 
 chandise ! 
 
 Ivan had not long enjoyed his insidious 
 triumph before he himself was assailed by 
 terrors similar to those which he had so 
 remorselessly inflicted. News reached him 
 that the Tartars of the Golden Horde were 
 preparing for another invasion of Russia, 
 with the hope of recovering their expiring 
 power over it. Russia, concentrated and 
 prepared with a powerful army, was un- 
 daunted ; and Ivan had no cause for fear. 
 Two hundred thousand soldiers awaited his 
 command, and felt themselves fully equal to 
 encounter the weakened Tartars. His troops 
 panted for distinction, and longed to avenge 
 themselves on their ancient oppressors; 
 while the princes of the empire were warmly 
 devoted to his cause. Even civilians and 
 women spoke with an anger, mingled with 
 contempt, of the barbarous foe. A prince 
 of a martial and enthusiastic nature might 
 have enlisted in his cause every able man 
 among his subjects, and by one merciless 
 and well-directed blow, have extinguished 
 the Tartar army in a sea of blood. Yet, 
 under these circumstances, there was but 
 one man in Russia who trembled at the 
 danger, and that man was the sovereign. 
 "When his vast power, full of spirit and 
 confident of victory, marched forward to 
 meet the enemy, this miserable recreant 
 deemed himself conquered. Overcome by 
 his shadowy terrors, he sent his princess to 
 find an asylum in a remote district of the 
 north; and then, deserting the army, shut 
 himself up within the walls of Moscow. 
 He even recalled his son to the capital ; but 
 the prince, humiliated at beholding the 
 abject fears of his father, properly refused 
 to leave his post with the army. Even the 
 people became indignant; and, amidst por- 
 tentous murmurs, demanded, " Why he 
 had overburdened them with taxes, without 
 
 paying the khan his tribute? And why, 
 when he had brought the enemy into the 
 heart of the country, did he refuse to fight 
 them?" 
 
 The grand prince knew not how to 
 answer these reproaches, which he could 
 not altogether avoid hearing. The mur- 
 murs of an indignant people added to his 
 terrors, even in his remote and well-guarded 
 chambers. Casting vainly about for ex- 
 cuses, he convoked a meeting of the bishops 
 and boyards, for the purpose, he said, of 
 asking their advice. Their counsel was 
 conclusive : even the successors of those 
 timid and selfish priests who had betrayed 
 Moscow to destruction in the time of the 
 brave Dmitry Donskoi, were decided now. 
 " Does it," said they, " become mortals to 
 dread death ? It is in vain to fly from fear. 
 March boldly against the enemy; such is 
 our advice \" 
 
 The reluctant autocrat was compelled by 
 a sense of shame to rejoin his army ; but 
 his unconcealed fears diminished the ardour 
 of his troops. He remained behind the 
 river Lugra, and secretly opened a dis- 
 graceful communication with the Tartars, in 
 which he treated for pardon. The baseness 
 of fear could not be carried further: the 
 soldiery and the people of Moscow, on 
 hearing of his conduct, grew turbulent. 
 The primate of Moscow, animated by des- 
 pair, sought his presence, and endeavoured 
 to rouse him to a sense of manliness. 
 " Moved by our tears," said the head of 
 the church, " you set out once more to 
 combat the enemy of the Christians; and 
 now you implore peace from that infidel 
 who scorns your prayer ! Ah, prince, to 
 what counsels have you lent your ear ! Is 
 it not to throw away your shield, and 
 shamefully take to flight ? From what a 
 height of grandeur are you not descending ! 
 Would you give up Russia to the sword, 
 and the churches to plunder ? And 
 whither would you fly ? Can you soar like 
 the eagle ? Will you fix your nest amidst 
 the stars? The Lord will cast you down 
 even from that asylum ! No ! you will not 
 desert us ; you will blush at the name of 
 fugitive, and traitor to your country !" 
 
 Even these forcible expostulations pro- 
 duced no eff'ect. Surrounded by an enor- 
 mous army swelled by constant reinforce- 
 ments, nothing could inspire him with 
 confidence. So paralysed was he with 
 cowardice, that when the ice of a premature 
 winter had frozen over the river between 
 
 55 
 
DESTRUCTION OF THE TARTARS.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1479. 
 
 him and the enemy, he took to a disgraceful 
 and disorderly flight. Fortunately for him, 
 his motives were not transparent to the 
 multitude, who were removed too far from 
 their prince to be able to judge critically of 
 his conduct. Even had they beheld the 
 abject despot trembling with fear while 
 victory was within his grasp, yet their 
 reverence for autocracy was so great, that 
 they could not have felt anger or bitterness 
 towards the throned representative of the 
 race of Ruric. 
 
 Fortune conferred upon the dastard that 
 success which brave and deserving men 
 have too often failed to obtain. When his 
 disgraceful flight threatened to bind faster 
 upon the Russians those Tartar chains they 
 had nearly cast aside, an unexpected in- 
 cident turned the scale of factory. His 
 lieutenant of Svenigorod, and his ally, the 
 khan of the Crimea, advanced suddenly 
 upon the Golden Horde, and carried their 
 victorious arms into the veiy den of the 
 Tartars. News of this movement soon 
 reached the invading army, which made a 
 precipitate retreat, with the object of averting 
 the destruction which threatened the seat of 
 its power. The khan and his forces were 
 too late J the Russians had fallen like 
 avengers upon the Golden Horde, slaughter- 
 ing the Tartars they found there, and 
 carrying oflF the treasures. No sooner had 
 they retired than a band of marauding 
 Tartars entered, and completed the work 
 of devastation. They carried away the 
 women, together Avith what wealth yet re- 
 mained; and then retired, leaving the 
 palace and other dwellings of the Golden 
 Horde in flames. Yet another and still 
 greater disaster fell upon the discomfited 
 khan. His army was attacked, during its 
 retreat, by a hetman of the Cossacks and 
 the Mm'za of the Nogays, who fell upon 
 its disorderly ranks with such fury, and 
 used the sword with so merciless a severity, 
 that scarcely a remnant of the invaders 
 escaped. As an army they were destroyed; 
 nothing was left of them but a disorganised 
 and starving rabble. The Golden Horde 
 was annihilated ; the Tartar yoke was 
 trampled into the dust ; and the scourge of 
 Russia was no more. 
 
 It might be supposed, that though Russia 
 was jubilant, yet that the people regarded 
 their sovereign with the scorn his cowardice 
 merited. The very reverse was the case. 
 Though his pusillanimity had almost brought 
 ruin upon the empire, to him was given all the 
 56 
 
 honours of the unexpected success. It was 
 even attributed to his wisdom and foresight. 
 His credulous people believed that he had 
 devised it all ; and that even his flight was 
 merely a snare to delude the foe. With a 
 blind stupidity which excites astonishment, 
 they now regarded Ivan as a man of pro- 
 found genius; gifted alike in the field or 
 the council-chamber. In the joy they felt 
 at their deliverance from two centuries and 
 a-half of national slavery, they were dis- 
 posed almost to worship the grand prince as 
 an incarnation of their new-born liberty I 
 
 The crafty Ivan resolved to profit by this 
 error of his people. It enabled him to 
 draw the bands of government tighter, and 
 to increase his wealth and power. His 
 fears vanished with the danger that caused 
 them, and his ambitious acquisitiveness re- 
 turned. He now directed his eff'orts to the 
 subjugation of the republics of Viatka and 
 Pskof, both of which he accomplished with 
 little bloodshed, and rather by stratagem 
 than power. Novgorod, enfeebled as it had 
 been, was still occasionally agitated by re- 
 collections of its former liberty. Its citizens 
 could not wear their chains patiently; and 
 sometimes the crushed republic smouldered 
 with the suppressed fires of revolution. 
 Ivan resolved to tranquillise it after his own 
 fashion. To do this, he seized every pre- 
 text for removing Novgorodian families to 
 other parts of the empire, and supplying 
 their places with parasites of his own. The 
 city was at length exhausted of its original 
 inhabitants, and filled by men penetrated 
 with feelings of abject submission to the 
 grand prince. Novgorod was quite trans- 
 formed by this process. The city stood as 
 before; but the proud freemen who once 
 trod its streets had departed, and the groups 
 who now traded and chaff'ered in them were 
 slaves. Amidst all this craft and cruelty 
 the interests of Russia were advancing; its 
 consolidation was being promoted. It was 
 necessary that the petty tyrants of the 
 diff'erent principalities should fall before one 
 great tyrant, that union might take the 
 place of discord, and a great empire arise 
 out of a number of small and ever-jarring 
 states. It has been truly observed, that 
 unless Ivan had broken all the ties of 
 honour and humanity, and sacrificed the 
 best feelings of his nature, he could not 
 have subdued the insurgent population so 
 eflfectually as to have bound up the whole in 
 one sentiment of common national interest. 
 Mean, unprincipled, and worthless as was 
 
A.D. 
 
 1480.] 
 
 IIUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [designs of IVAN. 
 
 tlie man, the monarch accomplished an im- 
 portant labour, of a kiud that better men 
 would probably have failed to effect. 
 
 Some powerful and independent princes 
 yet existed in Russia, and Ivan now re- 
 solved to weave his snares around them. 
 He would have no independent appanages ; 
 he must reign supreme : Russia he desired to 
 see one and undivided, and yet merely his 
 footstool. Ivan had long foreseen and pre- 
 pared for the contest on which he was 
 about to enter; but his habitual cunning 
 and deceptive bearing had prevented his 
 intended victims from entertaining a sus- 
 picion of his purpose. This cold-hearted 
 mau ever smiled on those he meant to ruin ; 
 and disarmed them by a well-simulated 
 bearing of gentleness, and even humility. 
 For three-aud-twenty years his Machiave- 
 lian patience recognised the right and in- 
 dependence of those princes whom he 
 meant to despoil, and, if necessary, to 
 crush. He would not encumber himself 
 with quarrels at home while the Tartar 
 power remained unbroken. When two of 
 his brothers revolted, and withdrew with 
 what forces they could collect into Lithu- 
 ania, he implored their return with the most 
 humble supplications. The motives for hypo- 
 crisy in this direction were now at an end, 
 and he resolved to adopt a very diflfer- 
 ent course. He did not wear a lion's robe, 
 and patch it, when necessary, with the skin 
 of the fox ; but he wore a mantle of the 
 skins of foxes, to which he added, when it 
 was perfectly prudent to do so, some portions 
 of the hide of the lion. 
 
 Throwing aside the mask he had worn so 
 many years, Ivan commenced his designs 
 upon the Prince of Twer, the most formi- 
 dable of those who yet assumed a vain 
 rivalry with the power and splendour of the 
 grand princedom. In early life he had 
 married a princess of the house of Twer, 
 and a son was the result of the union. The 
 tie had done much to restrain him in this 
 direction ; but his wife and son were both 
 dead, and the thread of connection was 
 severed. He had since married a Greek 
 princess ; and there was nothing now to ex- 
 cite emotions of kindliness or forbearance. 
 The principality of Twer was surrounded 
 by his possessions, and he could threaten 
 and strike at it from all sides. Having by 
 some injustice goaded the Prince of Twer 
 into the desperate resort of seeking assist- 
 ance from the now enfeebled state of 
 Lithuania, he charged its prince with trea- 
 I 
 
 son, and terrified him with the exhibition 
 of an armed confederacy against him. 
 Appalled by the armies that surrounded 
 them on all sides, the inhabitants appealed 
 to Ivan for forgiveness; which he consented 
 to grant only on the payment of a tribute 
 that enfeebled the whole territory. Thus, 
 though he held the sword aloft and did not 
 strike, yet he drained away the wealth and 
 strength of his intended victim. He then 
 excited disputes between the Muscovites 
 and the Twerians ; and made the latter feel 
 their helplessness and insecurity to such an 
 extent, that they were at length glad to 
 purchase the protection of Ivan at the 
 price of their independence. Their prince, 
 robbed of his heritage and driven to despair, 
 fled to Lithuania, where he died in exile, 
 and, fortunately for the prosperous Ivan, 
 without children to claim his dominions. 
 
 Ruler of Twer, the appanage of the 
 powerful rivals of his house, the grand 
 prince became an unapproachable autocrat. 
 Those princes who yet retained their inde- 
 pendence, saw that resistance was unavail- 
 ing and submission unavoidable. Ivan no 
 longer wore a mask of humility, but spoke 
 in a voice of thunder. He knew his power, 
 and he was inflexible. The terror of his 
 name procured the immediate submission 
 of the rulers of Rostof and Yaroslaf. Ivan 
 extended his sceptre over their principali- 
 ties, but permitted them still to retain 
 their authority as governors appointed by 
 him. The Prince of Vereia, in a vain at- 
 tempt to avoid this confiscation, fled into 
 Lithuania ; but the autocrat punished his 
 flight, by compelling the dying father of the 
 fugitive to disinherit him of several cities, 
 which Ivan appropriated to himself. Among 
 the independent princes, were two brothers 
 of the tyrant, on the annexation of whose 
 dominions he was as much resolved as 
 though the owners had been strangers to 
 his blood. One of them surrendered his 
 appanage sooner than expose himself to the 
 dark machinations of so treacherous and re- 
 morseless a despot. The other, a man of 
 an active nature and less disposed to sub- 
 mission, was invited by the grand prince to 
 his court. There the unsuspicious guest, 
 though received with smiles, was suddenly 
 arrested and loaded with chains. In this 
 painful position, he sunk under a too acute 
 sense of impatience and the ignominy of the 
 insult that had been offered to him, and ex- 
 pired. Ivan was seized with remorse when 
 this intelligence was conveyed to him, and 
 
 57 
 
IVAN INVADES LITHXTANIA.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1482. 
 
 he is said even to have wept over his mur- 
 dered brother. It is with shame and anger 
 we add, that the awakened voice of con- 
 science was stifled by his bishops, who 
 readily pacified his religious fears, and 
 granted him a plenary absolution. 
 
 Ivan now sat upon an absolute throne. 
 Those princes who, at the commencement 
 of his reign, were almost as much sovereigns 
 as himself, were either dead or banished, or 
 had become transformed into obsequious 
 servants. They mingled with the boyards 
 — became in eflFect boyards themselves, and 
 did- not dare even to refer to that descent 
 from Euric which had once placed them on 
 an equality with Ivan himself. 
 
 The hfe of the grand prince was one of 
 ceaseless activity, and another opponent 
 remained for him to subdue. This was 
 Casimir, Duke of Poland, who, though a 
 man of feeble character, had been the con- 
 stant, though often indirect, adversary of 
 Ivan for many years. While the hands of 
 the latter were full of other business, he had 
 let Casimir proceed; but he only delayed 
 retribution that he might efl'ect it with the 
 greater certainty. Casimir had encouraged 
 both Livonians and Tartars in their efforts 
 against Russia, and had promoted rebellion 
 in many of the Russian principalities, whose 
 prince or people disliked the supremacy of 
 Ivan. Indeed, the Polish duke pursued the 
 same indirect policy as that followed by the 
 Russian grand prince, and with a consider- 
 able amount of success. Ivan now com- 
 menced a war of artifices on the Duke of 
 Poland, against whom he contrived alter- 
 nately to excite many neighbouring poten- 
 tates. His superior ability in the work of 
 artifice was soon apparent. Casimir, how- 
 ever, died before he felt the full weight of 
 his adversary's hand. On his demise, the 
 duchy of Lithuania was divorced from the 
 parent state, and separately organised under 
 Prince Alexander; while the rest of the 
 Polish territories were re-formed into a 
 distinct government. Ivan saw that the 
 time had now arrived for more decisive ac- 
 tion. Poland weakened by division ; Russia 
 strengthened by concentration; — this was 
 the time to recover those possessions which, 
 in former times, the Lithuanians had 
 wrested from his ancestors. 
 
 Having collected an enormous army, 
 Ivan advanced towards Lithuania. As 
 usual, he avoided fighting; but attempted 
 to terrify his foes by the display of an 
 overwhelming military superiority. At the 
 58 
 
 same time, his allies, Menghli-Ghirei, the 
 khan of the Crimea, and the hospodar of 
 Moldavia, assailed Lithuania in other direc- 
 tions. The device succeeded, and the un- 
 fortunate Priuce of Lithuania was terrified 
 into submission. A treaty was entered 
 into, and Ivan bestowed the hand of his 
 daughter upon his fallen adversary. This 
 apparent generosity was only for the pur- 
 pose of weaving a closer snare around his 
 intended victim, and with the object of 
 extirpating the Roman Catholic religion 
 from Lithuania, and planting the Greek 
 form of Christianity in its place. The lady 
 was a zealous member of the Greek church, 
 and she effectually executed the intention 
 of her father; which was, by seeking all 
 occasions to introduce her own faith, to 
 produce religious dissensions between her 
 husband, his people, and the Russians. As 
 Prince Alexander was an ardent catholic 
 and a man of narrow understanding, the 
 result may be readily divined. He entered 
 into some violent measures to defeat the 
 designs of his wife, and thus gave the in- 
 sidious Ivan a pretext for waging against 
 him a war in the name of religion. This 
 time the sword was not only drawn, but 
 used. Ivan obtained a decisive victory, 
 and then wrested from the defeated bigot 
 the country as far as Kief and Smolensk, 
 which had been taken from his ancestors by 
 the then prosperous and powerful Lithua- 
 nians. 
 
 It was now that Ivan, naturally elated by 
 his many triumphs, adopted a title which 
 was regarded as more august and important 
 than that of grand prince. It was that of 
 Tzar, or, as custom now almost universally 
 renders it in other European countries. 
 Czar. Some obscurity rests upon the origin 
 and precise meaning of this Asiatic and 
 semi-barbarous sounding title. It was gen- 
 erally presimied to have been a corrup- 
 tion of the word Caesar ; but this supposi- 
 tion is laid aside. Philological critics have 
 now pronounced that it is an old oriental 
 word, which the Russians acquired through 
 the Slavonic translation of the Bible, and 
 which they at first bestowed upon the Greek 
 emperors, and afterwards upon the Tartar 
 khans. In Persia, it signifies a throne, or 
 supreme authority ; and it is to be found in 
 the termination of the names of the kings 
 of Assyria and Babylon ; such as Phalossar, 
 Nabouassar, Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar. 
 To the Russian subjects of Ivan's time, as 
 of ours, supreme authority, or power derived 
 
A.D. 1482.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [reflections. 
 
 from God, and only controllable by him, was 
 the signification of the term. It is strange 
 that this pusillanimous monarch should not 
 only have raised the power of the Russian 
 sovereignty to a height that his predecessors 
 seem scarcely to have contemplated, but 
 should have established a religiously guarded 
 despotism on the part of the prince, and a 
 sense of the religious duty of passive obe- 
 dience on that of the people, which have 
 existed to this hour. How true is it, that 
 institutions are but the lengthened shadow 
 of one man. A crafty despot prepares his 
 people for passive slavery; while a liberal 
 monarch inspires them with a love of ra- 
 tional freedom, and a desire for advance- 
 ment in those arts which, on the one hand, 
 create magnificence and abundance, and on 
 the other, tend to the amelioration both of 
 poverty and disease. 
 
 " On looking back,'" said a modern histo- 
 rian, "at the progress of Ivan's career to- 
 wards this unexampled elevation, while we 
 discover much that is referable to that com- 
 bination of favourable accidents which usu- 
 ally occurs to those who least stand in need 
 of extraneous help, we also find much that 
 was produced by a calm and persevering 
 spirit incessantly engaged in the calculation 
 of the chances of every movement, and 
 Avhich took advantage of the most trifling 
 circumstance that could be turned to the 
 credit of the great account. Pusillanimous 
 by nature, Ivan had the larger leisure for 
 maturing his intrigues ; and, by the exercise 
 of a system of stratagems in an age when 
 physical force was the common appeal of 
 nations, he vanquished his antagonists by 
 bearing down on those points where they 
 were the least prepared for resistance. Nor 
 did he lose sight of the leading features of 
 national superstition. He carefully sounded 
 the depths of the Russian character; and, 
 availing himself of the weaknesses of the 
 
 ♦ In the pages of Gibbon, the historic reader will 
 find a gorgeous word-picture of the fall of Constan- 
 tinople, and abundant accounts of the selfishness, 
 timidity, and superstition of its people. We quote a 
 brief but remarkable passage : — " On the assurance 
 of the public calamity, the houses and convents were 
 instantly deserted; and the trembling inhabitants 
 flocked together in the streets, like a herd of timid 
 animals, as if accumulated weakness could be pro- 
 ductive of strength, or in the vain hope that, amid 
 the crowd, each individual might be safe and in- 
 visible. From every part of the capital they flowed 
 into the church of St. Sophia ; in the space of an 
 hour the sanctuary, the choir, the nave, the upper 
 and lower galleries were filled with the multitude of 
 fathers and husbands, of women and children, of 
 
 people, did not suffer a solitary occasion to 
 pass away without reaping from it some per- 
 sonal benefit under the mask of the public 
 good. Thus, when he hung back on the 
 banks of the Lugra, and fled from an infe- 
 rior force, he converted his disgrace to a 
 glory, and was rewarded by the admiration 
 and idolatry of his countrymen, who con- 
 ferred upon him all the applause of a signal 
 triumph, in which he not only had no share, 
 but from which he turned in dismay. There 
 was less, too, of cruelty than of artifice in 
 his nature ; for although he never scrupled 
 to execute summary and sanguinary ven- 
 geance where other means failed, yet he 
 always deferred the adoption of such an 
 alternative to the last extremity. This ex- 
 hibition of placidity, which really sprang 
 from a secret misgiving as to results, con- 
 tributed in a. great measure to check any 
 ebullitions of popular distrust, if not to 
 establish his empire more firmly in the good- 
 will of the people. Even the violation 
 of his promises, usually justified by some 
 plausible pretext of a patriotic description, 
 and his reckless conduct towards the ene- 
 mies of his throne and his religion, were 
 easily excused by a population that began 
 to be accustomed to the apparent interposi- 
 tions of Divine Providence on behalf of their 
 sovereign. They were induced, without 
 much trouble, to believe that the prince 
 who was so highly favoured by heaven, 
 could not receive too much confidence and 
 gratitude from man." 
 
 We have alluded to the marriage of Ivan 
 with a Greek princess. This union was the 
 result of his subtle policy and farseeing 
 views. "When, in 1453, Constantinople 
 had fallen before the power of the sultan, 
 Mahommed II., and the last of the Greek 
 emperors, after exhibiting a nobility of 
 conduct which contrasted painfully with 
 the miserable cowardice of his people,* fell 
 
 priests, monks, and religious virgins : the doors were 
 barred on the inside, and they sought protection 
 from the sacred dome, which they had so lately 
 abhorred as a profane and polluted edifice. Their 
 confidence was founded on the prophecy of an en- 
 thusiast or impostor — that one day the Turks should 
 enter Constantinople, and pursue the people as far as 
 the column of Constantine, in the square before St. 
 Sophia ; but that this would be the term of their 
 calamities : that an angel would descend from 
 heaven, with a sword in his hand, and would deliver 
 the empire, with that celestial weapon, to a poor 
 man seated at the foot of the column. ' Take this 
 sword,' would he say, ' and avenge the people of the 
 Lord.' At these animating words the Turks would 
 instantly fly, and the victorious Greeks would drive 
 
 59 
 
POLICY OF IVAN.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1482. 
 
 beneath the swords of the Janizaries, the 
 last princess of the imperial family had fled 
 for shelter to what were regarded as the 
 sacred walls of Rome. Ivan sought the 
 hand of the lady, and entreated the pope's 
 consent to their union. He was not un- 
 aware of the possible, though remote, ad- 
 vantages of the connection. The example 
 of Vladimir I. was not lost upon him : 
 though Constantinople had passed from the 
 possession of the efleminate Greeks into the 
 hands of a fierce and warlike race, who 
 should say what the future might bring 
 forth? It would be, at least, well that his 
 descendants should be capable of putting 
 forward a claim to be the representatives of 
 the family of the last Greek emperor of 
 Constantinople. So Ivan sought and gained 
 the hand of the Greek princess, content 
 though her only dowry was the imperial 
 effigy of the two-headed eagle — the symbol 
 of autocratic power. Such a thing might 
 seem trifling and worthless, but it was not 
 so in the estimation of the self-created czar. 
 He designed that the Grecian princess 
 should introduce into the regal palace at 
 Moscow the haughty hierarchy of the sump- 
 tuous court of Constantino, and its pompous 
 ceremonies ; in a word, that despotism of 
 divine right by which the slavish devoted- 
 ness to the prince who then reigned in 
 Russia should be strengthened and sancti- 
 fied. The Russian priesthood, delighted to 
 receive a royal fugitive from the now broken 
 fountain whence they had derived their 
 religion, welcomed her with a chorus of 
 adulation, and declared, that she was sent 
 by the Deity. " God sends him," said they 
 of Ivan, " this illustrious spouse, an oflset of 
 that imperial tree, the shadow of which was 
 formerly spread over all orthodox Christian 
 brothers. Fortunate alliance ! which brings 
 to mind that of the great Vladimir, and 
 which will make another Byzantium of 
 Moscow, and give to its grand princes all 
 the rights of the Greek emperors \" 
 
 The craft of Ivan, and the flatteries of his 
 priests and courtiers, tended to inspire their 
 descendants with dreams of conquest and 
 aggrandisement, which it had been better, 
 both for them and for Europe, had never 
 risen in the cradles of their souls. Yet the 
 presence of the Greek princess gradually 
 
 them from the west, and &om all Anatolia, as far as 
 the frontiers of Persia. It is on this occasion that 
 Ducas, with some fancy and much truth, upbraids 
 the discord and obstinacy of the Greeks. ' Had that 
 angel appeared,* [ exclaims the historian — ' had he 
 
 60 
 
 exerted a favourable, and probably almost 
 unsuspected, influence upon Russia. The 
 triumph of the Turks over Constantinople 
 had destroyed the commerce of that mighty 
 city, and of the empire of which it was the 
 head. The polished Greeks who fled from 
 their native city, now sought protection in 
 the capital whose sovereign had received to 
 his couch the daughter of their fallen em- 
 peror. With them they brought those arts 
 and sciences, for the exercise of which their 
 nation was so distinguished. Russia thus 
 received an impetus in civilisation, in ele- 
 gance of taste, and in commercial pros- 
 perity. She was drawn closer to her Euro- 
 pean neighbours, who had hitherto disre- 
 garded her as a chaotic power, utterly sunk 
 in barbarism. Ivan had been altogether 
 occupied in snaring or crushing enemies 
 abroad and at home. At length he had 
 leisure for a task probably more in accord- 
 ance with his unwarlike nature. He 
 dreaded bloodshed, and used his sword 
 rather as statesmen do the pen. He used 
 it less as a weapon to smite with, than as 
 an instrument to terrify and circumvent his 
 foes. Now, this necessary labour accom- 
 plished, he turned his attention to the 
 study of the policy of European courts, and 
 to pondering on the mode by which he 
 should elevate his throne to an equality 
 with the proudest and most powerful among 
 them. 
 
 To forward this design, he employed 
 great numbers of architects and artists to 
 erect the magnificent regal residence called 
 the Kremlin — a city of palaces and churches, 
 which still stands the glory and pride of 
 the people of Moscow, and the admiration 
 of all strangers. The Kremlin has neces- 
 sarily been much enlarged and added to 
 since its first erection ; but the original de- 
 sign had much of grandeur in its gigantic 
 massiveness. "If," says a modern traveller, 
 "the giant whom we call the Russian em- 
 pire had a heart, I should say that the 
 Kremlin was the heart of this monster." 
 Men gifted in the arts and sciences were 
 invited from Germany and Italy. Amongst 
 them were miners and engineers, architects, 
 founders, and minters. The mines of 
 Petchora were worked for the first time, 
 and new money, in silver and copper, coined 
 
 offered to exterminate your foes if you would con- 
 sent to the union of the church {i.e., the Greek and 
 Roman forms of Christianity), even then, in that 
 fatal moment, you would have rejected your safety, 
 or have deceived your God.' " 
 
A.D. 1484.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [policy of IVAN. 
 
 at Moscow. The arts and sciences, though 
 not destined to flourish for centuries in the 
 cold regions of Russia, yet took a shallow 
 and feeble root there.* A new idea of life 
 was opened to the rude minds of the people 
 by gorgeous public entertainments, pageants, 
 and processions. 
 
 In his communications with the polished 
 courts of the great powers of Europe, Ivan 
 was extremely anxious to convey an idea of 
 his power and dignity. He carried this 
 feeling so far, as sometimes to offend where 
 he wished to conciliate. For a slight omis- 
 sion of formalities he refused to receive the 
 envoy of Austria, and even drove him from 
 his presence. He eventually compelled the 
 emperor to treat him as his equal ; and 
 when that monarch offered to confer on 
 him the title of king, he replied haughtily, 
 " that he would not degrade himself by 
 receiving titles from any prince on earth, 
 and that he held his crown from God 
 alone ! '' His powerful neighbours, the 
 Turks, then a source of dread to nearly all 
 Europe, he would not suffer to commit 
 wrong in any way towards him or his sub- 
 jects without reproof. Some Russian mer- 
 chants having been injured by the Turks of 
 Kaffa, he demanded redress from the Sultan 
 Bajazet, to whom he sent this message : — 
 " Whence do these acts of violence arise ? 
 Are you aware of them, or are you not ? 
 One word more. Mahommed, your father, 
 was a great prince; he intended to have 
 sent ambassadors to me to pay me a com- 
 pliment, but God prevented the execution 
 of his project. Why should it not now be 
 
 • Sir Archibald Alison appears to think that lite- 
 rature, the arts and sciences, will never flourish in 
 Kussia, but that that empire will for ages, if not for 
 ever, remain a nurserj' of military strength, ready to 
 be used as " the scourge of vicious civilisation." 
 His opinion, from which we entirely dissent, is thus 
 expressed: — "What, then, is the destiny of Russia ? — 
 for a destiny, and that a great one, she evidently 
 has. Her rapid growth and ceaseless progress, 
 through all the mutations of fortune, in the adjoining 
 states, clearly bespeak not only consummate wisdom 
 of general internal direction, but the evolutions of a 
 mighty design. She is probably not intended to 
 shine in the career of civilisation. Her sons will 
 not, at least for long, rival the arts of Italy or the 
 chivalry of France, the intellect of England, or the 
 imagination of Germany. There will be no Shakes- 
 peares or Miltons, no Racines or Corneilles, no 
 Tassos or Raphaels, no Schillers or Goethes, amidst 
 the countless millions of her boundless territory 
 [this is bold and baseless prophecy, merely the idle 
 declamation of an accomplished mind] ; but there 
 may be — there will be — an Alexander, an Attila, a 
 Timour. Literature, science, the arts, are the efflo- 
 rescence of civilisation ; but in the moral, not less 
 
 accomplished?" At a later period, he com- 
 manded his ambassador at the court of the 
 sultan carefully to avoid compromising the 
 dignity of his master; to address the sultan 
 standing, and not upon his knees, as had 
 been the custom; and never to yield pre- 
 cedence to the representative of any other 
 nation. 
 
 Although Ivan had degraded the boyards 
 by employing them in servile offices about 
 his person, yet he sometimes found it 
 necessary to make them feel the extent of 
 his power, and of their weakness in com- 
 parison with it. When they contended 
 together for oflBces and for precedence, he 
 checked their restless vanity with the re- 
 mark, that " they ought to submit without 
 a murmur to the will of their sovereign, 
 and that when the question related to his 
 service, every office was good." But the 
 discontents of the boyards were not confined 
 to trifles of this nature. The privileges 
 they had enjoyed through the dissensions 
 of the princes had been enormous ; and 
 they became aware that much of their 
 power was melting away beneath the firm 
 rule of Ivan. This feeling was cautiously 
 shown on many occasions ; and on one, it 
 burst out into something more than a vio- 
 lent remonstrance against the continuance 
 of a state of things which was slowly 
 changing the form of government in Rus- 
 sia. On the death of the czar's eldest sou, 
 the result of his first marriage, they ad- 
 dressed Ivan in what he deemed a tone of 
 unseemly vehemence, and implored him to 
 confer the succession upon his grandson 
 
 than in the physical world, efflorescence is succeeded 
 by decline, the riches of the harvest border on the 
 decay of autumn. There is a winter in nations as 
 well as in seasons." — History of Ettrope (Continua- 
 tion, vol. ii.) In the same passage in which Sir A. 
 Alison so confidently predicts that Russia will re- 
 verse the action of natural laws which govern the 
 progress of nations, and go backward into the past, 
 instead of forward into the future, he speaks of that 
 great empire as saved from the corruption of that 
 civilisation to which it has not attained, and the 
 vices of which it is from time to time to correct by 
 means of brute power. Russia the teacher of politi- 
 cal virtue ! Russia spared from the corruption of 
 civilisation ! Why, political and judicial corruption, 
 in their meanest and most abject forms, are the 
 curse of the Russian empire ; while its history, from 
 the time of Catherine to the present hour, shows its 
 social life blasted by sensuality and dishonesty. 
 Russia has yet much to learn from civilisation be- 
 fore she need fear being corrupted by it ; and she 
 must study to restrain and govern herself, before she 
 assumes the task which properly belongs to Deity 
 alone — that of scourging the vices of surrounding 
 nations. 
 
 61 
 
HERESY IN THE CHTTRCH.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1488. 
 
 Dmitri, whom they doubtless hoped to be 
 able to mould according to their desires. 
 The czar angrily refused, and even threw 
 his grandson into prison. The boyards 
 then resorted to stratagem and calumny, 
 and spread many evil reports concerning 
 the Greek czarina, the mother of the second 
 son. So craftily were they framed, that even 
 the far-seeing Ivan was for a while led to 
 believe them. Acting upon this conviction, 
 he publicly disgraced his wife, and releasing 
 his grandson Dmitri from prison, caused 
 him to be solemnly crowned as his suc- 
 cessor. The czar, however, soon discovered 
 the designs of the boyards, and the inno- 
 cence of the Greek princess, and he at once 
 restored her to hberty and his favour. He 
 also excluded the grandson who had so re- 
 cently been crowned as his successor, and 
 proclaimed his son to be his heir. There 
 was a whimsical rapidity about these pro- 
 ceedings that was not calculated to allay 
 disaffection. The boyards were not in- 
 clined to abandon the struggle ; and they 
 succeeded in stirring up the inhabitants of 
 Pskof to expostulate with the czar in behalf 
 of the elder branch, against the heir whom 
 he had chosen. Ivan inquired haughtily, 
 "Am I not then at liberty to act as I 
 please ?" Then he added, in the spirit of 
 that unreasoning despotism which regards 
 itself as above the judgment of men, " I 
 will give Russia to whom I think proper, 
 and I command you to obey." 
 
 The boyards who had been most ac- 
 tively concerned in the conspiracy against 
 the czarina, were seized by command of 
 Ivan, and several of them were beheaded. 
 The high rank of their order had hitherto 
 protected its members from such summary 
 violence, and the people beheld with asto- 
 nishment acts which showed the vast power 
 of the czar, and the apparently inevitable 
 fate of those who had the temerity to op- 
 pose it. The rest who had incurred lus 
 displeasure he degraded in their rank, and 
 reduced to a situation of court servitude. 
 Amongst other means of limiting their con- 
 sequence, he took away their ancient privi- 
 lege of transferring their service to any 
 other prince possessed of an appanage, and 
 rigidly forbade their removal from such 
 offices about his own court, or elsewhere, 
 as he thought proper to select for them. 
 
 One of his latest acts of public interest 
 
 was a collision with the Russian priesthood. 
 
 Few sovereigns have been able to overcome 
 
 clerical opposition, and many have fallen 
 
 62 
 
 before it; but the wise autocrat proved 
 himself equal to this emergency also. It 
 has been well said, that "if in the field he 
 betrayed a lack of nerve, in the cabinet he 
 showed a degree of imperturbability which 
 invested him with impunity. The waive of 
 his hand, and the sound of his voice, were 
 decisive. No impediments retarded, no re- 
 sistance repelled him." He effected some 
 reforms in the manners of the Russian 
 priesthood; but the particular occasion 
 which brought him into opposition with 
 them, was the appearance of a startling 
 Jewish heresy amongst them. Its tenets 
 were remarkable, and, to the dispassionate 
 critics of our time, have an air of grotesque 
 absurdity. But it is wise to judge chari- 
 tably in these matters; for all history shows 
 us, that religious fanaticism and its atten- 
 dant extravagancies, frequently enter even 
 into the highest order of intellects, and leave 
 their votaries, on this point, the victims of a 
 gloomy and immovable monomania. The 
 Mosaic novelties which had stolen into the 
 Russian church were indeed of a serious 
 nature, and altogether incompatible with 
 the profession of the Christian faith. They 
 consisted in a denial of the divinity of 
 Jesus, and of the Virgin Mary ; in the un- 
 seemly acts of spitting on the images of 
 saints, and tearing them with the teeth ; in 
 a disbelief of paradise and a resurrection of 
 the dead ; and in placing an implicit faith 
 in a certain book, which it was audaciously 
 said had been given, by the Deity himself, 
 to Adam. From that book the credulous 
 advocates of the new principles maintained 
 that Solomon had derived all his wisdom ; 
 and Moses, Joseph, Elias, and Daniel, their 
 power over the elements and monsters, 
 their skill in the interpretation of dreams, 
 and their faculty of looking into futurity. 
 The Messiah, it was declared, was yet to 
 come, as the Hebrew prophecies concerning 
 him remained unfulfilled. Zosimus, the 
 primate, was understood to be the chief 
 professor of these heresies, in which he was 
 followed by the great bulk of the Russian 
 priesthood. 
 
 Some of those who yet remained true to 
 the Christian faith as it had hitherto been 
 generally received in the country, pro- 
 claimed their horror and indignation. A 
 pious fanatic of some distinction, known as 
 St. Joseph of Volok, thus vehemently de- 
 manded the punishment of the misbe- 
 lievers : — " We see," he exclaimed, " a son 
 of Satan seated on the throne of the holy 
 
A.D. 1488—1505.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [death of IVAN III. 
 
 prelates ; we see a devouring wolf under 
 the garb of a simple shepherd ! They are 
 no more; they have flown to the bosom 
 of Christ, those daring eagles of religion, 
 those godly bishops, who would have 
 pitilessly torn out with their talons every 
 eye that was bold enough to look askance 
 on the divinity of the Saviour. Now, in 
 the garden of the church, we hear nothing 
 but the hiss of a horrible reptile, which 
 vomits forth blasphemy against the Lord, 
 and against his blessed Mother." 
 
 Tlie czar had far too much prudence to 
 permit him to go to any of the extremities 
 indicated in this theological denunciation. 
 Had he persecuted the new doctrines with 
 any great degree of severity, they would in- 
 fallibly have taken root, and endured for at 
 least many generations. He probably cared 
 but little for the purity of the church ; but 
 he had certain political reasons for wishing 
 to extirpate the strange heresies which had 
 appeared within it. If the most vital doc- 
 trines of religion were disregarded, he knew 
 that the throne could not easily retain its 
 alleged sanctity. Novelties were the nurse 
 of restlessness and change, alike in religion 
 or politics ; and Ivan desired ■ no changes 
 except such as he himself had brought 
 about. These were all of an autocratic 
 character, in which the person of the sove- 
 reign was invested with something akin to 
 divine power, and the church was converted 
 into a sort of pious outwork around the 
 throne. Ivan therefore caused the heresy 
 to be anathematised ; appointed a new pri- 
 mate, whose inauguration he himself some- 
 what significantly performed;* and banished 
 the heretics from the empire, after confis- 
 cating their property, and adroitly convert- 
 ing it to his own use. Such measures, 
 severe though calm, no doubt created great 
 excitement ; but the clergy were awed, and 
 submitted. The Eastern doctrine of fatal- 
 isni permeated through their religious 
 tenets; and of what use would it be to 
 resist a man whose supremacy, they rea- 
 soned, was preordained by Him " who 
 layeth the beams of his chambers in the 
 waters ; who maketh the clouds his chariot ; 
 who walketh upon the wings of the wind !" 
 
 Ivan did not neglect the internal condi- 
 tion of the empire. A system of order and 
 
 • Implying thereby that the church derived its 
 power and dignity from him, not he his power and 
 dignity from the church. Ivan professed to receive 
 his authority directly from the hands of God, or, as 
 he said at another time, from the Holy Trinity. 
 
 classification was made to extend to every- 
 thing. A more equitable system of taxation 
 relieved the people of those burdens to which 
 they had been frequently subjected by the 
 caprice of their immediate lord. The roads 
 were repaired, and the police and army 
 more regularly organised. The right of the 
 peasantry to change their servitude from 
 one lord or fief to another, on payment of a 
 certain tax, was clearly defined. This was 
 an important matter ; for it was the subse- 
 quent abolition of this privilege by Boris 
 Godunof that led to the conversion of the 
 Russian peasantry into serfs — an act preg- 
 nant with mischief, which at the time re- 
 mained unseen. The power of the boyards 
 over their followers Avas limited, by asso- 
 ciating with them in their judicial rights the 
 elders of the districts and the established 
 civil functionary. Thus, though Russia was 
 far behind the rest of Europe, yet some faint 
 colouring of civilisation began to appear in 
 it. In 1497, Ivan collected the existing or- 
 dinances and customs of the country into a 
 code, of which, though it was probably suited 
 to the age, it has been observed, everything 
 partook of the keenness of the sword, which 
 was brought into action in every part of it. 
 The majority of criminal offences were de- 
 cided by the ancient and unreasonable prac- 
 tice of single combat, and torture was used 
 for the extortion of evidence. Other punish- 
 ments chiefly consisted in the knout, confis- 
 cation of the criminal's property, condemna- 
 tion to slavery in the mines, and death. So 
 little hesitation was there to proceed to the 
 latter extremity, that when a thief was 
 detected in a second off'ence, he was exe- 
 cuted at once without any formality. 
 
 Ivan's reign was prolonged for three-and- 
 forty years, a length of time which enabled 
 him to accomplish all the reforms and 
 changes he eff'ected in the state. He died 
 in 1505, at the age of sixty-seven. Though 
 a contemplation of his character may make 
 us recoil with disgust as we would from 
 some venomous reptile, yet it must be con- 
 ceded that this heartless, unprincipled, and 
 monstrously selfish man had, in some indi- 
 rect way, a claim upon the title of Great, 
 which was conferred upon him by his 
 people, and even admitted by foreigners. 
 Yet, perhaps, paradox as the assertion may 
 seem, there never existed a man whose 
 mind was more deficient in the elements of 
 true greatness. Insincere, indeed false to 
 everything but himself and the one great 
 idea which he laboured aU his life to pro- 
 
 63 
 
CHARA-CTER OF IVAN.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1505. 
 
 mote — actually loving falsehood rather than 
 truth — the man ^yas a living, aggregate, in- 
 carnate lie. A coward in adversity, a des- 
 pot in prosperity, a shuffler at all times. 
 Yet this strange man "went patiently for- 
 ward, and laboured incessantly at the ex- 
 altation of his country ! — did it also, not 
 only with craft, but with wisdom ! Yet all 
 his work was contaminated by his vices, 
 and, most of all, by his cold, unmovable 
 selfishness. He created order in Russia; 
 but it was the order resulting from a sense 
 of fear, and a habit of abject submission. 
 He had no thought of bringing into being 
 a great people ; for them he had no feeling, 
 save that they were to be ruled for his 
 advantage and that ctf his successors. A 
 great empire was what he had laboured for — 
 one of such extent and resources, that its 
 sovereigns should not stand second to any 
 of the potentates of the civilised world. 
 His plans were often promoted by a favour- 
 able combination of circumstances; but he 
 had the faculty of pursuing them with an 
 unwearied tenacity. Russia owed him 
 much ; but she also owed to him that ser- 
 vile, broken spirit, which to this hour is 
 prevalent among the lower orders of the 
 
 people. Two centuries and a-half of Tartar 
 tyranny had doubtless done much to debase 
 the character of the masses, and extinguish 
 their spirit ; but the policy of Ivan finished 
 what the hand of an enemy had begun. 
 He wanted subjects, but not a people ; and 
 he obtained his wish at the price of the ex- 
 tinction of popular spirit. He wanted em- 
 pire, and he obtained it : during his reign 
 19,000 square miles and 4,000,000 subjects 
 were added to the already immense territories 
 of Russia. He strove also to promote the 
 arts and to forwai'd civilisation, and his cha- 
 racter was not tainted by cruelty. He was 
 despotically severe at times, but he generally 
 seemed to shrink from shedding blood. The 
 sword and the axe, if it must be ; but they 
 were his last alternatives. That was a 
 negative virtue, certainly ; and it may also 
 be said that, in some measure, the time had 
 need of the man. Evil, oppressive, and 
 even mean work was to be done for the 
 good of Russia ; and he did it with a will. 
 For the rest, he was a wise sovereign — much 
 in the same way that a crowned I ago would 
 have been one : he pursued the interest of 
 Russia just so far as it was identical with 
 his own. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE REIGN OF VASSILI IVANOVITCH ; CONTESTS WITH THE TARTARS ; DEATH OF VASSILI, AND REGENCT OP 
 HELENA ; HER EXCESSES AND ASSASSINATION ; ILL-TREATMENT OF THE TOUNG CZAR IVAN, AFTERWARDS 
 SUKNAMED " THE TERRIBLE ;" HIS YOUTHFUL CRUELTIES PROMOTE INSURRECTION AT MOSCOW ; ItEFORMA- 
 TION OF IVAN ; HE ADVANCES AGAINST KASAN, AND CONVERTS THE MOSQUES INTO CHRISTIAN CHURCHES ; 
 ANNEXATION OF ASTRACAN ; DISCOVERY AND CONQUEST OF SIBERIA ; PRINTING INTRODUCED INTO RUS- 
 SIA ; RETURN OF THE FEROCITY OF IVAN ; HE PUTS HIS VIRTUOUS ADVISERS TO DEATH ; HE RETIRES TO 
 THE FORTRESS OF ALEXANDROVSKY ; DENOUNCES THE CLERGY AND THE BOYARDS ; AWTUL MASSACRES 
 AT NOVGOROD ; FRIGHTFUL EXECUTIONS AT MOSCOW ; IVAN IS DEPRIVED OF TERRITORIES BY FOREIGN 
 FOES ; HE SEEKS THE HAND OF QUEEN ELIZABETH OF ENGLAND ; HE MURDERS HIS ELDEST SCN ; HIS 
 DEATH AND CHARACTER. 
 
 No opposition was oflFered to the succession 
 of the son of the late monarch, nor was any 
 effort made on behalf of his grandson 
 Dmitri. Vassili Ivanovitch, the son of 
 Ivan, by the czarina Sophia, of Byzantium, 
 ascended the throne of the graud prince- 
 dom in 1505, and occupied it for eight-and- 
 twenty comparatively uneventful years. His 
 character appears to have borne some re- 
 semblance to that of his father, whose prin- 
 ciples of government he addressed himself 
 64 
 
 to carrying out. It may, liowever, be in- 
 ferred, that he did not possess the profound 
 craft, restless energy, and political wisdom 
 of his predecessor; for history is almost 
 silent concerning him. No great act, or 
 remarkable saying, is recorded of him ; and 
 he either possessed a mind which, except in 
 the exhibition of a serpent-hke and venom- 
 ous cunning, scarcely rose above the 
 almost stagnant level of mediocrity, or the 
 chroniclers of his nation have been unjust 
 
A.D. 1505—1523.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE, [contests with the tartars. 
 
 to his memory. Still, whatever were his 
 deficiencies, he has drawn from the his- 
 torian Segur the flattering comment, "Tiiat 
 he maintained the dignity of the empire 
 bequeathed to him by his father, and en- 
 larged its extent." Perhaps it would be 
 more correct to say, that the fabric of Ivan's 
 government stood and worked well for a 
 time by virtue of its own strength. 
 
 For some years befoi'e Ivan the Crafty 
 (a far more appropriate surname for him 
 than that of Great) went to his grave, he 
 was disturbed by the turbulence of the 
 Tartars of Kasan. These people submitted 
 with an ill-will to his authority, which they 
 resolved to cast off on the first opportunity. 
 Not caring to conceal their rebellious tem- 
 per, they proceeded so far as to set np a 
 new khan, in defiance of the authority of 
 the czar. Ever averse to a resort to the 
 sword, and probably influenced by unplea- 
 sant reminiscences of Tartar strength and 
 ferocity, Ivan pretended to acquiesce plea- 
 santly in this disregard of his power ; but, 
 with his customary duplicity, appointed a 
 Russian boyard with the nominal duty of 
 assisting the khan in the administration, 
 but with the real one of neutralising his 
 authority. The Tartars understood this 
 well enough; but, awed by the increasing 
 power of Ivan, they sullenly submitted to 
 what they could not readily avoid. The 
 calm produced by such a state of things, 
 however, resembles the oppressive tranquil- 
 lity which precedes the eruption of a volca- 
 nic mountain; and the rule of the prince 
 who holds his authority by so uncertain a 
 bond, is about as secure as the peasant who, 
 ou the eve of the fiery outburst, sleeps in 
 apathy in his cot at the mountain's base. 
 The death of Ivan gave the Tartars of 
 Kasan the opportunity they desired, and 
 the repressed- feelings of animosity burst 
 forth. This turbulent people rose in insur- 
 rection, and murdered the representative of 
 Russian authority. 
 
 Vassili had no alternative but to resort to 
 arms : his father might plot and equivocate 
 with safety; but it was necessary for a prince 
 who had yet to acquire distinction, to act. 
 Accordingly, in 1508, he sent a great army, 
 under the command of his brother, to reduce 
 the Tartars of Kasan to obedience. At 
 first the Russians gained a doubtful victory 
 over their foes; but a second battle was 
 fought, in which they sustained an unequi- 
 vocal defeat. The Tartars, inflated with 
 the consciousness of victory, were encou- 
 
 K 
 
 raged to attempt some more daring exploit. 
 Having induced the Tartars of the Crimea 
 to join them, they invaded Russia in great 
 strength, and even penetrated as far as the 
 gates of Moscow. During this marauding 
 expedition, it is said they made prisoners of 
 the unarmed population to the almost in- 
 credible number of 300,000, whom they 
 afterwards disposed of as slaves to the 
 Turks. We are inclined to suspect exag- 
 geration in this statement; but there caa 
 be no doubt that this horde of semi-savages, 
 whose chief object was plunder, inflicted an 
 enormous amount of misery upon the un- 
 happy Russians, whom Vassili left without 
 protection. The czar, whose cowardice and 
 meanness on this occasion almost went 
 beyond that of his father in early life, pur- 
 chased the forbearance and departure of 
 the Tartars by costly bribes and dishonour- 
 able promises of submission ! Yes, incre- 
 dible as it may seem in an independent 
 sovereign, he had the abject baseness to 
 promise that he would take a new oath of 
 allegiance to them. We scarcely think it 
 lessens his offence against common manli- 
 ness, and his treason against the prostrate 
 dignity of his people, that he never intended 
 to keep his word. Vile and worthless as 
 were the Tartars — a race whom it would 
 have been a mercy to mankind to extermi- 
 nate, as the pioneers of civilisation do 
 droves of famished wolves — yet it is almost 
 a matter of regret that this man eventually 
 neutralised his own submission, and, by 
 falsehood and cunning, triumphed over his 
 foes. More by stratagems than force of 
 arms, he eventually recaptured Kasan, and 
 made severe examples of the most distin- 
 guished insurgents. This event did not 
 take place for many years, during which 
 time the regal coward patiently nursed his 
 anger. In 1523 he attempted to wreak his 
 vengeance upon the Tartars, but his army 
 was repulsed with disgrace. Seven years 
 later he was more fortunate: Kasan was 
 taken by his troops ; the fortress destroyed 
 by fire; and, it is affirmed, no less than 
 60,000 of the Tartars massacred. 
 
 During the continuance of this struggle, 
 the city of Pskof exhibited expiring signs of 
 independence, and made some efforts to 
 separate itself from the empire. It was in 
 vain; the time of petty princedoms and 
 small republican states was past in Russia. 
 The tendency of events had set in towards 
 consolidation and despotism; and resistance 
 ou the part of small states was useless. It 
 
 65 
 
DEATH OF VASSILT.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1533—1538. 
 
 showed no statesmanlike skill on the part 
 of Vassili, that he was able to reduce the 
 feeble city which strove vainly to rear itself 
 against him. Even this poor exploit was 
 done by stratagem. He drained away the 
 flower of the population by exhausting mili- 
 tary levies ; he absorbed the wealth of the 
 citizens by burdensome taxes, and crushed 
 their commerce by heavy restrictions. Pskof, 
 utterly debilitated, sunk still deeper beneath 
 that Muscovite rule from which she had 
 thoughtlessly, and without calculation, at- 
 tempted to emancipate herself. The only 
 other event of importance during this reign 
 was the annexation of Severia, the last prin- 
 cipality which maintained an independent 
 existence. Having sat for eight-and-twenty 
 years in the seat of the czar, and sullied the 
 title during that period by the meanness of 
 his nature, Vassili died in 1533. Insignifi- 
 cant as he appears to have been, his reign 
 tended to the consolidation of the empire ; 
 for the machinery of government set in 
 action by his father, was permitted silently 
 to take its course. For himself he would 
 have been one of those who come and go 
 upon the earth unhonoured and unheeded 
 — mere living bubbles, floating for a brief 
 space in the sunlight — but for the accident 
 of his having been born to wear a crown. 
 
 Vassili was succeeded by his son Ivan 
 Vasilovitch, an infant of only three years 
 old. The early years of this young prince 
 were rendered miserable by those who little 
 deemed that he would extort a merciless 
 revenge for the indignities and sufi'erings 
 they then heaped upon him. Who, in a 
 handsome child, could liave recognised the 
 future Nero of Russia — the monster whose 
 atrocious cruelties appalled his people, and 
 astonished those of surrounding states? 
 But, unhappily, Ivan is far from being the 
 only instance in which an oppressed infancy 
 has ripened into a depraved manhood. 
 
 The tender age of the czar rendered a 
 regency imperative ; and Helena, his mothei', 
 assumed the actual responsibility of govern- 
 ment. She was an unprincipled and worth- 
 less woman, who offended the boyards by 
 her insolence, and disgusted the nation by 
 her licentiousness. Her dignity she shared 
 with a paramour, whose injudicious eleva- 
 tion to such a rank was naturally regarded 
 as an insult by the princes and nobles of 
 the empire. To the education and future 
 interests of her son this sensual woman was 
 altogether indiff'erent: she lived but for the 
 pleasures or the passions of the passing hour, 
 66 
 
 and he was but a gilded property by which 
 she obtained their gratification. 
 
 A feeling of discontent was general among 
 the princes and boyards. They were not 
 reconciled to the loss of that inordinate 
 authority which had been wrung from them 
 by Ivan the Crafty, and kept from them by 
 his less able son. What was the consolida- 
 tion and peace of the empire to them, who, 
 regardless of the claims of country, or the 
 feelings of patriotism, sought only for in- 
 dividual distinction and aggrandisement? 
 " Formerly," says Segur, " the whole empire 
 was the theatre of their ambition ; its par- 
 tition into appanages, their end ; civil war, 
 their means : but now that was all concen- 
 trated in the prince, their sole arena was his 
 court ; their end, the precarious power de- 
 rived from favouritism ; their means, in- 
 trigue." They longed for a pretext to take 
 advantage of the infancy of the czar, so that 
 they might seize upon the empire, and divide 
 it amongst themselves. Such a pretext was 
 furnished by the dissolute conduct of the 
 regent, and a conspiracy was formed amongst 
 many of the princes and boyards. Favom*- 
 able as the time seemed for a movement of 
 this nature, no opportunity offered for a 
 general outbreak. The overbearing conduct 
 of the conspirators led to a betrayal of their 
 designs, and the regent was enabled to strike 
 the first blow. Three uncles of the infant 
 czar were the principal plotters against his 
 interests, and these Helena seized, on the 
 ground that they entertained designs upon 
 the throne. Once in her power, they were 
 thrown into loathsome prisons, in which they 
 soon breathed their last, whether in the 
 course of nature, or in consequence of secret 
 outrage, is known but to God. They died ; 
 and the most active of their followers were 
 punished by torture, death, or imprisonment. 
 The other conspirators, alarmed at a degree 
 of energy they did not anticipate, fled for 
 safety to Lithuania or the Crimea. 
 
 For five years of anarchy the regent 
 maintained her position by the exercise of a 
 ferocious cruelty. During this time she 
 showed herself a fitting mother of the child 
 whom her neglect was assisting to mature 
 into a monster. It has often been said, that 
 those men whom the world regards as its 
 great ones, liave usually been born of gifted 
 women. The same rule, doubtless, holds 
 good in cases of most abandoned depravity 
 or gigantic crime. In this instance, the 
 wretch whose diabolic cruelty earned for 
 him the repulsive title of "The Terrible," 
 
A.D. 1538—1542.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [the youth of IA'AN. 
 
 was the son of a woman who was not only a 
 libel upon her sex, but a disgrace to huma- 
 nity. It was lier delight to appal and agonise 
 her enemies by torture before she extiu- 
 gnished them in death. But her five years 
 of power ended, and the hour of retribution 
 came. She died suddenly ! Yes, indeed, 
 suddenly ; but her death was anticipated 
 and designed. The boyards, whom the 
 high -placed wanton had terrified by her 
 cruelty, had poisoned her. If by some 
 superhuman power we could learn aught of 
 the dark secrets of the buried past, it would 
 be an instructive thing to know something 
 of the last hours and words of such a woman 
 as this : a wild sermon that, we think ; which 
 might cause a shudder in the guilty whom 
 hitherto no precept could reach, no warning 
 touch. 
 
 The czar was still in his infancy, and it 
 was necessary to appoint some person or 
 party to conduct the affairs of the empire. 
 It was confided to, or rather seized upon by^ 
 a member of the factious boyards, who dig- 
 nified themselves with the title of the 
 "supreme council." The president of this 
 body was Prince Schuisky, a coarse-minded, 
 brutal noble, in whom vulgar audacity 
 struggled for pre-eminence with dangerous 
 ambition. The turbulent disposition of the 
 family of this man had long made them dis- 
 liked and shunned by the czar as enemies of 
 the state ; and Schuisky now resolved to re- 
 sent, upon a mere child, the supposed injuries 
 his relatives had received from former sove- 
 reigns. He brought up the young Ivan 
 altogether without education ; subjected him 
 to numerous insults; even lolled upon his 
 bed ; and, on one occasion, insolently placed 
 his feet in the lap of the boy sovereign. 
 Child as the latter was, he felt these slights 
 bitterly, and resolved to repay them when 
 time should really place the power of the 
 sceptre in his hands. 
 
 The supreme council of the boyards 
 speedily showed themselves unequal to the 
 successful conduct of the affairs of state. 
 Tiie feeling of patriotism was a stranger to 
 the bosoms of these rude and selfish men. 
 Each pursued his own interest, and confusion 
 and mutual distrust was the result of their 
 deliberations. Everywhere the people be- 
 came a prey to petty tyrants ; and it seemed 
 as if Russia would recede to that bai-barism 
 from which she had been so slowly emerging. 
 The treasury of the young czar was plun- 
 dered, his dominions encroached upon, and 
 himself only tolerated in his own palace. 
 
 where not he, but the boyards were masters. 
 In this state of things the country was in- 
 fested by large bodies of wandering Tartars, 
 who robbed and murdered the unprotected 
 people. These unchecked excesses encou- 
 raged the Tartars to attempt an invasion 
 on a scale of actual warfare ; but the coun- 
 cil, startled at the danger, united for once ; 
 and the Tartars, who were but the shadow 
 of their ancient power, were repulsed. 
 Prince Belsky and the Russian primate, 
 who both appear to have been actuated by 
 honourable motives, endeavoured after this 
 to restore order, and for a time they were 
 successful — for a brief time only : their 
 patriotic exertions elicited the hatred of 
 their compeers; for even the presence of 
 virtue is a reproof to those who are devoid 
 of it. A cabal was formed against the pri- 
 mate and the prince. The former was ill-, 
 treated and deposed ; and the latter thrown 
 into prison and murdered there. 
 
 The turbulent Prince Schuisky and his 
 companions had been displaced from their 
 power on the invasion of the Tartars ; but 
 shortly before the overthrow of the primate 
 and the murder of Belsky, they reappeared 
 and recovered their influence by force of 
 arms. In the month of January, 1542, they 
 surprised Moscow in the dead of night, 
 made themselves masters of the city, and 
 entering the palace, penetrated even to 
 the bedside of the young czar, and rousing 
 him suddenly from sleep with alarming 
 shouts, endeavoured to overthrow his intel- 
 lect through the influence of sudden terror. 
 
 Such was the early life of one born to the 
 eventual possession of absolute power ! The 
 young czar, neglected, insulted, and treated 
 with brutality, was an object of pity. When 
 he exhibited, for a short time, some natural 
 and genial feeling of early life, his perse- 
 cutors scofi^ed at the generous emotion. 
 Grief for his dead mother was for Schuisky 
 and his satellites a theme for laughter. 
 When, on one occasion, he formed an at- 
 tachment to a young boyard, they fell upon 
 the latter in the presence of Ivan, and beat 
 him with a malignant fury. These cruelties 
 were producing their natural result. The 
 young Ivan became at first morose, then 
 savage and vindictive. All that was evil in 
 the boy ripened with a diseased rapidity : 
 his Avholesome feelings seemed to freeze up 
 and perish within him; while a natural 
 tendency to brutal actions was encouraged 
 by his abandoned misleaders. He soon 
 began to love mischief and brutality for the 
 
 67 
 
FEROCITY OF IVAN.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1542—1547. 
 
 excitement they afforded him. The develop- 
 ment of such a mind must be a curious 
 psychological study for the philosopher; but 
 the pursuit of so speculative a theme would 
 be out of place here. His childhood had 
 been cheerless enough ; and the earliest 
 amusements in which he indulged were dis- 
 gusting. They consisted in riding furiously 
 over old men and women, and trampling 
 even children beneath the feet of his horses ; 
 in throwing stones at the passers-by 3 in 
 tormenting wild animals, and in hurling 
 cats and dogs from the summit of his palace. 
 These barbarities were applauded by the 
 brutal Prince Schuisky, who trusted, by 
 encouraging such debasing deeds, to bring 
 up the czar to be an idiotic tool in his 
 hands. The wretch was mistaken : he was 
 but sharpening a weapon of which he was to 
 be the earliest victim ; and digging a pit for 
 another, which was destined to become his 
 own grave ! 
 
 The uneducated Ivan possessed far more 
 intellect than the dull Prince Schuisky 
 imagined. The latter appears to have been 
 a man not distinguished in any way for 
 ability, and who procured his transient 
 supremacy merely by audacity and the 
 exercise of brutal force. Ivan had carefully 
 treasured up a remembrance of the insults 
 he had received at the hands of this man ; 
 and at length the hour of repayment ar- 
 rived. Schuisky had not the intellect to 
 appreciate the force of that fierce yet boyish 
 will which, now rapidly developing itself, 
 was soon to crush him. He was blind to 
 the meaning of the ferocious glare which 
 sometimes lighted up the eyes of the young 
 czar when engaged in his diabolical sports. 
 Ivan was only in his thirteenth year; but 
 royal children are usually almost unnaturally 
 precocious. One day he was engaged at a 
 hunting party, which comprised amongst its 
 members Schuisky (the president of the 
 council) and a Prince Gluisky, who regarded 
 him with emotions of jealousy and hatred. 
 Gluisky was anxiously on the watch for 
 some incident which might be used to pro- 
 mote the ruin of his rival. During the 
 chase he prompted the young czar to ad- 
 dress Schuisky in words of command and 
 insult. The astonished president, who 
 thought he had effectually intimidated his 
 sovereign, replied in an angry manner. 
 Backed by his new friend, Ivan exhibited 
 the native fury of his disposition. He gave 
 the command to his followers, who, rushing 
 upon Schuisky, hurled him amongst the 
 68 
 
 dogs. The fierce brutes, encouraged by the 
 hunters, tore the guilty wretch limb from 
 limb, and speedily devoured him. Thus the 
 ruffian who depraved the mind of a youthful 
 sovereign, and exposed his infancy to con- 
 stant insults and terrors, met with a fate 
 which, despite its appalling nature, we are 
 compelled to say he deserved. 
 
 Though rid of an oppressor and master, 
 the boy-czar fell beneath the ascendancy of 
 another too powei'ful subject. This was 
 Prince Gluisky, who now became the leader 
 of the administration. This man and his 
 associates were as worthless as their pre- 
 decessors. They sought to confirm their 
 influence over Ivan by the encouragement 
 of his excesses ; and even seduced him into 
 the commission of the most extravagant 
 atrocities. They constantly impressed upon 
 his mind, that the only way to make his 
 authority respected was by the exercise of 
 severity, and that power consisted in op- 
 pression. He was an apt pupil in such 
 pernicious lessons ; and the ferocity he ex- 
 hibited elicited the applause of his barbarous 
 advisers. These abandoned men actually 
 pandered to the love of cruelty of their 
 young master, by murdering, in his pre- 
 sence, any unfortunate person who was so 
 unhappy as to offend him. 
 
 Things went on thus for three or four 
 years, when, in his seventeenth year, Ivan 
 was crowned Czar of Russia. His minority 
 had been disfigured by such acts of blood- 
 shed as converted the latter part of it into 
 a reign of terror. His conduct produced 
 that reaction which frequently, though we 
 regret not always, attends upon tyranny. 
 The citizens of Moscow, maddened 4)y the 
 bloodthirsty caprices of their sovereign, 
 resorted to one of those material protests 
 against his conduct, with which the op- 
 pressed commonly warn their despots. One 
 night they set the city on fire in several 
 places ; and with the early dawn the young 
 tyrant was aroused from his slumbers by 
 the roariug of flames, the hurried trampling 
 of excited crowds, and the curses of the 
 multitude. The sudden terrors to which he 
 had been subjected in his iufancy had made 
 him the slave of fear. A sensation of 
 hoiTor seized him, which was much in- 
 creased when he learned that the infamous 
 Prince Gluisky had been torn in pieces by 
 the furious mob. Struck to the heart, the 
 young tyrant feared that he himself might 
 fall a victim to the just anger of his incensed 
 people. In this state of mental disorder, 
 
A.D. 1547—1554.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [a period of prosperity. 
 
 and while the fierce outcries of the excited 
 crowds who thronged the streets, and the 
 stifling smell of fire penetrated to his cham, 
 ber, he was approached by a wandering 
 monk, named Sylvester, whose piety, bold- 
 ness, and rude eloquence had obtained for 
 him, among the people, the reputation of 
 being a prophet. Carrying the Bible in 
 one hand, and extending the other in an 
 attitude of warning, while his eyes flashed 
 with that excitement which hovers on the 
 verge of insanity, the monk arrested the 
 attention of the czar ; as he predicted, from 
 certain appearances of the stars, his speedy 
 ruin, if his courses of cruelty and tyranny 
 werenot abandoned. He succeeded in making 
 a deep impression on the scared mind of 
 the czar ; whose crimes, he assured him, 
 had aroused the vengeance of heaven. Tlie 
 efforts of the monk were seconded by the 
 entreaties and exhortations of the virtuous 
 Alexis Adascheff, and by the persuasions of 
 the young and beautiful Anastatia, to whom 
 Ivan had been but recently united, A 
 change was thus effected in the mind of the 
 juvenile despot ; and for a time he became 
 human in his conduct. 
 
 Ivan appeared to delight in astonishing 
 his counsellors and his people ; and the 
 seeming change in his nature created as 
 much surprise as his recent atrocities. 
 Under the influence of his new advisers, he 
 sanctioned an entire change in the system 
 of government. His evil companions were 
 dismissed from all posts of authority, and 
 their places supplied by able and upright 
 men. Everything was reduced to order, 
 and tranquiUity re-established throughout 
 the country. The army was reorganised, 
 the pay of the soldiery increased ; the 
 proprietors of estates compelled to con- 
 tribute, according to their means, to the 
 military strength of the empire, which rose 
 to a height it had never reached before. 
 Amongst the new military arrangements 
 was the institution of the afterwards tiu-bu- 
 lent and infamous Strelitz, a permanent 
 militia of fusileers, who were eventually 
 regarded as the Janizaries of Russia. Such 
 was the extent and population of the em- 
 pire, that its available military power was 
 estimated at 300,000 men ! The possession 
 of so much power roused the military 
 ardour of the czar, and stimulated him to 
 action. In the year 1552, he marched, at 
 the head of a powerful army, against the 
 turbulent Tartars of Kasau, who never 
 remained in tranquillity except when the 
 
 sword was suspended over their heads. 
 Ivan commenced his campaign in the depth 
 of winter, to the disgust of his soldiers; 
 whose complaints, however, he soon ex- 
 tinguished by the severity of his punish- 
 ments. He took Kasan in consequence of 
 his engineers springing a mine before it ; a 
 mode of warfare with which both his troops 
 and that of the enemy were unacquainted, 
 and which accordingly gained him much 
 reputation. Having entered the city in 
 triumph, he caused the Tartar mosques to 
 be converted into Christian churches ; and 
 compelled the khan to submit to the rite of 
 baptism. Notwithstanding the questionable 
 source from which these acts of religious 
 ardour proceeded, they won for the czar 
 some popularity among the people, who 
 were not given to the analysis of motives. 
 One wise measure of Ivan's was the erec- 
 tion of fortresses to keep the Tartars in 
 check. He was further successful in re- 
 ducing the kingdom of Astracan, then 
 much esteemed for its vines and other 
 valuable productions, and annexing it to 
 the Russian empire. Indeed, during this 
 period of grace, everything seemed to 
 prosper with him, and he basked in the 
 sunshine of fortune. The sultan, Selim II., 
 apparently surprised at the approach of the 
 Russians to the shores of the Caspian, sent 
 an army of 80,000 Turks against Astracan. 
 The Turks were then almost in the zenith 
 of that dazzling power which astonished 
 and awed all Europe. Their troops were 
 flushed with repeated victories, and their 
 statesmen and generals accustomed to re- 
 gard with disdaiu the most distinguished 
 of European soldiers. Had they encountered 
 the Russians, just shaking off the enervating 
 effects of two centuries and a-half of bon- 
 dage to the Tartars, there can be but little 
 doubt they would have been the vic- 
 tors. But the prolonged contests between 
 these antagonistic races were not .yet to 
 commence ; they were unborn events, slowly 
 germinating in the mystic body of the 
 future. Turkey was to be weaker, and 
 Russia stronger, before these great powers 
 crossed each other's path. The formidable 
 army which Selim II. sent against Astracan, 
 perished miserably in the desolate steppes 
 by which it is surrounded. 
 
 Some writers attribute to this period the 
 accidental discovery of Siberia, and its an- 
 nexation to Russia. Much uncertainty, 
 however, reigns over the actual date of this 
 circumstance ; and if Siberia was discovered 
 
 69 
 
DEATH OF ANASTATIA.l 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1560. 
 
 at this time, it was disregarded — a probable 
 circumstance, as the czar had already more 
 territory than he could govern efficiently, or 
 his subjects use advantageously. Russia 
 was already too extended ; her power would 
 have been greater had her subjects been 
 confined within a smaller arena. The dis- 
 covery of Siberia is attributed to a wander- 
 ing Cossack chief of the Don, called Yermak 
 Timofeyew ; but though some accounts re- 
 present him as penetrating into these deso- 
 late regions during the early part of the 
 reign of Ivan, others state that that event 
 took place in 1581, only three years before 
 Ivan's death. The entire subjugation of 
 Siberia, which was accomplished by private 
 adventurers, and without expense to the 
 government, occupied a period of about 
 eighty years. Those warlike people, the 
 Don Cossacks, to whom we have just 
 alluded, gave in their voluntary adhesion to 
 the Russian government in the year 1549. 
 
 During this early period of his reign, 
 when the ferocious nature of Ivan appeared 
 to be softened and subdued by the amia- 
 bility of his beautiful consort Anastatia, the 
 young czar seems earnestly to have desired 
 to promote the prosperity of the empire. 
 In 1547 he dispatched an embassy to the 
 eccentric Charles V,, emperor of Germany, 
 to obtain his permission for the engagement 
 of artisans and engineers for the instruction 
 of the Russians. The request was refused ; 
 but as we are told that a number of German 
 artists were shortly afterwards imported 
 into Russia, it must be assumed that the 
 decision of the emperor was evaded. Certain 
 it is that Ivan has the honour of having in- 
 troduced the art of printing into the empire. 
 Russia was at this time beginning, in some 
 measure, to hold out her hands in amity to 
 distant countries. During the reign of our 
 boy-king, Edward VI., whose unripe buds 
 of promise were so prematurely withered, 
 Russia opened a trade with England through 
 the inhospitable port of Archangel. Some 
 English navigators having, while attempt- 
 ing to find a north-east passage to China 
 and India, penetrated into the White Sea, 
 and been compelled to put in at Arch- 
 angel, were so kindly received by the Rus- 
 sian people, and by the czar himself, into 
 whose presence they were graciously ad- 
 mitted, that they brought home a report 
 which led to the immediate formation of a 
 company of merchant traders with that 
 nation. 
 
 This period of tranquillity for Russia was 
 70 
 
 about to terminate. The virtuous czarina 
 died in the year 1560, after having success- 
 fully restrained the furious passions of her 
 husband during a period of thirteen years. 
 With her died the moderation and calmness 
 of the czar; and the ferocity which she had 
 charmed into inaction, burst forth Avith an 
 increased force and an appalling rapidity. 
 Some years before, Ivan had consulted an 
 old bishop, who had been banished from 
 court on account of his crimes. In reply, 
 the worldly prelate observed — " If you would 
 become truly an absolute monarch, never 
 seek a counsellor wiser than yourself; never 
 receive advice from any man. 'Command, 
 and never obey; then you will be a real 
 sovereign, and a terror to the boyards. 
 Bear in mind, that the counsellor of the 
 wisest prince always ends by being his 
 ruler.^' The czar at once recognised the 
 subtle policy expressed in these words, and 
 kissing the hand of the prelate, exclaimed — 
 " My own father could not have given me 
 more wholesome advice.'^ These precepts, 
 though they probably slept in the mind of 
 the czar, never altogether faded from it. 
 During the life of Anastatia he had pa- 
 tiently received the advice of Adascheff and 
 Sylvester, who acted with virtue and wisdom; 
 but their ascendancy was doomed, and the 
 czar resolved henceforth only to take council 
 of his own mind and passions. 
 
 From this period to the fortunate hour 
 which saw the death of Ivan, he rioted in 
 every excess of cruelty which a morbid im- 
 agination could suggest, or a monster put 
 into execution. His life was but one pro- 
 longed gigantic crime. Lord Bacon truly 
 observed — " Nature is often hidden ; some- 
 times overcome ; seldom extinguished.^' The 
 atrocities of Nero or Caligula were ex- 
 ceeded by this northern tyrant ; while those 
 of our eighth Henry seem actually mild in 
 comparison. It has been well observed, 
 that "if the narrative of his crimes could 
 be spared from the page of history, it would 
 rescue us from a series of details, the very 
 relation of which must sicken the least 
 susceptible mind. But there was a passion 
 so unearthly in this paragon of monsters — 
 he was so elevated in atrocity, and reached 
 so sublime a height in the perpetration of 
 cruelties — that his life, incredible and dis- 
 gusting as it is, fills too great a space in the 
 annals of despotism to be passed over 
 lightly." 
 
 Shortly after the death of Anastatia, Ivan 
 banished his prudent advisers, and then en- 
 
A.D. 1560—1568.] 
 
 KUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [rVAN ABANDONS MOSCOW. 
 
 couraged the vilest calumnies against them. 
 Some worthless court parasites charged them 
 with having brought about the death of the 
 czarina by violent means — a transparent 
 falsehood which Ivan pretended to believe. 
 Nothing could save them from his fury, and 
 they soon fell victims to his thirst for blood. 
 Even those who had been associated with 
 them were either put to the torture or to 
 death ; or, when a milder temper influenced 
 the despot for the hour, imprisoned or ban- 
 ished. While these indiscriminate severities 
 were going on, the court was the scene of 
 the wildest excesses. A boyard, who pre- 
 sumed to remonstrate with one of the new 
 favourites, was murdered on the spot by the 
 hand of Ivan himself; while another, who 
 refused to join in the lascivious pleasures 
 of his sovereign, was stabbed to the heart 
 while on his knees in church at prayer. 
 
 The prince Andrew Kurbsky, who had 
 rendered important services to the country, 
 learnt that he was one of the intended 
 victims of the czar. Knowing that integrity 
 would avail him nothing against false accu- 
 sations, or the furious whims of his sove- 
 reign, he fled to Poland for safety, and 
 placed himself under the protection of 
 Sigismuud II., the king of that country, 
 and most inveterate enemy of Russia. From 
 this asylum he wrote an accusatory letter to 
 the czar, in which he charged him with 
 being the cause of all the miseries which 
 their common country then endured ; with 
 having shed the blood of Israel's elders in 
 the temples of the Lord; and threatened 
 him with eternal vengeance for his crimes. 
 When this epistle was presented to Ivan, 
 he, on learning from whence it came, struck 
 the messenger across the legs with an iron- 
 bound staff which he usually carried; and 
 then, while the blood flowed rapidly from 
 the man's wounds, composedly perused the 
 document. The czar was not destitute of 
 abilities : neglected as his education had 
 been, he could write with freedom, and was 
 proud of his literary attainments. He him- 
 self replied to Kurbsky, in a vein of mingled 
 anger and sarcasm. The letter is still pre- 
 served. In it the czar thus addresses the 
 fugitive prince — " Why, thou wretch, dost 
 thou destroy thy traitor soul in saving by 
 flight thy worthless body ? If thou art really 
 honest and virtuous, why not die by the hand 
 of thy master, and thereby obtain the crown 
 of the martyrs? What is life? What are 
 earthly pomps and riches ? Vanity ! a 
 shadow ! — What thou assertest of my as- 
 
 sumed cruelties is an impudent lie. I do 
 not destroy the elders of Israel, nor do I 
 stain with their blood the Lord's temples: 
 the peaceful and religious live happily in 
 my service. Against traitors alone I am 
 severe; but who ever spared them? Did 
 not Constantine the Great sacrifice his only 
 son? — Thou tellest rae that I shall never 
 again see thy Ethiop face. Heavens 1 what 
 a misfortune !" Finally, the letter says — 
 " But I am silent, for Solomon forbids us 
 to waste words with fools like thee." 
 
 Scornfully as the czar treated the accusa- 
 tions and enmity of Prince Kurbsky, the 
 result of the flight of the latter soon made 
 itself apparent. Sigisraund gathered an 
 army for the invasion of Russia, and insti- 
 gated the Tartars to make a descent upon 
 its southern provinces. On finding the 
 fugitive not so helpless as he expected, Ivan 
 was seized with fits of passion and paroxysms 
 of cruelty. He regarded every one with 
 distrust, and treated all around him as if 
 they were the accomplices of Kurbsky. 
 Many he put to the rack, or to death, 
 merely from motives of suspicion. He con- 
 stantly charged the boyards with entertain- 
 ing evil designs against him and the state, 
 and then confiscated their property. Racked 
 by an unsatisfied vengeance, he frequently 
 lamented that he could not find victims 
 enough to allay his wrath. Haunted by a 
 real impression that a conspiracy against 
 him was in progress, or influenced by a 
 cunning desire to extend his power over his 
 people, he next performed a trick of so 
 whimsical a nature, that it gives some slight 
 colouring to the charitable suggestion that 
 he was insane. Early one winter morning, 
 in the year 1568, he left the Kremlin in 
 his travelling sledge, and, together with his 
 family, his attendants, and a regiment of 
 cavalry, abandoned Moscow. Prior to his 
 departure, he ordered the metropolitan to 
 celebrate mass in the church of the As- 
 sumption, where, having prayed with great 
 apparent devotion, he solemnly left the city. 
 Why he had departed, or where he was 
 going to, was kept a profound secret. 
 
 It might be supposed that the inhabitants 
 of Moscow were glad to be rid of his pre- 
 sence, even though but for a short time. 
 The reverse was the case : they were seized 
 with astonishment and despondency at his 
 inexplicable absence. Cruel as he was, he 
 had acquired something of popularity 
 amongst the people. His severities had 
 been exercised rather against the nobles 
 
 71 
 
IVAS AT ALEXANDROTSKY.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1568. 
 
 and the clergy than against them ; and as 
 they had frequently been the victims of the 
 tyranny of their masters, they often secretly 
 rejoiced at the calamities which fell upon 
 the latter. They had also gradually come — 
 in consequence of the pretensions of the 
 czar, and the servile if not blasphemous 
 teachings of the priesthood — to regard their 
 sovereign as the representative of God ; as 
 indeed standing between them and Deity; 
 and even, in some inexplicable way, per- 
 forming some of the beneficent functions of 
 the Supreme ! Strange as it may seem, 
 these unreasoning barbarians had ever 
 looked to the czar for that protection which 
 cultivated and devout minds expect only 
 from the Almighty Power which creates 
 and sustains all things. So far was this 
 perverted feeling carried, that the people 
 began to believe, that in being deserted by 
 Ivan, they were deserted by Omnipotence. 
 
 It was a month before the inhabitants of 
 Moscow learned what had become of their 
 sovereign. It is probable that, by that time, 
 he had no intention either to abandon his 
 authority or to prolong his absence. Two 
 letters arrived from him — one addressed to 
 the metropolitan, and the other to the 
 people. From these letters it appeared that 
 he had taken up his abode at Alexandrovsky, 
 a distant fortress, surrounded by a gloomy 
 forest. The letter to the metropolitan de- 
 nounced the clergy and the boyards, but 
 especially the former, as the cause of all the 
 disorders which had afflicted the country 
 during his minority ; and he asserted that 
 they were even then promoting similar 
 sources of evil. So great, he added, was 
 the evil influence of the primate and the 
 priesthood, that he had abandoned the 
 management of the affairs of state, and left 
 Moscow to wander a fugitive upon the 
 earth. Ivan's epistle to the people was in a 
 different style, and showed the art with 
 which the despot influenced their childish 
 minds. He concluded a strain of mingled 
 flattery and melancholy by an assurance 
 that he had no cause of complaint against 
 them, and by bidding them farewell for 
 ever. 
 
 On hearing these letters, the spiritless 
 people broke out into senseless lamenta- 
 tions. Closing their shops, they assembled 
 in groups in the streets. Everywhere busi- 
 ness was suspended ; and the burden of 
 cverj' conversation was, "The czar has for- 
 saken us, and we are lost. Who will now 
 defend us against the enemy? "What are 
 
 sheep without the shepherd ?" So great 
 was their blind attachment to the regal 
 power, and the legitimate possessor of it, 
 that they proceeded in crowds to the metro- 
 politan, and urged him to solicit Ivan to 
 return to his faithful people. "Lethira," 
 they exclaimed, " punish all those who de- 
 serve it; has he not the power of life and 
 "death? The state cannot remain without a 
 head, and we will not acknowledge any 
 other than the one God has given us." 
 They added, " "Who, without him, could 
 preserve the purity of religion ? who could 
 save millions of souls from eternal perdi- 
 tion ?" The opinion of the people was too 
 general, and too vehemently expressed, to 
 be disregarded. After much consultation, 
 it was decided that a body of prelates and 
 boyards should proceed to the retreat of the 
 czar, and, humbling themselves before him, 
 implore him to return to Moscow. 
 
 Ivan beheld the abasement of the depu- 
 tation with a secret emotion of pleasure, 
 and affected to accede to their prayers with 
 reluctance. Before doing so, he extorted 
 from the clergy a condition, that they would 
 never interfere to avert those punishments 
 which he considered it necessary to inflict 
 on such of his subjects who entered into j 
 conspiracies either against the state or him 1 
 and his family. On his return to Moscow, | 
 the czar was received with enthusiastic I 
 acclamations ; but the slavish population 
 were welcoming a scourge which was to fall 
 like a curse upon their abject servility, i 
 The appearance of Ivan, on his entrance i 
 into the city, struck the beholders with sur- { 
 prise and pity. The Russian chroniclers | 
 observe — " OiJy a month had elapsed since i 
 his absence, yet they hardly knew him 
 again. His large and robust body, his 
 ample chest, his broad shoulders, had 
 shrunk ; his head, which had been shaded 
 by thick locks, was become bald ; the thiu 
 and scattered remains of a beard, which was 
 lately the ornament of his face, now dis- '■ 
 figured it. His eyes were dull, and his i 
 features, marked with a ravenous ferocity, j 
 were deformed." This appearance — whether 
 the result of a debilitated state of body, pro- 
 ceeding from mental anguish ; or, which is 
 far more probable, intentionally brought 
 about for the sake of producing an effect — 
 elicited a strong feeling of sympathy from 
 the people. 
 
 Addressing the assembled multitude, he 
 dwelt upon the crimes of the boyards, and 
 insisted on the necessity there existed for 
 
A.D. 
 
 1568.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [eccentricities of the czar. 
 
 his possession of the absolute power to 
 punish where he thought fit to do so. He 
 concluded with an exhortation, couched in 
 the language of piety, on the vanity of the 
 world, and the worthlessness of life ; the 
 object of which was to reconcile the people 
 to the wholesale sacrifice of it, which he 
 contemplated. He then desired and ob- 
 tained from the populace permission to 
 institute a new body-guard, to be composed 
 of a thousand men of noble birth, who were 
 to bear the title of the Opritshnina, or 
 Select Legion. This body of men, when 
 actually formed, instead of being composed 
 of the nobly born, was a collection of per- 
 sons of the lowest class and most degraded 
 character, whose real business soon con- 
 sisted of acting as spies, informers, and 
 assassins. They were commissioned to find 
 out and denounce disaffected persons, of 
 whom they afterwards became the execu- 
 tioners. As the property of the victims fell 
 to these ruffians, it may be supposed that 
 they were diligent in their infamous voca- 
 tion ; and that, where a crime could not 
 always be discovered, one was sometimes 
 invented. 
 
 The next act of the despot was to erect 
 for himself a new palace, or rather fortress, 
 outside the walls of the Kremlin ; for a fear 
 of assassination seems to have made a deep 
 impression upon his mind. To obtain a 
 site for this building, he desolated the 
 streets, and instructed his ruffian guard to 
 drive to a distance those who had been thus 
 shamefully despoiled of their property. No 
 less than 12,000 of the citizens are said to 
 have been dispossessed of their habitations, 
 for the sake of erecting his regal prison. 
 Though the new palace was regarded as im- 
 pregnable, yet the terrors of the czar did not 
 permit him to reside in it in tranquillity. 
 Haunted by a constant sense of that retri- 
 bution which he knew he had provoked, he 
 left this building, and retired again to the 
 gloomy fortress of Alexandrovsky, around 
 which a considerable town was in course of 
 erection. This no one was permitted to 
 enter or leave without his express permis- 
 sion, and a guard was stationed to enforce 
 the regulation. In this seclusion an extra- 
 ordinary whim entered into the mind of the 
 despot. "With a theatrical burlesque of the 
 formularies of religion, he assumed the habit 
 and title of an abbot, and bestowed upon 
 his depraved body-guard the vestments and 
 name of monks. They wore black robes 
 over their military dress, and were compelled 
 
 to adopt a mode of life resembling that prac- 
 tised in the cloisters. This did not consist 
 of any light duties, but was remarkably 
 rigid. A religious service commenced at 
 the early hour of three in the morning, and 
 was prolonged until seven. An hour later 
 mass was performed ; and at ten the mili- 
 tary brotherhood, with tlie exception of the 
 czar, sat down to a bountiful repast. During 
 this the eccentric Ivan stood and read aloud 
 from some book on a religious topic. Ever 
 influenced by a desire to conciliate even the 
 lowest of the people, he caused the remnants 
 of the meal to be distributed to the neigh- 
 bouring poor. After dinner the tyrant de- 
 scended to the dungeons of the fortress, to 
 superintend the infliction of the torture 
 upon some of his victims ; and at night, 
 after the reading of prayers, he retired to 
 rest, and was lulled to sleep by three blind 
 men. Such was his disregard of the spirit 
 of the Christian religion, while intent upon 
 the letter, that his most sanguinary orders 
 were frequently given during prayers. 
 
 Always terrified by the dread of insurrec- 
 tion or assassination, the tyrant increased 
 his recent body-guard from one to six thou- 
 sand men. Those who were added to it 
 consisted of the most infamous and blood- 
 thirsty wretches that could be procured. 
 They paraded the streets, armed with dag- 
 gers and hatchets ; and the victims of their 
 suspicion or ferocious wantonness are said 
 to have averaged a score daily. As types of 
 their office, these wretches bore a dog's-head 
 and a broom suspended from their saddle- 
 bow ; the former, to signify that they worried 
 the enemies of the czar ; the latter, to indi- 
 cate that they swept them from off the face 
 of the earth. 
 
 No rank preserved its possessors against 
 the fury of the tyrant. Prince Schuisky 
 and his son, relatives of the worthless man 
 who fell a victim to the first-awakened wrath 
 of the czar while in his boyhood, were seized 
 and beheaded. The same day four other 
 princes shared the same fate, and a fifth was 
 impaled. Subsequently a great number of 
 victims perished by the axe, impalement, or 
 poisoning, while their wives and children 
 expired under the scourge, or were driven 
 naked into the forests, where they perished 
 from cold and hunger. The passion of the 
 tyrant for blood increased with its gratifica- 
 tion, and the horrors of each new day ex- 
 ceeded that of its predecessor. The mangled 
 bodies of the dead lay in the public streets 
 and squares ; and such a terror fell upon the 
 
 73 
 
REIGN OF TERROR.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1569. 
 
 survivors, that few dared to give the rites 
 of burial to these terrible evidences of a 
 diaboHcal tyranny. 
 
 Executions, even though numbers were 
 put to death together, soon failed to supply 
 the bloodthirsty excitement which this awful 
 man longed for. The axe, the scourge, and 
 the instrument of impalement, were too 
 slow to meet his fearful wishes. His con- 
 stant demand was for blood ! — more blood ! 
 and his chief pleasure appeared to consist in 
 dwelling, with a horrible malignity, upon 
 the agonies of his fellow- men. He soon 
 sought for excuses to give up whole towns to 
 the operations of his army of ruffians and 
 executioners. One day, a few of the inhab- 
 itants of Torjek had the misfortune to 
 quarrel with some of his legionaries. The 
 czar seized upon the incident with avidity, 
 declared all the inhabitants to be rebels, and 
 caused them to be tortured to death, or 
 drowned in crowds. The inhabitants of 
 another town were exposed to a similarly 
 dreadful fate, because they were the depen- 
 dents of a nobleman to whom he had con- 
 tracted a dislike. Infancy, womanhood, and 
 old age were no protection from the hellish 
 wrath of the czar. He delighted in com- 
 pelling ladies of rank to stand in indelicate 
 positions in the public streets, while others, 
 after being exposed in a state of nakedness, 
 were shot in the presence of the horrified 
 spectators. 
 
 Frightful as were these atrocities, they 
 were exceeded by the subsequent deeds of 
 the tyrant. His proceedings at Novgorod 
 are perfectly frightful to relate. A criminal 
 of that city, wishing to take revenge upon 
 the authorities who had punished hira, in- 
 formed the czar that the archbishop and 
 inhabitants of the city designed to break 
 their allegiance to Ivan, and to place Nov- 
 gorod under the protection of the King of 
 Poland. The villain further informed the 
 czar that a letter to the Polish monarch, of 
 a nature to prove tbe guilt of the accused, 
 would be found concealed behind an image 
 of the Virgin, in the church of St. Sophia. 
 This was true ; as the scoundrel had written 
 such a letter, and placed it there himself. 
 
 indulge, on a gigantic scale, his morbid appe- 
 tite for slaughter, and this circumstance 
 afforded one. His march of devastation to 
 Novgorod, and his awful massacres there, 
 are regarded as the most appalling acts of 
 his career of blood. 
 
 Accompanied by his son, and followed by 
 his legion of monsters, Ivan left the dismal 
 fortress of Alexandrovsky in the December 
 of 1569, and marched towards Novgorod. 
 At the town of Klin, where he paused for a 
 while, his army of executioners extermi- 
 nated the whole of the population. On 
 arriving at the ancient city of Twer, he sent 
 his soldiers mto the streets with permission 
 to murder and plunder as they pleased. 
 The Avretches availed themselves of this 
 diabolical license to such a dreadful extent, 
 that the horrors enacted were compared by 
 the miserable people to the terrible cruelties 
 inflicted upon their ancestors by the Tartar, 
 Usbek-Khan. The czar himself assisted in 
 the work of slaughter ; and his confidential 
 minister, Skaratof, entering the cell where 
 the deposed metropolitan was confined, 
 strangled him with his own hands. 
 
 The czar continued his march, and de- 
 populated all the towns and villages that 
 lay in his way to Novgorod, which mise- 
 rable city was entered by his advanced 
 guard on the 2nd of January, 1570, In 
 conformity with the commands of Ivan, the 
 dog's-head legion closed all the convents, 
 and demanded from each of the monks the 
 sum of twenty roubles. The unfortunate 
 creatures who could not comply with this 
 extortion, were mercilessly scourged, from 
 daybreak until evening. Guards were placed 
 at the entrances of the city, to prevent any 
 one from escaping, and the principal inhab- 
 itants were placed in fetters, to await their 
 doom. 
 
 Four days elapsed in this state of uncer- 
 tainty and terror, and then all the wretched 
 monks who could not pay the sum de- 
 manded of them were beaten to death with 
 clubs, and the disfigured corpses returned 
 to their respective monasteries for burial. 
 On the fifth day, Ivan solemnly entered the 
 city, at the head of a large body of troops. 
 
 where it was subsequently found by Ivan's The terrified archbishop and the clergy, 
 messengers. A proper investigation would carrying all the worthless images and relics, 
 have exposed the treachery of the fellow, in which they placed so much faith, met 
 who pretended to discover a plot which had ; him in a body, and the primate eudea- 
 
 no real existence ; and, indeed, the accusa- 
 tion bore an air of iraprobaljility upon the 
 face of it. But the czar cared little for its 
 truth. He longed for an opportunity to 
 
 74 
 
 voured to pronounce the customary bene- 
 diction. The despot interrupted him with 
 a fierce address, in which expressions of 
 afi'ected piety were mingled with furious 
 
A.D. 1569.] 
 
 EUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [massacre at NOVGOROD. 
 
 execrations against the primate and hia 
 order. Then entering the cliurch of St. 
 Sophia, Ivan commanded mass to be per- 
 formed, during wliicli he prayed with great 
 apparent fervour. This ceremony over, he 
 entered the episcopal palace, and sat down 
 to dinner, surrounded by his boyards. Per- 
 haps the agitated primate thought after- 
 wards, by pathetic and pious appeals to the 
 czar, to allay that furious and maniacal ex- 
 citement which seemed rapidly transform- 
 ing him into a demon. If so, the unhappy 
 prelate Avas painfully deceived. During the 
 meal, the tyrant started up, and, with eyes 
 flashing with an excitement that trembled 
 upon the brink of insanity, uttered a wild 
 and piercing cry. It was a preconcerted 
 signal ; and, in a moment, the chamber was 
 filled with his military executioners, who 
 seized the archbishop, priests, and servants. 
 No crime was ui'ged against them ; not even 
 a faint mockery of the forms of justice were 
 observed; and the doomed archbishop was 
 cast into confinement, until the crowned 
 demon had leisure to gloat over his dying 
 agonies. The episcopal palace, and the 
 neighbouring cathedral, were then aban- 
 doned to plunder ; and everything valuable 
 and regarded as sacred — rich vestments, 
 plate, images — were carried away by ruffians. 
 The churches and monasteries of the city 
 were also given up to spoliation, and soon 
 cleared of everything valuable, by the irp- 
 pious hands of these abandoned depredators. 
 A darker tragedy followed ; for plunder 
 was but the ominous prologue to the work 
 of blood. By the commands of Ivan, an 
 unsparing and even systematic massacre of 
 the inhabitants of the city took place. The 
 wretch sat in judgment with his son by liis 
 side, who, it would seem, was averse to the 
 atrocities which he was powerless to check. 
 Every day, from five hundred to a thousand 
 of the miserable inhabitants of the city were 
 hurried from the presence of the tyrant, 
 and put to death by torture or fire. A 
 reign of terror prevailed ; and almost every 
 mode of butchery and torture were resorted 
 to. A number of the inhabitants were 
 huddled together in a large enclosure, 
 where the czar put many of them to death 
 himself. When, however, his fury had ex- 
 hausted him, he gave up the remainder to 
 be murdered by his guard, or torn to pieces 
 by his dogs. Immense numbers of the 
 people (including women with their infants) 
 were thrown into the river Volkhof, and 
 drowned. Those who strove in their mor- 
 
 tal agony to escape by swimming, were dis- 
 patched by soldiers, who sailed about on 
 the water, armed with long spears for that 
 purpose. For more than a month, hun- 
 dreds of unhappy creatures perished daily 
 in the freezing waters of the Volkhof: and 
 then the work of murder was checked by 
 the scarcity of victims. But the fury of 
 Ivan was not yet satiated ; and he and his 
 troops of monsters desolated the surround- 
 ing country and monasteries, where, in 
 addition to the w^ork of indiscriminate mur- 
 der and plunder, they wantonly gave houses 
 to the flames, destroyed the cattle, and de- 
 vastated the springing corn. 
 
 Returning to Novgorod, he feasted his 
 eyes on the terrible spectacle the smitten 
 city presented. All the valuable goods that 
 remained, such as silks and furs, he caused 
 to be divided among his soldiers; while 
 such as they could not carry away with 
 them, were either burnt or thrown into the 
 river. Wearied at length with bloodshed 
 and rapine, the czar prepared to depart. 
 Before he did so, he issued a general par- 
 don to the surviving population, and sum- 
 moned them to appear before him. A 
 mournful assembly of spirit-broken and 
 despairing wretches obeyed the command, 
 and stood — the mere shadows of men and 
 women— in the presence of the slayer of 
 their fellow-countrymen. It was a painful 
 sight to see these wretched creatures, whose 
 passive dullness bordered upon idiotcy, 
 and whose lank forms were emaciated by 
 famine and the incessant apprehensions of 
 death and of tortures, to which a speedy 
 death would have been mercy. Such a 
 mournful spectacle might have touched the 
 hardest heart ; and perhaps it did make a 
 momentary impression on the Satanic in- 
 carnation who had gathered them together. 
 Whether in a transient spirit of compassion, 
 or from a diabolical irony, he spoke to them 
 in the mildest language, and bidding them 
 farewell, desired them to pray to God that 
 his reign might be a long and happy one. 
 The monster then abandoned the cit)' he 
 had converted into a slaughter-house, a 
 grave-yard, and a place of wailing. It was, 
 indeed, almost depopulated; for 60,000 of 
 the inhabitants had fallen victims to his 
 capricious fury. To complete the misery 
 of the survivors, the rotting remains of the 
 unburied dead produced a pestilence, which, 
 in consequence of the destruction of the 
 crops and cattle, was followed by famine. 
 
 The czar having visited the city of Pskof, 
 
 75 
 
' EXECUTIONS AT MOSCOW.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 A.D. 1570. 
 
 where he contented himself with terrifying 
 and plundering the inhabitants, directed 
 his steps towards Moscow. He carried in 
 his train the Archbishop of Novgorod, and 
 other distinguished prisoners whom he had 
 resolved to put to death with a solemn 
 parade of horror. To increase the number 
 of the victims to be offered up at this 
 bloody carnival, he caused many of the 
 boyards of Moscow to be arrested ; even 
 including among them a number of his 
 personal favourites, or those who were 
 deemed so. Some suspicion of treason was 
 assigned as the cause of these arrests ; but 
 it was known to be a mere pretence. A 
 day was appointed for the execution of the 
 whole number ; and when the light dawned 
 upon it, spectators were horrified at the 
 sight of eighteen gibbets, erected in the 
 market-place, while, in the centre of them, 
 a huge copper cauldron was suspended over 
 a blazing fire. In addition to these fright- 
 ful preparations, instruments of torture lay 
 about in every direction. When the news 
 spread, a panic seized the people, and they 
 fled from the city, or hid themselves in 
 terror. In a few hours Moscow was de- 
 serted, and no one was to be seen but a 
 troop of the select legion arranged around 
 the gibbets and the cauldron. At length 
 the oppressive silence was broken by the 
 roll of drums. It heralded the approach of 
 the czar, who came on horseback, attended 
 by his son, and followed by a regiment of 
 his torturers. After them, the executioners 
 brought along a troop of about 300 wretched- 
 looking men, pale and haggai-d, and many 
 of them stained with blood from recent in- 
 juries, and scarcely able to walk. These 
 were the destined victims. 
 
 The tyrant was disappointed on finding 
 that there was not any audience to witness 
 the awful pageantry he had provided. He 
 therefore commanded his soldiers to compel 
 the attendance of the people. Finding that 
 the latter assembled very slowly, he went 
 on the same errand himself; and, assuring 
 them of his good-will, desired their presence 
 at the spectacle he had provided for them. 
 The terrified citizens dared not disobey, and 
 soon, the market-place was filled with spec- 
 tators, even to the roofs of the houses. The 
 czar then addressed them upon what he 
 termed the righteous justice of the punish- 
 ments, and eUcited from them insincere ex- 
 pressions of approval. They knew that to 
 have crossed his will would have beeu to 
 court instant destruction. This prelimi- 
 76 
 
 nary over, 120 palhd creatures were se- 
 lected from the group of destined vic- 
 tims, and pardoned, on account, said the 
 despot, of their being less guilty than 
 the others. The rest were given into the 
 hands of the executioners, who put them 
 to death in the most revolting manner. 
 Some were cut to pieces, or plunged half 
 alive into the boiling cauldron. We cannot 
 dwell longer on these disgusting atrocities : 
 it must be sufficient to say that the execu- 
 tions lasted about four hours, and that 
 nearly 200 innocent persons were put to 
 deaths of the most repulsive and protracted 
 kind. The monster endeavoured to recon- 
 cile his subjects to his mad career of blood, 
 by asserting that his authority over them 
 was divine. " I am," he said, " your god, 
 as God is mine ; whose throne is surrounded 
 by archangels, as is the throne of God." 
 
 It may be supposed that, under this time 
 of progressive horror, the Russian people 
 lost all public spirit, and were no longer 
 formidable to surrounding enemies. The 
 distracted country soon became a prey to 
 those foes who were ever ready to take ad- 
 vantage of its weakness. Sweden made 
 itself master of Esthonia; the Livonian 
 knights seized upon Courland and Semi- 
 gallia. Towards the close of Ivan's reign, 
 Stephen Bathori, who, though of a noble 
 family, had been raised by his merits and 
 military reputation to the rank of King of 
 Poland, defeated the czar in many engage- 
 ments, and deprived him of Livonia, which, 
 on account of its being washed by the 
 waters of the Baltic, was justly regarded as 
 a highly important part of his dominions. 
 It, as well as Courland, was an outlet for 
 the commerce of Russia, and a point from 
 which communication with the more civilised 
 nations of Europe could be opened. The 
 Polish king, who was a wise, brave, and 
 just man,* viewed the conduct of Ivan with 
 disgust ; and acted with such decision, as to 
 throw the tyrant into the greatest trepida- 
 tion. Bathori charged him with the com- 
 mission of the grossest of crimes, with 
 falsifying treaties, with revolting inhu- 
 manity to his people, and, finally, chal- 
 lenged him to single combat. 
 
 Ivan not only shrunk from the proffered 
 duel, but carefully kept back from all 
 
 • An instance of his just and tolerant nature is 
 contained in the following fact On being urged to 
 adopt severe measures for the suppression of certain 
 religious nonconformists, he replied, " I reign over 
 persons ; but it is God who rules the conscience." 
 
A.D. 1570—1580.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [further horrors. 
 
 danger in the contests between liis troops 
 and the Poles. This man, so reckless of 
 human life, was himself the slave of the 
 most abject fears. He dreaded assassination, 
 as well he might ; and it is strange that he 
 did not fall a victim to the fury and despair 
 of some bereaved father or maddened son, 
 who had been deprived of those deai'cst to 
 them by his wanton cruelties. He feared 
 death even in the course of nature ; as well 
 he might, if he believed in the doctrines of 
 that religion of the forms of which he made 
 so ostentatious a parade, and ever had visions 
 of judgment and the wrath of an avenging 
 God. It has even been stated, that the 
 very cruelties of this Russian monster were 
 chiefly the result of the terrors which 
 haunted him like evil spirits by day and by 
 night, and made him dread an assassin in 
 every one who approached him. 
 
 Awed by the courage of the Polish mon- 
 arch, Ivan, for a time, held back from repel- 
 ling his aggressive actions. Impelled at 
 length by the urgency of the position, and 
 the entreaties of his boyards, he was in- 
 duced to take the field. But he took no 
 share in the conflicts that followed, and in 
 which his troops were generally defeated. 
 Such was his aversion to the war, that he 
 actually bought the intercession of the 
 pope's envoy by lying promises that, in the 
 event of his proving successful in disarming 
 the animosity of Bathori, he would en- 
 deavour to convert the Russian people to 
 Catholicism. When any of the Poles or 
 Livonians were taken prisoners by Ivan's 
 soldiers, the wretch caused the captives to 
 be put to death in some shocking manner. 
 Some he had spitted on lances ; while 
 others were thrown into boiling cauldrons, 
 or slowly consumed at fires, which the 
 monster often amused himself by stirring 
 up while the execution was in progress. 
 These atrocities Bathori had resolved to 
 avenge; and he was occupied in preparing 
 for a vigorous campaign, when he died sud- 
 denly, and thus reheved the czar from the 
 fear of a well-merited retribution. 
 
 Among his other tyrannies, Ivan op- 
 pressed his people with the most exorbi- 
 tant taxes. Next to cruelty, a selfish 
 desire for accumulation seemed his master- 
 passion. Not content with the imposition 
 of taxes, which were enormous for thosetimes, 
 he established the most ofl'ensive monopo- 
 lies, and even robbed his people by the 
 frequent confiscation of their property on 
 any pretext, or on none. It was his will, 
 
 and resistance was unavailing : to have 
 off^ered it, would have been a suicidal ex- 
 posure to his fury. Accustomed in all 
 things to obey his appetites, he disregarded 
 the customs of Russia and the precepts of 
 the Greek church, and married seven wives. 
 Notwithstanding, he even sought the hand 
 of Queen Elizabeth of England, who politely 
 declined it. Thinking that a refuge from 
 the fury of his subjects would be necessary, 
 in the event of their awakening from the 
 state of apathetic terror into which he had 
 plunged them, he solicited and obtained 
 from Elizabeth a promise that she would 
 grant him an asylum in England, " should 
 his ungrateful subjects render it necessary 
 for him to retire frorh Russia." Disap- 
 pointed in obtaining the hand of Elizabeth, 
 he desired to add an eighth lady to his 
 matrimonial circle, and that she should be 
 from the English court. Elizabeth, who 
 was devoid of womanly delicacy in such 
 matters, had no objection ; and the daughter 
 of the Earl of Huntingdon was, at her own 
 desire, and with the permission of the 
 queen, offered to the inspection of the 
 Russian ambassador. Statements of Ivan's 
 atrocities, however, reached the ears of the 
 lady before the match was concluded, and 
 she begged Elizabeth to spare her the 
 perilous honour. 
 
 The czar's appetite for cruelty increased 
 as he advanced in life. All ordinary modes 
 of slaughter, and even wholesale massacres, 
 at length failed to arouse that sanguinary 
 excitement from which he derived delight. 
 He broke at length into an eccentricity of 
 murder, in which he compelled his victims 
 to trample upon the most sacred bonds 
 which unite society. He required his sub- 
 jects to become fratricides and parricides. 
 One man he compelled to become the 
 executioner of his own father; another, of 
 his brother ! Then he caused no less than 
 800 unhappy women to be drowned, and 
 put their relatives to the torture until they 
 pointed out the places in which their wealth 
 was hidden. Amongst the lesser atrocities 
 of this abandoned wretch, was the keeping 
 a number of bears, who, when hungry and 
 irritated, he would let loose in the public 
 streets ; especially when he happened to 
 see from his windows a group of citizens 
 collected in them. The struggles and cries 
 of those who were injured by the brutes 
 elicited from him uncontrollable shouts of 
 laughter. 
 
 This frightful man had other moments of 
 
 77 
 
IVAN KILLS HIS SON.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1584. 
 
 grim mirth when he required a number of 
 jesters, whom he retained to amuse him. 
 This was commonly both before and after 
 executions, at which times he was more than 
 usually disposed for hilarity. Sometimes 
 these professional fools were beaten or 
 severely injured by their capricious master, 
 if their jests did not happen to please him. 
 The most distinguished of these jesters, 
 who bore the name of Goosdef, met with a 
 sterner fate. Failing one day to amuse the 
 tyrant, the latter poured a basin of scalding 
 soup on his head. The unhappy jester at- 
 tempted to retreat, when Ivan struck him 
 in a vital part with a knife, and he dropped 
 senseless. A feeling of momentary regret 
 followed the act, and a surgeon was imme- 
 diately summoned. " Preserve my faithful 
 servant," exclaimed the czar, " I have jested 
 a little too hard with him \" " So hard,'' 
 was the sycophantic and blasphemous reply, 
 "that only God and your majesty can 
 restore him to life ; he breathes no more.'' 
 Ivan threw a glance of contempt on the 
 corpse of the murdered jester, bestowed 
 upon it the name of dog, and returned to 
 his pastimes. Even the merriment of this 
 terrible man was frightful; and those to 
 whom he seemed most attached were not 
 safe from his whimsical cruelties. On 
 another occasion a boyard, who is described 
 as one of his favourites, visited the czar. 
 No sooner had he made the reverential 
 bow which the etiquette of the court ex- 
 acted, than the czar exclaimed, " God save 
 thee, my dear Boris, thou deservest a proof 
 of my favour." As he spoke, he seized a 
 knife and cut off one of the boyard's ears. 
 The miserable sycophant uttered no cry or 
 word of complaint ; but concealing the pain 
 he endured, thanked his persecutor for his 
 gracious favour, and wished him a happy 
 reign. There was something of policy, as 
 well as brutal instinct, in this conduct of 
 the czar. He lost no opportunity of im- 
 pressing upon the Russians that, as their 
 ruler, he was something more than human — 
 something even akin to Deity ; that, indeed, 
 to repeat the impiously arrogant expres- 
 sion of his we have already quoted, " he 
 was their God, as God was his." Such a 
 point once admitted, it necessarily followed 
 that even injuries or death, at his hands, 
 were to be received with submission, and, 
 if possible, with gratitude. Repulsive as 
 this may seem, it was merely carrying to 
 the extreme that effete doctrine of divine 
 right and passive obedience which the 
 78 
 
 Stuarts afterwards struggled so long to 
 establish in England. There was a wide 
 difference between the dispositions of 
 Charles I. and Ivan the Terrible ; so wide 
 a one, that some will be surprised at my 
 establishing a comparison on any point 
 between them; but the principles which 
 actuated them were the same. 
 
 The blood-red catalogue of Ivan's crimes 
 was nearly complete, and the close of his 
 awful life was approaching. One dark deed 
 yet remained to be performed, and then the 
 sadly imperfect work of retribution com- 
 menced. His eldest and favourite son, ac- 
 companied by several of the boyards, one 
 day entered his presence, and desired to be 
 entrusted with the command of a body of 
 troops, that he might proceed to the assist- 
 ance of the city of Pskof, which was then 
 being besieged by the Poles. The sus- 
 picious czar, always apprehensive of con- 
 spiracy and assassination, believed that 
 even his own son was implicated in some 
 insurrection against his government, and 
 that the troops were perhaps wanted for 
 the purpose of deposing him. A wild gust 
 of vage broke over him ; and, with a furious 
 voice, he replied, " Rebel ! you are leagued 
 with the boyards in a conspiracy to dethrone 
 me." As the words left his mouth he 
 struck the prince several severe blows with 
 the iron-bound staff he carried. Each in- 
 flicted a severe wound, and the last felled 
 the unfortunate man to the earth, where 
 he lay in a pool of blood. This frightful 
 result was unintentional — the consequence 
 of gi\'ing way to that madness of passion 
 which years of unchecked cruelty had made 
 a tyrant over the tyrant. Nothing was 
 further from Ivan's intention than to slay 
 the only one of his three sons who was 
 capable of succeeding him on the throne. 
 Indeed, it will shortly be seen that, in effect, 
 those mad, thoughtless blows, destroyed the 
 regal race of Ruric, and extinguished his 
 dynasty. 
 
 On seeing the tragic consequence to which 
 his unbridled fury had led, Ivan was in- 
 stantly seized with remorse. Struck with 
 horror and despair, and trembling violently, 
 he threw himself upon the body of his son, 
 and, with mingled words of endearment to 
 his victim, of self-reproach and passionate 
 appeals to heaven for assistance, he endea- 
 voured to stop the crimson tide with which 
 the life of the prince was issuing. It was 
 too late: he who had ever been deaf to the 
 agony of others, was now himself to expe- 
 
A.D. 1584.1 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [death of IVAN. 
 
 rience the torture of heedless supplication. 
 Whatever might have been the character of 
 the victim, had he succeeded to power, he 
 had at least the merit of being a remarkably 
 dutiful and even affectionate son. At this 
 sad moment, his chief care was to soothe the 
 agony of his father. Clasping the hand of 
 the repentant wretch, he implored him, with 
 tears of tenderness, to be patient, and not 
 to distress himself for an unintentional deed. 
 His next thought was to exonerate himself 
 from the unjust suspicions which had by 
 this time vanished from the mind of the 
 czar. " I die/' he exclaimed, " an obedient 
 son and a faithful subject." For four days 
 the wretched prince lingered, and the now 
 more wretched father sat by the bedside of 
 his murdered son. Then the latter breathed 
 his last in a chamber of that gloomy fortress 
 of Alexandrovsky, whose dungeon walls had 
 often re-echoed with the groans and wailing 
 cries of those whom the tyrant had tortured 
 in reckless wantonness. 
 
 The calamity which Ivan had brought 
 upon himself, he felt with a poignancy which 
 could scarcely have been expected from his 
 hardened and brutal nature. His heart, 
 which had so long been inaccessible to the 
 faintest emotion of pity, seemed riven in 
 twain. His conscience, so long seared and 
 closed, was awakened into a condition of 
 morbid activity. His mind was filled with 
 horrible imaginations^ and his sleep disturbed 
 by dreadful dreams. Sometimes he started 
 from his bed during the solemn hours of 
 night, and appalled his attendants by his 
 cries of terror ; nor would sleep again visit 
 him until exhaustion followed the excite- 
 ment. So greatly did he suffer from remorse, 
 that he expressed an intention of leaving 
 Moscow and spending the remainder of his 
 life in some monastery. The accomplish- 
 ment of this desire was prevented by his 
 subjects, who entreated him not to desert 
 them. These strange people, who thus wooed 
 the scourge and the gibbet, must have been, 
 as it has been acutely expressed, " fascinated 
 by the very cruelties that appalled them.^' 
 
 The tyrant did not long survive his son : 
 within a few months both were laid in the 
 grave. The exhaustion resulting from con- 
 stant nervous excitement, induced a de- 
 clining state ; and, in the spring of 1584, his 
 illness assumed a form which indicated that 
 the career of this curse of the peace of his 
 country was near its close. 
 
 The approaching death of Ivan had been 
 predicted by some astrologers, whom he 
 
 threatened to burn alive for their officious- 
 ness. Yet he felt the coming shadows of 
 dissolution, and seemed, at times, disposed 
 to die in peace with a world he had so fear- 
 fully outraged. He appointed wise coun- 
 sellors to watch over the actions of his son, 
 Feodor or Theodore, who, though twenty- 
 seven years of age, was very feeble in 
 intellect. He commanded that all prisoners 
 not charged with capital offences should be 
 liberated, and that the enormous taxes he 
 had extorted from his subjects should be 
 reduced. Yet this conscience-smitten man 
 had his hours of repose from self-accusation 
 and mental disquiet. There were times 
 when the expiring czar forgot Avith what a 
 frantic violence he had murdered his son 
 and massacred his people. On one of these 
 occasions he caused himself to be carried 
 to the chamber where his treasures were 
 accumulated, that he might feast his eyes 
 upon the glittering store. To an English 
 gentleman who accompanied him, he dwelt 
 at some length on the qualities of diamonds 
 and other precious stones, pointing out to 
 him the marks by which their genuineness 
 could be ascertained, and their value esti- 
 mated. At other times his fancies were not 
 so innocent. Only two days before his death 
 he attempted to violate the person of his 
 daughter-in-law, who rushed terrified from 
 his chamber, and thus avoided the violence 
 of the libidinous savage, who persevered in 
 crime even to the verge of the grave. 
 
 The last few days of his life he suffered 
 from fever and delirium, and, in this con- 
 dition, fancied himself in the presence 
 of his murdered son, whom he sometimes 
 seemed to converse with in accents of ten- 
 derness, and whose name he at other periods 
 shouted aloud in tones of terror. The 
 astrologers had predicted that he would die 
 on the 18th of May. Having taken a warm 
 bath on the 17th, and feeling himself better 
 in consequence, he gave orders, on the fol- 
 lowing morning, that they should be put to 
 death. The supposed prophets begged delay, 
 on the ground that the time spoken of by 
 them had not yet expired. Ivan then re- 
 sorted to the remedy which had benefited 
 him the preceding day, and, entering the 
 bath, remained in it three hours. He in- 
 dulged in a sleep after his bath, and, upon 
 awaking, called for his chess-board. It was 
 brought, and the czar, sitting up in bed, 
 busied himself in arranging the pieces. While 
 thus occupied a sudden pang seized him, 
 and he fell backward, and expired almost 
 
 79 
 
ESTIMATE or HIS CHARACTER.] HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1584. 
 
 instantly. The prophecy was accomplished : * 
 the world's worst monster was no more. 
 
 Thus, in the fifty-fourth year of his age, 
 perished Ivan the Terrible, who, into a life 
 of but moderate length, had compressed 
 the atrocities of centuries of crime. A 
 nominal monarch from infancy, he was 
 crowned czar at the age of seventeen, and 
 ruled for thirty-seven years after that period. 
 To sura up the character of such a wretch 
 is almost a superfluity : the darkness of his 
 crimes is not irradiated by one sunbeam of 
 goodness; and in speaking of hira, it is dif- 
 ficult to prevent the sobriety of judgment 
 from merging into the bitterness of invec- 
 tive. It might be supposed that he was a 
 madman, but that he steadily pursued, 
 throughout his whole reign, a prudent and 
 crafty policy. His object was to exalt the 
 czar at the expense of the princes and 
 boyards ; and he accomplished this so per- 
 fectly, that those who at the commence- 
 ment of his reign aspired to divide the 
 empire, had, at the close of it, sunk into the 
 abject courtiers of a tyrant. Notwithstand- 
 ing his career of murder and oppression, 
 Russia, in some respects, prospered under 
 his rule ; for, while he smote his people, his 
 policy bound more closely together the yet 
 unamalgamated portions of the empire. 
 We cannot explain the crimes of Ivan on 
 the theory of madness. His brain was 
 rather malformed than diseased. That fury 
 led occasionally to a state of transient 
 disease, and produced brief aberration, is 
 probable, nay, almost certain ; but we must 
 seek for the source of his crimes not in 
 madness, which is the result of a diseased 
 brain, but in an originally darkly-evil 
 nature proceeding from a deformed brain. 
 These distinctions may not be heeded by 
 the cursory reader, but they will be re- 
 garded with interest by the reflective one. 
 A wicked mother, and a persecuted infancy, 
 
 * Concerning uninspired prophecies, Lord Bacon 
 observes — " My judgment is, that they ought all to 
 be despised, and ought to serve but for winter talk 
 by the fireside. Though when I say despised, I 
 mean it for belief; for otherwise, the spreading or 
 publishing of them is in no sort to be despised ; for 
 they have done much mischief; and I see many 
 severe laws made to suppress them." The prediction 
 in the czar Ivan's case is remarkable ; yet it is one of 
 those which have an especial tendency to bring 
 about their own fulfilment. The monarch whose 
 life has been by one of his historians described as 
 one long scene of fear, might have had the feeble 
 flickering of life extinguished by the nervous excite- 
 ment arising from such a prophecy. A living writer, 
 of more merit than orthodoxy, insists on the ex- 
 80 
 
 will serve also, in some degree, to explam 
 the awful nature of this man : the fountain 
 of his being was evil, and the early progress 
 of the stream contaminated by severity, 
 neglect, and polluting influences. 
 
 During some part of his reign he was the 
 promoter of civilisation, and appeared to 
 take an interest in the prosperity and ad- 
 vancement of his people. Notwithstanding 
 his neglected education, his natural abilities 
 were good, and his understanding far above 
 the average of those by whom he was sur- 
 rounded. Nor was he destitute of accom- 
 plishments. We have referred to the fact 
 that he was proud of his talent as a letter- 
 writer ; and his epistles show a considerable 
 power of sarcasm and a freedom of language. 
 His behaviour with respect to rehgiou is 
 difficult to be accounted for. A believer 
 even down to the coarsest superstitions of 
 his church, yet he frequently burlesqued its 
 most venerable forms and its sacred princi- 
 ples, in a manner which, in most men, 
 would have been regarded as profane, even 
 to the height of blasphemy. We do not, 
 however, think that his conduct ever ap- 
 peared to him in that light. He had pro- 
 claimed, and heard others maintain, his 
 semi-divinity so long, that he no doubt 
 came in a large measure to believe it. He 
 endeavoured to prove himself the god of 
 Russia, by trampling upon those things 
 which other men held sacred, and by disre- 
 garding those laws which common men 
 must obey. When he condemned the inno- 
 cent to deaths of torture, and when he sur- 
 veyed their dying agonies undisturbed, he 
 appears to have believed that he was imi- 
 tating the Divine wrath and immovable 
 calmness. Awfully arrogant as such an 
 idea is, and painful as it must appear to the 
 bulk of English readers in this age, yet it 
 was pandered to by his priesthood — fostered 
 by that very clergy against whom he after- 
 
 istence of prophecy — or, we should rather say, of 
 natural insight into the future — in these days, and 
 instances many curious examples in support of his 
 opinion. He explains it upon the principles of mes- 
 merism — an unproved science, which we neither be- 
 lieve nor disbelieve, for the very sufiicient reason that 
 we have not addressed ourselves to a serious exami- 
 nation of it. Credulity is not our failing ; yet are we 
 ready to confess we think society, for the most part, 
 is too ready dogmatically to condemn new-born and 
 unestablished matters. When on such themes we 
 hear totally uninformed persons say, with an air of 
 authority, *' / think this," and " / think that, &c.," 
 we are almost disposed to say aa Coleridge did once 
 to a superficial fellow — "You think, sir! you only 
 think you think." 
 
A.D. 1584.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [feodor ivanovich. 
 
 wards so prominently directed his cruelties ; 
 and who, in his capricious fury, found the 
 punishment of their parasitical parody of 
 the sacred tenets of their Divine Master. 
 
 Nearly the whole of Ivan's life was a 
 prolonged outrage against both God and 
 man ; the former, he believed, he propi- 
 tiated by his reiterated prayers, while the 
 latter he terrified by the recklessness of his 
 cruelty. His nerves of steel, and his utter 
 absence of feeling, awed his superstitious 
 and brutal people into that abject obe- 
 dience on which his power was based. His 
 sceptre was a sword which ever ran with 
 the blood of his subjects. His very ferocity 
 was by them regarded as greatness ; and 
 the people of Moscow deplored his absence 
 whenever he withdrew himself from their 
 city. Truly, barbarous nations are the 
 nurseries of tyrants ; and Ivan was made 
 worse by the base adulation of his courtiers, 
 
 and the dull, superstitious reverence of his 
 people. We dismiss the consideration of 
 this bloodthirsty and capricious wretch by 
 saying, that he was a concentration of the 
 darkest vices which disfigure our nature ; 
 brutally savage; utterly remorseless, sparing 
 neither helplessness nor innocence ; revel- 
 ling in carnage with more than the ferocity 
 of a beast ; abandoned to a gross licentious- 
 ness, which spurned even the commonest 
 forms of decency; rapacious and avaricious; 
 a crafty hypocrite and a trembling coward. 
 In a word, he went beyond the greatest 
 tyrants of the earth in tyranny ; and in the 
 number and diversity of his crimes, outdid 
 its most infamous criminals. Such was the 
 man, that until the records of Russia are 
 forgotten in the dreamy lapse of distant 
 centuries, the name of Ivan the Terrible 
 will be pronounced by all posterity either 
 with a shudder or a malediction. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 FEODOR IVANOVICH ASCENDS THE THRONE; BORIS GODUNOF BECOMES CHIEF MINISTER AND ACTUAL RULER 
 OF THE EMPIRE ; HE AIMS AT THE CROWN ; MURDER OF THE CZARf:VITCU DMITRI ; BORIS IS BELIEVED 
 TO HAVE INSTIGATED THE CRIME ; ATROCITIES AT UGLITCH ; BORIS DRIVES BACK THE TARTARS FROM 
 BEFORE THE WALLS OF MOSCOW ; BORIS CAUSES THE ISSUE OF AN EDICT WHICH CONVERTS THE PEASANTRY 
 INTO SERFS; FEODOR PROPOSED FOR ELECTION AS KING OF POLAND; DEATH OF FEODOR, AND EXTINC- 
 TION OF THE DYNASTY OF RURIC. 
 
 The royal house of Ruric was virtually ex- 
 tinguished on the death of Ivan IV., though 
 that event did not absolutely take place 
 until seven years later. The deceased mon- 
 arch left two sons, Feodor and Dmitri, or 
 Demetrius ; the latter the offspring of his 
 father's seventh marriage, and an infant 
 only two years of age. 
 
 Feodor Ivanovich, though he had reached 
 the age of twenty-seven, was altogether in- 
 capable of directing the affairs of state. 
 Extremely feeble, both in body and mind, 
 he seems to have been not far above that 
 point from which feebleness of intellect 
 degenerates into idiotcy. Pliant, timid, 
 superstitious, and devout, he was better 
 fitted to be an obscure monk than the 
 sovereign of a vast empire. In early life, 
 his chief amusement was to ascend the 
 towers of churches, and ring or strike the 
 bells ; a silliness in which he frequently 
 
 M 
 
 passed hours of his time. Though this 
 miserable creature was married, such was 
 his state of debility, that there was but little 
 expectation of his having children to suc- 
 ceed him. He had been united, in 1580, 
 to Irene, the sister of Boris Godunof. 
 
 As this remarkable man was in reality 
 the new sovereign of Russia, and swayed 
 the sceptre which the feeble Feodor could 
 scarcely grasp, it is necessary to bring him 
 forward upon the canvas. He was born in 
 1552, of a noble family of Tartar descent. 
 At the age of twenty-two he was attached 
 to the court of Ivan the Terrible, in conse- 
 quence of having married the daughter of 
 Maloota Skooratoff, a favourite of the czar, 
 and the leading actor in his atrocities. 
 Though Boris avoided taking any part in 
 the monstrous cruelties which disgraced the 
 reign of Ivan, yet he contrived to insinuate 
 himself into the good graces of that mon- 
 
 81 
 
DESIGNS OF BORIS.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1585—1590. 
 
 arch. So much so, that he was made one 
 of the five members of the supreme council 
 of state, which Ivan appointed to watch 
 over and direct the actions of his imbecile 
 successor. To an untiring activity, Boris 
 united a more comprehensive mind than 
 fell to the lot of any of his coadjutors. 
 Versed in business and in the ways of men, 
 possessed of an inordinate ambition — which 
 he concealed under a veil of religion — and 
 a grave and noble presence, he soon became 
 the paramount member of the council, and 
 acquired a complete ascendancy over it. 
 By the exhibition of an assumed tenderness 
 for the feeble-minded czar, Boris gained a 
 yet more decided power over him, and the 
 able minister soon became regarded as the 
 real ruler of the empire. He received from 
 the czar the highest titles ever bestowed 
 upon a subject, and such enormous estates, 
 that his wealth has been estimated as 
 amounting to j6150,000 a-year; though 
 other writers set it down as being less than 
 a third of that sum — which last would have 
 been a magnificent fortune in those days. 
 His wealth enabled him to secure numbers 
 of active partisans and followers, amongst 
 whom were many of the poorer nobility. 
 It is not surprising that such a man, at 
 such a period, should aspire to obtain the 
 sceptre which he really wielded, and to 
 become the acknowledged czar of the em- 
 pire as well as its secret ruler. What stood 
 between him and the throne ? An idiotic 
 and childless sovereign, and his infant 
 brother. To an ambitious and unprinci- 
 pled man, the temptation was irresistible. 
 
 Boris Godunof ruled the empire, under 
 the name of Feodor, with an absolute sway; 
 and, for a while, he exercised his unlimited 
 power to the satisfaction of both boyards 
 and people. Some jealousy necessarily 
 existed ; but the court and the first offices 
 of the state were filled with his adherents, 
 and all attempts to overthrow him were 
 speedily and severely repressed. He had a 
 politic aversion to public executions, as 
 being calculated to deprive him of that 
 popularity which he laboured constantly to 
 attain. But those who were opposed to 
 him were driven into exile, or thrown into 
 prison, where they died suddenly, or were 
 at other times poisoned by domestic trai- 
 tors. It was soon apparent to close ob- 
 servers that Boris aimed at the crown, and 
 that he was reckless as to the means by 
 which he obtained it. 
 
 The boy Dmitri was the most serious im- 
 82 
 
 pediment to the designs of Boris, and the 
 latter soon resolved upon removing him. 
 Soon after the accession of Feodor, the 
 subtle minister had removed Dmitri and his 
 mother from the court of Moscow to a 
 distant and obscure town called Uglitch, 
 where they lived in a state resembling hon- 
 ourable banishment. For some time, Boris 
 thought of branding the boy Dmitri with 
 illegitimacy, on the ground that he was the 
 son of Ivan^s seventh wife — it being con- 
 trary to the canons of the Greek church for 
 any one to marry more than thrice. He, 
 however, abandoned this idea; because, 
 although the marriage of the czarina was 
 unquestionably illegal according to the laws 
 of the church, yet, as it had been sanc- 
 tioned, or at least tolerated, by the eccle- 
 siastical authorities, they could not now 
 pronounce it to be so without a serious 
 loss of credit. Boris had too much need of 
 the assistance of the priesthood to drive 
 them to a confession of weakness or of 
 shame. Besides this, he knew that even if 
 the young prince was declared to be ille- 
 gitimate, the people were so attached to the 
 race of Rm'ic, that they would still regard 
 the boy as the true czarevitch, and rightful 
 successor of Feodor. 
 
 Boris therefore resolved upon another 
 and more pitiless course. He decided on 
 the murder of the boy. As a preliminary, 
 he spread evil reports over the country con- 
 cerning his intended victim. To inspire 
 the people with a disgust for the young 
 prince, the crafty minister caused it to be 
 reported that the boy's disposition exactly 
 resembled his father's ; that he was per- 
 verse, whimsical, and savage; that he 
 manifested a precocious delight in blood 
 and the sight of torture, and that his 
 favourite amusements consisted in putting 
 domestic animals to death. Another story 
 was spread abroad among the nobles to 
 excite their antipathy to the boy. It was 
 related, that while playing on the ice one 
 day with other children, he gave orders 
 that twenty images of men should be made 
 of snow. To each of these he gave the 
 name of one of the leading men of the 
 state, and the largest of them he called 
 Boris Godunof. Then, armed with a wooden 
 sword, he began to hack and hew at them 
 all. Having cut off the head of Godunof's 
 image, he stabbed at the rest, or lopped off 
 their feet and hands, exclaiming as he did 
 so, " This is what you will have when I am 
 czar." If this tale was true, it showed that 
 
A.D. 1591.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [murder of DMITRI. 
 
 the boy possessed an evil disposition ; and 
 it has an air of probability when related of 
 a child of Ivan's — especially of one bom 
 during the latter part of the life of that 
 monster. We have, however, no means of 
 judging as to its'-truth or falsehood; but 
 we know that it was freely circulated in 
 Moscow by the agents of the man who had 
 an interest that it should be believed. 
 
 When the minds of the people had been 
 sufficiently prepared, the tragical catastrophe 
 followed. Dmitri, now ten years old, was 
 playing one afternoon in May, 1591, with 
 four other boys, in the courtyard of the 
 palace of Uglitch — a large enclosure contain- 
 ing several detached dwellings, irregularly 
 placed. His governess and two other 
 -women were also near him at the time ; but 
 all of them lost sight of him for a moment. 
 When last seen before the event we are 
 about to speak of, he had been amusing 
 himself by cutting a piece of wood with a 
 knife. Suddenly one of the women saw 
 him struggling on the ground bathed in 
 blood, which was flowing from a large 
 wound in his throat. The unhappy boy, 
 unable to articulate, died almost imme- 
 diately, of course without being able to ex- 
 plain how he came by so terrible an injury. 
 The shrieks of the women brought the 
 mother of the prince to the spot, who at 
 once denounced one Michael Bitiagofski, a 
 man whom Boris had placed in the palace 
 of Uglitch, as the murderer of her son. 
 The alarm-bell was rung, and in a short 
 time the courtyard was thronged with ser- 
 vants and townspeople, who, supposing the 
 palace to be on fire, had hurried to the 
 place with forks and hatchets. Bitiagofski, 
 his son, and some of his foUoAvers, came 
 among the rest. Raising his voice above 
 the tumult, he shouted that the prince had 
 killed himself by falling on his knife in a 
 fit of epilepsy ; a disorder to which he was 
 known to be subject. This ready explana- 
 tion of an event concerning which he 
 could, if innocent, know no more than 
 others, instantly aroused the suspicions of 
 the distracted mother, " No, no \" she 
 cried : " There" — pointing to Bitiagofski — 
 " there is the murderer !" The accusation 
 was at once believed, and the excited crowd 
 rushed upon him with uplifted weapons. 
 The startled assassin (for very little doubt 
 can be entertained that he was such) fled to 
 one of the houses in the courtyard, and 
 barred himself in. He could not, however, 
 elude the fury of the mob, who burst the 
 
 door, and massacred him and his son on 
 the spot. The excitement of the crowd 
 was uncontrollable j and they hacked to 
 death every one who was known to belong 
 to the presumed murderer, or who dared 
 to say a word in his hehalf. Even the 
 daughters of Bitiagofski were with great 
 difficulty rescued from the mob by the 
 priests of the neighbouring church, to 
 which the blood-bedabbled corpse of the 
 young prince was carried. His governess 
 was savagely beaten ; and her son, who was 
 on friendly terms with Bitiagofski, cruelly 
 murdered. 
 
 So tragical an event demanded the 
 strictest investigation ; but the weak Feodor 
 left the matter entirely in the hands of 
 Boris. This minister immediately appointed 
 a commission, consisting of two boyards, to 
 conduct the inquiry. Unfortuuately for his 
 good name, they were both men entirely 
 devoted to his interests. The inquiry was 
 conducted in secret, without any examina- 
 tion of the body, or comparison of the 
 wound with the weapon said to have in- 
 flicted it, or indeed any rigid attempt to 
 ascertain the truth. Under such circum- 
 stances, it is difficult to resist a suspicion 
 that the verdict had been prearranged. It 
 was, that Prince Dmitri had met his death 
 in the way declared by Bitiagofski ; that is, 
 by a wound accidentally inflicted upon him- 
 self during a fit of epilepsy. 
 
 The czar Feodor remained satisfied with 
 this report; and the easy patriarch and 
 bishops unanimously adopted it. The latter 
 even added, that the people of Uglitch de- 
 served to be put to death for their treason 
 in murdering the czar's officers;* though 
 this, they said, was a matter which con- 
 cerned the secular jurisdiction. Some of 
 the persons thus prejudged were brought to 
 trial before the supreme council. Amongst 
 them were the two brothers of the dowager- 
 czarina. The object to be obtained by 
 these trials was to clear the name of Bitia- 
 gofski (and, necessarily, that of his high- 
 placed master) from the suspicion of having 
 murdered the czarevitch, and to convince 
 every one interested in the aff'air, that the 
 boy came to his death in the course of 
 nature. Certain witnesses deposed that 
 Michael and Gregory, the brothers of the 
 czarina, influenced by a fraudulent desire to 
 
 * Bitiagofski and his followers held in the house- 
 hold of the prince appointments which had been 
 conferred upon them by Boris ; that is, nominally by 
 the czar. 
 
 83 
 
ATROCITIES AT UGLITCH.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1591. 
 
 prove tliat the young prince liad been mur- 
 dered, had produced knives, sabres, and 
 other weapons, smeared with the blood of a 
 fowl, and pretended that they had seen 
 them in the hands of the persons put to 
 death in the tumult at Uglitch. The trial 
 was as unsatisfactory as tlie investigation ; 
 and both were doubtless instigated for the 
 same purpose. The brothers of the czarina 
 were sent to distant prisons ; and she her- 
 self to adopt the dismal seclusion of a con- 
 vent. As to the inhabitants of Uglitch, 
 they were punished with an atrocious and 
 indiscriminate "severity. More than 200 of 
 them were executed, and many others had 
 their tongues cut out, or were incarcerated 
 in dungeons. Some fled in teri'or ; but the 
 remainder were sent to the newly-discovered 
 country of Siberia, there to pass their lives. 
 Thus a town, said to contain 30,000 persons, 
 was converted into a desert ; — a wild act 
 of fury, which gave rise to rumours that 
 Boris had exterminated a people who were 
 too numerous to suborn, and destroyed a 
 whole city to deface even the mute memorial 
 of his guilt. He had overacted his part ; 
 and from that time was generally regarded 
 as an assassin. 
 
 While those who dared to express the 
 suspicions they entertained of the guilt of 
 Boris were seldom able to elude his ven- 
 geance, he showed a great anxiety to reward 
 his adherents, and to gain new ones. Nearly 
 every powerful oflFender against the laws, 
 who applied to him, was sure of protection. 
 The documents granting pardon to such 
 persons, always declared that these acts of 
 grace were due to his intercession with the 
 czar ; but his name never appeared in the 
 decrees of condemnation, where it was 
 always declared that the punishment was 
 ordered by the boyards. The regent (for 
 so Boris was in effect) adopted many other 
 modes of procuring popularity. The same 
 year that his erroneous policy converted 
 Uglitch into a collection of deserted ruins, 
 a tremendous fire broke out at Moscow and 
 destroyed a considerable portion of the 
 city. Boris expressed great sympathy with 
 the sufferers from this calamity, distributed 
 pecuniary assistance amongst them, ex- 
 empted them from taxes, and even rebuilt 
 whole streets at his own expense. 
 
 Before this eventful year (1591) passed 
 away, Eussia was invaded by Kassira Gherei, 
 khan of the Crimea, who, at the head of a 
 powerful array, directed Ids march upon 
 Moscow. The Russians were in a state of 
 84 
 
 despair ; for their army was in a neglected 
 state, and there was no commander of repu- 
 tation to lead it. The vacant-minded Fee- 
 der, when applied to concerning what should 
 be done, replied, that " the saints who pro- 
 tected Russia, would fight-for her." Boris 
 stood aloof sufficiently to make the people 
 feel their weakness and their dependence 
 upon him. He then showed himself fully 
 equal to the emergency. Reanimating the 
 drooping courage of the people, and impart- 
 ing something of his own activity to all 
 with whom he came in contact, he effected 
 wonders in the space of a few days. "Within 
 that brief space, Moscow was surrounded by 
 palisades and redoubts, and defended by 
 numerous forces and a formidable artillery. 
 A new spirit animated the people ; and, in- > 
 fluenced by him, cowards became men. 
 When the Tartars attacked the city, they 
 were repulsed with so severe a loss, that 
 they dared not attempt a second assault. 
 After several days spent in hesitation, the 
 invaders turned to depart. They were not 
 suffered to go scathless. The troops of 
 Boris attacked them during their retreat, 
 and converted it into a disorderly rout. 
 Confusion was followed by carnage, and 
 scarcely a third of the Tartar army reached 
 home agaiu. The imbecile Feodor, though 
 grateful to his preserver, thought that the 
 saints had discomfited the foe ; while the 
 common people said that Boris had brought 
 in the Tartai-s, in order to efface the re- 
 membrance of the death of the boy-prince 
 Dmitri. 
 
 Notwithstanding that the feeble constitu- 
 tion of the czar had led his subjects to 
 believe it to be impossible for him to be- 
 come a father, yet, in the year 1592, it was 
 unexpectedly announced that the czarina 
 Irene had given birth to a daughter. This 
 circumstance was a formidable obstacle to 
 the designs of Boris. The people ever sus- 
 pected him of acting treacherously, and even 
 worse when it answered his purpose. At 
 first it was rumom*ed that he had caused 
 a female child to be substituted for the male 
 of which it was averred his sister had become 
 the mother. After a few days the infant 
 died, and then it was said he had poisoned 
 it. It is probable that both of these reports 
 were idle calumnies. Certainly, if the last 
 was true, the first was false ; for it is not 
 likely so acute a man would have committed 
 a crime which the necessity of several ac- 
 complices rendered easy of detection, at the 
 very time when he contemplated another 
 
A.D. 1592. 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE, [serfdom forced on the peasants. 
 
 crime which would have rendered the first 
 quite unnecessary. No motives of humanity, 
 or feelings of conscience, would have de- 
 terred Boris from the murder of an infant 
 which stood in his path to power; but 
 nothing is more probable than that the 
 child of a father whose debility of nature 
 hovered on the verge of exhaustion, should 
 expire soon after birth. Though the czar 
 was merciless when under the influence of 
 his master-passion — ambition — yet he did 
 not, like Ivan the Terrible, love crime for 
 its own sake. There were occasional 
 touches of softness in that iron nature ; 
 and, like the remorseless and sensual 
 Egyptian in one of our modern romances, 
 Boris would have stepped out of his path to 
 avoid crushing a worm, though he had but 
 just consigned one whom he deemed his 
 enemy to a lingering death. Such are the 
 dark enigmas of human nature ! 
 
 The year 1592 was memorable for an 
 event which, though not very seriously re- 
 garded at the time, was fraught with deep 
 and calamitous mischief for the future ; an 
 event, the effects of which, even at this 
 hour, rankle deeply in the social condition 
 of the Russian people, and which has pro- 
 duced a state of things at once perplexing 
 to the government, dangerous to the security 
 of society, obstructive to national advance- 
 ment, and formed a reproach to the empire 
 over the rest of Europe. We allude to that 
 measure which converted the peasants of 
 Russia into serfs, and which was deliberately 
 framed by Boris as a*_bribe to the boyards 
 and landed proprietors, as it increased the 
 wealth of the rich at the price of the per- 
 sonal liberty of the poor. Up to this time 
 the Russian peasantry enjoyed that freedom 
 which arises from the absence of oppressive 
 restrictions. They had the natural right of 
 being enabled to leave the estate on which 
 they lived or had been born, and enter the 
 service of another master, if they desired to 
 do so. Certainly the liberty of the peasantry 
 was of a passive and negative, rather than 
 active and positive character. They did not 
 enjoy liberty on any reasonable basis ; but 
 were free rather because they had been 
 overlooked ; because no powerful party in 
 the state saw any reason for restraining or 
 extinguishing the barren freedom enjoyed 
 by them. The thinness of the population, 
 and the vast distances which separated the 
 towns and villages, and almost prevented 
 communication, rendered co-operation among 
 the peasantry an impossibility, and public 
 
 opinion scarcely more than an imagination. 
 Tims the peasants were politically nothing ; 
 and though not slaves, they did not possess 
 the privileges of freemen. The peasantry 
 had not unfrequently availed themselves of 
 their slender right of moving from place to 
 place, with the natural hope of improving 
 their condition ; but their doing so dimi- 
 nished the wealth and personal influence of 
 the noble on whose estates they dwelt, and 
 who had already but a very small part of 
 his lands subjected to any profitable use. 
 When land was so cheap as to be almost 
 worthless, men came to be regarded as 
 valuable. Without them the soil was unre- 
 claimed desert; but if they surrendered 
 ever so small a portion of what they raised 
 from it to the owner, their presence was in 
 some measure productive of wealth. Boris, 
 therefore, to conciliate the boyards — and 
 especially that inferior order of them who, 
 without ancestral distinctions, had risen by 
 craft or merit to their position — made a law 
 by which the peasant was bound to the soil, 
 and thus sunk into the serf. Before this 
 there had been domestic slaves in Russia, as 
 we have already stated ; but from this time 
 only is the existence of the predial serfs to 
 be dated. Boris coloured his tyranny by an 
 excuse which bore an air of soundness. The 
 peasantry of Russia were in the habit of 
 migrating towards the south, in consequence 
 of the mildness of the climate and other 
 presumed advantages to be found there. 
 This was necessarily injurious to the less 
 favoured bulk of the country — a circum- 
 stance which was put forward by Boris as 
 the cause of his new decree, rendering the 
 people irremovable from the domains on 
 which they were located. Tiie immediate 
 result was, however, the very reverse of that 
 anticipated by the regent. The peasants 
 fled by thousands to escape slavery — an act 
 to which they were encouraged by those 
 lauded proprietors who wanted hands to cul- 
 tivate their estates. Unjust legislation 
 seldom promotes the end for which it was 
 designed ; its reaction is always dangerous, 
 and its remote Avorking pregnant with im- 
 foreseen evils. 
 
 We alluded to the patriarch of the Rus- 
 sian church — an ecclesiastical dignity which 
 was first used in the reign of Feodor. Prior 
 to this time, the Russian church derived 
 what was assumed to be its divine power 
 through the medium of the patriarch of 
 Constantinople, who consecrated the metro- 
 politan of Moscow. But the supremacy of 
 
 85 
 
DEATH OF FEODOR.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.j^. 1592—1598. 
 
 the Greek patriarch was almost a titular 
 affair after the city of Constantinople had 
 passed by conquest into the hands of the 
 Turks. Boris had need of the services of 
 the church to assist him in carrying his ambi- 
 tious designs to a successful result. Jeremy, 
 the patriarch of Constantinople, having ar- 
 rived at Moscow to collect alms for the 
 erection of churches, it occurred to Boris 
 that it would be an excellent thing to 
 induce him to consecrate a Russian patri- 
 arch who, of course, the regent took good 
 care should be entirely the creature of his 
 will, and devoted to his interests. He 
 accordingly induced the childish and devout 
 Feodor, who was delighted at the presence 
 of the Greek patriarch, to load him with 
 honours and rich donations. The head of 
 a once powerful, but then comparatively 
 ruined church, showed his gratitude by 
 acceding to the suggestions of Boris. Mos- 
 cow accordingly had its patriarch — a dignity 
 which lasted until the time of Peter the 
 Great, who abolished it, and blended the 
 chief authority of the Russian church with 
 the absolute power of the czar. 
 
 Russia prospered under the shadowy 
 domination of Feodor. This must neces- 
 sarily be attributed to the able administra- 
 tion of Boris, who was czar in all but the 
 name, and wanted but the claim of a legiti- 
 mate sovereign to have been an illustrious 
 one. Commerce was protected and ren- 
 dered secure. Smolensk was fortified to a 
 state of presumed impregnability. The 
 Tartars were confined within their own 
 domains by strong military posts. For- 
 tresses were erected at the foot of the Cau- 
 casian range, into the regions of which 
 Russia made her first abortive attempt to 
 penetrate; and the arts and arms of the 
 empire, rude though they were, carried into 
 the wilds of Siberia. The Swedes were 
 driven into Narva, and closer diplomatic 
 relations were entered into with foreign 
 courts, and especially with that of England. 
 But one of the most remarkable events of 
 the reign of Feodor was the attempt of 
 Boris to get his master, or rather creature, 
 the czar, elected king of Poland. Boris 
 proposed to the states of Lithuania and 
 Poland, that if they elected Feodor their 
 king, he would unite all the forces of Russia 
 with those of Poland, and conquer the 
 Crimea for the ,^ormer power; and Walla- 
 
 chia, Moldavia, and Hungary for the latter. 
 The proposed union would probably have 
 created a power perfectly capable of accom- 
 plishing the projected conquests. The pro- 
 posals of the czar also found many partisans 
 among the Poles, and were readily accepted 
 by the Lithuanians. The union might, in 
 fact, have been accomplished, but that the 
 Poles] were disgusted with the overbearing 
 conduct of the Muscovite ambassadors, 
 which induced them to elect Sigismund 
 Vasa, Prince of Sweden, as their king, in- 
 stead of Feodor. 
 
 Boris had dazzled the boyards by his 
 power, and the people by an assiduous prac- 
 tice of the arts of popularity. He had been 
 long regarded as the actual ruler of the 
 empire, whose interests he had promoted, 
 and whose reputation he had raised in the 
 estimation of Europe. The bulk of the 
 Russian people looked to him as the na- 
 tural successor of the childish and childless 
 czar. Such was the state of things when, 
 early in the year 1598, Feodor died ! TVith 
 the death of this nonentity the dynasty of 
 Ruric expired, after having yielded no less 
 than fifty-two sovereigns to part or the 
 whole of Russia. It now terminated in 
 weakness, in mystery, and perhaps in vio- 
 lence. It is impossible to say absolutely 
 that the feeble Feodor did not come by his 
 death naturally; but it is equally difficult 
 not to suspect that his life was shortened 
 by treachery. It is at least a startling 
 coincidence, that the impotent czar lived 
 until all the schemes of Boris were matured, 
 and that he died exactly at the time when 
 the interests of that ambitious man required 
 that he should die. A reasonable presump- 
 tion therefore exists^, that the life of Feodor 
 was practised upon, and that the crafty 
 minister was the assassin. 
 
 Some comparatively obscure members of 
 the race of Ruric still existed, but they 
 were in no condition to set up a claim to 
 the vacant throne; they had, in fact, be- 
 come private persons. Virtually the family 
 was extinguished. No powerful prince 
 existed who could legally claim the Russian 
 sceptre; and the succession being thus 
 broken, the people were at liberty either to 
 change the form of government, or elect a 
 new czar from themselves. With this event 
 terminates a natural era of the history of the 
 empire of whose progress we are writing. 
 
A.D. 1598.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [BORIS ELECTED CZAR. 
 
 CHAPTER Xm. 
 
 BORIS GODDNOF ELECTED CZAU ; H E OVERAWES THE TARTARS OF THE CRIMEA ; WISDOM OF THE EARLY 
 PART OF HIS RULE ; HE BECOMES DISLIKED ; A DREADFUL FAMINE PREVAILS FOR THREE YEARS ; THE 
 COUNTRY INFESTED BY FORMIDABLE BANDS OF ROBBERS ; BORIS BECOMES DESPOTIC ; A YOUTH IN POLAND 
 CLAIMS TO BE PRINCE DMITRI, THE SON OF IVAN IV. ; HE ENTERS RUSSIA AT THE HEAD OF A SMALL 
 ARMY ; OBTAINS A VICTORY AT NOVGOROD ; IS DEFEATED AT DOBRYNITCHI ; GENERAL FEELING IN HIS 
 FAVOUR ; SUDDEN DEATH OF THE CZAR ; HIS SON FEODOR SUCCEEDS TO THE THRONE ; HE IS DEPOSED, 
 AND DMITRI PROCLAIMED CZAR ; EARLY POPULARITY OP HIS RULE ; HE IS ACKNOWLEDGED BY THE 
 WIDOW OF IVAN AS HER SON ; HIS IMPRUDENCE MAKES HIM UNPOPULAR ; CONSPIRACY AGAINST HIM j 
 HIS MARRIAGE ; INSURRECTION, AND MURDER OF DMITRI, 
 
 Boris Godunop was well prepared for a 
 state of things which he had at least antici- 
 pated if not brought about. He, however, 
 affected to be quite overcome with grief on 
 account of the death of the last lineal 
 descendant of Ruric. In this assumed 
 despair he retired to a monastery, and de- 
 clared his intention of spending the re- 
 mainder of his life in religious seclusion. 
 The late czar had bequeathed the throne to 
 his widow Irene, who was immediately pro- 
 claimed sovereign. But she appears to 
 have shrunk from a responsibility she felt 
 herself unable to bear; and, after a few 
 days, she followed her brother into retire- 
 ment, and expressed a firm resolution to 
 take the veil. She was sincere, and resisted 
 all entreaties to alter her determination. 
 
 The eyes of the people and of the lesser 
 nobles were now turned towards Boris as 
 the most fit person to fill the vacant throne. 
 The greater nobles, the ancient princes of 
 Russia, Ipoked for advice at this juncture to 
 the patriarch, who, in addition to the autho- 
 rity necessarily attaching to his holy office 
 and dignity, had acquired a considerable 
 influence over both nobles and people. In- 
 deed, so much was he respected, that no 
 opposition was anticipated to the election of 
 the noble whom he nominated. 
 
 It would seem that the election was by 
 no means a general act of the people ; for 
 those permitted to express an opinion must 
 have been very few in number. The depu- 
 ties of the towns of Russia, and the princes 
 and boyards of the empire, assembled in 
 the house of the patriarch six weeks after 
 the death of Feodor. The greatest anxiety 
 existed on the part of the people to know 
 whom the patriarch would recommend to 
 their choice as the future czar. Most of 
 the nobles, however, were prepai'ed for the 
 result that followed j for they knew that the 
 patriarch was but a creature of the late 
 
 minister, and would act according to his 
 instructions. After a pious prelude, he 
 named Boris as the wisest man in the coun- 
 try, and the one most deserving the confi- 
 dence of the people. The name was hailed 
 with clamorous applause, which was repeated 
 in other places by mercenary agents, as soon 
 as the news was known. No one was bold 
 enough to offer opposition ; and thus, on the 
 17th of February, 1598, was Boris Godunof 
 (notwithstanding his Tartar descent) elected 
 Czar of Russia ! With a remembrance of 
 his declared intention of devoting his life, 
 in seclusion, to the exercise of piety, public 
 prayers were offered that he might be in- 
 duced to accept the throne. 
 
 When Boris was informed that he was 
 chosen to wield the sceptre of the empire, he 
 declined to accept it. Like our Richard III., 
 to whom he has been compared, he affected 
 to despise the prize he longed for. He 
 thanked the people for so distinguished an 
 honour, but he begged with humility to 
 decline it. This stratagem was perfectly 
 understood by the patriarch and his other 
 friends, who were not so dull as to take the 
 ambitious schemer at his word. The next 
 day the systematic priest returned, accom- 
 panied by the principal clergy and nobility, 
 and followed by immense crowds of tho 
 people. Entering the church of the con- 
 vent, preceded by a train of monks carry- 
 ing the cross and a multitude of saintly 
 relics, the patriarch performed a religious 
 service, and then again requested Boris to 
 accede to the wishes of the nobles and 
 people, and accept the throne. The answer 
 was another refusal, which was persisted in, 
 notwithstanding the entreaties and tears of 
 the chief clergy, and the enthusiasm of the 
 people who surrounded the convent. The 
 crafty Boris was so certain of the game he 
 was playing — had grasped with so firm a 
 hand all the links of power, that he seems 
 
 87 
 
BORIS RL'LES WISELY.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1600. 
 
 to have felt a pleasure in obstinately refusing 
 a sceptre he so ardently desired. For nearly 
 six weeks he kept up the excitement of the 
 people, and repeated, at intervals, the farce 
 of refusal. At length his sistei', the widowed 
 Irene, added her entreaties to those of the 
 patriarch and the populace. Then, with an 
 appearance of the greatest humility, he 
 exclaimed — " The will of God be done !" 
 and appeared rather resigned to make a 
 sacrifice than to accept a position of great 
 power and dignity. Boris ascended the 
 throne amidst a chorus of adulation from 
 the deceived people ; but he continued to 
 show himself so able a ruler as to justify 
 their apparent choice. His first act was to 
 repay the populace for their enthusiasm by 
 means of pageantries, public shows, and acts 
 of grace to offenders. He outdid all his 
 predecessors in the splendour and hospi- 
 tality of the entertainments which he pro- 
 vided for the people and the soldiery, and 
 in the affability of his bearing in public. 
 
 Successful usurpation commonly depraves 
 the character of the man who profits by it, 
 and brings evils upon the people who suffer 
 it. Of this particular instance of triumphant 
 political intrigue, it has been observed — " A 
 crown, obtained by indirect and fraudulent 
 measures, could not be preserved without 
 tyranny. Boris, conscious of the jealousies 
 which his elevation engendered in the 
 minds of the nobles, and especially in the 
 family of the Romanoffs, who were allied to 
 the race of Ruric, but not to the Moscow 
 line, was constantly haunted by apprehen- 
 sions, and sought to lose them in the revel, 
 and to propitiate them by the sacrifice of all 
 persons whom he suspected. Had he been 
 a legitimate sovereign, he would have con- 
 ferred lasting benefits upon his country j be- 
 cause he was a wise and paternal ruler in 
 all matters apart from his personal affairs. 
 He bestowed considerable pains on many 
 laudable measures of improvement; but 
 these were so sullied by acts of merci- 
 less revenge, to which he was moved by the 
 danger in which he was placed by his usur- 
 pation, that it is difficult to separate his 
 merits from his crimes." 
 
 At first the new czar seemed likely to 
 retain the popularity he enjoyed on ascend- 
 ing the throne. Scarcely had his coro- 
 nation taken place before the Tartars of 
 the Crimea threatened a descent upon the 
 southern part of Russia. The people stood 
 in awe of these turbulent and savage foes ; 
 but Boris promptly assembled so numerous 
 88 
 
 an array, that the Tartars were dismayed in 
 their turn, and abandoned their intended 
 enterprise ; and the khan, instead of attack- 
 ing him, sued for a continuance of peace. 
 This incident won for Boris, at least to some 
 extent, the gratitude of the people, and the 
 admiration of the soldiery. 
 
 While on one side Boris hurled back the 
 savage barbarism of Asia, on the other he 
 courted the arts and civilisation of Europe. 
 Before his whole time was engrossed by 
 troubles at home, he strove earnestly to ex- 
 tend the relations of Russia with the great 
 powers of the continent. He was also 
 anxious to establish himself on the throne, 
 and secure it to his descendants by pro- 
 moting a matrimonial alliance between his 
 own family and some reigning house ot 
 Europe. With this object he invited Gus- 
 tavus, son of Eric, the deposed king ot 
 Sweden, to his court, where he treated 
 that accomplished prince with great honour. 
 Extensive estates were even conferred upon 
 him; but as the prince was unwilling to 
 become a tool of the Muscovite policy 
 against his native country, he fell into dis- 
 grace, and was exiled. Boris then pro- 
 posed an alliance between his daughter 
 Xenia, a princess of great beauty, and the 
 Duke John, brother of the King of Den- 
 mark and of the queen of James I. of Eng- 
 land. This proposal was assented to both 
 by the king and the duke; but it could 
 not be carried into effect on account of the 
 premature death of the latter. Amongst 
 the diplomatic negotiations of Boris with 
 foreign powers, should be mentiened his 
 frequent, though desultory communications 
 with Austria, to bring about a league 
 against the Turks. Some negotiations with 
 Persia on the same subject were equally 
 unsuccessful. Like the fierce Ivan, Boris 
 exhibited a decided partiality towards the 
 government and people of England. This 
 seems to have been, at least to some extent, 
 reciprocated; for, in the year 1603, Queen 
 EHzabeth proposed to the czar a marriage 
 between his son and a young English lady 
 of rank, then only eleven years old. 
 
 The first two years of the reign of Boris 
 were attended with remarkable prosperity 
 to the empire. Though the character of the 
 czar has been variously drawn, and he has 
 even been represented as a savage tyrant, 
 yet during this period he ever leaned 
 rather towards clemency than severity. He 
 laboured to raise Russia in the scale of 
 nations, by importing into it the civihsation 
 
A.T>. 1601—1603.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [a terrible famine. 
 
 of the most polished of the neighbouring 
 states. lie conceived the plan of estab- 
 lishing universities, where the young Mus- 
 covites should be instructed in foreign lan- 
 guages and the sciences. He even sent 
 into Germany for teachers for the intended 
 schools ; but his project failed on account 
 of the vehement opposition of the clergy, 
 who considered the measure as an innova- 
 tion dangerous to religion. Notwithstand- 
 ing this obstruction from a quarter whence 
 it ought not to have arisen, he sent eighteen 
 young men of noble families to be educated 
 in Germany, England, and France. He 
 further showed his desire to promote the 
 elevation of the empire and people by an 
 anxiety to attract to Russia all gifted 
 foreigners, such as physicians, engineers, 
 and able artisans. In these agents of the 
 country's progress he placed great confi- 
 dence, and frequently conversed with them 
 with familiarity. Indeed, this must have 
 been a period of calm, if not of happiness 
 to him, as well as of prosperity to the 
 country ; but unfortunately it was not des- 
 tined to last, and a darker time — a time of 
 calamity and terror — was at hand. 
 
 Jealousies against the elected sovereign 
 had existed from the first ; but this was to 
 be expected, especially in a country which 
 contained a nobility so turbulent as that of 
 Russia. Boris constantly experienced some 
 incident which reminded him that he was 
 not regarded as altogether a legitimate 
 sovereign ; that he could not plead either 
 divine right or ancestral claims to the 
 throne. From this feeling arose the resist- 
 ance of the clergy to his educational inno- 
 vations. It was natural for ignorant and 
 narrow-minded men to oppose the spread of 
 information among the people ; for persons 
 of this description ever dread novelties, 
 however wise or brilliant, and " cling to 
 error like a bat to a dead bough." But it 
 did not proceed from this alone ; but from 
 the fact that the clergy, released from the 
 presence of a sovereign who ruled them by 
 a presumed mission from heaven, and in- 
 fluenced by the jealousy of which we have 
 spoken, began to exhibit uneasiness and 
 impatience of control. A similar feeling 
 animated the boyards, some of whom were 
 accused by their slaves of being ill-disposed 
 to the czar. Boris punished them with 
 merciless severity; some he banished or 
 imprisoned, while others were consigned to 
 the hands of the executioner, and that fre- 
 quently without trial or other preliminary 
 
 ceremony. These actions turned indiffer- 
 ence or ill-feeling into hatred ; and he who 
 had been regarded as an adventurer, was 
 now secretly denounced as a tyrant. 
 
 In countries where agriculture has scarcely 
 risen to the dignity of an art, where com- 
 merce only just exists, and communication 
 between distant parts is so difficult as to be 
 impracticable for all ordinary purposes, a 
 scanty harvest is necessarily followed by 
 severe distress, and a repetition of it by 
 famine. A heavy calamity of this nature 
 now fell upon Russia. The harvests of 
 1601 and 1602 were meagre in the extreme. 
 A general famine was the result; a famine 
 so terrible, that its horrors, as described by 
 eye-witnesses, seem almost incredible. As 
 is commonly the case, its ravages were fol- 
 lowed by those of pestilence, both of which 
 afflicted the people for a period of three 
 years. In this time of prolonged misery, 
 Boris acted in a most commendable manner, 
 and showed himself not only the sovereign, 
 but the father of the nation. He employed 
 himself incessantly in inventing modes of 
 relief, and he caused immense quantities of 
 provisions to be distributed daily. These 
 were paid for, to a large extent, out of his 
 own private wealth, which we stated to be 
 very great. He also levied a kind of rate 
 upon the rich, to ameliorate the miseries of 
 the poor. The nobles and clergy, so far 
 from imitating his noble example, displayed 
 a grasping avariciousness, which induced 
 them not only to hold aloof from the 
 miseries that surrounded them, but to take 
 advantage of those very miseries by ex- 
 acting enormous prices for their stores of 
 grain. Boris punished them for this selfish 
 conduct by compelling them to dispose of 
 their stores of grain to him at a low price, 
 the better to enable him to distribute it 
 gratuitously among the starving people. 
 
 Means of this nature, necessarily limited 
 and inefficient, were eventually exhausted. 
 Still the terrible famine prevailed ; and the 
 number of its victims increased. Half a mil- 
 lion of people are computed to have died of 
 hunger in Moscow alone. The attenuated 
 dead lay unburied in the streets and squares, 
 rotting in loathsome heaps. The mouths 
 of many of the shrunken corpses were full 
 of hay, straw, or the filthiest oflFal, which 
 they were vainly endeavouring to eat when 
 death terminated their terrible and de- 
 grading misery. The pangs arising from 
 prolonged hunger must indeed be dreadful; 
 for they induce men and women to cast 
 
 89 
 
HIS^RIES OF THE PEOPLE.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1603. 
 
 aside those antipathies which are so deeply 
 woven into our instincts as to be regarded 
 as natural, and therefore unalterable laws. 
 Not only was strange and loathsome food 
 consumed at Moscow, but the frightful 
 practice of cannibalism arose in that city. 
 In many houses, the person who had 
 suffered least from the effects of the famine, 
 was secretly slain, to furnish food for the 
 rest. So far was this terrible practice car- 
 ried — so far had the tyrannical cravings of 
 hunger subdued the natural bonds of affec- 
 tion, that parents devoured their own chil- 
 dren, and children their parents; or, still 
 worse, sold them for the same revolting 
 purpose to others, that they might purchase 
 bread with the price of the blood of those 
 who, till hunger had made them mad, were 
 dearest to them. A Russian chronicler re- 
 lates, that he saw a woman in the open 
 street tearing with her teeth the flesh of a 
 living child she carried in her arms. 
 Another mentions, that four women having 
 decoyed a peasant into their house under 
 pretence of purchasing food from him, 
 killed him and his horse, and dragged the 
 two carcases into their ice-pit, to serve 
 them as food. 
 
 At length this time of horror passed 
 away, and the diminished population was 
 relieved from the incessant cravings of hun- 
 ger by the return of nature to her cus- 
 tomary beneficence. But so severe a 
 calamity had produced a general disorgani- 
 sation, and the country was infested by 
 bands of robbers, who had taken to that 
 lawless life in consequence of the drying up 
 of the regular channels of industry. The 
 chief of these gangs of rufl&ans, who was 
 named Khlopko, became so formidable, 
 that it was necessary to send an army to 
 subdue him. He was defeated and cap- 
 tured in a regular battle not far from Mos- 
 cow, in which the commander of the czar's 
 forces was killed. This engagement, how- 
 ever, by no means exterminated the rob- 
 bers, who continued their depredations and 
 outrages to a great extent, especially in the 
 border provinces, where they were further 
 from the avenging arm of authority. But 
 the existence of this social scourge must 
 not be attributed to the famine alone. It 
 arose partly from unwise and unjust legis- 
 lation. The ordinance by which Boris had, 
 during the reign of Feodor, bound the 
 peasant to the soil, and converted him from 
 a state of negative freedom to that of abso- 
 lute serfdom, had induced great numbers 
 90 
 
 to take to flight. Of these, many doubtless 
 settled down peaceably upon the lands of 
 other proprietors; but many also joined 
 the wandering bands of robbers which 
 famine, pestilence, and a stoppage of the 
 ordinary business of society had engen- 
 dered. This circumstance led to very 
 severe measures against these barbarous 
 but miserable men. An inquisitorial search 
 after runaways was established, and the 
 bitterness of despotic rule was felt even 
 down to the lowest link of the social chain. 
 This, too, to such an extent, that it has 
 been plaintively observed by a sympathetic 
 writer, that "the Russian nation was 
 now no longer anything but a hierarchy of 
 slaves. Thenceforth there was no inter- 
 course ; none of those public meetings in 
 which the youthful part of society, at least, 
 orally acquired knowledge ; no compacts to 
 protect the weak, no asylum for them. 
 Russia became sad and sullen; the min- 
 strels, who had been wont to traverse the 
 country, now disappeared ; their songs of 
 war and the chase, and even of love, were 
 heard no longer. It is only in the chroni- 
 cles of the time that we discover the traces 
 of those perished manners, those forgotten 
 songs : on meeting with them, the national 
 historian is surprised and affected, and 
 mournfully exclaims, 'that in these recol- 
 lections, the Russia of the present day, 
 mute and enslaved, finds but the image of 
 an object which no longer exists — the echo 
 of a voice which no longer vibrates on 
 her ear.'" 
 
 Boris was driven into despotism by the 
 disaffection of the nobles and people whom 
 he ruled. His benevolent exertions during 
 the period of the famine, were regarded 
 with malice by the former, who set them 
 down to the score of a subtle pohcy. Their 
 murmurs were no longer uttered in private, 
 but even assumed a threatening tone. The 
 signs of disaffection were no longer to be 
 misunderstood. In this position Boris fol- 
 lowed the example of Ivan, and resolved to 
 appal those whose confidence he could not 
 win. Many of the proudest grandees were 
 consigned by him to the hands of the exe- 
 cutioner, and a number of capital punish- 
 ments were crowded into a short space of 
 time. The danger to which he was un- 
 doubtedly exposed was magnified by alarm, 
 and thus all the latent cruelty of his nature 
 brought into action. He even rose up 
 from table at his own banquets, and de- 
 nounced some of his guests as traitors, who 
 
A.D. 1604.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [the assumed DMITRI. 
 
 were immediately seized upon by his fol- 
 lowers, and dragged away to dungeons or 
 to death. Despotism thus became uni- 
 versal, and noble and peasant were alike 
 oppressed ; not from any desire of the czar 
 for such a result, but as an inevitable con- 
 sequence of the disorder arising from usur- 
 pation. Some measures of this period were 
 remarkably severe and sanguinary. With 
 an unreasoning and capricious ferocity, it 
 was enacted, that all the members of a 
 family were held to be involved in the 
 pimishment of a single member. To re- 
 strain the peasantry in their natural exodus 
 from bondage, every Russian who passed 
 beyond the frontiers was denounced as a 
 rebel and a heretic. One of the injudicious 
 measures of Boris, and that which perhaps 
 more than anything else contributed to his 
 unpopularity, was the whimsical one of 
 punishing drunkenness with death. 
 
 Something of the despotism of the crown 
 was transferred even to the heads of fami- 
 lies ; probably with a view to win their 
 allegiance by sanctioning existing barbarous 
 practices. The peasant within his own hut 
 was invested with all the powers of a 
 despot. Not only was he permitted to in- 
 flict summary chastisement upon his wife 
 and children, but also to sell the latter into 
 slavery — privileges which were, however, 
 restrained by the edict which converted 
 the father himself into a serf. Yet the 
 merciless sway of Boris must be regarded 
 as a consequence of his situation, which 
 exposed him to hazards from which he 
 could not escape except by some such de- 
 cisive and terrible measures. 
 
 Throughout the whole of Russia there 
 prevailed that sort of feeling which so often 
 precedes insurrections. In 1604, a singular 
 rumour was brought from the frontiers of 
 Lithuania, and spread with surprising ra- 
 pidity throughout the empire. It was to 
 the effect, that Prince Dmitri, who was 
 supposed to have been murdered at Ug- 
 litch, was alive, and making preparations in 
 Poland to recover the throne of his ances- 
 tors. Several versions exist as to the way 
 in which this presumed discovery was first 
 made. The one generally regarded by 
 Russian historians as authentic, runs thus. 
 A stranger having fallen seriously ill in a 
 Polish town, sent for a confessor, and in- 
 formed him that he was the youngest son 
 of the czar Ivan, and consequently legiti- 
 mate heir to the Russian throne. This 
 information the confessor communicated to 
 
 Prince Adam Wiszniowiecki, who, on the 
 recovery of the stranger, sent for him to 
 substantiate his statement. The latter 
 obeyed, and stated that his physician, 
 Simon, having been tampered with by 
 Boris, had affected to comply with the 
 regent's designs against the life of the heir- 
 presumptive, but only that he might the 
 more effectually frustrate them. With a 
 forgetfulness of the actual circumstances of 
 the case, he added, that on the night ap- 
 pointed for the murder, Simon put the 
 child of a serf into his young master's bed, 
 and it was this unhappy boy who fell a vic- 
 tim to the assassin. Simon, satisfied of 
 the uselessness of appealing to the feeble- 
 minded czar Feodor against so powerful 
 and unscrupulous a man as Boris, fled with 
 Prince Dmitri from Uglitch, and committed 
 him to the care of a loyal gentleman, who, 
 for his better protection, made him enter a 
 monastery. The stranger admitted that 
 this gentleman and the physician were both 
 dead ; but in confirmation of his narrative 
 he produced a Russian seal, bearing the 
 arms and the name of the czarevitch, and a 
 gold cross, adorned with jewels of great value, 
 which he said was the baptismal gift of his 
 godfather, the Prince Ivan Mstislavski. 
 
 Notwithstanding the suspicious nature of 
 this story, the Polish noble was convinced 
 of its truth. The plausible manner of the 
 stranger won upon him, and the costly 
 diamond cross seemed an irresistible evi- 
 dence in favour of the truth of the preten- 
 sions of the young man ; for how, he rea« 
 soned, could such a jewel have come into 
 his hands unless he really was the czare- 
 vitch? Prince Wiszniowiecki was con- 
 vinced. He treated his mysterious visitor 
 with great distinction, presented him with 
 money, raiment, horses, and a retinue 
 suitable to his supposed birth. On taking 
 him to the residence of his brother Prince 
 Constantine, a Russian fugitive, named Pie- 
 trovski, made a voluntary statement, that 
 he had formerly been in attendance on the 
 czarevitch Dmitri, of whose identity with 
 the youth before him he was perfectly con- 
 vinced. These coincidences were certainly 
 remarkable. The murdered czarevitch, if 
 alive, would have been about twenty-two 
 years old ; which was the apparent age of 
 the stranger. The latter had a wart on the 
 forehead, another under the right eye, and 
 one arm a little longer than the other : the 
 son of the czar Ivan was said to have been 
 marked in the same way. 
 
 91 
 
PROCEEDINGS OF DMITRI.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1604_ 
 
 The pretender — for such he assuredly was 
 — soon subdued all doubts in the Polish 
 nobles^ who thronged to Prince Constan- 
 tine's mansion, to be presented to the man 
 they regarded as the rightful czar of Russia, 
 and to offer their services to him. The 
 bold intriguant performed his assumed part 
 ■with consummate skill — a representation in 
 Avhich he was assisted by nature. Even his 
 gestures and tone of voice were said to have 
 resembled those of the murdered prince. 
 His deportment was perfectly in accordance 
 with his alleged rank. Possessed of a fine 
 figure, an insinuating manner, and a ready 
 speech, he was always perfectly at liis ease 
 amongst the noble persons with whom he 
 now associated. He had been liberally edu- 
 cated for those days ; spoke both Polish and 
 Russian, had a slight smattering of Latin, 
 wrote a bold and rapid hand, was well versed 
 in the history of Russia, and in the genealo- 
 gies of all the great families. In addition to 
 this, he ingratiated himself not only with the 
 Polish nobles, but with the Roman pontiff, 
 by representing that he was disposed to em- 
 brace the catholic faith ; and that, should he 
 be so fortunate as to recover the throne of 
 his ancestors, he would endeavour to bring 
 his subjects into the communion of the 
 Roman church. Such was the success of 
 the assumed Dmitri, that the Palatine 
 of Sandomir, a Polish noble of great 
 wealth and influence, promised him the 
 hand of his daughter Marina when he 
 should become czar — a promise to which 
 the lady cheerfully assented. The palatine 
 even presented the young adventurer to the 
 King of Poland (Sigismund III.), who was 
 delighted with an incident which promised 
 an opportunity of gratifying a dislike he 
 entertained towards Boris. Sigismund hav- 
 ing received the youth at a solemn audience, 
 and listened to a statement of his pretended 
 birth and misfortunes, observed — "God 
 preserve thee, Dmitri, Prince of Muscovy ; 
 thy birth is known to us, and attested by 
 satisfactory evidence : we assign thee a pen- 
 sion of 40,000 florins ; and, as our friend and 
 guest, we permit thee to accept the counsels 
 and servdces of our subjects." 
 
 In the May of 1604, Dmitri (as Ave must 
 call him) signed a promise of marriage to 
 Marina, the daughter of the Palatine San- 
 domir, in which he engaged to confer on 
 her the towns of Novgorod and Pskov as a 
 wedding gift, and to pay her father a million 
 of Polish florins (about £160,000) as soon 
 as he should have ascended his throne. 
 92 
 
 The following month he signed another 
 document, by which he engaged to cede the 
 province of Severia to the palatine and the 
 King of Poland ; and at the same time he 
 privately abjured the Greek faith, and was 
 admitted as a member of the Roman church 
 in the palace of the nuncio. By these 
 equivocal acts he secured the services of a 
 small Polish army ; but they eventually 
 assisted in destroying his reputation. 
 
 News of Dmitri's proceedings soon reached 
 Boris, who had excellent reasons for knowing 
 that he was an impostor, and that the true 
 prince had long lain in his grave. The czar 
 denounced Dmitri as an impostor, and stated 
 that he was a renegade monk, named Gregory 
 Otrepief, who, on account of his bearing an 
 accidental resemblance to the dead prince, 
 had been led into the idea of personating 
 him. Some mystery hangs over this ques- 
 tion, and many inquiries have been made 
 concerning it, but without any satisfactory 
 result. The distinguished modern Russian 
 historian, Karamsin, considers that Otrepief 
 was the spurious Dmitri ; other writers, who 
 have had the advantage of being able to 
 compare all the circumstances (many of 
 them minute, and necessarily uninteresting 
 to an English reader), are of opinion that 
 the assumed Dmitri was neither what he 
 pretended to be, nor what Boris asserted — 
 a negative conclusion, which leaves us as 
 much in doubt as before as to the man's 
 actual origin. 
 
 The first proceeding of the czar Boris, 
 with respect to Dmitri, was an unwise one. 
 He offered a heavy bribe to Prince Wisznio- 
 wiecki and his brother Constantine, if they 
 would give the impostor up to him. This 
 they indignantly refused, and the circum- 
 stance only had the effect of confirming 
 their belief in the representations of their 
 protege. Boris then proclaimed Dmitri to 
 be an adventurer ; and employed a number 
 of spies, who were armed with authority to 
 seize and put him to death. He proceeded 
 further, by prohibiting all intercourse be- 
 tween the Poles and the Russians, compelled 
 the patriarch to anathematise " the rascally 
 disrobed monk, the apostate rebel and magi- 
 cian, who wished to introduce the Latin 
 heresy into Russia, and to build catholic 
 churches in the orthodox land." Boris also 
 procured the testimony of the living mother 
 of the murdered prince to her son's death, 
 and wrote a letter to the Polish monarch, 
 entreating his majesty to withdraw his pro- 
 tection from the impostor. These efforts 
 
A.D. 1604] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [DMITRI ENTERS RUSSIA. 
 
 failed to produce the desired effect, and 
 indeed only more effectually aroused the 
 curiosity of the Russian people, who, tired 
 of what they regarded as an illegitimate 
 government, were disposed to give credence 
 to a claim which might overturn it. Eor 
 this reason, also, the discontented nobles 
 lent an ear to a tale which they did not 
 really believe. 
 
 Dmitri was unabashed by the denuncia- 
 tion of Boris, which he affected to treat with 
 calm contempt. He again asserted his claim 
 to the Russian throne, and detailed the 
 whole story of his life, which he said Boris 
 endeavoured to discredit from motives of 
 selfish fear. He spoke of the extraordinary 
 interposition of Providence, which had, he 
 said, preserved him for the sacred purpose of 
 rescuing his faithful subjects from the thral- 
 dom of usui'pation ; and reiterated liis de- 
 termination never to cease in his efforts to 
 restore the throne of Muscovy to the race 
 of Ruric. 
 
 Unquestioi\ably, the pretender was a man 
 of remarkable talents and activity. While 
 Boris was vainly endeavouring to blacken 
 his reputation, he was busily occupied in 
 gathering recruits to his standard. He 
 knew that the Russian people were favour- 
 ably disposed towards him, and likely to 
 rise in his favour if he appeared among 
 them. Accordingly, on the 31st of October, 
 1601, he crossed the Russian frontier with 
 his little army, which consisted of about 
 3,000 Polish horse, 500 foot of the same 
 nation, and a few thousand Russian refugees. 
 It would have been an act of madness to in- 
 vade so vast an empire with such a petty 
 force, had not Dmitri really won the attach- 
 ment of the common people, most of whom, 
 by this time, firmly believed that he was 
 the son of the czar Ivan. His forces in- 
 creased rapidly on his march, and town 
 after town received him with enthusiasm. 
 The barbarian inhabitants not only pre- 
 sented him with bread and salt, as tokens of 
 allegiance, but placed their governors and 
 other officers, bound and gagged, in his 
 hands. The pretender immediately liberated 
 these unfortunate gentlemen, and behaved 
 to them with great courtesy — a policy which 
 brought with it its own reward. 
 
 Boris had been unwilling to increase the 
 importance of his rival by making any 
 great military preparation ; and it was not 
 until the 23rd of November, by which time 
 Dmitri had arrived before the walls of Nov- 
 gorod, that he met with any opposing force. 
 
 Peter Basraanof, an able general, had 
 thrown himself into that city with a body 
 of no more than 500 Strelitz. On being 
 summoned to surrender in the name of the 
 czar and the grand prince Dmitri, he re- 
 plied, " The grand prince and czar is at 
 Moscow, and your Dmitri is a robber, who 
 shall be impaled, and his accomplices with 
 him. Be off, if you value your lives." 
 Basmanof was not to be won ; and the in- 
 vaders were unable to take the citadel, into 
 which he and his troops had retired. Several 
 weeks were passed before the fortress, and 
 the besiegers repulsed with considerable loss 
 in an attempt to storm it. Their enthusiasm 
 was rapidly cooling, when it was revived by 
 the capture of a sum of 80,000 ducats, 
 which the czar was sending to the governors 
 of the towns that adhered to him. The 
 siege was renewed; and Basmanof, aware 
 that an army was on its march from Moscow 
 for his relief, had the address to obtain a 
 truce for a fortnight, by promising to sur- 
 render at the end of that time, if he was 
 not succoured. 
 
 The usurping czar had proved himself an 
 able soldier ; and if he had the energy that 
 marked his actions in earlier years, would 
 no doubt have destroyed his opponent. But 
 he was no longer the man he had been ; 
 his health was broken, and his spirits 
 crushed by the opposition with which he 
 had had to contend. He is said to have 
 laboured under the pangs of a guilty con- 
 science ; and it is possible that his mind 
 was to some extent diseased. Confiding to 
 others the command he should have assumed 
 himself, he trusted men who were at least 
 cold in his cause, if not absolutely averse 
 to him. 
 
 Mstislavski, the general entrusted by 
 Boris with the command of a large army, 
 which he had much difficulty in collecting, 
 arrived at Novgorod towards the close of 
 December. Some days were passed in 
 inactivity. The sanguine Dmitri hoped to 
 see the hostile army adopt his cause, and 
 arrange itself beneath his banner; while 
 Mstislavski expected that the adherents of 
 the pretender, who scarcely amounted to 
 15,000, would disperse without coming to 
 hostilities. Both were disappointed ; and on 
 the 31st, Dmitri, whose army was not more 
 than a third as numerous as that opposed 
 to him, boldly led his troops into an open 
 plain, and placed them in array of battle. 
 Such a challenge was of course accepted, 
 and the adversaries were soon drawn up 
 
 93 
 
PROGRESS OF DMITRI.] 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1605. 
 
 face to face. Before the battle, Dmitri 
 prayed aloud before his soldiers, and then 
 addressed them in tones of the most 
 animating eloquence. ''Almighty God!" 
 cried he, in conclusion, " if my cause is un- 
 just, may thy wrath fall on me alone ! But 
 thou knowest my right, and will make my 
 arm invincible \" The strife, though fierce, 
 was brief; for there were many among the 
 army of Boris who trembled lest they should 
 be fighting against the czarevitch. The 
 brave and well-armed Polish lancers, by a 
 desperate charge, broke the right wing of 
 the Russian army, and drove it upon the 
 centre, which soon fell into confusion. 
 Prince Mstislavski strove in vain to rally 
 his dismayed troops; and, after receiving 
 fifteen wounds, was borne from the field. 
 This was conclusive : the victory fell upon 
 Dmitri ; and the Russians would have been 
 utterly routed, but that Basmanof made a 
 sortie in their favour, set fire to the camp of 
 the conquerors, and thus drew them from 
 the field. By means of this ruse, the 
 humbled troops of Boris were enabled to 
 escape beneath the cover of the woods. 
 
 The pretended Dmitri conducted himself 
 after the battle with princely moderation, 
 and a policy which would have done credit 
 to an older man. The prisoners taken were 
 addressed by him with kindly familiarity, 
 and treated as mistaken subjects, instead of 
 as foes. He also commanded his followers 
 to conduct themselves with humanity — a 
 circumstance which rendered them a striking 
 contrast to the brutal Russian soldiers, who 
 ruthlessly slaughtered the inhabitants of 
 those districts which had exhibited a dis- 
 position to favour the cause of the adven- 
 turer. Dmitri also actively spread abroad 
 the idea, that his victory had been due to 
 the fact that Providence fought upon the 
 side of truth, and that it should, therefore, 
 be accepted as an indication from heaven 
 that he was undoubtedly the son of Ivan IV. 
 This belief rapidly made way among the 
 ignorant peasantry, who were ready, at the 
 first opportunity, to hail him as their sove- 
 reign. 
 
 Still the position of Dmitri was but a 
 desperate one ; and he knew that he could 
 not obtain any permanent success unless 
 the people fell away from Boris and adopted 
 his cause. Shortly after the battle, a man- 
 date came from the King of Poland, com- 
 manding his subjects to return home im- 
 mediately. It had been drawn from him 
 by Boris before Sigismund knew of the 
 94 
 
 victory obtained by Dmitri, and while he 
 was influenced by disgust at the incon- 
 ceivable prolongation of the siege of such a 
 petty fortress as that of Novgorod. The 
 command was obeyed by the palatines and 
 the principal Polish gentlemen ; and within 
 a fortnight after the battle, but 400 soldiers 
 of that nation remained with Dmitri. Feel- 
 ing that nothing but a daring stroke could 
 save him from destruction, and that hesi- 
 tation would be death, he abandoned the 
 siege of Novgorod; and after refreshing 
 his troops by a few days' rest, again took 
 the field with a force which, in consequence 
 of the Russians who had joined him, still 
 amounted to about 15,000 men. 
 
 Prince Mstislavski was disabled by his 
 wounds from resuming the command of the 
 czar's army. Basmanof was summoned by 
 Boris to Moscow to receive the honour he 
 had won by his bravery, and the royal troops 
 were committed to the direction of Vassili 
 Schuisky, who, though brave, did not pos- 
 sess those other and more important quali- 
 ties which aid in forming an accomplished 
 general. On the 20th of January, 1605, 
 the czar's forces, amounting to 70,000 men, 
 were drawn up on the plain of Dobrynitchi. 
 Dmitri, with his army of only 15,000 men, 
 did not hesitate to attack them. Having 
 addressed his troops and prayed aloud be- 
 fore them, he, with one division of his army, 
 gallantly charged the centre of the enemy. 
 He was received with a fire from fourteen 
 cannons and 16,000 muskets, which might 
 have done terrible execution had it not been 
 hurried and ill-directed. As it was, it 
 proved almost harmless, and a few moments 
 afterwards Dmitri's horse had broken the 
 line of their opponents. Once again victory 
 might have favoured the pretender but for 
 the cowardice, or more probably treachery, 
 of 8,000 mounted Zaporogues, who formed 
 the main body of his army. Instead of 
 seconding their brave young leader, these 
 men stood still until the troops of Boris 
 were enabled to rally, and then wheeling 
 round, they quitted the field without strik- 
 ing a blow. It is said that they were 
 bribed by Boris ; but whatever was the 
 cause of their misconduct, its result was the 
 defeat of their companions. Dmitri per- 
 ceived that the day was irredeemably lost : 
 his Cossack infantry, numbering 4,000 men, 
 withstood for a time the whole Russian 
 army, and perished on the field to a man. 
 The scanty remnant of Dmitri's army took 
 to a flight in which he was compelled to 
 
A.D. 1605.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [the people favour dmitri.. 
 
 join. It is said, that they might have been 
 all put to the sword, but that Schuisky and 
 his officers, though they fought on the side 
 of the czar, had no intention of altogether 
 removing a man through whom they could 
 keep Boris in a state of constant agitation 
 and necessity for their services. For this 
 reason, they gave orders to check the pur- 
 suit, saying, "The fowl is in the pot" — a 
 familiar phrase by which the soldiers under- 
 stood that Dmitri was either slain or taken 
 prisoner. 
 
 The pretender had no longer an army. 
 He and the miserable remnant of his fol- 
 lowers fled to a town named Putivle, near 
 the frontiers, which, on account of its strong 
 defences, offered an asylum he deemed 
 tolerably secure. Schuisky, instead of at- 
 tempting to secure his person, remained at 
 Dobrynitchi, where he occupied himself 
 with hanging or shooting the prisoners he 
 had taken. Then, after several subterfuges 
 for avoiding action, he placed his troops in 
 winter quarters, and sent word to the czar 
 that no more could be done that season. 
 
 Boris, delighted with the recent victory, 
 expected a very different result. He ex- 
 pressed his displeasure in so severe a man- 
 ner as altogether to alienate from him 
 many of those officers who had before been 
 lukewarm in his service. Animosity to the 
 czar naturally engendered a favourable 
 feeling towards his opponent; which only 
 needed some return of good fortune to 
 Dmitri to induce the disaffected to desert to 
 him. Though stimulated by the reproaches 
 of the czar to some further exertions, such 
 as besieging the town of Kroury, which had 
 declared for Dmitri, Schuisky merely de- 
 ceived his master by idle efforts, which had 
 not, and were not intended to have, any 
 result. Dmitri, who remained unmolested, 
 still preserved an undaunted spirit and a 
 hopeful mind. He made use of the time 
 which the delays of Schuisky created for 
 him, by sending manifestos and letters 
 throughout the country. He had many 
 agents also at work in the army of the czar; 
 and the result was soon seen in the deser- 
 tion to him not only of many common 
 soldiers, but also of some persons of rank. 
 The alarmed Boris again attempted to ac- 
 complish by stratagem that which he could 
 not effect by the open hand of power. He 
 sent three monks to the town of Putivle 
 with letters from himself and the patriarch, 
 offering to the townspeople a full pardon, 
 and a magnificent reward, if they would give 
 
 up the impostor to him alive or dead. The 
 inhabitants disdained the bribe, and, arrest- 
 ing the monks, put them to the torture. 
 One of them then confessed that he carried 
 about him a subtle poison, which was to be 
 administered to the supposed czarevitch by 
 two boyards, who had insinuated themselves 
 into his confidence for that purpose. The 
 monks were put to death ; and the exposure 
 of the attempt of Boris on the life of his 
 rival, did much mischief to the cause of the 
 former. Dmitri turned it to advantage by 
 writing a haughty letter both to the patri- 
 arch and the czar. He reproached them 
 with the dastardly and criminal means to 
 which they had resorted, and boasted of the 
 especial protection of Divine Providence. 
 With a calm audacity, he told Boris that 
 he was disposed to act mercifully towards 
 him. "Let him,'' he said, "descend from 
 the throne he has usurped, and seek in the 
 solitude of the cloisters to reconcile himself 
 with heaven ; in that case I will forget his 
 crimes, and even assure him of my sove- 
 reign protection." 
 
 The arrogance of Dmitri was extremely 
 politic. To a populace who were daily be- 
 coming more impressed that his claim was 
 a just one, his haughty language seemed 
 but natural to a person of such distin- 
 guished birth. At this period all things 
 seemed to favour him, and to frown darkly 
 upon the fortunes of the troubled czar. The 
 northern lights having appeared with un- 
 usual brilliancy, and a comet being visible, 
 the superstition of the people interpreted 
 these events into a mystic indication of the 
 ruin of the czar. Others went further, and 
 believed that these appearances were signs of 
 the anger of God, and warnings to them to 
 come forward in support of their rightful 
 sovereign ; and that, unless they abandoned 
 the usurper who had attempted the hfe of 
 the last descendant of the royal race, the 
 phials of the divine wrath would be poured 
 out upon the country. In consequence of 
 the prevalence of this feeling, Dmitri re- 
 ceived .so many offers of allegiance, that he 
 was soon at the head of a very formidable 
 party. 
 
 Boris appears to have been quite un- 
 nerved at the progress of the defection, and 
 it is very probable that he was now the 
 victim of great mental excitement, if not 
 disease. It is said that sometimes, during 
 periods of despondency or terror, he fancied 
 that the forces of the pretender were led by 
 the disinterred skeleton of the murdered 
 
 95 
 
DEATH OF BORIS.] 
 
 HISTOKY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1605. 
 
 prince. Surrounded, as usual, by a court 
 reputed for its splendour, and directing as 
 hitherto the councils of the nation, yet he 
 knew that he was environed by hypocrites 
 and traitors. He was still the autocrat ; 
 but he knew that amongst his courtiers were 
 some who feared his fall, and others who 
 secretly rejoiced at the probability of such 
 an event. 
 
 Such was the aspect of affairs when the 
 Russian people were startled by the news of 
 the sudden death of the czar ! This unex- 
 pected event took place on the 13th of 
 April, 1605. Boris had that day risen ap- 
 parently in his usual state of health, which, 
 though seriously impaired, was not such as 
 to excite alarm of immediate danger. He 
 had presided, according to custom, at the 
 council-board, and afterwards dined with 
 some distinguished foreigners who had been 
 presented to him. Before leaving the 
 dining apartment, he was seized with 
 sudden sickness, and effusions of blood 
 from his nose, ears, and mouth. Every 
 assistance was rendered, but he sank slowly 
 into a state of insensibility, and expired 
 within two hours. Before he became un- 
 conscious, he desired to enter the church as 
 a monk, and was accordingly consecrated 
 by the name of Bogolep, which means, 
 agreeable to God. Thus, after a reign of 
 .six years, died one of the most remarkable 
 rulers of Russia, in the fifty-third year of his 
 age. His death was generally attributed to 
 poison administered by his own hand ; and 
 some writers affirm, without any qualifica- 
 tion, that such was the fact. Such an end 
 to the life of a man who had won his path 
 to power by hypocrisy and murder, seems so 
 poetically just, that many will not wish to 
 sift its accuracy. But however we may 
 feel on such points, experience instructs us 
 differently. Th? great criminals of the 
 world too often escape the doom to which a 
 moral justice would condemn them ; and the 
 faith of the weak is vexed by events in 
 which they strive in vain to discern the in- 
 visible hand of Deity. Perhaps Boris, the 
 murderer and tyrant, did commit suicide in 
 a paroxysm of despair, in which case popu- 
 lar belief would be confirmed, and moral 
 justice vindicated. But the circumstances 
 of his death are perfectly consistent with 
 natural dissolution. It might have arisen 
 from apoplexy, or from the bursting of a 
 large blood-vessel; either of which events 
 would have been promoted by the long 
 nervous excitement which the czar had en- 
 96 
 
 dured. Certainly there are difficulties in 
 the way of a belief that he was the volun- 
 tary cause of his own death. It has been 
 well reasoned, "That so long as the czar 
 lived, and the army had not actually re- 
 volted, the pretender's aspiring fortunes 
 were not secured from all chance of failure. 
 The existence of Boris was the only safe- 
 guard of his family. Would so cool a cal- 
 culator have thrown away a chance however 
 faint ? Would a man of such energy and 
 resolution, so noted for the depth an^ 
 tenderness of his domestic affections, have 
 wilfully hastened the triumph of his foe, 
 and abandoned his wife and children to in- 
 evitable destruction — to destruction only 
 rendered inevitable by his own act ?" To 
 this it may be replied, that if Boris suffered 
 from sickness, despair, and partial insanity, 
 he would be unable to reason upon his mis- 
 fortunes, or to feel for the position of those 
 dependent upon him. Despair excludes 
 with clouds of impenetrable gloom all but 
 one, and that the most painful, view of a 
 case ; while insanity is incapable of reason- 
 ing upon it. 
 
 But to whatever circumstance we must 
 attribute the death of the czar Boris Godu- 
 nof, or however sternly we may denounce 
 his many crimes, it must be admitted that 
 he was a sovereign of remarkable abilities. 
 Russia prospered under his administration 
 when the simple Eeodor sat in the seat of 
 the czar ; and Boris, during the early part 
 of his own reign, acted in many matters 
 like the father of his people. His strong 
 arm swept back the Tartars j his acute 
 sense encouraged a civilisation which might 
 have produced brilliant results but for the 
 barbarous opposition of the priesthood ; 
 and benevolence, or policy, induced him to 
 pour out his mighty hordes of wealth at the 
 feet of the people, to avert the horrors of 
 famine. Such was his administrative ability 
 and mental vigour during the early part of 
 his reign, that he has even been compared 
 with his illustrious successor, Peter the 
 Great. He svas assuredly a murderer and 
 a tyrant ; but he was no common criminal. 
 His early crimes arose from a dazzling am- 
 bition, and his later ones from a constantly 
 oppressive sense of insecurity. Such are the 
 evils of usurpation. Had he been a legiti- 
 mate sovereign, he would have proved not 
 only a wise one, but most probably have 
 descended to his grave in honour, and left 
 an unsullied reputation for the contempla- 
 tion of a sad yet grateful people. 
 
A.D. 1605.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [dMITBI enters MOSCOW. 
 
 Tlie death of Boris was so sudden, that 
 Dmitri was not prepared to take instant 
 advantage of it. A hurried council of the 
 principal nobihty took place at Moscow, at 
 which it was decided that Feodor, the son 
 of the late czar, should succeed him on the 
 throne. Feodor, who was but sixteen or 
 eighteen years old, was proclaimed without 
 opposition. General Basmanof was ap- 
 pointed to the command of the army, 
 which, notwithstanding its disaflFeetion, pas- 
 sively took an oath of fidelity to the new 
 czar. 
 
 His day of power was but a brief one. 
 Basmanof proved false, and opened a secret 
 correspondence with Dmitri, which he 
 shortly afterwards followed up by pub- 
 licly declaring for him, and proclaiming the 
 adventurer as czar of Moscow. Most of 
 the troops received the proclamation with 
 enthusiasm, and the rest were overawed by 
 superior numbers. On the 8th of May, 
 Prince Galitzin presented himself at Putivle, 
 to tender to Dmitri the submission of the 
 army. The pretender received him with 
 great afi"ability, and sent a command to 
 Basmanof to prepare to march to Moscow. 
 Dmitri also dispatched envoys to the capi- 
 tal, who, backed by a number of the bo- 
 yards and wealthy merchants, assembled the 
 people in the grand square, and called upon 
 them to acknowledge and proclaim their 
 lawful sovereign. The people were ripe for 
 the desired change ; and with vociferous 
 shouts they declared for Dmitri. Thoroughly 
 excited, they then hurried to the Kremlin, 
 which they forced, and bursting into the 
 royal apartments, seized Feodor, his sister 
 Xeuia, and his mother, and placed them as 
 prisoners in the house which Boris had 
 occupied before he ascended the throne. 
 The other distinguished members of the 
 Godunof family were put in chains, and 
 sent to the camp of Dmitri. 
 
 The latter had now almost attained the 
 summit of his wild ambition : he had but 
 to advance and seize the crown, for which 
 he had played so boldly. The princes 
 Galitzin And Massalski preceded him to the 
 capital as his plenipotentiaries. There they 
 arrested the patriarch who, in the time of 
 Boris, had anathematised Dmitri as a 
 rebel and " rascally monk." The time- 
 serving old priest now professed his willing- 
 ness to crown the man whom he had for- 
 merly denounced ; but this suppleness did 
 not save him from deprivation and im- 
 prisonment. For deposed princes there is 
 
 but a step between the prison and the 
 grave, and the unfortunate Feodor and his 
 mother soon ceased to live. It was re- 
 ported that they had destroyed themselves 
 by poison ; but a chi-onicler of the time 
 stated, that M'hen their bodies were exposed 
 in public, he himself saw on their necks 
 the livid marks of the cords with which 
 they had been strangled. The murder was 
 generally attributed to the commands of 
 Dmitri ; but doubts are entertained on 
 that point. " The zeal of his agents," says 
 Merimee, " doubtless had no need of posi- 
 tive instructions. The sequel of this young 
 adventurer's history shows that, far from 
 being cruel, he was goodnatured and gene- 
 rous to a degree which was very rare in 
 those days, even among the most civilised 
 nations. I am more inclined to believe 
 that men who, within a month, had taken 
 two oaths, and successively betrayed Boris 
 and Feodor, eagerly seized, without orders, 
 the opportunity to remove enemies out of 
 their new master's way, and objects of re- 
 morse out of their own." Indeed, the 
 blood of but one other person was shed in 
 the accomplishment of this remarkable 
 revolution. Semen, the head of the secret 
 police under Boris, was put to death, ap- 
 parently more from the general odium he 
 had incurred, than from any vindictive 
 feeling on the part of the new czar. 
 
 Dmitri behaved with a princely compo- 
 sure, and avoided any undignified haste in 
 grasping the sceptre which fortune had laid 
 at his feet. At length he complied with 
 the entreaties of his subjects; and on the 
 20th of June, 1605, he entered Moscow in 
 great state, amidst the enthusiastic con- 
 gratulations of enormous throngs of people. 
 No heir of the house of Ruric had ever 
 been received by his subjects with such 
 demonstrations of affection. Yet even in 
 this hour of triumph, there were to be dis- 
 cerned slight indications of that popular 
 fickleness, the bitter cup of which the new 
 sovereign was to drain to the dregs. As the 
 procession crossed the great square before 
 the Kremlin, a sudden whirlwind arose, 
 which almost deprived the horsemen of 
 their seats, and hid the czar and his cortege 
 for a short time from the spectators, beneath 
 clouds of dust. This natural event was re- 
 garded by the superstitious people as an omen 
 of evil ; and, making the sign of the cross, 
 they whispered to each other, " God keep 
 us from harm." Other incidents occurred 
 which the fickle Muscovites beheld with 
 
 97 
 
BULB OF DMITBI.] 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1605. 
 
 displeasure. The new czar was attended 
 by a large body of Poles, who, at tbe mo- 
 ment he dismounted from bis horse to kiss 
 the relics with which the clergy advanced 
 to meet him, struck up a flourish of mili- 
 tary music, which drowned the chaunt of 
 the Te Deum, The Poles, or " Pagans," 
 as the Russians contemptuously called all 
 foreigners who were not of the Greek 
 church, entered the cathedral with him — a 
 circumstance which was regarded as a pro- 
 fanation. Afterwards, Dmitri knelt in tears 
 before the tomb of Ivan, and kissing it in 
 a well-affected transport, exclaimed, " O 
 father ! thy orphan reigns j and this he 
 owes to thy holy prayers !" At this sight 
 the spectators were affected with a conta- 
 gious emotion, and, weeping with him, ex- 
 claimed, " He is indeed the son of the 
 Terrible." 
 
 Notwithstanding the natural doubts en- 
 tertained by many of his subjects, and their 
 superstitious regard to omens, the reign of 
 the new sovereign began auspiciously. The 
 nobles rejoiced that Boris was no more; and 
 the people, that events promised a return of 
 tranquillity. Dmitri's manners were cour- 
 teous and attractive — a circumstance which 
 won for him the attachment of those who 
 approached him. He was also extremely 
 generous, and conferred with a profuse 
 hand benefits upon all who had helped him 
 to the throne, and sometimes even upon 
 those who had been his enemies. With a libe- 
 rality approaching to wantonness, he doubled 
 the pay of the army, and the salaries of all 
 public functionaries. He also created some 
 sensation by an announcement that he 
 would pay all the debts contracted by his 
 father the czar, Ivan IV. Corrupt judges 
 he punished with severity; and sternly 
 admonished others in whose decisions he 
 detected any partiality. In order to insure 
 a better administration of justice, he adopted 
 the Eastern practice of sitting, twice a-week, 
 in the portico of his palace, for the purpose 
 of receiving the petitions of the poorest of 
 his subjects, and redressing their grievances. 
 He also accomplished many important re- 
 forms ; remitted many taxes which had pre- 
 viously fettered commerce and made justice 
 unattainable by the needy ; and modified 
 the unjust enactment of Boris, which con- 
 verted the peasantry into serfs. The noble 
 was authorised to reclaim his fugitive serf, 
 but restrained, under severe penalties, from 
 fraudulent claims of ownership. All serfs, 
 alsp, who had been abandoned by their lords 
 98 ^ 
 
 had hired out their 
 only, were retained 
 will, Dmitri visited 
 severe punishment. 
 
 during the late famine, were enfranchised, 
 upon the principle that the master's right 
 of property was inseparable from the serf's 
 right of maintenance. Where freemen, who 
 services for a period 
 as serfs against their 
 the oppressor with a 
 Proceedings of this 
 nature induced the people to anticipate that 
 his reign would be a period of prosperity 
 for the empire. His supporters, also, were 
 highly gratified ; for he had shown himself, 
 in no small degree, a brave and skilful 
 soldier in the field, and an efficient states- 
 man at the council table. 
 
 The new czar had yet to pass through one 
 remarkable trial before his presumed identity 
 with the murdered son of Ivan could be said 
 to be confirmed. The mother of the true 
 Dmitri was yet living in the convent to 
 which Boris had compelled her to retire. 
 If she acknowledged him as her son, it was 
 naturally assumed that even the most scep- 
 tical would be satisfied. A month elapsed 
 after the entrance of Dmitri into Moscow 
 before the interview took place — a circum- 
 stance that created some remark. A meet- 
 ing with the lady before she had been pre- 
 pared and won over to countenance the de- 
 ception, would have been fatal to his claims. 
 Her own brother, however, undertook the 
 delicate task of eradicating any scruples she 
 might entertain against a compliance with 
 what was required of her. It was pretty 
 certain what course a woman, of no great 
 strength of mind or loftiness of principle, 
 would take in such a matter. If she refused 
 to acknowledge the czar as her son, her life 
 was in danger ; if she consented, she ex- 
 changed a position of obscurity for one of 
 distinction and brilliancy. 
 
 At length the widow of Ivan left her con- 
 vent at Vyska, and proceeded to Toininsk, 
 where she was to meet her supposed son. 
 Dmitri started from Moscow with a nume- 
 rous and magnificent retinue, and was fol- 
 loAved by multitudes of people anxious to 
 behold the result. The first interview took 
 place in a sumptuous tent erected for the 
 occasion. Dmitri and the widow of Ivan 
 each entered alone; for it was cunningly 
 assumed that the first emotions, at such a 
 meeting, were too tender and sacred to be 
 beheld by common eyes. A brief time 
 elapsed ; and then, emerging from the tent, 
 they threw themselves into each other's 
 arms with every appearance of intense affec- 
 tion. The multitude shouted with joy : they 
 
A.D. 1605.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [dmitri becomes unpopular. 
 
 were now thoroughly convinced that Dmitri 
 was the true son of Ivan the Terrible. He 
 then escorted the princess to Moscow with 
 the profoundest respect, walking during 
 part of the distance bare-headed by the 
 aide of her carriage. On their arrival, he 
 conducted her to the convent of St. Cyril, in 
 the Kremlin, where she was to reside until 
 he should have built a magnificent convent 
 expressly for her. He also assigned her a 
 revenue and household suitable to her rank, 
 visited her every day, consulted her on 
 affairs of state, and even associated her 
 name with his own in the ukases he issued. 
 The coronation of Dmitri followed her ar- 
 rival, on which occasion the favour shown 
 by him to the Poles again excited the 
 jealousies of his subjects. 
 
 It was necessary, at least in the com- 
 mencement of his reign, for the new czar to 
 be more circumspect than other monarchs. 
 Unfortunately for the permanence of his 
 sway, he was less so. It has frequently 
 been observed, that perhaps no man can 
 effectually fulfil the duties of a ruler, unless 
 his education has been directed into that 
 channel. The habits of private life, of un- 
 restrained intercourse, and of commonplace 
 associations, form an incompetent prepara- 
 tion for the novelty of a station which 
 admits of no equality, and is removed from 
 the sympathies and influences affecting the 
 rest of mankind. The new czar had been 
 intoxicated with the splendour of his fortune 
 and the rapidity of his success. This, com- 
 bined with his intrepid spirit and a supersti- 
 tious confidence in his destiny, rendered him 
 indifferent, if not averse, to the counsels of 
 prudence. The Russian people were then, 
 as now, animated by a powerful feeling of 
 nationality, which is usually attended with 
 a contempt or dislike for the inhabitants of 
 other countries. Prudence required that 
 the new czar should be, or affect to be, 
 eminently national in his habits and predi- 
 lections. So far from this being the case, 
 his subjects soon began to perceive, with 
 uneasiness, that their sovereign was influ- 
 enced by foreign notions ; that he sur- 
 rounded himself with Polish guards, pre- 
 ferred them to all oflfices of importance, and 
 laughed at many of the customs of his 
 people, which he deemed uncouth, and even 
 barbarous. In the council-chamber he as- 
 tonished the Russian nobles by his superior 
 knowledge and capacity, and offended them 
 by his sarcastic observations and his prefer- 
 ence of foreigners. " Go and travel," said 
 
 he to the boyards ; " observe the ways of 
 civilised nations ; for you are no better tban 
 savages." The very truth of this and similar 
 remarks, made them the more bitter and 
 less easy to be forgiven. The marked pre- 
 ference Dmitri gave to the Poles, had the 
 effect not only of making the Russians dis- 
 contented, but also of encouraging the 
 haughtiness and insolence of the former. 
 His private secretaries were Poles ; while 
 the only Russian on whom he bestowed his 
 confidence was General Basmanof, a man 
 not liked by the nobles of his nation. 
 
 This imprudence on the part of the czar 
 revived the controversy, which had never 
 altogether slept, concerning the questioned 
 royalty of Dmitri's birth. The assumed 
 proofs of his royal origin had never been 
 examined by any competent tribunal. They 
 were accepted, without examination, during 
 the wild tumult of revolt ; and as important 
 evidence of the fact of the murder of the 
 young prince was still extant, very little 
 persuasion was requisite to induce the 
 people to adopt any opinion in accordance 
 with their political bias. Latent doubts 
 were called into activity by Dmitri's neglect 
 of the national prejudices. These, once en- 
 couraged, were carried to an absurd extent. 
 Even his mode of riding was quoted to show 
 that he was not of royal blood. He de- 
 lighted to leap, without help, upon the back 
 of a wild stallion, and ride the animal 
 furiously like a Cossack ; while the czars, in 
 imitation of oriental custom, were in the 
 habit of being lifted into the saddle, and 
 riding with slowness and gravity. Other 
 insignificant matters in the personal habits 
 of the czar were cited in disproof of the 
 distinguished origin to which he laid claim. 
 He frequently passed the images of saints 
 without saluting them ; he ate veal (which 
 was considered an unclean meat), dined 
 without having his table blessed and sprinkled 
 with holy water, and even so far neglected 
 pious conventionalities, as to rise from it 
 without washing his hands. Then he never 
 slept after dinner, according to Russian 
 custom, but selected that period for walking 
 about the city, alone or -with one companion, 
 greatly to the a.stonishment of the people, 
 who, being accustomed only to see their 
 sovereigns when surrounded by a pompous 
 equipage, not unnaturally considered such 
 conduct undignified, and indicative of a 
 humble origin. In addressing the clergy, it 
 was noticed that he spoke of ^' your reli- 
 gion," and "your ritual;" which gave a 
 
 99 
 
CONSPIRACY AGAINST DMITRI.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1605. 
 
 further colour to the suspicion that he had 
 adopted the religion of the church of Rome. 
 One day, during a sitting of his ministers, 
 he was told that something he had just pro- 
 posed was prohibited by the seventh general 
 council of the church. He replied — " Well, 
 what matter? very likely it is allowed by 
 the eighth.^' This flippant response, which, 
 at the worst, was but an unbecoming levity, 
 was condemned by the clergy as an abomi- 
 nable blasphemy. 
 
 The circumstance, however, which most 
 excited the nationality and anger of the 
 Russians, was the approaching marriage of 
 the czar with Marina Mniszek, the daughter 
 of the Palatine Sandomir. " Could it be 
 possible," said they, " that a heretic woman, 
 an unbaptized Pole, was to be raised to the 
 throne of orthodox Russia?" Such was the 
 state of public feeling when Dmitri ventured 
 upon an expedient which led to his ruin. 
 Ambitious by nature, he aspired to the 
 glory of conquest : he contemplated, by a 
 combination of the Polish and Russian 
 forces, to reduce to insignificance those ag- 
 gressive and insolent powers the Turks and 
 Tartars. The enterprise would be glorious, 
 but it presented numerous difficulties, some 
 of which were of a kind to be encountered 
 rather by the statesman than by the warrior. 
 It was necessary to conciliate the King of 
 Poland, whose assistance he desired ; and to 
 amuse the pope, against whose decision that 
 monarch would not enter into the scheme. 
 The vastness of the military preparations, 
 also, were such, that the resources of the 
 Kremlin were found to be altogether inade- 
 quate to the expense. Here was the point 
 wliich led the inconsiderate czar to his 
 doom. He reasoned, that it was the duty 
 of the clergy to bear part of the cost of an 
 expedition to be undertaken for the glory 
 and triumph of Christianity. He therefore 
 demanded an exact account of the revenues 
 of the numerous monasteries throughout 
 the empire, and bluntly affirmed that he 
 would not suffer so many monks to live 
 in idleness, when a part of Christendom was 
 to be delivered from Mussulman bondage. 
 Reform in this direction was needful, but not 
 judicious at the time. Dmitri, however, went 
 beyond reform, and proceeded to confisca- 
 tion, which was manifestly unjust. With 
 arbitrary severity he suppressed several 
 monasteries, and seized the. wealth be- 
 longing to them . The rest of the priesthood 
 lived in fear of a similar proceeding towards 
 their religious houses, and a clerical con- 
 100 
 
 spiracy was soon formed against him. 
 Segur observes — " His other offences and 
 irregularities might have been endured ; the 
 enmity of other classes he might have 
 assuaged or curbed; but when he laid his 
 sacrilegious hand upon the ark of the Lord, 
 that is to say, upon the coffers of the clergy, 
 he raised up against himself legions of im- 
 placable foes, whose malice baffled resist- 
 ance, for they fought with the impalpable 
 but deadly weapons of calumny and super- 
 stition. The pi'iests and monks became the 
 industrious propagators of every false or 
 exaggerated rumour that could poison the 
 minds of the people against the czar. They 
 compared him to Julian the Apostate ; and 
 all the truly royal qualities, which they could 
 not but recognise in Dmitri, they turned 
 to his vilification, as so many points of 
 resemblance to the persecutor of the Chris- 
 tians." 
 
 The clergy promoted a conspiracy against 
 the czar, which many of the boyards readily 
 joined. They had assisted his cause, without 
 caring whether or not he was the son of 
 Ivan. All they wanted was some one whom 
 they could set up against Boris. It was 
 their intention to make a puppet of the new 
 czar, and to grasp the reality, while he held 
 the shadow, of regal authority. In this 
 they were disappointed. Dmitri had far too 
 much intelligence to be made a tool of; and 
 they found that, notwithstanding the gen- 
 eral mildness of his nature, he could be 
 quite as absolute as ever Boris was. 
 
 Prince Schuisky was the principal of the 
 conspirators; for, as the nearest collateral 
 heir of the Rurics, he looked forward to 
 obtaining the crown for himself, in the 
 event of the deposition or death of Dmitri. 
 Schuisky advised the delay of the execution 
 of the plot until the arrival of the intended 
 czarina from Poland — a circumstance which 
 led to its detection, and the arrest of himself 
 and his two brothers. The latter were con- 
 demned to be banished to Siberia, and the 
 former to death. They were, however, all 
 subsequently pardoned — Schuisky himself, 
 at the very moment when, having knelt upon 
 the scaffold, the axe was uplifted over him. 
 The traitor then behaved with so much 
 humility as to disarm the suspicions of 
 Dmitri ; but his danger had only made him 
 the more cautious ; and, in reality, he di- 
 rected the proceedings of the malcontents 
 with as much authority as ever. To those 
 who advised the generous czar not to spare 
 a convicted traitor, his reply was — " I have 
 
A.D. 1606.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [itfARINA MNISZEK. 
 
 sworn not to shed Christian blood, and I 
 will keep my oath. There are two ways 
 of governing an empire — tyranny and gen- 
 erosity. I choose the latter. I will not be 
 a tyrant. I will not spare money; I will 
 scatter it on all hands." 
 
 Before the arrival of Marina from Poland, 
 a new pretender to the throne made his ap- 
 pearance among the Cossacks of the Volga ; 
 and, assuming the name of Peter Feodoro- 
 vitch, represented himself to be the son of 
 the czar Feodor and his consort Irene. The 
 clumsy tale he told was, that immediately 
 after birth he had been taken from his 
 mother, and placed with some Cossacks; 
 while the female infant, which had been 
 substituted at the command of Boris, died 
 in its cradle. This statement found Cos- 
 sacks simple enough to believe it; and a 
 few thousand of them, having proclaimed 
 Feodorovitch as the lawful czarevitch, aban- 
 doned themselves to the congenial occupa- 
 tion of plundering. Dmitri acted with a 
 dignity befitting his presumed rank : he 
 addressed a letter to the new pretender, 
 saying, that if he would come to Moscow 
 and prove his parentage, he should receive a 
 pension suitable to his high birth ; but that, 
 if he knew himself to be an impostor, he had 
 better retire at once, while he might do 
 so with safety. The hint was taken, and 
 Feodorovitch and his followers disappeared 
 for the time among the barren wilds of the 
 steppes. 
 
 Notwithstanding the impatience of the 
 czar for the arrival of his bride, to whom he 
 appears to have been sincerely attached, the 
 nuptial journey, from Cracow to Moscow, 
 was conducted with so much pomp and 
 ceremony, that it extended over a period of 
 three months. It was not until the 12th of 
 May, 1606, that she made her public entiy 
 into the Russian capital. So numerous was 
 her retinue, that the offended people com- 
 pared it to an invading army ; and such was 
 the haughty bearing of the Poles, that they 
 rather gave themselves the airs of victors 
 than assumed the courteous bearing of 
 guests. Consequently, amidst all the ex- 
 ternal demonstrations of loyalty and glad- 
 ness, there was a deeply-seated and widely- 
 spreading spirit of discontent. " Is it the 
 custom in your country," said the jealous 
 Muscovites to their armed and uninvited 
 guests, " to go to a wedding cased in steel, 
 as if you were going to a battle?" The 
 feelings of the citizens grew more bitter 
 when they beheld the Poles, who had come 
 
 with the expectation of a campaign against 
 the Tartars, unloading whole arsenals from 
 their waggons. Tiie conspirators turned 
 this uneasiness to account. Mingling with 
 the people, they spread a report that the 
 czar had sent for the Polish allies for the 
 purpose of massacring the orthodox Chris- 
 tians, and, by this terrible exhibition of 
 his power, seat himself more firmly on the 
 throne. The idle calumny was believed; a 
 general though suppressed hatred to Dmitri 
 followed; and even the grim passiveness of 
 the people indicated the coming storm. A 
 less unreasonable, though equally unfounded 
 report was, that the real object of the Polish 
 ambassadors who came in the equipage of 
 the elect czarina, was to receive from the 
 czar the cession of a considerable portion of 
 Russian territory. 
 
 During the week that elapsed between 
 the arrival of Marina and her marriage, 
 her conduct was not of a kind to conciliate 
 those among whom she had come to dwell. 
 Though lodged in the convent occupied by 
 the dowager-czarina, she could not, even 
 for so brief a period, behave with the de- 
 corum which was considered due to the 
 character of the place. She pettishly com- 
 plained of the tiresome babble of the Greek 
 priests, and the long litanies of the nuns. 
 She induced the czar to bring her musicians, 
 and the convent was profaned with concerts, 
 balls, and masquerades. She would not 
 even place any restraint upon her most 
 frivolous caprices ; and in this temper, in- 
 sisted on having a set of Polish cooks in- 
 stead of the Russian ones, as she protested 
 she could not eat the food prepared by the 
 latter. These circumstances were soon 
 spread abroad, and added considerably to 
 her unpopularity. Even so comparatively 
 unimportant a thing as the rejection of the 
 Russian cooks was converted into a religious 
 question; and the offended people said, 
 that the czar and his betrothed had brought 
 in pagan cooks, that they might break the 
 commands of the orthodox church with 
 respect to forbidden meats and fast days. 
 She also insisted in being married and 
 crowned in a Polish dress, though no czarina 
 ever went through those ceremonies except 
 in the national costume, consisting of a 
 head-dress, called kokoshnik, a gown hanging 
 straight down from above the bosom, and 
 boots with great iron-shod heels. Marina de- 
 clared that she would never consent to be 
 made such a fright of; but the affair was 
 taken up so seriously, that it was brought 
 
 101 
 
 o2 
 
INSURRECTION AT MOSCOW.] 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1606. 
 
 before the council for their decision. This 
 was against the petulant girl, who was thus 
 compelled to conform to the national usages 
 for a single day. 
 
 The marriage and coronation took place 
 on the 18th of May ; but the czarina did 
 not abjure the Romish form of Christianity^ 
 or the Latin heresy, as the Russians termed 
 it, as they had fully expected her to do. The 
 Poles, who were admitted into the cathedral 
 on the occasion, excited great scandal by 
 the levity of their behaviour. Some sat on 
 tombs that contained revered relics, others 
 laughed and talked aloud, and derided the 
 ceremonies of the Greek church. Their in- 
 tercourse with the Russians was altogether 
 marked by great insolence and barbarity of 
 manners. "It is we," said they to the 
 citizens, " who have given you a czar." 
 During the festivals that followed the mar- 
 riage, the Poles often, while in a state of 
 intoxication, drew their swords upon peace- 
 ful persons in the streets, and behaved with 
 disgusting effrontery to their wives and 
 daughters. Even the wives of the boyards 
 suffered insults from them, and, on some 
 occasions, were actually pursued to the 
 doors of their husbands. 
 
 The chief conspirator, Schuisky, rightly 
 conjectured that the fitting time for the 
 execution of his villany had arrived. Secret 
 meetings were held at his house, and im- 
 mediate action resolved upon. Agents 
 were chosen to go about among the people, 
 and declare Dmitri an impostor and a 
 heretic, and that the indiscriminate massacre 
 of the people, to which we have alluded, 
 was to take place on the 27th of the month. 
 One feUow was arrested while spreading 
 these reports; but his examination took 
 place before some of the boyards who were 
 in the conspiracy, and they informed the 
 czar that the language of the prisoner was 
 the incoherent ra\ing of a drunkard. The 
 unsuspecting czar believed a report which 
 corresponded with his own impressions. 
 He believed that his troops were attached 
 to him, and that he Avas perfectly secure 
 against any attempts to shake his power. 
 Even the warnings of General Basmanof 
 and the Polish officers were utterly disre- 
 garded by him. So far from deeming that 
 danger was near, he seemed to think him- 
 self eminently secure. *' I hold Moscow 
 and the empire in my hand," he remarked, 
 " and nothing shall be done in it but my 
 will." 
 
 The insurrection began during the night 
 102 
 
 of the 28th of May, only ten days after the 
 ill-fated marriage which had drawn down 
 on Dmitri his ruin. At daybreak on the 
 following morning the whole city was in a 
 savage tumult. In the great square. Prince 
 Schuisky and a number of boyards were 
 assembled on horseback, and arrayed in 
 armour. The people, still further inflamed 
 by the monks who mingled with them, were 
 assembling in vast numbers, and, with bar- 
 barous shouts and cries, preparing to storm 
 the Kremlin. Violence in this direction 
 was needless ; the guards within had been 
 tampered with, and at a signal from 
 Schuisky, one of the gates was thrown open. 
 The armed boyards and their followers 
 entered, followed by countless throngs of 
 the people, bearing axes and clubs. 
 
 Rebellion, to be successful, must ever be 
 associated with religion. In this case, the 
 Russian prelates were among its chief in- 
 stigators. The crafty Schuisky, however, 
 resolved to avail himself of every advantage 
 that might be derived by throwing the veil 
 of religion over a deed which, in him at 
 least, was selfish and criminal. Proceeding 
 to the church of the Assumption, he leapt 
 from his horse, and falling on his knees 
 before an image of one of the saints, appeared 
 for a few moments as if absorbed in prayer. 
 Then rising suddenly, as if inspired, he 
 brandished his sword with one hand, while 
 he grasped the crucifix with the other, and 
 shouted aloud, " Orthodox Christians, death 
 to the heretic !" The shout was re-echoed 
 by the people, accompanied by furious yells 
 and discordant shouts of execration. At 
 the same time the great bell of Moscow 
 rung out a solemn note of alarm, which was 
 responded to by all the church bells of the 
 city. 
 
 At this signal, the people yet in the 
 streets began to break into the houses of 
 the Poles, and to massacre the inhabitants 
 as they started from sleep in alarm. The 
 czar, who was aroused by the sound of 
 the bells, inquired the cause of the con- 
 fusion. It happened that one of the con- 
 spirators was on duty at the palace, and 
 he replied to his unsuspicious master, that 
 a great fire had broken out in the city ; and 
 then hurried off to join his comrades. But 
 the increasing uproar soon convinced Dmitri 
 that something more serious than a fire had 
 taken place. Having hastily dressed him- 
 self, he sent General Basmanof to ascer- 
 tain the actual state of affairs. The latter 
 beheld the outer court filled with an armed 
 
A.D. 1606.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [murder of DMITRI. 
 
 and furious mob, who constantly yelled out 
 " Death to the impostor ! death to the 
 heretic !" Commanding the halberdiers to 
 stand to their arms, the faithful soldier 
 hurried back to his prince. He was fol- 
 lowed by one audacious conspirator into the 
 apartment of the czar. " Well ! unlucky 
 emperor/' exclaimed the fellow, "at last 
 thou art awake. Come and give an ac- 
 count of thyself to the people of Moscow." 
 Basmauof cleft the skull of the insolent 
 ruffian ; and then he and the czar prepared 
 to cut their way through the rebels who 
 were assembled around the peristyle of the 
 palace. Dmitri slew several who assailed 
 him, and appealed to others who had for- 
 merly been his adherents. Basraanof also 
 vainly attempted to recall the conspirators 
 to a sense of their duty. While thus en- 
 gaged, one whom he had recently saved 
 from banishment stabbed him to the heart, 
 exclaiming, as he did so, " Go to hell, vil- 
 lain, with thy czar." 
 
 Dmitri and his guards were compelled to 
 retire into the interior of the palace, where 
 they barricaded themselves in chamber 
 after chamber, as the latter successively 
 yielded to the violence of the insurgents. 
 When the last apartment was forced, and 
 the guards compelled to surrender, it was 
 discovered that the czar had escaped. The 
 unfortunate man, hunted like a wolf, and 
 seeing the hopelessness of resistance to the 
 overwhelming multitudes of his howling 
 pursuers, laid down his sword, and leaped 
 from the window of a room in a retired 
 part of the palace. It was thirty feet to 
 the ground, and in the fall he broke his 
 leg. No one was near; but the groans 
 which agony elicited from Dmitri brought 
 some soldiers to the spot. These men, who 
 were not in the conspiracy, on recognising 
 the czar, swore that they would defend him 
 with their lives. The rebels soon found 
 out the retreat of the miserable prince, and 
 thronged tumultuously to the spot. They 
 induced the guards to lay down their arms 
 by a threat of slaughtering their wives and 
 children unless they did so. Dmitri was 
 then dragged back into the palace, which 
 by this time had been sacked by the mob. 
 His captors having torn off his royal gar- 
 ments, insultingly placed upon him the 
 dress of a menial, and brought him before 
 the assembled chief conspirators, to un- 
 dergo the mockery of a trial. But the 
 brutal impatience of these men defeated 
 their object, and shortened the agony of 
 
 their victim. "Bastard dog," said one ot 
 their number, "tell us who thou art, and 
 whence thou art come?" Collecting his 
 strength, the persecuted man replied, " You 
 all know that I am your czar, the legitimate 
 son of Ivan Vassilovitch. Ask my mother. 
 If you desire my death, give me time at 
 least to collect ray senses." On this, one 
 of tlie number, by rank a Russian gentle- 
 man, named Valuief, exclaimed passionately, 
 " What is the use of so much talk with the 
 heretic dog ? This is the way I confess 
 this Polish iifer ! " As he thus spoke, the 
 traitor shot Dmitri through the breast, and 
 laid him a corpse upon the floor. 
 
 Not satisfied with this savage act, the 
 conspirators abandoned the body to the 
 mob, who exhibited their barbarous fury by 
 hacking it with axes and sabres. Then 
 rolling it down the palace steps, they threw 
 it contemptuously upon that of his faithful 
 general Basmanof. " You were friends in 
 life," shouted the ruffians, in their savage 
 exultation ; " go along to hell together." 
 The frenzy of the mob was not yet satisfied. 
 Eventually, they carried the bodies to the 
 place of execution, and exposed them upon 
 a table. There one man placed a set of 
 bagpipes on the breast of the murdered 
 czar, and thrust the pipe into the mouth of 
 the corpse, remarking, " You played upon 
 us long enough ; now play for us." Other 
 brutes lashed the mangled body with their 
 whips ; while the women, in the exhibition 
 of a frantic fury, even went beyond the 
 obscene ferocity of the men. 
 
 The murder of Dmitri was followed by 
 a frightful massacre of the Poles, who, 
 wherever they were met, were slaughtered 
 on the spot. Polish priests, musicians, 
 domestics, and other defenceless persons, 
 were murdered without mercy; but the 
 nobles and their armed adherents barri- 
 caded themselves within their strong-built 
 houses, and repelled their assailants with 
 volleys of musketry. About mid-day the 
 confusion abated, and Prince Schuisky and 
 the chief boyards of the council rode 
 through the streets, attended by a body of 
 troops, and pacified the people. They also 
 promised the Poles that their lives and pro- 
 perty should be respected, provided they 
 would remain within their houses until the 
 popular excitement had subsided. Amongst 
 those who escaped the slaughter was she 
 whose wanton caprices had partly occa- 
 sioned it. Marina, whose marriage festivir 
 ties had terminated so tragically, eluded 
 
 103 
 
SCHUISKY BECOMES CZAR.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1606. 
 
 the fury of the mob, who would probably 
 have torn her limb from limb. When the 
 insurgents first burst into the palace, she 
 ran, in her night-dress only, to hide in the 
 cellars. Unable to reach them on account 
 of the mob, who fortunately did not recog- 
 nise her, she returned to her own apart- 
 ments. There she was for a time concealed 
 by the grand-mistress of the palace, be- 
 neath the wide-hooped skirts of her dress, 
 while the door was defended by a Polish 
 chamberlain, sabre in hand. The door was 
 at length shattered by a volley of musketry, 
 which killed the Pole and one of the ladies of 
 the czariua's suite. The ruffians then poured 
 in and gratified their brutal appetites by 
 subjecting the trembling women to the 
 most insulting violence. Some of the chief 
 conspirators entering the chamber, drove 
 out the savages, and having detected Ma- 
 rina, placed her in secure custody. 
 
 The mangled body of Dmitri was exposed 
 for three days, in the place of execution, to 
 the gaze of the people. This was done 
 that, at least, no doubt might exist as to 
 his death. But the disgusting fury of the 
 assassins had defeated their purpose. The 
 corpse, bruised, mangled, and misshapen, 
 covered with blood and dirt, bore but little 
 resemblance to humanity. Certainly, no 
 one could recognise in that shocking mass 
 the handsome young man who, but a few 
 
 days before, had been seen glittering with 
 gold and jewels, and wearing on his open 
 brow the imperial crown. As the disfigured 
 features could not be identified, conjecture 
 was speedily at work ; and some of the 
 people suggested that Dmitri had again 
 escaped, and that some one else had fallen a 
 victim by mistake. Some persons even said 
 that the dead man had a beard; while it 
 was well known that Dmitri had none. On 
 the third night a blue flame was observed 
 playing over the body, and this natural 
 result of putrefaction inspired the people 
 with a feeling of superstitious terror. The 
 corpse was therefore buried in a cemetery 
 beyond the city walls. As a hurricane 
 blew when Dmitri entered Moscow, so 
 another followed his mangled corpse out of 
 it. It was reported that supernatural events 
 followed even after the body had been placed 
 in the grave; and the affrighted people 
 whispered to each other, that the dead 
 Dmitri was a vampire, or one of those 
 wizards who, by means of hell-born arts, 
 can rise at intervals from the grave, and 
 resume the functions of life. This wild 
 superstition was so generally believed, that 
 the authorities caused the body to be ex- 
 humed and burnt. The ashes were then 
 collected, mixed with gunpowder, rammed 
 into a cannon, and fired down the road 
 leading to Poland. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 PRINCE SCHUISKT IS PROCLAIMED CZAR ; IT IS RUMOURED THAT DMITRI IS ALIVE ; INSDRRECTION IN HIS 
 FAVOUR ; SIEGE OF TOULA ; APPEARANCE OF A SECOND FALSE DMITRI ; MARINA ASSERTS HIM TO BE HER 
 HUSBAND ; THE KING OF POLAND INVADES RUSSIA, AND LAYS SIEGE TO SMOLENSK ; SCHUISKY IS DEPOSED ; 
 MURDER OF THE PRETENDER DMITRI ; AN INTERREGNUM; THE POLES COMPELLED TO ABANDON RUSSIA. 
 
 We now approach a period of anarchy and 
 national danger. Russia was to pass through 
 one of those fiery ordeals in which nations 
 are sometimes extinguished ; while at others 
 they emerge from them endued with a 
 renewed strength and a better life. The 
 overjoyed Muscovites neglected to proceed 
 at once to the election of a new sovereign : 
 for several days they were entirely occupied 
 in celebrating their brutal triumph. The 
 ambitious Prince Schuisky then directed 
 his adherents to proclaim him as the czar — a 
 104 
 
 result with which bribes and intimidations 
 induced the council to comply. Imme- 
 diately upon his assumption of the regal 
 authority, Schuisky took an oath not to 
 punish any one without the advice and con- 
 sent of the boyards ; not to visit the offences 
 of the fathers on the children ; and never to 
 revenge himself in any way on those who 
 had offended him during preceding reigns. 
 Dreading the anger of the Poles, Schuisky 
 also sent an ambassador to Sigismund III., 
 I with directions to represent the late czar as 
 
A.D. 1606.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [dmitri reported living. 
 
 aa impostor, who had deceived both Poland 
 and Russia. But Sigismund had deter- 
 mined to revenge the recent slaughter of 
 his subjects at Moscow, and he would not 
 even permit the ambassador to approach 
 him. 
 
 By his irregular assumption of the crown, 
 Schuisky had taken both the Russian people 
 and nobles by surprise. He had never been 
 popular with the latter, who now felt that 
 they had merely been used as steps to 
 enable him to ascend the throne. They 
 felt that, had the people been allowed to 
 elect a czar for themselves, they might have 
 competed with him for that illustrious posi- 
 tion. The new sovereign also, despite the 
 oath he had taken, was unable to conceal 
 his dislike to old opponents ; and he showed 
 that he was ready to become a tyrant as 
 soon as he could assume a despotic bearing 
 with safety. Like many other utterly worth- 
 less persons, Schuisky affected a great devo- 
 tion to orthodox religion, and he made 
 large promises to the clergy, by which 
 means he obtained their support ; but this 
 did not balance the indifference, if not dis- 
 like, of the people, and the bitter animosity 
 of the nobles. The latter actively dissemi- 
 nated their feelings of antipathy to the czar, 
 which soon became almost universal through- 
 out the country ; and he who had been the 
 chief of the late conspiracy, appeared likely 
 to become the victim of a new one. So 
 fleeting is popular favour, so rapid its re- 
 actionary power ! 
 
 Credulity and ignorance are natural, and 
 indeed inseparable, companions. In the 
 unsettled state of society which now existed 
 in Russia, the people were disposed to credit 
 the wildest assertions, and the nobles to 
 encourage any reports which threatened to 
 endanger the throne of the czar, whom they 
 hated and burned to depose. It might be 
 supposed that the last had been heard of 
 Dmitri, and that the memory of that unfor- 
 tunate pretender was soon to be engulfed in 
 oblivion. Had he survived the insurrec- 
 tion, it would be supposed that death would 
 be the penalty of his making himself known. 
 Such does not seem to be the case ; for 
 rumours that Dmitri was still living were 
 received with avidity and satisfaction. Many 
 denied that the mangled body exposed in 
 the place of execution was that of the late 
 czar, and affirmed it to be the corpse of an 
 officer who had been accidentally murdered 
 instead of him by mistake. Some swift 
 horses were missed from the royal stable, 
 p 
 
 from whence they had no doubt been stolen 
 by the mob ; but it was supposed that 
 Dmitri, by means of them, had escaped 
 during the tumult of the insurrection. 
 Three strangers in Russian attire, but 
 speaking the Polish language, crossed the 
 Oka in a boat ; and one of them gave the 
 ferryman six ducats, observing, as he did so, 
 " You have ferried the czar ; when he comes 
 back to Moscow with a Polish army, he will 
 not forget this service." Similar language 
 was held by the same party at an inn in 
 the direction of Putivle. It was eventually 
 ascertained that one of them was Prince 
 Shakhofskoi, who, upon the death of Dmitri, 
 had, in anticipation of a revolution of popu- 
 lar feeling, immediately conceived the idea 
 of finding a new impostor to personate the 
 dead one — a device which might, perhaps, 
 enable the prince to place a creature of his 
 own upon the throne. 
 
 The incompetent Schuisky held the sceptre 
 with so feeble a grasp, that the laws were 
 openly violated, and confusion prevailed 
 throughout the empire. The nobles, who 
 regarded the new czar not only with feel- 
 ings of anger and jealousy, but considered 
 him also as a political trickster, pretended 
 to believe the rumours concerning Dmitri, 
 with the hope that they might yet be able 
 to dethrone Schuisky, and set up some 
 puppet in his stead, whom they would permit 
 to reign until they had come to a better 
 understanding amongst themselves. 
 
 The startled czar devised a plan which, 
 he trusted, would at once silence these idle 
 but dangerous reports. He had the grave 
 of the real Prince Dmitri, at Uglitch, 
 opened, and the body of the unfortunate 
 boy removed to Moscow, and canonised by 
 the patriarch. It was remarked that the 
 corpse, though it had lain in the grave for 
 fifteen years, was in a state of perfect pre- 
 servation ; that the hue of life was upon it ; 
 and that, in its hands, it held some nuts — an 
 incident which seemed inconsistent with 
 the received details of the boy's death. 
 This circumstance eventually led to the no 
 doubt calumnious report, that Schuisky had 
 substituted the body of a newly-murdered 
 boy for that of the decomposed Dmitri. 
 For the present, however, it was reported 
 that miracles were performed by the remains 
 of the martyred prince ; but these gross in- 
 ventions took no root in the belief of the 
 people, and were soon disregarded. Another 
 proceeding of the czar would probably have 
 had considerable effect, if his conduct had 
 
 105 
 
INSUJIJIECTION TO RESTORE DMITRI.] HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1607. 
 
 not been such as to destroy his character 
 for truth and honour. He obtained from 
 the czarina (the widow of Ivan), a declara- 
 tion that the impostor Gregory Otrepief, 
 the late czar, had threatened to put her and 
 all her family to death, unless she acknow- 
 ledged him as her son; so that she had 
 merely supported his false claims for the 
 sake of saving her life. She Avas not be- 
 lieved; but it was assumed that she acted 
 under intimidation rather on this occasion 
 than on the former one. 
 
 A popular belief in the existence of 
 Dmitri still existed, and an insurrection 
 was actually got up in the cause of a 
 phantom. Of this, Prince Shakhofskoi was 
 the chief mover. He excited the inhabit- 
 ants of Putivle to rise in arms; and, with 
 the assistance of a body of Cossacks and 
 peasants, successfully resisted the forces 
 which Schuisky sent against them. Though 
 this success wonderfully increased the num- 
 bers of the insurgents, still no czar Dmitri 
 made his appearance to lead them. Not- 
 withstanding this, one Ivan Bolotnikof 
 arrived from Poland with a commission, 
 bearing, he asserted, the imperial seal of 
 Dmitri, and conferring on the bearer the 
 command of the insurgent forces. This 
 adventurer had been a serf, who had suffered 
 imprisonment amongst the Turks, and, 
 having escaped from them to Venice, had 
 acquired some military knowledge in the 
 service of the republic. His commission 
 was recognised; he was installed in the 
 command; and, shortly afterwards, twice 
 defeated the forces of the incompetent czar. 
 But the non-appearance of the supposed 
 living Dmitri damped the ardour of the 
 rebels, and many of them deserted from the 
 visionary cause, which they began to feel 
 they had too readily embraced. In conse- 
 quence of this defection, Bolotnikof was 
 defeated by Skopin Schuisky, the nephew 
 of the czar, and compelled to take shelter 
 in the fortress of Kaluga. 
 
 Prince Shakhofskoi appears to have been 
 unable, during this period, to meet with 
 any unprincipled person, suited by nature 
 and education, to personate the murdered 
 czar Dmitri. Under these circumstances, 
 the impostor, who had taken the name of 
 Peter Feodorovitch, and assumed to be the 
 son of the czar Feodor and his consort 
 Irene, made his appearance at Putivle, and 
 offered himself to Shakhofskoi and the 
 people as regent, during the absence of his 
 uncle. Under other circumstances, the 
 106 
 
 audacious adventurer would probably have 
 been put to death for his traitorous and 
 insolent pretensions ; but as the rebels were 
 terribly in want of some colouring for their 
 conduct, any royal name was acceptable. The 
 offer was received, and the assumed czare- 
 vitch, Peter, welcomed with acclamations. 
 
 The czar Schuisky resolved to make a 
 decisive effort to crush a rebellion which 
 distracted the empire and poisoned his peace 
 of mind. Collecting an army of 100,000 
 men, he took the field in person, and be- 
 sieged the rebel chiefs in the strongly-forti- 
 fied town of Toula, where they had taken 
 refuge. The rebels, despairing of pardon if 
 they were defeated, fought with a reckless 
 fuiy which drove their assailants to a re- 
 spectful distance, and prevented Schuisky 
 from being able to take the place. The 
 czar began to despair of success, when one 
 day a priest, named Kravkof, presented him- 
 self before the council, and said he would 
 communicate a plan which, if followed, 
 would drown both the inhabitants and gar- 
 rison of Toula. On being desired to explain 
 himself, he called their attention to the fact 
 that Toula is situated in a valley, and that 
 the little river Cupa ran through the town. 
 This river he ingeniously proposed to dam 
 up below the town; and he pledged himself 
 that, within a few hours after that operation, 
 it would be under water. The scheme was 
 adopted, and a bank of earth raised across 
 the stream. The project, though partially 
 successful, was not entirely so. An inunda- 
 tion which did much mischief was produced, 
 but the water did not rise in the town to 
 such a height as to destroy the lives of the 
 inhabitants. Still the garrison held out 
 manfully, though suffering from famine and 
 a severe epidemic. Besiegers and besieged 
 laboured incessantly at the dam ; the first to 
 maintain it, and the latter to break it down. 
 The superstitious inhabitants believed it 
 could not have been raised without the as- 
 sistance of magical power, and they attempted 
 to resort to the same supernatural means for 
 its destruction. Wizards and exorcists are, 
 in barbarous times, soon found when they 
 are wanted ; and it is well known that men 
 have actually believed themselves to be pos- 
 sessed by the spirit of concentrated evil, or 
 to have power over him. A monk of Toula 
 presented himself before the rebel chiefs, 
 and boasted that he possessed the power 
 of controlling the agents of darkness. He 
 made the somewhat suspicious offer of over- 
 throwing the infei'nal schemes of the enemy 
 
A.D. 
 
 1607.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [the second false dmitri. 
 
 on consideration of a reward of a hundred 
 roubles. His proposal was accepted, and, 
 stripping off his clothes, he plunged into the 
 swollen river, and was lost to sight. As 
 some time passed without his reappearance, 
 he was given up for dead. After the lapse 
 of an hour, however, he rose to the sur- 
 face, with his body covered with scratches. 
 These he accounted for by saying, " I have 
 just had to do with the twelve thousand 
 devils at work on Schuisky's dam. I have 
 settled six thousand of them, but the others 
 are the worst of all, and will not give in." 
 
 The garrison and inhabitants of Toula 
 still held bravely out, despite the inunda- 
 tion, and the terrible eflects of famine, 
 which were felt more severely every day. 
 Rumours that Dmitri was coming to their 
 assistance with an army, supported and sus- 
 tained them ; but it is needless to say, that 
 he did not make his appearance. Yet such 
 was the indomitable spirit of the Cossacks, 
 that when Prince Shakhofskoi, the principal 
 conspirator, proposed to capitulate, they in- 
 dignantly thrust him into a dungeon. At 
 length, all the horses, dogs, and carrion of 
 the town were consumed, and the hour 
 of inevitable submission approached. The 
 town was surrendered to the czar on con- 
 dition of an amnesty being granted to the 
 garrison and inhabitants ; but the leaders of 
 the insurrection were not included in this 
 act of grace. Bolotnikof, though a rebel, 
 was at the least a brave man, and such a 
 one as a generous sovereign would have 
 pardoned. He approached the czar with 
 an undaunted air, and presenting his sword 
 with the edge turned towards his neck, 
 said — " I have kept the oath I swore to 
 him who, rightfully or wrongfully, calls 
 himself Dmitri. Deserted by him, I am in 
 thy power. Cut off my head if thou wilt j 
 or if thou wilt spare my life, I will serve 
 thee as faithfully as I served him." This 
 manly appeal did not affect Schuisky. He 
 sent the bold rebel to a distant prison, 
 where he was soon after put to death. 
 As to the impostor Peter Feodorovitch, 
 Schuisky caused him to be hanged at once ; 
 but Shakhofskoi, whom he found in a 
 dungeon, had the address to obtain his 
 liberty, by persuading the czar that he had 
 been so treated in consequence of an at- 
 tempt to induce the rebels to return to their 
 allegiance. 
 
 While Schuisky was engaged in the 
 attempt to crush rebellion at Toula, it ap- 
 peared in a more dangerous form else- 
 
 where. A new impostor arose in the fron- 
 tier town of Starodub, and boldly pro- 
 claimed himself to be the czar Dmitri. 
 Tiie audacity of the attempt was remark- 
 able J for the new speculator, in a game 
 where the stakes were a crown or the 
 scaflFold, did not bear any resemblance to 
 the unfortunate man whose name he 
 assumed. Dmitri was at least a prince in 
 his appearance, manners, and education ; 
 but the new candidate for a sceptre or a 
 grave was a vulg.ar and ignorant fellow, 
 whose numerous deficiencies for the part he 
 assumed to play, were supplied only by a 
 daring effrontery. The original position of 
 the man was a humble one, though some 
 doubt exists as to its exact nature. Some 
 writers aver that he was a Russian school- 
 master; others, that he was a Polish Jew, 
 named Michael Moltchanof. 
 
 Such was the unsettled state of the 
 country, the knavery of some of the people, 
 and the credulity of others, that the new 
 twice-murdered Dmitri not only obtained 
 numerous adherents, but was even received 
 with enthusiasm. Zurucki, a Polish adven- 
 turer, who had become a leader of the 
 Cossacks of the Don, and had won distinc- 
 tion in the service of the first Dmitri, 
 entered that of the new pretender, and im- 
 pudently declared that he recognised him 
 as the late czar. Miechawiecki, another 
 Pole, who had held a distinguished position 
 in the court of the first Dmitri, also affected 
 to recognise his master in the new in- 
 triguant. Indeed, the latter was secretly 
 instructed by Miechawiecki in the details 
 connected with his assumed character. 
 
 Dmitri — as, for the purpose of avoiding 
 circumlocution, we shall call the new im- 
 postor — grew rapidly in popularity and in 
 strength. He defeated a considerable force 
 sent against him by the czar, and advanced 
 as far as the town of Kozelsk, on the road 
 to the capital ; though he was compelled to 
 retire when Schuisky had made himself 
 master of Toula. Still adherents flocked to 
 the adventurer; and many Polish officers 
 of distinction joined his standard, together 
 with large bodies of their countrymen. 
 Amongst them was Prince Adam Wiszino- 
 wiecki, who brought with him 2,000 armed 
 horsemen. This unprincipled noble knew 
 at a glance that the new pretender was not 
 the Dmitri whom he had been the first to 
 assist ; still he countenanced the deception, 
 in the hope of being able to place a puppet 
 of his countrymen on the throne of Russia. 
 
 107 
 
STRUGGLE FOR THE SCEPTRE.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1608—1609. 
 
 Schuisky directed his forces against his 
 new antagonist ; and in the month of April, 
 1608, they were defeated, with great 
 slaughter, by those of the pretender, near 
 the banks of the Volkhof. The routed 
 forces of the czar fled in disorder to Mos- 
 cow ; and the capital itself was in danger of 
 falling into the hands of Dmitri and his 
 followers. It had been suggested, that the 
 Polish leaders were not disposed to bring 
 the Avar to a speedy conclusion. Whatever 
 was the cause, they halted about twelve 
 versts from Moscow, at the village of 
 Tushino, where Dmitri established both his 
 camp and court. From this circumstance, 
 his opponents gave him the name of " the 
 Robber of Tushino." 
 
 We mentioned that Marina, the yoxmg 
 wife of the czar Dmitri, had escaped the 
 massacre that accompanied the insurrection 
 to which her husband fell a victim. She 
 and her father, the Palatine Sandomir, had, 
 since that period, been kept in confinement 
 by Schuisky, who now thought it politic to 
 liberate them ; only exacting a pledge that 
 they would not bear arms against Russia, 
 or favour the new pretender. He then 
 allowed them to depart, under the protec- 
 tion of a small escort. It was intercepted 
 by a body of Poles from Tushino, who 
 brought to the disgraced czarina and her 
 father a letter from the assumed Dmitri. 
 " Come," said the document, " both of you 
 to me, instead of going into Poland to hide 
 yourselves from the world's scorn." No 
 doubt little choice was left to the humbled 
 girl and her father, as they were in effect 
 prisoners to the band who had crossed 
 their path ; but they went without much 
 unwilUngness to pay a visit to '^the Rob- 
 ber." Marina, frivolous and wanton, long- 
 ing for the pleasures which she associated 
 with the enjoyment of royalty, and burning 
 for revenge upon those who had murdered 
 her husband and hurled her from splen- 
 dour to desolation, was willing even to 
 acknowledge a vulgar impostor to be her 
 husband, and to share the bed of one who 
 might, perhaps, be able to replace the im- 
 perial diadem upon her brow. On being 
 brought into the presence of the man whom 
 she was to acknowledge as the husband to 
 whom he bore no resemblance, the natural 
 womanly emotions of Marina made her re- 
 coil from so impudent a deception. What 
 delicacy she possessed rose within in insur- 
 rection against the abandoned part she was 
 playing. It was a painful thing at once to 
 108 
 
 lay aside her modesty, and to become, 
 morally speaking, a harlot, though the re- 
 ward for her off'ence might be grandeur and 
 revenge. But she had made her choice; and, 
 at a second interview, she publicly embraced 
 the impostor as her husband, and apolo- 
 gised for her former coldness, which she 
 said arose only from a doubt that what she 
 beheld was perhaps but a delusion, and 
 that she could not at once believe her dear 
 Dmitri to be alive again. 
 
 This recognition of the adventurer by 
 Marina greatly assisted his cause. The 
 people reasoned that it was not possible that 
 a wife could be deceived as to the identity 
 of her husband ; and as they were not dis- 
 posed to suspect her of falsehood, they con- 
 cluded that the present Dmitri was, indeed, 
 the czar. But the chief strength of the 
 pretender lay in his Polish adherents, who 
 were disliked by the Russians, and divided 
 amongst themselves. Such was the jealous 
 feeling with which their commanders re- 
 garded each other, that it became necessary 
 to resort to the dangerous expedient oi 
 separating them. Dmitri sent Sapieha with 
 a force, amounting to 30,000 men and sixty 
 cannon, to reduce the monastery and for- 
 tress of the Trinity, near Moscow. This 
 place conferred a considerable moral support 
 or sanction to whoever held it. The monks 
 adhered to Schuisky ; and so valuable was 
 their aid in influencing the loyalty of the 
 people, that it was considered the loss of the 
 monastery would go far towards promoting 
 his ruin. 
 
 Sapieha and his Poles were, notwith- 
 standing their numerical force, unable to 
 take the monastery. Subjected to harassing 
 attacks from the surrounding peasantrv, 
 they were at length defeated in a sanguinary 
 engagement, and compelled to retire for 
 shelter within the walls of Dmitrof. Skopin 
 Schuisky and James de la Gardie, assisted 
 by 5,000 Swedish auxiliaries, had taken the 
 field for the czar in the spring of 1609, and 
 gained many successes, by which the aspect 
 of the war was changed. It was Skopin 
 who defeated Sapielia; but the jealousy o^ 
 the czar induced him to recall his brave 
 relative to the capital, where, two months 
 afterwards, he died suddenly — a circum- 
 stance which brought upon Schuisky the 
 odium of having poisoned him. 
 
 The King of Poland, though he had de- 
 ferred his design of revenge for the massacre 
 of his subjects at Moscow, had not abandoned 
 it. In September, 1609, Sigismuud, having 
 
A.D. 1609—1610.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [fall of schuisky 
 
 declared -war, entered Russia with a small 
 army, and laid siege to the important town 
 of Smolensk. Most of the Poles who had 
 hitherto followed Dmitri, obeyed the com- 
 mand of their sovereign, and flocked to his 
 standard — a circumstance which reduced the 
 pretender to great distress and danger, 
 though he yet held possession of Kaluga, 
 Toula, and other places. 
 
 Amidst all this confusion and crash of 
 selfish interests, the country was falling into 
 a distracted state. Governed by a powerless 
 czar, torn by an unprincipled and factious 
 nobility, furrowed by the tracks of opposing 
 armies, it naturally followed that commerce 
 was oppressed, civilisation driven back, and 
 the coherence of the empire itself endan- 
 gered. Those calamities also arose which are 
 ever found in a disordered state. Bands of 
 Polish mercenaries offered their sei'vices to 
 the highest bidder, and lived upon plunder, 
 until they were hired to slay their fellow- 
 men for any reason whatever. A powerful 
 and worthless Russian noble, Procope Lia- 
 punof, also indulged his appetite for blood 
 and plunder at the expense of his suffering 
 country. Having no valid claim to put for- 
 ward, he assumed to be greatly interested in 
 religion, and proclaimed himself the defender 
 of the faith : his pretensions Avere of little 
 importance; but what he did was to carry 
 on a war of extermination against the ad- 
 herents of either Schuisky or Dmitri. This 
 necessarily placed him in a hostile position 
 towards the great mass of the people ; and 
 such was the brutality of his nature, that a 
 Russian chronicler applied to him the re- 
 mark which had been in past times made 
 use of concerning Attila : " No grass grew 
 where his horse's hoof had trod." 
 
 During the seven years that the unprin- 
 cipled and incompetent Schuisky occupied 
 the throne, Russia was a prey to desolating 
 anarchy and civil war. Ill-fortune almost 
 constantly attended the proceedings of this 
 poor shadow of an imperial ruler. An army 
 of nearly 60,000 men, consisting partly of 
 Swiss mercenjii'ies, whom he sent to the 
 relief of Smolensk, was disgracefully de- 
 feated at Tushino by the veteran Polish 
 general Zolkiewski, at the head of a very 
 small army of his countrymen. 
 
 Smolensk surrendered to Sigismund : the 
 power of the czar Schuisky had been anni- 
 hilated by the Poles, who, led by Zolkiewski, 
 directed their march upon the capital, where 
 the people were in a state of insurrection. 
 The fortunes of the pretended Dmitri were 
 
 thus again raised from the dust, for the 
 Poles advocated his cause, and claimed for 
 him the Russian sceptre. The citizens of 
 Moscow, finding the Polish army thundering 
 at their gates, were thrown into a state of 
 consternation. In this position they resorted 
 to cunning, and rested their hope of escape 
 from destruction in an attempt to create 
 division between Dmitri and the Poles. 
 They accordingly opened their gates to the 
 latter; and, delivering their czar Schuisky 
 and his two brothers to Zolkiewski, professed 
 their willingness to place Uladislas, or Ladis- 
 las, the son of Sigismund, the Polish king, 
 upon the throne of Russia. The offer was 
 accepted, and the prince proclaimed. The 
 deposed Schuisky, feariug that assassination 
 might follow on his fall from power, obtained 
 permission to retire into a monastery. The 
 Poles, however, did not long leave him even 
 in this obscure retreat. As a punishment 
 for the indignities he had heaped upon the 
 husband of Marina, they threw him into a 
 prison, where he lingered out the remainder 
 of his worthless life. 
 
 The pretended Dmitri was scarcely more 
 fortunate. The Poles abandoned his cause 
 when Uladislas was proclaimed czar of 
 Russia, and the adventurer then became 
 little better than a robber and a public 
 pest. Having lost all hope of ascending 
 the throne of Moscow, he kept up his 
 camp at Kaluga, surrounded by ferocious 
 gangs of Cossacks and Tartars, who ob- 
 tained their support by plundering the 
 neighbouring country. At length he was 
 murdered by a Tartar chieftain, in revenge 
 for having taken the life of one of the 
 countrymen of the latter. Shortly after 
 the death of the impostor, Marina became 
 the mother of a son, to M'hom the followers 
 of the late Dmitri swore allegiance. That 
 poor infant, however, was not to become a 
 brand of discord in the country of its birth ; 
 its little life was soon to be tragically ex- 
 tinguished. 
 
 After the deposition of Schuisky, Russia j 
 had, in fact, no ruler, and an interregnum 
 existed. Pretenders arose almost daily, 
 and disappeared with as much rapidity ; 
 the Russian nobles abandoned themselves 
 to the most grasping avarice; universal 
 disorder prevailed ; and the empire was 
 swayed by an incessant fluctuation of 
 names and authorities. Not only Poland, 
 but Sweden, also, aimed at becoming mas- 
 ters of this immense territory. The son of 
 the Polish sovereign had been proclaimed, 
 
 109 
 
INTERREGNUM.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1612. 
 
 and even invited to Moscow to assume the 
 imperial dignity. But here a difficulty 
 arose : a condition had been made, that 
 before Uladislas could ascend the Russian 
 throne, he should adopt the Greek form of 
 Christianity. Sigismund, though he had 
 agreed to this condition, was not disposed 
 to fulfil it. He first hesitated, and then 
 refused. His motives might have been con- 
 scientious ones ; but it is said that he re- 
 pented having nominated his son to the 
 sovereignty of Russia, instead of having 
 secured the crown of the northern empire 
 for himself. Whatever was the cause, his 
 vacillation was fatal to his ambition. Zol- 
 kiewski, incensed at the conduct of his 
 master, and still more so that he could not 
 obtain money for the payment of his troops, 
 returned in disgust to Poland, leaving his 
 countrymen in Moscow under the com- 
 mand of a leader of little or no military 
 talent. 
 
 The people of Moscow now began to re- 
 flect upon their conduct in reference to 
 recent events. They saw that their na- 
 tionality was at stake : a revulsion of feel- 
 ing took place ; and a sense of something 
 approaching to patriotism sprung up amongst 
 them. Was Russia to remain a powerful 
 empire, or become a dependency of the 
 comparatively little kingdom of Poland ? 
 No less a question was now to be decided. 
 Moreover, its religion was at stake ; for the 
 Russians soon began to perceive, that after 
 the election of a catholic czar, there was no 
 security for the Greek religion. This re- 
 flection decided the clergy; who, as if 
 roused from a strange slumber, devoted 
 themselves with untiring energy to arousing 
 the national feelings of the people. At the 
 call of the patriarch Hermogenes, they 
 armed themselves and rose in hostility 
 against the Polish garrisons. A furious 
 contest followed, and great slaughter took 
 place on both sides. After burning down a 
 considerable part of Moscow, the Poles took 
 refuge within the Kremlin. There, en- 
 compassed by the walls of this old heart of 
 the empire, which the Russians deemed 
 polluted by the presence of foreign in- 
 truders, the Poles were besieged by three 
 armies from the Russian provinces. Of 
 these, the only really formidable one was 
 that led by Procope Liapunof — the turbu- 
 lent noble who had hitherto plundered and 
 slaughtered both Poles and Russians alike. 
 
 110 
 
 in the name of religion, of which he as- 
 sumed himself to be the defender. But 
 this human nuisance was assassinated, 
 and his disheartened followers dispersed. 
 Still the siege of the Kremlin was main- 
 tained, though the country generally seemed 
 abandoned to irretrievable confusion, and 
 almost inevitable partition, Kasan and 
 Viatka proclaimed the infant son of Marina 
 as their sovereign ; the citizens of Nov- 
 gorod, out of hatred to the Poles, ofi'ered 
 the crown to Charles Philip, the second son 
 of the reigning king of Sweden ; while at 
 Pleskof, another impostor arose, and calling 
 himself Dmitri, claimed the Russian sceptre: 
 the knavery of this fellow, however, soon 
 became apparent : he was identified as a 
 fugitive mouk: and after adding for a 
 while to the distraction of his country, 
 met the fate he deserved, and was hanged. 
 
 But in the career of nations, as in that of 
 men, the hour of the blackest darkness is 
 commonl}' followed by that of the gray 
 streaks of dawn ; the time of the severest 
 danger and most painful trial, by one of at 
 least tranquillity and repose. Thus, when 
 the fate of the empire seemed doomed, 
 there arose a man of the people, who, in- 
 fluenced b)'^ a powerful sense of patriotism, 
 succeeded in reviving the drooping energies 
 of his countrymen, aroused their nationality, 
 and induced them to unite their efi^orts. 
 Once again the cry rang throughout the 
 land, of " Russia for the Russians.'^ This 
 man, Kozma Minin, was merely a butcher ; 
 but his unselfish energy obtained him so 
 much popularity, that he was called " the 
 Elect of the whole Russian empire.'^ Through 
 his exertions, a Russian army, under Prince 
 Pojarski, took the field, dislodged the Poles 
 from the Kremlin, and, after a severe strug- 
 gle, forced them to abandon the empire. 
 The Polish monarch now saw the mistake 
 he had made, and was willing that his son 
 should adopt the Greek faith, so that he 
 might rule the great empire of the north. 
 It was too late ; the Russians were now 
 thoroughly aroused, and they treated his 
 off'ers to that efl'ect with disdain. Sigis- 
 mund would have renewed the conflict, and 
 endeavoured to force the Russians to sub- 
 mit to his wishes ; but his own subjects 
 were not disposed to enter into another war, 
 and he was very unwillingly forced to sub- 
 mit, at least for a time, to a state of things 
 which he could not avert. 
 
A.D ]612.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [the ROMANOFFS. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 ASSEMBLY OF DEPUTIES TO ELECT A NEW CZAR ; THE ROMANOVF FAMILY ; MICHAEL ROMANOFF ELECTED AS 
 CZAR ; AN OATH LIMITING HI8 AUTHORITY IS REQUIRED FROM HIM ; THE SETTLING DOWN OF THE ELE- 
 MENTS OF DISCORD; UNSUCCESSFUL WARS WITH SWEDEN AND POLAND; MICHAEL CONFERS THE DIGNITY 
 OF PATRIARCH UPON HIS FATHER, AND SHARES THE GOVERNMENT AVITII HIM ; CHARACTER AND DEATH 
 OF MICHAEL. 
 
 The seven years of discord which had pre- 
 vailed in Russia were drawing to a close. 
 The expulsion of the Poles left the nation at 
 liberty to proceed as it pleased with respect 
 to the formation of a government. Anarchy, 
 and the misery which ever attends it, had 
 exerted a purifying influence upon the 
 nobles and people ; and the emotion of 
 patriotism obtained that sway over them 
 which it commonly has over all civilised 
 states. It has been observed, that the Rus- 
 sians " felt that the last spring of hope was 
 within themselves. That it was worse than 
 fruitless to place any trust in the protec- 
 tion and fosterage of neighbouring states, 
 who only made their necessities an excuse 
 for preying upon the last fragments of 
 their means; and that security for life or 
 property could not be obtained through 
 an/ other measure than the establish- 
 ment of the sovereignty in the person of 
 some man who should combine the qualities 
 of the statesman with that loftiness of cha- 
 racter which should elevate him above the 
 reach of faction." 
 
 Rulers of this kind are at all times de- 
 sirable ; but they are not commonly to be 
 found. It is not likely that the vicious 
 nobility of Russia could furnish one. But 
 the attempt must be made; and in the 
 mouth of November, 1612, the boyards of 
 the council summoned the inhabitants of 
 every town throughout the empire imme- 
 diately to send deputies to Moscow, to meet 
 in national council, and proceed to the elec- 
 tion of a new czar. To render the occasion 
 the more solemn, and also with the object of 
 obtaining the blessing of heaven upon it, a 
 national fast of three days was proclaimed, 
 and most rigorously observed. 
 
 The election took place during Lent, in 
 the year 1613; but the new czar had pre- 
 viously been chosen. Two of the ancient 
 princes of Russia declined to put forward 
 any claim for a crown, the possession of 
 which would probably expose them to the 
 jealous animosity of their peers. Few others 
 
 were able to obtain the confidence of the 
 people ; while it was useless for any candi- 
 date to start from the ranks of the latter, as 
 the nobility would have instantly combined 
 to dethrone him, on account of the humility 
 of his origin. After much debate and hesi- 
 tation, the name of Michael Romanoff was 
 generally pronounced as the person to 
 whom the destinies of his country were to 
 be entrusted. 
 
 This Romanoff was a youth only, in his 
 seventeenth year; and the election by the 
 people of such a person did not, as Voltaire 
 has observed, seem to be the surest way of 
 putting an end to their troubles. His fitness 
 for the distinguished position of ruler of the 
 Russian empire was somewhat of a negative 
 character, and consisted largely of his not 
 being obnoxious to the nobility, and less 
 likely, therefore, to excite their jealousy. 
 At the same time it must be remarked, that 
 he came of a family which enjoyed the con- 
 fidence of the people, and of a father who 
 was generally esteemed by them. On the 
 female side the Romanoffs were distantly 
 related to the extinct dynasty of Ruric. 
 Michael was himself too young to have any 
 strongly-marked character, or to be at all 
 known to the people; but great reliance 
 was placed on his father Philaretes, who had 
 inflexibly asserted the independence of the 
 empire under the least hopeful aspects. 
 One circumstance might have militated 
 against the general feeling in favour of the 
 young Michael. The family was not of a 
 Russian stock. Its founder is said to have 
 been an obscure Prussian, who settled in 
 Russia about 1350; but, for two centuries 
 and a-half, all who bore the name had been 
 distinguished for public virtue, national 
 zeal, and brilliant achievements. At the 
 time of the election, Philaretes was a captive 
 in Poland ; for he was one of several ambas- 
 sadors whom Sigismund, regardless of the 
 generous fiction which deems the persons 
 of such officers to be sacred, had carried 
 away with him when he abandoned Russia. 
 
 Ill 
 
MICHAEL ELECTED CZAR.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1613. 
 
 Though Philaretes contrived to communi- 
 cate with the council of the boyards, and 
 use his influence in the election, it is said 
 that he had no idea the imperial honour 
 would be conferred upon his son. 
 
 The day of election came, and the choice 
 fell upon Michael Romanoff. His tname 
 was received with acclamation, and he was 
 chosen by the unanimous voice of the as- 
 sembly. Certain conditions considered 
 requisite were fulfilled in him. "There 
 Avere but three surviving members in his 
 family," says Strahlenberg ; "he had not 
 been implicated in the preceding troubles ; 
 his father was an ecclesiastic, and in conse- 
 quence, naturally more disposed to secure 
 peace and union, than to mix himself up in 
 turbulent projects.". 
 
 Michael Romanoff was unwilling to ac- 
 cept the crown ; he remembered the fate of 
 Boris, Dmitri, and Schuisky, and declined 
 the offered dignity. He had lived in strict 
 retirement with his mother ; and that lady, 
 on the arrival of the deputies, entreated 
 them, with tears in her eyes, to spare her 
 son the intended distinction. Decisions of 
 this kind are, however, seldom persevered 
 in ; and upon the repetition of the offer, it 
 was accepted. While the power was yet in 
 the hands of the people, they wisely re- 
 solved to obtain some recognition from the 
 newly-elected czar, of the duties as well as 
 of the right of his' exalted position — some 
 guarantee, or at least solemn promise, that 
 he would not abuse the sacred trust reposed 
 in him. With this object, they proposed to 
 him the following oath, which, as it placed 
 a rational limitation on the hitherto abso- 
 lute power of the czar, would, if rigidly ob- 
 served, have transformed the government 
 from a despotism to something resembling 
 what in England we call a constitutional 
 government. The oath which was proposed 
 to, and accepted by Michael, ran thus : — 
 " That he would protect religion ; that he 
 would pardon and forget all that had been 
 done to his father ; that he would make no 
 new laws, nor alter the old, unless circum- 
 stances imperatively required it; and that, 
 in important causes, he would decide nothing 
 by himself, but that the existing laws, and 
 the usual forms of trial, should remain in 
 force ; that he would not at his own pleasure 
 make either war or peace with his neigh- 
 bours; and that, to avoid all suits with 
 individuals, he would resign his estates to 
 his family, or incorporate them with the 
 crown domains." 
 112 
 
 The throne which the young czar ascended 
 had been stripped of much of its power and 
 magnificence. A Russian writer thus de- 
 scribes the internal condition of his country 
 at this period: — "Bands of Cossacks, from 
 the Don and the Zaporogues, and whole 
 divisions of Poles and Tartars, ravaged the 
 villages and the convents that were still 
 entire, where there were hopes of finding 
 booty. The country was wasted, soldiers 
 were dying of hunger, the land-tax was no 
 longer collected, and not a kopeck was in 
 the treasury. The state jewels, crowns of 
 great price, sceptres, precious stones, vases — 
 all had been plundered and carried into 
 Poland. The young prince was surrounded 
 by persons belonging to twenty different 
 factions. There were to be found the friends 
 of Godunof, the defenders of Schuisky, the 
 companions of Uladislas, and even partisans 
 of the brigand of Tushino ; in a word, men 
 professing the most various opinions and 
 aims, but all equally ambitious, and in- 
 capable of yielding the smallest point as 
 regarded precedence. The lower class, irri- 
 tated by ten years of misery, were become 
 habituated to anarchy ; and it was not with- 
 out difficulty, and resistance on their part, 
 that they were reduced to obedience." 
 
 Notwithstanding these deplorable and 
 trying circumstances, the young czar was 
 successful in restoring tranquillity to the 
 country ; or perhaps it Avould be more coi'- 
 rect to say, that his election having silenced 
 all other claims, tranquillity naturally suc- 
 ceeded to a state which bordered upon 
 exhaustion. Michael himself was not, even 
 in mature life, the sort of man to rule the 
 storm, and awe the turbulent into sub- 
 mission. 
 
 Michael Romanoff had soon to contend 
 against a formidable foreign foe. This was 
 Gustavus Adolphus, the young king of 
 Sweden, who afterwards, by his holy struggle 
 of thirty years in favour of religious liberty, 
 obtained the honourable title of " the Lion 
 of the North, and the Bulwark of the Pro- 
 testant Faith." Gustavus was one of the 
 most just and honourable men that ever 
 wore a crown ; and his proceeding against 
 Russia did not arise from any attempt to 
 profit by its misfortunes. The war arose 
 chiefly from the dishonesty of the Russians, 
 who refused to repay to Sweden a sum of 
 money advanced to her in a period of dis- 
 tress. Gustavus was greatly offended at 
 this dishonesty; and leading a powerful 
 army across the Russian frontier, he took 
 
A.D. 1616—1620.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE, [philaretes made patriarch. 
 
 possessioa of the province of Ingria. This 
 success was followed by others, remarkable 
 alike for their rapidity and brilliancy. They 
 brought Gustavns, however, little else than 
 reputation; and in the year 1617, peace 
 was restored between Sweden and Russia. 
 The latter country purchased the cessation 
 of hostilities at a heavy price. She was 
 compelled to submit to the cession of Ingria 
 and Karelia, and once again to give up 
 Esthouia and Livonia. Though dislionesty 
 ofteuer succeeds with nations than with 
 individuals, it sometimes, as in the present 
 case, meets Avith the punishment it deserves. 
 
 The year before peace was concluded with 
 Sweden, the frivolous and unhappy Marina, 
 the widow of the two Dmitris, closed her 
 chequered and restless career. Influenced, 
 probably more by a mother's affection than 
 by personal ambition, she contrived to get 
 up an insurrection in favour of her infant 
 child, the son of the " Robber of Tushino," 
 whom she announced to be the true heir to 
 the throne. Schemes of this kind had had 
 their day ; they were now almost worthless, 
 for popular credulity no longer ran in the 
 direction of resuscitating murdered princes, 
 or finding new and suspicious claimants to 
 the throne. The people did not second the 
 mad attempt, and the chief conspirators 
 were seized. No mercy was shown to them. 
 Zurucki, the leader of the insurrection, was 
 impaled ; Marina thrown into a prison, where 
 she was eventually murdered ; and her child, 
 the poor infant, who was but three years 
 old, hanged or strangled ! Such a circum- 
 stance is painful and revoltiug ; but it must 
 be recollected that we are speaking of a 
 semi- barbarous people, in an age altogether 
 barbarous. 
 
 Sigismund, the king of Poland, was un- 
 able long to acquiesce in the recent decision 
 of the nobles and people of Russia ; and he 
 still cast longing glances towards the throne 
 he had lost by his irresolution and equivocal 
 conduct. He therefore, in 1617, sent his 
 son, Prince Uladislas, across the Russian 
 frontiers with an army. The latter pene- 
 trated even to the walls of Moscow, but ob- 
 tained no satisfactory results. In fact, the 
 struggle was soon discovered to be profitless 
 and exhausting to both sides ; and, after 
 many Poles and Russians had perished by 
 the sword, and more by the severity of the 
 weather, an armistice was entered into on 
 the 1st of December, 1618. It Avas to last 
 for fourteen years, and was accepted by 
 each nation as a present necessity, which 
 Q 
 
 they intended to disregard as soon as they 
 had the power to do so without involving 
 too heavy a sacrifice. In this instance, also, 
 Russia purchased peace at the price of ter- 
 ritory; for she abandoned Smolensk and 
 several other towns to the enemy, not, how- 
 ever, without a secret intention of getting 
 them back again on the first favourable op- 
 portunity. 
 
 On the conclusion of peace with Poland, 
 Philaretes, the father of the young czar 
 Michael, was restored to liberty, and re- 
 turned to his native land. He arrived at 
 Moscow in June, 1619, and was immediately 
 raised by his son to the ofiice of patriarch, 
 which had been vacant for several years. 
 The affection of the czar even led him to 
 associate his father with him in the govern- 
 ment, and divide with the venerable pontiff 
 the dignity of the sceptre. Henceforth his 
 ukases, or imperial edicts, were headed — 
 " Michael Feodorovitch, sovereign, czar, and 
 grand prince of all the Russias, and his 
 father Philaretes, mighty lord, and most 
 holy patriarch of all the Russias, &c." Such, 
 indeed, was the influence of the father, that 
 he sometimes issued ukases in his own 
 name alone; and the power he exercised 
 was more absolute than that of his son. 
 At solemn audiences he sat on the right- 
 hand of the czar, and all foreign ambassa- 
 dors were specially presented to him. He 
 held his own court, and raised the patri- 
 archate to such a height of power and 
 splendour, as to cause it, in after-times, to 
 excite the jealousy of Peter the Great, who 
 consequently abolished it. Fortunately, the 
 vast influence of Philaretes was exercised 
 for good; and to him is attributed the 
 endurance of the tranquillity which pre- 
 vailed during the reign of his son. He 
 appears, indeed, to have been a very esti- 
 mable character; and he revived that feeble 
 civilisation which discord had almost extir- 
 pated from the laud. Among many other 
 useful labours, he re-established a printing- 
 press at Moscow, and had the satisfaction of 
 seeing many copies of the Liturgy issued 
 from it. 
 
 The czar himself appears to have had 
 neither a large amount of mind or prin- 
 ciple. It was dishonesty which brought 
 upon him a chastisement from Sweden ; 
 and he now resorted to some equivocal con- 
 duct towards Poland. The amnesty with 
 that nation was approaching a termination, 
 and Michael busied himself in collecting 
 a powerful armv, that he might imme- 
 
 113 
 
KEIGN OF MICHAEL.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1620—1645. 
 
 diately, upon its expiration, reconquer the 
 provinces he had been compelled to cede to 
 Sigismund. That monarch had been suc- 
 ceeded by his son Uladislas ; and Michael, 
 taking advantage of the disorders attending 
 the installation of the new sovereign, com- 
 menced hostilities even before the close of 
 the armistice, on the pettifogging pretext 
 that he had entered into it with Sigismund, 
 and not with his successor. This vile 
 quibble, unworthy of a monarch of any 
 position, again brought punishment and 
 disgrace upon its inventor. 
 
 Uladislas, though surrounded by difficul- 
 ties, and at a loss both for money and 
 troops, was an able soldier, and the idol of 
 his people. Seconded by the declared Avish 
 of his council, he took the field against the 
 Russians, who, after several destructive in- 
 cursions into his territories, were engaged 
 in the military investment of Smolensk, pre- 
 paratory to laying siege to it. The Russian 
 army of 50,000 men was under the command 
 of a general named Michael Sekin, who had 
 earned a reputation in the field for prompt- 
 ness, activity and courage. These qualities 
 seemed at length to have deserted him. 
 Having remained in complete inaction for 
 two whole years, encamped within sight of 
 Smolensk, he fled before the far inferior 
 force of Uladislas. Sekin took refuge in an 
 intrenched camp within the depths of the 
 neighbouring forests ; but there he was 
 pursued by the Polish king. The Russians 
 resisted their assailants for five months, and 
 trusted to the extreme severity of the winter 
 to rid them of the Poles. The ranks of the 
 latter were rapidly thinned by the bitterness 
 of the weather. The soldiers, however, were 
 nerved to endurance by the heroism and 
 self-denial of their king, who took Up his 
 abode in a Avretched hut, and submitted to 
 the same privations as those endured by the 
 meanest of his followers. Sekin at length, 
 not daring to encounter his hardy enemies, 
 submitted ; and surrendering his camp to 
 Uladislas, purchased safety by entering into 
 an engagement not to take any further part 
 in the war. For this unsold ierly behaviour, 
 Sekin and several of his officers were brought 
 to account, and sufl'ered the punishment of 
 decapitation. 
 
 The beheading of a few unsuccessful or 
 timid soldiers, did not bring Russia any 
 nearer to a triumph over her foes. The 
 Poles proceeded in their energetic course, 
 and took possession of many places, of 
 which Viazma was the most considerable. 
 114 
 
 The czar Michael was alarmed ; for he 
 feared a descent upon Moscow, and the 
 probable loss of his capital, and perhaps of 
 his throne. He therefore resolved to shuffle 
 out of this war, into which he had been so 
 dishonestly eager to enter. He had suffi- 
 cient cause; for the Russian troops were 
 not a match for those of Poland, of whom 
 they stood in awe : consequently, all the 
 victory was upon one side, and the suff'er- 
 ance upon the other — a distribution of 
 matters extremely unsatisfactory to the 
 weaker party. So Michael sued to Ula- 
 dislas for peace, which the latter only 
 granted at the price of the cession of a 
 large extent of territory. The Polish mon- 
 arch was, on his part, to renounce all 
 claims upon the throne of Russia, and to 
 return the diploma of election which had 
 been sent to him: but as he thought the 
 latter might, some time or other, be useful, 
 he pretended it was lost, and the Russians 
 were obliged to close the treaty without re- 
 ceiving it. 
 
 Michael had a long reign, extending over 
 a period of thirty-two years ; but it was 
 neither eventful nor illustrious. Historians 
 have pronounced it as " distinguished by 
 moderation." It would have been better to 
 have said characterised by moderation ; for 
 it was not distinguished in any sense, ex- 
 cept in the altogether accidental circum- 
 stance, that Michael was the founder of a 
 new dynasty. The first czar of the Romanoff 
 line was a feeble, tepid, no-character sort of 
 man; apparently composed, as one of ourpoets 
 very ungallantly said of the opposite sex, of 
 " matter too soft a lasting mark to bear." 
 In the early part of his reign, he rushed 
 into quarrels without any regard for their 
 justice or injustice ; but he afterwards got 
 very much more prudent, and warily avoided 
 entering upon wars which he was incapable 
 of conducting. At all times he had the 
 negative merit of being able to see his own 
 mistakes, and to retreat from the conse- 
 quences before the latter became too 
 serious. Yet such an insipid ruler as this 
 was an advantage to the country. Russia 
 wanted peace and leisure to recover from 
 the terrible ravages to which she had been 
 subjected. The empire enjoyed peace 
 under a czar who was unable to conduct 
 war ; for it fortunately happened that 
 neighbouring nations were too much en- 
 gaged with their own affairs, to think of 
 aggressions. The length of Michael's reign, 
 also, gave the country that leisure which 
 
A.D. 1645.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [alexis becomes czar. 
 
 was necessary for the restoration of order, 
 security, and an approach to the proper ad- 
 ministration of justice. Russia regained 
 strength during the passive reign of Michael ; 
 and he obtained the credit of a change due 
 only to the undisturbed action of natural laws. 
 It has been well observed, that " his reign 
 was the term of convalescence ; that which 
 followed was the development of restored 
 
 strength." True ; but Michael was like the 
 wily physician who, observing the restoring 
 influence of nature upon his almost ex- 
 hausted patient, takes credit for the cure he 
 was unable to accomplish. Michael expired 
 on the 12th of July, 1645, and left the 
 throne to his son, Alexis Michaelowitz, by 
 his second consort Eudokia Lukianowna 
 Streshnew. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 ALEXIS BECOMES CZAR ; COUNCIL OF BEGENCY ; ITS AVARICE AND EXTORTIONS ; INSURRECTION IN CONSE- 
 QUENCE ; A NEW PRETENDER TO THE THRONE ; THE COSSACKS OF THE UKRAINE ; COSSACK INSURRECTION 
 UNDER BOGDAN CHMIELNICKI ; BOGDAN SOLICITS AID FROM ALEXIS, AND PROFFERS HIS ALLEGIANCE ; 
 TRIUMPHS OF ALEXIS OVER THE POLES ; CHARLES GUSTAVUS OF SWEDEN SNATCHES POLAND FROM THE 
 GRASP OF RUSSIA; BRIEF AND PROFITLESS WAR WITH SWEDEN; RUSSIA OBTAINS POSSESSION OF THE 
 UKRAINE, AND THE COSSACKS ACKNOWLEDGE THE SWAY OF THE CZAR ; PEACE RESTORED ; DEPRECIATION 
 OF THE CURRENCY, AND CONSEQUENT INSURRECTION ; SEVERITY OF THE CZAR ; HE GOVERNS WISELY ; 
 BUILDS THE FIRST RUSSIAN VESSELS; INSURRECTION OF STENKA RADZIN ; OUTRAGES COMMITTED BY 
 HIM ; HE IS TREACHEROUSLY SEIZED AND EXECUTED ; DISPUTE WITH TURKEY ; DEATH OF ALEXIS. 
 
 Alexis, who was born at Moscow in 1630, 
 was therefore but in his sixteenth year at 
 the death of his father. In consequence of 
 the youth of the new czar, he was guided 
 in all government affairs by a council nomi- 
 nated by his deceased parent. These were 
 three grasping and worthless persons. The 
 chief of them was Morosof, a noble of an 
 ambitious and intriguing temper, who was 
 tutor and brother-in-law of Alexis, and was 
 suspected of a desire to tread in the steps of 
 Boris Godunof, The others were Milos- 
 lawskoi and Plessow ; the latter a judge in 
 one of the high courts at Moscow. 
 
 Morosof took the lead in the administra- 
 tion, and showed both ability and energy in 
 the introduction of military reforms, and in 
 strengthening the Russian frontiers against 
 Poland and Sweden. He also erected 
 manufactories for arms, in which he em- 
 ployed a number of foreign artisans. In- 
 deed, for a while Morosof ruled Russia in 
 the name of the czar, and might have con- 
 tinued to do so much longer, but for the 
 imprudence of himself and his compeers. 
 
 Avarice was the ruling passion of the 
 whole three, and they were incessantly bent 
 upon the accumulation of wealth, without 
 the slightest compunction as to the means 
 by which they did so. The base dishonesty 
 with which they acted, was as mean as it 
 
 was unbecoming in men of high position. 
 The records of most European nations, even 
 at so comparatively modern a period as that 
 of which we now speak, reveal incidents 
 which often make us blush for humanity. 
 Yet remembering this, there does still ap- 
 pear to have been a more than ordinary 
 addiction to petty vices in Russian nobles 
 and ministers, and a more incessant grasp- 
 ing after bribes and penalties, than is to be 
 heard of in other countries laying claim to 
 civilisation. Under the direction of Mo- 
 rosof, the most flagrant enormities were 
 committed, especially in the administration 
 of justice. The public courts were made 
 mere instruments of extortion ; and the 
 judges, whom Morosof appointed, sold their 
 decisions with a more than common au- 
 dacity and openness, and shared the tainted 
 produce with their high-placed accomplice. 
 These men scarcely concealed the infamous 
 trade they carried on in selling the sen- 
 tences they so gravely pronounced; and 
 such was the extent to which they carried 
 their shameless profligacy, that many of 
 them kept a number of depraved vagabonds 
 in their pay, who were ready at all times, 
 for a trifling sum, to come forward and 
 affirm or deny anything. These fellows 
 were also employed as spies upon the 
 wealthy, whom they would get arrested 
 
 115 
 
INSURRECTION AT MOSCOW.] 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1648. 
 
 upon some real or concocted charge, for 
 ■which the unfortunate accused could only 
 get exonerated by the payment of heavy 
 fines. In some cases persons unjustly 
 charged were sentenced to death and exe- 
 cuted, merely that the villanous judge and 
 his ruffian assistants might seize the pro- 
 perty of the presumed criminal. 
 
 Oppression of this galling kind had a 
 most demoralising and injurious effect upon 
 the people, whom it was rapidly converting 
 into two classes — the plundered and the 
 plunderers. But not only was the fountain 
 of justice polluted for the basest of purposes, 
 but the whole system of government was 
 used as a means of extortion. Monopolies 
 were created, and the heaviest taxes laid 
 even upon the necessaries of life. In addi- 
 tion to this^ those officials who plundered 
 the people most, behaved to them with an 
 insolent haughtiness which caused great 
 offence. 
 
 Murmurs were giving place to curses ; and 
 the temper of the people of Moscow, who 
 ■were the greatest sufferers from the prevail- 
 ing iniquities, grew threatening. They first 
 addressed a number of petitions to the czar, 
 imploring a reform of abuses, and plainly 
 exposing the oppressive dishonesty of the 
 council of regency. Morosof took care that 
 none of these petitions reached the young 
 monarch, and things went on as before. 
 But the fraudulent minister had not rightly 
 estimated the perseverance and the power of 
 a goaded and insulted people. Guessing the 
 fate of their petitions, they resorted to a 
 more effective way of reaching the ear of 
 their sovereign. Waylaying him one day as 
 he was returning from church to his palace, 
 they reiterated their complaints, and, with 
 loud outcries and fierce gestures, demanded 
 the appointment of righteous judges and 
 officers, instead of those who were merely 
 instruments of knavery and extortion. Alexis 
 listened with patience, promised to make a 
 strict inquiry into the grievances complained 
 of, and to inflict punishment on the guilty. 
 At an earlier period, such an assurance 
 ■would have calmed the popular excitement ; 
 but now it came too late. The people had 
 learned to distrust judicial inquiries ; and 
 they believed that their oppressors, if left in 
 the hands of the law, would be suffered to 
 escape, if not to plunder them still. The 
 limits of passive endurance had been past, 
 and affairs had arrived at that point where 
 discontent merges into insurrection. Leaving 
 'the czar, they proceeded in a state of furious 
 116 
 
 tumult to the houses of the public officers 
 who had incurred their displeasure. These 
 they broke into and plundered ; while the 
 principal magistrate and a few others they 
 put to death. Even Morosof himself would 
 have fallen a victim to their fury, but that 
 he was saved by the entreaties of the czar, 
 who implored the mol), with tears in his 
 eyes, to spare the guilty minister. This 
 they consented to do, on condition that 
 Alexis put another corrupt judge to death 
 and promised to remit some of the recent 
 oppressive taxes. The young monarch was 
 wise enough to see and avoid the precipice 
 upon the verge of which he had been so un- 
 consciously standing. Though he had saved 
 the life of Morosof, yet he prudently dis- 
 missed that worthless man, together with his 
 associates, from the imperial councils. 
 
 This event occurred in 1648, in the third 
 year of the young czar's reign; and not long 
 after, disturbances scarcely less violent, and 
 arising from similar causes, broke out at 
 Novgorod and at Pskof. Salutary measures 
 were, however, instantly taken; the guilty 
 instruments of corruption were restrained 
 or dismissed, and tranquillity soon returned. 
 Necessarily, the cause of discontent being 
 removed, the effect ceased. 
 
 It might be supposed that no one had the 
 effrontery again to personate the thrice- mur- 
 dered Dmitri. This source of imposture 
 seemed utterly exhausted ; but let none pre- 
 sume to set bounds to the extravagances 
 of credulity and knavery. An obscure and 
 worthless young man, the son of a draper iu 
 the Ukraine, suffered himself to be made the 
 tool of a scheming Polish nobleman, named 
 Danilovski, who hoped, by troubling the 
 political waters, to be able to fish in them 
 with ease and profit. One day, when the 
 young draper was bathing, certain natural 
 marks were observed on his back, of so 
 peculiar a kind that it was surmised they 
 resembled letters in some unknown tongue. 
 The circumstance coming to the ears of che 
 Polish intriguer, he resolved to create a 
 conspiracy out of it, which might lead to 
 the overthrow of the Russian government. 
 Sending for the young man, he had the 
 marks examined by a Greek priest, whom he 
 had prepared and paid for the expected expo- 
 sition. The vagabond priest, after looking 
 intently upon the marks, exclaimed, "A 
 miracle ! " and then added, in explanation, 
 that they were, indeed, mystic words, and 
 that their signification -was, " Dmitri, son of 
 the czar Dmitri." The murder of Marina's 
 
A.D. 1648.] 
 
 RtJSStAN EMPIRD. 
 
 LCOSSACKS of the UKRAINE. 
 
 infant child was notorious, for the atrocious 
 barbarity had beeu done in public, under 
 the pretence of a legal execution ; the diffi- 
 culty, however, was clumsily evaded by the 
 stale device of an alleged change of children. 
 Both Poles and Swedes were invited to sup- 
 port the cause of the pretender, and some of 
 the former nation offered their services. But 
 the plot utterly failed to create a sensation 
 in Russia; and the impostor, after leading a 
 life of forlorn misery for a time, fell into the 
 hands of the czar, who executed the unfortu- 
 nate wretch by quartering him alive. 
 
 The hatred borne by the Russians to the 
 Poles was not diminished by the reverses 
 which the former suffered from the latter 
 during the reign of Michael. Uladislas died 
 in 1648, and Alexis became one of the can- 
 didates for the throne of Poland ; but he was 
 rejected by the people, who elected John 
 Casimir, one of the sons of Sigismund III., 
 who resigned his dignity of cardinal, and 
 succeeded at once to his brother's throne 
 ajid the hand of that brother's widow. This 
 rejection was a fresh source of irritation to 
 Alexis, who soon had an opportunity of ex- 
 pressing his displeasure. 
 
 The Ukraine (a name derived from the 
 Polish, and signifying boundary) is the title 
 of that vast and fertile tract of land lying 
 on the banks of the broad Dnieper, and 
 extending to those of the Don. This wild 
 district had been peopled by the Cossacks, 
 a race of mixed origin, but derived chiefly 
 from Poles and Tartars. The nticleus of 
 this singular people were deserters from the 
 armies maintained by Poland near the 
 banks of the Borysthenes, or Dnieper, to 
 arrest the incursions of the Tartars. The 
 almost inaccessible islands of that river, and 
 the vast steppes of the Ukraine, served for 
 places of retreat. The course of nature, and 
 the constant arrival of fresh fugitives, rapidly 
 increased their numbers. They opened their 
 arms to recruits from every nation, and were 
 joined by all the outcasts whose crimes com- 
 pelled them to abandon civilised society. 
 In this manner they ceased to be mere 
 fugitives, and became a people. As may be 
 supposed, their habits revealed the taint 
 which sullied their origin. Plunder became 
 a recognised pursuit amongst them. They 
 frequently made predatory incursions into 
 the Ottoman territories, sometimes venturing 
 even as far as the suburbs of Constantinople. 
 Such was their boldness, that they trusted 
 themselves on the stormy surface of the 
 Black Sea in mere boats of very primitive 
 
 construction, consisting only cf trees hol- 
 lowed out; and thus they ravaged every 
 shore of that great inland water. As the 
 richness of the soil they occupied made it 
 produce without much labour, they were 
 consequently at liberty to pass their time 
 mostly in plunder, piracy, or open war. " As 
 they were Christians in their origin, they 
 preserved a sort of Christianity among them- 
 selves ; but so mingled in time with idola- 
 trous and Mohammed annotions, that its fair 
 characters were almost lost. The Polish 
 gentleman, whom infamy had branded or 
 justice threatened; the Polish serf, who fled 
 from the iron despotism of a haughty, rapa- 
 cious master ; the Greek schismatic, the per- 
 secuted Lutheran, either imperfectly remem- 
 bered, or but negligently practised the rites 
 of their respective churches : hence a sort of 
 mongrel worship prevailed, of which the 
 leading features more resembled the Eastern 
 than the Western church. B.ut they did not 
 much trouble themselves with either the 
 doctrines or the duties of Christianity. 
 Robbers by profession, and cruel by habit, 
 they were the terror of surrounding coun- 
 tries : strong, hardy, of indomitable courage, 
 fond of war, even more for the dangers 
 which attended it than for the plunder it 
 procured them, their alliance was eagerly 
 sought by Lithuanians, Poles, Muscovites, 
 Tartars, and Turks. To the former people, 
 as the stock whence the majority Avere de- 
 rived, they long bore sentiments of affection ; 
 indeed, they acknowledged themselves vas- 
 sals of the republic, though their chief obe- 
 dience was owing to their own grand hetman. 
 Ostafi Daskiewitz, a peasant on the estates 
 of a Lithuanian noble (many nobles, both of 
 the crown and the grand-duchy, had exten- 
 sive estates in the Ukraine), was the first 
 who divided them into regiments, and taught 
 them discipline. As a reward for his exer- 
 tions, he was presented by Sigismund I., 
 who appeared sensible of the advantages 
 which these formidable warriors might pro- 
 cure for the kingdom, with the starosty 
 of Tserkassy, and the jurisdiction of some 
 fortresses near the Borysthenes. Had the 
 advice of this simple but strong-minded man 
 been taken, Poland would have been effec- 
 tually screened against the incursions of the 
 Tartars. He counselled Sigismund to main- 
 tain 10,000 armed men on the banks of the 
 river, who in their rude rafts could easily 
 prevent the enemy from crossing: a few 
 troops of horse might forage for this sta- 
 tionary little army. A still more im.portaut 
 
 117 
 
REVOLT IN THE UKRAINE.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1648. 
 
 suggestion was to build forts and little 
 towers on the islets of that magnificent 
 stream. What Sigismund had not the spirit, 
 perhaps the means to accomplish, Bathori 
 might and should have effected. The latter I 
 monarch, however, did much towards so 
 desirable an end. He diligently cultivated 
 the affection of the Cossacks; and they are 
 among the most grateful of men. He gave 
 them the city of Trychtymirow, which be- 
 came their chief magazine, and the residence 
 of their grand hetman ; he introduced among 
 them the useful arts of life, and greatly im- 
 proved their discipline ; he formed them into 
 six regiments, each consisting of 1,000 men 
 (ten companies of 100), and commanded by 
 a hetman {hattaman.) Each grand hetman, 
 whom the whole force obeyed, received his 
 investiture at the hands of the king; the 
 symbols were an ensign, ahorse-tail [bonzuk), 
 a baton resembling a club, and a looking- 
 glass. The Cossacks, being thus attached 
 by those of new ties — those of gratitude and 
 allegiance — to the republic, were well dis- 
 posed to fulfil the purpose assigned them : 
 their fidelity was striking; until, from 
 friends, they were transformed into enemies 
 by the most intolerable wrongs.'^ * 
 ! Of these wrongs we must speak briefly, 
 that it may be seen why the czar Alexis 
 became engaged in a war with Poland. The 
 nobles of that country long behaved towards 
 the Cossacks with great haughtiness and 
 inhumanity. Many grants of land in the 
 Ukraine had been bestowed upon these 
 nobles, who seldom visited their new pos- 
 sessions, which they abandoned to the 
 direction of Jews — who, in Poland, as, in- 
 deed, elsewhere, were the most exacting 
 and unpopular of stewards. These men 
 usually advanced money on the forth- 
 coming produce of the soil, and they were 
 therefore naturally anxious to make the 
 most of it, and less likely to show any in- 
 dulgence in its collection. The fierce Cos- 
 sacks would not submit in patience to this 
 system of oppression ; and they insisted, 
 not only on the entire abolition of their 
 grievances, but also that their chiefs should 
 have a seat in the Polish diet. Their de- 
 mands not being complied with, they rose 
 in insurrection. They were at first de- 
 feated, and reduced to the condition of 
 serfs; and the insolent Polish nobles even 
 
 * Dunham's History of Poland. Also Chevalier, 
 Sistoire de la Guerre des Cossacs coutre la Pologne, 
 &c., p. 302, &c. Malte-Brun, Tableau de la Fologne 
 ancienne et moderne, torn, i., p. 464, &c. 
 
 resolved to extirpate them and their reli- 
 gion if they attempted to throw off the 
 bondage thus forced upon them. Again 
 the Cossacks rose in arms, and presented so 
 formidable an appearance, that a promise 
 was given that their privileges should be 
 restored to them. The Polish rulers had 
 no intention of keeping this promise ; and 
 the Cossacks knew as much, and no longer 
 refrained from depredations on the territory 
 of the former. 
 
 Such was the state of things, when a 
 shameful outrage incensed the Cossacks, 
 and drew down much trouble upon their 
 oppressors. A veteran Cossack named 
 Bogdan Chmielnicki, Avho was famous for 
 the valour he had displayed against the 
 Tartars, possessed a mill and some laud 
 near the banks of the Dnieper. This small 
 estate was coveted by the steward of a Polish 
 noble, who resolved to obtain it by ruining 
 the owner. Preferring some petty charge 
 against the Cossack, the latter was thrown 
 into prison, but liberated through the inter- 
 ference of the castellan of Cracow, to whom 
 he had rendered some service. But the 
 protector of Bogdan died ; and then Czapa- 
 linski, the covetous steward, seized the poor 
 Cossack's mill and land. The latter, un- 
 able to obtain redress, fled to the Tartars 
 for assistance. In his absence, the in- 
 famous Czapalinski violated and murdered 
 Bogdan's wife, and then set fire to his 
 house, the flames of which consumed his 
 infant son. Another son, a young man, the 
 ruffian procured to be publicly scourged, for 
 expressing a natural indignation. Some ac- 
 counts state, in explanation of the diabolical 
 malice of the steward, that on one occasion 
 he had been ignominiously whipped by the 
 servants of Bogdan. 
 
 The hour of retribution soon arrived. 
 The infuriated Bogdan succeeded in interest- 
 ing the Tartars in his behalf; and at the 
 head of 40,000 of them, he commenced a 
 march against the Poles. His force was 
 soon trebled by the number of Cossacks 
 who flocked to his aid, in answer to a call 
 to unite themselves in a great effort for 
 liberty. Two successive Polish armies, 
 which endeavoured to stem the tide of in- 
 undation, were swept away by it, their 
 generals and officers led away captives, and 
 70,000 peasants consigned to bondage. In 
 a short time Bogdan was in possession of 
 the whole of the Ukraine. At this time, 
 Uladislas died ; and a brief interregnum 
 followed, which necessarily favoured the 
 
A.D. 1650.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE, [bogdan asks aid fbom alexis. 
 
 progress of disorder. Bogdan, breathing 
 threats of vengeance as he advanced, 
 directed his steps towards Red Russia. 
 In his destructive march through Podolia 
 and Volhynia, the excesses committed by 
 him and his followers were of a frightful 
 and repulsive kind. He had been joined 
 by crowds of Mussulmans, Greeks, and 
 Socinians, who all, equally with himself, 
 detested the Roman church; and his cru- 
 sade of vengeauce assumed something of a 
 religious nature. The Jesuits, who had 
 been notorious for their animosity to the 
 Greek church, and the Jews, whose ac- 
 quisitiveness in their capacity of stewards 
 to the Polish landowners had excited the 
 people against them, were visited with un- 
 relenting vengeance. The Roman churches 
 and monasteries were laid in ruins, and 
 the nuns forced to satisfy the brutal ap- 
 petites of the infuriated followers of this 
 fierce avenger of a people's wrongs and 
 an irreparable private injury. Some priests 
 were forced, under threats of instant death 
 should they refuse, not only to contract, 
 but also to consummate, a marriage with 
 the trembling inmates of the cloister; 
 and frequently they were both afterwards 
 slaughtered. But it was upon the recently 
 insolent and oppressing nobles that the 
 chief weight of vengeance fell. Those who 
 were unfortunate enough to fall into the 
 hands of the Tartars and the Cossacks, 
 were put to death in various cruel and 
 lingering ways ; their unhappy wives and 
 daughters also suffered even an aggravated 
 doom. They were stripped naked before 
 their husbands or fathers, and after being 
 violated, were mercilessly flogged to death. 
 Terrible as were these atrocities, it must be 
 remembered that they were the inevitable 
 retribution of an ignorant and infuriated 
 people, lashed into desperation by a painful 
 accumulation of wrongs. 
 
 But though the chivalry of Poland fled in 
 dismay before the fierce hosts of Bogdan, 
 yet the latter experienced a great reverse of 
 fortune in the desertion of his Tartar allies ; 
 who, being well loaded with plunder and 
 captives, retired to their own country to 
 enjoy the proceeds of their expedition. On 
 the election of John Casimir to the throne 
 of Poland, that monarch admitted the jus- 
 tice of the complaints of Bogdan, and 
 opened negotiations with the Cossack chief. 
 While these were in progress, and Bogdan, 
 relying upon the honour of the king, exer- 
 cised less than his customary vigilance, his 
 
 camp was attacked by Wiszinowiecki, a 
 Polish general, who committed a terrible 
 slaughter amongst his followers. Bogdan 
 was compelled to retreat ; but it was with 
 a stern resolve to punish this perfidy at the 
 earliest opportunity. When he returned, 
 he was reinforced by a large body of Tar- 
 tars, and then invested the intrenched 
 camp of the treacherous general. The 
 combined forces under the command of 
 Bogdan, are said to have amounted to 
 160,000 men. The army which Casimir 
 advanced to relieve his besieged general 
 was but 20,000 strong, and he was unable 
 to effect a junction with those shut up iu 
 the camp. In this position, policy accom- 
 plished for him what valour could not effect. 
 He bribed the khan of the Tartars to with- 
 draw his followers from the Cossack host ; 
 and Bogdan, weakened by so vast a de- 
 sertion, thought it prudent to accept the 
 terms of peace proposed by the king. 
 
 This enforced tranquillity did not last. 
 Instead of being grateful for their escape 
 from utter destruction, the Polish nobles 
 felt irritated by the shame of receiving a 
 boon from a people whom the long habit of 
 oppressing had made them despise. The 
 nobles became the aggressors, and the war 
 was renewed. The Poles collected an army 
 of 100,000 men ; and the contending forces 
 met near Beresteeko, in Red Russia. Here, 
 it has been observed, was at length decided 
 the conflict between schism and orthodoxy — 
 between slavery and tyranny. An obstinate 
 and furious battle ensued, and terminated 
 in the defeat of Bogdan, accompanied by a 
 terrible slaughter of his followers. Though 
 they retired from the field, it was with a 
 threatening face towards the foe. Several 
 contests took place ; and in one of these, a 
 body of nearly 40,000 Poles were almost 
 exterminated by a sudden and sweeping 
 onslaught of the insurgents. The balance 
 of success was thus kept nearly equal ; for 
 if Bogdan had been staggered by defeat, 
 Poland was thrown into terror and con- 
 fusion. It was in this state of things that 
 Bogdan, further incensed by the death of a 
 brave son', applied for assistance to Russia, 
 and offered to become the vassal of the czar 
 Alexis, on condition that 200,000 Musco- 
 vites were poured into Lithuania. 
 
 Alexis hesitated, for he could not forget 
 how Poland had chastised Russia during 
 the reign of his father Michael. Urged 
 forward, however, by the patriarch, he re- 
 solved first to seek the opinion of Heaven, 
 
 119 
 
WAR \^^TH POLAND.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1650—1661. 
 
 by means of a strangely superstitious ap- 
 peal to it. He caused two wild bulls, one 
 of which he named Poland, and the other 
 Russia, to be opposed to each other in an 
 arena, and determined to enter upon the 
 war if the representative of his country 
 should succeed in the strife. He had the 
 mortification to see the brute which repre- 
 sented Poland triumphant ; but the patriarch 
 removed his superstitious fears, and repre- 
 sented to him that the interests of religion 
 required that he should declare war against 
 catholic Poland. But the acquisition of 
 the vast territory the czar obtained by the 
 submission of Bogdan, no doubt influenced 
 the Russian potentate more than the pre- 
 tended interests of the Greek church. 
 Such was the distracted state of Poland, 
 that success against it was a matter of com- 
 parative certainty. The Russian triumphs 
 were rapid; and if accomplished at any 
 other time, they might have been deemed 
 brilliant. Smolensk, Witepsk, Polotsk, 
 Mohilof, Severia, and Semigallia were taken 
 by the armies of Alexis, while his Cossack 
 ally was subjugating Haman, Bratslaw, 
 and other fortresses on the Moldavian fron- 
 tier. The doom of Poland semed at hand ; 
 and it appeared that its independence would 
 be crushed beneath the iron heels of the 
 Russian and Cossack armies. 
 
 But Poland was saved from the disgrace 
 of conquest by Russia, in consequence of 
 the natural jealousy entertained by Charles 
 Gustavus, king of Sweden, of the power 
 and growth of his great northern neigh- 
 bour. Charles, at the head of 60,000 
 Swedes, landed in Pomerania. His march 
 was one triumphant career to the walls, 
 first of Warsaw, and next of Cracow, which 
 submitted without resistance. A panic 
 seized both the nobles and people of Poland ; 
 John Casimir fled into Silesia; and the whole 
 countrj'-, from the Carpathian mountains to 
 the duchy of Courland, submitted to the 
 conquering Swede. 
 
 The czar Alexis paused, and felt that the 
 prey he had hoped to seize was thus wrested 
 from him by a.nother. He accused Charles 
 Gustavus of having hindered the operations 
 of his troops ; the accusation ripened into a 
 quarrel, and led to a fierce warfare between 
 the Russians and the Swedes. 
 
 The irritated czar next poured his troops 
 into Sweden, where they plundered many 
 villages, and put the unarmed inhabitants 
 to the sword. This was during the absence 
 of the warlike Charles; but the Russians 
 120 
 
 soon found themselves unequal to contend 
 with the experienced Swedish veterans, 
 trained to service amidst the victories of the 
 famous thirty years^ war. Alexis obtained 
 neither advantage nor credit ; and he with- 
 drew his troops, and concluded a truce for 
 three years. It was signed on the 23rd of 
 April, 1658 ; and three years after, on the 
 21st of June, 1661, was converted into a 
 treaty of peace at Karelis, by which their 
 former possessions were mutually secured 
 to each party. 
 
 Alexis, satisfied with the military glory 
 be had acquired in Poland, had withdrawn 
 his troops from that distracted country. A 
 revulsion took place in the feelings of the 
 Poles : a resolve to make a great eflfort to 
 recover their national independence suc- 
 ceeded the fierce religious disputes between 
 catholic and Lutheran, which had made 
 those involved in them almost indiff'erent to 
 the claims of their country. Thousands 
 flocked into Silesia, and rallied round the 
 standard of their fugitive monarch. The 
 great powers of Europe also showed them- 
 selves favourable to the cause of the Poles, 
 from a mixed feeling of commiseration for 
 a gallant people, and a dread of the aspiring 
 views of the Swedish monarch. Poland 
 rose against the king whose foot had been 
 placed upon her neck, and, recovering her 
 ancient spirit, defeated the troops of Charles 
 in several engagements. It is difficult, in- 
 deed it is almost impossible, to conquer a 
 people resolved to be free. After some 
 severe contests, Charles thought proper to 
 retire from Poland; his conduct being 
 further influenced by the circumstance that 
 Sweden itself was invaded by the King of 
 Denmark. The war, however, lingered in 
 Pomerania and along the shores of the 
 Baltic until the death of Charles, when a 
 peace was concluded between Poland and 
 Sweden at Oliva. The only state which 
 derived any solid advantages from all these 
 fierce contentions was Russia. By the sub- 
 mission of Bogdan and the Cossacks, Alexis 
 had obtained possession of that portion of 
 the Ukraine which, lying on the left bank 
 of the Dnieper, had hitherto not been in- 
 cluded in the empire. This comprised many 
 provinces, together with the important border 
 fortresses. As Poland, in her enfeebled 
 state, saw the hopelessness of attempting to 
 recover this broad territory from the power- 
 ful grasp of Russia, the Ukraine became a 
 part of that vast empire, and the Cossacks 
 acknowledged the sway of the czar. Bogdan, 
 
A.D. 1662—1668.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [cOSSACK INSURRECTION. 
 
 wliose wrongs caused this revolution, and 
 whose untiring pursuit of" revenge mainly 
 produced it, passed the remainder of his 
 life in tranquillity, and went to his grave in 
 the course; of nature — a somewhat remark- 
 able circumstance, when we consider how 
 few public men in these turbulent times 
 escaped a violent death. 
 
 Peace was welcome to Russia; for the 
 wounds which anarchy had inflicted upon 
 her were yet scarcely healed. Her com- 
 merce was much depressed, and her treasury 
 nearly exhausted. The silver money had 
 almost disappeared from circulation, and 
 Alexis caused copper, of the same nominal 
 value, to be coined and put in circulation. 
 This depreciated money was received with 
 readiness, until the court itself destroyed 
 the confidence of the people in it, by its 
 greedy efforts to secure all the sterling 
 money, and leave only the new coin for the 
 use of commerce. It fell rapidly in public 
 estimation, and great general distress ensued. 
 Distress led to discontent, and in 1662 a 
 rebellion broke out at Moscow. No attempt 
 was made to pacify the poor ignorant people, 
 but the disaffection was extinguished with a 
 severity amounting to savage fury. The 
 rioters who were captured were hanged or 
 drowned by hundreds ; and others were 
 punished with torture or mutilation. It is 
 estimated that the number who suffered 
 death, in consequence of this arbitrary alter- 
 ation of the currency, amounted to upwards 
 of 7,000 ; while 15,000 more wretched vic- 
 tims were tortured or maimed. 
 
 But Alexis, though merciless in his mode 
 of government, was by no means indifferent 
 to the prosperity of the empire. He courted 
 every opportunity which offered itself of 
 forming or strengthening connections with 
 the courts of Europe — a wise policy, which 
 led to the introduction into Russia of foreign 
 arts and manufactures. With a natural 
 and not altogether ungraceful sympathy, 
 he offered kindnesses to the worthless fugi- 
 tive Charles Stuart, and sent a special am- 
 bassador to congratulate him on his accession 
 to the English throne. Charles II. recipro- 
 cated these civilities, and proposed a com- 
 mercial treaty between England and Russia ; 
 but this was declined by Alexis, on account 
 of its not being sufl5ciently favourable to 
 the interests of his nation. 
 I Whether Alexis saw the necessity which 
 his famous son Peter eventually so power- 
 fully felt, of extending the boundaries of 
 .Russia until they reached the sea^ we are 
 I J5 
 
 unable to say. It is not an improbable 
 assumption, that he felt convinced that an 
 outlet to the sea and a considerable navy 
 was necessary, not only to the commerce, 
 but also to the greatness of Russia. This 
 idea naturally presents itself to the mind, 
 when we learn that the two first Russian 
 vessels that ever were built, were constructed 
 under the personal superintendence of the 
 czar Alexis. Certainly he was an observant 
 and reflective man, and he strove to excite 
 among his subjects a desire for progress and 
 the arts of civilisation. On all questions 
 of great public interest, he called the states- 
 general together to assist him with their 
 counsels. This circumstance, so adverse to 
 the spirit of despotism, showed a desire to 
 bestow upon the people something ap- 
 proaching to a representative voice in the 
 affairs of state. But the peculiar circum- 
 stances of the empire, its vast extent of 
 territory, and the fluctuations to which it 
 was exposed, both from within and without, 
 discouraged this advance in the direction of 
 popular government, and caused it to be 
 abandoned. 
 
 Russia was not long permitted to enjoy 
 the repose so requisite to the development 
 of her prosperity. The Cossacks of the 
 Don had been treated with harshness and 
 injustice — a circumstance which led to in- 
 subordination amongst them. Several of 
 them were put to death — an act of severity 
 which produced great irritation in the minds 
 of these turbulent men. Stenka Radzin, a 
 brother of one of the victims, instigated his 
 countrymen to revolt, and offered himself as 
 their leader. They placed themselves under 
 his banner, with the avowed objects of re- 
 venging the past, and securing their liber- 
 ties for the future ; though no doubt can be 
 entertained that many of them M^ere ani- 
 mated only by a hope of plunder. This was 
 so well known to Radzin, that he lured 
 great numbers, not only of Cossacks, but of 
 discontented Russians, to him by a promise 
 of piratical expeditions on the Caspian, and 
 on the Persian shores of that sea, where it 
 was supposed that great wealth might bo 
 gained at the point of the sword. Other Rus- 
 sians were won to join the insurrection by 
 a promise of the immediate redress of all 
 popular grievances. Radzin also denomi- 
 nated the nobles as the enemies of the 
 people ; and he even had the audacity to 
 give out, that the czar felt himself so power- 
 less against the factious conduct of the selfish 
 grandees, that he had applied to him for the 
 
 121 
 
SEVEKITY OF THE CZAR.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1671. 
 
 means of crushing them. Such was the 
 success of these expedients, that the rebel 
 Cossack found himself the leader of a pro- 
 miscuous army of 200,000 men. 
 
 Radzin commenced operations by seizing 
 a fleet of boats belonging to the czar, while 
 on its way to the city of Astracan ; of which 
 province he talked of making himself the 
 sovereign. With these boats he descended 
 into the Caspian, the shores of which were 
 ruthlessly plundered by him and his com- 
 panions. Though the rebels were rather 
 banditti than soldiers — irregularly armed, 
 and influenced more by a desire for spoil 
 than bound together by anything which 
 deserved the name of a principle — yet they 
 possessed themselves of Astracan in 1670, 
 and became really a formidable body. For 
 three years was Radzin enabled to continue 
 his wild career of insurrection and plunder ; 
 during which period he repeatedly defeated 
 the forces sent against him. At length he 
 received so severe a check, that he promised 
 to lay down his arms, on condition that a 
 pardon was given both to himself and his 
 followers. The general who had brought 
 him to bay, knowing that the Cossack was 
 still formidable if driven to desperation, 
 accepted these terms, and they were con- 
 firmed by the czar. The Cossacks and 
 other rebels were permitted to return to 
 their homes with the plunder they had 
 acquired, and it seemed as if the insurrec- 
 tion was at an end. 
 
 This was not the case. Either in conse- 
 quence of his own restless nature, or from a 
 suspicion that treachery was intended to- 
 wards him, Radzin was soon at his piratical 
 employment again, at the head of a great 
 body of his old followers. The banks of the 
 Volga were swept by them with reckless 
 audacity, and numerous instances of infa- 
 mous cruelty occurred. As before, he raised 
 the cry of liberty and the natural rights of 
 man; and the oppressed and discontented 
 crowded to his aid. Even large numbers of 
 the soldiers murdered their officers, and 
 joined a leader who, to such popular war- 
 cries, combined an unlimited license to 
 plunder. Had Radzin been a man of com- 
 prehensive talents, and fitted by nature to 
 be the leader of a great popular movement, 
 he might have revolutionised Russia. He 
 had no such qualities, and was altogether 
 unable to direct the power he raised. In 
 fact, the extent of his own success awed 
 him : he did not understand the next step ; 
 and feeling the peril of his own position, 
 122 
 
 feared to perish in the storm which, wizard- 
 like, he had created. In the very height of 
 his power, he was snared by an assurance 
 that the czar desired to see the famous chief 
 of the Don Cossacks in the capital, where 
 he would, in admiration of his boldness, 
 again extend to him a pardon. The delu- 
 sion would have been seen through by a 
 man of ordinary intelligence ; but Radzin, 
 flattered by what he regarded as so great 
 a distinction, was deceived and entrapped 
 by it. His friends urged him not to go; 
 and represented that, even if treachery was 
 not intended, the czar had perhaps not 
 made the promise attributed to him. Re- 
 gardless of remonstrances, the devoted man 
 pressed thoughtlessly and eagerly forward 
 towards the pit that had been dug to engulf 
 him. As he approached Moscow, he beheld 
 a gallows on a cart, which had been sent 
 forward to meet him as a prognostic of his 
 fate. Whether it was too late to recede, or 
 that he was blinded by infatuation, we can- 
 not say ; but he still went on, and entered 
 the city. No sooner had he done so, than 
 he was seized, and shortly afterwards expi- 
 ated his crimes upon the scafi'old. After 
 his departure from Astracan, it was in- 
 vested and taken by the Russian troops : a 
 great number of his followers perished be- 
 neath the swords of their assailants ; while 
 no less than 12,000 of them were subse- 
 quently gibbeted on the high roads of the 
 disturbed districts. This terrible severity 
 struck awe into the rebels ; the wild dreams 
 of liberty of some, and the habits of plunder 
 of others, were abandoned ; the storm of in- 
 surrection subsided, and peace was restored 
 in the district of the Ukraine ; but in many 
 places it was the peace of desolation and of 
 the charnel-house. 
 
 Another war was impending. Turkey 
 beheld with emotions of jealousy the ex- 
 tending territory and power of Russia. The 
 recent subjugation of the Cossacks placed a 
 barrier between the great northern empire 
 and the dominions of the sultan, which 
 Mohammed IV. considered it expedient to 
 remove. The Saporogian Cossacks, led by 
 their hetman Dorenseusky, had revolted 
 against the Poles, and made a treaty of 
 alliance with the sultan. This circumstance 
 naturally led to a dispute between Poland 
 and Turkey ; and the haughty Porte, used 
 to conquest, conceived the bold design of 
 first crushing Poland, and then descending 
 upon Russia. 
 
 Mohammed poured a Moslem army of 
 
A.D. 1676.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [death op ALEXIS. 
 
 80,000 men into Poland, where he was 
 bravely withstood by the heroic John 
 Sobieski, at the head of a force not amount- 
 ing to a fourth part of that of the invaders. 
 Yet the ultimate success of Turkey was 
 evident, unless assistance was given to 
 Poland. Alexis was bound, both by treaty 
 and by a wise policy, to assist the Poles 
 against an enemy dreaded by all Chris- 
 tendom. He was further induced to oppose 
 himself to the great representative of Mo- 
 hammedanism by a haughty message he 
 received from the sultan, requiring him to 
 evacuate his possessions in the Ukraine. 
 The sultan, in his communication, treated 
 Alexis as if he had been only a Christian 
 hospodar, while, with Asiatic vanity, he en- 
 titled himself " Most glorious majesty, king 
 of the world.^' The answer of the czar was 
 a memorable one, and sternly indicative of 
 the growing power as well as reputation of 
 the vast empire he governed. The message 
 he returned was, that " he was above sub- 
 mitting to a Mohammedan dog; but that 
 his sabre was as good as the grand seignor^s 
 scimitar." 
 
 Not only did Alexis prepare for war, but 
 he endeavoured to create a Christian league 
 against the Turks. With this object he 
 sent ambassadors to the pope and to almost 
 all the great sovereigns in Europe, except 
 France, which was iu alliance with Turkey : 
 but the monarchs of Europe were fully occu- 
 pied with their own quarrels and interests, 
 and were, consequently, not disposed to give 
 anything but their good wishes. 
 
 .The exertions of the Russians were fore- 
 stalled by the unexpected and brilliant suc- 
 cess of the Poles. Sobieski — now raised to 
 the throne of Poland, after having, at the 
 head of only 10,000 men, opposed the 
 Turks, who had an army, raised by rein- 
 forcements to 300,000 — at length, on the 
 morning of the 14th of October, 1676, had the 
 audacity to lead his followers from their in- 
 trenchments, and offer battle to the over- 
 whelming hosts before them ! The Turks 
 were not only astonished, but a superstitious 
 fear fell upon them. They could not believe 
 that ordinary men could be capable of such 
 reckless and seemingly hopeless daring. 
 They declared that the Poles were assisted 
 by magic, that their leader was Sheitan, or 
 the devil, and that it was useless to fight 
 against them. The Turkish pasha, though 
 above this superstition, knew the debilitating 
 influence it would have upon his troops ; and 
 knowing, also, -that Polish succours were 
 
 approaching, he offered an honourable peace, 
 which Sobieski was glad enough to accept. 
 Though not victory, it was at least triumph, 
 and won for the brave Polish monarch the 
 admiration of Europe. 
 
 Before this event occurred, the czar 
 Alexis was no more. He died on the 10th 
 of February, 1676, in the fot-ty-sixth year 
 of his age, and the thirty-first of his reign. 
 His death was hastened by the ignorance of 
 an old woman, to whose medical skill he 
 trusted in preference to that of his physi- 
 cians ; at least the latter said so, though if 
 he had died while under their treatment, it 
 would have been discovered that nature had 
 succumbed to the resistless force of the 
 disease. 
 
 Alexis was mourned for by his subjects, 
 and in some respects he deserved this hon- 
 ourable tribute to his memory. The fault 
 of most of the sovereigns of the house of 
 Romanoff was want of heart, or of that be- 
 coming gentleness which, in those who hold 
 the issues of life and death, tempers the 
 severity of justice with the sweetness of 
 mercy. From this Alexis was not exempt ; 
 and though not wantonly cruel, yet he 
 crushed opposition and insurrection with a 
 severity that bore an aspect of vindictive- 
 ness and brutality. Certainly the barbarous 
 people whom he ruled did not seem to un- 
 derstand any other mode of correction : but 
 it was not tried with them. Yet, setting 
 aside the exercise of an unnecessary severity, 
 which must be regarded as a vice of the 
 times, Alexis was an able and an estimable 
 prince. His prudence and his firmness 
 consolidated the throne of the empire, 
 and bound up deep wounds which, though 
 closing, were far from being healed. Though 
 not deficient in the qualities of the warrior, 
 yet his courage was balanced by a sagacious 
 statesmanship which counselled him to mo- 
 deration and prudence. One noble point 
 of his character must not be forgotten : he 
 abolished the inhuman custom by which, 
 in Russia, all prisoners taken in war were 
 consigned to slavery. He felt that brave 
 men ought not to be punished for serving 
 their sovereign ; and all military captives he 
 sent into the uncultivated parts of the em- 
 pire, for the purpose of colonising those 
 remote districts. He never lost sight of 
 the improvement of his country, and de- 
 voted himself especially to the promotion 
 of agriculture and manufactures. He in- 
 duced many foreigners of ability to settle in 
 Russia, and treated them with great libe- 
 
 123 
 
ACCESSION OF FEODOR.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.]). 1676. 
 
 rality. In the same spirit, he caused works 
 on mathematics, military science, tactics, 
 fortification, geography, and other valuable 
 subjects, to be translated into the Russian 
 language. He introduced important re- 
 forms in the laws, and attempted others in 
 the church. The city of Moscow was en- 
 larged, and twa suburbs built by him. His at- 
 tention was also turned to ship-building; but 
 in this direction he only commenced a work 
 which was left for a greater man to carry 
 out. He was twice married. By his first 
 
 wife, Maria Iljinishna Miloflafskoi, he had 
 two sons and four daughters ; though some 
 writers say six, and others seven: his second 
 wife, Natolia Kirillowna Narishkin, brought 
 him one son and one daughter — the for- 
 mer being Peter Alexeiewitz, afterwards so 
 famous as to acquire the title of Peter the 
 Great. We may briefly sum up the cha- 
 racter of Alexis, by quoting the judgment 
 of a distinguished writer concerning him; 
 that is, that he was worthy of being the 
 father of so distinguished a son. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 ACCESSION OF FEODOR ; HE EXECUTES MINOR REFORMS; HIS BENEVOLENCE; HE ABOLISHES THE MESTNI- 
 CHESTVO ; HIS MARRIAGE AND DEATS ; AMBITION OF THE PRINCESS SOPHIA, AND REVOLT OF THE STKE- 
 LITZ ; IVAN AND PETER ARE CROWNED AS JOINT SOVEREIGN ; SOPHIA BECOMES REGENT ; REBELLION OF 
 KOVANSKOI ; UNSUCCESSFUL WAR WITH THE TARTARS OF THE CRIMEA ; THE BOYHOOD OF PETER ; HIS 
 MARRIAGE ; SOPHIA ENDEAVOURS TO PROCURE THE ASSASSINATION OF PETER ; HE COMPELS HER TO 
 ABDICATE THE REGENCY, AND RETIRE INTO A CONVENT , PETER BECOMES SOLE SOVEREIGN. 
 
 Eeodor, the eldest son of Alexis, was, at the 
 time of his father's death, only nineteen years 
 of age. Some objections were urged against 
 his succeeding to the throne, on account 
 of the extreme delicacy or feebleness of his 
 constitution. These objections would have 
 had more force if they had not proceeded 
 from the Narishkins, the family of the 
 second wife of the late czar, who were ex- 
 tremely anxious to place the infant Peter, 
 then only three years of age, on the throne 
 instead of Feodor ; who, it was pretended, 
 was weak in intellect as well as in bodily 
 frame. Ivan, the brother of Feodor, was 
 undoubtedly almost imbecile; but the subse- 
 quent acts of the latter showed him to pos- 
 sess considerable mental power, in conjunc- 
 tion with a resolute will. 
 
 Alexis had bequeathed to his successor 
 one dangerous legacy, namely, his dispute 
 with Turkey on the subject of the territory 
 of the Ukraine, and the sovereignty over 
 the Cossacks of that region. Neither em- 
 pire cared to prolong, or rather to enter 
 upon, an active state of hostilities ; and 
 three years after the accession of Feodor, 
 an armistice, which was to last for twenty 
 years, was entered into between the Porte 
 and the czar, by which the contested terri- 
 tory was surrendered to the latter. 
 124 
 
 Feodor, young as he was, entered with 
 avidity upon the task of promoting the 
 civilisation of the empire. This he for- 
 warded by the minute attention he paid to 
 the administration of its internal aff'airs. 
 That of justice particularly occupied his 
 attention; and he laboured hard to extir- 
 pate the corruption which infected its de- 
 cisions. Then, and unhappily even now — 
 for the villanous practice has lasted from 
 that time to the present — the verdicts of 
 judges were given, or rather sold, to the 
 litigant who bribed the highest. It is said, 
 in apology for this gigantic evil, that judges 
 and other highly responsible officials are 
 paid so small a sum, that men of high posi- 
 tion and irreproachable character will not 
 accept such positions, and that the dis- 
 honesty of those who do, is consequently 
 winked at by the imperial goverument. 
 The statement as to the insufficiency of 
 remuneration is at least correct ; for we 
 have already stated, that at the present 
 time, the highest legal functionaries of 
 Russia receive only £160 a-year ! Bribery, 
 or the acceptance of presents, as it is termed 
 by the Russians, is therefore almost a neces- 
 sary consequence among a people where the 
 tone of public morality is by no means a 
 high one. We may be allowed to question 
 

i.e Ilap.^av.iiisilii^i'i'.'vd hv.j.'di'v. 
 
. V I r, II 
 
A.D. 1680.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE, [abolition of the mestnichestvo. 
 
 the sincerity, or at least the earnestness, 
 of the government in its endeavours to ex- 
 tinguish this vile trading in that which 
 should be above all price, because it has 
 never adopted the most evident means of 
 j putting an end to it ; that is, the awarding 
 j of such stipends to those who administer 
 j the law, as to place them at least beyond 
 : the cares of poverty and its accompanying 
 j temptations. The Russian peasants have a 
 proverb which expresses their conviction of 
 the difficulty of obtaining justice. They 
 say, " God is in heaven, and the czar is far 
 off." That is, that both are so above them, 
 and so inaccessible to their approach, that 
 they must submit to oppression with pa- 
 tience. Nikolay Gogal, a Russian author 
 of the present century, who has acquired 
 great celebrity, and occupies, in the litera- 
 ture of the northern empire, a position 
 something resembling that of Mr. Charles 
 Dickens in the literature of England, wrote 
 a comedy on the subject of judicial corrup- 
 tion, called The Revisor, which not only 
 met with the most brilliant success, but 
 was witnessed more than once by the late 
 emperor Nicholas, who gave it his marked 
 applause. A revisor, in Russia, is the title 
 of a high government officer, dispatched to 
 a province to ascertain and report on the 
 character of its administration. The plot 
 and moral of the play is, that an impostor 
 who makes his appearance at a provincial 
 capital, assuming this title, finds such uni- 
 versal peculation and misconduct among all 
 the government officials, that when he is at 
 last discovered, they are glad to let him off 
 scot-free, and hush up the whole affair. 
 
 To return from this momentary digres- 
 sion. The young czar Feodor found the 
 task he had undertaken was too great for 
 him. He did not remove the cause (pro- 
 bably did not recognise it), and the effect 
 remained. The underpaid and crafty judges 
 devised ways to evade his enactments ; and 
 all he found it expedient to do, was to 
 punish flagrant cases with severity. The 
 young among the wealthy are seldom 
 thoughtful of the poor; but Feodor gave 
 much of his attention to their sufferings, 
 and the mode of alleviating them. With 
 more of philanthropy, perhaps, than wis- 
 dom, he caused the price of provisions to be 
 regulated by what was regarded as an equi- 
 table standard, and made enactments with 
 the object of preventing the dealers in such 
 commodities from oppressing the indigent. 
 He even took such a kindly interest in the 
 
 affairs of the people, as to lend sums of 
 money to small tradesmen and ingenious 
 artisans, to assist them in their business, 
 and received the payment in small instal- 
 ments. He reformed the police arrange- 
 ments of Moscow, and gave attention to 
 many matters which, though they gene- 
 rally escape the observation of princes, yet 
 do much towards constituting the content- 
 ment and prosperity of a people. 
 
 One reform Feodor accomplished which 
 made his name memorable. It was the 
 abolition of a troublesome custom, called 
 Mestnichestvo or placeship, from Mesto, 
 place. Every family amongst the nobility 
 kept a book containing its genealogy; and 
 pride of ancestry was carried to an ex- 
 tent that caused many inconveniences and 
 quarrels. No nobleman would serve in 
 a post subordinate to another whose an- 
 cestry had stood at any time in an inferior 
 P9sition to his progenitors. As the genea- 
 logical books contained an account of all 
 the positions held at any time by those 
 mentioned in them, it was easy for a dis- 
 contented boyard to find out at once what 
 had been the appointments of the ancestors 
 of any rival who was raised to some posi- 
 tion above him. This folly was carried to 
 such lengths, that it seriously interfered 
 with the progress of public business, being 
 a source of incessant discords. A public 
 office had been instituted at Moscow, in 
 which exact copies of the genealogical table 
 and service-register were deposited. Feodor 
 consulted with his minister. Prince Vassili 
 Galitzin, on the best means of putting an 
 end to this pride-engendered confusion ; 
 and they soon devised a curious and rather 
 dramatic expedient. 
 
 The czar issued a proclamation, requiring 
 that all noble families should deliver into 
 court faithful copies of their service-rolls, 
 that certain errors might be erased from 
 them. The command was obeyed; and at 
 the appointed time the czar, the patriarch, 
 the superior clergy, and the nobles were 
 assembled together. The patriarch, who 
 had been informed concerning the real 
 object of the meeting, first delivered an 
 animated address against the Mestnichestvo 
 and the jealousies and inconveniences caused 
 by it. These prerogatives, said he in con- 
 clusion, " are a bitter source of every kind 
 of evil ; they render abortive the most 
 useful enterprises, in like manner as the 
 tares stifle the good grain ; they have intro- 
 duced, even into the heart of families, dis- 
 
 125 
 
MARRIAGE OF FEODOR.] 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1680. 
 
 sensions, confusions, and hatred ; but the 
 pontiflF comprehends the grand design of 
 his czar. God alone can have inspired it !" 
 The nobles expressed their satisfaction at 
 the yet unrevealed intention, by the utter- 
 ance of servile acclamations, ia the midst of 
 which Feodor proposed, that all the papers 
 relative to the positions they or their an- 
 cestors had held, should be at once burnt, 
 in order that the feuds arising from them 
 might be altogether forgotten. The nobles 
 were extremely unwilling ; but their assent 
 had been given, and could not readily be 
 recalled. The records were thrown into a 
 fire, prepared in the courtyard of the 
 palace, and soon reduced to ashes. In 
 conclusion, the patriarch pronounced an 
 anathema against every one who presumed 
 to contravene this ordinance of the czar; 
 and the humbled nobles joined the rest of 
 the assembly in a response of "Amen." 
 The importance of this reform, and the diffi- 
 culties in the way of accomplishing it, may 
 be inferred from the fact, that Ivan the 
 Terrible, who had deluged Russia with 
 blood and decimated its nobility, was un- 
 able to abohsh the Mestnichestvo. That it 
 might not be supposed that he was inimical 
 to an order of nobility, Feodor ordered a 
 new set of books to be made, in which the 
 names and rank of the noble families were 
 duly inserted; but the old distinctions, 
 arising from the accidental occupation of 
 place, were altogether abolished. 
 
 Even in such a circumstance as his mar- 
 riage, the young czar exhibited his thought- 
 fulness and his care for the prosperity and 
 enlightenment of the empire. It was the 
 custom for the Russian czars always to 
 marry a subject; as it was said such a prac- 
 tice shut out of the empire the evils of 
 foreign influence. This might be the case ; 
 but it also excluded the benefits of foreign 
 alliances, and checked that intercourse be- 
 tween nations so productive of the exten- 
 sion of civilisation, and of which Russia 
 stood so pre-eminently in need. Besides 
 this, a peculiar honour was conferred upon 
 the family from whose circle the consort of 
 the czar was selected, which commonly 
 encouraged ambitious views in it, and ex- 
 cited a feeling of jealous irritation against it 
 on the part of the other nobles. In cases 
 also where the sovereign married twice, it 
 created rival factions, whose animosities 
 might disturb the peace of the country. 
 An incident of the latter kind was ob- 
 servable when Feodor ascended the throne, 
 126 
 
 and the Narishkin family, the relations of 
 the second czarina, endeavoured, on the 
 false plea of his being of feeble intellect, to 
 set him aside in favour of the infant Peter. 
 In the event of their being successful, the 
 Narishkins would have enjoyed the chief 
 offices and emoluments of the state, which, 
 as they failed, were probably to no small 
 extent filled by the members of the house 
 of Miloflafskoi, a daughter of the head of 
 which was the mother of Feodor. 
 
 These considerations induced the czar to 
 resolve upon not selecting a consort from 
 the daughters of the Russian nobles, but to 
 look abroad for a partner of his crown and 
 bed. Probably a more personal and imme- 
 diate motive also influenced him ; for he 
 chose a Polish lady for whom, we learn, he 
 had conceived a passionate attachment. 
 The nobles objected to the match; and 
 those who had marriageable daughters were, 
 we may not unfairly presume, decidedly ad- 
 verse to a departure from old customs. 
 But the chief opposition came from the 
 clergy, who nevertheless uttered remon- 
 strances, warnings, and anathemas in vain. 
 Feodor replied that he should marry the 
 lady of his choice, whether the church ap- 
 proved of it or otherwise ; and marry her he 
 did — a circumstance which we are sure that 
 our lady readers, at least, will not censure 
 him for. 
 
 Feodor endeavoured to withdraw the 
 people from many prejudices, and pernicious 
 or barbarous habits. His reign was too 
 brief to permit of any great success in this 
 direction ; for it takes years, and sometimes 
 even generations, to efi'ect changes in na- 
 tional customs. To vulgar minds it is a 
 sufficient reason for anything, that their 
 fathers and forefathers did it. So strongly 
 does this feeling — a wholesome one under 
 proper restrictions — influence the Russian 
 peasantry, that even to this day they can 
 scarcely be induced to adopt agricultural 
 improvements. Their ancestors followed a 
 plan which, with greater labour, yielded a 
 smaller produce ; and they will do as their 
 ancestors did. Inertness of mind and con- 
 stitutional apathy has much to do in bring- 
 ing about this obstructive temper in a 
 people ; and the Russian peasant was, and 
 is, notoriously i^lle and unreflective. Feodor 
 tried hard to raise the people from their 
 slothful ways, and to show them the value 
 of intellectual energy. It is very possible 
 that his exertions softened the severity of 
 the subsequent labours of Peter in the same 
 
A.D. 1682.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [death of feodok. 
 
 path ; indeed, but for his premature death, 
 he might have accomplished much of what 
 was eventually effected by his illustrious 
 half-brother. It is somewhat remarkable, 
 that he endeavoured to reform the common 
 dress of the people, and to induce them to 
 adopt a costume resembling that worn by 
 the inhabitants of other European nations, 
 instead of one of an Asiatic character. 
 
 The reign of this amiable and wise young 
 czar was a very brief one. It extended 
 over a period of six years only ; when his 
 feeble constitution sunk under some dis- 
 order, and he died early in 1682, at the age 
 of twenty-five. During the time he held 
 the sceptre, he accomplished a considerable 
 amount of good in those small matters 
 which bring more benefit to the people 
 than reputation to the sovereign. His was 
 the work of preparation; and he proved 
 himself a worthy forerunner of the national 
 regenerator who was to effect that which he 
 had laid his hand upon. Reformer as he 
 was, the Russians regretted their young 
 czar, and mourned his death. Though 
 they disapproved of many of his designs, 
 they were conscious that he laboured ear- 
 nestly in the cause of his country. 
 
 Feodor, shortly before his death, ap- 
 pointed his half-brother Peter to succeed 
 to the empire ; for he knew that the in- 
 firmities of Ivan were such as to prevent 
 the possibility of his discharging the duties 
 of the government. The unhappy boy, 
 besides being of defective intellect, was 
 subject to epileptic fits, and nearly blind. 
 Sensible of his own unfitness for a post of 
 such serious responsibility, Ivan readily 
 consented to the proposition of Feodor, and 
 resigned a crown, the weight of which he 
 had not strength to bear. 
 
 The princess Sophia, a sister of Ivan's, 
 distinguished aUke for her beauty, her am- 
 bition, and her reckless want of principle, 
 was much incensed at this arrangement. 
 It was her desire that Ivan should suc- 
 ceed to the throne, that she might be able 
 to rule through the instrumentality of her 
 feeble brother. The members of the house 
 of Miloflafskoi, or the family of the mother 
 of Ivan, were all ready to second any 
 scheme she might conceive for that pur- 
 pose ; while the Narishkins, the family of 
 Peter, were equally as ready to oppose it. 
 Much excitement was produced by this 
 division in the imperial family ; and ad- 
 herents to both parties arose in every 
 quarter of the city. 
 
 The Miloflafskois had the advantage that 
 arose from the possession of authority. 
 The officers of state were in their confi- 
 dence, the keys of power in their hands, 
 and the bands of the Strelitz under their 
 command, or at least nominally so; for 
 these turbulent and ferocious troops were 
 scarcely to be controlled by any power in 
 the state. The designing Sophia resolved 
 to make these men the instruments of her 
 approach to power. She addressed herself 
 to them even before Feodor had breathed 
 his last, and pleaded in behalf of her 
 brother Ivan; knowing, that if this poor 
 puppet was placed upon the throne, she 
 would have the field to herself, and could 
 do as she pleased. It is said, that her 
 beauty made a great impression upon the 
 Strelitz ; but it is more likely that her in- 
 fluence arose solely from the bribes which 
 she scattered amongst them with great 
 liberality. Within two days after the fune- 
 ral of Feodor, the Strelitz assembled in 
 arms to the number of 14,000, and pro- 
 ceeded in a body to the Kremlin. They 
 had received their instructions; which were, 
 in the tumult of insurrection to assassinate 
 the chief members of the Narishkin family, 
 and to take, if possible, the life of the 
 young prince Peter. To give a false colour 
 to their objects, a report was spread 
 throughout the city, that the Narishkins 
 had poisoned Feodor to make way for 
 Peter; that some foreign physicians had 
 been the guilty agents ; and that a similar 
 act of treacheiy was contemplated towards 
 Ivan. 
 
 On arriving at the Kremlin, the Strelitz 
 broke out into insurrection. They began 
 by accusing nine of their colonels of de- 
 frauding them of their pay, and demanding 
 the sums that had been taken from them, 
 and that the nine officers should be given 
 up to them. Both demands were compUed 
 with, and the defaulters subjected to the 
 punishment of the bastinado. Subordina- 
 tion once broken, furious excesses soon fol- 
 lowed. These were encouraged by the 
 princess Sophia, who had given to the 
 chiefs of the Strelitz a list of forty nobles, 
 whom she declared to be enemies of the 
 state, and deserving of death. Forcing 
 their way into the palace, the Strelitz de- 
 manded the lives of the Narishkins. The 
 princes Dolgorouki and Maffeof were the 
 first victims. These unfortunate men were 
 thrown out of the windows of the palace by 
 the Strelitz, and received on the pikes of 
 
 127 
 
IV AX AND PETER.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1682. 
 
 their comrades beneath. Athanasius Narish- 
 kin, a brother of the widow of the czar Alexis, 
 and uncle of Peter, was also murdered, 
 together with most of those denounced b}'- 
 the fierce and ambitious Sophia. Three of 
 the proscriljed were dragged from the altar 
 of a neighbouring church, stripped naked, 
 and then cut to pieces. In their fury, the 
 ruffian soldiers murdered a young noble- 
 man, by mistake, for one of the uncles of 
 Peter, of whom they were in search. When 
 the deed was done, they discovered they 
 had slain a member of the house of Soltikof, 
 who, so far from incurring their vengeance, 
 had ever been a great favourite with them. 
 To show their regret, they respectfully car- 
 ried the body of the young noble to his 
 father, who, influenced by fear, gave them 
 a considerable reward for so doing. The 
 ladies of his household reproached him for 
 his weakness. " Let us wait," responded 
 the bereaved noble, " for an opportunity of 
 being revenged." The retiring soldiers 
 overheard the Avords, and returning, they 
 dragged the aged man by the hair into the 
 street, and cut his throat at his own door. 
 
 A Dutch physician named Daniel Von- 
 gad, had been accused of poisoning the 
 czar Feodor — a crime of which the unfor- 
 tunate man was undoubtedly innocent. 
 While searching for Vongad, they met his 
 son, and murdered him, because he would 
 not inform them where his father was. 
 Shortly afterwards, a German physician fell 
 into their hands, and was instantly put to 
 death by these ruffians ; who said to him, 
 "You are a doctor; and if you have not 
 poisoned our master Feodor, you have 
 poisoned others, and therefore vou merit 
 death." 
 
 Vongad was at length discovered, con- 
 cealed in the palace in the disguise of a 
 beggar. The princesses (sisters of the re- 
 morseless Sophia) implored the soldiers to 
 spare him, assuring them that he was a 
 very skilful man, and had taken great care 
 of their brother Feodor. The wretches, 
 thirsting for blood, replied, that he deserved 
 to be put to death for sorcery; for that 
 they had found the skeleton of a large toad, 
 and the skin of a snake, in his cabinet. 
 Having discovered John Narishkin, another 
 brother of the mother of Peter, they put 
 him and the poor physician to a mock trial, 
 and condemned them to be cut to pieces. 
 After the execution of this savage sentence, 
 the heads, feet, and hands of the two vic- 
 tims were exposed upon the iron points of 
 128 
 
 a balustrade of the palace. Happily the 
 mother of Peter escaped with that young 
 prince from this scene of horror. She fled 
 with her boy in her arms; but the Strelitz 
 were soon upon her track. When almost 
 exhausted, she could hear the yells of her 
 pursuers and the tramp of their feet. She 
 had just time to gain the sanctuary of the 
 convent of the Trinity, and to place her 
 child upon the altar, when two of the 
 ruffians entered. One of them seized the 
 prince, and raised his weapon to dispatch 
 the boy. At this moment, a noise of horse- 
 men, joined, perhaps, to a feeling of super- 
 stitious terror, caused him to hesitate. A 
 strange panic had fallen upon his comrades 
 in the other part of the church; it extended 
 itself to him : the ruffian released the 
 prince, and fled ; and the future regenerator 
 of Russia was saved. 
 
 The result of all this violence was, that 
 the feeble Ivan was declared czar. The 
 poor boy shrunk from a responsibility to 
 which he felt himself unequal, and desired 
 that his half-brother, Peter, might be asso- 
 ciated with him in the government. This 
 proposition was considered reasonable, and 
 brought about a compromise. The partisans 
 of the princess Sophia thought it prudent 
 to consent : and on the 6th of May, ] 682, 
 Ivan and Peter were crowned as joint 
 sovereign, she herself being appointed as 
 regent. The ambitious princess, though 
 thus in possession of the imperial power, 
 was not satisfied without being recognised 
 as ruler in name as well as in fact. She 
 enjoyed all the honours of sovereignty ; her 
 features Avere stamped upon the public coin, 
 she signed all despatches, had the first seat 
 in the council, and enjoyed an authority 
 which knew no control. 
 
 To preserve the power of the sceptre in 
 her own family, she married her brother 
 Ivan to a young lady of the house of 
 Soltikof. The Avay in which the consort of 
 the czar was selected at this period, was 
 remarkable and romantic. Voltaire ob- 
 serves, that on these occasions it seems as 
 if we were reading the history of Ahasuerus^ 
 or that of Theodosius the younger. The 
 ceremony Avas conducted according to 
 Asiatic precedents. The most beautiful 
 girls of the country were diligently sought 
 for, and when a sufficient number were 
 collected, they Avere invited to the palace, 
 and dressed in their most costly apparel. 
 Each had an apartment provided for her, 
 but they dined together at a general table. 
 
A.D 1684.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE, [insurrection of the strelitz. 
 
 On these occasions, the czar attended either 
 publicly or incognito, and had an oppor- 
 tunity of comparing their beauty, and 
 listening to tlieir conversation. Some 
 authors assert, that he watched them upon 
 other and unsuspected occasions, and even 
 sometimes visited their chambers at night, 
 to see which of them slept quietest. When 
 he had made his selection, he presented 
 the chosen lady with a handkerchief and a 
 ring, as tokens of his affection and accept- 
 ance of her. The rest were honourably 
 dismissed with presents, and returned to 
 their respective homes. The chosen beauty 
 was then declared in public, and had the 
 title of grand princess conferred upon her. 
 
 Having induced her brother Ivan to 
 marry, Sophia sent Peter to an obscure 
 village, where, by causing his education to 
 be neglected, and surrounding him with low 
 companions, she trusted to render him 
 unfit to attain and direct the powers of the 
 state. Thus, with two czars upon the 
 throne, the one almost an idiot, the other a 
 mere child, the regent Sophia might have 
 been an absolute sovereign but for other 
 difficulties which arose in her path. Men's 
 minds were unsettled, and a fresh insurrec- 
 tion broke out. The Strelitz were especially 
 turbulent. They first broke into rebellion 
 on the subject of religion ; and, in defence 
 of some new doctrine, drove the patriarch 
 and his clergy from the cathedral with 
 stones. After much confusion this out- 
 break was subdued, the leaders beheaded, 
 and the soldiers pacified or intimidated. 
 
 But the Strelitz did not long remain 
 quiet; they felt that they had given the 
 sceptre into the hands of Sophia, and that 
 she could not sufficiently repay them for 
 such an important service. Like the prie- 
 torian guards of the Roman emperors, they 
 assumed the right of dethroning as well as 
 enthroning; and the regent soon became 
 sensible that she must awe them into sub- 
 mission, or become merely a slavish instru- 
 ment of their desires. Prince Kovanskoi, 
 their commander, had been the confidant of 
 the ambitious princess, and was necessarily 
 in possession of dangerous secrets. At first 
 he appears to have been merely jealous of 
 the superior ascendancy of Prince Basil 
 Galatzin, the favourite and lover of the 
 princess, whom she had created general- 
 issimo, minister of state, and lord-keeper. 
 Soon, however, he enlarged the horizon of 
 his ambition, and even aimed at the im- 
 perial dignity. With this view he proposed 
 
 to the regent, that she should roarry one of 
 her sisters to his son. The acute princess 
 suspected the design of Kovanskoi, and 
 returned a haughty refusal. Irritated by 
 her replv, he resolved on revenge, and de- 
 termined to clear a path to the throne by 
 the murder of the two czars, Sophia, and all 
 who were attached to the imperial family. 
 
 At the instigation of Kovanskoi, the tur- 
 bulent Strelitz again broke out into insur- 
 rection. On this occasion, also, the name 
 of religion was perverted into an excuse for 
 outrage. The soldiers demanded certain 
 changes, but the object of their chief was 
 merely ambitious. Moscow was thrown 
 into a state of confusion; and the czars and 
 the princesses having no power at hand to 
 oppose the insurgents, fled to the fortified 
 monastery of the Trinity, within twelve 
 leagues of the capital. This retreat was at 
 once a convent, a palace, and a fortress; 
 and was encompassed with deep ditches and 
 brick ramparts, on which were planted a 
 numerous artillery. Ensconced within these 
 walls, the imperial party prepared to defend 
 themselves to the last extremity. 
 
 Prince Kovanskoi possessed far more am- 
 bition than talent; and he soon showed 
 that he was no match for the crafty princess 
 against whom he had conspired. She opened 
 a negotiation, and having prevailed upon 
 him to meet her half-way, she came to the 
 spot with a considerable body of soldiers, 
 and seizing Kovanskoi and the thirty-seven 
 Strelitz who attended him, caused them to 
 be instantly beheaded. The rebels were 
 furious on learning the fate of their leader, 
 and advanced upon the monastery, threat- 
 ening death to everyone within it. While 
 they were approaching, they received in- 
 formation that troops were marching on 
 all sides against them ; and their fury was 
 succeeded, first by fear, and next by an 
 absolute panic. Taking advantage of this, 
 the regent, reassured by the assistance that 
 was at hand, demanded that all the ring- 
 leaders should be delivered up to her, and 
 that every tenth man in each regiment 
 should also be surrendered as a security 
 for the behaviour of the rest. The dispirited 
 rebels at once complied, and the selected 
 victims having taken leave of their Avives 
 and families, went in a long melancholy 
 procession to the monastery. Two-thirds 
 of the number carried blocks ; while the 
 remainder bore axes — the intended instru- 
 ments of their own execution. On arriving 
 at the open space in front of the building, 
 
 129 
 
WAR WITH THE TAKTAHS.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1687. 
 
 they laid their heads upon the blocks they 
 had brought with them, and passively 
 awaited their doom. The court and the 
 spectators were touched by this exhibition 
 of abject submission. The most guilty only 
 were put to death; while the rest were 
 pardoned and distributed among the frontier 
 regiments. 
 
 This last was the act of the prince 
 Galitzia, who sent the most mutinous corps 
 of the Strelitz into the Ukraine, Kasan, and 
 Siberia. Sophia, who now recovered the 
 regal power, was fortunate in the possession 
 of this man as her minister. The Polish 
 envoy then in Russia described him as 
 superior, in every respect, to any other 
 person in that tempestuous court — as being 
 not only polite, but magnificent; full of 
 grand designs, and learned beyond any of 
 his countrymen; being a master of the 
 Latin tongue, at that time almost unknown 
 in Russia — a man of an active spirit, of in- 
 defatigable application; in short, a genius 
 superior to the times he lived in, and capable, 
 had he leisure and power as he had inclina- 
 tion, of reforming the manners of Russia. 
 
 The partisans of the young czar Peter, 
 discerning in him some touches of mental 
 vigour, lived in hopes of eventually securing 
 for him the sole power of the state. With 
 this object they watched anxiously for an 
 opportunity of weakening the regent Sophia, 
 and of bringing her minister, Galitzin, into 
 disgrace. 
 
 It was known that Galitzin had more 
 talent for the cabinet than for the field; 
 and for this reason his enemies clamoured 
 for a war with the Tartars of the Crimea, 
 who still exacted from Russia an annual 
 tribute of 60,000 roubles. Such a condition 
 was very humiliating to Russia ; but, under 
 the circumstances, with an unsettled gov- 
 ernment, and an almost exhausted treasury, 
 it was not prudent to enter upon a war. 
 Yet the Narishkin faction induced Galitzin 
 to take the field, in the year 1687, at the 
 head of the army, with the hope that a 
 disaster might prove his ruin; or that, at 
 least during his absence, they might more 
 eflfectually advance the claims of Peter. 
 
 The army is said to have amounted to 
 300,000 men ; but they were undisciplined 
 and ill-armed. Galitzin was, moreover, en- 
 cumbered with an enormous quantity of 
 baggage, and he wasted the strength of his 
 men in marches and counter-marches, which 
 failed to produce any equivalent results. 
 The war was prolonged over two campaigns, 
 130 
 
 attended with a loss of 40,000 soldiers, and 
 ended without victory. The enemies ot 
 Galitzin had calculated correctly : the un- 
 successful general incurred general odium, 
 from which the regent Sophia by no means 
 escaped. 
 
 In the meantime Peter grew up towards 
 manhood in his retirement. Left as far as 
 possible without education, the regent had 
 placed around him a number of dissolute 
 young Russians, many of whom were mere 
 adventurers, who, though but lads in years, 
 possessed the vices of men, and had become 
 reckless of honour, and even of reputation. 
 Sophia naturally supposed that Peter would 
 sink to the level of this depraved set, and 
 never afterwards rise above it. She was 
 both right and wrong : partly right, because 
 Peter imbibed from these dissolute lads evil 
 habits which never left him; and partly 
 wrong, because she had not recognised in 
 her half-brother the originality of character 
 and firmness of will that led him to attain 
 an ascendancy over them. He acquired 
 their vices; but he attracted both their 
 affection and esteem. Much of their time 
 was passed in those profligate amusements 
 to which Peter ever remained attached ; but 
 the military taste of the young czar soon 
 became apparent, and he formed his com- 
 panions into a corps of soldiers. In this 
 mimic military community he set an ex- 
 ample of discipline himself, by entering 
 the ranks first as a drummer, and becoming 
 successively a private soldier, an officer, and, 
 finally, commander of the troop. While 
 engaged in these instructive sports, Peter 
 erected fortifications, and himself wheeled 
 the earth from the trenches in a barrow 
 constructed by his own hands. The spirit 
 of the thing was contagious, and in a short 
 time the whole village became a sort of 
 military school. But the time of the young 
 czar was not wholly occupied in this man- 
 ner. Amongst his companions was a young 
 Genevese, named Fran9ois Lefort, who, 
 having quitted his father's house at the age 
 of fourteen, had, after many vicissitudes, 
 entered the military service of Russia during 
 the reign of the czar Feodor, and greatly dis- 
 tinguished himself against the Tartars. At 
 length he obtained an introduction to the czar 
 Peter, who took a liking to him, and en- 
 gaged hira to be one of his companions, or 
 amusers, as they were called. Lefort was a 
 self-educated man, and not deeply versed.in 
 literature, the arts, or the military sciences. 
 But young as he was, he had seen the world. 
 
A.D. 
 
 1689.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [makriage of peter. 
 
 and profited by what he had seen. Though 
 not deep, he was versatile, and possessed 
 very agreeable manners. He was something 
 of a linguist also, and not unacquainted 
 with mathematics ; and it was under his 
 instructions that Peter made a rapid pro- 
 gress in the elementary branches of litera- 
 ture and science. Probably the irregular 
 genius of the young czar would have re- 
 volted against the drudgery of a systematic 
 education; but information thus acquired 
 by snatches, and to some extent by stealth, 
 possessed an air of fascination extremely 
 attractive to him. 
 
 Sophia beheld with pleasure her half- 
 brother occupied with dissipated and seem- 
 ingly boyish pursuits. The military displays 
 of his troops she regarded as the idle frolics 
 of boys, and fancied that the midnight 
 carousals and premature habits of the young 
 czar, would, in a few years, induce a bodily 
 and mental weakness which would render 
 him incapable of governing. She was de-" 
 ceived. Peter, though dissolute, was not 
 wholly so : though his education had been 
 purposely neglected, his great natural ca- 
 pacity enabled him to acquire and digest 
 every useful information that came in his 
 way. A sense of the dignity and responsi- 
 bility of the position that was withheld 
 from him, crossed his mind, or rather pene- 
 trated it, and dwelt there. Though his 
 position was such as a boy might submit to, 
 yet a man could not endure it without 
 shame. Animated by a hope of obtaining 
 the reality of that sceptre of which he and 
 Ivan scarcely touched the shadow, and en- 
 couraged by his friends, he made his appear- 
 ance occasionally in the city of Moscow, 
 and also in the senate, where he took his 
 seat by the side of his feeble-minded brother. 
 Such was the state of affairs, when, in the 
 June of 1689, the friends of Peter brought 
 about a marriage between him and Eudoxia 
 Federowna Lapuchin, the daughter of a 
 Russian noble. This union was intended 
 not only to allure Peter from the dissipa- 
 tion to which he was so much addicted, but 
 also to defeat the scheme of the princess 
 Sophia with respect to Ivan's wife, who was 
 supposed to have sullied the purity of the 
 marriage bed, and to be in a state of criminal 
 pregnancy. 
 
 The decided bearing of Peter in the senate 
 startled Sophia, who saw that she had been 
 deceived in her estimate of his mental 
 powers. Several contentions took place be- 
 tween them; and each recognised in the 
 
 other an enemy whom it was necessary to 
 remove. Accounts of the promising cha- 
 racter of Peter had gone abroad, and he 
 was gaining ground in popular favour. 
 Sophia felt that her choice lay between some 
 immediate and desperate step, and her speedy 
 removal from the power she had usurped. 
 So remorseless a woman probably felt no 
 compunction in consequence of the resolu- 
 tion at which she arrived, which was, to pro- 
 cure the assassination of her rival. She 
 appears to have been steeled to this base 
 purpose by an open quarrel, of a serious 
 kind, which took place between them. On 
 the occasion of some religious festival, So- 
 phia insisted on attending as regent, or, 
 according to some authorities, as czarina. 
 We should presume the latter to be the 
 case, as the regency of the princess had 
 been long admitted, and Peter had never 
 questioned it. On this occasion he vehe- 
 mently denied her claim, and an angry alter- 
 cation was the result. The imperious So- 
 phia, accustomed to command, and more 
 irritated than convinced by the expostula- 
 tions of the young czar, persisted in her 
 pretensions. As there was no umpire to 
 whom the quarrel could be referred for 
 decision, Peter withdrew from the cere- 
 mony, and protested, in the name of the 
 sovereign power, against an act of assump- 
 tion on the part of the princess, which he 
 regarded as an usurpation. 
 
 Once again Sophia resorted to the Stre- 
 litz as the instruments of her vengeance ; 
 and a body of 600 of these desperate men 
 was sent during the night to the residence 
 of Peter, with orders to seize or dispatch 
 him. The friends of the young czar were 
 on the alert: he had received information 
 of the murderous design against him, and 
 had secretly left the city, and retired to the 
 fortified monastery of the Trinity. There 
 he summoned all the nobles of his party 
 and the friends of Russia, and entreated 
 their assistance ■ to set aside an oppres- 
 sive usurpation. His call was generally 
 responded to, for the Russians are remark- 
 ably " orthodox" in their devotion to the 
 true sovereign ; and Sophia, if she had not 
 excited disgust by her assumption of im- 
 perial power, had at least failed to attract 
 the affections of the people. 
 
 Peter soon had a considerable force at his 
 command ; and the Strelitz, disappointed in 
 their attempt on his life, were alarmed at 
 the danger they had incurred, and aban- 
 doned an enterprise which gave no promise 
 
 131 
 
OVERTHROW OF SOPHIA.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1689. 
 
 of success. The princess Sophia, feeling 
 herself deserted, sent commissioners to her 
 half-brother, to propose terms of accommo- 
 dation, and express a hope that their differ- 
 ences might be amicably adjusted. Hesi- 
 tation at this time, on the part of the 
 young czar, would probably have had an 
 evil influence on the whole of his life. But 
 he felt himself master of the position, and 
 refused all terms except those he dictated, 
 which were,^ the immediate and entire 
 abandonment, by the princess, of her 
 authority as regent. The commissioners 
 themselves, on hearing Peter's statement of 
 the misconduct and treachery of Sophia, 
 abandoned their trust, and attached tliem- 
 selves to his cause. The princess then left 
 Moscow at the head of a considerable 
 guard, and proceeded towards the convent 
 of the Trinity, with the hope of being able 
 to soften Peter, or, by her beauty and in- 
 trigues, regain her lost influence over the 
 soldiery. 
 
 She was met by messengers from the 
 czar, who forbade her approach, and de- 
 manded, in the name of the czar, the sur- 
 render of Scheglovitoi (the commander of 
 the Strelitz), the banishment of her minister. 
 Prince Galitzin, and her full resignation of 
 all right and title to the throne of Russia. 
 These terms were a death-blow to the am- 
 bition of the princess ; but she was helpless, 
 
 and compelled to submit to them. Not 
 only was she deserted by her former sup- 
 porters, but the anger of the people was 
 excited against her on account of her recent 
 attempt on the life of Peter. Galitzin was 
 banished, his wealth confiscated, and an 
 allowance made to him scarcely sufficient for 
 the support of life. The chief of the Strelitz, 
 together with many of his followers, suffered 
 the punishment of the knout, and were 
 then beheaded. Nor did the princess 
 escape with the forfeiture of her power ; for 
 Peter compelled her to enter a convent, 
 where she was confined during the re- 
 mainder of her life. This was in Septem- 
 ber, 1689, in which month, the young czar 
 issued a proclamation, stating, that the 
 name of the late regent would no longer be 
 mentioned in any public document : at the 
 same time, her image was struck from the 
 coinage, and her favourites and servants 
 dismissed from the Kremlin. 
 * Peter and his supporters then made a 
 solemn entrance into Moscow, where, in 
 the sight of the assembled people, he em- 
 braced his brother Ivan, who left all the 
 power in his hands. From this period 
 Peter reigned alone ; for his brother had no 
 share in the regal authority. Sensible of 
 his unfitness for the duties of his high posi- 
 tion, Ivan led a retired life, and died in the 
 year 1696. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 NEW ERA IN RUSSIAN HISTORY ; PETER THE SOLE RULER ; HE RAISES AN ARMY ON THE EUROPEAN PRIN- 
 CIPLE ; ADDRESSES HIMSELF TO THE CRI:aTI0N OF A NAVY ; PETER DECLARES WAR AGAINST TURKEY ; 
 AFTER BEING REPULSED FROM AZOFF, HE SUCCEEDS IX TAKING IT ; HIS TRIUMPHAL ENTRY INTO MOSCOW ; 
 THE CZAR RESOLVES TO TRAVEL, THAT HE MAY CIVILISE RUSSIA BY TRANSPLANTING INTO IT THE ARTS OF 
 OTHER NATIONS ; CONSPIRACY TO MURDER PETER ; HIS FEROCIOUS REVENGE ON THE BAFFLED ASSASSINS. 
 
 We commence a new era in Russian his- 
 tory. At this point there is a gulph placed 
 between the past and the future of the 
 empire. The past is Asiatic, the future 
 European : the past is a blind, unsteady 
 struggle from barbarism ; the future a pro- 
 gress — slow, but full of purpose — towards 
 civilisation. Russia had gone through a 
 long probationary period of political discord 
 and social abasement j a period necessarily 
 longj in consequence of the barbarism of 
 132 
 
 her people, and the numerous races from 
 which they sprung ; but she was now ready 
 for the iron hand that was to break the chains 
 of the past, and mould her into a better 
 and a softer future. The wild races of which 
 that scattered population was composed, had 
 become an empire. They had been bound 
 together into a people, and become a bul- 
 wark, which broke off from Europe the savage 
 inundations of the robber-hosts of Asia. 
 The Tartars had exhausted their dangerous 
 
A.D. 1689.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [peter the sole sovereign. 
 
 power by dashing themselves blindly against 
 the territories and cities of the north: the time 
 was coming when the Turks were to do the 
 same. The Russian empire both was, and is, 
 an imperious necessity. Her supposed dream 
 of European conquest was a delusion, which 
 would have led to her ruin and probable 
 partition ; but her natural work is in the 
 East. In that direction she has much of 
 inert barbarism to crush beneath her iron 
 feet. Imperfect as her own civilisation is 
 ' even to this hour, she is yet the pioneer of 
 progress, and will share with England the 
 gigantic labour of regenerating the Asiatic 
 world. It is the very similarity of the 
 destiny of these two great empires that 
 created a jealousy between them, and at 
 length led to war. But the governments of 
 England and Russia had very little inten- 
 tion of permanently injuring each other ; 
 they know that the decrepid Eastern world 
 has spoil enough for each of them, and that 
 they were wasting their efforts by attacking 
 eacli other. 
 
 During the remarkable reign of Peter, 
 Russia was, to speak metaphorically, reborn; 
 and from this period dates her greatness, 
 and, indeed, her history, as a European 
 state. Empires must progress or decay. 
 It has been well observed, that policy 
 would have drawn Russia into an inter- 
 course with Europe, even if necessity had 
 not compelled her to advance. A writer 
 whom we have frequently quoted, says — 
 "What appeared at this crisis to be wanted, 
 was a master mind that should break up 
 old customs, and enlighten the empire 
 against its will. Bound on all sides by 
 mountains and arid plains, except where a 
 wild sea, that for three-fourths of the year 
 was locked up in ice, interrupted the mono- 
 tonous girth with a no less repulsive barrier, 
 Russia presented a spectacle of moral and 
 physical exclusion, which could not be made 
 to yield unless before some gigantic power 
 that should be capable of creating a new 
 people out of the sturdy and hitherto 
 changeless elements of the old. The man 
 who should effect this mighty revolution 
 required many qualities, as rare in their 
 separate existence as they are almost un- 
 known in their combination : a mind 
 springing far beyond its age ; a judgment 
 sound and rapid ; a spirit of self-devotion 
 to the interests of humanity ; herculean 
 bodily strength ; firmness of purpose ; and 
 indomitable energy. All these qualities 
 were comprehended in Peter, and, fortu- 
 
 nately, he dedicated them with inflexible 
 zeal to the benefit of his country." 
 
 When, in 1689, Peter obtained the 
 government, and really commenced his 
 chequered but brilliant reign, he was but in 
 his eighteenth year. In person he was tall 
 and well made. He had a robust constitu- 
 tion, and a countenance which regular fea- 
 tures and eyes that sparkled with vivacity, 
 gave some claim to the term handsome. 
 W^hen grave, the expression of his face 
 often indicated great severity ; but at other 
 times he was lively and sociable, and always 
 full of energy and activity. 
 
 Young as Peter was, he immediately ad- 
 dressed himself to the task of reforming the 
 entire government of the country and the 
 manners of the people. He began with the 
 army ; for the art of war, as practised by 
 the more civilised nations of Europe, was 
 almost unknown in Russia. The empire 
 had no regular army, nor any regular troops 
 except the Strelitz; and they were turbulent 
 in times of peace, and little to be depended 
 on in those of war. Having devoted him- 
 self assiduously to a study of the principles 
 of military science, Peter resolved to raise a 
 standing army on the European principle. 
 With this object, he appointed two of his 
 early companions (Lefort the Genevan, and 
 General Patrick Gordon, a Scotchman) to 
 raise and drill some regiments of foreign 
 troops. They were readily enabled to 
 execute their commission, on account of 
 the troubles Avhich at that time agitated 
 both France and Scotland. Lefort raised 
 a regiment of 12,000 men, of which force 
 he was made the general, and five colonels 
 were appointed to serve under him. The 
 troops raised by General Gordon increased 
 this force to 20,000 men, who were intended 
 to balance the power of the Strelitz, and, if 
 necessary, extinguish them as enemies to 
 the state. 
 
 While thus surrounding himself with a 
 well-organised army, Peter did not lose sight 
 of the great necessity of Russia — a navy, and 
 outlets to the sea. Without them the em- 
 pire would be a lonely giant dwelling in 
 the midst of deserts, and shut out from com- 
 munication with the rest of the world. To 
 speak without a metaphor, Russia, with- 
 out ships and sea-coasts, would be without 
 commerce and civilisation. Her people were 
 isolated to an extent that made them 
 barbarous and unsocial. An ancient law 
 had prohibited them from leaving the coun- 
 try; and, in their ignorance, they despised 
 
 133 
 
PETER RESOLVES TO CREATE A NA\'Y.] HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.i. 1690— 1694. 
 
 the inhabitants of other lands. This isola- 
 tion not only kept them ignorant and boor- 
 ish, bnt was an almost insurmountable ob- 
 stacle in the path of national improvement. 
 Peter resolved this should be changed — that 
 Russia should have ships and harbours, 
 commerce and intercourse with nations of 
 more enlarged ideas and polished manners 
 — that his country should take her place 
 amongst the greatest empires of the earth, 
 and become all that her vast territory and 
 immense natural resources would permit ! 
 
 The creation of a navy in such a country 
 as Russia, whose only outlets were, at that 
 time, into the two inland seas — the Euxine 
 and the Caspian, and the inclement waters 
 of the Arctic ocean — was a work of almost 
 insuperable difficulty ; the more so to a man 
 who, it is said, on account of some acci- 
 dent which occurred in his infancy, enter- 
 tained such a dread of the water as to be 
 seized with a shuddering, and sometimes 
 with convulsions, even if obliged to pass over 
 a brook. The authenticity of the story has 
 been questioned ; but if it is true, the future 
 reformer utterly subdued, if he did not 
 altogether extinguish, this antipathy. 
 
 It has been said that, in every task, 
 nothing is so difficult as the beginning. One 
 day Peter was walking in the gardens of 
 Ismaelof, a summer palace built by his 
 grandfather, when he saw the wreck of a 
 small English sailing-boat lying rotting in 
 the grounds. Turning to Timmerman, his 
 master of mathematics and a native of Ger- 
 many, he inquired how that little boat came 
 to be of a different construction from those 
 which he had seen on the Moska? The 
 mathematician explained that it was made 
 to go with sails, the use of which was not 
 then known in Russia. The czar desired to 
 make a trial of it, and directed that the boat 
 should be repaired and rendered fit for ser- 
 vice. Here lay a difficulty : where was a 
 workman to be found able to undertake the 
 task ? Peter's father, Alexis, had imported 
 a ship-builder and a number of carpenters 
 from Holland, for the purpose of building 
 vessels to trade down the river Volga to the 
 Caspian Sea; but the piracies of Stenka 
 Radzin and his followers extinguished this 
 budding commerce. The Dutch artisans 
 left the country — all except one, named 
 Brandt, a master- carpenter and very good 
 ship-builder. After a considerable search, 
 this man was discovered in obscurity at 
 Moscow, and employed to restore the wreck. 
 This he did so successfully, that P^ter 
 134 
 
 ordered him to build two frigates and three 
 yachts, which, when completed, were placed 
 on a large lake, and occasionally navigated 
 bj the czar himself, who soon acquired a 
 knowledge of the duties of a pilot. Here, 
 then, was the beginning; small enough, it is 
 true, but one which led to great results 
 nevertheless. In all remarkable projects, it 
 is not the bulk of the germ we have to con- 
 sider, but the capacity of growth. 
 
 A few years later — that is, in 1694 — Peter 
 visited Archangel, the chief town on the 
 shores of the White Sea. He took Brandt 
 with him; and, after inspecting the mer- 
 chant vessels that lay in the harbour, ordered 
 the Dutchman to build him another vessel 
 larger than the previous ones. Peter care- 
 fully inspected the progress, and frequently 
 assisted the workmen. When his ship was 
 built, he embarked in it upon the White Sea, 
 and acted in the capacity of steersman. 
 Peter had, no doubt, visited Archangel with 
 the object of personally observing how far 
 it was adapted by nature for becoming a 
 great commercial port. He soon became 
 convinced that it was too remote from the 
 centre of Russia, and also from the chief 
 ports of other countries, to command any 
 great trade, or be a convenient outlet for 
 the commerce or fleets of the empire. His 
 thoughts, therefore, naturally reverted to 
 the Black Sea, the Caspian, and also to the 
 Baltic. Then it was that he saw the policy 
 of Ivan the Terrible in his constant endea- 
 vours to obtain possession of Livonia, which 
 necessarily gave to those who held it an 
 outlet to the Baltic. Probably from this 
 time dates the conception of those gigantic 
 projects of territorial extension which Peter 
 afterwards so steadily pursued, and even 
 bequeathed to his successors. 
 
 The czar left Archangel to put a part of 
 his views into immediate execution. Turkey 
 and Poland were still at war, and the sultan 
 was also engaged with other formidable 
 enemies. Taking advantage of these cir- 
 cumstances, Peter declared war upon the 
 Ottoman Porte. This was not from caprice, 
 or love of military glory : war with this re- 
 markable man was not an exciting pastime, 
 but always a means to some definite end 
 which could not be obtained without it. 
 In this instance he desired to extend his 
 southern frontier to the shores of the Black 
 Sea ; and for this purpose he desired to ob- 
 tain possession of Azoff, which was then an 
 important fortress in the hands of the Turks. 
 
 It will be seen, by referring to a map of 
 
A.D. 1696.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [capture of A20FF. 
 
 Russia, that Azoff stands at the mouth of 
 the Don, where that river pours its waters 
 into the little sea which bears the same 
 name as the town. Peter had ordered 
 vessels to be constructed, with which he 
 intended to sail down the river and attack 
 AzoflF by water, while his troops assailed it 
 by land. Many diflSculties necessarily lay 
 in the way of projects to which his people 
 were so unused, and the vessels could not 
 be got ready in time. The czar, therefore, 
 was compelled to conduct this his first cam- 
 paign by land only. 
 
 The Russian army commenced its march 
 in the summer of 1695. Conscious of his 
 own inexperience in military matters, and 
 desirous of setting an example of subordina- 
 tion to his nobility, Peter served in the army 
 as a volunteer, and gave the command to 
 Generals Lefort, Gordon, Scheremetof and 
 Schein. The fortress of Azoff was very 
 strong, and defended by a powerful garrison. 
 After a long encampment before the walls, 
 and a vain attempt to storm them, the Rus- 
 sians were compelled to raise the siege. 
 This circumstance was largely attributable 
 to the conduct of a native of Dantzic, 
 named Jacob, who had the direction of the 
 artillery under the command of General 
 Schein. The latter had condemned Jacob 
 to the terrible and disgraceful punishment 
 of the knout. The Russians submitted to 
 this humiliation, and remained in the ser- 
 vice; but Jacob resolved to be revenged. 
 Accordingly he spiked the Russian cannon, 
 deserted to the Turks, turned Mohammedan, 
 and defended the town with great success. 
 
 Though baffled in this attempt upon 
 Azoff, Peter renewed it in the spring of the 
 following year, 1696. By that time his 
 little fleet, consisting of twelve armed ves- 
 sels, was ready ; and he had remedied many 
 defects which action had rendered apparent 
 in his army. Instead of separating it into 
 divisions independent of each other, he 
 placed it under the sole command of Gen- 
 eral Schein. Its numerical strength, also, 
 was increased, and several foreign engineers 
 employed to give greater effect to the artil- 
 lery department. This time Peter was more 
 fortunate ; his vessels defeated the Turkish 
 saicks that had been sent from Constanti- 
 nople; the fire of his cannon also proved 
 superior to that of the enemy ; and on the 
 28th of July the Turks surrendered the 
 town to the victors, and even complied with 
 Peter's demand that they should deliver up 
 the traitor Jacob. 
 
 Azoff once in the hands of the czar, he 
 made preparations for keeping it there. 
 With this view he improved the fortifica- 
 tions, erected a large harbour, and prepared 
 to augment his fleet. His design was to fit 
 out a fleet to act against the Turks, con- 
 sisting of nine 60-gun ships, and of forty- 
 one more, carrying each from thirty to 
 fifty pieces of cannon. The principal no- 
 bility and the wealthiest merchants were 
 obliged to contribute to the fitting-out of 
 this fleet; and as Peter thought that the 
 estates of the clergy ought to bear a pro- 
 portion in the service of the common cause, 
 orders were issued that the patriarch, the 
 bishops, and heads of the church, should 
 find money to forward this new expedition, 
 in honour of their country, and for the 
 general advantage of Christendom. He 
 also obliged the Cossacks to build a number 
 of light boats, such as they were in the 
 habit of using, with which they might 
 easily infest the whole coast of the Crimea. 
 His object was, to drive both Tartars and 
 Turks from this fertile peninsula — the 
 present Italy of Russia — and to establish, 
 through Georgia, a trade with Persia. 
 
 The changes Peter had made, notwith- 
 standing their evidently beneficial nature, 
 had excited some uneasiness, if not discon- 
 tent, among the slothful and superstitious 
 peop] \ This was not unobserved by the 
 czar, who endeavoured to counteract it by 
 deeds of a benevolent and parental kind. 
 He had already mitigated the suffering re- 
 sulting from a season of great scarcity, by 
 his exertions in procuring such a supply of 
 corn as sufficed for the most urgent Avants 
 of the people. He now resolved, on his 
 return to Moscow, to gratify the national 
 vanity and the love of amusement of his 
 subjects, by making a magnificent triumphal 
 entry into the capital, after the manner of 
 the ancient Romans. If something of per- 
 sonal pride and ostentation was mingled 
 with the motives that actuated him in 
 taking this step, we may yet believe the 
 assertion of his biographers, that it was 
 intended less as a memorial of his own 
 triumph, than to reward the soldiers by a 
 public token of admiration, and to inspire 
 the spectators with patriotic enthusiasm. 
 Peter gave the foremost places in the pro- 
 cession to General Schein and to Lefort, 
 whom he had created admiral of the fleet. 
 He himself mingled with the other officers, 
 endeavouring by this example to convince 
 the nobility that merit ought to be the only 
 
 135 
 
PETER RESOLVES TO TRAVEL.] HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1G97. 
 
 road to military preferment. Jacob, the 
 artillery officer who had deserted to the 
 Turks, was dra^vn along in the procession in 
 a cart, together with the gibbet to which his 
 body had been fastened after he had been 
 l)roken upon the wheel. Fireworks and 
 other rejoicings attended this railitaiy fes- 
 tival, and a medal was struck to commemo- 
 rate it. On one side it bore the inscrip- 
 tion, " Peter I., the august Emperor of 
 Muscovy /' on the reverse was a represen- 
 tation of Azoff, and the words, " Victorious 
 by fire and water.^^ 
 
 Peter was not the monarch to rest satis- 
 fied with military triumphs and the applauses 
 of his people. The entrance he had ob- 
 tained into the Black Sea was useful, but 
 insufficient as an outlet for commerce and 
 an opening for civilisation. The Euxine 
 did not make a passage to the arts and 
 commerce of Europe. Savage and unculti- 
 vated Asia lay stretched along its shores, 
 and the cannon of Constantinople closed up 
 the mouth of the Bosphorus to all but 
 friendly vessels. The thoughts of the czar 
 reverted to the Baltic — it alone could con- 
 nect Russia with the rest of Europe; but 
 the way to its indurated coasts lay through 
 a country then in the possession of the war- 
 like Swedes, and thickly studded with strong 
 fortresses. Yet the end to be accomplished 
 
 that nation. The expense attending upon 
 these circumstances he provided for bv 
 raising the custom-house duties from five to 
 ten per cent. 
 
 Peter was not yet satisfied with his efforts 
 to obtain a knowledge of the arts of other 
 nations. He desired to see with his own 
 eyes that civilisation he longed to introduce 
 into Russia. He was now four-and-twentv 
 years of age — one admirably fitted for the 
 endurance of fatigue and the habit of obser- 
 vation. ''The period/' says an interesting 
 writer, " was one when popular opinion had 
 revolutionised nearly the whole surface of 
 the civilised world. It was admirably 
 adapted to his purposes. In England, the 
 people had just deposed a weak and bigoted 
 monarch, who attempted to arrest the pro- 
 gress of mind ; and William III., the in- 
 trepid stadtholder of the house of Orange, 
 filled the throne. In France, Louis XIV. 
 was on the point of closing the memorable 
 treaty of Ryswick; Charles XII. had just 
 ascended the throne of Sweden, and the 
 elector of Brandenburg had assumed the 
 regal honours. In Poland, the death of 
 Sobieski opened a contest for the sove- 
 reignty, which lay between the Prince of 
 Conti and Augustus of Saxony ; the latter 
 of whom, for pohtic reasons, was favoured 
 by Peter ; while Mustapha II., quailing 
 balanced the dangers to be encountered, j before mightier arms, was overthrown by 
 and Peter resolved to overcome all obstacles I the emperor Leopold. At this juncture, 
 that shut out his country from intercourse while other powers were engrossed in the 
 with those European nations which, in man- agitations consequent upon improved civili 
 
 ners, knowledge, and the arts, were so much 
 beyond it. 
 
 Matters were not yet ripe for the daring 
 experiments he contemplated. Suppose 
 that he was master of Livonia, the Baltic 
 would be almost valueless to him till he was 
 well prepared to turn its advantages to 
 account. Unless he could cover its waters 
 with an efficient fleet, they were but as a 
 thunderbolt in the hands of a child. Truly 
 great minds are ever patient, and recognise 
 the fact that haste and rashness are weak- 
 ness. Peter resolved first to gain from other 
 countries that information on naval and 
 other topics which did not exist in his own. 
 With this object he sent, in the year 1697, 
 sixty young Russians of Lefort's regiment 
 to Venice and Leghorn, to learn the art of 
 na\agation. Forty more he sent to Holland, 
 to instruct themselves in the art of building 
 and working large vessels ; while he dis- 
 patched others to Germany, to become 
 acquainted with the militarv discipline of 
 136 
 
 sation, Peter the Great left Moscow to go 
 forth into Europe, and glean the ripe ears 
 of the harvest for his own empire." 
 
 Before the czar's departure, an alarming 
 outbreak occurred, in which Peter narrowly 
 escaped with his life. Notwithstanding his 
 recent triumph at Azoff, he was unable to 
 win the affections of the people. Ignorant, 
 bigoted, and slavish, there was scarcely an 
 act of his life that did not grate against 
 some of their prejudices. He had brought 
 foreign artisans, and even foreign troops, 
 into Russia; sent young men out of the 
 country — an act which the clergy regarded 
 as both dangerous and profane; and had 
 even resolved to travel abroad himself. His 
 manners, also, were displeasing to his dull- 
 minded subjects, and quite inconsistent 
 with those which they thought becoming in 
 a czar. The solemn pomp and ostentatious 
 haughtiness to which they wei'e accustomed, 
 were not to be seen in Peter. His manners 
 were familiar even to vulgarity. Instead of 
 
A.D. 1697.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE, [conspiracy to murder peter. 
 
 appearing but seldom ia public, and then 
 surrounded by guards, he was to be seen 
 almost every day in the square of the 
 Kremlin, exercising the troops; or to be 
 met with, in the plainest dress, in the 
 streets, on his way to visit some private 
 citizen; or in the workshops of the artisans, 
 where he passed a great deal of his time. 
 
 It might be supposed that the unpopu- 
 larity produced by such inoffensive acts as 
 these, would be but slight and transient. 
 It was not so. The nobles felt their dig- 
 nity lessened by a novel system which 
 made rank dependent upon intellectual 
 strength ; and the clergy were vehemently 
 opposed to Peter's innovations, because 
 they knew their power was based upon the 
 ignorance of the multitude, and it therefore 
 became their interest to keep down the 
 spirit of iuquiry. As for the people them- 
 selves, generations of barbarism and igno- 
 rance, added to their constitutional indo- 
 lence, made them regard all improvement 
 with detestation. The comprehensive mind 
 of the czar perceived and understood all 
 this. He knew that he should have much 
 opposition to overcome, and he resolved to 
 overcome it, even though it was necessary 
 to crush those who offered it. He saw that 
 it was imperative that he should grasp and 
 wield all the power of the empire, for that 
 the state of Russia required a wise despot 
 for its regeneration. He saw that a mild 
 exercise of power would not always serve ; 
 and he resolved, if necessary, to terrify the 
 people into submission by deeds of appalling 
 severity. 
 
 Influenced by the prevailing discontent, 
 the turbulent Strelitz, who had been sup- 
 planted by the regiments disciplined after 
 the European fashion, entered into a con- 
 spiracy to murder the czar. Tsikler and 
 Sukanim, two leaders of the Strelitz, were 
 at the head of the plot. The design of 
 these men was, to set the city on fire at 
 night, and when Peter hastened to assist in 
 extinguishing it, as they were convinced he 
 would, to murder him in the confusion. 
 After this, they intended to massacre all 
 the foreign soldiers, release the princess 
 Sophia from her convent, and place her 
 upon the throne. 
 
 On the evening of the night appointed 
 for this sanguinary outbreak, the principal 
 conspirators assembled at a banquet held at 
 the house of Sukanim. Here they stimulated 
 their courage with large draughts of wine, 
 and prepared themselves by this means for 
 
 the work of slaughter that was to follow. 
 Two of the number, however, quailed before 
 a contemplation of the approaching mas- 
 sacre. On the plea of having drank too 
 much, they obtained permission to return 
 home and sleep until midnight; but on 
 leaving the place of rendezvous, they hur- 
 ried to the czar, and revealed the par- 
 ticulars of the conspiracy. Peter imme- 
 diately sent an order to the captain of one 
 of his regiments, to proceed with his troop 
 to Sukanim's house, and silently surround 
 it exactly at the hour of ten ; — that is, ten 
 was the hour Peter intended to write, and 
 believed he had written ; but in the con- 
 fusion of the moment he wrote eleven. 
 
 Shortly after ten, Peter went alone to 
 the dwelling of Sukanim, expecting to find 
 the conspirators already in the hands of his 
 guards. The soldiers were not to be seen; 
 but the doors of the house were open, and a 
 considerable noise was heard from within. 
 Peter supposed that this proceeded from 
 the struggle and confusion attending the 
 arrest of the rebels ; and acting on the im- 
 pulse of the moment, he at once entered. 
 To his astonishment, he found himself 
 alone in the midst of the men who, in an 
 excited and half-intoxicated state, were at 
 that moment vociferating an oath that they 
 would put him to death. At his unex- 
 pected entrance they rose in confusion, 
 and would probably have rushed upon him 
 at once, in the belief that they had been 
 betrayed; but Peter's presence of mind 
 saved him. Though surprised and angry 
 that his commands had not been obeyed, 
 he assumed a cheerful air, and advancing 
 unhesitatingly among the throng of con- 
 spirators, greeted them with familiarity. 
 Having, he said, seen a light in the house 
 as he was passing by, and hearing the 
 sounds of revelry, he entered with a view 
 of sharing in their pleasures, and begged 
 leave to join them at their table. 
 
 The intended assassins, deceived by the 
 cordiality and apparent unsuspiciousness of 
 his manners, returned his greeting, and 
 gave him as unconstrained a welcome as 
 they could. Putting the wine about, they 
 drank his health; but soon the leaders 
 amongst them began to exchange looks and 
 signals concerning the expediency of dis- 
 patching him at once. Peter saw his dan- 
 ger, and kept his eyes fixed upon their 
 movements, though without seeming to do 
 so. The restraint which each party felt, 
 soon produced an uneasiness in the com- 
 
 137 
 
PTTNISHMENT OF THE (INSPIRATORS.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1697. 
 
 pany; and one of the conspirators, leaning 
 over the table to Sukanim, whispered, 
 " Brother, it is time ?" The latter hesi- 
 tated, and muttered, "Not yet!" feeling, 
 no doubt, an additional responsibility as 
 master of the house, and perhaps some 
 sense of shame that one who had entered 
 beneath his roof as a guest, should be 
 inhospitably murdered there. Peter heard 
 the whisper; but fortunately, at the same 
 time, he caught the tramp of his approach- 
 ing guards. Starting from his seat, he 
 felled the traitor to the ground with a blow 
 upon the face, and shouted, "Not yet, vil- 
 lain ; if it is not yet time for you, scoun- 
 drel, it is for me!" At the same moment 
 the guards entered the apartment, and the 
 startled conspirators fell upon their knees 
 and implored pardon. Peter was im- 
 movable, and ordered them all to be in- 
 stantly put in chains. Then turning sternly 
 to the captain of the guards, he struck 
 him on the face, and reproached him for 
 his want of punctuality. The officer, who 
 was exact to the time he had been com- 
 manded, produced his written order, and 
 the czar found the error was his own. He 
 at once acknowledged it, proclaimed the 
 fidelity of the officer, and endeavoured to 
 atone for the blow he had inflicted by kiss- 
 ing him upon the forehead, and embracing 
 him in his arms. 
 
 Peter's vengeance might have been poli- 
 tic, but it was barbarous and revolting. 
 He sometimes expressed an admiration for 
 the imperial savage, Ivan the Terrible ; and 
 on this occasion he rivalled him in the 
 exercise of a merciless administration of 
 justice. The wretches first had their limbs 
 dislocated upon the rack; then separately 
 severed from their bodies ; after which, the 
 maimed and mostly lifeless trunks were 
 decapitated. The heads were subsequently 
 exposed on the summit of a column, around 
 the base of which the limbs of the trai- 
 tors were piled with disgusting symmetry. 
 With all Peter's greatness of mind, he 
 had, when provoked, a ferocious love of 
 cruelty, even for its own sake. When 
 he surrendered himself for a time to the 
 savage instincts of his nature, he actually 
 experienced gratification from the sight of 
 humanity writhing in torture, or pouring 
 out its life-blood on the scaffold. Much 
 he did in aftertimes that was utterly inde- 
 fensible; but for this exhibition of revenge- 
 ful justice some excuse may be oflfered. 
 It was his first stem lesson to a people 
 who would not be governed except by the 
 sword; his first intimation, that if mild- 
 ness could not win them to submit* to 
 beneficial changes, severity should coerce 
 them into doing so — a sad but inevitable 
 necessity. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE CZAR TRAVELS ; VISITS THE DOCKYARD OF 8ARDAM ; ENGAGES HIMSELF AS A COMMON CARPENTER ; HE 
 VISITS ENGLAND, AND IS RECEIVED WITH GREAT COURTESY BY WILLIAM III. ; PETER RETURNS TO HOL- 
 LAND, AND THEN VISITS VIENNA ; HE RETURNS TO RUSSIA ON ACCOUNT OF A REBELLION OF THE STRELITZ ; 
 FRIGHTFUL SEVERITIES OF PETER ; DEATH OF LEFORT ; SOCIAL AND LEGISLATIVE REFORMS OF PETER 
 HE TOLERATES ALL DENOMINATIONS OF CHRISTIANS IN RUSSIA ; ALTERS THE CALENDAR ; PROGRESS OF 
 REFORM. 
 
 Having struck terror into the discontented 
 people, and appalled the turbulent Strelitz 
 by the fearful example he had made of their 
 traitorous leaders, the czar commenced his 
 journey in the month of April, 1697. He 
 travelled incognito in the train of General 
 Lefort and the boyards Mentschikoff and 
 Golowin, whom he appointed ambassadors 
 to the countries he intended to visit. An 
 old boyard, of iron resolution and inflexible 
 honesty, named Romodanovsky, together 
 loo 
 
 with another, were entrusted with the gov- 
 ernment during the absence of the czar, 
 who directed them to consult with the rest 
 of the nobility in matters of importance. 
 General Gordon also remained at Moscow 
 with Peter's foreign troops, whose very lives 
 depended upon their fidelity to their master. 
 Hated as they were by the nobles, the 
 Strelitz, and the people, they could only 
 repose in security under the shelter of his 
 favour. 
 
A.D. 
 
 1697.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [peter at sardam. 
 
 Peter and his ambassadors left Russia by 
 the way of Novp;orod, and proceeded from 
 thence through Esthonia and Livonia, which 
 were at that time in the possession of 
 Sweden. At Livonia he desired to see the 
 fortifications of Riga, its capital — a wish the 
 governor of them refused to grant; which 
 slight Peter did not readily forget. Indeed, 
 from that time he resolved to annex Livonia 
 to his dominions. He then proceeded to 
 Prussia, the alliance of which growing power 
 he thought it prudent to cultivate. The 
 elector, Frederic, who afterwards assumed 
 the title of king, received the czar with an 
 ostentatious magnificence; and the most 
 costly presents were exchanged on both 
 sides. Peter dressed in the German 
 fashion ; but the contrast between the 
 French costume, which prevailed at the 
 court of Berlin, and the long Asiatic robes 
 of the Russians, with their caps adorned 
 with pearls and diamonds, and their scimi- 
 tars hanging by their sides, had a remark- 
 able effect. During his stay at Berliu, 
 Peter, in a fit of intoxication, drew his 
 sword upon his favourite general, Lefort; 
 but, happily, he was pacified before mis- 
 chief ensued. 
 
 At length the Russian party arrived at 
 Amsterdam, where Peter assumed the dis- 
 guise of a Dutch skipper, and went to the 
 great ship-building village of Sardam. He 
 was much surprised at the number of work- 
 men constantly employed, the order and 
 exactness observed in their several depart- 
 ments, the dispatch with which they built 
 and fitted out ships, the quantity of stores, 
 and the various machines for the purpose of 
 economising labour. He was incessant in 
 his inquiries and observations, and some- 
 times placed himself in positions of danger ; 
 as, in order to see everything himself, he 
 climbed the rigging of vessels, and inspected 
 those parts of them where only an expe- 
 rienced sailor could expect to be secure. 
 On these occasions he was greatly annoyed 
 by the vulgar curiosity of the people, who 
 not only came in crowds to see a powerful 
 sovereign in the habit of a seaman, but im- 
 peded his progress by thronging upon him, 
 and even frequently subjected him to rude 
 exclamations and remarks. At times he 
 was so irritated by this annoyance, that his 
 rage brought on one of those epileptic fits 
 to which it is said he was subject from in- 
 fancy. They were sometimes even excited 
 by the sight of any object to which he 
 entertained an antipathy, such as black- 
 
 beetles, and certain reptiles which he held 
 in abhorrence. 
 
 The czar purchased a boat, made a mast 
 for it himself, worked at the forges, the 
 rope-yards, the mills for timber-sawing, and, 
 by degrees, educated himself as a working 
 ship-builder. Then he engaged himself as 
 a common carpenter, that he might have an 
 opportunity of impressing upon his mind all 
 he had learnt. He took the name of Peter 
 Timmermau, though his fellow-workmen 
 generally called him Master Peter, or Peter- 
 bas. While in this strange position, he 
 scrupulously attended his work at the re- 
 quired hours, prepared his own meals, 
 worked hard from morning till night, and 
 received his wages like the rest of the 
 workmen. The latter were at first greatly 
 astonished to see a sovereign their com- 
 panion, but they gradually got used to it. 
 Here, for seven weeks, the ruler of a vast 
 empire lived in a little shingle-hut, on the 
 proceeds of his own labour, in the intervals 
 of which he corresponded with his ministers 
 at home. During this period, the famous 
 English warrior, the Duke of Marlborough, 
 visited Sardam, and put himself in the way 
 of Peter. The great soldier, who was proud 
 of his handsome person, and almost a dandy 
 in the matter of dress, beheld the czar 
 habited in a red woollen shirt, duck trow- 
 sers, and a sailor's hat ; and seated, adze in 
 hand, on a rough log of timber, which lay 
 on the ground. His dark-brown hair fell 
 in natural curls about his bare neck, while 
 his keen eyes glanced from one object to 
 another with singular rapidity, as he con- 
 versed with great earnestness and much 
 gesticulation with some strangers. Marl- 
 borough approached, and contrived, in some 
 measure, to engage the czar's attention by 
 some remarks on ship- building. They were 
 interrupted by the appearance of a stranger 
 in a foreign costume, who respectfully pre- 
 sented an official letter to the seeming work- 
 man. Peter rose instantly, snatched the 
 letter, tore off the seals, and read it eagerly. 
 The duke, who had achieved so great a 
 military reputation in Europe, and exercised 
 almost more political influence than any 
 man not seated on a throne, walked unre- 
 garded away. It was from his miserable 
 hut at Sardam that Peter issued instruc- 
 tions to his army in the Ukraine, under the 
 command of General Schein and Prince 
 Dolgorouki, then acting agaiust the Turks, 
 which resulted in a victory over the latter, 
 and the conquest of the town of Perekop. 
 
 139 
 
PETER VISITS ENGLAND.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1698. 
 
 Peter desired Lefort and the other am- 
 bassadors to disguise themselves also as 
 working-men, and follow his example ; but 
 they by no means relished the scheme, and 
 contrived to evade partaking the severe and 
 unromantic toils of their master. Treating 
 his desire as a royal jest, they dwelt in a 
 comfortable house, and enjoyed ail the 
 luxuries of their station ; while he lived in a 
 hovel, and subsisted upon fare of the coarsest 
 description. Duiing this period, he went 
 frequently from Sardam to Amsterdam, to 
 hear the anatomical lectures of the cele- 
 brated Ruish, from which he derived so 
 much benefit, as to be able to perform some 
 surgical operations in case of necessity. 
 He also studied natural philosophy, under 
 Vitsen, a man celebrated for his patriotic 
 virtue, and for the noble use he made of his 
 immense fortune. In addition to this, the 
 indefatigable czar attended the hospitals, 
 where he learned to bleed and draw teeth ; 
 visited nearly every literary, scientific, or 
 charitable institution; together with all 
 extensive manufacturing establishments, 
 which he examined carefull3% with the in- 
 tention of introducing similar ones into 
 Russia. Whenever he beheld anything 
 new, he made inquiries concerning its na- 
 ture and use, and his active mind did not 
 rest until he obtained an explanation. 
 
 Having passed about nine months in 
 Holland, Peter left that country, and pro- 
 ceeded to England, where he was very hos- 
 pitably received by William III. These 
 two remarkable men appear to have had a 
 generous and enlarged estimation of each 
 other. The czar arrived in this country in 
 the January of 1698; his object being to 
 learn the theory of ship-building, and to 
 visit the dockyards of Deptford, Woolwich, 
 and Chatham. King William appointed 
 the Marquis of Carmarthen to attend upon 
 him, who agreed so well with the whims of 
 the autocrat, that they are reported to have 
 sat up together late into the nights, drink- 
 ing brandy and pepper. William also placed 
 two vessels at the command of the czar 
 whenever he should think proper to sail on 
 the Thames. 
 
 Having lodged for a short time in London, 
 he hired the house at Deptford of the 
 famous John Evelyn, who bitterly com- 
 plained of the havoc which the czar and his 
 attendants made in his elegantly laid-out 
 garden. One of Peter's favourite amuse- 
 ments was to be driven in a wheelbarrow 
 through a hollv-hedge of which Evelyn was 
 140 ' 
 
 very proud. The dirtiness of the czar's 
 habits were such as to excite the disgust of 
 the gentlemanly and gossiping old royalist. 
 Peter spent much of his time at Rother- 
 hithe, where a ship was building for him. 
 He often went out on the Thames in a 
 small-decked boat, accompanied only by 
 Mentschikofi" and three or four others of his 
 suite, who worked the vessel, while he 
 steered it. His object in these excursions 
 was to teach his companions how to com- 
 mand ships when they returned home. In 
 the evening they usually went to a tavern 
 in Great Tower-street, near Tower-hill, 
 where they smoked their pipes, and drank 
 beer and brandy. During his sojourn in 
 this country, Peter went to Portsmouth, 
 and visited a grand naval review and sham 
 fight. The university of Oxford compli- 
 mented him by conferring upon him a 
 doctor's degree. In England, as in Hol- 
 land, the czar visited the public institutions 
 and great manufactories, and seemed ever 
 intent upon acquiring such information as 
 would tend to the promotion of the civilisa- 
 tion of his people. His attention was par- 
 ticularly attracted to the art of engineering, 
 and he took into his service upwards of 
 five hundred persons, comprising engineers, 
 officers, surgeons, and artisans. Amongst 
 the former was Captain Perry, who after- 
 wards wrote a life of the czar ; in which the 
 author asserts that there was not so much 
 as a single article belonging to a ship, from 
 the casting of cannon to the making of 
 cables, but what Peter minutely observed and 
 set his hands to. Mr. Ferguson, a mathe- 
 matician and astronomer of some distinc- 
 tion, also accompanied the Russian reformer 
 back to his own country. Ferguson intro- 
 duced the arithmetical mode of keeping 
 accounts into the Russian exchequer, where, 
 before that time, they had made use only of 
 the Tartar method of reckoning with balls 
 strung upon a wire ; a method which its 
 primitive simplicity made extremely imper- 
 fect and perplexing. 
 
 The czar left England in April; but 
 before doing so, he was presented by 
 William with a beautiful yacht. Peter 
 returned the compliment by making Wil- 
 liam a present of a ruby of the value of 
 £10,000, which, in a thoroughly character- 
 istic manner, he took from his waistcoat 
 pocket, wrapped up in a bit of brown paper. 
 He also conferred a valuable privilege on 
 the Marquis of Carmarthen, by granting 
 him a rijrht to license every hogshead of 
 
A.D. 1698.] 
 
 BUSSIAN EMPIRE. [peter returns to Moscow. 
 
 tobacco exported to Russia. The habit of 
 smoking had hitherto been condemned in 
 Russia by the patriarch, on the ground that 
 it was unclean and sinful. Peter thought 
 otlierwise, and resolved on its introduction 
 into the country.* During his stay, he 
 was much struck by that magnificent build- 
 ing which a generous nation has erected at 
 Greenwich for its superannuated seamen. 
 Until Peter had actually visited it, and 
 seen the pensioners, he could scarcely be 
 persuaded but that it was a royal palace. 
 William having one day asked him how he 
 liked his hospital for decayed seam.en, the 
 czar replied, " If I were the adviser of your 
 majesty, I should counsel you to remove 
 your court to Greenwich, and convert St. 
 James's into a hospital." 
 
 Leaving England, Peter returned to Hol- 
 land; from whence, after a brief stay, he 
 proceeded to Vienna, with the object of 
 making himself acquainted with the dress, 
 discipline, and tactics of the emperor's 
 array, then considered the best in Europe. 
 " During his stay at Vienna,^' observes his 
 biographer Voltaire, " there happened no- 
 thing remarkable except the celebration of 
 the ancient feast of * Landlord and Land- 
 lady,' which Leopold thought proper to revive 
 upon the czar's account, after it had been 
 disused during his whole reign. The manner 
 of making this entertainment, to which the 
 Germans give the name of ivirthschaft , was 
 as follows : — The emperor is landlord and 
 the empress landlady, while the king of the 
 Romans, the archdukes and the arch- 
 duchesses, are generally their assistants. 
 They entertain people of all nations, dressed 
 after the most ancient fashion of their re- 
 spective countries. Those who are invited 
 as guests draw lots for tickets, on each of 
 which is written the name of the nation 
 and the character they are to represent. 
 One has a ticket for a Chinese mandarin ; 
 another for a Tartarian mirza ; another for 
 a Persian satrap, or a Roman senator. A 
 princess may happen to draw lots for a 
 gardener's wife, or for a milkwoman, and a 
 prince may act the peasant or soldier. 
 They have dances suited to these difterent 
 characters ; and the landlord and landlady, 
 with their family, wait at table. Such was 
 the old custom ; but on this occasion, Joseph, 
 
 • Voltaire, in his Life of Charles XII., while 
 speaking of Russia at this period, observes — " A 
 person of undoubted veracity, assured me, he was 
 present at a public disputation where the question 
 was, 'Whether the practice of smoking tobacco was 
 
 king of the Romans, and the Countess of 
 Traun, represented the ancient Egyptians ; 
 the Archduke Charles and the Countess of 
 Walstein were dressed like the Flemings in 
 the reign of Charles V.; the Archduchess 
 Mary Elizabeth and Count Traun were in 
 the habit of Tartars; the Archduchess 
 Josephine and the Count of Vorkla appeared 
 in a Persian dress ; the Archduchess Mari- 
 amme and Prince Maximilian of Hanover, 
 acted the character of North Holland 
 peasants. Peter assumed the habit of a 
 Friesland boor, and in this character was 
 addressed by everybody ; at the same time 
 that they talked to him of the great czar of 
 Muscovy. These are indeed minutenesses ; 
 but whatever revives the memory of ancient 
 customs, is, in some measure, worthy of 
 being recorded." 
 
 The czar intended to pass through Italy 
 homewards; but just as he was about to 
 leave Vienna, he received information from 
 Moscow that the Strelitz had again broken 
 out into rebellion. He instantly departed 
 in secret, and, passing through Poland, 
 arrived at Moscow in September, 1698, 
 before any one there knew of his having 
 left Germany. 
 
 During the absence of Peter, the discon- 
 tented had recovered their courage; and 
 the clergy, together with some of the old 
 nobles, longed for the destruction of a 
 prince whose reforming spirit they detested. 
 During the czar's stay in Holland, he signed 
 an edict commanding a body of Strelitz to 
 proceed to the frontiers of Poland, to be 
 ready, if necessar}'^, to support the claims of 
 Augustus, the elector of Saxony, against 
 those of the Frencli prince de Conti, both 
 of whom had been chosen to fill the throne 
 of Poland. The Strelitz were averse to this 
 duty; and, instead of discharging it, they 
 proceeded in the direction of Moscow, 
 under the pretence that the czar had died 
 abroad, and that it was necessary for them 
 to secure the succession to his son Alexis. 
 Their real object, however, was to place the 
 plotting princess Sophia on the throne, and 
 to exclude Peter, who they considered had 
 violated the laws and customs of his coun- 
 try by daring to travel for instruction among 
 foreign nations. Prince Romodanovsky, the 
 regent, dispatched General Gordon with his 
 
 a sin ?' The respondent maintained that it was law- 
 ful to get drunk with brandy, but not to smoke, be- 
 cause the Holy Scriptures saith, ' That which pro- 
 ceedeth out of the moutli of a man defileth him, and 
 that which entereth into it doth not defile him.'" 
 
 141 
 
FEKOCITY OF THE CZAB.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 A.D. 1698. 
 
 foreign troops, witli directions to crush this 
 insubordination at once. The latter tried 
 to persuade the rebels to return to their 
 duty, but they were secretly urged on by 
 the priests, who infamously pronounced 
 their cause to be sacred. Gordon, finding 
 mildness to be useless, gave battle to the 
 Strehtz, and vanquished them, after a short 
 contest. The prisoners were immediately 
 chained and thrown into dungeons, to abide 
 the judgment of the czar. 
 
 Thus, on Peter's arrival at Moscow, he 
 found the rebellion extinguished, and him- 
 self welcomed by a people who had been 
 taught to stand in awe of his commanding 
 intellect and his relentless severity. He 
 first rewarded the foreign troops, and then 
 addressed himself to take such a ferocious 
 revenge upon the rebels, as should for the 
 future effectually intimidate the discon- 
 tented among his subjects. The accounts 
 existing of some of the details which fol- 
 lowed have been disputed, and no doubt 
 many exaggerated statements concerning 
 the savage severity of the czar, obtained a 
 currency throughout Europe. Still enough 
 is known with certainty to warrant us in 
 the expression of emotions of wonder and 
 horror. Strange is it, that so great a man 
 should have been actuated by the wildest 
 excesses of brutality, and have derived the 
 ferocious pleasure of an infuriated tiger, in 
 rending and crushing those who had offended 
 him. The only excuse that can be framed 
 for him, is the necessity he was under of 
 reducing to obedience the insolent barbarity 
 of the Strelitz, and of intimidating the fac- 
 tious and ignorant priesthood and their dull 
 followers, who hated and opposed the re- 
 forms he had resolved to effect. 
 
 The czar did not satisfy himself with 
 putting the offenders to death, but he 
 spared no torture that could prolong their 
 dying agonies. An immense number were 
 put to the rack in his presence, and the 
 cries and moans of the unhappy wretches 
 were mingled with his questions and re- 
 proaches. Several were put to death by 
 the horrible process of being broken upon 
 the wheel ; and two women, who had played 
 an active part in the conspiracy, were buried 
 alive. As to the common offenders, it is 
 said that no less than 7,000 of them were 
 executed over a period of several months. 
 Of these, 2,000 were hanged by his guards, 
 and the rest beheaded, kneeling in rows of 
 fifties, before trunks of trees laid on the 
 ground. At these frightful scenes Peter 
 142 
 
 was also present, and sometimes assisted at 
 them himself, being proud of the dexterity 
 with which he could strike off the head of 
 the victim. Occasionally he was maddened 
 with wine, as well as with blood ; and he is 
 reported to have struck off twenty heads 
 within an hour, and drank a draught of 
 wine between each blow. This anecdote is 
 related on the authority of M. Printz, the 
 Prussian ambassador, who states that he 
 was present, and that the czar invited him 
 to try his skill — a proposal which, of course, 
 he declined. 
 
 The executions lasted during a period of 
 five months, and the Avhole empire was struck 
 with terror. Hundreds of bodies were left 
 to moulder and drop from their gibbets, 
 and the rest remained unburied on the spot 
 where they had been decapitated. Stone 
 monuments were afterwards erected, with 
 inscriptions, describing the punishment and 
 the crime that led to it. In consequence of 
 the connection of the princess Sophia with 
 the insurrection, the czar had a number of 
 the rebels hanged around the convent in 
 which she was confined. The Strelitz had 
 deputed three of their number to present an 
 address, soliciting her to accept the crown. 
 These three were gibbeted before the single 
 grated window of her cell, and the fatal 
 document was held out to her by the 
 stiffened arm of one of the dead men. This 
 cruel punishment crushed the hopes and 
 shortened the life of this ambitious and 
 worthless woman ; whom a sense of justice 
 forbids us to pity. She became a nun; 
 changed her name to that of Morpha; and 
 died in 1704. The widows and children of 
 the victims of the czar's anger were sent to 
 wild and remote spots, where a certain ex- 
 tent of land was assigned to them, out of 
 which they and their descendants were 
 never to pass. 
 
 Peter now wisely resolved utterly to 
 abolish a body of men who were ever ready 
 to break out into disorder and insurrection. 
 Erom this time the Strelitz ceased to exist 
 as a military body, and their place was sup- 
 plied by regular regiments, clothed and 
 disciplined after the fashion of other Euro- 
 pean nations. Within three months twenty- 
 seven new regiments of infantry and two of 
 cavalry were disciplined and brought into 
 marching order. 
 
 The severity of the czar, though it gene- 
 rally produced its designed effect of intimi- 
 dating the disaffected, yet produced some 
 amount of rebellious reaction. A number 
 
'3. 
 
 m 
 
 nL, 
 
A.D. 
 
 1699.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [death of lefort. 
 
 of the Strelitz had escaped, after their body 
 had been defeated by General Gordon, and 
 dispersed in different directions. Peter for- 
 ) bade any one, on pain of death, to har- 
 bour one of them, or render him the slight- 
 est assistance. This severity was ill-judged ; 
 for it made the fugitives desperate, and 
 ready for any extremities. Besides, it ex- 
 cited sympathy in their favour; and in the 
 following year (1699), fresh insurrections 
 broke out in distant parts of the empire. 
 Peter had resolved to crush this rebellious 
 temper, even at the cost of his throne itself. 
 Eighty of the Strelitz, who had been taken 
 prisoners, were brought to Moscow and be- 
 headed ; it is said by the hands of the czar 
 himself; assisted in this repulsive work by 
 one of his boyards, who held the victims 
 by their hair. 
 
 This terrible severity was not without its 
 effect : the superstitious and ignorant obsti- 
 nacy of the people was broken ; they were 
 sooner wearied of rebellion than Peter was 
 of remorselessly punishing it. He appears 
 to have been convinced that the life of a 
 great reformer must be a prolonged struggle 
 against open opposition and secret enemies. 
 Expecting resistance, he was prepared for 
 it; and even persevered in forcing upon 
 Russia the civilisation she vainly strove to 
 reject. That civilisation has been de- 
 nounced as a spurious one; and it is said, 
 that while he promoted the material inter- 
 ests of his country, he neglected the moral 
 progress of his people. Perhaps he did; 
 but he was not indifferent to it; and no 
 doubt he felt that it was not the sort of 
 work he was most fitted for. Peter ad- 
 dressed himself to the accomplishment of 
 that which he could do best ; and though, 
 perhaps, his reforms might have been effected 
 too rapidly, we think he began at the right 
 end. He broke up the apathy of the people 
 by the material benefits and changes he 
 forced upon them. This was more likely to 
 create a tendency to thoughtfulness, and a 
 teachable temper, in the people, than all the 
 moral influence in the world. Indeed, with 
 an ignorant priesthood, fanatically opposed 
 to the new order of things, reform could 
 not have made any perceptible progress 
 through the door of moral teaching. The 
 people would have viewed it with suspicion, 
 and closed their ears and hearts against it. 
 
 It was at this period that Peter lost his 
 early friend, Lefort, who, after having been 
 for some time in a declining state, died on 
 the 12th of March, 1699, at the age of 
 
 forty-six. The czar bestowed a magnificent 
 funeral upon the man who had been his 
 early instructor, and his faithful assistant 
 in the regeneration of the empire. Peter 
 lamented him as a brother, and walked in 
 the procession, with his pike in his hand, 
 behind the captains, and in the rank of a 
 lieutenant, which, for the purpose of setting 
 an example of subordination to the nobles, 
 he had held in the late general's regiment. 
 Though as a foreigner and a reformer it is 
 not to be expected that Lefort was popular, 
 yet the excellence of his character won him 
 a certain amount of respect. Considera- 
 tions of self-interest were always sacrificed 
 by him to the public good and the glory of 
 his sovereign, and his whole career was 
 marked by a noble contempt of everything 
 mean or mercenary. 
 
 The death of Lefort did not suspend the 
 reforms which the active-minded czar had 
 resolved to carry into effect. Having passed 
 through the lowest degrees in the army 
 himself, he commanded that the sons of the 
 nobility should serve in the capacity of com- 
 mon soldiers before they became officers. 
 Other young nobles he sent on board his 
 ships, and compelled them to serve an 
 apprenticeship to the navy. These com- 
 mands were extremely arbitrary; but such 
 was the awe with which the czar was re- 
 garded, that none dared refuse to obey them. 
 
 But Peter did not confine his reforms to 
 the army, and to the creation of a navy ; he 
 resolved to modify the government, the 
 church, and to change even the costume and 
 customs of the people. The dress of the 
 Russians was of an Asiatic kind, consisting 
 of a long robe or petticoat, which, together 
 with the practice of wearing long beards, 
 gave them an Eastern look. The beards 
 were a convenience, if not almost a necessity, 
 on account of the severity of the climate ; 
 but Peter set himself against both beard and 
 robe, as being associated with, and likely to 
 preserve, the barbarous manners he desired 
 to polish. Certainly the dresses worn in 
 other European countries admitted a freer 
 exercise of the limbs, and tended to the 
 introduction of variety and elegance of cos- 
 tume. Yet the people had the greatest ob- 
 jection to abandon their loose and graceless 
 style of dress, and opposed a passive resist- 
 ance to the will of the czar. Peter would 
 not suffer his decisions to be evaded, and he 
 laid a heavy tax upon wearing beards and 
 long petticoats. Many parted with their 
 money sooner than conform, but poverty 
 
 143 
 
Peter's reforms.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1699. 
 
 compelled others to submit. As the people 
 fell in very slowly with tlie czar's regulations 
 in this respect, he began to quicken their 
 progress after his own eccentric but very 
 decisive fashion. He placed tailors and 
 barbers at each of the gates of Moscoav, with 
 directions to cut off the beard, and shorten 
 the dress, of every man who entered. The 
 tenacity with which many of the people, 
 especially the aged, clung to their old cos- 
 tumes, had something of superstition in it. 
 It is related that, on one occasion, the czar 
 met an old citizen coming from the barber's, 
 and, addressing him, observed that he looked 
 quite like a young man, now that he had 
 lost his beard. With a mournful look, the 
 aged man drew from his bosom the beard 
 which had been cut off, and with tears in 
 his eyes told the czar he should preserve it 
 during life, and have it placed in his coffin 
 after death, that he might be able to produce 
 it to St. Nicholas in the next world. 
 
 One reason why the czar insisted so 
 earnestly in an endeavour to make his sub- 
 jects dress themselves like Europeans, in- 
 stead of Asiatics, was to abolish the fanatical 
 odium in which foreigners were held. As 
 the priests pronounced it to be an act of 
 profanation for strangers to wear the native 
 garb, foreigners were instantly recognised 
 as such by their dress, and, consequently, 
 compelled to have a quarter of the city 
 appropriated to themselves, as a protection 
 against the dislike with which the Russians 
 regarded them. Peter's cosmopolitan mind 
 had, therefore, another cause for putting an 
 end to an external and odious distinction. 
 The czar himself dressed plainly, even to 
 eccentricity and slovenliness. A diplomatic 
 agent at his court gave the following descrip- 
 tion of this peculiarity, which, though it 
 refers to a later period of his reign, may be 
 quoted here as illustrative of his general 
 habits : — " On all the solemn festivals," ob- 
 serves the writer, " he only Avore the uniform 
 of the Presbrazinski regiment of guards. * I 
 saw him, in 1721, give a public audience to 
 the ambassador of Persia. He entered the 
 hall of audience in nothing more than a 
 surtout of coarse brown cloth. When he 
 was seated on the throne, the attendants 
 brought him a coat of gros- de-Naples, em- 
 broidered with silver, which he put on with 
 great precipitation, because the ambassadors 
 were waiting for admittance. During this, 
 
 • So called from the body of soldiers -which the 
 czar had raised during boyhood, in his retreat at Pres- 
 brazinski, during the regency of his sister Sophia. 
 144 
 
 he turned his eyes towards a window, where 
 the czarina had placed herself to observe the 
 ceremony. Catherine was heard repeatedly 
 to burst into loud fits of laughter, as the 
 czar seemed to her to be astonished at 
 seeing himself so finely dressed ; and the 
 czar laughed at it himself, as also did all 
 the spectators. As soon as the ambassadors 
 were gone, Peter threw off his embroidered 
 coat, and put on his surtout." 
 
 The system of the government, and the 
 collection of the revenue, were placed upon 
 quite a new basis. Hitherto every boyard 
 paid a stipulated sum for his lands, and 
 raised it from his dependents and bonds- 
 men. Sensible that he was greatly de- 
 frauded by this means, the czar appointed 
 citizens as his collectors ; men who were 
 not powerful enough to claim the privilege 
 of paying into the public treasury only just 
 what they pleased. Rank he resolved to 
 build upon merit, and title upon desert. 
 He abolished the old council of boyards, 
 which had frequently acted with a despotism 
 that enthralled even the sovereign, and estab- 
 lished a senate instead. He also suppressed 
 the titles of boyards, of okolnitchi, and of 
 dumnie-diaki ; substituting the modern and 
 more expressive titles of presidents, counsel- 
 lors, and senators. All persons holding any 
 office, civil or military, under the crown, he 
 divided into fourteen distinct classes, which 
 prevail to the present time. 
 
 An attempt to reform the priesthood has 
 been an effort fatal to many sovereigns; but 
 such was the resolution of Peter, and the 
 terror that he had inspired, that he was 
 enabled to accomplish this dangerous task 
 with comparative ease. The patriarchs had 
 divided and frequently opposed the imperial 
 authority, while the bishops assumed the 
 right of condemning people even to death. 
 Peter resolved to limit the power of both, 
 as occasion offered ; but, at first, he struck 
 only at those prejudices which obstructed 
 intellectual improvement, and poisoned the 
 social intercourse of the people. Only those 
 Christians who adopted the Greek church 
 were permitted to reside in Russia; nor 
 were the Russians allowed to marry with 
 persons of a different communion. Peter 
 abolished these interdicts, and established a 
 perfect toleration to all denominations of 
 Christians — Jesuits only excepted, as he had 
 seen so much of their mischievous activity 
 during his travels, as to cause him to enter- 
 tain an aversion towards them. Strangers 
 he permitted to build churches, and contract 
 
A.D. 1700.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [social reforms. 
 
 marriages with the native Russians. To 
 enlighten the obtuse ignorance of both 
 priests and people, the czar also caused the 
 Bible to be translated into the Russian 
 language, and diffused among the people. 
 The clergy were furious : they resorted both 
 to maledictions and prophecies ; but Peter 
 was unmoved. 
 
 At the commencement of the year 1700, 
 the first of a new century, the czar altered 
 the calendar, in order to assimilate it to 
 that of modern Europe. Before that time, 
 the Russians began their year on the 1st of 
 September, because they considered the 
 world was no doubt created in autumn, the 
 season when the fruits of the earth were in 
 their full maturity; never suspecting, as 
 has been observed, that the autumn of one 
 part of the world might be the spring of 
 another. Peter ordained that in future the 
 year should commence, as in other parts of 
 Europe, on the 1st of January. He did 
 not introduce the Gregorian calendar, be- 
 cause it was at that day rejected by the 
 English mathematicians, but adopted in- 
 stead the old Julian one; an unfortunate 
 circumstance, by which a disparity of eleven 
 days now exists between Russian dates and 
 those of other European nations. Peter 
 celebrated this alteration by some public 
 festivities and solemnities. The people, 
 however, were averse to it, as, for a time, it 
 introduced confusion into their calculations 
 and commercial accounts. The peasantry 
 were astonished at the power of the czar, 
 who they fancied had, in some inexplicable 
 way, altered the course of the sun; and 
 some old-fashioned folks obstinately adhered 
 to the former mode of computing ; but, at 
 length, a uniformity was attained. 
 
 The Russians were a heavy and unsocial 
 people. In conformity with the Asiatic 
 custom, they kept their wives and daughters 
 in a state of complete seclusion. Married 
 women were not permitted to appear in 
 public without their husbands; while at 
 home they were shut up in the back part of 
 the house. Necessarily, women degenerated, 
 both morally and intellectually; and the 
 softening influence which in other countries 
 they shed upon society, was altogether lost. 
 Indeed, in Russia, at this period, social 
 intercourse may be said to have had no 
 existence. The marriage customs of the 
 people, also, were remarkably barbarous and 
 Asiatic. Young people were married with- 
 out any previous acquaintance with each 
 other; and the bridegroom was not even 
 u 
 
 allowed to see his bride until the ceremony 
 was over. Mutual affection was, of course, 
 rendered an impossibility before marriage, 
 and merely a chance after it. The parties 
 had been united from convenience, and in 
 accordance with the will of the parents, who 
 sometimes even sold the bride to her future 
 husband. The many small sweet courtesies 
 which, in civilised society, form the current 
 coin between the sexes, and exert an im- 
 mense influence in the way of humanising 
 and elevating them, had no place in such a 
 system. In fact, marriage could only have 
 been regarded as a license for the gratifica- 
 tion of those passions which the young had 
 hitherto been taught to restrain. 
 
 The czar abolished this uncouth and un- 
 reasonable custom, and decreed that mar- 
 riages should not take place without a 
 previous acquaintance of at least six weeks 
 between the bride and bridegroom. But 
 little opposition was offered to this change, 
 and the young people were highly pleased 
 with it. It gave them a choice where, 
 hitherto, none existed, and raised them in 
 the social scale. It was now necessary to 
 give the opposite sexes an opportunity of 
 meeting and becoming acquainted with each 
 other. For this purpose, Peter established 
 regular evening assemblies amongst the 
 families of the aristocracy and the wealthy, 
 knowing that the custom once introduced, 
 would find its way, in some form, down 
 even to the lowest circles of society. For 
 the government of these, Peter issued a 
 code of regulations. The assemblies were 
 to commence at four in the afternoon, and 
 close at ten at night: and to be free, not 
 only to all persons of rank and respecta- 
 bility, but also to their wives and daughters. 
 The guests were at liberty to come and go 
 as they pleased ; but the host was not 
 obliged to receive or wait upon them. Still 
 he was to provide them with chaii's, lights, 
 and refreshments. One apartment was to 
 be set aside for dancing; another for cards, 
 chess, and draughts; and a third for 
 smoking. The code also instructed the 
 visitors to bow on entering or leaving the 
 room, and many minute directions were 
 given on the subject of personal behaviour. 
 The penalty for violating any of these was a 
 boorish one, the offender being compelled 
 to drink the contents of a large tumbler of 
 brandy, called the "great eagle." These 
 changes won over the women, who from 
 that time exerted themselves to bring the 
 czar's innovations into favour. 
 
 145 
 
CONFEDERACY AGAINST SWEDEN.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1700. 
 
 The mind of Peter was a comprehensive 
 one, and few things escaped his observation. 
 Anything which he felt would tend to the 
 improvement of the people, he introduced 
 into the country. He established an obser- 
 vatory and a public theatre at Moscow ; for, 
 prior to his time, nothing but the puerile 
 and vulgar miracle plays were performed in 
 Russia. He improved the roads, and caused 
 posts, marking the distances, to be placed 
 on them at stated intervals. He erected 
 hospitals, almshouses, and other humanising 
 institutions; and reforms came so rapidly, 
 that the slow Russian mind was almost in a 
 
 state of bewilderment. The people hardly 
 knew what was right and what was wrong ; 
 but, though they parted from their old 
 customs with regret, they gradually per- 
 ceived that the new ones were calculated to 
 add both to their social happiness and com- 
 mercial prosperity. The clergy were the 
 most strenuous opponents of this great 
 social reformation, and preached and argued 
 vehemently against it ; but Peter exposed the 
 shallowness of their reasoning, and turned 
 them into ridicule. He afterwards retaliated 
 in another way : but of his great church re- 
 forms we shall speak presently. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 PETER ENTERS INTO AN UNJUST LEAGUE AGAINST CHARLES XII. OF SWEDEN ; CHARLES INFLICTS A TERRIBLE 
 DEFEAT ON THE RUSSIANS AT NARVA ; THE CZAR IMPROVES THE DISCIPLINE OF HIS TROOPS ; THE 
 RUSSIANS OBTAIN A VICTORY OVER THE SWEDES ; SACK OF MARIENBURG ; MARTHA THE ORPHAN, WHO 
 AFTERWARDS BECAME THE EMPRESS CATHERINE ; MENTSCHIKOFF ; CAPTURE OF ROTTEBURG AND 
 NIENTSCHANTZ ; THE CZAR FOUNDS ST. PETERSBURG ; HE FORTIFIES OTHER CITIES; DORPT AND NARVA 
 ARE TAKEN BY THE RUSSIANS. 
 
 To a period of social reform succeeded one 
 of warlike struggle. Peter had concluded 
 a truce of thirty years with the Turks, and 
 he was thus left free to pursue his ambi- 
 tious views in reference to extending his 
 dominions to the shores of the Baltic. At 
 this time, certain events were in progress 
 which afforded the czar some shadowy sort 
 of excuse for aggression. 
 
 In the year 1697, Charles XII., then 
 only in his fifteenth year, and not suspected 
 of possessing those great military talents, 
 and that fearless audacity, by which he for 
 so long kept the north of Europe in a state 
 of tumult, ascended the throne of Sweden. 
 On his accession, he found himself not only 
 the absolute and undisturbed master of 
 Sweden and Finland, but also of Livonia, 
 Carelia, Ingria, Wismar, Wibourg, the 
 islands of Rugen and Oesal, and the finest 
 part of Pomerania, together with the duchy 
 of Bremen and Verdun — all of them the 
 conquests of his ancestors, secured to the 
 crown by the fact of possession, by the trea- 
 ties of Munster and Oliva, and supported 
 by the terror of the Swedish arms. All 
 this in the hands of a mere boy ! and one 
 who had revealed so little of his real cha- 
 racter, that he was presumed to be indolent 
 146 
 
 and of a mean capacity. The temptation was 
 great to surrounding sovereigns; for princes 
 seldom consider the injustice of an act 
 which enriches them at the expense of their 
 neighbours. By the time Charles had 
 reached his eighteenth year, a league was 
 formed against him by Frederick IV., king 
 of Denmark; Augustus,elector of Saxony and 
 king of Poland; and the czar Peter of Russia; 
 their object being to dismember Sweden, 
 and to take back from that country all that 
 had been obtained from them by conquest 
 or ceded by capitulation. Poland wanted 
 Livonia and Esthonia ; Denmark, the pro- 
 vinces of Holstein and Schleswig; while the 
 czar desired to obtain possession of Ingria 
 and Carelia, which lay in his way to the 
 Baltic. 
 
 This triple confederacy was entered into 
 in the year 1700. The Swedes were an 
 eminently courageous people ; but so for- 
 midable a league against them, created 
 alarm in the council and the nation, the 
 more so as all their distinguished generals 
 who had attained celebrity under Gusta- 
 vus Adolphus were since dead. One day, 
 when the council were deliberating on their 
 dangerous situation, the young king Charles 
 rose, and observed, with a grave and assured 
 
A.l). 
 
 1700.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [the battle of narv^.. 
 
 air — " Gentlemen, I am resolved never to 
 begin an unjust war; but never to finish 
 an unjust war but with the destruction of 
 my enemies. My resolution is fixed ; I 
 ■will march and attack the first who shall 
 declare war; and when I have conquered 
 him, I hope to strike terror into the rest.^' 
 
 Charles more than fulfilled this proud 
 assertion : he first turned his arms against 
 Denmark, besieged Copenhagen, and within 
 sLv weeks compelled Frederick to sue for 
 peace. At the sjime time, Augustus of 
 Poland laid siege to the town of Riga, the 
 capital of Livonia; but was so vigorously 
 opposed, that he caught eagerly at a trans- 
 parent pretext for retiring. The struggle, 
 therefore, lay chiefly between Charles and 
 Peter, the two most remarkable men in 
 Europe. 
 
 The czar led an army of 60,000 men into 
 Ingria, and laid siege to the small town of 
 Narva. The time was ill-chosen, for it was 
 during the month of October, in a climate 
 of remarkable severity, within thirty degrees 
 of the Pole. Notwithstanding the apparent 
 strength of Peter's army, it contained but 
 12,000 disciplined soldiers, who, though 
 robust and personally brave, were far in- 
 ferior to the Swedes in all those matters 
 which distinguish veteran troops. In fact, 
 they were untried on the field, and had 
 been used chiefly as a military police. The 
 rest were mere barbarians, drawn from 
 forest villages, clothed with the skins of wild 
 beasts, and many of them armed only with 
 bows and arrows, or with clubs. The czar's 
 army was also attended by 150 pieces of 
 cannon ; but there was not one person who 
 well understood artillery to direct it. Thus, 
 though Narva was almost without fortifica- 
 tions, and contained only a garrison of 
 1,000 men, it successfully resisted the at- 
 tacks of the barbarian host which lay in- 
 trenched before it. 
 
 Ten weeks passed away, and then the 
 czar learned that Charles was approaching 
 to the relief of the town. The young 
 Swedish monarch was followed only by 
 8,000 men ; but they were veteran soldiers, 
 and flushed with recent victory. Notwith- 
 standing his immense numerical superiority, 
 Peter exhibited more prudence than was 
 quite consistent with the natural fearless- 
 ness of his nature. Not satisfied with the 
 forces he had already with him, he ordered 
 the advance of another considerable body of 
 troops, then stationed at Novgorod. As 
 they did not arrive so soon as he desired. 
 
 he left the camp to hasten their movements, 
 resigning the command to the Duke de 
 Croi (a Flemish officer) and Prince Dol- 
 gorouki. Perhaps he was satisfied that he 
 might leave the progress of the siege with 
 perfect safety, as Charles would have to cut 
 his way through three small Russian armies 
 before he could arrive at Narva. Be this 
 as it may, his absence assisted to bring de- 
 feat and — considering the nature of the de- 
 feat — disgrace upon his troops and nation. 
 
 Charles and his 8,000 Swedes dispersed 
 the first of Peter's advanced posts, consist- 
 ing of 5,000 men, who, falling back in con- 
 fusion, threw the others into a panic, and 
 all fled precipitately to the intrenched camp. 
 Charles, immediately on his arrival, notwith- 
 standing the fatigue of his troops, gave orders 
 for the attack of a camp consisting of more 
 than 60,000 Russians, and defended by 150 
 pieces of cannon. The famous battle of 
 Narva occurred on the SOth of November. 
 It was commenced during a blinding snow- 
 storm, which blew directly in the faces of 
 the Russians, and efi^ectually concealed the 
 smallness of the Swedish force. Jealousies 
 existed between the Russian commanders : 
 the Duke de Croi issued orders which 
 Prince Dolgorouki refused to execute; and 
 their troops were in a state of confusion 
 before the conflict began. To such an 
 extent was this carried, that the Russians 
 rose against the German officers, and mas- 
 sacred several of them. No man was at his 
 post, and the Russian army became little 
 more than an armed mob. The Swedes 
 opened the battle with a furious cannonade, 
 and soon succeeded in making a breach in 
 the Russian intrenchments. They charged 
 with their bayonets; and for half-an-hour 
 the Russians fought from behind their 
 trenches; but then they began to yield. 
 Charles was struck in the neck by a spent 
 bullet, and had his horse killed under him 
 — incidents which in no way disturbed his 
 composure. The engagement lasted for 
 about three hours, when the intrenchments 
 were forced upon every side, and the Rus- 
 sians, seized with panic, fell into irredeem- 
 able confusion. Many threw themselves 
 into the river Narva, where great numbers 
 were drowned ; others flung away their 
 arms and begged for quarter upon their 
 knees. The Duke de Croi and the German 
 officers, as much afraid of the mutinous 
 Russians as they were of the Swedes, sur- 
 rendered themselves to Charles. Prince 
 Dolgorouki and the principal Russian offi- 
 
 147 
 
PETER IMPROVES HIS ARMY.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 Ta.d. 1701. 
 
 cers did the same. Charles received them ■ 
 with politeness ; and with an affected dis- j 
 dain of the power of Russia, only detained 
 the generals as his prisoners. The subal- 
 tern officers and soldiers were disarmed, 
 conducted to the banks of the Narva, and 
 directed to return into their own country. 
 This was an error which it is probable that 
 Charles afterwards repented of: the Rus- 
 sians, whom he now so contemptuously 
 dismissed, afterwards became disciplined 
 and formidable troops. The Swedish victor 
 captured all the Russian artillery and maga- 
 zines, together with 120 transports laden 
 with provisions. The Russians lost 6,000 
 men, the Swedes but 1,200. Narva was 
 delivered, and Charles entered it in triumph. 
 The shattered remains of the recently con- 
 fident army of the czar dared no longer 
 show themselves. 
 
 Charles, instead of pursuing his advan- 
 tage, which might have led him as a victor 
 even to the gates of Moscow, where he 
 could have dictated any peace he pleased, 
 turned off into Poland to punish Augustus 
 for the part that monarch had taken in the 
 confederacy against him. The news of the 
 Russian defeat reached Peter as he was 
 approaching to Narva with the additional 
 forces — amounting to 40,000 men — that he 
 had been in quest of. He would not risk 
 the loss of this army also, but resolved on 
 returning to Moscow. He bore his reverse 
 as great minds almost always bear calamity 
 — with fortitude. He had been defeated, 
 but not necessarily ruined ; and he resolved 
 to persevere incessantly in raising his troops 
 to a higher state of discipline. His designs 
 on Ingria were not altered by the severe 
 check he had received. " 1 know very 
 well," he observed, "that the Swedes will 
 beat us for a long time; but, in the end, 
 they themselves will teach us to beat them." 
 
 The inhabitants of JIoscow did not re- 
 ceive this national chastisement with so 
 much dignity and resignation. Such was 
 the ignorant vanity of the people, that they 
 supposed that those who conquered them 
 must have been assisted by diabolical 
 agency, and that the Swedes were magi- 
 cians. So general was this opinion, that 
 a Russian bishop composed a form of prayer 
 to St. Nicholas, imploring him to baffle the 
 infernal arts of their enemies. This docu- 
 ment was read in all the churches; and we 
 introduce it here as an instance of the igno- 
 rance and superstition of the Russian people 
 and clergy at the commencement of the 
 148 
 
 seventeenth century : — " O Thou ! who art 
 our perpetual consoler in all our adversities, 
 great St. Nicholas ! infinitely powerful ! by 
 what sin have we offended thee in our sacri- 
 fices, kneelings, bowings, and thanksgivings, 
 that thou hast thus abandoned us? We 
 have implored thy assistance against these 
 terrible, insolent, enraged, dreadful, and 
 unconquerable destroyers; when, like lions 
 and bears who have lost their young, 
 they have attacked, terrified, wounded, aud 
 killed by thousands, us thy people. As it 
 is impossible that this can be done without 
 sorcery and enchantment, we beseech thee, 
 O great St. Nicholas ! to be our champion 
 and our standard-bearer, to deliver us from 
 this tribe of sorcerers, and to drive them far 
 from our frontiers, with the recompense 
 that is their due." The Russians have 
 made some progress during the last century 
 and a-half. They would no longer write 
 such barbarous stuff as the preceding. 
 
 Charles's expedition into Poland gave 
 Peter time to recover himself, and repair 
 the losses he had experienced. Returning 
 to Moscow, he occupied himself during the 
 winter in raising and drilling troops. He 
 also had 143 pieces of cannon cast, to re- 
 place those which were lost at Narva. 
 Metal Avas requisite to furnish this new 
 artillery; and, to obtain it, he ordered a 
 number of the bells of churches and monas- 
 teries to be melted down, and converted 
 into instruments of war. Such was his 
 activity in this direction, that in the spring 
 of 1701 he had an artillery consisting of 
 100 pieces of cannon, 142 field-pieces, 
 twelve mortars, and thirteen howitzers. All 
 these preparations for renewing the Avar he 
 superintended in person ; and the most in- 
 dustrious man in the empire was the czar. 
 But this military activity did not withdraw 
 Peter's attention from those arts Avhich 
 seldom flourish except in times of peace. 
 At the same time he imported sheep and 
 shepherds from Saxony, erected establish- 
 ments for the manufacture of linen and 
 paper, fostered the civilising art of print- 
 ing, and invited to Russia many foreign 
 artisans, consisting of smiths, braziers, and 
 artificers of e\'ery description. He also 
 employed Avorkmen to explore the mines of 
 Siberia. Thus, at the same time, endea- 
 vouring both to enrich and defend his 
 dominions. 
 
 During this period, Peter entered into a 
 further treaty Avith the King of Denmark, 
 who engaged to assist him with three regi- 
 
A.D. 1702.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE." 
 
 [war with the swedes. 
 
 ments of foot and three of cavalry — an un- 
 dertaking which his fear of Charles XII. 
 never permitted him to fulfil. As soon as 
 this treaty was signed, the czar hurried to 
 Birzen, on the frontiers of Courland and 
 Lithuania, where he had an interview with 
 Augustus, king of Poland. It was con- 
 ducted without any of those formalities 
 which usually interrupt the intercourse of 
 monarchs, and prolong the business to be 
 settled between them. Engagements for 
 mutual assistance were entered into; but 
 such was the precarious position of Augus- 
 tus, that he was unable to fulfil his part of 
 the contract. The Polish diet, jealous both 
 of the Saxon troops of Augustus and the 
 Russian troops of the czar, refused to sanc- 
 tion a league that they felt must involve 
 them in difficulties. Peter soon saw that 
 he must depend upon himself alone, and he 
 I'esolved to do so. After five days passed 
 in revelry (for the czar could never over- 
 come his tendency to excess and debauchery), 
 the monarchs parted. The king of Sweden, 
 having left a body of forces on the Russian 
 frontiers of his dominions to preserve them 
 from attack, pursued a course of victory 
 and intrigue in Poland, where he had re- 
 solved to dethrone King Augustus, and 
 then push his way to Moscow, and punish 
 the czar. 
 
 While Charles was occupied in ravaging 
 Poland, Peter was employed in strengthen- 
 ing Russia. During the year 1701, the 
 czar caused 150 half-galleys, each carrying 
 about fifty men, to be built on the great 
 lake Peipus, in order to prevent Swedish 
 vessels from insulting the province of Nov- 
 gorod, and to be within a proper distance 
 for making a descent upon the Swedish 
 coasts. These vessels were also intended 
 as a nursery for seamen — a service in which 
 they were exceedingly useful. The year 
 1701 was a time of preparation with Peter : 
 his troops were learning war as an art ; and 
 they made so great a progress, that in some 
 border skirmishes which took place between 
 them and the Swedes, they sometimes had 
 the advantage. The czar himself was inde- 
 fatigable. He travelled constantly between 
 Pleskow, Moscow, and Archangel, and suc- 
 ceeded in imparting to his recently-defeated 
 troops a spirit of enthusiasm. 
 
 In the following year (1702) the war was 
 actively renewed; for on the 1st of January 
 a battle took place near Dorpt, on the bor- 
 ders of Livonia; when the Russians, after a 
 conflict of four hours, obtained a victory 
 
 over the Swedes. It is said that 3,000 of 
 the latter perished; while the Russians, who 
 took four colours, lost but 1,000 men. 
 General Scheremetof, who commanded, was 
 made a field-marshal; and the Russian 
 clergy, conceiving that St. Nicholas was 
 reconciled to them, offered a public thanks- 
 giving accordingly. Several petty engage- 
 ments took place by water between the 
 Russian and Swedish vessels on the lakes 
 Peipus and Ladoga. Though commonly 
 terminating in favour of the Swedes, yet 
 the Russians had the advantage occa- 
 sionally; and in the month of May, a 
 Swedish frigate was captured. During 
 July, Peter received intelligence that a 
 Swedish fleet was on its way to the North 
 Sea, for the purpose of destroying Arch- 
 angel. Starting instantly for that remote 
 city, he put it into a state of defence ; and 
 having prevented the landing of the Swedes, 
 drew the plan of a citadel, called the New 
 Dwina; and after laying the first stone, re- 
 turned to the seat of war. 
 
 Marshal Scheremetof having obtained 
 another triumph over a body of Swedes 
 commanded by Schlippenbach, acquired the 
 reputation of being a great general. Taking 
 advantage of his success, he laid the whole 
 country under contribution, and marched 
 upon Marienburg, a little town on the con- 
 fines of Livonia and Ingria. The garrison, 
 satisfied that resistance would be useless, 
 immediately capitulated, on condition that 
 they and the inhabitants should be alloAved 
 to depart unmolested. The terms were 
 granted; but an intemperate Swedish officer 
 set fire to the powder-magazine, which, in 
 exploding, killed many both of the Russians 
 and of his own countrymen. The former, 
 irritated at this act of treachery, fell upon 
 the garrison, destroyed the town, and car- 
 ried off the inhabitants. 
 
 Among these unfortunate people was a 
 young peasant girl named Martha, of about 
 sixteen years of age. She was an orphan, 
 and had been brought up by the Lutheran 
 minister of Marienburg, in whose house- 
 hold she fulfilled the duties of a servant. 
 It is said, that only the day before, she had 
 been married to a sergeant in the Swedish 
 army, who was killed in the confusion, and 
 that when she was brought into the pre- 
 sence of one of the Russian generals named 
 Bauer, she was in tears for the loss of her 
 new-made and early-lost husband. Martha 
 was graceful and interesting, and had a 
 peculiarly soft and fascinating expression of 
 
 149 
 
MARTHA A^U MENTSCHIKOFF.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1702. 
 
 countenance. Bauer was struck with her 
 appearance, and, being a single man, he 
 took her to his home, where she became his 
 housekeeper, and, as it is generally sup- 
 posed, his mistress. The general afterwards 
 denied this circumstance ; but it was when 
 he had powerful motives for doing so. The 
 world believed that Martha lived with the 
 general on terms of more than common 
 familiarity ; and we do not see any reason 
 to suppose that, in this instance, the world 
 was wrong. Prince MentschikoflF, seeing the 
 pretty widowed orphan at the house of the 
 general, was likewise impressed by her 
 beauty and amiability, and begged Bauer 
 to part with her. The general was not dis- 
 posed to deny anything to a prince, espe- 
 cially to a rising prince, who stood high in 
 the favour of the czar. He acceded to the 
 request, and Martha then became the avowed 
 mistress of Mentschikoff. In this capacity 
 she remained until the year 1704, when the 
 czar accidentally beheld her, and was as 
 much struck with her appearance as either 
 Bauer or Mentschikoff. Entering into con- 
 versation with Martha, Peter soon felt 
 strongly attracted towards her: the first im- 
 pression was not only sustained, but height- 
 ened ; and the Livonian orphan left the bed 
 of Mentschikoff to share that of the czar. 
 In the year 1696, Peter had put away his 
 wife Eudoxia Lapuchin, whose jealousy and 
 bigoted opposition to his reforms excited 
 his disgust and anger; and he eventually 
 married Martha, to whom he gave the more 
 dignified name of Catherine. " There had 
 been instances before this," says Voltaire, 
 " of private persons being raised to the 
 throne. Nothing was more common in 
 Russia, and in all the Asiatic kingdoms, 
 than marriages between sovereigns and 
 their subjects. But that a poor stranger, 
 who had been discovered amidst the ruins 
 of a plundered town, should become the 
 absolute sovereign of that very empire into 
 which she was led captive, is an incident 
 which fortune and merit have never before 
 produced in the annals of the world." 
 
 The rise of Prince Mentschikoff was only 
 something less remarkable than that of 
 Martha — or rather of Catherine, as we 
 must henceforth call her. His parents 
 were extremely humble people, vassals of 
 the monastery of Cosraopoli. When their 
 son had reached the age of thirteen, they 
 sent him to Moscow to get his living as 
 best he could. Being received into the 
 service of a pastrvcook, he went about the 
 150 
 
 j streets to sell puffs and cakes. Having aa 
 ' agreeable voice, he used to attract notice 
 to his humble dainties by singing ballads. 
 One day the czar happened to hear the boy, 
 and being pleased with his appearance and 
 voice, sent for him, and asked if he would 
 ' sell his pies and his basket. The young 
 itinerant pastrycook answered modestly, 
 i that his pies were for sale, but he must 
 I ask his master^s leave to sell his basket ; 
 { though, as everything belonged to his 
 ; prince, he needed only to lay his commands 
 ': upon him. This answer further pleased 
 the czar, who ordered the boy to come to 
 ■ court, where he was at first employed in 
 I some mean station. As he exhibited con- 
 1 siderable address and capacity, Peter made 
 j him groom of his bedchamber ; and thence 
 gradually raised him to the highest prefer- 
 I ments. As if this career was not in itself 
 sufficiently romantic, a wild story has been 
 related of Mentschikoff having, while a 
 pastrycook^s boy, saved the czar from being 
 poisoned by a discontented boyard ; but it 
 bears an air of improbability, and is gene- 
 rally discountenanced. 
 
 ^Ye have, though indeed inevitably, been 
 digressing slightly from the strict chrono- 
 logical march of historic facts. This is 
 sometimes necessary for the sake of grace 
 and pictorial effect, and also for the avoid- 
 ance of repetition ; but woe be to the writer 
 who does not keep his facts in good chro- 
 nological order: then, like ill-disciplined 
 troops, they fall into confusion, perplex the 
 general who has assumed to arrange them, 
 and bring him to disgrace and defeat. 
 
 We diverged at the point where, in 
 the year 1702, Marshal Scheremetof had 
 marched upon and destroyed the town of 
 Marieuburg, on the confines of Livonia 
 and Ingria. After this success, Peter pushed 
 I forward his operations in the direction of 
 the river Neva, which connects Lake Ladoga 
 with the Baltic Sea, and at the mouth of 
 which now stands the large and elegant 
 city, the foundations of which Peter was so 
 soon to lay. Near that point where the 
 river Neva left the lake, was an island, on 
 which stood Rotteburg, a strongly-fortified 
 town, commanding the lake. This town 
 was indispensable to Peter iu carrying out 
 the extensive design he had formed, and he 
 resolved to obtain possession of it. His 
 troops besieged the town from the 18th of 
 September until the 12th of October. 
 Tliree breaches having been made, the Rus- 
 sians gave the assault; but such was the 
 
A.D. 1703.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE, [capture of fort nientschantz. 
 
 desperate valour of the Swedish garrison, 
 that though reduced to only eighty-three 
 effective men, they yet obtained an honour- 
 able capitulation, even when victory was 
 almost in the grasp of their assailants. 
 Peter gained what he wanted ; but the siege 
 was by no means a very brilliant triumph, 
 in a military sense. He, however, chose so 
 to consider it, and distributed rewards to 
 the officers and soldiers by whom it was 
 conducted. Others, who had run away 
 during the assault, vrere subject to a severe 
 punishment. They were put to a whim- 
 sically-ignominious death : their comrades 
 spat in their faces, and then shot them. 
 The czar caused the fortifications of Rotte- 
 burg to be repaired; and changed its name 
 into that of SchlUsselburg, or City of the 
 Key, because it was regarded as the key of 
 Ingria and Finland. Prince Mentschikoff, 
 formerly the pie-boy, but now grown a very 
 good officer, was made the first Russian gov- 
 ernor of the conquered town. Charles XII. 
 thought very little of this. He regarded 
 the Russians with contempt, and fancied 
 that he could readily drive them out as soon 
 as he returned from Poland. His easy con- 
 quest at the battle of Narva had given him 
 a false estimate of his enemies. 
 
 The depth of winter produced some brief 
 pause in the execution of the czar's designs 
 with respect to his intended city near the 
 shores of the Baltic. He therefore spent 
 the early part of the year 1703 at Moscow, 
 where, however, he by no means gave him- 
 self up to luxurious ease, but employed his 
 time m seeing that his new regulations were 
 carried into effect, and in improving the 
 civil as well as military government. Even 
 in his amusements he promoted those more 
 social and rational customs which he de- 
 sired to introduce amongst his unwilling 
 subjects. At the marriage of one of his 
 jesters, he caused all the nobles and their 
 ladies to be invited ; and gave, at the same 
 time, a command that everybody should be 
 dressed in the ancient fashion. The dinner 
 was placed on the table in the uncouth 
 manner that was customary a hundred years 
 before. Although the cold was intense, he 
 would not permit a fire to be kindled, be- 
 cause there had formerly been a superstitious 
 custom of not lighting a fire on a wedding- 
 day. Neither was any wine permitted, be- 
 cause the Russians, in old times, used only 
 to drink mead and brandy; and he would 
 not suffer any other liquor. The shivering 
 and disgusted guests complained to the 
 
 czar of this cheerless treatment; but he 
 replied, in a jocular tone, " Your ancestors 
 did so, and surely ancient customs are 
 always the best." This covert sarcasm, 
 added to the practical lesson which pre- 
 ceded it, discouraged the complaints of 
 those who were always ready to prefer the 
 customs of the past, and taught them to 
 believe that changes might possibly be im- 
 provements. 
 
 Returning to the frontiers of Sweden, 
 the czar visited the dockyards of Olonetz, to 
 inspect the ships he had directed to be 
 built there, and the foundries he had estab- 
 lished in that town for the manufacture of 
 arms. The object of Peter was to obtain 
 the secure occupation of both shores of the 
 Neva. It was therefore necessary to expel 
 the Swedes from all places in the neigh- 
 bourhood, and to take or destroy all the 
 fortified posts they held in Ingria and 
 Carelia. The most important of the latter 
 was a fortress called Nientschantz, situated 
 near Lake Ladoga, and not far from the 
 Neva. As Peter laid seige to this fortress 
 by land, and prevented its receiving supplies 
 by water, it surrendered on the 12th of 
 May. Two Swedish vessels that came too 
 late to relieve the garrison, were also cap- 
 tured by the ships of the czar. 
 
 Peter now resolved at once to erect the 
 new capital of his empire, although the very 
 ground on which it was to stand did not 
 belong to him, and would have to be con- 
 tested for with a powerful rival, who knew no 
 sense of fear, and loved war as a pastime. 
 Advancing up the Neva, in the direction of 
 the sea, he selected a wild and marshy 
 island, covered with brusliwood, and in- 
 habited only by a few fishermen. The place 
 was unpromising, and extremely ill-adapted 
 for the purpose for which the czar intended 
 it. So low was it, as to be little better 
 than a muddy swamp in summer, and a 
 frozen pool in winter. Such a situation 
 was necessarily unhealthy; and the sur- 
 rounding country was covered with marshes, 
 and almost impenetrable forests — the haunts 
 of wolves and bears. The place was also 
 subject to inundations when the tide set in 
 more fiercely than usual from the Baltic : 
 but all these considerations were overlooked 
 by Peter in his anxiety to obtain a great 
 fortified seaport. 
 
 On the 27th of May, 1703, was laid the 
 foundations of the fortress of St. Peters- 
 burg, the nucleus of the magnificent city 
 which now bears that name. The difficul- 
 
 151 
 
FOUNDATION OF ST. PETERSBURG.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1703. 
 
 ties to be overcome were stupendous. The 
 neighbouring country was one vast morass, 
 intersected by numerous branches of the 
 Neva, and countless pools of water.* Every- 
 where there was water, and deadly miasma 
 arising from it; while the soft spongy soil 
 seemed to defy the skill of man to convert 
 it into a solid foundation. As for stone, 
 the neighbouring country was actually des- 
 titute of it ; and the new fortress was built 
 with the stone taken from that recently 
 captured at Nientschantz. Again, the popu- 
 lation was so scanty, that it could not 
 furnish labourers; and such as were at 
 once obtained, did not possess the tools 
 necessary for the accomplishment of their 
 work. But Peter was not to be baffled, and 
 his energy soon overcame all obstacles. 
 Workmen were sent for from all parts of 
 the empire; and a vast concourse of la- 
 bourers was soon collected, including in its 
 motley groups, Russians, Tartars, Cossacks, 
 Calmucks, and Finns. These poor people 
 were employed in deepening the channels of 
 the river, and raising the levels of the land 
 destined for the site of the city. Unhappy 
 men ! the new capital may, without a meta- 
 phor, be said to be constructed upon their 
 bones. Such was the severity of the weather, 
 the unhealthiness of the place, the hard- 
 ness of the toil, and the scarcity of provi- 
 sions, that no less than 100,000 of them 
 perished during the first year. But such a 
 powerful fact as this did not affect the iron 
 nerves of the czar. He was eager and in- 
 flexible, and the work went rapidly on. The 
 fortress was completed within five months; 
 and, at the expiration of a year, 30,000 
 wooden houses and huts had arisen from 
 the dreary swamp, whose yielding soil was 
 hardened with human bones. The begin- 
 ning was humble enough; and few, even of 
 the idealists and dreamers of the world, 
 could have conceived that this new-born 
 city was, at no distant time, to challenge 
 the admiration of the world for its gorgeous 
 palaces, its magnificent cathedrals, its im- 
 perial academies and libraries, its gigantic 
 squares, its massive quays, its superb thea- 
 tres, its pleasure-gardens, and all that con- 
 duces to the brilliancy of an exotic civili- 
 sation ! Yet St. Petersburg was but slowly 
 
 * Lady Eastlake remarks — " No one can judge 
 of the daring position of St. Petersburg, who has 
 not mounted one of the artificial heights (such as 
 the gilt spire of the admiralty), and viewed the im- 
 mense body of water in which she floats like a bark 
 overladen with precious goods ; while the autumn 
 152 
 
 populated; and even now its inhabitants 
 can scarcely be said to be numerous. 
 
 At the time of Peter's death, in 1725, it 
 contained 75,000 inhabitants: these had 
 increased to 110,000 on the accession of 
 Catherine II. ; and it is now about 500,000 ; 
 of which number two-thirds are males. 
 Some authorities add, that the men are re- 
 markable for their good looks, and the 
 women for the contrary. 
 
 While Peter was struggling to subdue 
 the wildness of nature in this locality, and 
 wooden houses were daily rising above the 
 swamp, he devoted his attention to securing 
 the safety of his new city. Charles XII. 
 was not a monarch from whom territory 
 could be filched or wrested with impunity ; 
 and other enemies might strike at the un- 
 finished sea-cradle of Russia, if it remained 
 undefended. The czar, therefore, diligently 
 examined the neighbourhood himself, and, 
 selecting a little island lying near the mouth 
 of the river Neva, he gave it the name of 
 Cronstadt ; and, making a model of the 
 fortifications he designed to be erected 
 there, employed Prince Mentschikoff to 
 carry the works into execution. With what 
 success this was accomplished, the present 
 world-famous seaward defences of St. Peters- 
 burg attest. 
 
 In the month of November the czar re- 
 turned to Moscow, where he had again to 
 encounter the discontent of the people. 
 Noble, priest, and citizen were alike dis- 
 satisfied at the erection of a new city on so 
 unfavourable a site ; where winter predomi- 
 nates over eight months of the year; in 
 which rye was an article of garden culture, 
 and a bee-hive an absolute curiosity. The 
 nobles dreaded that the wealth and dignity 
 of Moscow would be transferred to the 
 dismal islands of the Neva ; while the poor 
 looked upon the place with a superstitious 
 horror, on account of the enormous amount 
 of life sacrificed in its erection. The new 
 city, however, prospered, notwithstanding 
 the many ominous predictions that it would 
 soon be engulphed beneath the waters of 
 the Neva. Five months from the day of its 
 foundation, a Dutch vessel, freighted with 
 merchandise, entered the river. Presents 
 were made to the captain to encourage 
 
 waves, as if maddened by the prospect of winter's 
 long imprisonment, play wild pranks with her re- 
 sistless shores, deriding her false foundations, and 
 overturning in a few hours the laborious erections 
 of as many years." St. Petersburg has been com- 
 pared to a floating city of palaces. 
 
A.D. 1704.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [the siege of naeva. 
 
 others to follow his example, which they 
 speedily did. The third ship, however, that 
 entered the port was from England. These 
 commercial visits gave some hope to the 
 downcast inhabitants, whose compulsory 
 residence in the new city was by no means 
 to their taste. Indeed, after the departure 
 of Peter for Moscow, the priests tried their 
 hands at a miracle, which was intended to 
 be a visible expression of the assumed dis- 
 pleasure of the Omnipotent. A church was 
 amongst the earliest of the buildings erected ; 
 and an image of the Virgin, with which it 
 was adorned, was seen to shed tears, in 
 pity — so said the pious men — for the suffer- 
 ings of the people. It caused great excite- 
 ment until the return of the czar, who, 
 being a little sceptical in such matters, 
 caused the image to be taken down and 
 carefully examined. The vulgar fraud was 
 soon exposed; and the mechanical contri- 
 vance by which the figure was made to 
 appear to Aveep, shown to the simple people. 
 
 The czar could afford to despise opposi- 
 tion even of a more serious kind than this. 
 His power was rapidly increasing ; and not- 
 withstanding his great outlays, his personal 
 expenditure was so trivial, that he was 
 enabled to accumulate wealth. Almost at 
 the same time that he was employed in the 
 erection of a new capital, he fortified Nov- 
 gorod, Pleskow, Kief, Smolensk, Azofi", and 
 Archangel. He also bestowed a consider- 
 able subsidy upon Augustus, the king of 
 Poland, to enable him to oppose the Swedish 
 monarch. Yet he informed Cornelius de 
 Bruyer (a Dutch traveller, with whom Peter 
 would frequently converse with familiarity), 
 that after providing for all the expenses of 
 the war, he had still 300,000 roubles in his 
 coffers. 
 
 The Swedish gladiator Charles, who still 
 preserved his contempt both for the Rus- 
 sians and their ruler, said that Peter might 
 amuse himself as he thought fit in building 
 a city, as he should soon take it away from 
 him, and set fire to his wooden houses. 
 The Turkish government, however, took a 
 different view of the proceedings of the 
 czar: the fortifications he had erected at 
 Azoff and in its neighbourhood excited their 
 alarm ; and the sultan sent an ambassador 
 to complain of these warlike preparations. 
 Peter replied, that he was as much a sove- 
 reign in his own dominions as the great 
 signior was in Turkey, and that it could be 
 no violation of the peace to render Russia 
 respectable on the Euxine. 
 
 A reference to the map will show the 
 reader that Narva, where Peter's forces had 
 been so ignominiously defeated by the 
 Swedes, lay in dangerous proximity to the 
 new capital. To secure the safety of the 
 latter, and to wipe off the disgrace he had 
 formerly received at Narva, the czar re- 
 solved on another attempt to make himself 
 master of that town. In the spring of 1 704, 
 he divided the military force of Russia into 
 three portions. One he sent to the assist- 
 ance of King Augustus, whom Charles had 
 succeeded in driving from his throne ; a 
 second he led in person to accomplish the 
 reduction of Narva ; while a third he placed 
 under the direction of General Schere- 
 metof, for the purpose of laying siege to 
 Dorpt, a town in Esthonia, in which the 
 famous Gustavus Adolphus had established 
 a university. 
 
 Dorpt, after holding out for six weeks, 
 was taken by a stratagem. The Russian 
 general disguised two regiments of infantry 
 and one of cavalry in Swedish uniforms. 
 These pretended Swedes attacked the 
 trenches, and the Russians feigned a flight. 
 The garrison of the town, believing that 
 some succour had arrived, were deceived 
 into making a sortie, when the false attackers 
 and the attacked united their forces, and 
 fell upon the astonished Swedes. So great 
 was the slaughter which followed this sur- 
 prise, that the town capitulated on the 23rd 
 of July, 1704, and thus avoided the horrors 
 of an assault. 
 
 The czar was equally successful at Narva ; 
 for he was a far more formidable enemy 
 than when his troops had been so severely 
 chastised there by Charles in 1700. "He 
 not only," says Voltaire, " began to be a 
 good soldier, but he likewise taught the art 
 of war to the Muscovites ; discipline was 
 established throughout his troops ; he had 
 able engineers, an artillery well served, and 
 many good officers ; and he likewise knew 
 the art of subsisting his armies. Some of 
 his generals had learned both how to fight, 
 and also, as occasion required, to decline 
 fighting." The siege of Narva was con- 
 ducted under the personal superintendence 
 of Peter ; and when, on the 20th of August, 
 it was taken by assault, three famous bas- 
 tions, respectively called Victory, Honour, 
 and Glory, were carried sword-in-hand. 
 Bursting into the town, the besiegers de- 
 voted themselves to plunder, obscenity, and 
 slaughter, without the slightest pity or com- 
 punction. Such were the atrocities of the 
 
 153 
 
HUMANITY OF THE CZAR.] 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1704. 
 
 Russian troops, that even the stern czar 
 was moved to disgust and indignation. To 
 his honour it must be recorded, that he ran 
 from place to place to stop the massacre. 
 He saved unhappy women from the hands 
 of his brutal soldiers, who, after having vio- 
 lated them, were about to cut their throats. 
 Several of these ruffians, blinded by their 
 beastly fury, perhaps did not recognise the 
 czar; and refusing to obey his commands, 
 he cut them down with his own hands. 
 Then entering the town-house, where great 
 numbers of the citizens had retired for 
 shelter, he threw his reeking weapon upon 
 the table, and exclaimed, " My sword is not 
 stained with the blood of the inhabitants, 
 but with that of my own soldiers, which I 
 have spilt to save your lives." — "If," re- 
 marked one of his biographers, "the czar 
 had always observed this humanity, he 
 would have been the first of men." On this 
 occasion, he seems to have been much im- 
 pressed by the horrors of war, especially as 
 waged by barbarous troops. It is reported. 
 
 that when Count de Horn, the governor of | origin or obscure their station. 
 
 the town, was brought before Peter, the 
 czar angrily struck him on the face, and 
 observed, " It is you, and you only, who 
 are the cause of so many calamities. Ought 
 you not to have capitulated when you had 
 no hope of assistance ?" 
 
 This last acquisition made Peter master 
 of the whole of Ingria, the government of 
 which province he conferred upon Ments- 
 chikofiF, now raised to the rank of a prince. 
 The elevation of this man from the streets 
 of Moscow to so exalted a position, was not 
 merely a point of eccentricity in the czar. 
 He intended it as a reproof to his ignorant 
 and indolent nobility, and as an assurance 
 to them that merit and assiduity were the 
 only passports to his favour. Under him, 
 tiie old system of conferring honours and 
 rewards had ceased to exist. The ancient 
 nobility were discontented ; but a spirit of 
 emulation was at length excited among the 
 people, who began to perceive that the path 
 to affluence and distinction was open to 
 the gifted, no matter how humble their 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 ST. PETERSBURG THREATENED BY A SWEDISH FLEET ; CAMPAIGN IN COURLAND ; BATTLE WITH THE SWEDES ; 
 MURDER OF GENERAL PATKUL ; AFFAIRS OF POLAND; CHARLES XII. RESOLVES TO INVADE RUSSIA AND 
 DETHRONE THE CZAR ; THE LATTER DRIVEN FROM GRODNO ; ENGAGEMENT AT BEREZINA ; THE RUSSIANS 
 RETREAT, FOLLOWED BY THE SWEDES ; ENGAGEMENT NEAR MOHILO ; CHARLES ENTERS THE UKRAINE ; 
 BRILLIANT CONFLICT OF THE SWEDES, UNDER GENERAL LEWENHAUPT, AVITH THE RUSSIAN ARMY; CHARLES 
 DISAPPOINTED OF HIS SUPPLIES, AND OF THE AID HE EXPECTED FROM MAZEPPA ; CHARLES LAYS SIEGE TO 
 PULTOWA; PETER ADVANCES TO ITS ASSISTANCE; THE FAMOUS BATTLE OF PULTOWA, AND RUIN OF 
 CHARLES ; MILITARY SOLEMNITY AT MOSCOW 
 
 It was Peter's policy to keep Charles XII. 
 as long as possible in Poland, in the hope 
 that he might exhaust his strength, or per- 
 haps even receive a check which would 
 cripple his power. "With this design, he had 
 no sooner secured himself in Ingria, than 
 he made an offer of further assistance to the 
 dethroned king, Augustus. In the August 
 of 1704, Peter sent General Repnin from 
 the borders of Lithuania to the assistance 
 of Augustus, with a body of 6,000 horse 
 and 6,000 foot. The autumn of this year 
 the czar spent in improving his new city, or 
 rather colony — for it was as yet no more — 
 of St. Petersburg : the winter he passed in 
 Moscow ; on his return into which, accord- 
 ing to his general custom, he made a 
 triumphal entry. 
 154 
 
 As the winter of 1704-'5 melted into 
 spring, Peter prepared to take the field him- 
 self in Poland, for the double purpose of as- 
 sisting his helpless ally Augustus, and of weak- 
 ening his warlike rival Charles. While thus 
 engaged, Cronstadt and St. Petersburg were 
 threatened by a formidable Swedish fleet,, 
 consisting of two-and-twenty ships of wai, 
 carrying from fifty-four to sixty-four guns 
 each, besides six frigates, two bomb- ketches, 
 and two fire-ships. The Swedes landed 
 their troops on the little island of Kotin, 
 but were received with so unexpected and 
 precise a fire, that they retreated in con- 
 fusion, abandoning their dead, and leaving 
 300 prisoners in the hands of the enemy. 
 Two other descents were made; but they 
 were equally unsuccessful. At length the 
 
A.D. 1706.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [war with SWEDEN. 
 
 hostile fleet, which had hovered about the 
 coast, seeking for an opportunity of striking 
 at St. Petersburg, being thus baffled and 
 repulsed, retired; and the new city, yet only 
 rising from its swampy bed, was saved. 
 
 In the meantime Peter had marched 
 into Courland, where he was encountered 
 and defeated by a Swedish army under 
 General Lewenhaupt. So severe was this 
 check, that the czar lost about 5,000 men, 
 together with all his artillery. Notwith- 
 standing this and other reverses, Peter pre- 
 served the discipline of his forces, pene- 
 trated to Mitau, the capital of Courland, 
 and compelled it to surrender by capitula- 
 tion. His troops were beginning to show 
 the results of that superior training to 
 which they had been subjected. Since the 
 taking of Narva, Peter had so repressed the 
 plundering propensities of his troops, that 
 when the Russian soldiers were appointed 
 to guard the vaults in the castle of Mitau 
 (the usual burying-place of the dukes of 
 Courland), they, on finding that the bodies 
 of those princes had been dragged out of 
 their tombs, and stript of their ornaments, 
 refused to undertake the charge until they 
 had sent for a Swedish colonel, and in- 
 duced him to sign a certificate that these 
 depredations were the acts of his own coun- 
 trymen. 
 
 At the approach of winter the czar again 
 returned to Moscoav, where his presence 
 was required in consequence of an insur- 
 rection of an insignificant character. This 
 he soon quelled ; and then he might have 
 obtained some repose from those incessant 
 toils to which he was subjected, but that he 
 received intelligence that Charles XII., at 
 the head of a powerful army, was advancing 
 upon Grodno, where the combined Russian 
 and Saxon armies in the service of Augus- 
 tus were encamped. Peter hurried to the 
 spot occupied by the Swedes. A battle 
 took place at Frauenstadt on the 12th of 
 February, 1706. It scarcely lasted a quar- 
 ter of an hour, by which time the Swedes 
 were victors. So great was the disorder, 
 and so sudden the panic in the ranks of 
 the allied Russians and Saxons, that 7,000 
 loaded fusees were found on the field of 
 battle, which they had thrown down with- 
 out firing. The victory of the Swedes was 
 complete ; the slaughter of their foes ter- 
 rible. Of 6,000 Russians in the army 
 of Augustus, scarcely any escaped. The 
 Swedes gave no quarter to the fallen, and 
 were guilty of great atrocities. The czar 
 
 asserted, in a manifesto he published, 
 that many of his soldiers who had been 
 taken prisoners were murdered in cold 
 blood three days after the battle. Doubt- 
 less, a savage spirit predominated on each 
 side, and war was made even more than 
 commonly terrible by the brutal passions of 
 a barbarous soldiery. 
 
 Peter was not disheartened; misfortune 
 lost its usually enfeebling influence when it 
 assailed him. He raised more troops, and 
 encouraged the dispirited Augustus to take 
 advantage of the absence of Charles in 
 Saxony, and again to enter Poland. Augus- 
 tus yielded ; but terrified by the success of 
 the fierce Swede, he at last wrote a letter 
 with his own hand to Charles, begging him 
 to grant a peace. The terms of the latter 
 were severe ; the chief of them being, that 
 he should for ever renounce the throne of 
 Poland and the Russian alliance. To the 
 expostulations of the plenipotentiaries of 
 Augustus, the minister of Charles replied, 
 " Such is the will of the king, my master; 
 and he never changes his mind." 
 
 While these negotiations were being pri- 
 vately carried on. Prince Mentschikoff 
 joined the forces of Augustus with 20,000 
 men, much to the confusion of the fugitive 
 monarch, who, having resolved on submis- 
 sion, wished to be left to himself. Not 
 only had he been dethroned by his enemy, 
 but, should the negotiations be discovered, 
 he was in danger of being taken prisoner 
 by his ally. At this crisis, the consterna- 
 tion of Augustus was increased by tlie in- 
 telligence that 10,000 Swedes, under the 
 command of General Meyerfeldt, were ap- 
 proaching to give him battle. To attack 
 the Swedes, and either to win or lose the 
 battle, would add to the complexities of his 
 situation. He therefore sent a secret mes- 
 senger to Meyerfeldt, informing him of the 
 expected peace, and begging him to retire. 
 Even this incident produced a result exactly 
 the reverse of what was intended. The 
 Swede thought that a snare was being laid 
 to intimidate him, and therefore resolved 
 on the attack. The battle took place ; the 
 Russians were the victors, and entered 
 Warsaw in triumph. There the irresolute 
 and humiliated Augustus was met by his 
 own plenipotentiaries, who presented to him 
 the treaty they had just concluded, by 
 which he promised to give up all claim to 
 the crown of Poland, and to abandon for 
 ever his alliance with the Russians. Feel- 
 ing that he could not struggle for any time 
 
 155 
 
MURDER OF PATKUL.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1707. 1 
 
 effectually against the power of Charles, he 
 signed the treaty, and then set out to apolo- 
 gise in person to that monarch for having 
 defeated his troops, and to endeavour to pro- 
 pitiate his favour. The two monarchs met 
 without ceremony at a place called Guters- 
 dorff. " Charles was, as usual, in his jack- 
 boots, with a piece of black taffeta tied 
 round his neck instead of a cravat ; his 
 clothes of coarse blue cloth, with gilt copper 
 buttons. He had a long sword by his side, 
 which had. served him in the battle of 
 Narva, and on the pommel of which he fre- 
 quently leaned. The conversation turned 
 wholly upon those jack-boots ; Charles in- 
 formed Augustus that he had not laid them 
 aside for six years, except when he went to 
 bed. These trifles were the only subjects 
 of discourse between the two kings, one of 
 whom had just deprived the other of his 
 crown ! Augustus, especially, spoke with 
 an air of complaisance and satisfaction, 
 which princes and men accustomed to the 
 management of great affairs know how to 
 assume amidst the most cruel mortifica- 
 tions. The two kings dined together twice. 
 Charles always affected to give Augustus the 
 right-hand ; but so far from mitigating the 
 rigour of his demands, he only increased 
 their severity."* 
 
 Augustus not only surrendered his crown, 
 but he gave up to Charles the brave and 
 unfortunate Livonian general, Patkul. This 
 gentleman had, in consequence of a shameful 
 injustice he experienced at the hands of the 
 father of Charles, left the military service of 
 Sweden for that of Russia; which, as he 
 was not a native of either country, he had a 
 right to do, if such was his desire. At this 
 time he was acting with Augustus in the 
 capacity of ambassador from the czar, in 
 which character his person ought to have 
 been regarded as secure from all outrage. 
 The ungrateful Augustus arrested and gave 
 him up to the vindictive Charles, whose 
 troops had been beaten by his military 
 genius ; and the Swedish monarch not only 
 condemned him to death, but caused him to 
 be executed by the horrible and lingering 
 mode of being broken on the wheel ! The 
 pretence for this shameful murder — the 
 darkest blot on the character of Charles — 
 was that Patkul was a rebel ; which military 
 authorities have decided he was not. What- 
 ever had been liis offence, his position as 
 general and ambassador of the czar of 
 Russia, ought to have exempted him from 
 • Voltaire's Life of Charles XII, 
 156 
 
 such cruel ignominy. The fate of Patkul was 
 as romantic as it was horrible : he M-as en- 
 gaged to be married to a lady of high birth 
 and great beauty, about the very time that 
 this calamity came upon him. The brave 
 man who had faced death with intrepidity 
 in so many battles, melted into tears upou 
 the bosom of the chaplain, as he confided to 
 him the portrait of his beloved, entreat- 
 ing him to wait upon her, and impart all 
 the consolation that lay in his power. The 
 condemned ofiicer had only been informed 
 that he was to die ; and when he saw the 
 wheel to which he was to be bound, and the 
 frightful nature of his punishment shot 
 across his mind, he fell into convulsions, 
 and dropt, shuddering, into the arms of the 
 pitying and weeping minister. 
 
 The czar was disgusted at the weakness 
 of Augustus, and furious at the conduct of 
 Charles. The surrender of his ambassador 
 by one monarch, and his execution by an- 
 other, were violations of the law of nations, 
 and insults to him as a sovereign. Prior to 
 the death of General Patkul, the czar com- 
 plained bitterly of these indignities to the 
 several courts of Europe, and tried to induce 
 them to interpose their mediation to pro- 
 cure the restoration of his ambassador, and 
 to avert the affront which, in his person, 
 was about to be offered to crowned heads. 
 These appeals were without avail ; Germany, 
 England, and Holland were then engaged 
 in a ruiuous war against France, with 
 the object of restraining the ambition of 
 Louis XIV. : the monarchs of these coun- 
 tries also felt that Charles was a dangerous 
 person to interfere with. Not one of the 
 princes of Europe interposed in behalf of 
 the unhappy Patkul, who was abandoned to 
 the fate that the vengeance of Charles had 
 condemned him to. Justly did Voltaire 
 observe — " There is not a civilian in Europe, 
 nay, there is not a slave, but must shudder 
 with horror at this barbarous act of injus- 
 tice." He added — " The splendour of high 
 achievements used formerly to cover such 
 cruelties; but now they are an indelible 
 stain to military glory." 
 
 Poland had at this time two monarchs, 
 and each of them almost powerless; — Augus- 
 tus, whom Charles XII. had driven from 
 the throne, and Stanislaus, whom he had 
 placed upou it. The latter, though a prince 
 of many virtues, was not willingly sub- 
 mitted to by the distracted nation on which 
 he had been forced, and he was threatened 
 with dethronement by Peter, who had re- 
 
A.D. 1707.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE, [charles resolves to invade russia. 
 
 solved on the restoratiou of Augustus. At 
 a meeting of the Polish nobles, the throne 
 was declared vacant ; and it was agreed that 
 a diet should be assembled for the purpose 
 of electing some one to fill it. So that 
 Poland was on the point of having three 
 kings at once, and under circumstances 
 which would have perplexed the people 
 as to whom their allegiance was due. As 
 Augustus had renounced the protection 
 of the czar, the latter favoured the project 
 of a new election. Peter had obtained a 
 considerable influence over many of the 
 Polish nobles, and much weight was attached 
 to his advice. It was therefore agreed that 
 an interregnum should be declared, and the 
 primate invested as regent until the result 
 of the election was known. 
 
 Such was the state of affairs when, in the 
 July of 1707, Stanislaus, who had been 
 acknowledged by most of the sovereigns of 
 Europe, advanced into Poland, accompanied 
 by the famous general Renschild and sixteen 
 regiments of Swedes. Wherever he came 
 he was acknowledged as sovereign ; and the 
 discipline of his troops, which made the bai'- 
 barity of the Russian soldiers more keenly 
 felt, conciliated the affections of the people. 
 Besides this, the great affability of Stanis- 
 laus won to his side most of the different 
 factions ; and a large sum of money he had 
 brought with him, secured the greatest part 
 of the army of the crown. 
 
 Charles, in his camp at Altranstad, was 
 caressed and feared by nearly every sove- 
 reign of Europe. His intentions were matter 
 of speculation to all the politicians of Europe. 
 It was reported that he intended to join 
 with France in humbling Austria ; and our 
 famous soldier, the Duke of Marlborough, 
 visited the Swedish hero, to use his influ- 
 ence in preventing a design which would 
 have been fatal to the interests of England 
 and her allies in the war against France. 
 Charles was not communicative. He thought 
 the distinguished English general too cour- 
 tier-like in his manners, and too foppish in 
 his dress, for a soldier. But though Charles 
 would not at all reveal his mind, the acute 
 Marlborough divined it. He detected, in 
 the brief observations of the Swede, a dis- 
 like to France; and he observed that the 
 eyes of Charles kindled at the name ot the 
 czar, while a map of Russia also lay on the 
 table before him. The Englishman was 
 convinced that the real design and ambition 
 of Charles was to dethrone the czar, as he 
 had already done the king of Poland. In- 
 
 deed, Charles, Avho was prepared to take the 
 field with an army of 45,000 men trained 
 upon the battle-field, scarcely concealed his 
 intention to make Russia the theatre of war. 
 Afterwards he was remarkably explicit. To 
 an attempt of the French ambassador to 
 l)ring about a peace between Sweden and 
 Russia, Charles answered proudly, that he 
 would treat with the czar in the city of 
 Moscow. When this insulting remark was 
 repeated to Peter, he observed, " My brother 
 Charles wants to act the part of Alexander, 
 but he shall not find me a Darius.'* 
 
 Charles was at length ready to leave 
 Saxony. While there, he had intimidated 
 the pope, whom he treated with contempt ; 
 humbled the emperor Joseph; protected 
 the Lutheran religion in the midst of the 
 catholics; dethroned one king, crowned 
 another, and made himself the terror of all 
 the princes around him. Voltaire, in his 
 life of this distinguished monarch, remarks — 
 " The pleasures of Saxony, where he had 
 remained inactive for a whole year, had by 
 no means abated the austerity of his mode 
 of living. He rode out thrice a-day; rose 
 at four in the morning; dressed himself 
 with his own hands ; drank no wine ; sat at 
 table only a quarter of an hour ; exercised 
 his troops every day; and knew no other 
 pleasure than that of making Europe trem- 
 ble." He left Saxony in the September of 
 1707; his troops so enriched by its spoil, 
 that it is said every soldier carried with 
 him fifty crowns in ready money. It was 
 his intention to invade Russia and dethrone 
 the czar, many of whose subjects, disgusted 
 with his innovations, Charles believed would 
 welcome him rather as a friend than oppose 
 him as a foe. In this, however, he deceived 
 himself; for the Russian people were rapidly 
 becoming sensible of the wisdom of their 
 ruler, and patient with respect to his 
 changes, many of which they perceived to 
 be beneficial. 
 
 The news of Charles's intention to ad- 
 vance on Russia, drew Peter from Moscow, 
 where he had retired to pass the winter. 
 The Swede had fixed his winter quarters in 
 Lithuania; and the czar hurried to Grodno, 
 in that country ; where, with a very small 
 force, he established his head-quarters. 
 Charles, on hearing of his arrival, dashed 
 forward with only 800 men to besiege the 
 town, which, on account of the rapidity of 
 his movements, he took by surprise. A 
 German officer, who had the command of a 
 body of troops at one of the gates of the 
 
 157 
 
THE RUSSIANS BETTRE.] 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 Ta.d. 1708. 
 
 town, on seeing the king of Sweden, imme- 
 diately concluded that he was followed by 
 his army. Struck with consternation, he 
 fled from his post, and left the passage open 
 to the enemy. The alarm spread through- 
 out Grodno, and the few Russians who at- 
 tempted to make a stand were cut to pieces 
 by the Swedish guards. Peter, and the 
 officers who surrounded him, shared the 
 panic and retreated from the town; and 
 Charles planted a guard of thirty men at 
 the very gate by which the czar had retired. 
 During the night, some Jesuits, whose house 
 had been allotted for the accommodation of 
 the king of Sweden, contrived to repair to 
 the czar, and acquaint him with the actual 
 state of affairs. Peter immediately returned 
 with 1,500 horse, in the hope of capturing 
 Charles. Having forced the Swedish guard, 
 an engagement ensued in the streets and 
 public square; but during it the Swedish 
 army arrived, and the czar was a second 
 time compelled to abandon the city. 
 
 The position of Peter was a dangerous 
 one ; but, fortunately for him, Charles could 
 not make a rapid progress, in the depth 
 of winter, through a swampy and famine- 
 smitten country. The Russians retired by 
 forced marches, followed by the Swedes, 
 whose king had resolved to carry matters to 
 extremity. The czar strengthened the 
 principal posts where the enemy were to 
 pass, and adopted every expedient in his 
 power to stop their progress. 
 
 His chief movement was a masterly one. 
 Seeing that Charles was resolved to pursue 
 him, he did not retire towards Moscow, but 
 withdrew into a part of the country where 
 the invader could not procure supplies for 
 his army, or make good his retreat in case 
 of disaster. Proceeding to the country of 
 the Ukraine, he established himself behind 
 sheltered lines, on the right bank of the 
 Dnieper. In June, 1708, before he had 
 effected this movement, he was overtaken 
 by Charles at the little river Berezina. The 
 latter threw a bridge across the river, forced 
 a passage under unfavourable circumstances, 
 and formed in order of battle. The Rus- 
 sians now proved the value of that discipline 
 to which Peter had subjected them. They 
 sustained a fierce contest of some hours with 
 the Swedes. Certainly the latter obtaiued 
 the advantage, but it was not until they 
 had attacked the Russian intrenchments 
 seven times. Charles was in the greatest 
 personal danger during this battle; and 
 though he was regarded as the victor, it 
 158 
 
 was no discouragement to Peter. The saga- 
 cious czar saw the truth of the observation 
 he had made after the terrible defeat of his 
 troops at Narva — that the Swedes, in time, 
 would teach the Russians to beat them. 
 Under the guidance of the indefatigable 
 czar, they were learning that important 
 lesson rapidly. 
 
 The Russians continued their retreat to 
 the banks of the Dnieper, and were still 
 followed by the Swedes, who entertained no 
 apprehension of danger, and seemed scarcely 
 sensible of fatigue. Skirmishes occasionally 
 occurred in the rear of the Russians, on 
 which the Swedes hung like a cloud; but 
 though the latter generally obtained the 
 advantage, yet they were weakened even by 
 this profitless sort of victory. Peter could 
 better bear loss in this way than could 
 Charles ; because his army was numerically 
 larger. It consisted altogether of nearly 
 100,000 men; comprising about 38,000 
 infantry, a similar force of cavalry, 20,000 
 Cossacks, and 6,000 Calmucks. The Swe- 
 dish army did not exceed 80,000 men ; but 
 as they were veteran soldiers, highly disci- 
 plined and accustomed to victory, the 
 chances were in their favour. Peter's con- 
 sciousness of the superiority of the enemy, 
 deterred him from deciding the struggle by 
 an open battle, and he trusted to harass and 
 starve Charles into retiring. The expecta- 
 tion was a highly rational one ; for winter 
 was approaching, the country was desolate, 
 the roads bad, and the Swedes were short of 
 provisions. Moreover, scarcely any oppor- 
 tunity remained for obtaining the latter; 
 for Peter had laid waste the surrounding 
 country in the direction of !Moscow, as far 
 as Smolensk. 
 
 At length Charles arrived at the banks of 
 the Dnieper, in the neighbourhood of a 
 small town called Mohilo. On the 22nd of 
 September he attacked a large body of 
 Russian and Calmuck cavalry. The latter, 
 used to a desultory mode of warfare, fled 
 through hollow and rugged ways, from 
 which they often unexpectedly reappeared 
 and renewed the conflict. By this means 
 they cut off the regiment at the head of 
 which Charles fought, from the rest of the 
 Swedish army. The king's life was in the 
 greatest danger; two aides-de-camp fell dead 
 at his feet, and his horse was killed beneath 
 him. He then fought on foot, surrounded 
 by his officers; so many of whom were cap- 
 tured or slain, that he was left with no 
 more than live attendants. Yet, though he 
 
A.D 1708.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [charles in the uke-^ine. 
 
 killed twelve of the enemy with his own 
 hand, he himself escaped without a single 
 v?ound. At length he was succoured from 
 this dangerous position by a colonel named 
 Dardof. The Calraucks were mostly put to 
 the sword, and the Russian cavalry sought 
 safety in flight. 
 
 Charles was still in the great road to the 
 capital of Russia ; but the country was so 
 wasted and depopulated, that his army be- 
 gan to be in serious want of provisions. 
 His minister, Count Piper, earnestly en- 
 treated the king to halt until General 
 Leweuhaupt, who was expected with sup- 
 plies and a reinforcement of 15,000 men, 
 should arrive. Charles rejected this reason- 
 able advice, and, quitting the road that 
 led to the capital, turned his steps towards 
 the barren and inhospitable wastes of the 
 Ukraine. This wild movement disheartened 
 his troops, and astonished the czar, who 
 knew that neither shelter nor provisions 
 could be obtained in that desolate region, 
 and that the country was defended by 
 30,000 Cossacks, under their hetman Ma- 
 zeppa. "This person," says Voltaire, "was 
 a Polish gentleman, born in the palatinate 
 of Podolia ; he had been educated as page 
 to John Casimir, and had received some 
 tincture of polite learning in his court. An 
 intrigue which he had had in his youth 
 with the lady of a Polish gentleman, having 
 been discovered, the husband caused him to 
 be whipped with rods, to be bound stark 
 naked upon a wild horse, and turned adrift 
 in that condition. The horse, which had 
 been brought out of the Ukraine, returned 
 to his own country, and carried Mazeppa 
 with him, half dead with hunger and 
 fatigue. Some of the country-people gave 
 him assistance, and he lived among them 
 for a long time, signalising himself in 
 several excursions against the Tartars. The 
 superiority of his knowledge gained him 
 great respect among the Cossacks ; and 
 his reputation greatly increasing, the czar 
 found it necessary to make him prince of 
 the Ukraine. Being one day at table with 
 the czar at Moscow, the latter proposed to 
 him the task of disciplining the Cossacks, 
 and rendering them docile and dependent. 
 Mazeppa replied, that the situation of the 
 Ukranie, and the genius of those people, 
 were insuperable objects to such a scheme. 
 The czar, who began to be heated with 
 wine, and had not at all times the com- 
 mand of his passions, called him a traitor, 
 and threatened to have him impaled. Ma- 
 
 zeppa, on his return to the Ukraine, con- 
 ceived the idea of a revolt, the execution of 
 which was greatly facilitated by the Swedish 
 army, which soon after appeared on the 
 frontiers. He was determined to render 
 himself independent, and to erect the 
 Ukraine, with some other ruins of the Rus- 
 sian empire, into a powerful kingdom. 
 Brave, enterprising, and indefatigable, he 
 entered secretly into a league with the 
 king of Sweden, to accelerate the ruin of 
 the czar, and to convert it to his own ad- 
 vantage." 
 
 Charles reposed an imprudent confidence 
 in the promises of Mazeppa, and proceeded 
 to the river Desna, where the latter had ar- 
 ranged to meet him with 30,000 Cossacks, 
 together with a consideral)le amount of 
 treasure, ammunition, and provisions. The 
 Swedish monarch also sent a command to 
 General Lewenhaupt, to bring his troops 
 and provisions into the Ukraine, where he 
 proposed to pass the winter, Charles was 
 a creature of impulse. He did not pause 
 to reflect whether the Cossack chief was in 
 a condition to fulfil his engagements, or 
 how he should provision his army in case of 
 any disappointment. In fact, the king had 
 fallen into a fatal error, which the czar re- 
 solved to omit no opportunity of pushing 
 forward to extremities. 
 
 Peter suff'ered the Swedes to march with- 
 out molestation upon their fate ; but it was 
 nature rather than man against whom they 
 had now to contend. A marshy forest of 
 fifty leagues had to be traversed : here the 
 Swedes mistook their way, which it cost 
 them a four days' weary march to recover ; 
 and even then they lost most of their artil- 
 lery and waggons, which either stuck or 
 sank in the morass. When they arrived, in 
 a state of exhaustion, on the banks of the 
 Desna, they were almost without provisions. 
 There Mazeppa was to have met the king, 
 and brought the necessary succours for the 
 troops. No news, however, was heard of 
 him ; and hunger began to blanch the 
 cheeks and shrink the bold figures of the 
 Swedes. Charles shared all the hardships 
 and privations of his followers, and by his 
 dauntless bearing, sustained their spirits ; 
 but though they admired his courage, they 
 condemned his conduct. 
 
 Instead of falling upon the main body of 
 the Swedes, the czar prudently resolved to 
 prevent a junction between that and the 
 troops under General Lewenhaupt. He 
 was charged, not only with the conduct of 
 
 159 
 
REVERSE OF THE SWEDES.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1708. 
 
 lo.OOO men, but "witli great stores of pro- 
 visions, ammunition, and treasure. Peter 
 suffered him to cross the Dnieper, though 
 the rear of the Swede had been harassed by 
 a Russian force under General Bauer. The 
 czar also followed with a powerful army ; 
 and, in the mouth of October, the Swedes 
 found themselves pressed upon by a power- 
 ful army, the numerical strength of which 
 has been variously stated. Lewenhaupt, 
 with the fearlessness of his country, re- 
 solved to attack the czar, and a furious con- 
 flict took place on the 7th of the month. 
 So fierce was the first attack of the Swedes, 
 that they killed 1,500 of their foes, threw 
 the Russians into confusion, and put num- 
 bers of them to flight. The astonished 
 czar feared defeat, which, under the cir- 
 cumstances, would have been utter ruin. 
 Rushing to the rear-guard, where the Cos- 
 sacks and Calmucks — the most ferocious of 
 his soldiery — were stationed, he shouted, 
 " I command you to fire upon every one 
 tliat runs away, even upon me myself, 
 should I be so cowardly as to fly." The 
 Russians recovered themselves, but the 
 battle was not at first resumed ; for the 
 Swedish general, who had received strict 
 orders to rejoin his master, chose rather to 
 continue his march than to resume the strife. 
 The following morning the czar attacked 
 the Swedes upon the borders of a morass. 
 The conflict raged for some time with great 
 fury j but though the loss of the Russians 
 was three times greater than that of the 
 Swedes, the victory remained undecided. 
 At four in the afternoon the struggle was 
 renewed for the third time, when the supe- 
 rior numbers of the Russians gave them the 
 advantage ; and the Swede's lines were 
 broken, and the men driven back upon 
 their baggage. Though conquered, they 
 would not submit ; Lewenhaupt rallied 
 them behind the waggons, and the men ex- 
 hibited a readiness again to meet the foe. 
 At daybreak, the czar attacked the Swedes 
 again ; and a fifth battle was fought, as 
 sanguinary as any of the preceding ones : 
 of the 9,000 Swedes that were left, one-half 
 perished, and the remainder were still un- 
 broken. These pursued their march during 
 the night, after having spiked their cannon, 
 and burnt a portion of their baggage-wag- 
 gons ; the rest, containing the provisions 
 for Charles's army, fell into the hands of 
 the czar. The latter lost about 10,000 men 
 in these desperate engagements ; but he 
 succeeded in crippling the king of Sweden. 
 160 
 
 Lewenhaupt, though defeated, obtained the 
 credit of disputing a victory for three days 
 against an immensely superior force; and 
 of having effected an honourable retreat. 
 In this condition he reached his master, 
 with a miserable remnant of his troops, 
 scarcely amounting to 4,000 men, and des- 
 titute alike of the expected provisions and 
 ammunition. 
 
 Much about the same time Mazeppa 
 arrived; and he, too, came rather like a 
 fugitive than a powerful ally; bringing 
 with him only 7,000 followers. The Cos- 
 sacks thought he was leading them against 
 Charles; and when he disclosed his design 
 of joining that monarch, the bulk of them 
 deserted him, and returned home. Those 
 who remained with him were fallen upon 
 by the Russians, and great numbers cut to 
 pieces. Thirty of the principal friends of 
 the hetman had been captured and broken 
 on the wheel; his towns had been burnt, 
 his treasures plundered, and the provisions 
 he had collected for the king of Sweden 
 seized. He himself escaped with difficulty 
 with the remnant of the Cossack force ; and 
 the enraged czar had conferred his dignity 
 of hetman on another. 
 
 Charles did not give way under these 
 accumulated misfortunes, or permit them 
 to alter his designs. Neither !^Iazeppa nor 
 Count Piper could induce him to relinquish 
 his intended progress towards the little 
 fortified town of Pultowa, the capital of the 
 Ukraine. To the suggestion of the latter, 
 that he should pass the winter in a small 
 town of the Ukraine, called Romana, the 
 king answered that it was beneath his 
 dignity to shut himself up in a town. To a 
 further entreaty that he would march back 
 into Poland to obtain for his troops that 
 refreshment of which they stood so greatly 
 in need, he responded, that this would be 
 the same thing as flying before the czar; 
 that the season would grow milder, and that 
 he must subdue the Ukraine, and march on 
 to Moscow. In the meantime, the Swedish 
 army was reduced to about 25,000 men, 
 and tiiese were gradually melting away. 
 The winter was remarkably severe, and 
 great numbers of the Swedes perished from 
 cold and want. In one of these terrible 
 marches, about 2,000 men fell, almost frozen 
 to death, before the eyes of their sovereign. 
 These brave soldiers were without shoes, 
 and their uniforms were reduced to rags. 
 Almost their only food w.-s bread, and this 
 of the coarsest kind. Yet Charles assumed 
 
A.D. 1709.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [siege of pultowa. 
 
 an air of indifference. A soldier ventured, 
 in the presence of the "whole army, to pre- 
 sent to him, with an air of complaint, a 
 piece of bread that was black and mouldy, 
 made of barley and oats. The king received 
 it without the least emotion, ate every mor- 
 sel of it, and then coolly said to the soldier, 
 " It is not good, but it may be eaten." Such 
 conduct contributed to make the Swedes 
 support hardships which would have been 
 intolerable under any other general. 
 
 The czar had advanced into the Ukraine 
 to harass an enemy whom he wisely con- 
 chided must, in the end, be ruined, as 
 his army could not receive reinforcements. 
 Yet such was the intense cold of the winter 
 of 1 708-^9, that the rival forces were com- 
 pelled to remain in a state of inaction. But 
 the positions of the two armies were widely 
 different. The Russians had a fertile country 
 to fall back upon for subsistence ; while the 
 Swedes were almost perishing from want. 
 Indeed, had it not been for the influence of 
 Mazeppa in procuring provisions, they must 
 have been exterminated from the combined 
 action of cold and famine. Notwithstanding 
 the usual discipline of the Swedes, their 
 necessities drove them to ravage the sur- 
 rounding country; they thus became a 
 terror to the scanty population, and con- 
 stantly narrowed the field from which they 
 could obtain supplies. 
 
 Charles resumed his march in the month 
 of February, 1709; and proceeding across 
 the Ukraine in a south-easterly direction, 
 entered the sandy deserts lying westward of 
 the territory of the Don Cossacks. Finding 
 progress almost impossible, he was com- 
 pelled to retrace his steps over the country 
 just desolated by the progress of his starving 
 troops, who burnt all the villages on the 
 road, because the poor peasants hid their 
 flocks in caves and retired places, and 
 struggled hard with the invaders, who 
 wanted to deprive them of their means of 
 subsistence. Destitute alike of guide or 
 shelter, the obstinate Charles lost three 
 months in marching and counter-marching 
 through cold and barren solitudes ; during 
 which time his army was slowly mouldering 
 away. 
 
 The fortified town of Pultowa was well 
 supplied with provisions, and would, if 
 taken by Charles, have enabled him to rest 
 and feed his wretched troops until he could 
 obtain reinforcements from Poland and 
 Sweden. His only resource lay in the cap- 
 ture of Pultowa ; while, on the other hand. 
 
 it was of immense consequence to the 
 Russians, as it commanded a mountain- 
 pass communicating with the main road to 
 Moscow. This defile the czar had had the 
 precaution to render almost impenetrable; 
 yet to the sanguine Charles nothing seemed 
 impossible; and with his usual enthusiasm 
 and contempt of danger, he depended on 
 marching to Moscow after he had made 
 himself master of Pultowa. 
 
 The Swedes — now reduced to about 18,000 
 men, exclusive of their Cossack allies — felt 
 reanimated as they threw up trenches before 
 the batteries of Pultowa ; for they felt sure 
 of taking it, and thus terminating the 
 miseries they had so long endured. The 
 czar was soon aware of this movement ; and 
 he arrived in the neighbourhood of the 
 threatened town on the 15th of June, with 
 an army of about 60,000 men, well provided 
 with artillery, ammunition, and provisions. 
 He first reinforced the garrison — an act 
 which he accomplished by a manoeuvre 
 which showed that he had made some ad- 
 vance in the practice of military tactics. 
 Having by a feint attack drawn the be- 
 siegers out of their trenches, he took advan- 
 tage of the circumstance, and poured fresh 
 troops into the town. " Ah !" exclaimed 
 Charles, as he beheld the success of this 
 expedient, " I see well that we have taught 
 the Muscovites the art of war !" 
 
 The river Vorskla flowed between the 
 rival armies. This Peter crossed with his 
 whole force, and intrenched himself, in a 
 single night, within view of the enemy. 
 The czar then posted his cavalry between 
 two woods, and covered them with several 
 redoubts, lined with artillery. Several skir- 
 mishes took place while these measures 
 were in progress. In one of them Charles 
 received a shot from a carbine, which shat- 
 tered the bone of his heel. Though the 
 pain was extreme, he did not mention that 
 he was wounded until an attendant per- 
 ceived that his boot was covered with blood. 
 So severe was the injury, that the surgeons 
 were of opinion that the leg must be ampu- 
 tated. One, howevci", affirmed that he could 
 save the limb by making deep incisions. 
 "Fall to work, then, presently/' replied 
 the king ; " cut boldly, and fear nothing." 
 Then holding the leg himself, he beheld 
 the operation with as much calmness as if 
 it had been made upon another person. 
 
 While confined to his bed, Charles was 
 informed that the Russians intended to 
 attack him ; and though himself rmable to 
 
 161 
 
BATTLE OF PULTOWA.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.b. 1709. 
 
 lead his army into the field, he resolved 
 upon anticipating the enemy. Voltaire 
 draws a comparison between the rival kings, 
 who at this time excited the attention of all 
 Europe. He observes — " On the 8th of 
 July, 1709, the decisive battle of Pultowa 
 was fought between the two most extra- 
 ordinary monarchs that were in the world. 
 Charles XII., illustrious in consequence of 
 a succession of victories during nine years ; 
 and the czar Peter, distinguished by nine 
 years of labour, taken to form troops equal 
 to those of Sweden. The one glorious for 
 having given away dominions ; the other 
 for having civilised his own. Charles, fond 
 of dangers and fighting for glory alone ; 
 Peter, not avoiding danger, and making war 
 only for advantage. The Swedish monarch, 
 liberal from greatness of soul ; the Musco- 
 vite, never giving but with some great 
 design. The one, master of a sobriety and 
 continence beyond example ; of a magnani- 
 mous disposition, and never cruel but once : 
 the other, not having yet divested himself 
 of the barbarism of his education and of 
 his country; as much the object of terror 
 to his subjects as of admiration to strangers ; 
 and too prone to excesses, which even short- 
 ened his days. Charles bore the title of 
 'Invincible,^ of which a single moment 
 might deprive him ; while the neighbouring 
 nations had given Peter the name of * Great,' 
 which, as he did not owe it to his victories, 
 he could not lose by a defeat." 
 
 The battle commenced at half-past four 
 in the morning, with a desperate attack on 
 the Russian redoubts. Charles was carried 
 in a litter at the head of his infantry ; and 
 his troops, cheered by his presence, took 
 two of the redoubts sword-in-hand. Indeed, 
 so furious was the first charge of the Swedes, 
 that the Russian squadrons were broken, 
 and in danger of being defeated. Peter 
 dashed forward to rally his men, and a 
 musket-ball passed through his hat : an 
 inch difl'erence in the flight of that bullet 
 would have altered the destinies of Russia. 
 Mentschikoff also fought as though he felt 
 that life, fortune, fame, country — all hung 
 upon his sword ; and such was the danger 
 to which he was exposed, that three horses 
 fell dead beneath him. The inspirited 
 Swedes shouted " Victory \" and Charles, 
 who was still intoxicated with the remem- 
 brance of Narva, concluded that the battle 
 was won. 
 
 He was deceived. General Creuts, whom 
 he had sent with 5,000 horse to take the 
 . 162 
 
 enemy in flank, missed his way, and failed 
 to execute the duty assigned to him. This 
 gave the czar time to rally his cavalry, 
 which now fell upon the Swedes, and threw 
 them into disorder. At the same time the 
 Russians kept up a fire from seventy-two 
 pieces of cannon upon the Swedish cavalry : 
 the latter were almost destitute of artillery ; 
 it had been abandoned during their long 
 and painful marches. MentschikoflF had 
 been detached by the czar to take up a 
 position between Pultowa and the Swedes ; 
 and this command he executed with such 
 dexterity, as to surround a Swedish corps of 
 reserve, amounting to 3,000 men, and cut 
 them to pieces. The Russian infantry now 
 advanced from their lines in order of battle ; 
 the Swedes also prepared for a general 
 engagement ; and a pause ensued. 
 
 Peter rode from rank to rank, encou- 
 raging the soldiers and captains, and pro- 
 mising rewards to them all. At nine 
 o'clock the conflict recommenced, and the 
 horses of Charles's litter were almost imme- 
 diately killed by a cannon-ball. A second 
 shot broke the litter in pieces, and over- 
 tuined the king. So dangerous was the 
 position he occupied, that of the four-and- 
 twenty soldiers who afterwards relieved each 
 other by carrying him upon their pikes, no 
 less than one-and-twenty were killed. At the 
 same time the cannon of the Russians made 
 terrible execution upon the Swedes, who 
 struck with consternation at the 
 
 were 
 
 slaughter to which they were exposed. At 
 length their first line was driven back upon 
 their second, which, struck with panic, 
 broke and fled. The battle was prolonged 
 for two hours with great fury, when the 
 Swedes were altogether thrown into confu- 
 sion, and slaughtered in heaps. According 
 to the Russian calculation, 9,224 Swedes 
 were left dead upon the field, and two or 
 three thousand were taken prisoners. The 
 loss of the victors was comparatively small. 
 
 Charles was not only defeated, but ruined. 
 Though perfectly helpless, he refused to fly. 
 In this position, Poniatowski, a Polish 
 officer who had followed the king from 
 aff'ection, caused two soldiers to Hft him on 
 a horse. Then rallying a body of 500 cav- 
 alry around the king, Poniatowski dashed 
 through the Russian regiments, and con- 
 ducted Charles to the baggage of the 
 Swedish army. During his flight, he suf- 
 fered extreme agony from the wound in his 
 heel, which led to suppuration, attended 
 with, fever ; but, though sometimes insen- 
 
i 
 

 1=3 
 
 ^ 
 
A.D. 1709.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [victory op the Russians. 
 
 sible, he never complained. On inquiring 
 for Count Piper,his minister, and for his most 
 distinguished generals, he was informed they 
 had been made prisoners. " Prisoners to 
 the Russians !" he responded, with a shrug 
 of the shoulders ; " come, then, let us 
 rather go to the Turks." This he and his 
 followers did ; for after almost unexampled 
 sufferings, they reached the Turkish town of 
 Bender, in Bessarabia, where he was re- 
 ceived with hospitality by the seraskier. 
 
 The remains of the Swedish army, under 
 General Lewenhaupt, were pursued by 
 Prince Mentsehikoff, at the head of 20,000 
 nven. In consideration for the miserable 
 condition of his men, the Swede surren- 
 dered, and tlie whole army was made pri- 
 soners of war. Many of these brave men, 
 however, sooner than become captives to 
 the Russians, threw themselves into the 
 Dnieper, and were drowned. The rest were 
 sent to colonise Siberia, where they sup- 
 ported themselves by a mechanical ingenuity 
 for which they eventually became distin- 
 guished. As to the Cossacks Avho were 
 captured, the czar regarded them all as 
 traitors; and, with that vindictive ferocity 
 which commonly characterised him, had 
 them broken on the wheel. 
 
 On the evening of Peter's victory at 
 Pultowa, he honoured the captive Swedish 
 generals with an invitation to dine with 
 him. He was much disappointed that he 
 could not extend a similarly unwelcome 
 hospitality to their king. As the prisoners 
 were brought to him in crowds, after the 
 battle, he frequently inquired, "Where, 
 then, is my brother Charles?'^ At table, 
 the czar asked General Renschild, " What 
 might be the number of his master's troops 
 before the battle?" The Swede answered, 
 " That the king alone had the muster-roll, 
 and would never communicate it to any 
 one ; but that he imagined the whole might 
 be about 30,000, of which 18,000 were 
 Swedes, and the rest Cossacks.'^ In a tone 
 of surprise, the czar then inquired, " How 
 they durst venture to penetrate into so dis- 
 tant a country, and lay siege to Pultowa 
 with such a handful of men ?" " We were 
 not always consulted," replied the Swedish 
 general; "but, like faithful servants, we 
 obeyed our master's orders without ever 
 presuming to contradict them." "Ah!" 
 exclaimed Peter, turning to some of his 
 courtiers who were formerly suspected of 
 having been engaged in a conspiracy against 
 him — " see how a king ought to be served." 
 
 Then, filling his glass, he said as he raised 
 it to his lips, " To the health of my masters 
 in the art of war." General Renschild 
 asked who were the persons honoured with 
 so high a title. " You, gentlemen," replied 
 the czar; "the Swedish generals." The 
 general responded, " Your majesty is very 
 ungrateful, then, for having handled your 
 masters so rudely." 
 
 The war between Sweden and Russia 
 may be said to have terminated, in fact, with 
 the battle of Pultowa, the results of which 
 were of the highest importance to Russia, 
 and of no small consequence to Europe. 
 The victory of Peter was the triumph of 
 patience and forethought over mere reckless 
 daring; the exaltation of the reforming 
 statesman over the warrior who preferred 
 personal fame to the advancement of his 
 subjects. Peter was the original aggressor ; 
 but he had since been disposed to make 
 restitution, and to conclude peace with his 
 foe. On the other hand, Charles indulged 
 in the dream of dethroning the czar, and 
 conquering the Russian empire. In this 
 position the original aspect of the quarrel 
 was reversed ; Charles became the aggressor, 
 while Peter was the defender of his own 
 territories against one whose career was 
 desolation, and whose success brought no 
 good either to victors or vanquished. Prom 
 this famous battle the Russian empire has 
 derived its present prosperity and cultiva- 
 tion ; which, had Charles been successful, 
 would have been thrown back to an indefi- 
 nite period. If Peter had been defeated, or 
 had he fallen amidst the victory of his sol- 
 diers, Russia would again have become the 
 prey of civil wars and domestic convulsions, 
 from which she would not have escaped 
 until some other giant in the art of ruling 
 came to liberate her. 
 
 Other and more immediate results arose 
 out of the defeat of Charles at Pultowa. 
 When the Swede was flushed with the glory 
 of conquest, he compelled the emperor 
 Joseph to eject the catholics out of 105 
 churches, in favour of the Silesians of the 
 confession of Augsburg: the latter were 
 now ejected in their turn, and the churches 
 restored to the catholics. Augustus, the 
 dethroned king of Poland, protested against 
 an extorted abdication, and was, before the 
 close of the year, restored by Peter. The 
 senate of Sweden supposed their king to be 
 dead; but, on account of the uncertainty 
 on this point, both they and the nation 
 were thrown into confusion. A new treaty 
 
 163 
 
MILITAKY FESTIVAL AT MOSCOW.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1710. 
 
 against Sweden was entered into between 
 the czar and the kings of Poland, Denmark, 
 and Prussia. Its design was to restore to 
 each of those states the conquests obtained 
 from thera by Gustavus Adolphus. The 
 czar thus acquired a title to Livonia, 
 Ingria, and a part of Finland; and he was 
 not slow in attempting to gain posses- 
 sion of these territories. In the month of 
 November he bombarded and afterwards 
 blockaded Riga, the capital of Livonia, 
 which submitted to the Russians after be- 
 tween nine and ten thousand of them had 
 perished by a plague that was raging there. 
 Kexholm, Pernau, Revel, and other towns 
 also surrendered; and the whole of Livonia 
 was in the hands of the czar. 
 
 The czar in the meantime had visited St. 
 Petersburg, to inspect the progress of that 
 city, from whence he proceeded to Moscow, 
 and superintended the preparations which 
 were making for a grand military festival in 
 celebration of the triumph over the Swedes. 
 The first day of the new year (1710) was 
 ushered in with this solemnity, by which 
 the czar sought to inspire his subjects with 
 military enthusiasm and ideas of conquest. 
 The artillery of the vanquished, their 
 colours and standards, the litter in which 
 their wounded king was carried on the field 
 of battle, the soldiers, officers, generals, and 
 ministers of the captive Swedes, all on foot, 
 moved in solemn procession under seven 
 magnificent arches, attended with the ring- 
 ing of bells, the braying of trumpets, the 
 booming roar of a hundred pieces of can- 
 non, and the wild joyous shouts of a living 
 sea of people. The victors, preceded by 
 their generals, mounted upon Avar-chargers, 
 closed the procession. The czar, as was 
 usual with him, took his position according 
 to the rank he held in the army, which was 
 then that of major-general. At each tri- 
 umphal arch stood the deputies of the 
 several orders of the state ; and at the last, 
 a number of young noblemen, attired in 
 the garb of Roman patricians, presented 
 the victorious monarch with a crown of 
 laurel. At every pause made in this gor- 
 geous progress, the people rent the air with 
 acclamations of "Long live the emperor our 
 father ! " It has been truly said, that this 
 imposing splendour augmented the venera- 
 tion the Russians entertained for their 
 monarch, and perhaps made him appear 
 greater in their eyes than the real advan- 
 tages they derived from him. 
 
 16-i 
 
 The following month another ceremony 
 took place, which was doubtless more 
 agreeable to the czar than any festival imi- 
 tated from the military pageants of the 
 ancient Romans, for it showed the respect 
 in which he began to be held by the old 
 and powerful states of Europe. In the 
 year 1708, Mateof, his ambassador at the 
 court of London, was arrested in the streets 
 for debt, at the suit of some English mer- 
 chants, and obliged to give in bail. The 
 merchants contended that the privileges of 
 ambassadors must yield to the laws of com- 
 merce; while Mateof and the foreign minis- 
 ters who advocated his cause, maintained 
 that, under any circumstances, their per- 
 sons ought to be regarded as sacred. Peter 
 was greatly off'ended at what he considered 
 as a slight offered to himself in the person of 
 his representative, and he wrote to the queen 
 of England, and insisted upon satisfaction. 
 Anne was perplexed. She could not com- 
 ply with his desire to have the merchants 
 punished, because, by the laws of their 
 country, they had a right to sue for their 
 just demands ; while, at the same time, no 
 law existed to exempt foreign ministers 
 from being arrested for debt. The irrita- 
 tion of the czar was increased by a sus- 
 picion, that the ambassadors of Russia were 
 not respected in other countries ; for only 
 the preceding year, the unfortunate General 
 Patkul, his plenipotentiary in Saxony, had 
 been tortured to death at the command of 
 Charles XII. Anne induced her parlia- 
 ment to pass an act rendei'ing it no longer 
 lawful to arrest an ambassador for debt; 
 and with this Peter was obhged to be con- 
 tented. But the great victory of Pultowa 
 rendered the czar a more illustrious and 
 powerful prince in the estimation of his 
 neighbours; and in England it was thought 
 necessary to make a further public satisfac- 
 tion to the hero of that famous contest. Mr. 
 Whitworth was selected to proceed to Russia 
 and offer a ceremonial apology. This gentle- 
 man was commissioned to address the czar 
 as " Most high and most mighty emperor," 
 and to inform him that the queen had 
 imprisoned the persons who presumed to 
 arrest his ambassador, and that they had 
 been rendered infamous. The statement 
 was an untruth ; but the czar accepted the 
 compliment, which was an indication of the 
 rising importance of Russia. Peter had 
 not been called emperor by any foreign 
 state until he won the battle of Pultowa. 
 
A.D. 1711.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [war with tubkey. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 WAR WITH TURKEY; PETER AND HIS ARMY ADVANCE INTO MOLDAVIA; ENGAGEMENTS ON THE BANKS OP 
 THE PRUTH, AND DESPERATE SITUATION OF PETER; HE OBTAINS A PEACE, AND IS ALLOWED TO RETIRE ; 
 MARRIAGE OF THE PRINCE ALEXIS, AND PUBLIC CELEBRATION OF THE CXAR's MARRIAGE WITH CATHERINE ; 
 PETER ENTERS INTO A FRESH LEAGUE AGAINST SWEDEN ; ACTIVE HOSTILITIES WITH THAT COUNTRY ; 
 PETER DEFEATS THE SWEDISH NAVY, AND BECOMES MASTER OF FINLAND ; NATIONAL REJOICINGS OF THE 
 RUSSIANS. 
 
 Charles XII., in his retreat at Bender, 
 strained every nerve to induce the sultan, 
 Achmet III., to take up arms against 
 Russia. His endeavours were seconded by 
 the mother of the sultan, who, though she 
 had never seen Charles, was influenced by 
 a great admiration for this extraordinary 
 man. " When will you," she would some- 
 times say to her sou, " assist my lion to 
 devour this czar T' 
 
 Though Charles and his followers, amount- 
 ing altogether to 1,800 persons, were all 
 hospitably entertained at Bender, at the 
 sole expense of the sultan, yet it is not very 
 probable that monarch would have been in- 
 duced to take any active part against the 
 czar, but that his own interests were in- 
 volved. The Ottoman Porte seemed in- 
 stinctively to recognise a growing enemy in 
 the rising empire of Russia, and to regard 
 it with jealousy, if not with aversion. The 
 sultan viewed with suspicion the fortifica- 
 tions which the czar had erected at Azoff 
 and Taganrog, and the increasing naval 
 power of Russia on the waters of Azoff and 
 the Euxine. He discerned a spirit of rest- 
 less encroachment in Peter, which he con- 
 sidered it necessary to check; and he was 
 confirmed in this resolution by the repre- 
 sentations of the khan of the Crimea, 
 whose independence was overshadowed by 
 the increasing might of Russia. 
 
 When, therefore, Charles presented me- 
 morial after memorial to the sultan, and his 
 favourite. Count Poniatowski, backed them 
 with all the insinuating arts of an accom- 
 plished statesman, the Ottoman Porte re- 
 solved on war. The sultan presented 
 the count with a purse containing 1,000 
 
 • " The Seven Towers — that celebrated prison of 
 which the very name is a spell of power — are rapidly 
 crumbling to decay, but must continue to be amongst 
 the most interesting of the antiquities of Constanti- 
 nople, as long as one stone remains upon another. 
 * • • Instruments of torture — racks, wheels and 
 oubliettes — are rife within this place of gloom and 
 horror. One chasm, upon whose brink you stand, 
 is called the ' Well of Blood ;' and is said to have 
 overflowed its margin with the ensanguined stream 
 
 ducats; and the grand-vizier said to him, 
 " I will take your king in one hand, and 
 a sword in the other, and will lead him to 
 Moscow at the head of 200,000 men." 
 Though the distribution of Russian gold 
 among the ministers of the sultan deferred 
 the coming storm, it was unable to avert 
 it. The chief vizier was changed, and hos- 
 tile feelings towards Russia influenced the 
 councils of the Porte. As a preliminary to 
 a declaration of war. Count Tolstoi, the 
 czar's ambassador, was arrested in the pub- 
 lic streets at Constantinople, and com- 
 mitted, together with thirty of his followers, 
 to the gloomy state prison called the Seven 
 Towers.* This was in accordance with a 
 barbarous custom then prevailing at Cori- 
 stantinople, arising from the contempt in 
 which the Turks held foreign ministers. 
 
 Peter was much irritated at this indig- 
 nity, and he resolved to avenge it. In the 
 January of 1711 he appointed a kind of 
 senatorial regency to govern during his 
 absence ; issued a conscription for the pur- 
 pose of recruiting his army, one division of 
 which he sent to Moldavia ; besides putting 
 his ships at Azoff and the Black Sea in 
 readiness. But before the czar left Mos- 
 cow, he made a public acknowledgment of 
 his marriage with the Livonian orphan, 
 which had been privately solemnised in 
 1707. " The young captive of Marien- 
 burg," observes Voltaire, " was superior to 
 her sex, as well as to her misfortunes. 
 Her behaviour had rendered her so agree- 
 able, that the czar would always have her 
 near his person. She attended him in his 
 travels and in his most toilsome expedi- 
 tions, sharing his fatigues, and soothing his 
 
 which was once warm with life. A small court, 
 designated the ' Place of Heads,' is pointed out as 
 having been cumbered with the slain, until the re- 
 volting pile was of sufficient height to enable the 
 spectator to look out from its summit upon the 
 waves of the glittering Propontis ; and more than 
 one stone tunnel is shown, in which the captive was 
 condemned to crawl upon his hands and knees, and 
 thwe left to die of famine." — Miss Pardee's City of 
 the Sultan. 
 
 165 
 
BATTLE OF THE PRUTH.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1711. 
 
 cares, with the cheerfulness of her disposi- 
 tion and complaisant behaviour. She was 
 quite a stranger to all that fastidious pomp 
 and ceremony which the rest of the sex 
 ' have now converted into a real necessity. 
 j But what rendered her a more extraordi- 
 i nary favourite, was her neither being envied 
 j nor opposed ; nor was any other person 
 sacrificed to make room for her promotion. 
 j Often did she appease the emperor's wrath, 
 j and add to his greatness by inspiring him 
 with clemency." The tie between Cathe- 
 ! rine and the czar was doubtless strengthened 
 by the fact, that she had already borne him 
 two daughters. 
 
 Peter left Moscow for his expedition to 
 Turkey on the 17th of March, attended 
 by the devoted Catherine, who could not be 
 prevented from accompanying him on a 
 campaign which it was justly anticipated 
 would be an arduous one. The czar pro- 
 ceeded to Jassy, the capital of Moldavia, 
 with an army of only 40,000 men. The 
 princes or hospodars of Moldavia and Wal- 
 lachia, though acknowledging the supremacy 
 of the Porte, were intriguing with the czar, 
 through whose instrumentality they hoped 
 to accomplish their independence. Canti- 
 mir, the prince of Wallachia, had made 
 liberal promises of troops and provisions to 
 the czar, but he afterwards pleaded that he 
 was unable to fulfil them on accou::t; of the 
 attachment his subjects bore towards the 
 Porte. As for the Prince of Wallachia, he 
 shrunk from the coming storm, and dread- 
 ing the vengeance of the Turks, abandoned 
 his secret alliance with Russia, and returned 
 to his duty. These defections placed the 
 czar in a position of serious difficulty ; for 
 he found himself in a wild, uncultivated 
 country, where the herbage that should 
 have supplied forage to his horses, had been 
 destroyed by swarms of locusts, and provi- 
 sions for his troops could scarcely be ob- 
 tained. The men pursued their way across 
 a mere desert, oppressed by the scorching 
 heat of the sun, and greatly in want of 
 water. Desertion and hunger told heavily 
 upon his army. 
 
 Such was the situation of the czar, when 
 he received intelligence that the Turkish 
 vizier, Baltagai Mahomet, had crossed the 
 Danube at the head of 100,000 men, and 
 was directing his march towards Jassy, 
 along the banks of the Pruth. Peter held a 
 council of war, and decided upon marching 
 towards the Pruth, and attacking the 
 enemy, despite his superiority of numbers. 
 166 
 
 This resolve was put into execution, and 
 the czar arrrived at the banks of the river 
 by the 18th of June. He was too late to 
 dispute the passage of the Turkish army, 
 which, joined by the Tartars of the Crimea 
 and other reinforcements, was swelled to 
 the formidable strength of 200,000 men. 
 
 The disparity of numbers between the 
 rival forces was alarming ; the situation of 
 the Russians extremely critical. Peter's 
 position resembled that of Charles at Pul- 
 towa. He was almost destitute of provi- 
 sions ; while an army of Turks in front pre- 
 vented his advance, and an army of Tartars 
 behind cut off his retreat. Seeing his 
 safety to consist solely in the accomplish- 
 ment of the latter movement, Peter de- 
 camped during the night of the 20th of 
 July. It was too late ; for at daybreak the 
 Turks fell upon his rear. The Russians 
 were compelled to pause, and intrench 
 themselves behind their baggage and heavy 
 waggons. In this position they met the 
 attack of the Turks with firmness, and even 
 compelled them to retire. Peter had formed 
 his army, which consisted of 30,000 in- 
 fantry and about 7,000 cavalry, into a hol- 
 low square, in the centre of which he placed 
 Catherine and the women ; and in this posi- 
 tion the Russians received several furious 
 but irregular onslaughts from the Turks. 
 Yet the situation of the czar was desperate ; 
 for his enemies had only to maintain their 
 position, and the Russians must either sur- 
 render or perish from hunger. In the pro- 
 tracted sort of engagement, extending over 
 three days, the loss of both Turks and Rus- 
 sians was terrible. 
 
 In this painful state of affairs, the czar's 
 spirits began to give way. To the Rus- 
 sian senate, whom he had appointed to rule 
 in his absence, he addressed this decla- 
 ration : — " I announce to you, that deceived 
 by false intelligence, and through no fault 
 of mine, I am here shut up in my camp by 
 a Turkish army four times more numerous 
 than my own; our provisions cut off; and 
 on the point of being cut to pieces or taken 
 prisoners, unless Heaven comes to our aid 
 in some unexpected manner. If it befall 
 that I am taken by the Turks, you will no 
 longer consider me your czar and lord, nor 
 pay regard to any order that may be 
 brought you on my part ; not even though 
 you may see my hand signed to it ; but you 
 will wait until I come myself in person. 
 If I am destined to perish here, and you 
 receive well-confirmed news of my death, 
 
A.D. 1711.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE, [dangerous positiqn of peter. 
 
 then you will choose for my successor the 
 worthiest among you." 
 
 To hide the torture of his mind, Peter 
 retired to his tent on the advance of night, 
 and gave orders that no one should ap- 
 proach him. He subsequently admitted 
 that, in his whole life, he never experienced 
 such agitation as racked him in that hour of 
 danger and apparent ruin. He revolved in 
 his thoughts all that he had been doing for 
 so many years to promote the glory and 
 happiness of his country, and that he must 
 now either see his army exterminated by 
 famine, or encounter another of such supe- 
 rior force that defeat would be almost in- 
 evitable. Yet, even in this distraction, he 
 decided for battle ; and sending for General 
 Scheremetof, commanded him to have every- 
 thing ready, at break of day, for attacking 
 the Turks with fixed bayonets. He also 
 ordered the baggage to be burnt, to prevent 
 its falling into the hands of the enemy. 
 The czar repeated his prohibition that he 
 should be undisturbed, and again he was 
 left alone. But there was one who, in this 
 night of consternation, dared to disobey 
 his commands, Catherine felt that, in the 
 time of trial, the place of the wife was by 
 the side of her husband. In spite of his 
 prohibition, she entered the tent of the 
 czar, and found him in strong convulsions. 
 
 Peter was subject to these fits ; and Cathe- 
 rine, more than any other person, had the 
 power to soothe and restore him. Having 
 applied the necessary remedies, she assumed 
 a cheering tone, and suggested that, instead 
 of fighting under such desperate circum- 
 stances, he should try what could be effected 
 by negotiation. This proposition was the 
 result of a council she had just before held 
 with General Scheremetof and the other 
 officers. It was impossible to anticipate 
 any terms that were not of a most un- 
 favourable kind, even if they did not involve 
 dishonour. Peter was perplexed ; the pros- 
 pect was dark every way ; but the entreaties 
 and tears of Catherine prevailed, and he 
 consented. 
 
 It has been said that Catherine bribed 
 Baltagai Mahomet, the Turkish minister 
 and general, and thus procured favourable 
 terms for the czar. The assertion appears 
 to be an idle calumny. It originated in 
 th**. circumstance that the czarina, in com- 
 pliance with Oriental custom (which enjoins 
 that a suitor should never approach a minis- 
 ter empty-handed), sent to Baltagai all her 
 jewels, money, and whatever valuables she 
 
 had with her in the camp. This was merely 
 a customary tribute, and never designed 
 nor accepted as a bribe. It is indeed ab- 
 surd, to suppose that a man who had the 
 control of the vast wealth of the Ottoman 
 treasury, would have sold a favourable 
 peace to a prostrate foe for a few jewels, 
 which, had he reduced the czar, he could 
 still have obtained as spoil. Other causes 
 were at work. Baltagai had been disgusted 
 with the ingratitude and insolence of the 
 Swedish exile, Charles, whom he did not, 
 therefore, wish to see too triumphant. 
 Moreover, he was no soldier, and did not 
 care to risk a battle, although victory ap- 
 peared certain : and as to the alarming 
 power of the czar, he doubtless thought 
 that would be sufficiently checked by the 
 humiliation Peter must experience in soli- 
 citing peace under circumstances which 
 showed that his influence had been over- 
 rated. Much has been written upon this 
 point ; and it is certainly difficult to under- 
 stand how Peter obtained such favourable 
 terms as he did ; yet we think Baltagai may 
 fairly be acquitted of the charge of having 
 sold the interests of his country. 
 
 After some delay, a suspension of arms 
 was declared, and a favourable answer re- 
 ceived from Baltagai. He required that 
 the Russians should deliver up Azoff, and 
 burn the galleys which lay in that harbour; 
 demolish the important citadels built upon 
 the Palus Mseotis, and surrender the ammu- 
 nition and cannon contained in them to the 
 sultan. The czar was also to renounce all 
 further interference in the affairs of Poland 
 and the Cossacks ; and to promise that 
 Charles XII. should not be molested on 
 his return to Sweden. In addition to these 
 terms, it was proposed that the ancient 
 tribute of Russia to the Tartars of the 
 Crimea should be renewed ; but this offen- 
 sive condition was abandoned. The Turks 
 also insisted that Cantirair, the prince of 
 Wallachia, who had promised assistance to 
 Peter, should be delivered up to them. 
 This the czar steadily refused, saying, "I 
 will rather cede to the Turks the country as 
 far as Kursk ; I should still have some 
 hopes of recovering it : biit my word once 
 broken cannot be restored. Honour is all 
 that we have peculiar to ourselves; re- 
 nouncing that, is ceasing to be a monarch." 
 
 To the other conditions Peter assented, 
 and a treaty of peace was begun, concluded 
 and signed all in one day, the 21st of July. 
 The Turks furnished their starving foes 
 
 167 
 
THE CZAR OBTAINS A PEACE. 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1711. 
 
 with provisions, and the czar was allowed to 
 retire with his army, artillery, colours, and 
 baggage. As the czar commenced his march, 
 the king of Sweden spurred, hot and impa- 
 tient, into the Turkish camp. He had come 
 to see the ruin of his rival ; and on hearing 
 of the escape of Peter, he ran to the tent of 
 the vizier, and angrily reproached him for 
 having signed the treaty. " I have a right," 
 replied Baltagai, " to make war or peace." 
 " But," inquired the king, " had you not 
 the whole Russian army in your power?" 
 " Our law orders," returned the Turk, " to 
 give peace to our enemies when they implore 
 our mercy." "And does it command you," 
 exclaimed the king, passionately, " to make 
 a bad treaty when you may impose what 
 conditions you please ? Did it not depend 
 upon you to lead the czar prisoner to Con- 
 stantinople?" With a meaning sarcasm 
 the vizier replied, " And who would have 
 governed his empire in his absence ? It is 
 not proper that all kings should leave their 
 dominions." Stung to the quick, Charles 
 threw himself upon a sofa, and entangling 
 his spur in the robe of the vizier, purposely 
 tore it. Then, rising up, he disdainfully 
 quitted the tent; and, remounting his 
 horse, returned in rage and despair to 
 Bender. It has been well observed, that 
 the Turkish general, in overlooking the in- 
 dignity he received, showed himself greater 
 than the impetuous king who offered it. 
 Charles afterwards employed himself in 
 endeavouring, by intrigues at the Ottoman 
 court, to have the vizier displaced ; but his 
 activity only led to the withdrawal of the 
 sum allowed by the sultan for the main- 
 tenance of himself and his followers, and 
 his being ordered to quit the empire. 
 
 Peter returned to Russia by way of Jassj'; 
 and, in compliance with the treaty he had 
 so recently made, caused the fortresses of 
 Samara and Kamienska to be demolished. 
 He, however, raised some difficulties about 
 the destruction of his harbour and works at 
 Taganrog, and the restitution of Azoff. 
 The sultan became impatient to receive the 
 keys of the latter city, and negotiations 
 were opened afresh. Azoff was then re- 
 stored to the Turks — a circumstance by 
 which the progress of Russia in the south, 
 towards the sea, was driven back. At the 
 same time the Ottoman Porte, notwith- 
 standing its habitual contempt for Christian 
 states, constituted itself the arbiter between 
 Russia, Poland, and Sweden. The sultan 
 desired the czar \o withdraw his troops 
 168 
 
 from Poland, to which Peter consented, on 
 condition that Charles should be compelled 
 to retire from Turkey. The sultan was by 
 no means averse to this arrangement, for 
 he was tired of the whims and intrigues of 
 his ungrateful guest, whom, nevertheless, 
 he found it extremely difficult to get rid of. 
 The czar's health had been seriously im- 
 paired by the mental anxiety he had expe- 
 rienced, and he therefore went to Carlsbad, 
 in Bohemia, to drink the medicinal waters 
 for which it is famous. Peter had for some 
 time occasionally felt some mental uneasi- 
 ness from another cause. His first wife, 
 Eudoxia Lapuchin (whom, on account of 
 her uncongenial temper and her bigoted 
 opposition, he had thought necessary to 
 divorce), brought him a son, who was born 
 in the convent to which she had been com- 
 pelled to retire. This prince, though he 
 has been described as accomplished (an 
 assertion which is extremely apocrj'phal), 
 showed a headstrong disposition from his 
 boyhood, and an attachment to low plea- 
 sures. His time was spent with vulgar and 
 vicious companions; and, what was far 
 worse, he inherited all his mother's bigotry 
 and her aversion to those reforms which it 
 was the great object of Peter's life to effect. 
 Few things could have more deeply wounded 
 the czar than the reflection that his successor 
 might overturn his labours, and let the em- 
 pire relapse into barbarism. It is probable 
 that, even at this period, Peter had formed 
 the idea of excluding his son from the 
 throne, in the event of its being found im- 
 possible to reform him. The czar felt him- 
 self the parent of an empire, as well as the 
 father of a dull and graceless youth. 
 
 With a view of reforming his son Alexis 
 Petrovitz, the czar married him, in the Oc- 
 tober of 1711, at Dresden, to the princess 
 of Wolfenbuttle, sister to the empress of 
 Germany. The match had a political value 
 to the czar, who was glad to strengthen his 
 connections by so distinguished an alliance ; 
 but Alexis entered into it with reluctance. 
 After the ceremony the czar returned to 
 St, Petersburg, where he publicly celebrated 
 his marriage with the czarina Catherine, to 
 whom he had been previously united pri- 
 vately. The solemnity was conducted Avith 
 great splendour; and Peter not onlj"^ de- 
 signed the festivities, but personally laboured 
 at the preparation of them. This ceremo- 
 nial was intended by him, and regarded by 
 his subjects, as an act of grateful acknow- 
 ledgment for the services Catherine had 
 
A.D. 1713.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE, [war renewed with Sweden. 
 
 lately rendered when the czar was hemmed 
 in by his foes on the banks of the Pruth. 
 The amiable nature of the czarina, and her 
 utter devotion to her distinguished husband, 
 neutralised any feeling of envy or ill-will 
 which might otherwise have been enter- 
 tained towards her on account of her 
 humble origin. But either in times of 
 grief or cheerfulness, the activity of the czar 
 never forsook him. He followed up the 
 public rejoicings with which the double 
 marriage of his son and himself were cele- 
 brated, by planning and executing many 
 national improvements. New roads were 
 laid down, and new canals were dug. His 
 city of St. Petersburg, now rapidly increas- 
 ing in importance, was the favourite child 
 of his brain. He finished the foundry and 
 the admiralty, and caused an exchange and 
 warehouses to be built there. Further than 
 this, he removed the senate from Moscow to 
 St. Petersburg ; and thus made the latter, in 
 some degree, the capital of the empire. 
 
 At peace with Turkey, Peter determined 
 to strip Sweden of every place which could 
 be an annoyance to his new capital. He 
 even designed to take from Sweden all its 
 German provinces ; and in order to effect 
 this, he entered into a league with the elec- 
 tors of Brandenburg and Hanover, and the 
 king of Denmark. Charles, in his exile, 
 showed the same inflexible pride which had 
 ever characterised him. From his lonely 
 dwelling in the deserts of Bessarabia, he 
 hurled defiance at the czar and his allies ; 
 and without attempting to break up the 
 league formed against him, sent commands, 
 that the most vigorous resistance should be 
 made both by land and sea. Notwith- 
 standing the impoverished state of Sweden, 
 both with respect to men and money, his 
 orders were obeyed. The senate of Stock- 
 holm fitted out a fleet of thirteen ships of 
 the line; and a considerable land force was 
 raised, and placed under the command of 
 Count Steinbock, a general whose unques- 
 tionable courage and military skill were ex- 
 ceeded by his cruelty. Steinbock attacked 
 the Danish and Saxon troops near a place 
 called Gadebusch, before the Russians were 
 able to join them. The battle was fought 
 with great fury ; for such was the hatred 
 existing between the Swedes and the Danes, 
 that in many cases the ofl&cers rushed furi- 
 ously upon each other, animated by a mad 
 thirst for their adversaries' blood, and fell 
 dead from the wounds received from this 
 recklessness. Steinbock gained the vic- 
 
 tory ; but that circumstance merely de- 
 ferred his ruin. The Swedish general fol- 
 lowed up his transient triumph by an act of 
 infamous cruelty. Because the Danes had 
 reduced the town of Stade to ashes, he re- 
 taliated on that of Altona, a commercial 
 town below Hamburg, on the banks of the 
 Elbe. The unfortunate inhabitants were 
 compelled to quit their houses at midnight 
 on the 9th of January, 1713, and to wander 
 forth into the open country dui'ing a winter 
 of more than usual severity. " Men and 
 women," observes a modern historian, 
 " weeping and wailing, and bending under 
 the weight of their furniture, fled to the 
 neighbouring hills, which were covered with 
 snow. Many palsied men were carried 
 thither on the shoulders of the young. 
 Women with newly-born infants in their 
 arms, fled and perished with them from the 
 cold, throwing their last looks towards the 
 flames which were consuming their homes. 
 All the inhabitants had not time to quit 
 the town before the Swedes set fire to it. 
 The conflagration continued from midnight 
 till ten in the morning; almost all the 
 houses being wood, were entirely consumed; 
 and the next day, scarcely anything re- 
 mained to indicate that there had been a 
 town upon that spot ! " All Germany pro- 
 tested against this wanton cruelty ; and the 
 generals of the Polish and Danish armies 
 wrote to Count Steinbock, reproaching him 
 with his enormous cruelty, for the perpetra- 
 tion of which no military necessity could 
 be alleged. The Swede retorted, that the 
 allies were guilty of as great atrocities in 
 desolating Pomerania, and that he had only 
 endeavoured to teach the enemies of his 
 master not to make war for the future like 
 barbarians. The reproof was, no doubt, 
 merited; but the retaliation was an ig- 
 noble one. 
 
 Steinbock's success was extremely tran- 
 sient. The Saxons and the Danes were soon 
 joined by the Russians; and he was compelled 
 to retire before the troops he had recently 
 defeated, and shelter himself and his army 
 in Tenningen, a fortified place in Holstein, 
 into which he obtained admission by arti- 
 fice. The allied army then went into win- 
 ter quarters ; but on the renewal of hostili- 
 ties, the Swedes, amounting to 11,000 men, 
 were compelled to surrender themselves 
 prisoners of war. As to Steinbock, unable 
 to repay the ransom which was demanded 
 for his liberation, he languished out the 
 remainder of his life in prison at Copen- 
 
 169 
 
DEFEAT OF THE SWEDISH FLEET.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1714. 
 
 hagen. Thus, at least on tins occasion, his- I Swedes were defeated with terrible slaugh- 
 
 torical truth, and what is called poetical 
 justice, went hand-in-hand. 
 
 Everything seemed adverse to the absent 
 king of Sweden, whose turbulent behaviour 
 in the Turkish dominions had made him 
 the inmate of a prison. Nearly the whole 
 of Pomerania was overrun and partitioned 
 amongst the allies. With the exception of 
 Stralsund, scarcely a place remained in the 
 possession of the Swedes ; and that was be- 
 sieged by the Russians. The czar, satisfied 
 that it must fall, left the operations against 
 it in the hands of Prince Mentschikoff. 
 He then (May, 1713) returned to St. Peters- 
 burg, and proceeded with a powei'ful squad- 
 ron of galleys, and 16,000 troops, to pur- 
 sue his career of conquest in the Gulf of 
 Finland. Helsingfors, Bergo, and Abo, the 
 latter the capital of Finland, successively 
 yielded to the czar, who commanded the 
 whole coast of the gulf up to the city he 
 thus easily subdued. There was nothing of 
 fighting for the love of glory about this : 
 military vanity seems never to have been 
 the moving principle in the mind of the 
 czar. A glance at the map wiU show any 
 one, that if St. Petersburg was to be main- 
 tained as the capital of Russia, the posses- 
 sion of the coasts of the Gulf of Finland 
 was a geographical necessity. On be- 
 coming master of Abo, the czar robbed it 
 of its magnificent library, which he con- 
 veyed to St. Petersburg, and erected a 
 building for its reception. 
 
 The insulted and fallen Swedes, who 
 were learning by painful experience, that 
 no nation can long pursue a course of con- 
 quest vrithout eventually suffering bitterly 
 from that retaliation which seems a law 
 of nature, resolved, in spite of their im- 
 poverished condition, to resist this last act 
 of aggression. Collecting all their naval 
 power, they put to sea in the Gulf of 
 Bothnia, with a considerable squadron. 
 The czar, glad of an opportunity of dis- 
 tinguishing his infant navy, set sail with 
 sixteen ships of the line, and 180 galleys 
 fit for navigating the shallow waters of the 
 inlets of the gulf. The hostile fleets met 
 near the Aland Isles : that of the Swedes 
 was stronger in large ships, but inferior in 
 galleys. Under such circumstances, the 
 wisdom of the czar was apparent in bring- 
 ing the enemy to an engagement among 
 the rocks and shallows which lie in the 
 neighbourhood of Aland, where, though gal- 
 leys could act, large vessels could not. The 
 170 - 
 
 ter, their admiral captured, and many of 
 their vessels sunk or taken. The rest 
 escaped ; ^ut so great was the consterna- 
 tion, that even the inhabitants of Stock- 
 holm did not think themselves safe. This 
 triumph at Aland, Peter regarded as the 
 most glorious action of his life after the ^^c- 
 tory at Pultowa. It made him master of 
 Finland, the government of which he gave 
 to Prince Galitzin, and then returned to 
 St. Petersburg, where he was received with 
 public rejoicings and festivities. These 
 were rendered more brilliant to celebrate 
 the birth of a daughter, of which the czarina 
 had been confined. In honour of her, 
 Peter instituted the order of St. Catherine, 
 which dignity she alone could bestow. 
 
 The Russian people were delighted with 
 the spectacles with which the czar occa- 
 sionally entertained them ; and not the less 
 so because they were all highly flattering to 
 their national emotions. On this occasion 
 the cannon, colours, and standards taken 
 from the captured Swedish ships, were car- 
 ried to St. Petersburg, accompanied by the 
 Russian army, marching in order of battle. 
 The triumphal arch which the czar, accord- 
 ing to custom, had himself designed, was 
 decorated with the emblems of his victories. 
 Admiral Apraxin, who commanded the 
 Russian fleet, headed the procession be- 
 neath the arch, and was followed by the 
 czar as rear-admiral, and the other officers, 
 according to their rank. Erenschild (the 
 Swedish admiral) and his officers followed 
 their conquerors. Gold and silver medals 
 were then distributed to all Russians en- 
 gaged in the battle ; and the czar, ascend- 
 ing a throne which had been prepared for 
 the occasion, thus addressed his subjects 
 and companions-in-arms : — " Countrymen ! 
 is there any one among you who, twenty 
 years ago, could have thought of fighting 
 under me in the Baltic, in ships built by 
 yourselves, and that we should be settled in 
 those countries which we have conquered 
 by our great toils and courage ? The an- 
 cient seat of sciences is said to have been in 
 Greece ; they afterwards moved to Italy, 
 whence they spread themselves to most 
 parts of Europe. Now it is our turn, if 
 you will second my design, and to obe- 
 dience add study. Arts circulate in the 
 world as does blood in the body ; and per- 
 haps they will settle their empire amongst 
 us in their return to Greece, their ancient 
 country. I dare hope that, by our achieve- 
 
A.D. 1714.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE, [charles retuhns to Sweden. 
 
 ments and solid glory, we shall one day 
 make the most civilised nations blush." 
 
 Though many of the old boyards listened 
 to this manly harangue with indifference, if 
 not with actual dislike, the young nobles 
 were aflfected by it even to tears. To them 
 it opened up new paths to distinction, and 
 seemed, in raising the dignity and power of 
 their country, to add a greater brilliancy to 
 the rank they bore. But whatever of dis- 
 content lingered amongst those who loved 
 ever to look back to the dead past, rather 
 than to press forward with the living pre- 
 sent — to collect fading laurels from half- 
 forgotten graves, rather than to gain fresh 
 ones by deeds of heroic activity — it dared no 
 longer show itself. The czar had won the 
 people, and he reigned now doubly abso- 
 lute — by the law of the empire, and by the 
 force of genius. Real joy dwelt for a while 
 at St. Petersburg, and public festivities 
 were prolonged by private hospitalities. 
 The czar gave a series of public dinners, 
 
 to which all classes of the people were in- 
 vited ; and the illustrious monarch went 
 from table to table amongst his guests, and 
 conversed freely, even with those of the most 
 humble condition, concerning their trades 
 and occupations. The nobles, in their turn, 
 gave balls and public entertainments on a 
 very grand scale ; the mercantile classes 
 had their social festivals also; even the 
 artisans and serfs drank their bad brandy 
 with an air of triumph ; and St. Petersburg 
 presented a scene of rejoicing which had 
 never been known beneath its cold sky 
 before. Yet under and around the great 
 city of the swamp lay the bones of more 
 than 100,000 men, victims of its creation; 
 sacrificed to the iron will of the brilliant 
 despot, whose restless energy and deep- 
 seeing genius remoulded his people, and, in 
 this wild spot, even changed the face of 
 nature ! How great, sometimes how ter- 
 rible, is the power of one large and original 
 mind ! 
 
 CHAPTER XXin. 
 
 RETURN OF CHARLES XII. FROM TURKEY ; CAPTURE OF STRALSUND ; PETER AGAIN STARTS ON HIS TRAVELS ; 
 POLITICAL CONSPIRACY OF BARON GOERTZ ; THE CZAR VISITS FRANCE ; MEMORIAL PRESENTED TO HIM BY 
 THE DOCTORS OF THE SORBONNE ; PETER AND CATHERINE AT BERLIN ; THEY RETURN TO RUSSIA. 
 
 Sweden, exhausted by its efforts, sought 
 peace with Russia. The regency of Stock- 
 holm, despairing of the return of the king, 
 came to a resolution to consult him no 
 longer, and to make pacific proposals to the 
 czar. This resolution was interrupted by 
 the sudden reappearance of the king, after 
 a stay of five years and some months 
 in Bessarabia. Having passed through 
 the most extraordinary adventures, and 
 endured severe sufferings, Charles, on the 
 21st of October, 1714, presented himself, 
 during the night, at the gates of the town 
 of Stralsund, in the disguise of a courier. 
 He had not been in a bed for sixteen 
 nights, and his legs were so swollen from 
 extreme fatigue, that his boots were obliged 
 to be cut off. The fugitive king found 
 Europe in a very different condition to that 
 in which he had left it. The war between 
 France, Englaud, and Holland, was over. 
 
 Anne of Englaud having made peace with 
 the aged Louis XIV., had just gone to that 
 bourne where warrior and politician, queen, 
 subject, or beggar, alike remain in tranquil- 
 lity. George I., elector of Hanover, had 
 been called to the throne of Great Britain, 
 and had taken from the territories of Sweden 
 the duchy of Bremen and Verden. Frede- 
 ric William, the new king of Prussia, had 
 seized on Stettin and part of Pomerania; 
 while the czar had enriched himself enor- 
 mously at the expense of his former rival, 
 Charles. In the north of Europe, Peter 
 had acquired an uncontrollable ascendancy ; 
 and all the neighbouring princes referred 
 their claims to him. 
 
 The spirit of the fallen Charles had not 
 sunk with his fortunes ; but his subjects 
 were now too feeble to second his daring 
 projects. They had lost their confidence, 
 and were no longer disposed to seek in 
 
 171 
 
PETER AGAIN VISITS EUROPE.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1716. 
 
 battle nobler terms than they could obtain 
 by arbitration. But when Charles applied 
 to the citizens of Stockholm for money to 
 raise a force equal to his necessities, his 
 generous people, who pitied their wild king 
 even while they blamed him, complied, as 
 far as possible, with his wishes. His rash 
 conduct has been described as resulting not 
 from the fury of despair, but rather from 
 the gallantry of a nature that never could 
 be penetrated by despair. Shutting himself 
 up in Stralsund, which was made celebrated 
 by his connection with it, he undertook its 
 defence, with a garrison of about 9,000 
 men, against the combined army of Prus- 
 sians, Danes, and Saxons, amounting to 
 36,000 men. Charles defended the place 
 inch by inch ; and when it Avas at length 
 reduced to a heap of ruins, he succeeded in 
 escaping before it surrendered to the assail- 
 ants.* He made his way to Carlscrona; 
 and, though so near his capital, he yet 
 resolved 'never to enter it again until he 
 had obtained some signal victory. Regard- 
 ing his people only as born to become 
 soldiers to carry out his projects, he issued 
 orders for raising men throughout his whole 
 kingdom. Miserable Sweden ! infatuated 
 &ing ! 
 
 While the sun of Charles was thus set- 
 ting, the power of Peter was approaching 
 its utmost height. Livonia, Esthonia, Ingria, 
 and nearly all Finland, had been acquired 
 by him. He was ready to protect them by 
 war if necessary ; but not averse to peace, 
 if his adversaries desired it. Almost every 
 day he created some new regulations or 
 establishments in connection with the navy, 
 army, the commerce, or the laws. About 
 400,000 men were employed in the public 
 works at St. Petersburg, which rapidly 
 became a place of great commerce and 
 wealth. The czar, however, in his anxiety 
 for its prosperity, committed an act of folly 
 
 • The daring and energy of this extraordinary 
 man during this period, is thus graphically described 
 by his biographer Voltaire : — " Nothing was able to 
 move him ; he employed the day in making ditches 
 and intrenchments behind the walls, and in the night 
 he sallied out upon the enemy. In the meantime 
 Stralsund was battered in breach, the bombs fell as 
 thick as hail upon the houses, and half the town was 
 reduced to ashes. The citizens, however, so far from 
 complaining, were filled with the highest veneration 
 for their royal master, whose fatigues, temperance, 
 and courage astonished them. He inspired them 
 with similar qualities; and, under him, they all 
 became soldiers : they accompanied him in all his 
 sallies, and served him in the place of a second 
 garrison. One day, as the king was dictating some 
 172 
 
 and injustice; for he prohibited all goods 
 imported into Russia at Archangel from 
 being sent to Moscow. 
 
 Peter now resolved to undertake a second 
 journey through the principal countries of 
 Europe. The time was eminently favour- 
 able for such an expedition; for he had 
 established his reforms at home upon a 
 secure basis, and he had nothing to fear 
 from enemies abroad. He had performed 
 his first journey with the view of obtaining 
 information concerning the arts and manu- 
 factures of the places he visited ; but in the 
 second he desired to examine the secrets of 
 foreign courts, and the political systems of 
 Europe. He left Russia in 1716, accom- 
 panied by the czarina Catherine, and fol- 
 lowed by the gratitude of his people. His 
 journey was a kind of triumphal progress, 
 and he was generally received with public 
 rejoicings and festivities. Catherine, who 
 was approaching her confinement, was com- 
 pelled to rest for a short time at Schwerin, 
 while Peter pursued his way to Holland. 
 The czarina soon followed him, but was 
 compelled to pause at Wesel, where she was 
 delivered of a son, whose brief existence 
 only disappointed the hopes of his father. 
 Such was Catherine's anxiety to rejoin her 
 husband, that, ten days after her confine- 
 ment, she accompanied him to Amsterdam. 
 The czar went to Copenhagen, and had 
 an interview with the king of Denmark, 
 who received him with great distinction. 
 He then visited the king of Prussia, and 
 paused at many places, either from motives 
 of pleasure or for the sake of making obser- 
 vations. All this time he travelled in a 
 very simple manner, avoiding all show or 
 parade whatever. An amusing incident 
 arose out of this love of simplicity in so 
 great a man. He arrived late one night at 
 Nymegen, in a common post-chaise, and 
 accompanied by only two attendants. As 
 
 letters to his secretarj', to be sent to Sweden, a bomb 
 fell on the house, penetrated the roof, and burst near 
 the apartment where he was. One-half of the floor 
 was shattered to pieces. The closet where the king 
 was employed, partly formed out of a thick wall, 
 resisted the explosion ; and, by an astonishing piece 
 of fortune, none of the splinters that flew about in 
 the air entered at the closet door, which happened 
 to be open. The report of the bomb, and the noise it 
 occasioned in the house, which seemed ready to fall, 
 made the secretary drop his pen. 'What is the 
 matter ? ' said the king, with a placid air, • why do 
 you not write ? ' The secretary could only exclaim, 
 ' Ah, sire ! the bomb ! ' ' Well,' continued the king, 
 ' what has the bomb to do with the letter I am dic- 
 tating to you ? Go on.' " 
 
A.D. 1717.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [peter in HOLLAND. 
 
 his frugal supper consisted only of poached 
 eggs and a little bread and cheese, he was 
 much astonished when, the next morning, 
 the landlord presented a bill of one hundred 
 ducats for his entertainment. Peter re- 
 monstrated, and asked if eggs were so 
 very scarce in that neighbourhood. "'No," 
 answered the landlord ; " but emperors 
 are." The czar settled the bill; for he 
 must have felt that, statesman as he was, he 
 had for once been overreached. 
 
 On reaching Amsterdam, Peter was re- 
 ceived with an exhibition of feeling which 
 surpassed enthusiasm. There the honest 
 ship-builders regarded him as their pupil; 
 and the workmen looked upon him as a 
 great man who had given additional dignity 
 to labour ; and they remembered the time 
 he performed the like work with them- 
 selves. They found his manners un- 
 changed: the great emperor of Russia 
 talked to them as familiarly as, about 
 eighteen years before. Master Peter the 
 amateur carpenter had done. The little 
 cottage at Sardam, in which he had dwelt, 
 though scarcely more than a hovel, had 
 been improved and carefully preserved. It 
 was known as " The Prince's House." On 
 re-entering it, after so long an absence, 
 Peter desired to be left alone; and there, 
 for a while, he remained absorbed by reflec- 
 tion of a kind it is not difficult to divine. 
 Wonder for the past, and grateful joy for 
 the present, no doubt filled that strong 
 mind, as, reflecting upon the strange vicissi- 
 tudes of life, he beheld the scene of his 
 early labours ; while his imagination, speed- 
 ing to the tideless Baltic, saw upon its 
 broad basin their result in the triumphant 
 fleet of Russia. 
 
 The czar remained three months in Hol- 
 land, chiefly because the Hague, then re- 
 garded as the centre of the negotiations of 
 Europe, and crowded with travellers and 
 foreign ministers, afforded him an opportu- 
 nity of making certain political observa- 
 tions. A cunning adventurer, named Baron 
 Goertz, who had acquired the confidence of 
 Charles XII., and desired to bring about an 
 alliance between that fallen monarch and 
 the czar, had projected a great revolution 
 throughout Europe ; and many secret com- 
 munications concerning it were passing in 
 the diplomatic circles of that place. This 
 project was of a remarkable kind, for kings 
 and chief ministers were the conspirators. 
 Amongst other wild plans, it was designed 
 to drive George I. from the throne of Eng- 
 
 land, and to set the son of James II. in his 
 place. Charles XII., on being reconciled 
 to Peter, was to make a descent upon Scot- 
 land, and carry the plan into execution by 
 calling to arras all the partisans of the 
 Stuart family. It appears that the czar 
 was favourable to the designs of these 
 diplomatic revolutionists, and that he with 
 difficulty avoided becoming implicated in 
 them. Happily these plans were discovered, 
 and communicated to the king of England ; 
 and, at his desire, the States-general placed 
 Baron Goertz under arrest. George also 
 put the Swedish ambassador at London into 
 confinement; and the two were examined 
 like some great criminals; as indeed they 
 were. Charles was indignant that his am- 
 bassadors had been so insulted, and main- 
 tained a disdainful silence towards England 
 and Holland. Peter, on the detection of 
 the conspiracy with which he was not iden- 
 tified, though he was favourable to it, wrote 
 a long letter to George I., full of compli- 
 ments and congratulations, and assurances 
 of a sincere friendship. George did not 
 believe a word of these protestations ; but it 
 was not politic to quarrel with so powerful 
 a monarch as the czar; and he assumed a 
 satisfaction which he did not feel. 
 
 In the meantime Peter left Holland, and 
 proceeded on a visit to Paris, where great 
 preparations were made for receiving him 
 with a becoming splendour. Marshal Tesse, 
 with many of the nobility, a squadron of the 
 guards, and the king's coaches, advanced to 
 meet him. The czar, actuated by a real or 
 pretended contempt for splendour, rode on 
 so rapidly, that he left the escort far behind, 
 and entered Paris, attended only by four 
 gentlemen. The retiring habits of the czar 
 must have disappointed the French people, 
 who had prepared xasmy fetes and entertain- 
 ments in his honour, which were rendered 
 nugatory by the rapidity with which he 
 travelled. The Duke of Orleans, then regent 
 during the infancy of Louis XV., received 
 Peter at the Louvre, where the state apart- 
 ments were prepared for himself and his 
 retinue. The czar declined this grandeur. 
 " I am a soldier," said he ; " bread and 
 beer are all I want; 1 like small rooms 
 better than large. I do not wish to move 
 about in state, and tire so many people." 
 The same evening he took up his lodgings 
 at the other end of the town, at the Hotel 
 Lesdiguiere, which belonged to Marshal 
 Villeroy. Here he was visited, the next 
 dav, by the regent, and, the one following, 
 
 173 
 
PETER IN FR.\JS'CE.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1717. 
 
 by the infant king. This visit courtesy 
 obliged the czar to return ; but he did so in 
 the evening, in as quiet a manner as pos- 
 sible. The household troops were placed 
 under arms, and the young kiug brought to 
 the czar's coach. So great was the crowd 
 that thronged about the royal child, that 
 Peter felt uneasy for his safety, and, taking 
 him into his arms, carried him for some time. 
 
 However averse the czar might be to 
 ceremony or ostentation, he could not but 
 be pleased with many of the delicate atten- 
 tions he met with in France. On dining 
 with the Duke d'Antin, at his seat three 
 leagues from Paris, Peter observed that a 
 handsome portrait of himself had been re- 
 cently put up in the dining-room. Touched 
 by the compliment, it is said he felt that 
 true politeness was an ingredient in the 
 nature of the French. Another incident 
 of the same kind must have given him a far 
 greater satisfaction. On going to see medals 
 struck in that gallery of the Louvre devoted 
 to the artists of the kings of France, one 
 dropping from the die, fell at the feet of the 
 czar. He stooped, picked it up, and found 
 it to be a medal of himself, with a figure 
 representing fame on the reverse. Peter 
 and all his attendants were presented with 
 copies of this medal in gold. On visiting 
 the other artists in the Louvre, all their 
 finest eflPorts were laid at his feet, with a 
 request that he would deign to accept of 
 them. When he went to see the tapestry 
 of the Gobelins, the carpets of the Savonnerie, 
 the ateliers of the king's sculptors, painters, 
 goldsmiths, and mathematical instrument- 
 makers, whatever engaged his eye was 
 offered to him in the name of the sovereign. 
 On his visit to the Academy of Sciences, he 
 with his own hand corrected several errors 
 in old maps of the Russian dominions. He 
 even became a member of the academy, and 
 afterwards kept up a correspondence con- 
 cerning experiments and discoveries with 
 that distinguished body. 
 
 The most earnest minds in France ad- 
 mired the experienced glance and skilful 
 hand with which he selected such objects 
 as he designed to carry back with him to 
 Russia, and the masters whom he engaged 
 for the instruction of his people. Artists 
 and manufacturers were surprised at his 
 knowledge of their professions. They ob- 
 served, that " his questions uniformly gave 
 proof of his knowledge, and excited admira- 
 tion of the sagacity of an enlarged mind, 
 which was as "pJ^ODapt to comprehend in- 
 174 
 
 formation as it was eager to gain it. While 
 travelling through France on his return, 
 the czar would often leave his carriage, and, 
 entering the fields, fall into conversation 
 with the labourers. He desired them to 
 explain the use of their agricultural instru- 
 ments, and took sketches of them with his 
 own hand. One day his attention was 
 attracted by seeing a person of a different 
 dress and superior appearance working with 
 the labourers. The czar immediately inter- 
 rogated this man; and then, turning to his 
 attendants, observed — "Look at this good 
 country priest ! With the labour of his own 
 hands he procures cider, wine, and money 
 to boot. Remind me of this when we are 
 in Russia again. I will endeavour to stimu- 
 late our priests by this example, and, by 
 teaching them to till the soil, rescue them 
 from their sloth and wretchedness.'' 
 
 The occasion on which the czar exhibited 
 the greatest excitement while in France, 
 was at his visit to the tomb of Cardinal 
 Richelieu. But it was not the beauty of 
 the design or sculptui'e that attracted him. 
 His thoughts were rather with the dust that 
 lay beneath that magnificent mausoleum. 
 His mind dwelt upon the character of 
 the great statesman, which these things 
 were designed to perpetuate. Giving way 
 to a transient enthusiasm, Peter exclaimed 
 earnestly — " Thou great man ! I would have 
 given thee one-half of my dominions to 
 have learnt of thee how to govern the other !" 
 Thus do the truly great ever recognise and 
 admit the claims of each other. 
 
 When the czar visited the mausoleum of 
 the wise priest and statesman, the doctors of 
 the Sorboune placed a memorial in his 
 hands, with the object of bringing about a 
 reunion of the Greek and Latin churches, 
 by inducing Peter to recognise the spiritual 
 authority of the pope. The division of the 
 Christian church into that of the West and the 
 East, was completed about the middle of the 
 eleventh century, when the pope at Rome, and 
 the patriarch at Constantinople, severally ana- 
 thematised each other, and all further com- 
 munion between their respective churches 
 ceased. This schism the theological doctors 
 of the university thought to heal at the 
 expense of a piece of parchment ; as if such a 
 monarch as the czar would be at all likely 
 to acknowledge the authority of the pope in 
 any shape whatever. His path lay in quite 
 a different direction ; and it is not rational to 
 suppose that Peter would throw his country 
 into confusion, aud encounter the enmity of 
 
A.D. 
 
 1717.J 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [peter in FRANCE. 
 
 the Russian clergy, and perhaps the whole 
 population of his empire, to bring about an 
 event, the result of which would be to intro- 
 duce an authority into it, differing from, and 
 claiming to be superior to, his own. The 
 wily doctors artfully confined their memo- 
 rial almost entirely to softening down this 
 point. They spoke of the liberties enjoyed 
 by the Galilean church; from which they 
 concluded that the Russian church would 
 forfeit nothing in that respect, should the 
 proposed union take place. They also 
 asserted that the popes were subject to the 
 councils, and that a decree' of the supreme 
 pontiff was not a rule of faith. Peter cared 
 nothing for these matters ; and he had no in- 
 tention of placing a yoke upon his shoulders, 
 though it might be a very light one, and fit 
 so well as not to gall the wearer in any 
 direction. Never mind the lightness : why 
 wear a yoke at all, especially when there 
 was no necessity for doing so ? Still the czar 
 received the memorial with good humour ; 
 and, answering that he was a soldier, un- 
 accustomed to disputations of that kind, 
 referred the matter to the Russian bishops. 
 They, it may be anticipated, at once indig- 
 nantly rejected it. The pope, also offended 
 that the overture had failed, expressed a 
 dissatisfaction at its having been attempted ; 
 and the meddlers of the Sorbonne were 
 blamed on all sides; as meddlers generally 
 are, and always deserve to be. 
 
 However pleasantly the czar treated this 
 application at the time, he afterwards 
 thought it proper to express his real feeling 
 towards the papal authority, in order to 
 dissipate any needless apprehensions which 
 his subjects might entertain on such a matter. 
 With this object, when, in 1718, he ex- 
 pelled the Jesuits out of his dominions, 
 he instituted a burlesque ceremonial for 
 the entertainment of the people, in ridicule 
 of the pontiff" of the Roman church. At 
 the Russian court was a vain old man, 
 named Jotofl" or Setoff, who, in earlier 
 years, had taught the czar to write, but 
 who, in the decline of his life, occupied a 
 position analogous to that of a buffoon. 
 On this dotard, the czar whimsically said 
 that he would confer one of the most emi- 
 nent dignities in the known world. Jotoft' 
 accordingly had the title of pope bestowed 
 upon him, together with a salary of 2,000 
 roubles, and a house at St. Petersburg in 
 the quarter of the Tartars. Jotoff was en- 
 throned by the mob, led by buffoons, and 
 harangued by four men who stammered. 
 
 His mock holiness then created a body of 
 mimic cardinals; and after they had all 
 drank themselves into a state of staggering 
 intoxication, paraded the streets in proces- 
 sion, accompanied by rough music playing 
 out of time, and the clattering of pots and 
 pans, to the intense delight of the mob, to 
 whose not over-refined taste this drunken 
 carnival was admirably adapted. A mili- 
 tary procession and solemnity for some 
 great victory, would scarcely have pleased 
 them so much. This satirical ceremony 
 was retained for some years after the death 
 of Jotoff, and performed both in St. Peters- 
 burg and Moscow. Though, at first sight, 
 it appeared only a mere popular orgie, yet 
 it had the effect of confirming the national 
 aversion to a church which assumed a 
 power of control and anathema over kings 
 and nations. 
 
 Before the czar left France, he expressed , 
 a desire to have an interview with the cele- 
 brated Madame de Maintenon, the widow 
 of Louis XIV., then in the decline of her 
 chequered life. The similarity that existed 
 between the marriage of Louis and his own, 
 excited his curiosity. Yet there was almost 
 as much difference between the two ladies 
 as between their respective husbands, who 
 were the most unlike of men. Catherine 
 was altogether uneducated ; while the mind 
 of Madame de Maintenon had been culti- 
 vated up to that exotic point where luxu- 
 riance sinks into weakness. The first was 
 a child of nature; the second lived the 
 artificial life of an over-refined court. The 
 first was in some respects a heroine; the 
 last merely a fascinating woman. Peter had 
 not taken Catherine with him to France, 
 because, with a delicacy of feeling scarcely 
 to be expected in him, he feared that the 
 rigid ceremony of the French court might 
 embarrass her, and that its frequenters 
 might not sufficiently estimate the merits of 
 a woman who, from the banks of the Pruth 
 to the shores of Finland, had, at her hus- 
 band's side, faced death both by sea and 
 land. 
 
 The czar discerned in the luxurious ex- 
 travagance of the French court, a sign of 
 the unhealthy condition of a nation which 
 was then silently floating towards the ter- 
 rible convulsion in which an infuriated 
 people trampled king, government, church, 
 religion — everything beneath their feet. 
 Peter felt so strongly on the subject, that 
 he observed, he was sorry for France and 
 for its infant king, and believed that the 
 
 175 
 
PETER AT BERLIN.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1717. 
 
 latter was on the point of losing his king- 
 dom through luxuries and superfluities. 
 While the czar condemned the extrava- 
 gance, and despised the high-breeding, of 
 the French courtiers, yet many amongst 
 them formed a generous estimate of his 
 character. The following description of 
 Peter, by an author attached to the court, 
 we will quote, on account of the value of 
 contemporary criticism respecting so re- 
 markable a man : — " His deportment is full 
 of dignity and confidence, as becomes an 
 absolute master. He has large and bright 
 eyes, with a penetratiug, and occasionally 
 stem glance. His motions, which are ab- 
 rupt and hasty, betray the violence of his 
 passions, and the impetuosity of his dis- 
 position. His orders succeed each other 
 rapidly and imperiously. He dismisses 
 with a word, with a sign, without allowing 
 himself to be thwarted by time, place, or 
 circumstance, now and then forgetting even 
 the rules of decorum ; yet with the regent 
 and the young king he maintains his state, 
 and regulates all his movements according 
 to the points of a strict and proud eti- 
 quette. For the rest, the court discovered 
 in him more great qualities than bad ones ; 
 it considered his faults to be merely trivial 
 and superficial. It remarked, that he was 
 usually sober, and that he gave way only 
 now and then to excessive intemperance ; 
 that, regular in his habits of li^ang, he 
 always went to bed at nine o'clock, rose at 
 four, and was never for a moment unem- 
 ployed ; and, accordingly, that he was well- 
 informed, and seemed to have a better 
 knowledge of naval affaii's and fortification, 
 than any man in France." 
 
 On leaving that country, the czar induced 
 many French artists and other skilful pei*- 
 sons to follow him, with the object of pro- 
 moting the exercise of their professions in 
 Russia. No government seemed actuated 
 by any ungenerous feelings towards him in 
 this matter. " All nations," observes Vol- 
 taire, "where he travelled, prided themselves 
 in seconding his design of transporting the 
 arts into a new country, and in concurring 
 to this kind of creation." 
 
 The czar rejoined Catherine at Amster- 
 dam, and they proceeded together to Berlin, 
 to pay a visit to Frederic William,* the 
 king of Pnissia, who, to use the expressive 
 language of Mr. Macaulay, " must be al- 
 lowed to have possessed some talents for 
 administration, but whose character was 
 • The father of Frederic the Great. 
 176 
 
 disfigured by odious vices, and whose eccen- 
 tricities were such as had never before been 
 seen out of a madhouse." Though Frederic 
 was so mean that he half-starved his chil- 
 dren, and frequently had food in a state 
 unfit to be eaten placed upon the royal 
 table, yet he received his illustrious visitors 
 with as much respect as his rude nature 
 could be capable of. The czar, on arriving 
 at Berlin, drove to a private lodging, where 
 he received a message that the king would 
 wait upon him the next day, at noon. Be- 
 fore the appointed time, a cortege of royal 
 carriages came to bring the czar to the 
 palace; but the officers who accompanied 
 them were told that he was already with 
 the king. He had gone out privately by 
 another door, with a view of avoiding that 
 ceremony which he regarded as obstructive 
 of freedom, and a waste of time. A king 
 who dressed like a common soldier, and sat 
 in an old-fashioned wooden arm-chair, pos- 
 sessed a recommendation to the good-will of 
 the eccentric czar. Peter, Catherine, and 
 Frederic William were a strange trio. " Had 
 Charles XII. been with them," says Voltaire, 
 " four crowned heads would have been seen 
 together, with less fastidiousness about 
 them than a German bishop or a Roman 
 cardinal." Though the boisterous king was 
 sufliciently well pleased with his guests, yet 
 the manners of Peter and Catherine were 
 by no means refined enough for the then 
 petty court of Berlin, which, in this respect, 
 was more critical than that of Paris. The 
 queen thought Peter rough, and Catherine 
 homely; and, therefore, the ladies of the 
 court thought so too. One of the latter, 
 the INIargravine de Bareith, gave an account 
 in her memoirs of the reception of the illus- 
 trious strangers at court. From this descrip- 
 tion it may be seen how difficult it is for 
 little minds to estimate great ones. The 
 margrarine remarked, that when Peter ap- 
 proached to salute the queen, that her 
 majesty looked as if she would rather be 
 excused. On another occasion he took her 
 hand so heartily, that the royal prude de- 
 sired him to be more respectful. Peter 
 laughed, and said that she was more delicate 
 than his Catherine. But the supercilious 
 description of the latter by the margrarine, 
 while it is a bit of odd and, probably, truth- 
 ful portrait-painting, exhibits the hypercriti- 
 cal spirit in which the czarina was observed. 
 "She is," says the nart-ator, "short and 
 lusty, remarkably coarse, and without grace 
 or animation. One need only see her to be 
 
A.D. 1717.1 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [peter returns to Russia. 
 
 satisfied o." her low birth. At the first blush 
 one would take her for a German actress. 
 Her clotlies looked as if bou«rht at a doll- 
 shop ; everything was so old-fashioned and 
 so bedecked with silver and tinsel. Slie 
 was decorated with a dozen orders, portraits 
 of saints and relics ; which occasioned such 
 a clatter, tliat when she walked, one would 
 suppose an ass with bells was approaching.'^ 
 Peter, during his tour, purchased great 
 quantities of pictures, chiefly of the Dutch 
 and Flemish school ; cabinets of birds and 
 insects, a large collection of books, and 
 
 whatever appeared likely to ornament the 
 new city, to which he had given his name. 
 Amongst these valuables was a great hollow 
 globe, eleven feet in diameter, whose inside 
 represented the celestial, and the outside 
 the terrestrial, sphere. This was presented 
 to him by the king of Denmark. With 
 these treasures of art and literature he sub- 
 sequently laid the foundation of the Imperial 
 Academy of Sciences, the idea of which he 
 took from that of Paris, of which he had 
 been elected a member during a visit to 
 that capital. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV, 
 
 MISCONDtrCT OF THE CZAREVITCH ALEXIS ; PETER EXPOSTULATES WITH HIM ; PETER, WHILE ON HIS TRAVELS, 
 COMMANDS HIS SON TO MEET HIM AT COPENHAGEN ; THE LATTER GOES TO VIENNA, AND CLAIMS THE 
 PROTECTION OF THE EMPEROR ; THE CZAR PROMISES TO PARDON HIS SON IF HE WILL RETURN ; ALEXIS 
 DOES SO, AND IS ARRESTED, IMPRISONED, AND FINALLY PLACED ON HIS TRIAL FOR TREASON j HIS CON- 
 DEMNATION AND DEATH. 
 
 The czar arrived at St. Petersburg, from his 
 foreign tour, on the 21st of October, 1717, 
 and his attention was soon engaged by an 
 incident of a peculiar character. 
 
 His son, the czarevitch Alexis, now nine- 
 and-twenty years of age, had long been a 
 source of anxiety to Peter. Alexis, even 
 from his youth, had shown an aversion to 
 the reforms of his father, and selected his 
 friends and advisers from among the disaf- 
 fected nobles and priests, who were opposed 
 to all change. Tliese bigoted persons con- 
 firmed m the mind of the czarevitch the 
 lessons of his ignorant and superstitious 
 mother, who had taught him that the 
 changes the czar eff*ected in the government 
 and manners of the people, were acts off'en- 
 sive to God. The obstinate mental blind- 
 ness of Endoxia induced Peter to repudiate 
 her; an act which he followed by taking a 
 mistress to his bed. The czarina's desire 
 for revenge was greater than the piety of 
 which she made so much parade, and she 
 chose a lover to supply the place of a dis- 
 gusted husband. The czar discovered her 
 misconduct, and, with his customary seve- 
 rity, caused her paramour to be impaled ; 
 after which he solemnly divorced his dis- 
 honoured wife, and condemned her to pass 
 her life in the cloisters. 
 2 a 
 
 Peter's active life prevented him from 
 paying much personal attention to his son ; 
 but he caused able foreign preceptors to be 
 placed about him. So intense were the 
 prejudices which had been instilled into the 
 mind of the young prince, that he hated 
 these persons merely because they were 
 foreigners. Yet, though weak-minded, he 
 was not without capacity, and seems to have 
 profited to some extent by the tuition he 
 received from them. He wrote and spoke 
 German readily, and had made some pro- 
 gress in mathematics. Though removed 
 from the influence of his mother, it yet 
 hung about him, and exerted a power over 
 him ; and the ecclesiastical books which the 
 priests put in his hands were his ruin. He 
 placed an implicit confidence in these works, 
 the composition of narrow-minded men ; 
 and fancied that he read in their pages so 
 many execrations of the labours in which 
 his father was engaged. Indeed, priests 
 were the frequent companions of Alexis, 
 and they acquired an absolute ascendancy 
 over him. They persuaded him that the 
 whole nation abhorred his father's innova- 
 tions ; that from the fits to which the czar 
 was subject, it might be concluded that he 
 would not live long ; and that the way to 
 conciliate the afl"ectioHS of the people was 
 
 177 
 
RETROSJ'ECT.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1707—1717. 
 
 to show an aversion to novelties. Alexis 
 listened with satisfaction to these insidious 
 suggestions; and by so doing, became a 
 passive conspirator against his father. 
 
 The marriage of the czar with Catherine 
 in 1707, and the fertility of that marriage, 
 still further irritated the mind of the prince, 
 and he gave himself up to habits of drunken- 
 ness and dissipation. His man'iage, in 1711, 
 with the Princess of Wolfenbuttle, failed to 
 exercise any reforming influence. The un- 
 fortunate lady, ill-treated by her husband, 
 destitute of all comfort, and even of those 
 things which to the high-born are regarded 
 as necessaries of existence, lingered in 
 suffering until the November of 1715. She 
 left a son, who afterwards ascended the 
 throne which his father forfeited by his 
 oflFences. 
 
 The czar appears to have been touched 
 by the death of his daughter-in-law ; and 
 he beheld with great grief the unaltered 
 mind and temper of his son. "NATiat course 
 would he pursue when, in the natural suc- 
 cession of events, he ascended the throne ? 
 Peter resolved that he would not permit a 
 graceless boy to overthrow the labours of 
 his life. After the death of the princess, 
 the czar addressed a letter to Alexis, in 
 which, after reviewing the charges brought 
 against him, and censuring the ruinous 
 course he was following, thus concluded : — 
 " I will still wait a while to see if you will 
 amend. If not, know that I will deprive 
 you of the succession as a useless limb is 
 cut off. Do not imagine I am only fright- 
 ening you, nor would I have you to rely on 
 the title of being my eldest son ; for since I 
 do not spare my own life for the good of my 
 country and the prosperity of my people, 
 why should I spare yours ? I would prefer 
 to transmit the crown to an entire stranger 
 who merited it, than to my own son who 
 had proved himself unworthy of the trust." 
 
 This menacing letter, in which the father 
 yet mingled with the statesman and the 
 judge, elicited from Alexis only a brief 
 reply, and that of so strange and submis- 
 sive a kind, as to create an instant doubt of 
 the sincerity of the writer. " God is my 
 witness," said the prince; "and I swear 
 upon my soul, that I will never claim the 
 succession. I commit my children* into 
 your hands; and for myself, I ask for 
 nothing more than a subsistence during 
 my life." 
 
 • Alexis had but one son by the Princess of Wol- 
 fenbuttle ; but he had also illegitimate children. 
 178 
 
 The czar doubted the good faith of his 
 son, and suspected dissimulation ; he was ! 
 also deeply pained that he could not gain 
 the confidence and co-operation of his 
 natural successor. He wrote again to Alexis ' 
 a letter, in which pathos, entreaty, and 
 threats were combined. '*I observe," he 
 said, " that all you speak of in your letter 
 is the succession, as if I stood in need of 
 your consent. I represented to you the i 
 grief your behaviour has given me for so 
 many years, and you do not speak of it. 
 The exhortations of a father make no im- ; 
 pression on you. I have brought myself to | 
 write to you once more ; but for the last 
 time. If you despise my counsels while 
 I am living, what regard will you pay to 
 them after my death ? Though you may at 
 present intend to keep your promises, yet 
 those bushy beards {i.e., priests) will be 
 able to wind you as they please, and induce 
 you to break your word. It is you on 
 whom these people rely. You have no 
 gratitude to him who gave you life. Since 
 you have been of proper age, did you 
 ever assist him in his labours ? Do you not 
 blame, do you not detest everything I do 
 for the good of my people ? I have all the 
 reason in the world to believe, that if you 
 survive me, you will destroy all that I have 
 done. Amend; make yourself worthy of 
 the succession, or become a monk. Let me 
 have your answer, either in writing or per- 
 sonally, or I will deal with you as with a 
 malefactor." 
 
 Alexis might easily have conciliated his 
 father by a promise, made in evident sin- 
 cerity, that he would change his conduct 
 and dismiss his evil advisers. This he was 
 unwilling to do ; and his obstinacy must have 
 confirmed the suspicions of the czar, that 
 his son only waited for his death in order to 
 commence the destruction of the cherished 
 labours of his life. Alexis pretended illness, 
 and wrote a short, cold letter to his father, 
 merely stating that he intended to embrace 
 the monkish life, and desiring the consent 
 of the czar to that efi'ect. Such a decision 
 did not appear natural in a young man; 
 and must have been regarded by the acute 
 Peter as an evasion. Still the disquieted 
 father visited his son prior to setting out on 
 bis travels to Germany and France; and 
 gave him six months to reflect upon his 
 future conduct, and to abandon his monastic 
 intentions, if he desired to fit himself to be- 
 come an emperor. Yet the very day that 
 the czar left the capital, Alexis rose from 
 
A.D. 1717.] 
 
 EUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [misconduct of ALEXIS. 
 
 the bed to which he pretended that illness 
 had confined him, and, in a riotous banquet, 
 celebrated with his evil advisers the depar- 
 ture of his father ! 
 
 During the absence of the czar, Alexis 
 never wrote a line to him — a circumstance 
 which caused him both disappointment and 
 irritation. At Copenhagen Peter received 
 information that his unworthy son only 
 admitted into his presence such evil-minded 
 persons as humoured his prejudices and 
 fostered his discontent. The outraged 
 father forthwith Avrote to his ungrateful 
 son, that he must at once choose the cloister 
 or the throne; but that if he valued the 
 latter, to meet him at Copenhagen. The 
 czarevitch wrote that he would come ; but 
 his priestly counsellors suggested to him 
 that it might be dangerous to put himself 
 into the hands of a provoked and vindictive 
 father. Acting upon this sinister advice, he 
 resolved on a step of the most suspicious 
 and fatal kind. Drawing a considerable 
 sum of money from Prince MentschikoflP, 
 under the pretext of paying the expenses of 
 his journey to his father, he departed ; but, 
 on reaching the borders of Livonia, took 
 the road to Vienna, and threw himself on 
 the protection of the emperor, Charles VI., 
 at whose court he trusted to remain until 
 the death of the czar. 
 
 The emperor was displeased at a step 
 which, if he countenanced, would place him 
 in a false position with respect to a powerful 
 neighbour. He would not keep Alexis at 
 his court; and, as he could not deny him 
 the shelter he sought, sent him to a fortress 
 in the Tyrol, from which Alexis' went, under 
 a feigned name, to the castle of St. Elmo at 
 Naples. The czar traced the fugitive, and 
 sent M. Tolstoi, a privy councillor, and 
 Roman zoff, a captain of the guards, to him 
 with a letter. This communication, dated 
 from Spa, July 10th, 1717, ran as fol- 
 lows : — " I now write to you, and for the 
 last time, to let you know that you had best 
 comply with my will, which Tolstoi and 
 RomanzofF will make known to you. If 
 you obey me, I assure you, and I promise 
 before God, that I will not punish you ; so 
 far from it, that if you retm*n, I will love 
 you better than ever. But if you do not, 
 by virtue of the power I have received from 
 God, as your father, I pronounce against 
 you my eternal curse ; and as your sove- 
 reign, I assure you, I shall find ways to 
 punish you ; in which I hope, as my cause 
 is just, Ciod will take it in hand, and assist 
 
 me in revenging it. Remember further, 
 that I never used compulsion with you. 
 Was I under any obligation to leave you to 
 your own option? Had I been for forcing 
 you, was not the power in my hand ? It 
 was but to speak the word, and I should 
 have been obeyed." Alexis was induced to 
 return, in compliance with the wishes of his 
 father — a circumstance to which it seems he 
 was led by the persuasions of his mistress, 
 Aphrosina, who had been bribed by Tolstoi 
 to exert her influence over him to that 
 efi'ect. 
 
 Alexis reached Moscow on the 13th of 
 February, 1718, and the very day of his 
 arrival he went and paid his respects to his 
 father, and had a long private interview 
 with him. The citizens believed that a 
 reconciliation had taken place between the 
 father and the son, and that everything was 
 forgotten. But the next morning they 
 were startled by the deep notes of the great 
 bell of Moscow, which tolled solemnly ; and 
 by seeing the regiments of guards under 
 arms. The members of the senate, and the 
 nobles of the highest rank, were summoned 
 to meet the czar at the castle; and the 
 bishops, archimandrites, and professors of 
 divinity, met in the cathedral. When these 
 solemn preliminaries M^ere over, Alexis was 
 brought before his father, deprived of his 
 sword, and a prisoner ! In this circnm- 
 stance the czar appears to have been guilty 
 of a breach of faith, as he had promised to 
 pardon his son if the latter would but 
 return and submit himself. Alexis had 
 returned, and instead of procuring the 
 pardon and tenderness which had been 
 promised, found himself under arrest. 
 This event has created a strong feeling 
 against the czar in the minds of many 
 historic writers, who have done their 
 utmost to blacken his character, as though 
 he was the offender in this painful case. 
 Up to this point he had exhibited more for- 
 bearance than could have been expected 
 from a man of his impulsive and violent 
 nature, and he deserves rather the compas- 
 sion, than the censure of the world. It was 
 no small crime to set at nought a father's 
 love — to practise year after year upon his 
 heart — to exhibit the blackest ingratitude — 
 and to torture such a monarch with the 
 fear that all his labours for the advancement 
 of a great empire would be trampled into 
 the dust by a bigoted and triumphant suc- 
 cessor, who ATOuld openly rejoice over a 
 parent's grave amid the acclamations of 
 
 179 
 
PROCEEDINGS AGAINST ALEXIS.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1718. 
 
 servile and ignorant priests and low disso- 
 lute fellows, who would deli^jht in rending 
 to pieces that growing civilisation which 
 their base natures could not comprehend. 
 Certainly, in causing the arrest of his son, 
 the tortured father broke his word; but it 
 is difficult to censure this inconsistency in 
 the conduct of a distracted monarch. 
 
 Alexis, on being brought as a prisoner 
 into the presence of his father, threw him- 
 self at his feet, and with a flood of tears 
 presented to him a paper, in which he ac- 
 knowledged his offences, declaimed himself 
 unworthy of the succession, and only soli- 
 •cited his life. The czar raised the ingrate, 
 iind taking him into an adjoining cabinet, 
 questioned him as to his ad^dsers, or rather 
 Ms accomplices, in what he regarded as 
 an incomplete and baffled conspiracy, de- 
 claring that if he concealed anything re- 
 lating to his escape, his head should answer 
 for it. 
 
 Peter then returned with his son into the 
 -council-chamber, where the czar read a public 
 declaration, in which he reproached the 
 prince with his indolence and his dissolute 
 habits ; for his intimacy with those who ad- 
 vocated ancient abuses; for his bad conduct 
 to his wife, and his violation of conjugal 
 faith, by forming a connection dui'ing her 
 lifetime with a woman of low birth ; and for 
 going to Vienna, and placing himself under 
 the protection of the emperor, by which he 
 had slandered his father,. declaring that his 
 life was not safe in Russia unless Jie re- 
 nounced the succession, and even going so 
 iar as to desire the emperor openly to defend 
 iiim by force of arms. 
 
 After these charges the czar proceeded to 
 pass the following sentence of deposition 
 against the offender: — "Such was the 
 manner in which our son returned ; and 
 though his flight and his calumnies de- 
 served death, those crimes our fatherly 
 affection forgives. But his notorious un- 
 worthiness and immorality will not allow 
 us, in conscience, to leave him the succes- 
 sion to the empire ; it being too manifest that 
 his conduct would subvert the glory of the 
 nation, and occasion the loss of all the 
 provinces recovered by our arms. Our 
 subjects would be extremely to be pitied; 
 since, leaving them under such a successor, 
 would be plunging them into a condition 
 much worse than any that they have ever 
 experienced. Accordingly, by our paternal 
 power, in virtue of which, according to the 
 laws of our empire, every private subject of 
 180 
 
 ours can at pleasure disinherit a son, and 
 pursuant to our prerogative as sovereign, 
 and in regard to the welfare of our do- 
 minions, we for ever deprive our said son, 
 Alexis, of succeeding after us to the throne 
 of Russia, on account of his crimes and 
 unworthiness ; even though not a single 
 person of our family should exist at the 
 time of our decease. And we constitute, 
 appoint, and declare, in the want of a mor 
 aged successor, our second son, Peter,* 
 young as he is, successor to the said throne 
 after us. Accursed be our son Alexis, if 
 ever, at any time, he shall claim the said 
 succession, or go about to procure it. We 
 also require our faithful subjects that, pur- 
 suant to this appointment and our will, 
 they acknowledge and consider our said 
 son Peter as our lawful successor, and that 
 they confirm the same by oath at the altar 
 on the holy gospels, and kissing the cross. 
 And all those who shall, at any time what- 
 ever, oppose this our will, and dare to con- 
 sider our son Alexis as successor, or assist 
 him to that end, we declare traitors to us 
 and to their country ; and we have ordered 
 these presents to be everywhere published, 
 that no person may plead ignorance." 
 
 After this document had been read, the 
 prince signed an act of renunciation, in 
 which he acknowledged his exclusion to be 
 just, on account of his unworthiness, and 
 took an oath to submit himself in every 
 particular to his father's Mill. The czar 
 then proceeded to the cathedral, where 
 these documents were read to the assembled 
 ecclesiastics, who testified their approbation 
 by affixing their signatures to copies of 
 them. An oath recognising the renuncia- 
 tion and order of succession, was afterwards 
 administered to the army and navy, and to 
 every subject of the czar. 
 
 It is natural to suppose that the dis- 
 graced and disinherited Alexis was now set 
 at liberty; but such was not the case. The 
 czar had solemnly called God to witness, 
 that if his sou would return to Moscow, he 
 would not only pardon him, but even love 
 him better than ever. The extorted renun- 
 ciation might be justified on the ground of 
 political expediency ; but by his submission 
 in this respect, Alexis had purchased his 
 pardon and his freedom. These were his 
 right, as he had not committed any new 
 offence to justify the revocation of his 
 father's promise of mercy. Yet, instead of 
 
 ♦ Son of the empress Catherine; but who died 
 15th April, 1719. 
 
A.D. 1718.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [examination of ALEXIS. 
 
 obtaining his freedom, he was led away into 
 close confinement, where no one but the 
 agei\ts of the czar were permitted to ap- 
 proach him. In this condition the dejected 
 Alexis underwent a second examination, 
 first by his father, and secondly by com- 
 missioners. Peter felt that he had no ordi- 
 nary difficulty to deal with; and he feared 
 that Alexis, if set at liberty, migjht again 
 become the tool of the factious party which 
 had already poisoned his mind against the 
 improvements of his father. Thus, in the 
 event of the czar's death, the prince would 
 probably be induced to revoke his renun- 
 ciation of the crown, and a servile war 
 might ensue, in which the recent reforms 
 might be overthrown. Again Peter felt 
 the necessity of crushing the disaffection of 
 which the weak prince was the instrument 
 and the centre, by ascertaining the names 
 of his ill-advisers, and punishing them as 
 conspirators, if their offence could be 
 brought under such a term. The old party 
 yet possessed a power in the state, and the 
 czar resolved to administer such a correc- 
 tion as should strike its adlierents with 
 a salutary terror. 
 
 To oljtain the necessary information for 
 this proceeding, the czar had placed his 
 son in confinement, and subjected him to a 
 constant inquisition, under a threat that he 
 should be punished with death if he con- 
 cealed or misstated any facts that were 
 known to him. The mind of the miserable 
 prince was still further weakened by the 
 influence of terror, and he seems to have 
 attempted to save his life by making such 
 confessions as he thought were desired. 
 
 One sul)ject on which the prince was 
 questioned, was concerning a letter written 
 from St. Petersburg, after the flight of the 
 prince Alexis, by M. Beyer, the emperor's 
 resident there. The substance of it was, 
 that a mutiny was in progress in the Rus- 
 sian army in Mecklenburg, and that the 
 officers talked of sending Catherine and her 
 infant son to the prison wliere the re- 
 pudiated czarina was confined, and of 
 placing Alexis upon his father's throne. 
 There had been a sedition in the Russian 
 troops alluded to, and though speedily sup- 
 pressed, it gave an air of probability to the 
 design spoken of in the letter. Yet, if this 
 design existed, the prince was not impli- 
 cated in it, nor was the letter addressed to 
 him ; he had only received a copy of it, sent 
 from Vienna. Still the czar put this ques- 
 tion to the prince — " When you 5aw, by 
 
 Reyer's letter, that there was a revolt in 
 the Mecklenburg army, you was glad of it. 
 I apprehend you had some view, and tha^" 
 you would have declared for the rebels even 
 in my lifetime?" This was interrogating 
 the prince as to his secret sentiments, 
 which, if they may be owned to a father 
 who, by his counsels, would rectify them, 
 may be concealed from a judge, who is to 
 determine only from attested facts. The 
 hidden sentiments of the heart are not 
 within the cognizance of a court of judica- 
 ture. Alexis might have concealed or dis- 
 owned his thoughts ; but, with an inex- 
 plicable infatiiation, he answered in writing, 
 " Had the rebels invited me in your life- 
 time, I should probably have joined them, 
 had they been strong enough." 
 
 By this strange and. most imnecessary 
 confession, elicited by a mode adverse to 
 the judicial proceedings of the most en- 
 lightened countries of Europe, Alexis fur- 
 nished the ground of a charge of treason 
 against him. But other evidence existed, 
 of a kind calculated to criminate the now 
 bewildered prince. The rough draught of 
 a letter, written by him from Vienna to the 
 senators and archbishops of Russia, was dis- 
 covered amongst his papers. It contained 
 this passage — "The continual injuries which 
 I have undeservedly sufi'ered, have obliged 
 me to quit my country. It was very nar- 
 rowly I escaped being shut up in a convent; 
 they who have confined my mother wero 
 about using me in the same manner. I am 
 under the protection of a great prince, until 
 it please God that I may return to my 
 country. It is my desire you will not for- 
 sake me at present." The concluding 
 words, at present, which might be supposed 
 to cover some treasonable project, were 
 drawn through with a pen — afterwards re- 
 stored — then again crossed out ; which suffi- 
 ciently showed the writer to he in a state 
 of perturbation; giving himself up to his 
 resentment one minute, and repenting of 
 it the next. Moreover, this letter never 
 reached its destination, as it was inter- 
 cepted by the court of Vienna, M'hich had 
 no intention of embroiling itself in a dis- 
 pute with that of Russia. 
 
 Several witnesses were brought forward, 
 whose depositions proved the sullen oppo- 
 sition and the hostile mind which Alexis 
 entertained towards his father ; but they 
 proved nothing of a more criminal nature. 
 A man named Afajiassief maintained that, 
 on one occasion, he heard the prince de- 
 
 181 
 
SEVERITY OF THE CZAR.] 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1718. 
 
 dare — " I will say something to the bishops, 
 and they will repeat it to the priests, and 
 the priests will tell it to their parishioners, 
 and I shall be placed upon the throne, even 
 though it were against my will." His own 
 mistress, Aphrosina, gave evidence of a 
 similar kind. But, observes Voltaire, "none 
 of the accusations were very precise. In- 
 stead of a digested plan, a connected in- 
 trigue, a conspiracy, or an association, and 
 still less any preparatives, here was only a 
 discontented, unruly son, complaining of his 
 father, flying from his presence, and even 
 wishing for his death. But this son was 
 heir to the greatest monarchy of our hemis- 
 phere; and, in his situation, no fault was 
 small." 
 
 The mother of Alexis, and his sister, the 
 Princess Mary, were implicated in these 
 proceedings. The prince was charged with 
 consulting them respecting his flight ; and 
 the Bishop of Rostof, who was in the con- 
 fidence of all three, on being arrested, de- 
 posed that the imprisoned princesses had 
 expressed some hopes of a change which 
 would set them at liberty ; and that it was 
 by their advice that the prince fled into 
 Germany, instead of joining his father at 
 Copenhagen. It must be admitted, that the 
 examination was conducted iu an inquisi- 
 torial and merciless manner. Everything 
 was collected that could in any way tell 
 against the prince, and assist in composing 
 a charge of constructive treason against 
 him. Thus, a priest, named Jacques, was 
 seized and put to the torture, with the ob- 
 ject of wringing from him any secrets which 
 the prince might have poured into his ear 
 during the solemn confidence of the con- 
 fessional. Under these circumstances, the 
 priest acknowledged that Alexis had accused 
 himself before God of having wished his 
 father's death, to which he (the confessor) 
 had responded, " God will forgive you ; it is 
 no more than what we all wish." The 
 spectacle of a confessor accusing his peni- 
 tent was a strange one. All proofs derived 
 from auricular confessions are, by the canons 
 of the church, not to be received in a court 
 of justice. Such statements are regarded as 
 secrets between God and the penitent ; this 
 rule and belief holds equally in the Greek 
 and Roman chui'ches. But Peter con- 
 sidered that the welfare of the empire was 
 concerned, and he conducted his inquiries 
 rather in the temper of a wronged and un- 
 forgiving parent, than with the dignified 
 calmness and rigid impartiality of a judge. 
 182 
 
 The czar appears to have thought that 
 sufficient was proved against the prince, not 
 only to justify the reversal of the promise of 
 pardon extended to him, but even to make 
 it expedient to place him on his trial. But 
 first, Peter wreaked his vengeance on 
 the misleaders of his wretched son. Two 
 bishops, two nobles, and fifty priests were 
 put to death, and their heads exhibited in a 
 ghastly circle around the scaffold. During 
 this period, the public excitement was 
 greatly increased by Moscow being declared 
 in a state of siege, and no citizen permitted 
 to leave it under pain of death. 
 
 When Peter had made a terrible example 
 of the bigots whose influence had corrupted 
 and ruined his son, he took the captive 
 prince to St. Petersburg, where, four months 
 afterwards, he was subjected to fresh ex- 
 aminations. At jMoscow he had been ques- 
 tioned as to what communications had passed 
 between him and the emperor at Vienna. 
 That potentate had not admitted the prince 
 to his presence ; but the latter had applied 
 to Count Schonbron, a lord of the bed- 
 chamber, who said, " The emperor will not 
 forsake you ; and that, at the proper season, 
 after your father's death, he will assist you 
 with an armed force to ascend the throne." 
 " My answer was," added the prince, " that 
 is not what I ask. All I desire is, that the 
 emperor will be pleased to grant me his 
 protection." On the resumption of the in- 
 terrogations at St. Petersburg, this point 
 was revived, and a rigid inquiry instituted 
 into all particulars concerning it. Whether 
 the prince had forgotten his former state- 
 ment, or whether, in his disordered state of 
 mind, he had gradually accustomed himself 
 to believe in the truth of assertions which 
 were constantly put before him in the shape 
 of affirmative queries, or whether the answer 
 was merely extorted from his fears, cannot 
 positively be determined. Certain it is, that 
 he now made a statement, in writing, which 
 greatly differed from his first simple and 
 highly probable explanation. It ran thus : — 
 " Intending in nothing to imitate my father, 
 I sought to obtain the succession by any 
 means whatever. I was for having it by 
 foreign assistance; and if I had got my ends, 
 and the emperor had done what he promised 
 me, to procure the crown of Russia, even by 
 open force, I would have spared nothing to 
 have secured myself in the succession. For 
 instance, had the emperor asked me, in 
 return, some of my country's troops for 
 service against any of his enemies, or large 
 
A.D. 1718.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [trial of ALEXIS. 
 
 sums of mone}', I would have willingly done 
 ever3'thing he Avished, even to the giving 
 great presents to his ministers and generals. 
 I would, at ray own expense, have main- 
 tained the auxiliary troops with which he 
 Avould have supplied me, to put me in pos- 
 session of the crown of Russia; and, in 
 short, I would have refrained from nothing 
 to have accomplished ray object." 
 
 This deposition has every appearance of 
 having been extorted from the prince by 
 threats, or drawn from him by hopes of 
 pardon. It has also an air of falsehood ; 
 for it directly contradicts the former state- 
 ment on the same subject, made by the 
 prince at Moscow'. This discrepancy seems 
 to have been fatal to the cause of the dis- 
 tracted Alexis. The czar had commanded 
 him to make a full confession of the names 
 of all the accomplices of his elopement; 
 and, from this statement, it was certain the 
 prince had been guilty of prevarication, if 
 not of concealment. It would, indeed, 
 have been no more than honourable to sup- 
 press the names of those persons who were 
 in his confidence ; for to disclose them, was 
 but to send these unhappy men to the 
 scaffold ; yet it was none the less a disobe- 
 dience to the commands of the czar, and a 
 crime in the sight of that inflexible parent. 
 Peter resolved to punish his son for these 
 suppressions ; to bring him before a solemn 
 tribunal, composed of the great officers of 
 state, the judges, and the bishops ; to charge 
 him with high treason, and to leave the de- 
 cision of the case in their hands. 
 
 It is not easy to sanction this severe and 
 painful resolve. The conduct of the czai* 
 has found many to condemn, and but few 
 to apologise for it. Though we must disap- 
 prove of Peter's proceedings, we cannot join 
 in the vehemence of invective that has been 
 
 * Bell, in his critical and reflective work on Russia, 
 has the following remarks on these opinions of the 
 great French writer; — " It would hardly lead to any 
 profitable conclusion to discuss the subtle doctrine 
 which a modern historian has laid down in reference 
 to this extraordinary trial. If the question really 
 lay between the life of one individual and the safety 
 of an empire, political expediency would pronounce 
 a sentence that would be irreconcilable with Chris- 
 tian equity. This is the only ground upon which 
 the conduct of Peter will admit of justification — if, 
 indeed, there be any justification for making a state 
 necessity paramount to domestic obligations, and 
 those immutable principles of justice which regulate 
 the punishment by the measure of the offence. But 
 we must not venture to judge of the actions of this 
 monarch by a reference either to the laws of any 
 other nation, or to any abstract code of right and 
 wrong. He was the apostle of a mighty reformation. 
 
 used against him. Voltaire has placed both 
 aspects of the case in what we regard as a 
 tolerably impartial light ; and we cannot do 
 better than quote his sentiments upon it. 
 He observes — " In this last interrogation 
 Alexis says what he believes he should have 
 done in case of a contest for his inheritance ; 
 an inheritance which he had not judicially 
 renounced before his journey to Vienna and 
 Naples. Now we see him deposing a 
 second time, not what he has done, and 
 what may be made obnoxious to the rigour 
 of the law, but what he fancies he might 
 one day have done ; Avhich of course comes 
 not within the cognizance of any coui't of 
 justice. We see him accusing himself twice 
 of secret thoughts which he might have had 
 hereafter. The whole world does not afford 
 a single instance of a man tried and con- 
 demned for transitory ideas starting up in 
 his mind, and never communicated to any 
 one living. There is not a court of justice 
 in Europe, where a man accusing himself of 
 a criminal thought, would be minded ; and 
 it is said that God himself does not punish 
 them, unless accompanied with a deter- 
 mination of the will. To these considera- 
 tions, however natural, it may be answered 
 that Alexis, by his concealing several of the 
 accomplices of his elopement, had given his 
 father a right to punish him. His pardon 
 was annexed to a general confession ; and 
 this he did not make till it was too late. 
 In fine, after such a procedure, it did not 
 seem possible, according to human nature, 
 that Alexis would ever pardon a brother for 
 whose sake he had been disinherited ; and 
 it was said — ' Better a delinquent be punished, 
 than a whole empire endangered.' The 
 rigour of justice also corresponded with 
 reasons of state."* 
 
 The tribunal summoned by the stern 
 
 He stood alone against the prejudices, the ancient 
 customs, and the superstitions of his subjects. Had 
 he observed a strict system of morals in legislation, 
 and in his heroic resistance to the popular will ; or, 
 rather, had he not constantly sacrificed minor con- 
 siderations of that nature in his efforts to accomplish 
 the great objects to which he dedicated his life, he 
 certainly never would have succeeded in reclaiming 
 Russia from the' state of barbarism in which he 
 found her, and linking her in spirit, in knowledge, 
 and by national treaties, to the states of Europe. 
 With reference, however, to the case of the unfortu- 
 nate Prince Alexis, the historian is spared the pain- 
 ful task of analysing the mere legal propriety of the 
 proceedings adopted by the czar ; for, by the law of 
 Russia, the sovereign, in common with all parents, 
 possessed the dangerous, but incontestable, right of 
 life or death of his son. Peter, therefore, did not 
 infringe the law of the country. He calmly availed 
 
 183 
 
TRIAL OF ALEXIS.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1718. 
 
 father for the trial of his son for high 
 treason, met on the 24th of June, 1718. 
 The court presented a solemn spectacle. 
 The criminal, -^-asted, haggard, and utterly 
 subdued from mental excitement and im- 
 prisonment, was so changed that even his 
 friends scarcely recognised in him the once 
 wild and profligate czarevitch. On the 
 other hand was the accuser, who, crushing 
 in his bosom the emotions of parental feel- 
 ing, stood there to arraign his son. The 
 robust frame of the czar stooped slightly 
 from the weight of years and care ; but his 
 stern face and eagle eye were stamped with 
 the expression of judicial rigour. On the 
 faces of the solemn and in part venerable 
 auditory, sat looks of expectancy, pain, and 
 pity. 
 
 After the preliminary proceedings of the 
 court had been passed over, the czar com- 
 menced a narrative of the ofl'ences of his son ; 
 and having detailed them, he added that his 
 own joy in the success of his arms and 
 internal reforms, was overbalanced by the 
 deep sorrow he experienced in consequence 
 of tlie profligate conduct of the prince. He 
 then continued in the following strain : — 
 " Though by all laws, human and divine, 
 and especially by those of Russia, which 
 exclude all interposition of the civil power 
 between father and son, even among private 
 persons, we have a full and suflicieut power 
 of sentencing our son according to his 
 crimes and our will, without consulting the 
 opinions of any persons whatsoever ; yet, 
 as men are not so clear-sighted in their 
 own afi'airs as in those of others, and as the 
 most skilful and experienced physicians 
 trust not to their own judgment concerning 
 themselves; so, fearing lest I should bring 
 some sin on my conscience, I state my case 
 to you, and require a remedy. For if, igno- 
 rant of the nature of my distemper, I should 
 go about to cure it by my own ability, the 
 consequence may be eternal death ; seeing 
 that I have sworn on the judgments of God, 
 and have in writing promised my son his 
 pardon, provided he tells me the truth ; and 
 afterwards confirmed that promise with my 
 mouth. Though he has broke his promise, 
 yet, that I may not in anything depart 
 from my obligations, I desire you to con- 
 
 himself of the fatal jurisdiction M'hich was reposed 
 in his hands. Posterity will not accuse the monarch 
 of having strained any legal principle, or of having 
 prevented any legal right, to achieve his purpose ; 
 but it will unhesitatingly condemn the father for 
 having resorted to a prerogative which he was not 
 184 
 
 sider this afl'air with the greatest attention, 
 to see what he has deserved. Do not flatter 
 me, or fear that, should he deserve only a 
 slight punishment, and you deliver your 
 opinion accordingly, you will offend me ; 
 for I swear to you by the great God, and by 
 his judgments, that you have nothing at all 
 to apprehend. Let it not give you uneasi- 
 ness that you are to try your sovereign's 
 son; but do justice without any respect of 
 persons, and destroy not both your souls 
 and mine. Lastly, let not our conscience 
 have anything to reproach us with on the 
 terrible day of judgment, and let not our 
 country be hurt." 
 
 The czar having delivered this address to 
 the judges, transmitted another to the 
 clergy, which concluded with these observa- 
 tions : — " Though this case does not come 
 within the spiritual, but rather the civil, 
 jurisdiction, and we have this day brought 
 it before the secular court ; yet, recollecting 
 that passage in the Word of God which re- 
 quires us to consult the heads and elders of 
 the church, that we may be informed in the 
 will of Heaven, and being anxious of re- 
 ceiving all possible instruction on so impor- 
 tant an occasion, we desire of you, the 
 bishops and the Avhole ecclesiastical power, 
 as propounders of the Word of God, not to 
 prouounce any judgment in this case, but 
 to examine it, and give us your opinions 
 according to the sacred oracles, from which 
 we may be best instructed as to the punish- 
 ment our son deserves ; which opinions you 
 will deliver to us in writing under your 
 hands, so that, being riglitly informed 
 therein, we may not lay any burden upon 
 our conscience. We therefore repose im- 
 plicit confidence in you, that, as guardians 
 of the divine laws, as faithful pastors of the 
 Christian flock, and as promoters of your 
 country's good, you will act with dignity 
 suited to your station ; and we conjure you, 
 by that dignity and the holiness of the 
 functions you discharge, to proceed without 
 fear or dissimulation.^' 
 
 The clergy delivered their response to 
 this solemn appeal on the 1st of July, 
 After a preamble, stating that the case did 
 not come within the scope of ecclesiastical 
 jurisdiction, followed several texts from 
 
 enforced to employ, and which it would have well 
 become him to have relinquished. He was superior 
 to his age, but of a severe temper, and not always 
 magnanimous in the exercise of those powers with 
 which he was invested by nature and by his posi- 
 tion." 
 
A.D. 1718.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [condemnation of ALEXIS. 
 
 Scripture, having reference both to the exe- 
 cution of justice and the beauty of mercy. 
 They, however, drew particular attention to 
 the passage in Leviticus, in which it is said, 
 that M'hoever curseth his father or mother 
 shall be put to death ; and to a verse in 
 the gospel of St. Matthew, which gives the 
 sanction of Christianity to this rigid Judaical 
 law. After these and similar citations, the 
 document concluded with these remarkable 
 words : — " If liis majesty is inclined to 
 punish the delinquent according to his 
 actions and the measure of his guilt, he has 
 before him examples from the Old Testa- 
 ment. If he be inclined to show mercy, he 
 has the pattern of Christ himself, kindly 
 receiving the penitent prodigal ; dismissing 
 the woman taken in adultery, who, by the 
 law, was to be stoned ; and delighting in 
 mercy more than in sacrifice. He has like- 
 wise the example of David, who was solici- 
 tous for the safety of his son Absalom, 
 although he had rebelled against him ; who 
 recommended him to the commanders of 
 his army when they went forth to give him 
 battle, saying, 'Spare my son Absalom!' 
 The father was for showing mercy ; but 
 divine justice did not spare the ofiFender. 
 The czar's heart is in the hands of God; let 
 him choose that to which God shall incline 
 him." 
 
 The merciful tendency of this answer has 
 drawn down considerable admiration upon 
 the body from whom it emanated. Even 
 Voltaire has a sentence of generous com- 
 mendation upon them in consequence. 
 Our judgment, however, rather coincides 
 with that of another writer, who arrives at 
 a very different conclusion with regard to 
 the merit to be attributed to the clergy in 
 this matter. " If," says he, " they had 
 been sincerely disposed to impress upon the 
 mind of the czar a merciful construction of 
 the case, and if they had been sufficiently 
 courageous to have tendered such an 
 opinion unreservedly, it is quite clear that 
 their answer would have been very dif- 
 ferently prepared. The fact seems to be, 
 that they were afraid of committing them- 
 selves to one side or the other; and that 
 in order to escape all responsibility, they 
 placed a sufficient number of examples, 
 bearing both ways, before the czar, so that 
 whatever course his majesty might ulti- 
 mately pursue, should be justified by satis- 
 factory precedents. The reforms that Peter 
 had effected in the church had already ren- 
 dered the clergy subservient to his will. 
 2 B 
 
 They felt that they were no longer an inde- 
 pendent body. Their arrogance, which for- 
 merly had kept the throne in awe, was now 
 sunk into servility ; and it is therefore not 
 surprising, that, thus called upon to give an 
 opinion on a question respecting which it 
 is scarcely assuming too much to say that 
 the czar's mind was already made up, or 
 had, at all events, exhibited so strong a 
 feeling against the prince as to warrant 
 them in believing that he desired to punish 
 and not to spare his son — it is not surprising 
 that they should have submitted so equi- 
 vocal a statement to his majesty. But it is 
 a source of no slight surprise, that any 
 commentators on this event should have 
 traced to the Christian benevolence of those 
 ecclesiastics a document which was dictated 
 by their fears.'* 
 
 On the day in which the clergy delivered 
 their opinion to the czar, the Prince Alexis 
 was examined for the last time. He then 
 signed a written confession, in which he 
 acknowledged himself to have been a bigot 
 in his youth, to have kept the company of 
 monks and priests, and drunk intemperately 
 with them ; to have received from them 
 those impressions which first alienated him 
 from the duties of his condition, and even 
 created in him a hatred of his father's 
 person. He further admitted, that he 
 would have used any means whatever to 
 have secured the succession. 
 
 Several days elapsed ; and then, on the 
 5th of July, the ministers, senators, mili- 
 tary and civil officers, whom the czar had 
 constituted the judges of his son, delivered 
 their judgment. The document stated, 
 that having put the case to the vote, they 
 unanimously, and without any contradic- 
 tion, agreed and resolved that the czare- 
 vitch, Alexis, deserves death for his many 
 capital crimes and offences against his 
 sovereign and father. After an enumera- 
 tion of these, the document concluded : — 
 " It is with grieved hearts and eyes full of 
 tears, that we, being servants and subjects, 
 pronounce this sentence, seeing that, as such, 
 it does not belong to us to take cognizance 
 of so momentous a concern ; and especially 
 to pronounce a sentence against the son of 
 our sovereign and most bountiful lord, the 
 czar. However, it being his will that we 
 should pass our judgment, we by these pre- 
 sents declare our real opinion, and we pro- 
 nounce this condemnation with a clear and 
 Christian con!<cience, as we shall answer for 
 it before the just and impartial tribunal of 
 
 185 
 
DEATH OF THE CZAREVITCH.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1718. 
 
 Otod. Submitting, withal, this sentence and 
 condemnation to the supreme power, will, 
 and merciful revision of his czarish majesty 
 and most gracious sovereign/* This sentence 
 is open to the same censure as the opinion 
 of the clergy; it was not impartial. The 
 servile senators understood the wishes of 
 the czar, and they obeyed them. They 
 would willingly have spared the prince, but 
 they had a still stronger desire to please the 
 czar. 
 
 Sentence was pronounced on the 6th; 
 and on hearing it, the wretched Alexis was 
 seized with convulsions, and carried in a 
 state of insensibility from the court. The 
 next morning, the czar received word that 
 his son was dangerously ill, and implored to 
 see him. Peter, attended by the principal 
 oflBcers of his court, immediately went to 
 visit the miserable prince. During this 
 tragic interview, both father and son shed 
 tears. The condemned prince then asked 
 his father's pardon, which the latter gave 
 him. The czar took his leave ; but in the 
 evening a second message was sent, inform- 
 ing him that the prince was in mortal ex- 
 tremity ; but before the father could arrive 
 at the bedside of his son, Alexis was no 
 more. 
 
 There is nothing in these circumstances 
 inconsistent with the supposition that the 
 prince died a natural death ; but suspicions 
 to the contrary prevailed throughout Europe; 
 and the czar has been charged with the 
 shocking crime of murdering his own son ! 
 This charge has never been conclusively 
 refuted, nor definitely established, as we 
 think it must have been, had it been true. 
 Most historians have written on the sub- 
 ject with a palpable bias against the czar, 
 and an e^adent desire to believe him guilty 
 of so great a crime. The wildest, most im- 
 probable, and revolting stories were cir- 
 culated at the time, and Peter was said to 
 have personally put his son to death in 
 many different ways. According to one of 
 them, the czar first knouted, and then be- 
 headed the prince with his own hands; and 
 the head was so carefully sewed on to the 
 body again by a lady of the court, that 
 although the corpse lay in state during 
 four days, the mode of death was never 
 detected ! 
 
 Another narrative, though scarcely less 
 improbable, is entitled to more considera- 
 tion, because it is related on the authority 
 of a person who was in the service of the 
 czar, and, moreover, himself an actor in the 
 186 
 
 incident he describes. Captain Bruce, a 
 military officer in the service of Russia, 
 Prussia, and Great Britain, after alluding, 
 in his Memoirs, to the trial of Prince Alexis, 
 thus continues : — " The trial was begun on 
 the 25th of June, and continued to the 6th 
 of July, when the supreme court, with una- 
 nimous consent, passed sentence of death 
 upon the prince, but left the manner of it 
 to his majesty's determination. The prince 
 was brought before the court, his sentence 
 read to him, and he was reconveyed to his 
 prison in the fortress. On the next day his 
 majesty, attended by all the senators and 
 bishops, with several others of high rank, 
 went to the fort, and entered the apart- 
 ment where the czarevitch was kept pri- 
 soner. Some little time thereafter. Marshal 
 Weyde came out, and ordered me to go to 
 Mr. Beai'^s, the druggist, whose shop was 
 hard by, and tell him to make the potion 
 strong which he had bespoke, as the prince 
 Avas then very ill. When I delivered this 
 message to Mr. Bear, he turned quite pale, 
 and fell a shaking and trembling, and ap- 
 peared in the utmost confusion, which sur- 
 prised me so much, that I asked him what 
 was the matter with him ; but he was un- 
 able to return me any answer. In the 
 meantime the marshal himself came in, 
 much in the same condition with the drug- 
 gist, saying, he ought to have been more 
 expeditious, as the prince was very ill of an 
 apoplectic fit. Upon this the druggist de- 
 livered him a silver cup with a cover, which 
 the marshal himself carried into the prince's 
 apartments, staggering all the way he went 
 like one drunk. About half-an-houi* after, 
 the czar with all his attendants withdrew, 
 with very dismal countenances : and when 
 they went, the marshal ordered me to attend 
 at the prince's apartment; and in case of 
 any alteration, to inform him immediately 
 thereof. There were at that time two 
 physicians and two surgeons in waiting, 
 with whom and the officers on guard I 
 dined on what had been dressed for the 
 prince's dinner. The physicians were called 
 in immediately after to attend the prince, 
 who was struggling out of one convulsion 
 into another ; and, after great agonies, ex- 
 pired at five o'clock in the afternoon. I 
 went directly to inform the marshal, and he 
 went that moment to acquaint his majesty, 
 who ordered the corpse to be embowelled j 
 after which it was laid in a coffin covered 
 with black velvet, and a pall of rich gold 
 tissue spread over it; it was then carried 
 
A.D ]718.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE, [speculations concerning it. 
 
 out of the fort to the church of the Holy 
 Trinity, where the corpse lay in state till the 
 11th iu the evening, when it was carried 
 back to the fort, and deposited in the royal 
 burial vault, next the coffin of the princess, 
 his late consort; on which occasion, the 
 czar and czaritza, and the chief of the no- 
 bility, followed in procession. Various were 
 the reports that were spread concerning his 
 death. It was given out publicly, that on 
 hearing the sentence of death pronounced, 
 the dread thereof threw him into an apo- 
 plectic fit, of which he died. Very few be- 
 lieved he died a natural death ; but it was 
 dangerous for people to speak as they 
 thought. The ministers of the emperor and 
 the states of Holland were forbid the court 
 for speaking their minds too freely on this 
 occasion ; and upon complaint against them, 
 both were recalled."* 
 
 This strange, and to us incredible nar- 
 rative, is adopted by Leclerc, a French 
 writer, who was then at St. Petersburg, but 
 who is admitted to be careless in the selec- 
 tion of his facts. Had the czar resolved to 
 poison his son, would he have disclosed his 
 design to so many persons as this account 
 states he did, some one of whom would have 
 been certain, after the death of Peter, to 
 have revealed the secret ? It is scarcely less 
 than ridiculous, to suppose that the czar 
 should have sent a marshal of the empire to 
 the shop of a neighbouring druggist for a 
 draught of poison for the prince ! A man 
 of honour would scarcely have performed 
 an office fit only for a hangman ; nor would 
 tioo persons have been sent to the druggist's 
 
 * Captain Bruce adds the following passage eluci- 
 datory of the character of the prince. Though 
 entitled to no further confidence than the extract 
 above, it is certainly far more probable : — " Thus 
 died Prince Alexis, undoubted heir to that great 
 monarchy ; little regretted by people of rank, as he 
 always shunned their acquaintance and company. It 
 was said, the czar had taken uncommon pains in the 
 education of this prince, but all in vain ; indolent 
 and slovenly by nature, he kept the lowest of company, 
 with whom he indulged himself in all manner of vice 
 and debaucherj'. His father, to put a stop to this, sent 
 him abroad to see foreign courts, thinking thereby 
 to reclaim him, but all to no purpose ; on which he 
 ordered him to attend him in all his expeditions, 
 thereby to keep a watchful eye over him himself; but 
 the prince evaded this by continually pretending to 
 be sick, which might probably be the case, as he was 
 most part of his time drunk. The czar, at last, 
 thought to reclaim him by marrying him to some 
 foreign princess; what effect that had has been already 
 mentioned. After the death of his amiable princess, 
 his majesty ordered him to attend him in his expe- 
 dition to Germany ; and being on his journey, under 
 pretence of going to join him in Mecklenburg, he 
 
 for the poison, when one was sufficient. 
 Again, it is extremely improbable that the 
 four physicians and surgeons attending at 
 the bedside of the prince would, unless they 
 also were accomplices in the murder, have 
 permitted an unknown potion to be given 
 to their patient ; and quite impossible that 
 they would not have detected the symptoms 
 of poisoning. The only object to be gained 
 by the czar, if he had deprived his son of 
 life, was to avoid the odium which might 
 attach to him on account of his want of 
 parental emotion. Peter was not a man to 
 care much for the opinions of others ; but 
 had this been the case, his object was only 
 to be gained by the prince appearing to die 
 a natural death, and the fact of violence 
 being kept a profound secret. Yet, accord- 
 ing to this account, the czar had not only a 
 number of unnecessary accomplices, but the 
 murder was committed almost in public. 
 If Peter had, indeed, resolved upon violently 
 terminating the life of his son, it would have 
 been more political to have left him to the 
 axe of the executioner, than to have com- 
 mitted a crime which could scarcely have 
 escaped detection, and must for ever have 
 left the name of its author exposed to the 
 abhorrence of mankind. The objection, 
 that the pride of the czar would have pre- 
 vented him from sending his unworthy son 
 to the scaffold, has not, to our mind, the 
 weight which has sometimes been attributed 
 to it. Peter would not have felt disgraced 
 by having his name for ever associated with 
 that of the heroic and unbending Brutus, 
 The czar acted openly in the matter ; and, 
 
 fled privately, and sought the protection of his 
 brother-in-law, the emperor of Germany, whom he 
 endeavoured to engage in a war against his father. 
 It was made appear on his trial, that he threatened, 
 whenever he came to the throne, to overturn all his 
 father had done, declaring, that he would be re- 
 venged on Prince Mentschikoff and his sister-in-law, 
 by impaling them alive, as also the great chancellor, 
 Count Galatkin, and his son, for persuading him to 
 marry the Princess Wolfenbuttle ; that he would 
 send all his father's favourites into banishment, and 
 expel all foreigners out of the country; that he 
 would release his mother from confinement, and put 
 dame Catherine and her children in her place ; 
 after this he would form his court of people who had 
 the ancient manners and customs of Russia most at 
 heart, for he hated all innovations. Nothing could 
 have touched the czar more sensibly than threaten- 
 ing to overthrow all he had been doing for so many 
 years for the welfare and glory of his country, with 
 so much danger, toil, and labour, without ever 
 sparing his own person ; which made him say with 
 great emotion, that he would rather give his do- 
 minions to n worthv stranger, than be succeeded by 
 so worthless a son. 
 
 187 
 
STATEMENT OF THE CZ.A.R.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1718. 
 
 ■with a view to correct any misrepresenta- ' residing at the Russian court, has ever 
 
 tion of his conduct, caused a report of the 
 ■whole trial to be printed, and copies sent to 
 the various courts of Europe. It was ac- 
 companied by a letter from the czar, stating 
 the reasons which had induced him to bring 
 his son to trial, and giving the following 
 account of the last moments of the prince : — 
 *' While," said Peter, "we were debating 
 between the natural feelings of paternal 
 clemency and the duties we owed to the 
 security of our kingdom ; and while we were 
 pondering on what resolution we ought to 
 *ake in an aflFair of such difficulty and im- 
 portance, it pleased the Almighty God, by 
 his especial will and his just judgment, and 
 by his mercy, to deliver us out of that em- 
 barrassment, and to save our family and 
 kingdom from the shame and the dangers, 
 by abridging, yesterday, the life of our said 
 son Alexis, after an illness with which he 
 ■was seized as soon as he heard the sentence 
 of death pronounced against him. That 
 illness appeai'ed at first like an apoplexy ; 
 but he afterwards recovered his senses, and 
 received the holy sacrament as a Christian ; 
 and having desired to see us, we went to 
 him immediately, with all our councillors 
 and senators; and then he acknowledged 
 and sincerely confessed all his said faults 
 and crimes committed against us, with 
 tears, and all the marks of a true penitent ; 
 and begged our pardon, which, according to 
 Christian and paternal duty, we granted 
 him. After which, on the 7th of July, at 
 six in the evening, he surrendered his soul 
 to God." This account was received 
 throughout Europe as a satisfactory ex- 
 planation of the sudden death of the 
 prince; and it is certainly far more pro- 
 bable than the one given by Captain Bruce, 
 or the rumours that the unfortunate Alexis 
 was beheaded either by his own father or by 
 Marshal Weyde. An accusation has even 
 been brought against the amiable Catherine, 
 that she urged on Peter to destroy Alexis, 
 in order that her own son might succeed to 
 the throne. Lamberti, the writer who re- 
 lates this, also infers that Catherine poisoned 
 her husband Peter — a supposition notori- 
 ously in opposition to the known facts. Vol- 
 taire,who must have been well-informed upon 
 this point, remarks — " No foreign minister, 
 
 accused, or so much as suspected, Catherine 
 of having taken the least step against a 
 son-in-law from whom she had everything 
 to fear. If it is not said that she inter- 
 ceded for his pardon, all the memoirs of 
 that time, especially those of Count Basse- 
 witz, agree, that she pitied his misfortunes. 
 I have before me the memoirs of a public 
 minister, in which I find these very words ; 
 — ' I was present when the czar said to the 
 Duke of Holstein, that Catherine had en- 
 treated him to hinder sentence being pro- 
 nounced against the czarevitch ; only, said - 
 she, compel him to become a monk; as the 
 disgrace of a sentence of death will reflect • 
 on your grandson.' " 
 
 Had the czar acted with perfect good 
 faith to his unworthy and unfortunate son, 
 we should have said that his conduct, 
 though stern, was unimpeachable. To lose 
 the father in the patriot, is an act of noble- 
 ness. But patriotism should be pure in its 
 integrity, and perfectly free from reproach. 
 Peter violated a solemn promise of pardon 
 when he arrested his son ; and the reasons 
 he assigned for placing him upon his trial 
 were strained and insufficient. Whether 
 Peter, after the condemnation of Alexis, 
 anticipated the office of the executioner by 
 the administration of poison, must perhaps 
 for ever remain a mystery. For reasons 
 already assigned, we are inclined to believe 
 that such was not the case ; though it must 
 be admitted that the well-known ferocity of 
 the czar's character gives an air of remote 
 probability to the inference that he was 
 guilty of procuring the murder of his son. 
 But many writers have acted on this subject 
 in a manner as illogical as it is unjust. 
 They first argue that it is highly probable 
 the czar caused poison to be administered to 
 his son; then assume that he actually did 
 so; and conclude by heaping on the memory 
 of Peter that invective which he would 
 deserve if guilty. Even Count Segur, who 
 adopts this course, and luxuriates in a storm 
 of dramatic eloquence, based on so vmjust a 
 ground, observes — " But it must be owned 
 that the blood which was shed was not shed 
 in vain : the last hope of barbarism was 
 destroyed, and the regeneration of the Rus- 
 sians was secured." 
 
A.D. 1718.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [further reforms. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 DOMESTIC REFORMS ; DEATH OF CHARLES XII. ; RUSSIA HARASSES SWEDEN ; IMPOTENT INTERFERENCE 
 OF ENGLAND ; SUCCESSFUL MEDIATION OF FRANCE ; CONGRESS OF NEUSTADT, AND PEACE WITH SWEDEN ; 
 GREAT REJOICINGS IN RUSSIA ; CLIMAX OF THE GLORY OF PETKR ; THE SENATE BESTOW UPON HIM THE 
 TITLES OF GREAT, EMPEROR, AND FATHER ; PETER PUNISHES PUBLIC OFFICERS WHO HAVE BEEN GUILTT 
 OF CORRUPTION ; FINAL ABOLITION OF THE PATRIARCHATE ; THE CZAR COMPELS THE MONKS AND NUNS 
 TO ADOPT SOME USEFUL OCCUPATION ; THE CZAR's EXPEDITION TO PERSIA ; EXTENSION OF THE RUSSIAN 
 FRONTIER IN THAT DIRECTION; CORONATION OF THE EMPRESS; STRANGE CHARGE CONCERNING HER; 
 LAST ILLNESS AND DEATH OF PETER ; HIS CHARACTER AND PRESUMED POLICY. 
 
 The gloomy year (1718) which witnessed 
 the trial and death of Prince Alexis, was 
 yet distinguished by the number and extent 
 of the improvements the czar effected in 
 Russia. His mind was not engrossed by 
 the trouble which his son's misconduct had 
 brought upon him ; for he had in truth 
 become the father of the empire ; all the 
 inhabitants of which he regarded as his 
 family. The punishments he inflicted he 
 considered as sacrifices which a stern neces- 
 sity obliged him to offer up for the welfare 
 of the state. 
 
 Thus, in a year which was certainly one 
 of sadness and suffering, the czar appointed 
 a general police throughout the empire, 
 under control of an office at St. Petersburg. 
 Luxury in apparel and games of chance 
 were prohibited ; the streets cleared of 
 the swarms of beggars who used to infest 
 them ; and schools, almshouses, and hospitals 
 built and endowed. At St. Petersburg the 
 wealthy were compelled to erect houses of 
 a regular construction, the materials for 
 which the czar caused to be brought there 
 free of cost by such vessels and other con- 
 veyances as were returning empty from the 
 neighbouring localities. In this favourite 
 city the streets were paved and lighted with 
 lamps in imitation of those established at 
 Paris by Louis XIV. Regulations were 
 made for preserving order and cleanliness 
 in the streets, and for the speedy extinction 
 of fires. Weights and measures were fixed 
 and rendered uniform, and an erroneous 
 attempt was made to benefit the poor by 
 fixing the price of provisions. 
 
 Peter gave much attention to the promo- 
 tion of trade and manufactures ; improving 
 many of the latter, and creating new ones. 
 He went in person to give directions to the 
 managers of corn, powder, and saw-mills; 
 rope-yards, sail-cloth, and linen manufac- 
 tories, brick-kilns, and slate quarries. He 
 instituted a commercial court of justice, or 
 board of trade, of which, that no injustice 
 
 might be done to strangers, one-half were 
 natives, and the other foreigners. The czar 
 encouraged the production of cloths and 
 woollen stuffs by liberal bounties, in conse- 
 quence of which Moscow came to make 
 linen equal to that of Holland ; while at 
 St. Petersburg, the silk of Persia was manu- 
 factured as finely as at Ispahan. He 
 caused the mines to be worked with in- 
 creased energy, built the city of Ladoga, 
 and connected the great lake of that name 
 with the Neva, by means of canals and 
 sluices. At the making of this and another 
 canal in the same locality, the czar fre- 
 quently laboured with his own hands. He 
 measured the ground, and then mingling 
 with the labourers, threw up the earth into 
 a barrow, and wheeled it away himself. 
 This example was occasionally followed by 
 his courtiers ; and thus labour was dignified, 
 and the workmen stimulated to increased 
 exertion. At the same time he commis- 
 sioned a body of engineers to prepare cor- 
 rect maps of the whole empire, for the con- 
 venience of Russians, and the information of 
 the rest of Europe. 
 
 The conspiracy which had been originated 
 by the adventurer. Baron Goertz, had not 
 been abandoned. Latterly, the slight hos- 
 tilities the czar had undertaken against 
 Sweden, had been less with a view of in- 
 juring her than from a desire of compelling 
 her to purchase peace by the cession of the 
 provinces he had conquered. A congress 
 for the promotion of peace even took place ; 
 and there is every reason to suppose that its 
 conclusion would have been followed by an 
 alliance between Peter and Charles, who, in 
 conjunction with Cardinal Alberoni, in- 
 tended then to address themselves to carry 
 out certain schemes which, in the event of 
 their being successful, would have revolu- 
 tionised the face of Europe. We have men- 
 tioned that a part of this conspiracy was the 
 restoration of the Stuarts to the throne of 
 England. But Charles was not permitted 
 
 189 
 
DEATH OF CHARLES XII.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1718. 
 
 to light up the flames of war in this country. 
 On the evening of the 11th of December of 
 this eventful year (1718), he was killed 
 before the town of Frederickshall, in Nor- 
 way. A ball struck him on the right temple, 
 passed through his head, and, in an instant, 
 he was a disfigured corpse. Thus perished 
 this " heroic madman," in his thirty-seventh 
 year; who must, to quote the language of 
 his celebrated biographer, be considered 
 " rather an extraordinary than a great man, 
 and more worthy to be admired than imi- 
 tated.'^ Suspicions were very generally 
 entertained at the time, that Charles was 
 shot by one of his own officers, and not by 
 the enemy. Voltaire discredits them, and 
 says that the shot which struck Charles was 
 much too large to have entered a pistol, 
 which must have been the instrument used 
 if the king was really assassinated. Other 
 writers take a different view of the matter ; 
 and Dr. Clarke, the celebrated traveller, 
 who spared no trouble to ascertain the facts 
 of the case, observed — "That he (Charles) 
 was really assassinated, seems so clear, that 
 it is marvellous any doubt should be enter- 
 tained as to the fact ; and yet, with a view 
 to ascertain the truth as to the manner of 
 his death, every succeeding sovereign has 
 thought it right to open his sepulchre and 
 inspect his embalmed remains."* 
 
 It is said, that when the czar heard of 
 the death of his former rival, he shed tears, 
 and exclaimed — "My dear Charles, how 
 much I lament you!" If this grief was 
 really sincere, it found few to share it. 
 Sweden was glad to be rid of a man whose 
 restless excitement had brought her to the 
 verge of ruin. The senate insulted his 
 memory by seizing and beheading the crafty 
 Baron Goertz, to whom they attributed 
 many of the ill-deeds of Charles. The con- 
 spiracy for remodelling Europe in the inter- 
 ests of despots was thus blown to the winds, 
 and the contemplated alliance between 
 Russia and Sweden abandoned. Though 
 Ulrica Eleonora (the sister of Charles, and 
 new sovereign of Sweden) sought to heal 
 the wounds of her countiy by the repose 
 of peace, yet, instead of becoming the 
 ally of Russia, she entered into friendly 
 
 • " The character of this extraordinary man requires 
 no further illustration. We shall merely observe, 
 that whatever the admiration excited by his earlier 
 militarj' successes and his indomitable courage, he 
 was really a madman : that, as the cause of his 
 country's ruin (for, since his day, it has never been 
 more than a fourth-rate state in European affairs), 
 190 
 
 negotiations with England, which was only 
 not openly hostile to the czar. 
 
 Sweden sought for peace, and was ready 
 to make considerable sacrifices to obtain it. 
 Prussia and Denmark she disarmed by 
 large concessions, and she purchased from 
 George I. the protective presence of an 
 English fleet in the Baltic. But Russia 
 was the giant foe of Sweden ; and the terms 
 on which the czar was willing to grant 
 peace were extravagantly large. As Sweden 
 hesitated, Peter put a fleet to sea, and 
 threatened the coasts of that country. His 
 vessels even engaged a Swedish squadron, 
 captured a ship and two frigates, and drove 
 the rest into port. 
 
 At this period (1719) the English fleet 
 which George I. had promised for the pro- 
 tection of Sweden, made its appeai'ance in 
 the Baltic. Peter, who was serving with 
 his own ships as vice-admiral, sent a message 
 to Admiral Norris, who commanded the 
 English fleet, desiring to know whether he 
 came only as a friend to Sweden or as an 
 enemy to Russia. Norris answered, that as 
 yet he had no positive orders. This answer, 
 which might be interpreted as a threat, 
 rather incensed than intimidated Peter. 
 When, therefore, the English admiral shortly 
 afterwards sailed for Copenhagen, the Rus- 
 sian vessels made some descents on the 
 Swedish coast, even in the very neighbour- 
 hood of Stockholm, destroyed hundreds of 
 villages and castles, together with all the 
 copper and iron-works, and spread desola- 
 tion in eveiy direction. The neighbourhood 
 of the English fleet proved worse than use- 
 less. Admiral Norris, unauthorised to resent 
 the outrages of the Russians, was compelled 
 to let the English flag bear part of the dis- 
 grace thus heaped upon Sweden. The czar 
 showed his contempt of this impotent inter- 
 ference, by capturing and carrying off four 
 Swedish frigates, almost in sight of the 
 English fleet. We were said to have done 
 too much, if only mediators ; and too little, ■ 
 if enemies. 
 
 The severe inflictions which the Swede*; 
 suffered at the hands of the Russians, made 
 them solicit a suspension of arms, for the 
 purpose of concluding a peace. As English 
 
 he deserves the execration, not the applause, of man- 
 kind. If he was really assassinated, we cannot, ' 
 indeed, praise the deed or the doer, since both must 
 be held in everlasting odium ; but we may observe, ; 
 that no deed could have been so useful to Sweden, ' 
 or even to Europe." — Dunham's History of Den- 
 mark, Sweden, and Nortoay. 
 
A.D. 1721. 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [peace with SWEDEN. 
 
 interference had failed, Sweden now sought 
 the raedi.ation of France, and the Duke of 
 Orleans (the regent) succeeded in bringing 
 about the long-negotiated reconciliation. 
 Accordingly, a congress was held at Neu- 
 stadt, a small town in Finland, where the 
 czar had an army ready to overrun the 
 I country in the event of the terms he dic- 
 j I tated being rejected. Sweden was in no 
 I j condition to dispute with him, and nothing 
 i i was left to her but to consent to his propo- 
 ! sals. The peace of Neustadt was finally 
 ! signed on the 10th of September, 1721, and 
 I by it Peter retained possession of all the 
 provinces he had conquered, from Courland 
 to the extremity of the Gulf of Iceland, and 
 from thence through Kexholm and a narrow 
 slip of Finland ; leaving him undisputed 
 master of Livonia, Esthonia, Ingria, Carelia, 
 Wybourg, and the neighbouring isles; the 
 whole occupying a space of about 300 
 leagues in unequal breadths, and equal in 
 extent to a large kingdom. Great was the 
 satisfaction of the czar; and he wrote to 
 his plenipotentiaries — " You have drawn up 
 the treaty as if we had done it ourselves 
 and sent it to you to cause it to be signed 
 by the Swedes. This glorious event will be 
 ever present to our memory." 
 
 Peace, though not necessary to Russia, 
 was highly welcome both to the people and 
 the sovereign. The former were delighted 
 at the prospect of a relief, after twenty 
 years of incessant struggle and warfare. The 
 latter, now relieved from the necessity of 
 maintaining large armies on the borders of 
 Sweden, and at peace with those other na- 
 tions from whom he had any reason to ap- 
 prehend hostilities, hailed with gratification 
 that leisure which enabled him to devote 
 himself entirely to the reformation of his 
 empire, which, even amidst the occupations 
 of war, he had cultivated with such restless 
 solicitude. 
 
 This peace was regarded by the subjects of 
 the czar as the most glorious of his triumphs, 
 and it was celebrated by public festivities, 
 which, for their splendour and the enthu- 
 siasm with which they were received by the 
 people, surpassed anything of the kind that 
 had previously taken place in Russia. Peter, 
 touched by the joy and gratitude of the 
 people, granted a remission of all taxes due 
 to the royal treasury, and a pardon to all 
 prisoner's, except those confined for robbery, 
 murder, and high treason. Always the 
 teacher of his subjects, he also exhibited to 
 them the little sailing-vessel which, in his 
 
 young days, had suggested to him the idea 
 of building a navy. This was a striking 
 lesson on the results of industry and per- 
 severance. The czar had preserved this 
 little boat with affectionate care, and he 
 would sometimes amuse himself with de- 
 corating it and arming its miniature decks 
 with silver cannon. This period, indeed, 
 must be regarded as the climax of the glory 
 of this extraordinary man. The peace fes- 
 tivities were pi'olonged during a period of 
 fifteen days, and the senate took advantage 
 of the general happiness of the people to 
 confer on Peter the honourable titles of 
 Great, Emperor, and Father of his country. 
 The chancellor addressed him in the cathe- 
 dral, in the name of all the orders of the 
 state, after which the assembled senators 
 thrice shouted, " Long live our emperor and 
 our father" — shouts which were taken up 
 and heartily re-echoed by the people without. 
 The same day the foreign ministers at St. 
 Petersburg congratulated the czar on these 
 honours, and addressed him by his new title 
 of emperor, which was recognised by all the 
 courts of Europe, except that of Poland and 
 the pope ; the former being convulsed with 
 factions, and the latter sunk into an insig- 
 nificance which rendered its suffrage of very 
 little importance. When the rejoicings at 
 St. Petersburg were over, they were renewed 
 at Moscow, into which the czar made a 
 triumphal entry under decorated arches. 
 
 Yet, during this visit to Moscow, Peter 
 appointed a military commission to inquire 
 into the truth of certain complaints which 
 had been made against those entrusted with 
 the administration of affairs during his ab- 
 sence. Prince Gagarin, governor of Siberia, 
 was found guilty of having robbed his ma- 
 jesty's caravan from China, and of murder- 
 ing the persons by whom it was conducted, 
 by which and other crimes he had acquired 
 enormous wealth. Prince Mentschikoff, 
 (now the first subject of the empire). Prince 
 Volkonski (governor of Archangel), Admiral 
 Count Apraxin, and General Bruce, were 
 also convicted of peculation. Gagarin was 
 hanged, like Haman, on a gallows fifty 
 cubits high, and Volkonski was shot ; the 
 rest were let off with pecuniary fines and 
 castigation from the czar with his walking- 
 stick, which he never failed to use very 
 freely over the shoulders of any one he was 
 displeased with. As to Prince Mentschikoff, 
 he had so often been detected in peculation, 
 that the czar had come to regard him as an 
 incorrigible rogue, with whom, nevertheless, 
 
 191 
 
ABOLITIOJf OF THE PATRIARCHATE.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [ad. 1721. 
 
 he did not wish to part. On one occasion 
 the senate, who possessed many proofs of his 
 depredations, drew up a tabular statement 
 of them, and placed it on the table opposite 
 the czar's seat. Peter glanced at the paper, 
 and, discerning its contents, seemed to pay 
 no further attention to them. There it 
 remained, day after day, in the same con- 
 spicuous place ; until at length Count Tolstoi, 
 ■who was sitting in the senate beside the 
 czar, ventured to ask him what he thought 
 of that document. "Nothing," replied 
 Peter, "but that Mentschjkoff will be al- 
 ways Mentschikoff." 
 
 The year which brought peace to Sweden, 
 and gave repose to Russia (1721), witnessed 
 also the consummation of Peter^s reforms in 
 the church. Though many years had elapsed 
 since the death of the last patriarch, the 
 czar had found means to evade appointing 
 a successor. " He was," he said, " greatly 
 occupied by business ; and therefore, for 
 the present, he desired the metropolitan of 
 Rezan to take upon himself the ecclesiastical 
 affairs of the empire." In the years 1718 
 and '19 the czar caused a perpetual synod, 
 composed of members always to be nomi- 
 nated by the sovereign, to be erected for the 
 direction of the church. It was to inquire 
 into and decide all matters connected with 
 religion ; but its decisions were to be re- 
 ferred to the czar for confirmation ; who be- 
 came, in effect, supreme head of the church. 
 He tlaus explained his motives for the estab- 
 lishment of this institution, which, with 
 some alterations, exists even at this day. 
 "Under the administration of a synod of 
 priests, none of those disturbances and in- 
 discretions are to be feared which might 
 happen under the government of one sole 
 ecclesiastical chief; that the people, seeing 
 on one side a head of the state, and on the 
 other a head of the church, might, from the 
 superstition natural to them, come to ima- 
 gine that there are in reality two supreme 
 powers." In illustration of this important 
 point, Peter cited instances of long dissen- 
 sions between the crown and the priesthood, 
 which every reader of history well knows 
 have ever been a prolific source of bloodshed 
 and misery. He further stated, " That the 
 notion of two distinct powers, founded on 
 the allegory of two swords, which the apostles 
 happened to have in their possession, was 
 absurd and extravagant." 
 
 For theology, as a separate branch of 
 learning, Peter had but little respect; and 
 though, in a general sense, a believer in the 
 192 
 
 sacred character of the inspired writings, yet, 
 in practice, he seems only to have regarded 
 the precepts of morality and those of natural 
 religion. On one occasion, the synod repre- 
 sented to the czar, to whom they should 
 have brought a person whom they recom- 
 mended to his notice as a bishop, that as 
 yet they knew of none but illiterate men. 
 " Well," answered Peter, " it is but choosing 
 the man of the best life; and he will do full 
 as well as the most learned scholar." Yet 
 Peter respected revealed religion; and, 
 despite the well-known tolerance of his cha- 
 racter, exclaimed, one day-^" The irreligious 
 cannot be tolerated, because, by sapping 
 religion, they turn into ridicule the sacred- 
 ness of an oath, which is the foundation of 
 all society." 
 
 The year 1721 witnessed, we said, the 
 consummation of the czar's reforms in the 
 church. On presiding at a meeting of the 
 synod, some of the superior clergy presented 
 to him a petition, praying him to appoint a 
 patriarch. The hour had now arrived for a 
 conclusive expression of opinion. Rising 
 suddenly from his seat, Peter drew his 
 sword, and, striking the table violently with 
 it, while with the other hand he smote his 
 breast, exclaimed vehemently — "Here is 
 your patriarch ! " Then casting a stern 
 glance on his startled listeners, he hastily 
 quitted the room. None of the clergy con- 
 sidered it prudent, subsequently, to renew 
 the subject; and from that time the oflBce 
 of patriarch was no more. 
 
 Russia swarmed with monks and nuns, who 
 were for the most part very idle and ignorant 
 persons, and often no better than they should 
 have been in many other respects. On the 
 31st of January, 1724, Peter issued an ordi- 
 nance with respect to them, which had been 
 drawn up by himself, in conjunction with an 
 enlightened dignitary of the church. Its 
 object was to discourage people from be- 
 coming idle dreamers in monasteries, in a 
 country where the thinness of the population 
 was such, that no man could be well spared 
 from the labour of improving the land. 
 Notwithstanding the gross ignorance of the 
 monks, many of them could write — an ac- 
 complishment of which, in the early part of 
 Peter's reign, they had made but a mis- 
 chievous use. This was to slander the sove- 
 reign who was labouring so zealously for 
 the good of his country. One priest even 
 proceeded so far as to publish that Peter 
 was antichrist, because he would have no 
 patriarch. Upon this, another priest of a 
 
A.D. 
 
 1724.] 
 
 RUSSIAN empiee; 
 
 [ecclesiastical reforms. 
 
 more courtly nature, printed a reply, in 
 which he contended that it was impossible 
 for the czar to be antichrist, because the 
 number 666 was not to be found in his 
 name, and he had not the mark of the beast. 
 Peter at once showed that mischievous 
 theological speculations concerning him, 
 intended to foster conspiracy, or whet the 
 knife of the assassin, were not to be per- 
 petrated with impunity. He put the slan- 
 derous priest to death, and rewarded with a 
 bishopric the one who refuted him. This 
 was in an early part of the czar's reign : he 
 had, since that time, inspired the discontented 
 among the priests with so much awe, that 
 they had at least ceased to revile him openly. 
 Latterly they had confined their efforts to 
 poisoning the mind of his son — a circum- 
 stance which brought disgrace and death 
 upon the prince, and a terrible retribution 
 upon themselves. It is strange that igno- 
 rance and superstition will not learn that 
 the civilisation which ameliorates the condi- 
 tion, and elevates the nature of mankind, is 
 not to be hurled back by human might, and 
 that they who oppose its progress are crushed 
 beneath its iron tread. 
 
 Peter was himself the most industrious 
 man in the Russian empire, and he regarded 
 it as an outrage both upon morals and com- 
 mon sense, that a multitude of young men 
 and women should make a vow to live a life 
 of uselessness, and to become a public bur- 
 den. Impressed with this feeling, he at 
 first decreed that no person should enter 
 upon a monastic life until he had attained 
 the age of fifty ; at which period the habits 
 of life are so thoroughly formed, that it is 
 probable very few would desire to make so 
 great a change. At the representation of 
 the clergy, however, the monastic age was 
 reduced to thirty, before which no person 
 was permitted to devote themselves to a life 
 of religious seclusion and veiled pauperism. 
 Military men, and occupiers of land, were 
 prohibited from adopting the life of the 
 cloister at any period, without an express 
 permission from the emperor or the synod. 
 The same rule applied to any person in the 
 service of the state. The monks, who had 
 hitherto passed their time chiefly in day- 
 dreams and gluttony, were each of them 
 compelled to work at some trade, or to 
 employ themselves in attending to the sick 
 poor, or the disbanded and disabled soldiers 
 who were distributed amongst the monas- 
 teries. The life of the monks being thus 
 made one of labour, and stripped of that 
 2c 
 
 respect which might previously have dig- 
 nified it, many of these persons turned from 
 it in disgust, and sought occupations in 
 which they could render themselves more 
 useful to society. As to the nuns, such of 
 them as had not long passed the meridian of 
 life, were exhorted to marry. Those who 
 declined, or were unable to do so, were all 
 set to perform work suitable to their sex. 
 Some were taught to make laces, by work- 
 women brought from Brabant and Holland 
 for that purpose; others to labour in the 
 convent grounds, or tend upon the sick, or 
 keep schools for the instruction of the chil- 
 dren of the poor. Certain monasteries were 
 also assigned for the admittance and educa- 
 tion of orphans of each sex. Unhappily, the 
 life of Peter was not sufficiently prolonged 
 to render these improvements permanent. 
 
 The czar was naturally proud of his 
 power over a body of men whose influence 
 has usually ruined all monarchs who en- 
 deavoured to reform the abuses existing 
 amongst them. On one occasion, a paper 
 from the well-known English periodical. 
 The Spectator, the subject of which was a 
 parallel between Peter and Louis XIV., 
 being read to him, the czar observed — "I 
 cannot think that I deserve the preference 
 given to me above that monarch; but it 
 has been my happiness to go beyond him 
 on one point, and that an essential one. I 
 have brought my clergy to be submissive 
 and quiet, and Louis XIV. suffered his to 
 get the better of him.'' 
 
 Peter never lost his relish for the coarse 
 pleasures which had been the occupation of 
 his early youth. Even at this grave period, 
 when the tragic fate of his son could not 
 have been effaced from his memory, and his 
 time was chiefly occupied in ecclesiastical 
 reforms, he yet amused himself and the 
 people with a vulgar revel, of a nature so 
 strange, that it is wonderful how such a 
 mind as his could possibly be diverted by 
 it. We must, however, regard the most 
 illustrious men as a compound of strength 
 and weakness, and none the more separated 
 from the wants and propensities of the 
 meanest of men on account of their own 
 mental power in some other direction. 
 Shortly after the extinction of the patri- 
 archate, the czar caused Buturlin, the 
 second moclc pope of his creation, to be 
 married to the widow of his predecessor 
 Jotoff. The bridegroom was in his eighty- 
 fifth year, and the bride much about the 
 same mature age. The messengers who 
 
 193 
 
THE PERSIAN EXPEDITION.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1722. 
 
 carried the invitations to the ceremony 
 were four stutterers. Four decrepid old 
 men attended the bride, and the running 
 footmen were four of the most corpulent 
 fellows that could be found. The orchestra 
 was placed on a waggon drawn by bears, 
 who being goaded with iron spikes, their 
 hideous roarings formed a bass suitable to 
 the tunes played in the waggons. As to 
 the nuptial benediction, that was bestowed 
 by a blind and deaf priest, with spectacles 
 on. The procession, the wedding feast, the 
 ceremony of undressing the bride and 
 bridegroom, and putting them to bed, were 
 all in accordance with the rest of this 
 strange buffoonery. The czar and his 
 courtiers, who followed in the marriage 
 procession, and witnessed the subsequent 
 fooleries, seemed to enjoy them with im- 
 mense gusto. 
 
 Peter's iast great public act was an expe- 
 dition to Persia, which empire was then 
 falling to pieces under the feeble rule of the 
 imbecile Hussein Shah. The throne of the 
 sovereign was almost wrested from him by 
 a usurper, while the empire was invaded on 
 one side by the Affghans, and on the other 
 by the Lesghians, who resided in the neigh- 
 bourhood of the Caucasus. The latter 
 nation poured into the province of Shirvan, 
 sacked the city of Shamaki, and put the 
 inhabitants to the sword, including about 
 300 Russian traders, whose warehouses they 
 also plundered of goods estimated at the 
 value of 4,000,000 roubles. Peter was 
 greatly irritated, for he had himself induced 
 the Russian merchants to settle at Shamaki, 
 where they were carrying on a very pros- 
 perous trade. He therefore demanded 
 satisfaction for the outrage that had been 
 inflicted. The Persian monarch was wil- 
 ling, but unable, to grant it ; he therefore 
 pleaded his helpless condition, and entreated 
 the czar to aid in subduing the foes by 
 whom he was surrounded. 
 
 To this Peter had no disinclination, for 
 he had long entertained a project for 
 making himself master of the Caspian Sea, 
 with the object of directing the commerce 
 of Persia and a portion of India through his 
 own dominions. On the 15th of May, 1722, 
 the czar, accompanied by Catherine, set 
 sail with a considerable expedition. They 
 proceeded down the broad Volga as far as 
 the city of Astracan, where Peter paused to 
 await the arrival of his forces and materiel 
 of war. During this enforced leisure, he 
 occupied himself in examining the works 
 194 
 
 for the extensive canals designed to join 
 the Caspian, Baltic, and White seas. His 
 troops arrived while he was contemplating 
 these gigantic projects. The army con- 
 sisted of 22,000 foot, 9,000 dragoons,'l 5,000 
 Cossacks, and 3,000 seamen. The project 
 of the czar was full of diflSculties ; for he 
 commanded that the horses should proceed 
 over land, through deserts which are fre- 
 quently without water; and beyond them 
 they were to pass the mountains of the 
 Caucasus, where 300 men might check the 
 progress of a whole army. But to this 
 movement the czar was encouraged by the 
 distracted state of Persia, which rendered it 
 almost helpless against aggression. 
 
 Sailing from Astracan, the expedition 
 proceeded as far as the little fortified town 
 of Andreof — a town founded by the Geor- 
 gians. This was soon captured, and the 
 Russians then advanced by land into the 
 province of Daghestan, where Peter caused 
 manifestos, in the Persian and Russian 
 languages, to be circulated. This was to 
 avoid giving offence to the Ottoman Porte, 
 which, besides its subjects the Circassians 
 and Georgians, had in these districts some 
 considerable vassals, who had lately placed 
 themselves under its protection. One of 
 the principal of these was Mahmoud d'Ut- 
 mich, who, assuming the title of sultan, had 
 the imprudence to attack the Russians. 
 He was utterly defeated ; and, according to 
 the account of the victors, " his country 
 was made a bonfire." The intense heat 
 was a source of great suffering to the Rus- 
 sian troops ; but Peter exhibited the same 
 attention to discipline, and disregard of 
 personal fatigue and discomfort, which had 
 characterised him in his earlier under- 
 takings. He shared the toil of his army, 
 and constantly either rode or walked by the 
 side of his troops. At this time, his cus- 
 tomary dress was a short dimity waistcoat 
 and a white nightcap, with a plain flapped 
 hat over it. He seems, however, to have 
 thought this odd costume more easy than 
 dignified; for he prepared himself to re- 
 ceive any deputation by putting on his 
 regimentals. 
 
 The march of the Russians was protracted 
 over the summer months, and in the middle 
 of September they reached the city of Der- 
 bend — known by the Persians and Turks as 
 Demir Capi, or Iron Gate, because it once 
 had such a gate towards the south. The 
 city was regarded as impregnable, for the 
 upper part of it joins a steep branch of the 
 
A.D. 1723.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [dismemberment of Persia. 
 
 Caucasus, Avhile its walls at the other side 
 are washed by the sea, which in stormy 
 weather breaks over them. Yet on the ap- 
 proach of the Russians, the governor volun- 
 tarily came forth to meet the czar, and 
 presented him with the silver keys of the 
 city and the castle, and invited him to 
 enter. Peter took peaceable possession of 
 the place, and encamped his troops within 
 the walls on the sea-shore. Mahmoud the 
 usurper, who had seized the crown of the 
 shah, hastened with an army of Tartars to 
 save Derbend from falling into the power of 
 the Russians ; but he was too late — it was 
 already iu their hands. 
 
 Though Peter had been triumphant thus 
 far, he doubted of the ultimate success of 
 an expedition which, on account of the 
 many natural difficulties to be overcome, 
 he began to perceive had been somewhat 
 rashly undertaken. To provide for the 
 wants of a large army, in its passage through 
 vast sterile tracts and regions where not 
 even a village varied the profound solitude 
 of nature, was no common task. The czar 
 understood the tremendous responsibility of 
 a position where, perhaps, one false step was 
 destruction. In this state of mind he re- 
 ceived news that thirteen vessels, containing 
 provisions, stores, horses, and recruits for 
 his array, had been wrecked in their passage 
 from Astracan. This heavy loss, combined 
 with the fact that the seasou was then un- 
 favourable for military operations, induced 
 Peter to abandon the expedition. Retracing 
 his steps, he returned to Moscow, which he 
 re-entered on the 5th of January, 1723. 
 He celebrated his return from this un- 
 profitable campaign with a triumph, beneath 
 the forced festivities of which he must have 
 concealed the mortification he really felt. 
 
 The prizes of the world commonly fall to 
 the strong ; and even now, Peter derived 
 advantage from the distracted state of 
 Persia. The shah Hussein, and the usurper 
 Mahmoud, struggled hard for supremacy. 
 Hussein implored the support of the Rus- 
 sian emperor ; while Mahmoud feared him 
 as an avenger, who might wrest from him 
 all the fruits of his rebellion. He there- 
 fore used every endeavour to excite the 
 Ottoman Porte to hostilities against Peter, 
 by statements concerning the devastations 
 the latter had committed in Daghestan. 
 The apprehensions of the sultan were aroused 
 concerning the safety of Georgia, then a 
 part of the Ottoman dominions ; and he 
 was on the point of declaring war against 
 
 Russia — a circumstance from which he was 
 diverted by the interference of the courts of 
 Vienna and Paris. In the meantime, the 
 dethroned shah of Persia supplicated assist- 
 ance both from Russia and Turkey ; and 
 with the blind selfishness of a despot, offered 
 each of them one part of his dominions, if 
 they would secure for him the remainder. 
 Russia and Turkey, therefore, instead of 
 commencing hostilities, entered upon a 
 treaty with each other, and with the shah, 
 by which it was arranged that Russia should 
 take possession of the provinces of Ghi- 
 lan, Astaraboth, and Mazandaran, the three 
 principal provinces of the ancient kings of 
 the Modes J while Turkey was to have 
 Casbin, Tauris, and Erivan, Thus was the 
 fine kingdom of Persia dismembered, through 
 the weakness of its sovereign and the tur- 
 bulence of its people. Peter thus extended 
 his empire from the extremity of the Black 
 Sea to the southern limits of the Caspian. 
 " One single man,^' observes Voltaire, " by 
 his active and resolute genius, raised his 
 country; while in Persia, one single man, 
 being weak and indolent, occasioned the fall 
 of his." 
 
 Russia was again in a state of repose, and 
 silently carrying into action the great re- 
 forms which its illustrious ruler had often 
 made too abruptly for endurance, except 
 under favourable circumstances. The em- 
 pire had become a great power in Europe, 
 and Peter was the undisputed arbiter of the 
 north. He seems now to have desired that 
 rest from toil and excitement which his 
 long life of effort had deserved. Within 
 the period of his reign he had compressed 
 the events of a couple of centuries ; and it 
 was wise to rest upon his laurels, and watch 
 the working of the new state of society he 
 had created. 
 
 It was now that Peter resolved to bestow 
 upon the partner of his anxieties that illus- 
 trious reward which he derived as much 
 honour from bestowing as Catherine did in 
 accepting. In the spring of 1724, he pro- 
 claimed his intention of crowning "the 
 empress Catherine, our dearly beloved con- 
 sort." In this document, Peter again re- 
 ferred to her services on the banks of the 
 Pruth, which had evidently made a deep 
 impression upon him. " It was in this 
 desperate exigency," said he, "that she 
 especially signalised a zeal and fortitude 
 above her sex ; and to this all the array 
 and the whole empire can bear witness. 
 For these causes, and in virtue of the power 
 
 195 
 
CORONATION OF CATHERINE.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1724. 
 
 which God hath given us, we have resolved, 
 in acknowledgment of all her fatigues and 
 good offices, to honour our consort with the 
 imperial crown." The ceremony was per- 
 formed with great solemnity at Moscow, on 
 the 28tli of Alay. Peter had not alluded to 
 his intention of making Catherine his suc- 
 cessor ; but it is probable that this corona- 
 tion was intended to prepare the people for 
 such a result. The idea gained strength from 
 the fact, that the emperor walked on foot 
 before Catherine in the procession as captain 
 of a new company, which he had created 
 on that occasion, with the title of the 
 " Knights of the Empress." On arriving 
 at the cathedral, Peter himself placed the 
 crown upon the head of his consort. Cathe- 
 rine was much affected, and sank on her 
 knees before him, but he raised her with 
 much gentleness, and calmed her agitation. 
 On leaving the cathedral, the globe and 
 sceptre were, at his command, carried be- 
 fore her. 
 
 Peter had taken the family of his late 
 enemy, Charles XII., into his protection, 
 and invited the Duke of Holstein, that 
 monarch's nephew, to the Russian court. 
 Soon after the coronation of Catherine, the 
 emperor bestowed upon this prince the hand 
 of his eldest daughter, Anne Petrowna. 
 This princess bore a considerable resem- 
 blance to her father, and united a majestic 
 stature with great beauty. The marriage 
 was celebrated without much show ; for the 
 health of the czar was now giving way 
 before a painful disorder from which he 
 had for some time suffered. 
 
 A strange story is related concerning 
 Catherine at this period, and treated by some 
 writers as more than apocryphal ; but it is 
 supported by the authority of Leclerc, 
 Levesque, and other writers. Voltaire 
 alludes to the circumstance, but omits the 
 darkest portion of it, which he might have 
 done from motives of policy. If it is true, 
 Peter was, with difficulty, restrained from 
 sending to the scaffold the woman upon 
 whose head he had so recently placed the 
 crown. It is to be wished that the story is 
 false; but the subsequent licentiousness 
 and intemperance of the empress, give to it 
 a strong colouring of probability. Peter, 
 though much attached to the sex, was ever 
 rather a sensualist than a lover ; and, except 
 in the case of Catherine, never seems to 
 have won the affection of any of the rather 
 numerous list of ladies with whom he had 
 lived on terms of more than ordinary 
 196 
 
 familiarity. If this narrative be true, we 
 must believe that she also never regarded 
 him vrith that pure, elevating emotion which 
 is known as love. In that case she might 
 have regarded him with gratitude, or with 
 admiration ; but assuredly never with love. 
 The narrative of which we speak runs thus : 
 — Catherine had amongst her chamberlains 
 a very handsome young gentleman, of agree- 
 able manners, named Moeus de la Croix, 
 whose sister, many years previously, had 
 for a short time been the mistress of the 
 czar. This sister — then the widow of a 
 Russian general named Balk — was also em- 
 ployed at court in the capacity of first 
 dresser to the empress. Both brother and 
 sister possessed great influence with the 
 empress ; and, after a time, a guilty passion 
 sprung up between Catherine and the hand- 
 some chamberlain. So unguarded was their 
 conduct, that the suspicions of Peter were 
 aroused, and he caused the empress and her 
 supposed paramour to be watched. The court 
 at this period was held at Peterhoff; and 
 early one morning Prince Repnin, president 
 of the war department, who slept not far from 
 the czar, was roused from his sleep by the 
 door of his chamber being violently thrown 
 open. Starting up, he beheld some one 
 enter abruptly, and soon recognised the 
 czar, who stood by the bedside, his eyes 
 sparkling with rage, and his features livid 
 and distorted with convulsive fury. Repnin 
 remained for a time speechless from as- 
 tonishment and terror, and fearing that he 
 had in some way excited this storm of 
 passion in the czar, gave himself up for 
 lost. After a pause, the czar, in a hoarse 
 and broken voice, exclaimed — " Get up ! 
 speak to me ! there's no need to dress 
 yourself." The marshal obeyed ; and then 
 learned that the czar, acting upon informa- 
 tion conveyed to him by his spies, had 
 suddenly entered the chamber of Catherine, 
 and discovered her in the arms of her 
 paramour. Peter, struck with so monstrous 
 an ingratitude on the part of one to whom 
 he had borne so much affection, expressed 
 his determination of consigning the em- 
 press, at daybreak, to the hands of the 
 headsman. Marshal Repnin, having by 
 tliis time recovered his composure, ventured 
 to expostulate with his sovereign. The un- 
 expected treachery of the empress was, he 
 said, shocking ; but he suggested to the 
 czar that her crime was yet known to no 
 one, and that it would be highly impolitic 
 to make it public. He made bold to remind 
 
A.D. 1724.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [illness of the emperor. 
 
 the czar of the massacre of the Strelitz, and 
 that every subsequent year had been en- 
 sanguined with executions ; that, in fine, 
 after the imprisonment of liis sister, the 
 condemning of his son to death, and the 
 imprisonment of his first wife, if he should 
 likewise cut off the head of the second, the 
 inhabitants of other countries might come 
 to regard him as a ferocious sovereign, who 
 thirsted for the bh)od of his subjects, and 
 even for that of his own kindred. He 
 added, that the czar might punish Moens by 
 delivering him to the sword of the law upon 
 some other charge ; and also find means to 
 get rid of the empress, without any stain 
 upon his honour or his glory. 
 
 Peter listened in gloomy silence ; and 
 then, suffering frightfully from the convul- 
 sions which commonly attacked him while 
 under powerful excitement, he went into 
 the adjoining room, and walked hurriedly 
 backwards and forwards for about two 
 hours. Then, being somewhat subdued, he 
 returned to the marshal, and said — " Moens 
 shall die immediately ; and I will watch the 
 empress so closely, that her first slip shall 
 cost her her life \" 
 
 Moens and his sister were arrested the 
 next morning, upon an ideal charge of 
 having received bribes from the enemies of 
 the country, for the purpose of inducing the 
 empress to act upon the mind of the czar in 
 a way injurious to the interests of Russia. 
 With a hope of saving the life and honour 
 of the empress, Moens pleaded guilty to the 
 false charge brought against him, was con- 
 demned, and beheaded. His sister, who 
 had acted as a pander to his guilt, received 
 five strokes with the knout, and was banished 
 to Siberia; while her sons — one a chamber- 
 lain, and the other a page — were compelled 
 to serve in the army as common soldiers, 
 and sent in that capacity to the Persian 
 frontier. Marshal Repnin adds, that the 
 emperor never after spoke to Catherine, 
 except in public ; but this is certainly un- 
 true, as she attended him most assiduously 
 during his last illness ; and he died in her 
 arms. Probably the narrative we have just 
 related, and which we do not wish our 
 readers to accept without suspicion, is a 
 mingling of truth with falsehood. It is 
 known that Moens, his sister and her sons, 
 were pimished in the way we have mentioned, 
 on a charge of accepting guilty bribes. 
 Perhaps Peter sicspecied Moens of being the 
 paramour of the empress, instead of detect- 
 ing him in her chamber at an hour which 
 
 left no doubt of guilt. A suspicion would 
 have been enough for so vindictive a man 
 as the czar to have acted upon ; and he was 
 not at all likely, having once entertained a 
 suspicion of the fidelity of his consort, to 
 remain almost in indifference until indis- 
 cretion ripened into her guilt and his dis- 
 honour. We are inclined to believe that 
 Moens fell a victim to the jealous fears of 
 the czar; that Catherine might have been 
 either guilty or innocent (and there is 
 much to favour either supposition), but 
 that she had the address to make Peter 
 believe her the latter, and to regain the 
 tottering place she held in his affections. 
 Certainly, in the almost uxorious passion 
 which the czar entertained for her, she had 
 a powerful advocate. 
 
 The health of Peter had for some time 
 been seriously impaired ; but he had con- 
 cealed his disorder from his physicians, and 
 suffered in silence. It was a strangury, 
 from which he sought relief by fits of intem- 
 perance, which, while they brought a mo- 
 mentary alleviation, tended in the end to ag- 
 gravate the severity of his complaint. Dur- 
 ing the summer of 1724, his sufferings from 
 this cause became so severe, that he was 
 induced, despite his reluctance, to seek the 
 advice of his physicians. They found him 
 in a very dangerous state, and he was com- 
 pelled to keep his room for nearly four 
 months. Late in the autumn, finding him- 
 self much better, he resolved to visit the 
 works on Lake Ladoga, which were not 
 proceeding so rapidly as he wished. His 
 medical attendants expostulated against this 
 imprudence, but in vain. During the whole 
 of October he traversed the fetid marshes in 
 the neighbourhood of the lake. Feeble as 
 he was physically, he had lost nothing of 
 his former mental energy. He discharged 
 the unskilful engineer whose blundering 
 had retarded the progress of the work. 
 "Pisaref," said he to him, "there are two 
 kinds of faults — the one, when we err from 
 ignorance; the other (which is more inex- 
 cusable) when we do not make use of our 
 five senses. Why are not the banks of this 
 canal prevented from giving way? Why 
 are thei'e so many windings ? Where are 
 the hills which you made an objection? 
 Truly you are an absolute knave !" Turn- 
 ing to the engineer whose plans he ap- 
 proved, the czar addressed him with the title 
 of " friend," and placed 25,000 workmen 
 under his orders. 
 
 Impelled by a restless and feverish ac- 
 
 197 
 
DEATH OF PETER.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.u. 1725. 
 
 tivity, the czar proceeded to the extremity 
 of Lake Ilmen, and also to the salt-works of 
 Starai Roussa. On his return to St. Peters- 
 burg he turned from the road and pro- 
 ceeded to Finland, to inspect some manu- 
 factories he had established there. Enter- 
 ing the port of Lachta when the sea was 
 rough and the weather threatening, he saw 
 a small vessel, filled with soldiers and sailors, 
 stranded on a shoal, and in danger of 
 perishing from the ignorance of the un- 
 skilful mariners. Peter was an able pilot, 
 and he shouted to the men the course they 
 should pursue; but his voice was drowned 
 by the wind and the roaring of the sea. 
 He then sent a shallop to assist them ; but 
 those who manned it were timid sailors, and 
 failed to render the required assistance. 
 Resolved to save the poor fellows whose 
 perilous situation had excited his compas- 
 sion, the czar entered a skiflF, and him- 
 self pushed off for the spot. As his boat 
 could not reach the shoal, he leaped into 
 the sea, and wading to the boat, succeeded 
 in saving those on board of it, and convey- 
 ing them to the shore. 
 
 For this noble act he paid a severe 
 penalty. He took a violent cold, and during 
 the night his disease returned with all its 
 former severity. A burniug fever also 
 seized him, and he suffered acute agonies. 
 He was removed to St. Petersburg, where 
 his alarmed physicians feared that gangrene 
 and its fatal results were not to be averted. 
 Even in this alarming situation, the czar 
 attended to business in every interval of 
 sufferiug. He laboured to the last ; and, 
 as it has been finely said, he paused only to 
 die. Two months he languished in this 
 condition ; at times prostrate with suff'ering, 
 and at others seeming to triumph over 
 disease and impending death, by the force 
 of a will accustomed to subdue everything. 
 About the middle of January, 1725, he 
 even braved the severity of the weather ; 
 and, venturing out, attended the ceremony 
 of blessing the water. The following day 
 his most distressing symptoms returned 
 with all their force; and he suffered also 
 from a difficulty of breathing. 
 
 The most distinguished physicians that 
 could be procured, not only in St. Peters- 
 burg, but also from Leyden and Berlin, 
 were collected around his bed. They used 
 every means known to them to allay his 
 terrible malady ; but it is said they only 
 tortured the illustrious patient, whom they 
 sought in vain to save. His agonies were 
 198 
 
 sometimes so great, that he filled the palace 
 with his cries ; then, ashamed of this in- 
 voluntary expression of his tortured frame, 
 he mournfully exclaimed, that "in him 
 might be plainly seen what a wretched ani- 
 mal is man \" 
 
 The czar lingered until about the end of 
 the month, and a few days before his death 
 he resigned himself to his approaching fate ; 
 for at first he did not appear to think that 
 his disorder would terminate fatally. On 
 the 26th he received the last consolations of 
 religion, and observed — " I dare hope that 
 God will look upon me with a merciful eye for 
 all the good that I have done to my country !" 
 
 To the last he thought of his beloved 
 reforms ; and, in intervals of ease and reason 
 (for he was frequently in a state of de- 
 lirium), he directed Catherine to protect 
 his academy of sciences, and to invite to it 
 the learned men of Europe. Then, point- 
 ing out the ^irtuous and able Count Oster- 
 mann to her, he exclaimed — " Russia cannot 
 do without him; he is the only man who 
 knows her real interests." Ever occupied 
 with the labours of life, Peter had neglected 
 to write his will. He now, when it was too 
 late, sought to remedy this oversight. He 
 attempted to write, but his hand was no 
 longer sufficiently steady for that purpose, 
 and, after tracing a few almost illegible 
 words, he was compelled to give up the 
 attempt. When the paper was examined, 
 nothing further could be made out from it 
 
 than the words — "Give all to ." 
 
 Signifying his desire that his favourite 
 daughter, the Princess Anne, should attend, 
 he thought to dictate to her that which his 
 powerless fingers could not set down. Be- 
 fore she arrived, he was seized with a fit 
 which rendered him speechless, and pa- 
 ralysed his left side. For fifteen hours he 
 remained in this sad state, almost between 
 the living and the dead. Catherine watched 
 anxiously by his bedside, which she had 
 scarcely left during three successive nights. 
 At length, on the 28th of January, 1725, 
 about four in the morning, he breathed his 
 last in her arms. Thus, in the fifty-second 
 year of his life, and the forty-third of his 
 reign, died the most remarkable and gifted 
 monarch that Russia has ever possessed. 
 
 The body of the deceased emperor was 
 removed into the great hall of the palace, 
 followed by the imperial family, the senate, 
 and an immense number of persons of dis- 
 tinction. It was there laid on a bed of state, 
 and the people admitted to kiss the cold 
 
A.D. 1725.] 
 
 IIUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [supposed policy of peter. 
 
 hand of the potentate who had eflfected such 
 mighty changes in the empire. His funeral 
 was conducted with a magnificence worthy 
 of his great achievements, and the most dis- 
 tinguished honours were paid to his memory 
 by a people who had at length learned to 
 value the greatness of their imperial re- 
 former; the true founder of modern Russia. 
 Since the death of Peter the Great, an 
 aggressive and absorbing policy, with respect 
 to other nations, has been observable in the 
 Russian government. This has probably 
 arisen from the necessity it felt for the ex- 
 tension of its seaboard, and the multiplica- 
 tion of its outlets into the great trading seas 
 of Europe ; but it has generally been attri- 
 buted to directions said to be bequeathed by 
 the czar Peter to his successors, and since 
 then handed down as a cabinet secret from 
 sovereign to sovereign. These directions, 
 contained in a document denominated the 
 " Will of Peter the Great,'^ contain a plan for 
 the subjugation of Europe beneath Russian 
 supremacy, and the erection of a colossal 
 empire, extending over the whole civilised 
 and semi-civilised world. We have given 
 the text of this " will" elsewhere, * and have 
 in the same place reiterated the doubt gen- 
 erally expressed as to its authenticity. That 
 doubt we now repeat; for, upon a further 
 consideration of the contents of this paper, 
 we are inclined to believe it a forgery; 
 though we will admit that it has never un- 
 dergone such an investigation — at least such 
 a known and open investigation — as the sub- 
 ject appears to demand. It is scarcely pos- 
 sible that so important and dangerous a 
 cabinet secret should have been allowed ta 
 become public; for the promulgation of it 
 might have roused all the rest of Europe 
 into a crusade against a neighbour whose 
 policy they must have regarded as incom- 
 patible with general tranquillity, or even 
 safety. But how do the believers in this 
 state paper account for its being made 
 public ? They say that the empress Eliza- 
 beth, enamoured of the notorious Chevalier 
 d'Eon (a creature of tainted character and 
 doubtful sex, who was sent from the court of 
 France to Russia as a secret agent), allowed 
 him extraordinary opportunities for making 
 important discoveries, and that he trans- 
 mitted this document to Louis XV. in 1757. 
 The tale is a romantic and suspicious one. 
 Certainly the will first became public through 
 the medium of D'Eon ; and what more pro- 
 bable than that he composed it, taking as 
 • History of the War with Russia, vol. ii., p. 83. 
 
 his cue some vague hints dropped by Russian 
 statesmen or politicians, whose ambition and 
 national vanity were much greater than their 
 prudence and their wisdom. 
 
 But apart from the suspicious nature of 
 the external evidence given in support of the 
 authenticity of this paper, we do not think 
 that an examination of the contents of it 
 favours the supposition that it represents the 
 matured thoughts of Peter the Great. A 
 scheme of universal conquest by a man who 
 never fought a single battle for the sake of 
 glory, but ever regarded war only as a means 
 to some useful and profitable end ! It has 
 an air of incredibility. Of what use would 
 the sovereignty of Europe have been to 
 Peter or his successors ? To achieve it, would 
 exhaust the strength of Russia in incessant 
 wars; to maintain it, would be to convert 
 half her population into a military police, 
 and to engage her in the continual sup- 
 pression of revolutions, which, by their 
 number, and the bloody fury with which 
 they would inevitably be conducted, would 
 probably ultimately triumph, from the in- 
 ternal feebleness and inanition of their 
 despot. European dominion would have 
 distracted Russia from itself, and it would 
 have fallen back towards barbarism, and pro- 
 bably been broken up again into petty and in- 
 significant states. Such extensive rule could 
 not be grasped by any ordinary hand, nor con- 
 ducted by a ny merely human head. Beneath 
 a powerful sovereign such an empire would 
 be always threatened with disruption ; and 
 the accession of a weak one would inevitably 
 be followed by confusion, war, and ruin. In 
 later days the great Napoleon tried to 
 realise the day-dream of European conquest, 
 and the result was ruin to himself, prostra- 
 tion to France. Peter understood these 
 views. "It is," said he, on one occasion, 
 "not land, but ivater, that Russia wants." 
 Russia had, in his time, more land than her 
 population could reclaim from the barren 
 wildness of nature; and such is yet the case. 
 Russia requires concentration and compres- 
 sion, not extension ; for assuredly any great 
 extension would lead to its widely-separated 
 parts falling asunder, and becoming divided, 
 and perhaps antagonistic states. 
 
 As to the idle rant which the " will" attri- 
 butes to Peter, about Russia regenerating 
 worn-out Europe, a very little reflection 
 will show that the attempt at Russian supre- 
 macy would be far more likely to barbarise 
 Europe. The great czar knew this, and he 
 regarded the old states of Europe with ad- 
 
 199 
 
CHAKACTER OF PETER.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1725. 
 
 miration. He studied civilisation from them, 
 and ever held them up to his nobles and 
 people as models. He was aware that 
 Europe had nothing to learn from Russia, 
 but that Russia had everything to learn 
 from Europe. So strongly did this convic- 
 tion appear in his actions, that he has been 
 reproached as having forced upon the Rus- 
 sians an imitative civilisation unsuited to 
 their national character, in preference to 
 letting their better qualities slowly develop 
 themselves. We do not share this opinion, 
 for Peter had to do with a vast nation of 
 semi-savages, whom he was compelled to 
 rend abruptly away from their barbarous 
 habits, and to coerce into decency and hu- 
 manity. It was necessary to tell them what 
 to do, and how to think; to open their 
 minds ; and reform, nay, altogether recreate, 
 their manners. With this object, he com- 
 pelled them to dress, and live, mingle to- 
 gether, and marry like the inhabitants of the 
 most polished states of Europe. Yet we are 
 told that the far-seeing, deep-thinking czar, 
 who never talked for display, and was as 
 plain in his speech and writing as he was in 
 his dress, babbled about Russia fertilising 
 and regenerating worn-out Europe.^i^ Peter's 
 own opinion of his subjects was not a flatter- 
 ing one ; assuredly he did not regard them as 
 civilizers. To those around him, he would ex- 
 claim — " You may make war on wild beasts ; 
 it is a pleasure which is not unbecoming to 
 you ; but as for me, I cannot amuse myself 
 in such a manner, while I have so many to 
 combat in my obstinate and intractable sub- 
 jects. Theij are animals whom I have dressed 
 like men. I often despair of overcoming their 
 pertinacity, and eradicating their wickedness 
 from their hearts. Let me, therefore, be no 
 longer painted as a cruel tyrant by those who 
 are unacquainted with the circumstances 
 which have imperiously directed my conduct: 
 what numbers of persons have thwarted my 
 designs, rendered abortive my most beneficial 
 plans for the country, and compelled me to 
 use the utmost rigour. I sought for their 
 assistance, and appealed to their patriotism. 
 Those who have comprehended and seconded 
 me, and have been the most useful to my 
 people, I have loaded with rewards; they 
 have been my only favourites !" 
 
 * That the existing military despotisms of Europe 
 will be comparatively short-lived, is probable ; that 
 they must eventually perish, is certain ; but the re- 
 generating power will not come from without, but 
 arise from within. Nations become decrepit, but 
 man is ever young. The worn-out, expiring empire 
 200 
 
 The character of Peter was a complex 
 one ; made up of diverse, and in some re- 
 spects discordant, qualities. Few men are 
 wholly good or wholly evil : almost all are 
 both good and evil, according to the passion 
 or appetite which predominates at the time ; 
 for our virtues and our vices spring from the 
 same germ ; and the last are but a morbid 
 exaggeration of the first. Though a great 
 and most original man, Peter was still biit 
 an extraordinary barbarian, who all his life 
 offered a noble homage to the civilisation 
 which he admired, but did not possess. He 
 once observed, after a fit of intoxication, 
 during which he had been guilty of some 
 violence, that he could reform his subjects, 
 but he could not reform himself — an ad- 
 mission as sad as it was evidently true. 
 Such was the vehemence and untameable 
 energy of this great, wild man — this Samp- 
 son, who pulled down the temple of bar- 
 barism, and crushed its obstinate votaries 
 beneath its ruins — that his habitual industry 
 extended to his vices. He was a drunkard, 
 even to the glaring, wolfish madness of in- 
 toxication; and a coarse sensualist, even 
 to that point where depraved appetite sinks 
 into pruriency. His ferocity was such, 
 that, when thoroughly aroused, he panted 
 for blood ; and the sighs and agonizing 
 moans of wretches on the rack, the wheel, 
 or the impaling stake, were as horrible 
 music to his ears. Such were his vices, and 
 they are terrible ones ; but every allowance 
 should be made for this great creature, 
 whose boyhood was purposely exposed to 
 contamination, whose education was such 
 as he himself gathered without any guide on 
 whom he could rely, and who was exposed 
 to obstacles which would have overwhelmed 
 almost any other man. The frantic oppo- 
 sition he had to subdue in his crusade of 
 civilisation, is an acceptable, if not altogether 
 sufficient apology for his cruelty ; while his 
 drunkenness and licentiousness were merely 
 personal vices, and did not affect his people. 
 
 Great as were the vices of this illustrious 
 sovereign, his noble qualities far outshoue 
 them. He was the most industrious of 
 men, and commonly both frugal and self- 
 denying. He idolised his country, lived for 
 it utterly, laboured for it incessantly, and, 
 
 which is torn asunder by revolutions, or divided by 
 the swords of conquerors, yields in its dying struggles 
 those germs which, in the grand career of time, 
 ripen into young and more teachable nations. Na- 
 ture is ever employed in renewing the youth of the 
 world. 
 
A.D. 1725.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [CHAHACTER OF PETER. 
 
 by his almost superhuman exertions, raised 
 it from a distracted, barbarous, and despised 
 state to a powerful empire, with a numerous 
 and a highly-disciplined army; a navy which 
 was not only promising, but powerful; a 
 commerce which was rapidly becoming a 
 broad and inexhaustible source of wealth ; 
 and a reputation for national dignity and 
 influence second to no state in Europe. 
 Never did he abandon his exertions for the 
 exaltation and benefit of his native land. 
 We are struck with wonder and admiration 
 at the number and extent of his labours, 
 and the untiring perseverance with which 
 he urged them into practice. He greatly 
 enlarged the boundaries of the empire, and 
 gave it an outlet to the sea, both in the 
 north and in the south. His navies arose 
 with a rapidity that resembled the fabulous 
 works of enchantment, and his fleets feared 
 no foe, either upon the waters of the Baltic 
 or the Euxine. Hitherto the army of 
 Russia had been little better than a savage 
 and riotous mob ; this he exterminated, and 
 supplied its place by one organised upon 
 the systems pursued by the most military 
 nations of Europe. He established many 
 institutions for the cultivation of science, 
 literature, and the arts, and also for humane 
 and charitable purposes. Above all, he 
 modified and improved the character of the 
 people; softened their sullen and brutal 
 manners; gave touches of social grace to 
 their domestic life ; did something towards 
 breaking up their apathetic ignorance and 
 superstition; and, indeed, raised them in 
 the scale of existence. These things make 
 the impartial mind look with a glance of 
 regret upon his ferocity, his storms of pas- 
 sion, his wild impulses, and his vulgar riots. 
 It is difficult to dwell harshly on these 
 painful topics, when we contemplate the 
 character of the heroic sovereign to whom 
 his people gave, with acclamations, the title 
 of Father, and whose grateful descendants 
 regard him with a feeling approaching 
 adoration, as the embodiment of the tute- 
 lary Genius of the Empire. 
 
 Here we shall introduce a few anecdotes 
 and remarks concerning Peter, which are 
 rather illustrative of his character than of 
 the history of liis country. He was an 
 early riser, commonly leaving his bed at the 
 hour of four, even during the winter, and 
 lighting his own fire. He dined at one ; 
 and though not a large feeder, would eat 
 anything except fish, to which he had an 
 2d 
 
 antipathy. He altogether discarded the 
 solitary state, during meals, of his prede- 
 cessors on the imperial throne, and loved 
 to dine with Dutch and English skippers, 
 with whom he conversed familiarly, and 
 enjoyed his clay pipe and mug of quass. 
 
 Sometimes the czar would pilot the foreign 
 vessels that came to Cronstadt ; on which 
 occasions he always took his pay like other 
 pilots, chiefly because he desired to render 
 the service honourable. He commonly re- 
 ceived the ambassadors sent to Russia, 
 wherever he chanced to be, without any 
 ceremony; because, he said, they were 
 accredited to his person, and not to any 
 hall or palace. M. Printz, the Prussian 
 ambassadoi', was taken on board a ship to 
 be introduced to the czar, where Peter, who 
 was aloft, shouted to him to climb up into 
 the maintop, though the eccentric sovereign 
 came down to the quarter-deck, on his 
 visitor pleading his want of practice as an 
 excuse for not complying with so unusual a 
 request. Occasionally, the czar's humours 
 placed those who shared them in dangerous 
 positions. One day he invited several 
 foreign ministers to accompany him on a 
 trip by water from St. Petersburg to Cron- 
 stadt. About half-way the vessel was 
 caught in a sudden storm. One of the 
 ambassadors implored the czar, who was 
 steersman, to make for the shore. " We 
 shall all be lost," he added, in accents of 
 terror, " and your majesty will have to 
 answer for my life to the king my master." 
 Peter laughed as he replied, " Sir, if you 
 are drowned, we shall all go to the bottom 
 with you, and there will be nobody left to 
 answer to your court for your excellencv's 
 life." 
 
 The czar usually indulged in an hour's 
 sleep after dinner. When he was from 
 home he would lie down for this refresh- 
 ment on the deck of a ship, the floor of a 
 hut, or even the bare ground, if no more 
 convenient resting-place was to be had. 
 When disposed to sleep, the officer in at- 
 tendance upon him had to lie down and 
 support his master's head on his belly, in 
 which position he was expected to remain as 
 still as the pillow he represented. If by a 
 motion, cough, or sneeze, he woke the czar, 
 the latter kicked or thumped him for his 
 restlessness. Indeed, no one about him 
 was secure from personal violence, as, when 
 off'ended, he frequently struck or caned his 
 principal officers or nobles, even in public. 
 So common had this become, that the sense 
 
 201 
 
ANECDOTES OF PETER.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1725. 
 
 of degradation attending it was lost sight of, 
 and, by a pleasant fiction, those who sufi'ered 
 such chastisement, regarded it Rs a sort of 
 fatherly correction. Having on one oc- 
 casion beaten some of his ministers for a 
 fault which they afterwards satisfied him 
 had not been committed, he rendered a sort 
 of apology by acknowledging his mistake, 
 and promising to make an allowance the 
 next time they deserved chastisement. With 
 this impetuous irritability, he was patient 
 and courteous to all persons who desired to 
 lay some useful project before him. He 
 caused the requisite experiments to be made 
 in his presence, and liberally rewarded those 
 who devised anything new, and, not unfre- 
 quently, even those who deceived themselves. 
 To the latter, he would kindly explain the 
 causes of their mistake; because, he said, 
 he wished to encourage them to do some- 
 thing better. In the same generous temper, 
 he would stand godfather to the children 
 even of the poorest persons who had the 
 confidence to request such a favour at his 
 hands. He would also occasiolially dine 
 and talk familiarly with the common soldiers, 
 and behave towards them with so much 
 simplicity, that he seemed for the time 
 rather their companion than their sovereign. 
 Such popular manners, as soon as they were 
 understood by the then unsocial Russian 
 people, much endeared the czar to his sub- 
 jects. 
 
 'With all Peter's manual labours he did 
 not neglect mental cultivation. He not 
 only ordered a number of useful works to 
 be translated into the Russian language, 
 but also translated several himself. Amongst 
 the latter were L' Architecture de Sebastien 
 Leclerc, UArt de Tourner, par Plumier (the 
 czar was a very skilful turner), and L'Art 
 des Ecluses et des MouHtis, par Sturm. The 
 manuscripts of these, in the handwriting of 
 the emperor, are still preserved at St. 
 Petersburg. In any Russian version which 
 he ordered to be made of a foreign work, if, 
 as sometimes happened, the translator modi- 
 fied passages which reflected upon the Rus- 
 sians, Peter would severely rebuke him, and 
 have the passage literally rendered. " He 
 did not," he observed, " want to flatter his 
 subjects, but to instruct them ; and, espe- 
 cially, to show them what they had been, 
 and what foreigners thought of them, that 
 he might stimulate them to change, by their 
 exertions, the opinion of Europe.^' 
 
 In the gusts of passion to which the czar 
 was subject, a manly and fearless expostu- 
 202 
 
 lation would sometimes disarm his fury. 
 Que day, while on board a boat, he, in a 
 fit of anger, seized a senator who had 
 offended him, and was about to hurl him 
 into the water, when the other exclaimed 
 — " You may drown me, but your history 
 will tell of this.'' Peter felt the reproof, 
 and, admiring the self-possession of the 
 man who gave it, set him down unhurt. 
 
 We will conclude this chapter with a 
 curious picture of the manners of Peter and 
 his court while at table. Assuredly the 
 Russians of that period were disgustingly 
 coarse in their habits ; and their conduct, as 
 here described, forms a striking contrast to 
 the highly-polished manners and personal 
 dignity of the Russian nobles and gentry of 
 the present day. The following description 
 is taken from a manuscript in the hand- 
 writing of Dr. Birch, contained among the 
 Sloane papers in the British Museum : — 
 " There are twenty-four cooks belonging 
 to the kitchen of the Russian court, who 
 are all Russians; and as people of that 
 nation use a great deal of onions, garlic, 
 and train oil in dressing their meat, and 
 employ linseed and walnut oil for their 
 provisions, there is such an intolerable stink 
 in their kitchen, that no stranger is able to 
 bear it, especially the cooks being such 
 nasty fellows, that the very sight of them is 
 enough to turn one's stomach; these are 
 the men who, on great festivals, dress about 
 seventy or eighty or more dishes. But the 
 fowls which are for "the czar's own eating 
 are very often dressed by his grand mar- 
 shal, Alsefliof, who is running up and down, 
 with his apron before him, among the other 
 cooks till it is time to take up dinner, when 
 he puts on his fine clothes and full-bottomed 
 wig, and helps to serve up the dinner. The 
 number of persons invited is generally two 
 or three hundred, though there is room for 
 no more than above a hundred at four or five 
 tables ; but as there is no place assigned to 
 anybody, and none of the Russians are wil- 
 ling to go home with an empty stomach, 
 everybody is obliged to seize his chair and 
 hold it with all his force, if he will not have 
 it snatched from him. 
 
 "The czar being come in, and having 
 chosen a place for himself, there is such 
 scuffling and fighting for chairs, that nothing 
 more scandalous can be seen in any com- 
 pany, though the czar does not mind it in 
 the least, nor does he take care for putting 
 a stop to such disorder, pretending that a 
 ceremony, and the formal regulations of a 
 
A.D. 1725.1 
 
 BUS SI AN EMPIRE. [manners of the Russians. 
 
 marshal, make people sit uneasy and spoil 
 the pleasure of conversation. Several foreign 
 ministers have complained of this to the 
 czar, and refuse to dine any more at court, 
 but all the answer they got was, that it was 
 not the czar's business to turn master of 
 the ceremonies, and please foreigners, nor 
 was it his intention to abolish the freedom 
 once introduced ; this obliged strangers for 
 the future to follow the Russian fashion, in 
 defending the possession of their chairs, by 
 cuffing and boxing their opposer. The 
 company thus sitting down to table without 
 any manner of grace, they all sit so crowded 
 together, that they have much ado to lift 
 their hands to their mouths ; and if a 
 stranger happens to sit between two Rus- 
 sians, w'hich is commonly the case, he is 
 sure of losing his stomach, though he should 
 have happened to have eaten nothing for two 
 days before. Carpenters and shipwrights 
 sit next to the czar ; but senators, ministers, 
 generals, priests, sailors, buflfoous of all 
 kinds, sit pell-mell without any distinction. 
 The first course consists of nothing but cold 
 meats, among which are hams, dried tongues, 
 and the like, which, not being liable to such 
 tricks as shall be mentioned hereafter, 
 strangers ordinarily make their whole meal 
 of them, without tasting anything else, 
 though generally speaking, every one takes 
 his dinner beforehand at home. 
 
 " Soups and roasted meats make the 
 second course, and pastry the third. As 
 soon as one sits down, one is obliged to 
 drink a cup of brandy, after which they ply 
 you with great glasses of adulterated Tokay, 
 and other vitiated wines, and between 
 whiles, a bumper of the strongest English 
 beer, by which mixture of liquors every one 
 of the guests is fuddled before the soup is 
 served up. The company being in this 
 condition, make such a noise, racket, hal- 
 looing, that it is impossible to hear one 
 another, or even to hear the music, which is 
 playing in the next room, consisting of a 
 sort of trumpets and cornets ; for the czar 
 hates violins ; and with this revelling noise 
 and uproar thd czar is extremely diverted, 
 particularly if the guests fall to boxing and 
 get bloody noses. 
 
 " Formerly the company had no napkin 
 given them, but instead of it they had a 
 piece of very coarse linen given them by 
 a servant, who brought in the whole piece 
 under his arm, and cut off half an ell for 
 every person, which they are at liberty to 
 carry home with them; for it had been 
 
 observed that these pilfering guests used 
 sometimes to pocket the napkins; but at 
 present two or three Russians must make 
 shift with but one napkin, which they pull 
 and haul for, like hungry dogs for a bone. 
 Each person of the company has but one 
 plate during dinner; so if some Russian 
 does not care to mix the sauces of the 
 different dishes together, he pours the soup 
 that is left in his plate either into the dish 
 or into his neighbour's plate, or even under 
 the table, after which he licks his plate 
 clean with his finger, and, last of all, wipes 
 it with the tablecloth. The tables are each 
 thirty or forty feet long, and ten-and-a-half 
 broad ; three or four messes of one and the 
 same course are served up to each table; 
 the dessert consists of divers sorts of pastry 
 and fruits, but the czaritza's table is fur- 
 nished with sweetmeats : however, it is to 
 be observed that these sweetmeats are only 
 set out on great festivals for a show, and 
 that the Russians of the best fashion have 
 nothing for their dessert but the produce of 
 the kitchen-garden, as peas, beans, &c., all 
 raw. At great entertainments it frequently 
 happens that nobody is allowed to go out of 
 the room from noon till midnight ; hence it 
 is easy to imagine what a pickle a room 
 must be in, that is full of people who drink 
 like beasts, and none of them escape being 
 dead drunk. 
 
 " They often tie eight or ten young mice 
 in a string, and hide them under green 
 peas, or in such soups as the Russians have 
 the greatest appetite to, which sets them a 
 kicking and vomiting in a most beastly 
 manner, when they come to the bottom and 
 discover the trick ; they often bake cats, 
 wolves, ravens, and the like, in their 
 pastries, and when the company have eaten 
 them up, they tell them what they have 
 devoured. 
 
 " The present butler is one of the czar's 
 buffoons, to whom he has given the name of 
 Wiaschi, with this privilege, that if any one 
 else calls him by that name he has leave to 
 drub him with his wooden sword. If, 
 therefore, anybody, by the czar's setting 
 them on, calls out * Wiaschi !' as the fellow 
 does not know exactly who it was, he falls a 
 beating them all round, beginning with 
 Prince Mentschikoff and ending with the 
 last of the company, without excepting even 
 the ladies, whom he strips of their head- 
 clothes, as he does the old Russians with 
 their wigs, which he tramples upon; on 
 which occasion it is pleasant enough to see 
 
 203 
 
STRUGGLES OF FACTION.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1725. 
 
 the variety of their bald pates. Besides 
 these employments or entertainments, the 
 said Wiaschi is also surveyor of the ice, and 
 executioner for torturing people, on which 
 occasion he gives them the knout himself; 
 
 and his remarkable dexterity in this de- 
 testable business has already procured him 
 above 30,000 thalers, the sixth part of the 
 confiscated estates of the sufferer being his 
 perquisite." 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 ATTEMPT TO PLACE PETER'S GRANDSON ON THE THRONE ; CATHERINE BECOMES EMPRESS ; POPULARITY OF 
 HER EARLY PROCEEDINGS ; HER LICENTIOUSNESS ; LIBELS CONCERNING HER ; HER DEATH ; PETER, THE 
 SON OF ALEXIS, ASCENDS THE THRONE ; DISGRACE OF MENTSCHIKOFF ; PREMATURE DEATH OF THE CZAR. 
 
 The old party, which clung to the perishing 
 customs of the past, was not extinct in 
 Russia. Peter had awed the factious among 
 the nobles, and the perversely bigoted among 
 the people, into silence; but he had not 
 convinced them of the efficacy of his re- 
 forms. The czar knew this, and, doubtless, 
 looked to the next generation for an appre- 
 ciation of his changes. 
 
 Wliile the speechless, delirious, and pa- 
 ralysed emperor lay on his bed awaiting 
 the moment which released him from his 
 sufferings, secret cabals Avere in progress 
 for the purpose of bestowing the sceptre on 
 the party identified with the interests of 
 those who composed these political con- 
 claves. The old party, amongst Avhom were 
 many of the principal nobility, desired to place 
 Peter Alexievitch upon the throne ; to arrest 
 Catherine ; to abolish the institutions that 
 had been established by the dying czar ; to 
 banish all the foreigners who had assisted in 
 the introduction of novelties ; and to restore 
 the empire to its primitive barbarism. The 
 mean origin of Prince Mentschikoff, added 
 to the insolence of his bearing, made them 
 resolve to include him in the ruin of the 
 empress. It was therefore the intention of 
 the conspirators to send her to the dreary 
 solitude of a convent, and him to the frozen 
 deserts of Siberia. 
 
 Mentschikoff was informed of these de- 
 signs, and his interests were thus more com- 
 pletely identified with those of Catherine. 
 His measures were prompt and effective. As 
 soon as he knew that the czar was actually 
 dying, he seized the royal treasures, caused 
 them to be conveyed into the citadel, and 
 secured the officers of the guards to his 
 interest by bribes and promises. Then 
 204 
 
 assembling a council of some of the prin- 
 cipal clergy, senators, and officers in the 
 palace, he led Catherine into their presence. 
 Briefly addressing them, she claimed the 
 throne in right of her coronation at Mos- 
 cow ; referred to the dangers which might 
 be anticipated should it be occupied by a 
 minor ; and promised that, " so far from 
 depriving the grand-duke of the crown, she 
 would receive it only as a sacred deposit, to be 
 restored to him when she should be united, 
 in another world, to an adored husband, 
 whom she was now upon the point of 
 losing." This address, the utterance of 
 which was broken by tears, had consider- 
 able effect; yet, when Catherine withdrew 
 and left the meeting to deliberate, the 
 general opinion was not altogether favour- 
 able to her claim. 
 
 As soon as Peter was dead, the great 
 nobles and the most influential of the 
 clergy thronged to the palace, with the in- 
 tention of carrying out their views respect- 
 ing the proclamation of the new sovereign. 
 The adherents of the son of Alexis were 
 confident of success, and the cause of 
 Catherine seemed doomed. Yet it was 
 stronger than her enemies believed. Count 
 Bassevitz, one of her most active partisans, 
 whispered to a chief of the opposite party — 
 " The empress is mistress of the treasure 
 and the fortress ; she has gained over the 
 guards, the synod, and many of the chief 
 nobility. Even here she has more followers 
 than you imagine. Advise, therefore, your 
 friends to make no opposition as they value 
 their heads." 
 
 The rapid circulation of this statement 
 produced a considerable effect among the 
 worldly, the timid, and the irresolute mem- 
 
A.D. 1725.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [accession of Catherine i. 
 
 bers of that distinguished meeting. The 
 signal was then given for the two regiments 
 of guards — who, won by heavy bribes, had 
 declared for Catherine, and were stationed 
 around the palace — to beat to arras. A 
 pause of excitement and consternation was 
 followed by some angry words between 
 Marshal Repnin (the commander-in-chief) 
 and General Butterlin, who had ordered 
 out the troops, as he said, " in obedience to 
 the commands of my most gracious mis- 
 tress." At this moment Catherine entered, 
 preceded by MentschikofF, and supported 
 by her son-in-law, the Duke of Holstein. 
 After some struggle to subdue her emotion 
 (which we have no right to assume was not 
 perfectly sincere), she said — " I come, not- 
 withstanding the grief which now over- 
 whelms me, to assure you that, submissive 
 to the will of ray departed husband, whose 
 memory will be ever dear to me, I am 
 ready to devote my days to the painful 
 occupations of government, until Provi- 
 dence shall summon me to follow him." 
 Then, after a brief pause, she added — " If 
 the grand-duke will profit by my instruc- 
 tions, perhaps I shall have the consolation, 
 during my wretched widowhood, of forming 
 for you an emperor worthy of the blood and 
 the name of him whom you have now irre- 
 trievably lost." MentschikofF then ob- 
 served — " As this is a crisis of such im- 
 portance to the good of the empire, and 
 requires the most mature deliberation, your 
 majesty will permit us to confer without 
 restraint, that this great business may be 
 transacted without reproach, not only in 
 the opinion of the present age, but also of 
 posterity." Catherine readily assented ; 
 and having gratuitously promised to submit 
 to the decision of the assembly, whatever it 
 might be, she retired. 
 
 Mentschikoff, who had arranged what 
 followed, then demanded of the secretary of 
 the deceased emperor, whether his late 
 master had left any written declaration of 
 his intentions with respect to who should 
 succeed him. The secretary answered ac- 
 cording to his instructions. He said — 
 " That the emperor, a little before his last 
 journey to Moscow, had destroyed a will, 
 and that he had frequently expressed his 
 design of making another ; but had always 
 been prevented by the reflection, that if he 
 thought his people, whom he had raised 
 from a state of barbarism to a high degree 
 of power and glory, could be ungrateful, he 
 would not expose his final inclinations to 
 
 the insult of a refusal ; and that if they 
 recollected what they owed to his labours, 
 they would regulate their conduct by his 
 intentions, which he had disclosed with 
 more solemnity than could be manifested 
 by any writing." This ambiguous reply 
 was not generally regarded with satisfac- 
 tion; some confusion arose, and several of 
 the nobles of the old party opposed the 
 accession of Catherine. At this point, 
 Theophanes, one of the high dignitaries of 
 the church, reminded all present of the 
 oath which they had taken in 1722, to 
 acknowledge the successor appointed by the 
 late emperor; whose sentiments, just de- 
 livered by his secretary, clearly pointed to 
 Catherine as the person whom he desired 
 to fill the throne after him. The opposite 
 party declared the sentiments of the late 
 emperor, as enunciated by his secretary, 
 were not so clear as he assumed them to 
 be ; and maintained, that as Peter had failed 
 to nominate his heir, the election of the 
 new sovereign should revert to the empire. 
 
 The archbishop Theophanes again inter- 
 fered in favour of Catherine, and testified, 
 that the evening before her coronation at 
 Moscow, he had heard the czar declare that 
 he should place the crown upon her head 
 with no other view than to leave her mis- 
 tress of the empire after his death. This 
 statement was confirmed by other persons 
 present ; and MentschikofF then cried aloud, 
 " What need have we of any testament ? 
 A refusal to conform to the inclination of 
 our great sovereign, thus authenticated, 
 would be both unjust and criminal. Long 
 live the empress Catherine !" This shout 
 was repeated by the majority of those pre- 
 sent, and vehemently responded to by the 
 troops without, to whom Catherine pre- 
 sented herself at the windows of the palace, 
 while MentschikofF scattered handfuls of 
 money amongst them. Thus, it has been 
 observed, was the empress raised to the 
 throne by the guards, in the same manner 
 as the Roman emperors by the praetorian 
 cohorts, without either the appointment of 
 the people or of the legions. 
 
 The accession of the low-born Catherine 
 to the imperial throne, though it was greatly 
 in opposition to the desires of the proud 
 old nobility of the empire, was yet wel- 
 comed with acclamations by the people. 
 The late emperor had been much attached 
 to her, and she had repaid his affection by 
 an entire devotion to him, and also by 
 such heroic services as are seldom per- 
 
 205 
 
DISSIPATION OP THE EMPRESS.] HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1726. 
 
 formed by women. What so natural as for 
 them to transfer to her the loyalty they 
 bore towards him. Besides, the army loved 
 her ; for she had often accompanied the 
 soldiers in their marches, and shared their 
 toils. 
 
 The satisfaction of the people was aug- 
 mented by the popularity and humaneness 
 of the early acts of the reign of the new 
 sovereign. The annual capitation-tax, which 
 was regarded as a heavy burden, she reduced 
 one-eighth. Most of the persons whom 
 Peter had banished to Siberia she pardoned 
 and permitted to return. The numerous 
 gibbets which, during the late reign, had 
 been erected in various parts of the country, 
 were cut down, and the decaying bodies sus- 
 pended upon them, buried. The army was 
 paid all the arrears due to it, and many pri- 
 vileges of which the Cossacks had been de- 
 prived by Peter, were restored to them. The 
 various officers of state were retained in their 
 situations, and all parties conciliated. Thus 
 every precaution was taken to secure peace 
 within the empire ; while, as a defence against 
 external enemies, Catherine augmented the 
 army, maintained the navy in a state of 
 efficiency, and, in the first year of her reign 
 (1726), contracted a treaty with the emperor 
 of Germany, by which these two potentates 
 reciprocally guaranteed to assist each other 
 with an army of 30,000 men in case of ne- 
 cessity. By the last arrangement Catherine 
 hoped to obtain for her daughter's husband, 
 the Duke of Holstein, the succession to the 
 throne of Sweden, and to compel the king 
 of Denmark to restore to him the duchy of 
 Schleswig. She even contemplated resorting 
 to arms to obtain for the duke those posses- 
 sions to which she considered him entitled ; 
 but she was induced to forego these threat- 
 ened hostilities by the indifference of her 
 senate to a dispute which they considered 
 merely personal. 
 
 The brief reign of Catherine was not dis- 
 tinguished by any event which can be re- 
 garded as important by the historian. In- 
 deed, it has been designated the reign of 
 Mentschikoff; for that active and ambitious 
 minister directed the chief affairs of state, 
 which the empress herself showed neither 
 ability nor inclination to guide. Mentschi- 
 
 * Voltaire says that Peter was acquainted with 
 this presumed brother of Catherine; and on the 
 authority of a person at that time in the service of 
 the czar, he relates the following story, which though 
 usually discredited, has in it nothing improbable, or 
 inconsistent with the character of such a sovereign 
 as Peter : — " An envoy from King Augustus to the 
 206 
 
 koff had, to some extent, been the means of 
 introducing her to fortune, and she placed 
 the most implicit confidence both in his 
 ability and his faithfulness to her interests. 
 But it was not to indolence alone that 
 Catherine now gave way. Either from the 
 influence of early habits, or powerful pas- 
 sions, from which the check of a husband's 
 presence was now removed, she became very 
 irregular and dissipated in her conduct. 
 Extremely intemperate, she frequently in- 
 dulged to excess in Tokay wine, while from 
 among the gentlemen of her court, she 
 selected two favourites at once, on both of 
 whom she bestowed her caresses. So open 
 was this licentiousness, that the rival can- 
 didates for her favours met each other with- 
 out reserve, made it their sole business to 
 please their mistress, and alternately received 
 proofs of her tenderness, without suffering 
 their tranquillity to be marred by mutual 
 jealousy. 
 
 This unbecoming behaviour strengthened 
 the dislike borne to Catherine by the old 
 anti-reform party, and gave their cause a 
 fictitious appearance of being associated with 
 that of public morality. Satirical papers 
 were constantly circulated, with the object 
 of depriving her of the respect of the people, 
 and the grossest observations were made 
 concerning her birth, her family, and her 
 early career. So bitter and offensive did 
 these slanderous papers become, that at 
 length the empress, stung into a resent- 
 ment scarcely natural to her whose sweetness 
 of temper had become almost proverbial, 
 threatened to punish with death any person 
 who spoke or wrote disrespectfully of herself 
 or her family. This threat did not silence 
 the libellers of the empress, whose irregu- 
 larities of life further excited the enmity of 
 her traducers. One circumstance that gave 
 a colour to the popular scandals, was the 
 arrival at St. Petersburg of her brother, who 
 had never been heard of before, and on 
 whom, for the sake, it was supposed, of avert- 
 ing further discoveries, she conferred the 
 title of Count Skavrouski. Something ot 
 suspicion attached to this event, in conse- 
 quence of the general belief that prevailed, 
 that the empress had no knowledge whatever 
 of the members of her family.* 
 czar, returning to Dresden through Courland, over- 
 heard in an inn a man, whose apparel betraying 
 necessitous circumstances, was the cause of his being 
 treated with that contempt and insult to which such 
 a condition is too often exposed. The stranger, with 
 proper resentment, said to them, that could he but 
 once come to the speech of the czar, they who made 
 
A.D. 1727.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [death of CATHBRINE I. 
 
 During the reign of Catherine two im> 
 posters arose, each assuming the name of 
 the deceased Prince Alexis, and, in imitation 
 I of the Dmitris, attempting to dispute the 
 claim of the empress to the throne. Their 
 claims were, however, too transparently im- 
 pudent to obtain credence, and the authors 
 of them both expiated their vulgar fraud 
 upon the scaffold. 
 
 The life of Catherine was doubtless short- 
 ened by dissipation ; but the atmosphere of 
 slander and ill-will with which she was sur- 
 rounded, preyed upon her mind, and pro- 
 bably increased those intemperate habits 
 which proved so fatal both to her reputation 
 and her life. The rise of Prince Mentschi- 
 koff from the streets to be the most powerful 
 man in the empire ; the insolence of his be- 
 haviour to the old aristocracy ; the story of 
 his former connexion with the empress, and 
 his present position near her person — all con- 
 tributed to aggravate the malice of the dis- 
 contented, and to give greater bitterness 
 and point to their sarcasqis. During the 
 life of Peter, Catherine exhibited many vir- 
 tues ; but her character, exalted by her con- 
 nection with him, seemed to lose strength 
 when he was removed from her. It has 
 been correctly said, that the latter period of 
 her short reign discovered not only the 
 
 80 free with him, would change their note, as at that 
 prince's court he should find greater friends than was 
 imagined. At this the envoy had the curiosity to 
 question the person who pretended to such interest 
 at court; and on his vague answers, viewing him 
 more attentively, he thought that in many of his 
 features, he discerned some resemblance to the em- 
 press. Arriving at Dresden, he could not forbear 
 writing to a friend of his at St. Petersburg, about this 
 adventure. The letter was shown to the czar, who 
 sent instructions to Prince Repnin, governor of Riga, 
 to make an inquiry after the man mentioned in the 
 letter ; and by the diligence of a person whom the 
 prince dispatched to Mittau in Courland, he was 
 found out. His name, he said, was Charles Scav- 
 ronski ; he was son to a Lithuanian gentleman who 
 had been killed in the Polish wars, leaving two 
 children in the cradle, a boy and a girl ; both had no 
 education but from nature, being destitute of every 
 thing. Scavronski having been separated from his 
 sister in their childhood, all he knew of her was, that 
 she had been taken at Marienburg in 1704, and he 
 believed her still to be with Prince MentschikofiF, in 
 whose family he imagined she might have mended 
 her condition. Prince Repnin, according to express 
 orders from his master, had Scavronski brought to 
 Riga under pretence of some state crime ; and a kind 
 of charge being drawn up against him, he was sent 
 under a strong guard to St. Petersburg, but with direc- 
 tions that he should be well used on the road. At St. 
 Petersburg, he was immediately carried to a steward 
 of the czar's, named Shepleff, who being instructed 
 in the part he was to act drew from this man several 
 
 abandonment of that admirable line of con- 
 duct which had secured to her the attach- 
 ment of the nation, but the adoption of 
 habits which, if death had not removed her 
 from the throne, must have ultimately ren- 
 dered her unfit to sustaiu the imperial duties. 
 It is probable that, had she continued much 
 longer to preside over the affairs of the 
 empire, she would have committed herself to 
 such acts of impropriety as would have 
 finally led to her dethronement. 
 
 Catherine expired on the 17th of May, 
 1727, a little more than two years after her 
 accession to the throne, and about the thirty- 
 ninth year of her age. Her death is usually, 
 and most likely correctly, attributed to a 
 cancer and a dropsy, induced by her irregu- 
 larities. Suspicious rumours, however, pre- 
 vailed concerning the cause of her demise, 
 which some writers attribute to poison. It is 
 commonly supposed that the diseases brought 
 on by her intemperate habits, in conjunc- 
 tion with her eccentric custom of passing 
 whole nights in the open air, either walking 
 or riding in sledges, produced the fatal 
 result. 
 
 In person, the empress was below the 
 average height of women. She was delicate 
 and graceful in youth, but became rather 
 corpulent as she advanced in life. With 
 
 particulars relating to his condition, after which he 
 told him, that the charge sent against him from Riga 
 was of a very serious nature, but that he should have 
 fair play ; that his best way would be to present to 
 his majesty a petition, which should be drawn up in 
 his name, and that ways and means should be found 
 out for him to deliver it himself. The next day the 
 czar dining with Shepleff, as had been concerted, 
 Scavronski was brought before him : his answers to 
 the czar's questions being perfectly natural and con- 
 sistent, Peter was fully convinced of his being the 
 very brother of the czarina. In their childhood they 
 had both been in Livonia ; all Scavronski's answers 
 to the czar's questions perfectly coincided with what 
 his spouse had told him about her birth, and the 
 early misfortunes of her life. The czar having now 
 no longer any doubt about Scavronski, proposed to 
 his spouse the day following to go and dine at Mr. 
 Shepleff 's : after dinner, he ordered Scavronski to be 
 brought in ; he appeared in the same clothes which he 
 had worn in his journey, it being the czar's order 
 that he should not be seen in any other garb than 
 that to which his misfortunes had habituated him. 
 He again questioned him before his consort, and 
 according to the manuscript, on finishing his ques- 
 tion, he said these very words : — ' This man is thy 
 brother ; come Charles, kiss the empress's hand, and 
 embrace thy sister.' The author of this account adds, 
 that the empress fainted, and that on her recovery 
 the czar said to her, ' There is nothing in this that is 
 in the least mysterious. This gentleman is my 
 brother-in-law : if he has merit, we will make some- 
 thing of him ; if not, we must leave him as he is.' " 
 
 207 
 
CHARACTER OF CATHERINE.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1727. 
 
 dark eyes, she possessed a fair complexion 
 and light hair, which she had the bad taste 
 to dye black. It is asserted that she could 
 neither read nor write, and that Count 
 Ostermann signed her name to all the 
 despatches. Her natural abilities did not 
 rise much above the average of those of 
 women generally; but in her connection with 
 Peter, she exhibited much of that fidelity, 
 self-denial, and personal fearlessness which 
 ever mingles largely with the heroic. Her 
 influence over the czar arose from a source 
 purely womanly ; it was the soft charm of 
 sweetness of temper, not the proud spell 
 of mental power. Men of such laborious 
 habits as Peter, and whose minds are almost 
 always stretched upon the rack of excitement, 
 usually love those women in whose society 
 they can find repose. Stern as they may 
 be to the world, yet, in the brief placid 
 hours they yield to domestic life, they also 
 perhaps inwardly murmur, " Blessed is the 
 woman who consoles." This was the part of 
 Catherine ; to cheer the great man in those 
 gloomy hours when his strong nature yielded 
 to sadness, or, almost overwhelmed with 
 difficulties, staggered with* uncertain steps 
 near the sharp precipice of despair. When 
 enclosed within living walls on the banks of 
 the Pruth; when tortured by the mental 
 blindness and ingratitude of a son whom 
 he sought in vain to convert into a worthy 
 successor ; or racked by an agonising dis- 
 ease which wrung groans from his iron 
 frame — the czar ever found Catherine at 
 hand to speak those soothing words, render 
 those tender courtesies, which tranquillise 
 and console. It was to this, and not to 
 strength of intellect or quickness of imagina- 
 tion, that she owed the affection borne to 
 her by her illustrious husband. Motraye 
 observed — " She had in some sort the gov- 
 ernment of all the czar's passions; and 
 even saved the lives of a great many more 
 persons than Lefort was able to do. She 
 inspired him with that humanity which, in 
 the opinion of his subjects, nature seemed 
 to have denied him. A word from her 
 mouth in favour of a wretch just going to 
 be sacrificed to his anger, would disarm 
 him ; but if he was fully resolved to satisfy 
 that passion, he would give orders for the 
 execution when she was absent, for fear she 
 should plead for the victim." The cele- 
 brated Munich also declared, that " she was 
 the mediatrix between the monarch and his 
 subjects." 
 
 It is much to be regretted that the later 
 208 
 
 incidents of the career of Catherine should 
 sully the period of her life which had been 
 passed without reproach. The irregularities 
 of her early life it requires no great exercise 
 of charity to pardon, but those of her later 
 days do not admit of apology. " The 
 power of early habits," says a writer to 
 whom we have been much indebted, " unless 
 it be restrained by strong motives, or curbed 
 by the presence of overruling authority, ex- 
 tends to the last moments of life, even 
 should it have been suppressed during a long 
 interval of years. Such seems to have been 
 the case with the empress Catherine; nor 
 shall we find, upon a close analysis of her 
 history, that she was exactly placed in a 
 situation to discourage the lurking propen- 
 sities of the class from which she sprung, 
 until a very short period before her death. 
 Her connection with Peter, if not actually 
 ambiguous, was at least private, and graced 
 by none of the privileges of the nominal 
 eminence to which it apparently elevated 
 her. Her coronation invested her, for the 
 first time, with authority; previously to 
 that event she was the chamber confidant of 
 the czar, the creature of his will, and the 
 nurse of his distempers. It is true that he 
 married her privately ; but, unlike Madame 
 Maintenon, she could not confer upon that 
 secret union those ennobling embellishments 
 of feeling and of intellect that would have 
 rendered it respectable. The blemishes of 
 her private life, worse than the blemish on 
 her birth, could never be obliterated. It 
 cannot, therefore, excite much wonder that, 
 when she came at last into the possession of 
 unbounded authority, released from the sur- 
 veillance of a rigid sovereign, and left to 
 the free play of her natural tendencies, she 
 should have terminated her course in a way 
 consistent with the spirit of its opening." 
 
 Catherine, by will, bequeathed the throne 
 to the grandson of her late husband, and 
 son of the bigoted and unfortunate Alexis. 
 Thus, in the year 1727, Peter Alexievitch, 
 then in the eleventh year of his age, became, 
 both by hereditary right and the will of the 
 late sovereign, emperor of Russia under the 
 title of Peter II. By the will of Catherine, 
 the young czar was placed under the 
 guardianship of the princesses Anne and 
 Elizabeth, the Duke of Holstein, and certain 
 members of the council, until he should 
 attain his sixteenth year. The will had 
 evidently been drawn up either by, or 
 under the dictation of, Mentschikoff, for he 
 was appointed president of the council of 
 
 L 
 
A.D. 1727.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [ruin of mentschikoff. 
 
 regeacy ; and it also provided that the 
 young emperor, when, of proper age, should 
 be united to his daughter. The commission 
 of regency soon became powerless and in- 
 operative ; no member dared to vote except 
 as Mentschikoff desired, and he continued 
 to sway the almost absolute power he had 
 held during the life of Catherine. 
 
 Prince Mentschikoff paid great court to 
 the young emperor, and adopted a parental 
 tone towards him, labouring earnestly at 
 the same time to obtain an absolute ascen- 
 dancy over the boy-czar. By this means 
 he embittered still further the jealous feel- 
 ings entertained towards him by those 
 nobles of high birth whom he kept at a 
 distance from the person of their sovereign. 
 Many of these had long looked with anxiety 
 for his fall ; and several incidents now com- 
 bined to promote it. Indeed, a secret 
 cabal of some of the most distinguished per- 
 sons at court was formed against him, and 
 his eventual ruin became almost a matter of 
 certainty. They placed about the person 
 of the emperor a youth named Ivan Dol- 
 goruki, a member of one of the most an- 
 cient faraihes in Russia. This lad, as it 
 was anticipated, obtained the confidence of 
 Peter, and, in hours of familiarity, poured 
 into his ear those feelings of bitterness 
 against Mentschikoff which the old aristo- 
 cratic party entertained. Young Dolgo- 
 ruki represented that the low-born adven- 
 turer usurped an authority which it was 
 neither becoming nor safe for him to pos- 
 sess ; that he kept the sovereign in a state 
 of vassalage ; and that both the nobles and 
 people expected the emperor would release 
 himself from an authority which degraded 
 him and injured the state. These argu- 
 ments were the more effective from the fact 
 that Peter had taken a dislike to his pro- 
 posed bride, Maria Mentschikoff, and sought 
 to be released from her by any means that 
 offered. Every action of the hated presi- 
 dent was watched, and he was soon detected 
 in appropriating to himself a considerable 
 sum of money which Peter had sent as a 
 present to one of his relatives. He unex- 
 pectedly taxed Mentschikoff with this 
 offence, and observing the confusion of the 
 minister, angrily ordered him from his pre- 
 sence. A sentence of confiscation and 
 banishment was immediately pronounced 
 against the arrogant and grasping states- 
 man. His enormous wealth, accumulated 
 by corruption and oppression, and consist- 
 ing of 9,000,000 roubles in bank notes and 
 2e 
 
 obligations, 1,000,000 in cash, 105 lbs. of 
 gold utensils, 420 lbs. of silver plate, and 
 precious stones to the value of about 
 1,000,000, besides his estates, his palace, 
 and his costly furniture, were all seized for 
 the advantage of the imperial treasury. 
 He himself, together with his family, in- 
 cluding even the betrothed wife of the 
 young emperor, were compelled to leave 
 Russia in September, 1727, for Beresof, in 
 Siberia. The miserable statesman bore his 
 merited punishment with fortitude, and died 
 two years afterwards, poor and forlorn, in 
 his place of exile. 
 
 The young emperor only got rid of one 
 faction to fall beneath the influence of 
 another. The Dolgoruki family now grasped 
 the principal authority of the state, and 
 even contrived to engage the affection of 
 Peter to Catherine, a young lady of that 
 house, to whom he was soon afterwards 
 publicly affianced. It is probable that this 
 attachment hastened the ruin of Prince 
 Mentschikoff ; for it was arranged that the 
 coronation should take place early in the 
 following year to that in which he departed 
 for the wastes of Siberia. 
 
 The education of Peter had been en- 
 trusted to the able Count Ostermann, of 
 whose talents and integrity the illustrious 
 grandfather of the young sovereign had, 
 while on his death-bed, expressed so high 
 an opinion. The count laboured to dis- 
 charge his high responsibility with that 
 zeal and wisdom which usually charac- 
 terised him. He led the young sovereign 
 through a course of instruction, consisting 
 chiefly of history, political codes, the rights of 
 magistrates, the relations existing between 
 the ruler and the ruled, international obli- 
 gations, and military art. 
 
 But from these studies Peter was decoyed 
 by the members of the Dolgoruki family, 
 who did not desire him to become personally 
 either very accomplished or powerful. They 
 sought to save him the labour of think- 
 ing for himself, by preventing him from 
 acquiring the power of doing so. It was 
 their intention so to train him, that he 
 should lean upon them for support, and 
 that they should transact the affairs of 
 state. With this object they lured him 
 into excesses, especially witli regard to the 
 sports of the field, to which he was greatly 
 attached. To such an extent did they in- 
 duce him to indulge in these exhausting 
 pastimes, that his strength began to sink 
 beneath the fatigues he encountered. In 
 
 209 
 
.BBATH OF PETER II.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1730. 
 
 this condition Peter was attacked by the j 
 small-pox, which made hasty ravages in his ! 
 enfeebled frame, and terminated his life on 
 the 29th of January, 1730. | 
 
 We are inclined to believe that his death ' 
 was a fortunate event for Russia. The 
 Dolgoruki belonged to the old nobility, and 
 were prejudiced against the reforms of Peter 
 the Great. Though it is impossible to say, 
 with absolute certainty, what course the [ 
 czar would have taken, yet the future of 
 this young monarch, had his life been 
 prolonged, may be inferred. The Dolgoruki 
 had obtained his confidence, and he was 
 continually subject to their influence. They 
 still resided at Moscow ; and the czar had 
 already expressed an intention of restoring 
 to that city the distinction arising from the 
 imperial residence. This would have been 
 
 materially to injure the prospects of St. 
 Petersburg, and to retard the progress of 
 the empire. From this incident, it is to be 
 feared that the errors of the father might 
 have reappeared in the son ; and Peter, 
 like Alexis, have striven to overthrow the 
 reforms of their distinguished progenitor. 
 This was no improbable apprehension ; 
 though, on the other hand, the young em- 
 peror might perhaps, in maturer years, have 
 thrown off the debilitating tutelage to which 
 he was subjected, and been aroused to a 
 just appreciation and a worthy imitation of 
 the virtues of his grandfather. The death 
 of Peter II. was, notwithstanding, much 
 regretted in Russia; and doubtless the 
 more so, from the fact that he was the last 
 male representative of the line of Ro- 
 manoff. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 ANNA, DUCHESS OF COURLAND, BECOMES EMPRESS ; CONDITIONS EXACTED FROM HER; SHE ANNULS THEM; 
 SHE CONFIDES GREAT POWER TO HER FAVOURITE BIREN ; RUSSLA PLACES HER CHOSEN CANDIDATE ON 
 THE THRONE OF POLAND DESPITE THE OPPOSITION OF FRANCE ; JEALOUSY AND INTRIGUES OF THE LATTER 
 POWER ; RUSSIA, IX CONJUNCTION WITH AUSTRIA, WAGES A PROFITLESS WAR AGAINST TURKEY ; AUSTRIA 
 MAKES A PRIVATE AND DISHONOURABLE PEACE WITH THE SULTAN ; RUSSIA ALSO MAKES PEACE WITH 
 TURKEY; COURT OF THE EMPRESS; SAVAGE AND CAPRICIOUS DESPOTISM OF BIREN; DEATH OF THE 
 EMPRESS ANNA. 
 
 Russia was again agitated by the question 
 — " Who should wield the sceptre of the em- 
 pire ?" The Dolgoruki family made a vain 
 and foolish attempt to secure the imperial 
 crown for Catherine, the young lady of 
 their own family, who had been affianced to 
 the late emperor. One of them forged a 
 document, which he pretended to be a will 
 of Peter II., wherein Catherine was named 
 as the successor. With this spurious instru- 
 ment in one hand, and a drawn sword in i 
 the other, the shallow schemer rushed into 
 the hall where the senators were assembled, 
 and shouted, " Long live the empress Dolgo- 
 ruki !" As he observed nothing but looks 
 of cold and stem reproof upon the faces of 
 those present, he abandoned his fraudulent 
 design, and withdrew the forged will. This 
 baffled attempt, however, eventually brought 
 a heavy penalty upon himself and his 
 family. 
 
 The Russian nobles and counsellors re- 
 210 
 
 solved to be guided, in the matter of suc- 
 cession, by the will of the empress Cathe- 
 rine I. By this it was arranged, that if 
 Peter II. should die without heirs, Anne, 
 Duchess of Holstein (eldest daughter of 
 Peter the Great), and her heirs should suc- 
 ceed, or, on failure of them, the Princess 
 Elizabeth, second daughter of Peter and 
 Catherine. Anne had died two years before 
 in Germany, where she and her husband 
 had retired in consequence of the persecu- 
 tions to which they were subjected by 
 Mentschikoff. Though Anne had left a 
 young prince, yet as he was a foreigner on 
 the father's side, and the council entertained 
 a great aversion to the introduction of 
 foreigners into the state, they decided that 
 his claim should not be even taken into 
 consideration. As to the Princess Eliza- 
 beth, she had no desire to ascend the 
 throne ; and notwithstanding some en- 
 treaties to that effect, she declined the 
 
A.D. 
 
 ]730.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [accession of anna. 
 
 sceptre, preferring to resign herself to a 
 private life, in which indolence, sensuality, 
 and piety were incongruously mingled. 
 
 It was therefore necessary for the council 
 to look in some other direction in this search 
 for an imperial sovereign. There were other 
 female members of the Romanoff family yet 
 living. The feeble and imbecile Ivan, who 
 during his short life shared the throne with 
 his subsequently illustrious brother, Peter I., 
 had left three daughters. Catherine, the 
 eldest, had been married to, and afterwards 
 separated from, the turbulent Duke of Meck- 
 lenburg ; the second, Anna, Duchess of 
 Courland, was a widow, residing at Mittau ; 
 while the third was unmarried, and had 
 made St. Petersburg her home. Of these 
 three princesses, the council resolved to 
 offer the throne to the second, Anna of 
 Courland. This council was a body estab- 
 lished by Catherine, with the assumed ob- 
 ject of offering advice to the sovereign ; but 
 it soon proved itself to be both intriguing 
 and despotic. Its members now hoped to 
 obtain an empress Avho should be their in- 
 strument, and permit them to enjoy, in 
 fact, the power which they intended her to 
 possess only in name. With this object 
 they drew up the following conditions, 
 which, if carried into operation, would have 
 materially diminished the imperial power ; 
 and, in fact, changed it from an absolute 
 into a limited, and, in some respects, con- 
 stitutional monarchy : — " That the empress 
 should govern solely by the resolves of the 
 high privy council; that she was not, of 
 herself, to declare war or to conclude peace ; 
 that she should not, of her own authority, 
 impose any new tax upon the people ; that 
 she should not dispose of any important 
 office, or inflict capital punishment on any 
 nobleman, or confiscate his estates, unless 
 he had been previously convicted of the 
 crime laid to his charge ; that she should 
 not alienate any lands belonging to the 
 crown; and that she should not marry, 
 or nominate an heir, without first obtain- 
 ing the consent of the council.^' Another 
 stipulation was added, to the effect that 
 her chamberlain and favourite, Ernest Von 
 Biren, should not accompany her into 
 Russia. 
 
 These conditions were not intended to 
 soften the rigour of the government with 
 respect to the people, but merely to con- 
 vert an unlimited monarchy to an irre- 
 sponsible oligarchy. This aim was soon 
 understood by the great bodv of the nobles 
 
 who did not form a part of the council of 
 seven. They saw, also, that the Dolgoruki 
 had the chief voice in the council, and they 
 resolved not to permit their interests, and 
 those of the empire, to be sacrificed to a 
 family compact. A rapid reaction took 
 place, in which the army and the people 
 sided with the nobles against the restrictive 
 conditions ; and declared that they would 
 rather have one master than seven. The 
 Princess Anna, however, accepted the con- 
 ditions ; for General Yagujinski had sent a 
 secret message to her, advising her to do so, 
 and assuring her that means would soon be 
 found for having them annulled. 
 
 Anna speedily arrived at Moscow, bring- 
 ing with her her obnoxious favourite, Biren ; 
 by which circumstance she broke the con- 
 ditions on the very moment of her appear- 
 ance. Had the council been strong enough 
 to insist on the instant expulsion of the 
 low-born adventurer, and either to dismiss 
 or awe the guards who were opposed to 
 their views, they might, at least for a time, 
 have exercised the imperial power. But, as 
 they were unable to do this, their over- 
 whelming influence, and consequently that 
 of the Dolgoruki, was doomed. The down- 
 fall of the usurping oligarchy was a rapid 
 one. Scarcely had Anna passed through 
 the ceremony of coronation, before a peti- 
 tion, signed by several hundred noblemen, 
 was presented to her, entreating her to 
 abolish the restrictions placed upon her 
 authority by the council, and to assume the 
 unhmited power that had been exercised by 
 her predecessors. The empress understood 
 the proceeding, and called an assembly of 
 the deputies and representatives of the 
 nobles and the army. Presenting herself 
 before them, she caused the conditions to 
 be read, and then desired to know whether 
 they were in accordance with their desires. 
 The great majority of those present re- 
 sponded in the negative, and demanded the 
 restoration of the old form of government. 
 Anna expressed great surprise that the con- 
 ditions forced upon her were so opposed to 
 the wishes of the Russian people ; and taking 
 the objectionable document, she tore it to 
 pieces before the assembly, saying, "Then 
 there is no further need of this paper." 
 Shortly afterwards a proclamation was issued, 
 which declared that the empress ascended 
 the throne not by election but by here- 
 ditary right, and exacted an oath of alle- 
 giance to her as unlimited sovereign. 
 
 The first use the empress" made of her 
 
 211 
 
AFFAIKS OF POLAND.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1733. 
 
 unfettered authority was to abuse it, by 
 raising her unworthy favourite, Biren, to 
 the post of grand chamberlain, and con- 
 fiding to his hands the chief power of the 
 state. This man was the grandson of a 
 groom ; but having contrived to ingratiate 
 himself with Anna's master of the house- 
 hold when she was Duchess of Courland, 
 he obtained a position near her person. 
 His handsome figure and polite address at- 
 tracted her attention, and she made him her 
 secretary and chief favourite. Biren soon 
 acquired an unbounded influence over her 
 mind, and became, in fact, an absolute 
 tyrant to his mistress. 
 
 Anna abolished the council of seven, and 
 resigned herself to the directions of a cabinet 
 composed of Biren, Count Ostermann, and 
 General Munich. Ostermann was the pre- 
 sumed head of this cabinet ; and Munich, a 
 soldier of great ability, was appointed gen- 
 eralissimo of the army. The favourite be- 
 haved with courtesy to these two able men ; 
 for he was aware that his own abilities were 
 not of a character to enable him successfully 
 to direct the affairs of a great empire. The 
 latent ambition, insolence, and cruelty of 
 this man's nature, were not yet fully de- 
 veloped : for a time he acted with discre- 
 tion ; and the first three years of the new 
 reign were regarded as those of a mild 
 sovereign, who justly enjoyed the attach- 
 ment of her people. Anna admired the 
 wisdom of Peter the Great, and desired, as 
 far as her capacity permitted her, to follow 
 in his footsteps. In this temper she en- 
 couraged the military reforms of Marshal 
 Munich, who completely remodelled the 
 army; and, amongst other valuable altera- 
 tions, placed the emoluments of Russian 
 officers on an equality with those of fo- 
 reigners, which had hitherto been double, 
 and thus proved an incessant source of 
 enmity and discontent. He established a 
 corps of engineers, which, until that time, 
 was unknown in Russia; and founded a 
 military institution for the instruction of 
 cadets of noble families, with a view to the 
 formation of a body of able commanders. 
 
 Poland was still convulsed by the struggles 
 of rival candidates for the throne ; and these 
 were of a kind that threatened not only to 
 disturb the peace of Russia, but that of 
 France and Sweden also. The Russian 
 cabinet still maintained the cause of Au- 
 gustus, the elector of Saxony, whom Peter 
 the Great had placed upon the throne of 
 Poland; which France desired to see in the 
 212 
 
 possession of Stanislaus Leczinski, the 
 father-in-law of Louis XV. But the in- 
 fluence of Russia over Poland was greater 
 than that of France, and Stanislaus was 
 compelled to fly the country and abandon 
 the throne to his more fortunate rival. 
 This circumstance excited a sense of irrita- 
 tion on the part of France against Russia; 
 added to which, she had other cogent 
 reasons for desiring to restrain the still 
 increasing power of that empire. France 
 had long desired to place on the throne of 
 Poland a monarch who should be the in- 
 strument of her will ; and, although hitherto 
 baffled, she yet trusted ultimately to ac- 
 complish her design. Besides, the French 
 government were jealous of the rise of so 
 powerful an empire as Russia, which threat- 
 ened to surmount and destroy the influence 
 they had hitherto exercised over a con- 
 siderable part of Europe. Actuated by these 
 motives, France stirred up Sweden — yet 
 bleeding from her recent wounds — against 
 Russia, to which the people of that despoiled 
 and humihated country entertained emotions 
 of the bitterest hatred. So successful were 
 the diplomatic arts of the French court, that 
 Russia was compelled vigilantly to watch 
 the movements of a dangerous neighbour. 
 
 Frederic Augustus died in the February 
 of 1733, after a reign which had been one 
 prolonged scene of misery to the Polish 
 people. The philosophical Stanislaus, then 
 residing at the peaceful court of Lorraine, 
 was reluctantly induced by the French 
 court to proceed to Warsaw, where he was 
 received with acclamation; while in the 
 diet of election, 60,000 voices pronounced 
 him king of Poland. But Russia, backed 
 by the power of Austria, declared in favoiu* 
 of the son of the late king, and arbitrarily 
 interfered to displace a sovereign who was 
 the choice of the majority of his people. A 
 Russian army, consisting of 50,000 men 
 under the conunand of Mai'shal Munich, 
 entered Poland; and, under their protec- 
 tion, a party of nobles, opposed to the 
 French interest, proclaimed Frederic Au- 
 gustus II. as their king. Frederic shortly 
 afterwards entered Cracow in triumph, 
 where he and his queen were crowned. 
 Stanislaus was driven forth as a fugitive, 
 and pursued by the Russian troops to 
 Dantzic, in which town the bravery of the 
 inhabitants enabled him to stand a siege of 
 five months. He relied upon receiving aid 
 from France; but when it arrived, it was 
 too small to render any material service. 
 
A.D. 1735.] 
 
 KUSSIAN EMPIRE, [surrender of Persian territory. 
 
 The city was at length compelled to capitu- 
 late; and then the dethroned Stanislaus 
 stole away in disguise, and after many sur- 
 prising adventures and escapes, contrived to 
 reach the Prussian territories. The phleg- 
 matic and incapable Frederic Augustus 
 gave himself up entirely to his favourite 
 occupations of smoking and hunting, and 
 scarcely bestowed a thought upou the 
 miserable people whose welfare had been 
 committed to his charge. France was 
 baffled, and Russia triumphant. The em- 
 press Anna also received a private gratifica- 
 tion, the obtainment of which had been 
 her chief motive for interfering so capri- 
 ciously in the internal arrangements of 
 another nation. In consequence of the 
 influence thus gained, her favourite, Bireii, 
 was shortly afterwards chosen Duke of 
 Courland by the nobles of that duchy ; and 
 thus he acquired a distinction which the 
 wealthy and able Mentschikoff had sought 
 for in vain. 
 
 Tlie territories which Peter the Great 
 obtained by treaty from Persia, had been 
 found to be a burden rather than an acqui- 
 sition. The Russian government discovered 
 that it was quite possible to be embarrassed 
 by an extension of the empii'e in an un- 
 profitable direction. Peter, in his desire to 
 possess, had for once overlooked the neces- 
 sity of ascertaining whether the new pro- 
 vinces were likely to produce advantages in 
 the way of revenue, or to add strength to 
 the frontiers. To retain the possession of 
 them, it was necessary to keep a consider- 
 able garrison in the interior, even in times 
 of peace. These were exposed to frequent 
 attacks and desultory warfare ; and the cli- 
 mate was so injurious to the Russians, that 
 they lost, in a few years, no less than 130,000 
 men. Such a drain as this began to be 
 seriously felt ; and Anna wisely resolved on 
 relinquishing her Persian dependencies to 
 the shah on the best terms she could get for 
 them. She therefore opened a negotiation, 
 and proposed to restore the ceded provinces, 
 on condition that the Persian monarch would 
 conclude a commercial treaty of an advan- 
 tageous kind to the Russians. The offer 
 was accepted; and, in 1735, Anna formally 
 surrendered her Persian territories to the 
 shah. At the same time, the two countries 
 entered into a defensive treaty; Russia 
 being induced to propose this, because she 
 was about to commence a new war with the 
 Turks. Peter I. had himself contemplated 
 such a war, with the object of effacing the 
 
 disgrace he had sustained at the Pruth, and 
 of recovering the valuable territory he had 
 been compelled to sacrifice on that occasion. 
 The czar had been further irritated by the 
 haughty refusal of the Porte to acknowledge 
 the imperial title which his people had con- 
 ferred upon him. As a necessary prepara- 
 tion for his hostile design, he had fortified 
 the Russian frontiers in the direction of 
 Turkey; but his death arrested the exe- 
 cution of his project, which was entirely 
 laid aside by his successors, Catherine and 
 Peter II. 
 
 The empress Anna had many induce- 
 ments to attempt to carry into execution 
 the design of her iUustrious predecessor. 
 The Tartars of the Crimea, who were under 
 the protection of the Turks, had for some 
 time made many predatory inroads upon 
 the Russian territory ; the loss of Azoff, 
 and the destruction of the fortifications at 
 Taganrog, had the effect of destroying the 
 Russian trade on the Black Sea ; the inso- 
 lence of the Ottoman government also 
 rankled in the minds of the Russian autho- 
 rities ; and, most important with the empress, 
 Biren was anxious for the war. His desire 
 for it has, by some writers, been attributed 
 to a wish to preserve the Russian army in 
 the high state of discipline to which it had 
 been brought ; but the suggestion, that it 
 rather arose from a jealousy he entertained 
 towards Marshal Munich, and a hope to 
 send him to a distance, is far more probable. 
 
 Anna was further encouraged to hope for 
 success in her intended hostilities against 
 Turkey, in consequence of the treaty of 
 alliance existing between Russia and Aus- 
 tria, by which either nation was to assist 
 the other with 30,000 men against any foe. 
 The first step of the empress was to remon- 
 strate with the sultan on the subject of the 
 ravages made by the Tartars, and to demand 
 satisfaction. As was anticipated, the sultan 
 declined to interfere, and excused himself 
 from doing so on the pretence, that although 
 the Tartars were under his protection, yet 
 that it was impossible to keep these preda- 
 tory people under the desired restraint. 
 This was what was desired, because, as the 
 sultan refused satisfaction, the Russians 
 had a pretext for endeavouring to obtain it 
 for themselves. 
 
 Before the year 1735 had expired, a Rus- 
 sian army marched into the Crimea, where 
 they overrun a part of the country, and 
 slew a great number of the Tartars. Their 
 success led them to penetrate further than 
 
 213 
 
WAR IN THE CRIMEA.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1736—1739. 
 
 was prudent; where, from want of provi- 
 sions and incessant attacks, they experienced 
 a loss of 10,000 men, and were compelled 
 to retire. 
 
 Notwithstanding this reverse. Marshal 
 Munich, at the head of a powerful army, 
 scoured the Ukraine, and entered the 
 Crimea in the following year (1736), with 
 a free commission to retaliate upon the 
 Tartars. The latter, unable to compete 
 with the now disciplined Russians in the 
 open field, fled before them, and took refuge 
 behind some formidable intrenchments they 
 had erected, and which extended from the 
 Sea of Azoff to the Euxine. As these lines 
 had been raised to protect the Crimea from 
 any attack on the land side, and were 
 strongly fortified with cannon, the Tartars 
 regarded them as impregnable. This illu- 
 sion was soon dispelled. The impetuosity 
 of the Russian troops enabled them to burst 
 through the intrenchments, and to slay or 
 scatter the hordes that defended them. 
 But a short time elapsed before a great part 
 of the Crimea was in the hands of the vic- 
 tors. The Russians could not retain what 
 they had seized so rapidly. The Tartars, as 
 they fled, devastated the country they 
 passed through, and the Russians again 
 began to feel the difiiculty of obtaining 
 provisions. Marshal Munich, therefore, 
 found it necessary to return to the Ukraine, 
 where he took up his winter quarters. 
 
 During the expedition of Munich to the 
 Crimea, General Lascy had proceeded with 
 another army against Azofi", to which he 
 laid siege, and reduced to submission on 
 the 1st of July. The Porte was roused 
 from a contemptuous apathy, and compelled 
 to employ some measures to arrest the pro- 
 gress of the Russian arms. Not desirous of 
 entering on a war with a powerful enemy, 
 the sultan endeavoured to enlist the media- 
 tion of Austria for the restoration of peace. 
 Russia, however, was not disposed to listen 
 to pacific overtures, and therefore de- 
 manded the fulfilment of the treaty existing 
 between her and Austria, by which the 
 latter power was bound to furnish 30,000 
 men to fight against the Turks. Austria 
 was unwilling to supply a contingent which 
 would have the efl'ect of enabling Russia to 
 extend its conquests without the production 
 of any advantages to herself. She there- 
 fore decided on making war ou the Turks, 
 in alliance with Russia : as a result of which 
 arrangement, any conquests would have to 
 be divided between the victors. 
 
 Though such a formidable alliance neces- 
 sarily imperilled the safety of Turkey, the 
 sultan felt that it must be resolutely encoun- 
 tered for the maintenance of the honour of 
 the Ottoman empire. He therefore raised 
 new levies, put his army on a war footing, 
 and equipped a fleet for the protection of 
 the Black Sea. 
 
 The Russian and Austrian forces entered 
 on their campaign against Turkey in the 
 year 1737, but the efficiency of it was marred 
 by the jealousies and dissensions existing 
 between the respective commanders and 
 officers of these novel allies. The Russian 
 army was divided into two portions, one of 
 which, under the command of General 
 Lascy, again penetrated into and desolated 
 a portion of the Crimea. The other was 
 led by Marshal Munich, who carried his 
 aversion to the Austrian s to such a dan- 
 gerous extreme, that he stood almost aloof 
 from active proceedings; and, although 
 Russia lost about 50,000 soldiers during 
 this campaign, yet all that she obtained in 
 recompense was the fortress of Otchakofi", 
 on the Black Sea. The condition of the 
 Austrian army was worse ; for, besides en- 
 countering severe losses, it scarcely escaped 
 untouched by disgrace. The Turks poured 
 out their strength against the German 
 army, broke through its ranks on several 
 occasions, and obtained many advantages. 
 
 Some attempts were made to bring about 
 a peace ; but the Turks, encouraged by the 
 results of the campaign of 1737, took so 
 high a tone, that the war was resumed, 
 though with very little animation on the 
 part of Austria. During 1738, Marshal 
 Munich seemed anxious to redeem his repu- 
 tation; but, with the exception of some 
 vigorous marches through the territories of 
 the Tartars, he efi'ected nothing of any im- 
 portance. General Lascy was not more 
 fortunate in the Crimea, where he found 
 the country desolated in every direction 
 as he approached; and his troops suff'ered 
 from a terrible mortality, which thinned 
 their ranks with a far greater rapidity than 
 the swords of the enemy could have done, 
 and at length compelled them to retire. 
 
 The campaign of 1739 opened more fa- 
 vourably for the Russians. Marshal Munich, 
 with a larger army than before, penetrated 
 into Moldavia, where he engaged and en- 
 tirely defeated an army of Turks and Tar- 
 tars, capturing forty pieces of cannon, and 
 the whole camp of the enemy. The fortress 
 of Khotzim surrendered on the approach of 
 
A.D. 1739.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [peace with turkey. 
 
 the Russians, who also made themselves 
 masters of Jassy, the capital of Moldavia, 
 the whole of which territory was awed by 
 the terror of their arms. Returning into 
 Bessarabia, Munich then prepared for a 
 descent upon Bender, when his furtlier 
 progress was arrested by the intense disgust 
 he experienced on le<irning that Austria 
 had concluded a separate peace with the 
 Turks, and dishonourably left Russia to 
 carry on the war alone. 
 
 Jealous of the triumphs reaped by their 
 rivals, and suffering from a contagious dis- 
 ease, which tended greatly to paralyse their 
 activity, the Austrian troops were heartily 
 tired of the war. At the same time the 
 emperor, Charles VI., was suffering from a 
 dangerous illness ; and his daughter, shrink- 
 ing with apprehension from the future, was 
 anxious by any means to make peace with 
 Turkey. Proposals were therefore made 
 by Austria, which the sultan was glad to 
 accept, and a treaty of peace between them 
 was hurriedly drawn up, and signed at 
 Belgrade on the 1st of September, 1739. 
 Bj'' this disgraceful treaty, Austria escaped 
 from all further responsibility in the war; 
 but she purchased peace at a price which, 
 but a short time before, would have been 
 regarded as incredible. Austria restored to 
 Turkey Belgrade, Shabatz, the whole of 
 Servia, a portion of Bosnia, and Austrian 
 Wallachia. It has been remarked, that 
 " the infatuation which tempted Austria 
 into this step, can be referred only to her 
 jealousy of Russian aggrandisement. She 
 desired, above all things, to embarrass that 
 power, whose ambition, stretching to all 
 points, appeared to be boundless. Had she, 
 however, preserved her good faith with 
 Russia, she might have shared in the spoils 
 which she feared her growing rival would 
 monopolise, and partitioned with the em- 
 press the fields of their mutual victories. 
 But it was fortunate, perhaps, that the 
 jealousies of the Austrian army, and the 
 timidity of the court, led to this unexpected 
 result ; for, had the combining powers pro- 
 secuted their design with unanimity, they 
 might have ultimately established a league 
 subversive of the repose and independence 
 of the rest of Europe.^' 
 
 Russia did not feel inclined to carry on 
 the war alone against the formidable power 
 of the Porte, the more especially as she 
 feared that while her armies were engaged 
 with Turkey, she might be exposed to an 
 attack from Sweden, which was secretly 
 
 urged to that course by the French court ; 
 Russia therefore followed the example of 
 Austria, and that, too, with such promptness, 
 that by the 18th of September, she too had 
 concluded a peace with Turkey. Though 
 the conditions of this treaty involved some 
 sacrifices on both sides, yet, as a whole, 
 they were highly favourable to the sultan. 
 Azoff and the territory surrounding it, 
 together with Kabardia, Avere to be aban- 
 doned, and remain uncultivated, as a neu- 
 tral boundary between the two empires. 
 It was settled that Russia should be allowed 
 to erect a fortress on the Don, and Turkey 
 another in the Kuban. The Russians also 
 surrendered some minor conquests, and 
 consented to the exclusion of their fleets 
 from the Palus Mseotis and the Black Sea ; 
 and to the irritating condition that all their 
 commerce in the latter should be carried on 
 in Turkish ships. Such was the abrupt 
 and disastrous termination of a war which 
 had cost the Russian empire upwards ot 
 100,000 men, and an enormous expenditure 
 of money. All that Russia gained was an 
 increase of reputation for her troops, who, 
 under the improved discipline to which 
 they had been subjected by Marshal Mu- 
 nich, had become both efficient in attack 
 and enduring in suffering. The Turkish 
 government supposed the Russian soldiers 
 had degenerated during the interval of 
 peace that had elapsed since the death ot 
 Peter I.; but they now admitted that the 
 Russians were not baffled by the superior 
 courage or skill of the Turkish troops, but 
 by excessive fatigues, want of provisions, 
 and exposure to a climate altogether un- 
 suited to them. 
 
 The restoration of peace enabled the em- 
 press to pay more attention to those inter- 
 nal reforms, in the carrying out of which 
 she strove to imitate the example of Peter 
 the Great. The canal from the Lake ot 
 Ladoga, designed to facilitate the transport 
 of provisions to St. Petersburg, was finished 
 in the year 1738. Anna also dispatched an 
 expedition from Kamschatka towards the 
 north, with the object of discovering whether 
 Siberia was connected with North Ame- 
 rica. She attracted to Russia great num- 
 bers of artisans, who were skilful in such 
 trades and arts as her people were most 
 ignorant of. She also entered into a com 
 mercial treaty with England, with the ob- 
 ject of furthering this view ; and by obtain- 
 ing the submission of the Kirghises, a Avan- 
 dering tribe on the borders of China, 
 
 215 
 
COURT OF THE EMPRESS.] 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1739. 
 
 extended her commercial intercourse with 
 that ancient empire. 
 
 The empress, during her residence in 
 Courland, had imbibed tastes of a character 
 more refined than those which prevailed 
 at the yet uncouth Russian court. The 
 social improvement introduced by Peter, 
 though not of a very exalted kind, had not 
 altogether superseded the barbarous old 
 customs. Drunkenness, even amongst the 
 highest aristocracy, including the female 
 members of it, was still not unfrequent, and 
 the revels of the palace frequently degene- 
 rated into coarse and offensive orgies. In- 
 deed, traces of the grossest barbarism con- 
 tinually mingled with the greatest splendour 
 and the most immeasurable extravagance. 
 Anna was greatly averse to this vulgar 
 rioting ; and with the natural emulation of 
 a woman in matters of ceremonial ob- 
 servance, she entertained the ambition of 
 making her court the most brilliant in 
 Europe. By fostering music, dancing, the 
 courtesies inseparable from intellectual in- 
 tercourse, and the tranquil pleasures of 
 social life, she diffused a somewhat softer 
 tone of society around her, and contrived 
 to curb the boisterous and licentious amuse- 
 ments in which the Russian nobles had 
 hitherto indulged. Yet social improvement 
 is necessarily a matter of slow growth ; it 
 cannot be raised suddenly; and it is not 
 until past barbarism slowly perishes and 
 moulders away, that the gracefulness of re- 
 fined manners, and that high tone of cour- 
 tesy and honourable feeling which prevails 
 in the best society, can effectually take its 
 place. This it requires the lapse of more 
 than one generation to accomplish ; and 
 therefore it is not surprising that it should 
 have been said, that the empress only suc- 
 ceeded in gathering around her an incon- 
 gruous display of profusion without elegance, 
 finery without taste, and pomp sometimes 
 without even personal cleanliness. Gross 
 gluttony and drunkenness disappeared from 
 her court ; but dissipation of every other 
 kind, ruinous gambling, and uncouth ex- 
 travagance, supplied their places, and rioted 
 without any check except that which nature 
 ever lays on vice. 
 
 Even the empress Anna herself was de- 
 ficient in that refinement of mind which is 
 almost invariably exhibited by ladies occu- 
 pying positions of exalted rank in these 
 days. A sense of humanity is the basis of 
 the highest courtesy ; and the empress, 
 during the latter part of her reign, sufi&- 
 216 
 
 ciently showed that she was not influenced 
 by any active emotions of benevolence. 
 This was sometimes even perceptible in her 
 amusements. She preserved the ancient 
 custom of keeping buffoons, and had six 
 attached to her household. Some of these 
 were men of high rank, who were con- 
 demned to the exercise of a feigned raii'th 
 and folly, as the expiation of some real or 
 presumed offence. If these victims of a 
 capricious tyranny, overcome by some re- 
 collection of their past dignity, refused to 
 perform the fooleries that were required of 
 them, they were sometimes severely beaten, 
 with the object of stimulating their wit, 
 and dispelling their melancholy or unwil- 
 lingness. 
 
 Prince Galitzin, for having changed his 
 religion, was punished by being deprived of 
 his rank, and reduced to the position of a 
 buffoon. In his case, the degradation was 
 made the more bitter by the coarse and 
 eccentric cruelty with w^hich it was accom- 
 panied. As he had lost his wife, the em- 
 press commanded him to be married to 
 a girl of the lowest birth ; and herself 
 sanctioned, if she did not devise, the ex- 
 travagances attending the wedding. Though 
 it took place in a winter of more than 
 customary severity, yet a house, built en- 
 tirely of ice, was prepared for the reception 
 of the married couple. The furniture, even 
 to the nuptial bedstead, was composed of 
 the same frozen material. Four cannons 
 and two mortars of ice were also placed in 
 front of the house, and fired several times 
 without bursting. The governors of all the 
 provinces in the empire Avere commanded 
 to send some persons of both sexes, chosen 
 from all the nations subject to Russia, and 
 dressed in the costume of their respective 
 countries. The procession, consisting of 
 more than 300 persons, passed before 
 the imperial palace, and through the prin- 
 cipal streets of the city. The unfortunate 
 prince and his bride were placed in a great 
 cage on the back of an elephant. Some of 
 the guests were mounted on camels, while 
 others were drawn in sledges by reindeer, 
 dogs, oxen, goats, pigs, and other animals. 
 At the diunerj which had been prepared 
 for the guests, each of them were treated 
 to their food cooked in the manner which 
 prevailed in their own country. A ball 
 followed, at which the representatives of 
 each nation had their own music and their 
 own style of dancing. All this practical 
 joking, though low and foolish, need not ex- 
 
A.D. 1740.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [tyranny of biren. 
 
 cite censure, if the object of the merriment 
 had not been to heap degradation on a 
 victim of intolerant and unjust legislation. 
 But the conclusion of this proceeding was 
 both ofteusive and cruel. The degraded 
 prince and his bride were conducted to the 
 ice-house, and with derisive ceremoniousness 
 shown to the frozen bed ; and in this dismal 
 place they were compelled to pass the night, 
 though their lives might have paid the 
 penalty of exposure to so much cold in 
 such a climate. It was also during the 
 reign of this princess, who has been com- 
 mended for her gentleness, that a Russian 
 nobleman who had embraced Judaism, was 
 burnt at the stake with a gag in his mouth, 
 along with the wretched Jew who had been 
 the means of his conversion. 
 
 Indeed, the latter part of the reign of 
 the empress Anna was a period of terror, 
 in consequence of the savage and furious 
 despotism which she permitted her favourite, 
 Biren, to exercise. Such was his influence 
 over the empress, that it is affirmed, that 
 though she often fell on her knees before 
 him in the hope of moving him to clemency, 
 yet that both her entreaties and tears were 
 alike unavailing. After the first three years 
 of Anna's reign, the dictatorial temper of this 
 low and bad man broke out into the ex- 
 cesses to which he afterwards gave himself 
 up without restraint. So vindictive was he, 
 and to such an extreme was his tyranny 
 carried, that it diffused terror throughout 
 the empire. On the disgrace of the Dolgo- 
 ruki family, they were banished; but the 
 bitter hate of Biren pursued them even in 
 the sad loneliness of their exile. To satisfy 
 his revengeful nature they were recalled, 
 and then accused of forging the pretended 
 will (to which we have already alluded) of 
 Peter I., in favour of Catherine Dolgoruki ; 
 and also of a conspiracy, with the object of 
 placing the Princess Elizabeth, daughter of 
 the last-named monarch, on the throne. 
 Being found guilty, some of the family 
 were beheaded, and two unhappy members 
 of it broken upon the wheel. Biren brooked 
 no opposition, and regarded it as an un- 
 forgivable offence. In the year 1740, a 
 cabinet minister named Boluinski, ventured, 
 at a council in which Biren took the part of 
 the Poles, to observe sarcastically, that as 
 he was not a vassal of Poland, he did not 
 think himself obliged to defend the cause 
 of the enemies of Russia. Biren felt that 
 this remark was directed against him, as 
 holding from Poland the fief of Courland, 
 2p 
 
 the dukedom of which his mistress had pro- 
 cured for him. In retaliation he brought a 
 number of petty charges against Boluinski, 
 one of which was, that he had dared to pre- 
 sent a Russian translation of Machiavelli's 
 Prince to the empress. Such was the in- 
 fluence of Biren, that he procured the re- 
 cord of a sentence of death against the 
 minister. The empress justly refused to 
 confirm the warrant for the execution, and 
 burst into tears when it was repeatedly 
 brought for her signature. Biren at length 
 obtained it by a threat, that if it was longer 
 withheld he would leave Russia for ever. 
 The weak empress granted it with many 
 tears, and the upright Boluinski perished 
 on the scaffold. 
 
 By this exhibition of reckless vindictive- 
 ness, Biren crushed any opposition that 
 might have been offered to him in the 
 cabinet. Abandoning himself, therefore, to 
 extravagance and tyranny, he became so 
 grasping, and accumulated so much treasure 
 in his own coffers, that the plundered 
 revenues of the state were insufficient to 
 support the requisite expenditure; and 
 taxes were collected by the most violent 
 means. Soldiers were directed, instead of 
 receiving pay, to live at free quarters. Whole 
 villages were laid waste ; many were burned, 
 and the inhabitants sent to Siberia. It is 
 estimated that, during the period of Biren's 
 authority, no less than 20,000 persons were 
 driven into this species of exile. This came 
 even to be regarded almost as a mild 
 punishment : many unfortunate persons who 
 incurred the anger of the savage favourite 
 were punished with the knout ; numbers 
 had their tongues cut out; many perished 
 beneath the axe of the executioner; and 
 not a few were broken on the wheel. The 
 number of persons put to death in conse- 
 quence of the tyranny of this monster is 
 computed at 11,000. 
 
 The empress was distressed at the perpe- 
 tration of the cruelty which she was weak 
 and wicked enough to permit to be trans- 
 acted in her name. It is said that her 
 conscience was wounded by the death, or 
 rather murder, of Boluinski, whom she much 
 respected, knew to be innocent, and yet 
 sacrificed to the malice of the incarnate 
 fiend who, through the instrumentality of 
 a coarsely sensual affection, had obtained 
 such a tyrannous influence over her. It is 
 supposed that her remorse at the sacrifice 
 of Boluinski was so acute, as to bring her 
 to the grave. She died at St. Petersburg, 
 
 217 
 
DEATH OF THE EMPRESS.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1740. 
 
 on the 29th of October, 1740, in the forty- 
 seventh year of her age, and the tenth of 
 her reign. Shortly before she expired she 
 bequeathed the crown, by the advice of 
 Biren, to the infant prince, Ivan, the grand- 
 son of her elder sister Catherine, and son 
 of the Princess Anne and Ulric, Duke of 
 Brunswick. The little pi'iuce had been 
 born only in the August preceding, and 
 Biren directed the dying empress to nomi- 
 nate him, instead of his mother, to the im- 
 perial crown, because he calculated that, 
 under those circumstances, there must in- 
 
 evitably follow a long minority, during 
 which, by the will of the empress, he was 
 to act as regent and guardian of the prince ; 
 in case of whose death he might, perhaps, 
 be enabled to mount the throne himself. 
 This gorgeous day-dream, promising as it 
 seemed, was not to be fulfilled ; the long- 
 silent but unresting spirit of retribution 
 was at work; the clouds Avere gathering 
 around the ferocious and insolent man who 
 grasped the executive power of the empire, 
 and the storm was ready to burst over his 
 head. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 BIREN ASSUMES THE REGENCY DURING THE MINORITY OF IVAN ; FALL OF BIREN, AND EXALTATION OF THE 
 PRINCESS ANNE TO THE REGENCY; WAR WITH SWEDEN ; CONSPIRACY TO RAISE THE PRINCESS ELIZABETH 
 TO THE THRONE ; OVERTHROW OF THE REGENT ANNE AND THE INFANT EMPEROR ; ELIZABETH PRO- 
 CLAIMED EMPRESS. 
 
 Ivan, the infant to whom the empress 
 Anna had bequeathed the imperial sceptre, 
 was but two months old. The ambitious 
 Biren had attempted to prevent the mar- 
 riage of the father and mother of this 
 unfortunate babe — the Princess Anne and 
 Ulric, Duke of Brunswick ; but as he failed 
 in this, his next object was to derive advan- 
 tage from it, by persuading the empress to 
 nominate the new-born Ivan as her suc- 
 cessor, instead of his mother (the daughter 
 of Anna's elder sister Catherine, and grand- 
 daughter of the imbecile Ivan, elder brother 
 of Peter I.), through whom he derived such 
 imperfect right as he possessed. 
 
 The father and mother were the natural 
 protectors of the baby emperor, and should 
 have been chosen to act together as a joint 
 regency ; but, as we have mentioned, the 
 crafty Biren had induced his doting mistress, 
 the late empress, to appoint him regent 
 during the minority of Ivan. By the wiU 
 of Anna it was further arranged, that if the 
 young emperor died before attaining his 
 seventeenth year, Biren should continue 
 guardian to his brethren born after him, 
 who should succeed him on the throne; 
 but in the event of none of them surviving, 
 then the regent, with the concurrence of 
 the state, was to elect and confirm a new 
 218 
 
 emperor, as unlimited monarch. This 
 opened up a brilliant view to the ambitious 
 Biren, who immediately assumed the title of 
 "his highness, regent of the Russian empire;" 
 laid his grasping hand upon the revenues of 
 the state, and resolved to uphold, by the 
 exercise of despotic cruelty, that dazzling 
 position which he had acquired by fraud. 
 
 The Russian nobles and people were irri- 
 tated at this assumption on the part of a 
 foreigner; discontent became general, and 
 a large party was formed against the 
 tyrannical upstart. Biren endeavoured to 
 awe his opponents into passive submission 
 by an exhibition of the most savage and 
 wanton cruelty. He had a legion of spies 
 under his direction ; and all who were de- 
 tected in any act adverse to his government 
 were exiled to Siberia, cast into dungeons, 
 or tortured with the knout. Such was his 
 vindictiveness, that he was dreaded as much 
 as he was detested. But now that the pro- 
 tecting hand of the empress was removed, 
 his ruin was even raoi'e rapid than could 
 have been anticipated. A cabal was secretly 
 formed against him, and Marshal Munich, 
 whom he had offended, took the lead in it. 
 Measures were concerted for the arrest of 
 the regent, and he was seized in his house, 
 during the night, by a detachment of the 
 
A.D. 1741.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [WAK WITH SWEDEN. 
 
 guards. The foUowinfj morning Anne was 
 acknowledged by the senate as grand- 
 duchess of Russia, and guardian of her son 
 the infant emperor. Thus, within a month 
 after the death of the empress Anna, Biren 
 fell from power, and not a hand was raised 
 in his defence. The wretch had made him- 
 self so detested, that scarcely a Russian 
 existed who did not rejoice in his ruin. 
 One of the conspirators observed, that the 
 secret means by which the arrest was ac- 
 complished were quite unnecessary, for 
 tliat Biren might just as safely have been 
 publicly arrested in open day. Hurried 
 from his bed to the castle of Schlusselburg 
 as a prisoner, he was afterwards placed on 
 his trial on the charges of having im- 
 properly obtained the regency; of having 
 squandered the imperial treasures, treated 
 the parents of the emperor with contumely, 
 and violated the statutes and ordinances of 
 the empire. Being found guilty, he received 
 sentence of death, which, by an undeserved 
 lenity, was mitigated to exile for life to 
 Siberia. Thus he shared the fate to which 
 he had consigned many thousands of his 
 victims, to whose vengeance it is surprising 
 he did not fall a sacrifice. Yet, strange to 
 say, he was afterwards restored to liberty by 
 Peter III. ; while Catherine II. gave back 
 to him the duchy of Courland. 
 
 Biren was arrested on the 28th of No- 
 vember, 1740, and the Princess Anne 
 became regent; yet, within a year and a 
 few days, power had passed from her hands 
 also ; and she, her husband and her child, 
 were numbered among the ranks of the 
 obscure and the unfortunate ! 
 
 Anne commenced with the sad mistake 
 of placing the duke, her husband, at the 
 head of the army, instead of Marshal 
 Munich. The latter was naturally very 
 discontented; and, to appease him, she 
 removed Count Ostermann, and made Mu- 
 nich first minister in his place. This was a 
 second error, by which the services of 
 another able man were lost, and a new 
 enemy created. Duke Ulric was devoted 
 to the interests of Austria; and Munich 
 detested Austria, and desired to enter into 
 a close alliance with Prussia : therefore dis- 
 sensions arose between them ; and when 
 the veteran soldier (in March, 1741) ten- 
 dered his resignation, it was accepted. 
 Thus Anne thoughtlessly threw away the 
 second great support of her regency. 
 
 In the August following, Sweden de- 
 clared war against Russia — a proceeding to 
 
 which it was incited by the court of France, 
 and by a belief that the Russians them- 
 selves, discontented with their government, 
 were ripe for revolution. Notwithstanding 
 all that the Swedes had suffered at the 
 hands of the Russians during the time of 
 Peter I., they were so confident of success, 
 that before a sword was drawn or shot fired, 
 they drew up the articles on which they 
 would grant peace to the enemy, who, they 
 concluded, would be ready to accept the 
 terms they were prepared to impose. Rus- 
 sia, they presumed, should be compelled to 
 surrender Carelia, Ingria, and Livonia; 
 that she should not be allowed to keep any 
 vessels on the Livonian or Esthonian coasts ; 
 and that she should be made to grant the 
 free importation of com. To enforce these 
 extravagant ideas, Sweden had an empty 
 treasury, a fleet not seaworthy, and an 
 army clamorous for pay, and almost desti- 
 tute of provisions. But the Swedish gov- 
 ernment trusted to enlist on its side the 
 antipathy which the Russian people enter- 
 tained towards foreigners. With this object 
 it issued a manifesto, which thus appealed 
 to the emotions of nationality of the Rus- 
 sian population : — " The sole intention, on 
 the part of Sweden, is to defend herself by 
 arms against the oppressions exercised 
 against her by the arrogant foreigners, the 
 ministers of the Russian court ; and at the 
 same time to deliver the Russian nation 
 from the yoke which these ministers have 
 imposed on it, by assisting the Russians to 
 regain their right of electing for themselves 
 a lawful ruler." This document, peculiarly 
 calculated to arouse a sensitive people, either 
 was unable to overcome the stolid apathy 
 of the Russians and their indifference to 
 liberty, or it was counteracted by a na- 
 tional jealousy at the interference of other 
 countries in their afl'airs. At any rate, it 
 fell perfectly harmless — was disseminated 
 and forgotten. 
 
 Notwithstanding the discord that pre- 
 vailed in the Russian cabinet, the forces of 
 the empire anticipated the efforts of the 
 Swedes ; and General Lascy, advancing 
 against the Swedish army, which was en- 
 camped under Wrangel, near Vilmanstrand, 
 attacked and defeated it on the 3rd of Sep- 
 tember, 1741. The fortress of the place 
 immediately surrendered to the Russians; 
 but the latter were compelled to withdraw on 
 the approach of winter, in consequence of 
 the rapid reinforcements of the Swedes. 
 
 Before the next campaign a new change 
 
 219 
 
CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE REGENT.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1741. 
 
 had beea effected iu the government of 
 Russia; but it was not accomplished by 
 the people, but by a court faction. The 
 Russian populace felt no attachment to the 
 infant emperor, whose father was a German ; 
 or to his mother, who, though descended 
 from a member of the house of Romanoff, 
 was yet the daughter of a German prince. 
 A jealousy of German influence already 
 existed among the Russian nobles ; but had 
 the regent been a woman of enlarged un- 
 derstanding, she would have succeeded in 
 reconciling them to the sway of her family. 
 But the conduct of the Princess Anne was 
 such, that the people had nothing to divert 
 them from the fact, that neither she nor her 
 son were true Russians. She was a woman 
 whose mildness of temper merged into 
 apathy. Once installed as regent, she 
 neglected the duties of her high position, 
 and allowed them to be performed by the 
 advisers of her husband, from whom, never- 
 theless, she seemed almost estranged. She 
 created great dissatisfaction by withdrawing 
 for weeks from public affairs, and shutting 
 herself up with a Countess Mengden, who 
 had obtained a remarkable ascendancy over 
 her. The aversion which the Russians 
 entertained towards foreigners broke out 
 with increased violence, and complaints 
 were made by the disappointed nobles, that 
 the administration of affairs had passed 
 altogether out of the hands of their country- 
 men. "When the indolence of the regent 
 permitted her to display her inclinations, 
 they were found to tend to a discourage- 
 ment of Russian customs, and a lavish 
 patronage of foreigners. 
 
 Under these circumstances, some eyes 
 were again turned towards the Princess 
 Elizabeth, the surviving daughter of Peter 
 the Great. She was Russian by birth ; re- 
 garded as national in her habits and ideas ; 
 nearer by blood to the throne than the 
 infant Ivan ; and the immediate descendant 
 of an illustrious and popular sovereign. 
 Yet she had lived so retired a life, that she 
 was without a party in the country, and her 
 friends were few in number. Indeed, so 
 limited were they, that the chief agent in 
 the conspiracy which was set on foot in her 
 favour, was her French physician, Lestocq ; 
 and the money required to conduct it, was 
 supplied by the Marquis la Chetardie, which, 
 at the direction of his government, he gave 
 with the object of distracting Russia with 
 internal commotions. 
 
 Elizabeth, during her previous life, ap- 
 220 
 
 peared to be devoid of ambition ; and she 
 had even refused the imperial sceptre. Oc- 
 cupied by her amours and her devotions, 
 she either did, or at least seemed to, prefer 
 the irresponsibility of a private station to 
 the gorgeous uncertainty of a throne iu a 
 great but unsettled empire. While the em- 
 press Anna occupied the throne, Elizabeth 
 was indifferent to politics, and avoided the 
 society of the statesmen of the day. The 
 empress reposed in her a confidence which 
 appears not to have been misplaced. But 
 when Elizabeth beheld an infant emperor 
 consigned to the regency of an unprincipled 
 and cruel foreigner, the small amount of 
 ambition existing iu her, and which had 
 hitherto remained latent, became aroused. 
 It was not checked by the ruin of Biren ; 
 for then the guardianship of the baby-czar 
 was transferred to its parents, of whom the 
 father was a German by birth, and the 
 mother by descent. Elizabeth was doubt- 
 less further stimulated to the adoption of 
 the course which had been suggested to 
 her, by the rumour that the Princess Anne 
 (the mother of the infant Ivan) intended to 
 cause herself to be proclaimed empress, and 
 to establish the succession in the line of her 
 daughters. 
 
 Elizabeth was without a party, but she 
 was the representative of a principle — that 
 which, springing from the nationality of the 
 people, demanded that the sovereign should 
 be a native of the empire he ruled. Les- 
 tocq (Elizabeth's physician), Grimsteiu, a 
 corporal, and Schwartz, a trumpeter, were 
 the active agents of the conspiracy in her 
 favour. The latter two were instrumental 
 in gaining over to Lestocq's purpose a 
 strong party of the guards; the French 
 Marquis la Chetardie, as we have said, sup- 
 plying the money required to bribe the 
 latter. The means appeared strangely in- 
 sufficient for the end proposed ; and Eliza- 
 beth, influenced by a natural timidity, 
 hesitated and shrunk back from the dangers 
 which stood between her and the imperial 
 sceptre. Delays thus arose, and rumours 
 were spread abroad concerning the existence 
 of the plot. Count Ostermann warned the 
 regent Anne of her danger, who received 
 similar instructions from the English and 
 Austrian ambassadors. Anne was incredu- 
 lous, and would not take any step to frus- 
 trate the design of those who were preparing 
 for her overthrow. Her indolent and un- 
 suspecting nature was not even aroused by 
 her receiving an anonymous letter, denounc- 
 
A.D. 1741.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [fall of the regency. 
 
 ing the conspirators. Instead of causing 
 them to be instantly arrested, she merely 
 read the letter before her court, and in the 
 presence of Elizabeth, who, bursting into a 
 flood of tears, asserted her innocence with 
 such an appearance of sincerity, that the 
 regent was satisfied, and made no further 
 inquiry. 
 
 Lestocq saw that unless the conspiracy 
 was put into instant practice, failure and 
 ruin would be inevitable. He therefore 
 urged Elizabeth to fix the following night 
 for the execution of the scheme, which, if 
 successful, was to place her on the throne. 
 She still hesitated, when he drew from his 
 pocket a card, on one side of which was a 
 representation of herself, in the costume of 
 a nun, while the reverse bore a portrayal of 
 her wearing the imperial crown. He then 
 demanded which fate she preferred, and 
 added that the choice depended entirely 
 upon herself, and the promptitude, or other- 
 wise, with which she then acted. This 
 argument was conclusive, and Elizabeth 
 consented to fulfil her part in the plot, 
 which was to be carried into execution on 
 the following night, the 5th of December, 
 1741. 
 
 At the appointed hour, having first made 
 a vow before the crucifix that no blood 
 should be shed in the attempt, Elizabeth 
 entered a sledge, attended by Lestocq and 
 her chamberlain, and drove to the barracks 
 of the guards. On arriving there she ad- 
 vanced amongst the soldiers with the cross 
 in her hand, and addressed them at some 
 length, stating her claims to the throne, 
 reminding them that she was the daughter 
 of their great emperor Peter, that she had 
 been illegally deprived of the succession, 
 that an infant of foreign birth had been 
 placed upon the throne, and that native Rus- 
 sians were excluded from the highest offices 
 of the state, which were conferred alone on 
 foreigners. Elizabeth was well known to 
 the guards, and a great favourite with 
 them. They had been extensively bribed, 
 and intoxicating liquors were distributed 
 freely amongst them. The result was, that 
 the great majority responded to the address 
 with enthusiasm, and placed in confinement 
 those who adhered to their duty. Then, 
 with the Princess Elizabeth and her attend- 
 ants, they marched to the palace, where the 
 regent, her husband, and her infant son 
 resided. Seizing the sentries at the gates, 
 they rushed into the sleeping apartments of 
 the regent and her family, and dragging 
 
 them out of their beds, scarcely allowed 
 them time to dress before they were hurried 
 away as prisoners to the palace of Elizabeth. 
 The infant emperor, when roused from 
 sleep, on hearing the shouts of the soldiers 
 in front of the palace, clapped his little 
 hands, and endeavoured to imitate their 
 vociferations. Elizabeth was touched, and 
 exclaimed, " Poor babe ! thou knowest not 
 that thou art joining in the noise that is 
 raised at thy undoing.^' 
 
 During the night, many persons con- 
 nected with, or supposed to be favourable 
 to, the government of the regent, were ar- 
 rested, and amongst them Count Ostermann 
 and Marshal Munich. The news spread 
 rapidly through the city ; the troops, gene- 
 rally, declared for Elizabeth, and, by eight 
 in the morning, she was proclaimed em- 
 press, and the revolution was accomplished. 
 A manifesto was then issued to the people, 
 to explain what had taken place. It con- 
 tained the following passage : — " The em- 
 press Anna having nominated the grand- 
 son of her sister, a child born into the 
 world only a few weeks before the empress's 
 death, as successor to the throne; and 
 during the minority of whom various per- 
 sons had conducted the administration of 
 the empire in a manner highly iniquitous, 
 whence disturbances had arisen both within 
 the country and out of it, and probably, in 
 time, still greater might arise; therefore, 
 all the faithful subjects of Elizabeth, both 
 in spiritual and temporal stations, particu- 
 larly the regiments of the life-guards, had 
 unanimously invited her, for the prevention 
 of all the mischievous consequences to be 
 apprehended, to take possession of the 
 throne of her father, as nearest by right of 
 birth ; and that she had accordingly resolved 
 to yield to this universal request of her 
 faithful subjects, by taking possession of her 
 inheritance derived from her parents, the 
 emperor Peter I. and the empress Cathe- 
 rine." 
 
 Thus easily was an unpopular govern- 
 ment swept away, and a revolution effected 
 in the succession. Even in the most des- 
 potic countries, public opinion is an instru- 
 ment of remarkable power. Such public 
 opinion as existed in Russia at that period 
 was averse to German influence and a 
 foreign rule, and it welcomed Elizabeth as 
 the representative of a national government. 
 It was only necessary for her, therefore, to 
 grasp the imperial sceptre, and the empire 
 recognised her as its sovereign. As to the 
 
 221 
 
ELIZABETH BECOltfES EMPRESS.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1741. 
 
 regent Anne and the infant emperor, no 
 weapon was drawn in their favour, no voice 
 raised in their behalf. They passed aAvay 
 like a shadow, and were soon almost as 
 unremembered as they were unregarded, 
 Elizabeth stated that she had sent the 
 Princess Anne and her husband, Duke 
 Ulric, back to their native land ; but this 
 was not the truth. They were thrown into 
 captivity, and removed from fortress to for- 
 tress at her pleasure or caprice. Their 
 child, the late baby-emperor, was allowed to 
 remain with them until he attained his 
 eighth year, after which he was consigned 
 to solitary confinement ; first in the fortress 
 of Oranienburg, and then in that of Schlus- 
 selburg. The consequences of a life of 
 confinement rendered him almost idiotic, 
 and he was eventually murdei'ed, in con- 
 formity with a conditional order given by 
 the empress Catherine II., who regarded 
 him as a pretender to the throne whom 
 circumstances might render dangerous.* 
 The parents of this most unfortunate youth 
 lingered out their lives in captivity ; the 
 mother dying after a few years, during 
 childbirth; and the father surviving her, and 
 reaching a sad and embittered age. As to 
 the advisers and friends of the regent and 
 her husband, most of them were exiled to 
 Siberia. Amongst them was the wise 
 statesman Ostermann, and the able general 
 Munich. The latter was, after a mock 
 trial, condemned to death as a traitor ; but 
 
 • The following touching account is given of a 
 visit subsequently paid by the emperor, Peter III., 
 to the dungeon of this unhappy prince : — " General 
 Ungern Sternberg was aide-de-camp to Peter III., 
 and accompanied him in a secret visit to the unfor- 
 tunate Ivan at Schlusselburg, where he had been 
 confined by Elizabeth. They found this wretched 
 young man in a dungeon, the window of which ad- 
 mitted but a faint gleam of day, the light being 
 intercepted by piles of wood heaped up in the court. 
 He was in a very dirty white jacket, with a pair of 
 old shoes on his feet. His hair was very light, and 
 cut short like that of a Russian slave. He was 
 tolerably well-made, and his complexion had a pale- 
 ness which showed that the sun had never shone on 
 his face. He was then upwards of twenty, and had 
 been confined ever since he was fourteen months 
 old ; but he had received some impressions and ideas 
 which he still retained. Peter III., affected at his 
 conditiflD. put several questions to him ; among the 
 rest, * Who are you ?' — ' I am the emperor.' — ' Who 
 put you into prison, then ?' — ' Vile, wicked people.' 
 — ' Would you like to be emperor again ?' — ' To be 
 sure; why not. I should then have fine clothes, 
 and servants to wait upon me.' — ' But what would 
 you do if you were emperor ?' — ' I would cut off the 
 heads of all those who have wronged me.' Peter 
 III., having then asked whence he learned what he 
 
 222 
 
 Elizabeth commuted his sentence into one 
 of perpetual imprisonment. His captivity 
 was of a mUd kind — he being confined in 
 an astrog or prison, of Avhich he himself 
 had drawn the plan, and ordered to be con- 
 structed for the reception of Biren, the 
 ferocious favourite of the empress Anna. 
 It was an area about 170 feet square, and 
 enclosed with high palisades. "Within was 
 a wooden house, inhabited by himself, his 
 wife, and a few servants ; and a small 
 garden, which he cultivated with his own 
 hands. He received a daily allowance of 
 twelve copecks (about sixpence) for the 
 maintenance of himself, his wife, and do- 
 mestics ; which miserable pittance he in- 
 creased by keeping cows and selling part of 
 their milk, and by instructing lads in geo- 
 metry and engineering. Strange are the 
 vicissitudes which attended those who, in 
 unsettled times, fulfilled the highest and 
 most responsible offices of the state. In 
 this case, the hand which had forced a king 
 upon Poland, and carried on a fierce war 
 against the might of the Ottoman empire, was 
 employed in tracing mathematical figures 
 for children. It is much to the honour of 
 the veteran soldier, that he bore his misfor- 
 tunes with tranquillity, and proved himself 
 a moral no less than a military hero. He 
 was ultimately recalled by Peter III., whom, 
 it will be seen, he faithfully served; enjoyed 
 the favour of Catherine II., and died in 
 1767, in his eighty-fifth year. 
 
 told him, he answered, that he had it firom the Vir- 
 gin and the angels ; and began to enter into long 
 stories of these pretended visions. Though alone, 
 and confined from his infancy, he did not appear 
 terrified at the sight of the emperor and his officers. 
 He examined his dress and weapons with much 
 curiosity and pleasure, as a bold child would have 
 done. The emperor asked him again what he wished 
 for, and he answered in his vulgar Russian dialect, 
 ♦ To have more air.' Ungern was left some time at 
 Schlusselburg to gain his confidence, and find out 
 whether his apparent imbecility were only assumed. 
 He was soon convinced, however, that it was the 
 natural consequence of his mode of life. He gave 
 him, from the emperor, a silk morning gown. Ivan 
 put it on with transports of joy, running about the 
 room, and admiring himself as a savage would have 
 done who had never been dressed before. As all 
 his wishes centred in the requisition of more air, 
 Peter III. sent the plan of a little palace, in the 
 centre of which was to be a garden, with orders to 
 have it built for Ivan in the court of the fortress. 
 It was cruel that this act of humanity towards an 
 innocent man should have served as a pretext against 
 the unfortunate Peter. He was charged with having 
 intended to build a prison for his wife and son, 
 and this was made a pretext for his own assassi- 
 nation." 
 
A.i>. 1741.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [court of the empress. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 CLEMENCY OF THE EMPRESS ELIZABETH AT THE COMMENCEMENT OF HER llEIGN ; BRIEF WAR WITH 
 SWEDEN ; THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR AND ITS ORIGIN ; ELIZABETH JOINS A LEAGUE AGAINST FREDERIC OF 
 PRUSSIA; PROGRESS OF THE WAR; THE GRAND-DUKE PETER FEDOROVITCH ; HIS MARRIAGE WITH THE 
 PRINCESS SOPHIA AUGUSTA OF ANHALT-ZERBST, AFTERWARDS CATHERINE II.; BATTLE OF KUNERSDORF ; 
 ILLNESS, DEATH, AND CHARACTER OF ELIZABETH. 
 
 Elizabeth became possessed of the im- 
 perial power on the 6th of December, 1741. 
 Though she punished all who had been in- 
 strumental in keeping her from the throne, 
 she liberally rewarded those by whose 
 agency she had been placed there. Lestocq 
 was made head physician of the court, pre- 
 sident of the college of the faculty, and 
 privy councillor, with a magnificent income. 
 Grinstein, the corporal, was first created 
 adjutant, and then major-general; and 
 Schwartz, the trumpeter, received the rank 
 of colonel, and a considerable estate. The 
 favourites and paramours of the new em- 
 press, who were mostly incapable and 
 vulgar persons, were all handsomely pro- 
 vided for. RasumofFski, her most favoured 
 admirer, she afterwards privately married; 
 Vorontzoff (whose descendants are generally 
 called Woronzow), another of them, showed 
 a considerable capacity for business, and 
 became vice-chancellor, and finally high 
 chancellor. All the grenadiers who had 
 obtained the smiles of the new empress, 
 received the rank of officers, and were 
 formed into a body-guard, of which she 
 herself became captain. But the conduct 
 of these people was so intolerable, that most 
 of them fell into disgrace and were ruined. 
 Even Lestocq, the physician, in consequence 
 of his avarice and arrogance, was eventually 
 banished. Grinstein shared the same fate ; 
 and Schwartz was ordered to retire to his 
 estates. 
 
 Elizabeth soon confided the business of 
 the state to those who were able to direct 
 it, instead of to the incompetent crowd of 
 unknown and mostly uneducated persons 
 by whom she was surrounded. The grand- 
 chancellor, Bestuchef, became her chief 
 minister, and the principal affairs of the 
 empire were managed by him. One inci- 
 dent shed a lustre over the advent of Eliza- 
 beth's reign, and caused great expectations 
 to be raised of her clemency. She par- 
 doned and liberated more than 20,000 per- 
 sons who had been banished or imprisoned. 
 Yet, strangely enough, an enormous num- 
 
 ber of people were exiled during her sway. 
 This arose from her having made a vow not 
 to sanction the death of any criminal ; but 
 this measure, even if wise in itself, was too 
 much in advance of the ideas and habits of 
 the Russian people. The judges, deprived 
 of the power of directly sentencing a male- 
 factor to death, adopted the practice of 
 awarding such severe inflictions of the 
 knout, and other punishments, as amounted 
 to an indirect sentence to that effect ; for 
 the sufferer often died, as a result of the 
 merciless chastisement which he had been 
 made to endure. Minor punishments, of a 
 savage and revolting kind, also came much 
 into use ; dislocation of the arms, slitting 
 of the tongue, cutting off the ears, and 
 other mutilations, were extremely common 
 under the reign of an empress to whom 
 many have awarded the praise of clemency, 
 but of whom, in justice, scarcely more on 
 this point could be said, than that she 
 was good-tempered to those who had the 
 fortune to please her. When personally 
 offended, she could be both cruel and re- 
 morseless. Women, and even ladies of 
 rank, were made to feel the severity of her 
 vengeance, by being condemned to the 
 hideous torture of the knout. Some crude 
 conspiracy, for the purpose of restoring the 
 infant Ivan to the throne, was discovered 
 soon after her accession, and those implicated 
 in it were first punished Avith the knout, 
 and then exiled to Siberia. Amongst the 
 victims was one of the ladies of the court, 
 whose personal beauty had inspired the em- 
 press with feelings of jealous envy, and who 
 thus permitted the law to mangle, and for 
 ever to sweep from her path, both the rebel 
 and the rival. 
 
 Through the wisdom of Bestuchef, France 
 soon found herself entirely deceived con- 
 cerning the advantages she had expected 
 to derive from the revolution which raised 
 Elizabeth to the throne. No national 
 commotion or popular discontent had fol- 
 lowed; and the secret cabals of France 
 were met and neutralised by the superior 
 
 223 
 
WAK WITH SWEDEN.] 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1742—1743. 
 
 state-craft of Bestuchef. The Prench cabi- 
 net^ however, succeeded in exciting Sweden 
 to a renewal of hostilities with Russia. 
 Frederic I. demanded the restoration of 
 Finland; which, as he must have antici- 
 pated, was refused. Hostilities were there- 
 fore resumed ; but the military glory of 
 Sweden seemed to have departed, and her 
 sons possessed neither the territory, wealth, 
 population, or vigour of former years. 
 Sweden, indeed, suffered from the influence 
 of the gold, as well as tiie sword, of Russia, 
 and she was slowly sinking into a position 
 not much above that of a province of her 
 great imperial neighbour. 
 
 The war recommenced in the spring of 
 1742. The Russian forces were under the 
 chief command of Marshal Lascy ; those of 
 the Swedes were headed by Lewenhaupt 
 and Buddenbrock. The latter, by their 
 want of readiness, betrayed the interests of 
 their country, and sacrificed the fortress of 
 Fredericshaum, together' with all their 
 stores and munitions of war ; which, in the 
 impaired condition of the Swedish finances, 
 it was impossible to replace. As if labour- 
 ing under some infatuation, the Swedes left 
 the passage of the Kymene undefended, 
 and retired rapidly to Helsingfors, whither 
 they were pursued by the Russians. The 
 Swedes, imagining themselves seciu'e on 
 account of the woods by which they were 
 surrounded, neglected any further precau- 
 tions. Under these circumstances, a Fin- 
 lander who was much incensed against the 
 Swedes, led the Russians to a path cut by 
 Peter I., but since completely overgrown by 
 bushes, which enabled them to surround 
 and cut off their enemies. The Swedish 
 generals, after their troops had suffered a 
 blockade of fourteen days, abandoned them, 
 under pretence of yielding obedience to the 
 commands of the diet. They trusted, 
 through their influence in the council, to 
 evade the penalty of this desertion; but 
 such was the irritation both of their sove- 
 reigu and their countrymen at their un- 
 worthy conduct, that they suffered death 
 for it. Their deserted troops were com- 
 pelled to conclude a capitulation with the 
 Russians, and the whole of Finland fell into 
 the power of the latter. 
 
 The Swedes perceiving that the war was 
 a hopeless struggle, which they had not the 
 means of continuing, endeavoured to con- 
 ciliate the empress Elizabeth. In order to 
 induce the Russians not to insist on the 
 cession of Finland, they had, at an earlier 
 224 
 
 period, offered the crown of Sweden to her 
 relative, the young Duke of Holstein-Got- 
 torp, the grandson of Peter the Great, by 
 his favourite daughter Anne Petrovna, who 
 had been married to the Duke of Holstein 
 shortly before the death of her illustrious 
 father. Charles Peter Ulric, the young 
 duke (afterwards the unfortunate Peter III.), 
 declined the offer, in consequence of his 
 having been summoned to Russia by the 
 empress Elizabeth, who announced her in- 
 tention of making him her successor. 
 Under these circumstances, the Swedes 
 purchased peace from the Russian empress, 
 by adopting a recommendation to elect her 
 relation, the Bishop of Lubeck, as their 
 king; in consequence of which, that prelate 
 ascended the Swedish throne on the death 
 of Frederic I. 
 
 The majority of the Swedish people were, 
 however, so dissatisfied with this arrange- 
 ment, th.it the peace negotiations were de- 
 layed, and, in the year 1743, Russia again 
 resorted to hostilities, and a Russian fleet 
 made some descents upon the coasts of 
 Sweden, though without producing as much 
 effect as was anticipated. In the same year 
 peace was concluded at Abo. Adolphus 
 Frederic, duke of Holstein and bishop of 
 Lubeck, was elected king of Sweden. Fin- 
 land, then in the possession of the Russian 
 troops, was restored to Sweden, which was 
 only compelled to cede the province of 
 Kymmenegard, together with the branches 
 and mouths of the river Kymene Nyslot, 
 and all the district around it in the province 
 of Savolar. Yet, in accordance with the 
 spirit of Russian policy, which enfeebles 
 that which at some future time it may be 
 necessary to engulph, the Russian troops, 
 before quitting Finland, took care, accord- 
 ing to Mannstein, "to squeeze from it 
 everj'thing they possibly could; the inten- 
 tion of the court being to ruin that province 
 totally, and reduce it, notwithstanding the 
 peace, into so wretched a condition as not 
 to be able for a long time to hold up its 
 head again ; the generals had even repeated 
 orders not to fail of attending to this point. 
 The empress, however, feigning a desire to 
 restore a good harmony with her neigh- 
 bours, ordered some thousands of bushels of 
 grain out of the magazines which had been 
 established in Finland, to be distributed to 
 the peasants of that country for sowing their 
 grounds." 
 
 Several uneventful years rolled on, and 
 proved barren of incidents of value or interest 
 
A.D. 1756.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [the seven yeaks' war. 
 
 to the historian. Elizabeth then engaged 
 in that celebrated struggle known as the 
 SEVEN years' AVAR, wiiich shook and seri- 
 ously affected the interests of the whole of 
 Europe. A history of it is, in fact, the his- 
 tory of Europe during the period over which 
 it extended. It must be sufficient that we 
 mention the cause from which it arose, and 
 relate the part that Russia took in it. 
 Frederic II. of Prussia, who won from his 
 contemporaries and from posterity the title 
 of " the Great,'' had wrested Silesia from 
 Maria Theresa, archduchess of Austria, who 
 had succeeded her father, Charles VI., on 
 the imperial throne. " Maria Theresa" (we 
 quote the brilliant language of Macaulay) 
 " had never for a moment forgotten the 
 great wrong which she had received at the 
 hands of Frederic. Young and delicate, 
 just left an orphan, just about to be a mo- 
 ther, she had been compelled to fly from the 
 ancient capital of her race; she had seen 
 her fair inheritance dismembered by rob- 
 bers, and of those robbers he had been the 
 foremost. Without a pretext, without a 
 provocation, in defiance of the most sacred 
 engagements, he had attacked the helpless 
 ally whom he was bound to defend. The 
 empress-queen had the faults as well as the 
 virtues which are connected with quick sen- 
 sibility and a high spirit. There was no 
 peril which she was not ready to brave, no 
 calamity which she was not ready to bring 
 on her subjects, or on the whole human 
 race, if only she might once taste the sweet- 
 ness of a complete revenge. Revenge, too, 
 presented itself, to her narrow and super- 
 stitious mind, in the guise of duty. Silesia 
 had been wrested not only from the house 
 of Austria, but from the church of Rome. 
 The conqueror had, indeed, permitted his 
 new subjects to worship God after their own 
 fashion; but this was not enough. To 
 bigotry it seemed an intolerable hardship 
 that the catholic church, having so long 
 enjoyed ascendancy, should be compelled to 
 content itself with equality. Nor was this 
 the only circumstance which led Maria 
 Theresa to regard her enemy as the enemy 
 of God. The profaneness of Frederic's 
 writings and conversation, and the frightful 
 rumours which were circulated respecting 
 the immorality of his private life, naturally 
 shocked a woman who believed with the 
 firmest faith all that her confessor told her; 
 and who, though surrounded by tempta- 
 tions, though young and beautiful, though 
 ardent in all her passions, though possessed 
 2g 
 
 of absolute pbwer, had preserved her fame 
 unsullied even by the breath of slander. 
 To recover Silesia, to humble the dynasty 
 of Ilohenzollern to the dust, was the great 
 object of her life. She toiled during many 
 years for this end, with zeal as indefatigable 
 as that which the poet ascribes to the 
 stately goddess who tired out her immortal 
 horses in the work of raising the nations 
 against Troy, and who offered to give up to 
 destruction her darling Sparta and Mycenae, 
 if only she might once see the smoke going 
 up from the palace of Priam. With even 
 such a spirit did the proud Austrian Juno 
 strive to array against her foe a coalition 
 such as Europe had never seen. Nothing 
 would content her but that the whole 
 civilised Morld, from the White Sea to the 
 Adriatic, from the Bay of Biscay to the pas- 
 tures of the wild horses of the Tanais, should 
 be combined in arms against one petty state." 
 The exertions of Maria Theresa led even- 
 tually to a secret alliance against Frederic, 
 and that monarch learned from his agents 
 at foreign courts, that an alarming league 
 was formed for the purpose of ruining him 
 and partitioning his dominions. With this 
 view he was to be attacked at once by 
 Austria, France, Russia, Saxony, and Swe- 
 den. "It was not," says the eloquent 
 writer from whom Ave have just quoted, "to 
 any political theory that the strange coali- 
 tion betAveea France and Austria owed its 
 origin. The real motiA'e which induced the 
 great continental powers to forget their old 
 animosities and their old state maxims, Avas 
 personal aversion to the king of Prussia. 
 This feeling Avas strongest in Maria Theresa; 
 but it was by no means confined to her. 
 Frederic, in some respects a good master, 
 Avas emphatically a bad neighbour. That 
 he was hard in all dealings, and quick to 
 take all advantages, was not his most odious 
 fault. His bitter and scoffing speech had 
 inflicted keener wounds than his ambition. 
 In his character of Avit he AA'as under less 
 restraint than even in his character of ruler. 
 Satirical verses against all the princes and 
 ministers of Europe Avere ascribed to his 
 pen. In his letters and couA^ersation he 
 alluded to the greatest potentates of the age 
 in terms Avhich Avould have better suited 
 Colle, in a Avar of repartee Avith young Cre- 
 billon at Pelletier's table, than a great 
 sovereign speaking of great sovereigns. 
 About women, he Avas in the habit of ex- 
 pressing himself in a manner which it Avas 
 impossible for the meekest women to for- 
 
 225 
 
BUSSIA JOINS THE COALITION.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1756—1757. 
 
 give; and, unfortunately for him, almost 
 the whole continent was then governed by 
 women who were by no means conspicuous 
 for meekness. Maria Theresa herself had 
 not escaped his scurrilous jests. The em- 
 press Elizabeth, of Russia, knew that her 
 gallantries afforded him a favourite theme 
 for rilialdry and invective. Madame de 
 Pompadour, wlio was really the head of the 
 French government, had been even more 
 keenly galled. She had attempted, by the 
 most delicate flattery, to propitiate the king 
 of Prussia; but her messages had drawn 
 from him only dry and sarcastic replies. 
 The em press- queen took a very different 
 course. Though the haughtiest of prin- 
 cesses, though the most austere of matrons, 
 she forgot, in her thirst for revenge, both 
 the dignity of her race and the purity of 
 her character, and condescended to flatter 
 the low-born and low-minded concubine, 
 who, having acquired influence by prosti- 
 tuting herself, retained it by prostituting 
 others. Maria Theresa actually wrote with 
 her own hand a note, full of expressions of 
 esteem and friendship, to her dear cousin, 
 the daughter of the butcher Poisson — the 
 wife of the publican D'Etioles — the kidnap- 
 per of young girls for the harem of an old 
 rake : a strange cousiu for the descendant 
 of so many emperors of the West ! The 
 mistress was completely gained over, and 
 easily carried her point with Louis, who 
 had, indeed, MTongs of his own to resent. 
 His feelings were not quick ; but contempt, 
 says the eastern proverb, pierces even 
 through the shell of the tortoise; and 
 neither prudence nor decorum had ever re- 
 strained Frederic from expressing his mea- 
 sureless contempt for the sloth, the imbe- 
 cility, and the baseness of Louis. France 
 was thus induced to join the coalition; and 
 the example of France determined the con- 
 duct of Sweden, then completely subject to 
 French influence." 
 
 The ruin of Frederic was confidently an- 
 ticipated, and he himself expected no less. 
 Yet he was not dismayed, but acted with 
 that energy which is ever characteristic of 
 great minds. Having resolved to anticipate 
 his enemies, he demanded an explanation 
 from Maria Theresa ; and on receiving a 
 haughty and evasive one, he, on the 24th of 
 August, 1756, invaded the rich electorate of 
 Saxony with an army of 60,000 men. Thus 
 commenced " the seven years' war"— a con- 
 test the most extraordinary and important 
 in modern times, previous to those of the 
 226 
 
 French revolution. Frederic defeated Au- 
 gustus at Pima, and then captured Dresden, 
 where, among the state papers, he discovered 
 abundant evidence of the secret designs of 
 the coalition against him. Some of these 
 documents he published, and thus showed 
 the statesmen of Europe that, whatever 
 might have been the character of his former 
 proceedings, he was now the injured party, 
 and had merely anticipated a blow intended 
 to destroy him. 
 
 It was not Elizabeth's interest to take 
 part against Frederic ; but, as has been 
 observed, she was animated by a personal 
 dislike towards him, on account of the 
 satires in which he had indulged respecting 
 her irregularities. Moreover, she professed, 
 and perhaps entertained, a feeling of com- 
 miseration for the Polish king, whose 
 Saxon dominions the Prussian monarch 
 treated as a conquered and enslaved pro- 
 vince. Another of Elizabeth's reasons for 
 entering on a war which she might wisely 
 have viewed as a spectator, instead of taking 
 part in as a principal, was the prospect of 
 certain ulterior advantages which she hoped 
 to derive with respect to Courland and other 
 Polish provinces. 
 
 The second year of the war (1757), Fre- 
 deric advanced into Bohemia ; and, on the 
 5th of May, gained a great victory over the 
 Austriaus, led by Prince Charles of Lor- 
 raine and Marshal Brown. Frederic pur- 
 chased his triumph at the terrible cost of 
 a loss of 18,000 men ; but no less than 
 24,000 of the enemy were killed, wounded, 
 or taken. Part of the defeated army took 
 refuge within the walls of the city. There 
 they were relieved by the approach of 
 another Austrian army under Marshal 
 Dauu, who, however, on Frederic's ad- 
 vance to meet him, sheltered his troops 
 within an intrenched camp at Kolin. There 
 he awaited the attack of the Prussians ; and 
 on the 18th of June — "a day which, if the 
 Greek superstition still retained its in- 
 fluence, would be held sacred to Nemesis" — 
 Frederic was defeated with a frightful 
 carnage ; no less than 13,000 of his soldiers 
 having perished before he could be per- 
 suaded to quit the field. Abandoning the 
 siege of Prague, he was compelled to retire 
 hurriedly from Bohemia, and his enemies 
 concluded that his final ruin was at hand. 
 He himself was so depressed, that his health 
 was seriously impaired, and he contemplated 
 suicide as an escape from the heavy troubles 
 which environed him on all sides. He even 
 
A.D. 
 
 1742.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [retrospect. 
 
 carried a certain and speedy poison about 
 his person. 
 
 But Frederic never lost his courage or his 
 energy, which enabled him to retrieve his 
 apparently desperate affairs. " At this very 
 time the scanty leisure of the illustrious 
 warrior was employed in producing odes 
 and epistles, a little better than Gibber's, 
 and a little worse than Hayley's." The 
 autumn seemed as if about to bring with it 
 the pall that should cover both the fortune 
 and the life of the heroic Prussian. Silesia 
 was overrun by the Austrians; a great 
 French army, under Marshal Soubise, was 
 advancing from the west ; and a Russian 
 army, under Marshal Apraxin, was in the 
 field. Frederic first marched against the 
 French, and, on the 5th of November, ob- 
 tained a brilliant victory over them at Ros- 
 bach. He then marched into Silesia; and, 
 one montli after his triumph at Rosbach, 
 defeated 60,000 Austrians under Prince 
 Charles of Lorraine at Breslau. This battle 
 was, in later times, pronounced by the 
 great Napoleon as a masterpiece, and 
 sufl&cient of itself to entitle Frederic to a 
 place in the first rank amongst generals. 
 The Austrians lost, in killed, wounded, 
 and prisoners, 27,000 men, together with 
 50 stand of colours, 100 guns, and 4,000 
 waggons. Silesia was reconquered, and 
 Charles of Lorraine retired to Brussels to 
 hide his shame and sorrow. As for the 
 Russians under Apraxin, they^ invaded 
 Prussia, took Memel, were guilty of shame- 
 ful cruelty to the poor inhabitants of the 
 districts through which they passed, and 
 defeated a body of Prussians under the 
 aged field-marshal, Lehwold. But having 
 done this, Apraxin not only omitted to fol- 
 low up his success, but even retired precipi- 
 tately across the Russian frontiers. 
 
 For this remarkable proceeding there was 
 a double cause. Elizabeth's nephew — the 
 grand-duke Peter, and successor to the im- 
 perial throne — entertained a romantic and 
 most extravagant attachment to Frederic, 
 and the Russian officers knew, that to in- 
 flict defeat upon the Prussians, was to incur 
 the displeasure of one who, perhaps, at no very 
 remote date, would become their emperor. 
 The other cause of Apraxin's retreat was a 
 secret order from the chief minister, Bestu- 
 chef, commanding him to do so. The motive 
 of the chancellor was hatred to the grand- 
 duke Peter, to whom he rightly conjectured 
 this movement, so discreditable to the Rus- 
 sian arms, wotdd be attributed. Bestuchef 
 
 was plotting to induce the empress to de- 
 prive the grand-duke of the succession; 
 and, as Elizabeth was earnest in the war, 
 it was likely that she would be seriously 
 off'ended with Peter, to whose secret inter- 
 ference she would attribute the disappoint- 
 ment of her hopes, and the loss of credit by 
 her troops. Bestuchef is also supposed to 
 have expected tlie death of the empress, 
 and to have desired the presence of the 
 troops for the purpose of effecting the con- 
 spiracy by which he hoped to exclude the 
 grand-duke Peter from the throne. 
 
 It is here necessary to retrace our steps, 
 and to dwell briefly on the career of this 
 well-meaning, but unwise and unfortunate 
 prince. In 1742, when only in his four- 
 teenth year, he obeyed the summons of the 
 empress Elizabeth, and went to St. Peters- 
 burg, where he adopted the Greek form of 
 the Christian reli{;ion, and received the 
 name of Peter Fedorovitch. Elizabeth 
 assigned him the palace of Oranienbaum, 
 not far from the capital, where he resided 
 when not at court. The empress — or, more 
 probably, those about her — excluded the 
 young grand-duke from any participation in 
 public aff'airs. Though his youth and neg- 
 lected education by no means qualified him 
 to take part in matters of such importance, 
 yet Peter felt a dissatisfaction which he did 
 not care to conceal. He exhibited an 
 aversion to study, and devoted his time 
 chiefly to training some Holstein troops, 
 whom he had obtained permission to keep 
 at Oranienbaum. He had a perfect pas- 
 sion for military exercise; but he gave a 
 preference to the Prussian system over that 
 of Russia; and, indeed, showed plainly 
 enough that all his sympathies were Ger- 
 man, and that he held in contempt the 
 people whom he would be called upon to 
 rule. His companions were young German 
 officers — men of low birth and dissipated 
 and sensual habits. In their society Peter 
 indulged, without control, in excessive 
 drinking, smoking, and licentious amours. 
 He was encouraged in this course by Bestu- 
 chef, who hated him ; and some add, by the 
 empress also, with the view of preventing 
 her successor from acquiring a popularity 
 which might be displeasing to her. It would 
 be difficult to credit this statement if the 
 conduct of Elizabeth did not give it a 
 colouring; for Peter's German partialities 
 and known dislike of all those customs and 
 ideas which Russians regarded as national, 
 had made him more than sufficiently un- 
 
 227 
 
MARRIAGE OF THE GRAND-DUKE.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1745. 
 
 popular for that purpose. The empress 
 appears to have been somewhat attached to 
 him ; and, dissipated as she herself was, she 
 endeavoured to withdraw him from his 
 career of thoughtless sensuality, by inducing 
 him to marry. But towards Peter, as in 
 other cases, she exhibited a remarkable 
 capriciousness.* The lady she selected was 
 Peter's cousin, the Princess Sophia Augusta 
 von Anhalt, daughter of the Prince of An- 
 halt-Zerbst, governor of Stettin, in Prus- 
 sian Pomerania. The marriage took place 
 in 1745; the lady also being received into 
 the Greek communion, and taking the name 
 of Catherine Alexiewna. 
 
 The princess was born on the 2nd of 
 May, 1729, and brought up in the most 
 simple manner by her mother, who was, 
 notwithstanding, a scheming and ai'tful 
 woman. It is said that, in girlhood, good 
 humour, intelligence, and spirit, were the 
 most striking features of the young princess 
 who was afterwards to play so distinguished 
 a part as the imperial ruler of a great people. 
 A lady of quality, who frequently saw her 
 during this phase of life, has left the 
 following sketch concerning her : — " Her 
 deportment, from her earliest years, Avas 
 always remarkably good : she grew un- 
 commonly handsome, and was a great girl 
 for her years. Her countenance, without 
 being beautiful, was very agreeable ; to 
 which the peculiar gaiety and friendliness 
 which she ever displayed gave additional 
 charms. Her education was conducted by 
 her mother alone, who kept her strictly, 
 and never suffered her to show the least 
 symptoms of pride, to Avhich she had some 
 propensity ; accustoming her, from her 
 earliest infancy, to salute the ladies of dis- 
 tinction who came to visit the princess, 
 with all the marks of respect that became a 
 child.*' 
 
 * Tooke observes — " By one of those strange per- 
 versions of judgment which often appear in the un- 
 cuhivated mind, Elizabeth pretended to think that 
 her nephew was too well-informed, and that he was 
 in danger of becoming too amiable by his manners, 
 and too enviable by his knowledge. From the very 
 moment of her choosing him for her successor, she 
 regarded him as a rival. For this reason it proba- 
 bly was that she took him from under the tuition of 
 the enlightened Brummer, who had begun his edu- 
 cation in Holstein, and placed about him Tshoglo- 
 koff, a man of mean talents and a narrow mind. In 
 vain did a few disinterested persons at the court of 
 St. Petersburg (for there are some such in all courts) 
 — in vain did some estimable women (for there were 
 some such even about Elizabeth) — in vain did these 
 persons, lamenting the ignorance and the sort of de- 
 •ertion in which the young Peter was left, endea- 
 228 
 
 The marriage between this young princess 
 and the grand-duke was an ill-assorted, un- 
 happy, and, indeed, fatal one. Catherine, 
 as we shall for the future call her, was 
 handsome, inordinately fond of pleasure, 
 possessed of considerable talents, ambitious, 
 bold, and unprincipled. She was a most 
 unlikely woman to have effected the refor- 
 mation of Peter, even had there been an 
 affection between them. But such an 
 emotion did not exist on either side. Peter, 
 when first introduced to his affianced bride, 
 was just recovering from the small-pox, 
 which had terribly disfigured a countenance 
 originally plain almost to ugliness. Though 
 Catherine was carefully prepared for the 
 interview, yet her disappointment and re- 
 pugnance were so great, that, though she 
 fell on his neck and embraced him with 
 affected joy for his recovery, no sooner 
 had she returned to her own apartment 
 than, unable to keep up the deception, 
 she fainted away, and remained for three 
 hours in a state of insensibility. But am- 
 bition prevailed; the lady suppressed her 
 feelings of dislike, and the union was ac- 
 complished. Peter's manners were so un- 
 polished, and even vulgar, that Catherine 
 frequently blushed for him in society, while 
 he himself often felt deeply pained at her 
 superiority in this respect ; and although 
 he was neither without good qualities nor 
 deficient in understanding, yet she was 
 greatly his superior, both in intellect and 
 resolution. This was soon discerned by 
 the courtiers, who, perceiving that though 
 Peter might be emperor, yet that the im- 
 perial power would be grasped by his more 
 able consort, were even more assiduous iu 
 their attentions to her than to him. 
 
 Naturally, this widened the gulf between 
 the ill-matched pair. Peter turned with in- 
 difference from the society of a wife who, 
 
 vour to represent to his aunt the danger he in- 
 curred. The empress was deaf to their remonstrances, 
 and even on some occasions repulsed them with harsh- 
 ness. Among many examples one need only be 
 mentioned — that of a woman of the bedchamber, who 
 had the spirit to ask this princess why she kept the 
 grand-duke from all the deliberations of the council. 
 ' If you permit him not to know anything of what is 
 necessary for governing the country,' added she, 
 ' what do you think will become of him, and what 
 do you think will become of the empire ?' All the 
 answer she got was, that Elizabeth, looking at her 
 angrily, said, ' Johanna, knowest thou the way to 
 Siberia ?' However, the generous Johanna escaped 
 with only the fright, and took care for the future to 
 make no more remonstrances on that head to her 
 mistress." Thus, by an assumption of anger, Eliza- 
 beth evaded a disagreeable topic. 
 
A.D. 1754.1 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [Catherine's first amour. 
 
 to him, possessed no charm, and, mingling 
 again with his boon companions, sought to 
 forget his disappointment in renewed dissi- 
 pation. Neglect turned Catherine's indif- 
 ference into absolute dislike, and the in- 
 sulted wife became the ambitious schemer. 
 While Peter was strengthening his unpopu- 
 larity, she was forming a political party 
 around her. But she did not give herself 
 entirely to ambition. Those powerful animal 
 passions which eventually made her conduct 
 the astonishment of Europe, soon manifested 
 their influence over her. For a time her 
 behaviour was at least outwardly decorous ; 
 but the unchaste examples set before her in 
 the court of the lascivious Elizabeth, fostered 
 and ripened the germs of voluptuous aban- 
 donment in the young and neglected wife. 
 She receivec\ into her favour a person of 
 humble birth and fortune, named SoltikofF, 
 who was one of her husband's chamberlains 
 and boon companions, and who had obtained 
 such a reputation for his gallantries, that 
 the husbands of St. Petersburg regarded 
 him as the most agreeable and most danger- 
 ous man in town. With this man, the first 
 of her known lovers, Catherine soon sullied 
 the purity of the nuptial couch. As this 
 person was the immediate cause of Cathe- 
 rine's entrance upon that strange career of 
 sensuality by which her name is sullied, we 
 will quote from the pages of Tooke,* who 
 relates them at length, and in a manner 
 pregnant with interest, some particulars of his 
 intimacy with the grand-duchess: — " Solti- 
 koff was not long ere he lifted his eyes even 
 to the spouse of his master ; and vanity yet 
 more than love led him to conceive the bold 
 design of captivating her heart. He began 
 by sedulously studying the inclinations of 
 the princess. He perceived that, notwith- 
 standing the constraint in wliich she lived, 
 Catherine had always a propensity to plea- 
 sure; and that the solitude of Oranien- 
 baum rendered dissipation necessary to her. 
 He accordingly procured her some new 
 amusement with every returning day. He 
 engaged the grand- duke to give frequent 
 entertainments ; he took upon himself the 
 task of inventing and directing them, 
 secretly giving the grand-duchess to under- 
 stand that she was the sole object for 
 which they were made, and that it was to 
 him alone she was indebted for them. 
 Catherine was not insensible to such gallant, 
 such continued attentions. The seducing 
 figure of Soltikoff, and the vivacity of his 
 • Life of the Empress Catherine II., vol. i. 
 
 wit, had made an impression on her mind. 
 His assiduities made him master of her 
 affections ; but Soltikoff^, sensible that the 
 heart of the grand-duchess was no ordinary 
 conquest, was afraid of betraying himself 
 by an imprudent explanation. It is even 
 not impossible tliat, at first, he meant only 
 to feign a passion which, in the sequel, grew 
 up into a real attachment. In short, for a 
 considerable time their fondness was mutual, 
 without any declaration on the part of 
 either. 
 
 " An unfortunate event was the occasion 
 of accelerating this declaration. Soltikoff 
 lost his father. His duty obliged him to 
 repair to Moscow. He obtained the grand- 
 duke's permission to depart ; and at taking 
 leave of Catherine, he was not sufficiently 
 master of his feelings to prevent his dis- 
 covering how ranch this parting cost him. 
 The princess, who saw his tears, was no 
 less touched herself at the cause whence 
 they flowed; and fixing her eyes with a 
 look of extreme significance on Soltikoff", 
 she conjured him to shorten his absence as 
 much as he could, and to return and forget 
 his grief in tlie midst of a brilliant court, 
 where, without him, there could be no such 
 thing as pleasure. 
 
 '• The character of Soltikoff renders it 
 easy to judge what effect these words must 
 have produced. He thought he perceived 
 that he was beloved, and his conscious pride 
 redoubled. His journey occupied him but 
 a few days. What were domestic concei'us 
 when balanced with the felicity he expected ? 
 What was Moscow to him in comparison to 
 St. Petersburg ? He abandoned all for the 
 sake of returning to secure his triumph. 
 
 " However, on approaching the grand- 
 duchess, all the flattering ideas with which 
 he had regaled his delighted imagination 
 began suddenly to dissolve and vanish. His 
 audacity forsook him. He found himself a 
 prey to the most serious and gloomy reflec- 
 tions. He saw at once all the danger of 
 his amour. He could no longer presume to 
 flatter himself that Catherine would so far 
 forget what she qwed to her rank, to her 
 spouse, as to accept the assiduities of a 
 simple chamberlain. But if he were so 
 happy as to see her vouchsafe to correspond 
 to his passion, could he imagine that he 
 should deceive the penetrating eyes of the 
 jealous and humiliated courtiers by whom 
 she was surrounded ? In a word, how risk 
 a confession which might be repaid by a 
 perpetual imprisonment, or even with the 
 
 329 
 
YOUTH OF CATHERrPTE.] 
 
 HISTOHY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1756. 
 
 loss of life ! He shuddered, he trembled ; 
 he had resolved to renounce the fallacious 
 hopes his unbounded arrogance had made 
 him cherish. 
 
 " In this state of perturbation and des- 
 pondency, Soltikoff no longer displayed 
 that brilliant gaiety for which he had 
 hitherto been always distinguished. In 
 vain did he sometimes affect an air of easy 
 elegance which he now no more possessed. 
 A settled melancholy corroded his heart, 
 and was depicted on his face; his health 
 was visibly declining. The grand-duchess 
 took the alarm ; and one day, on finding 
 herself alone with him, desired him to reveal 
 the cause of so sudden an alteration. Solti- 
 koff, unable at that moment to stifle or 
 resist a passion thus preying on his vitals, 
 avowed it in expressions of the tenderest 
 emotion. Catherine heard him without 
 anger; she seemed even to. pity him; but, 
 with a collected air, she counselled him to 
 renounce an inclination of the irregularity 
 and danger of which he ought to be sensible. 
 Although still very young, Soltikoff knew 
 but too well the female heart to be ignorant 
 that she who allows herself to listen to a 
 lover has already began to approve him. 
 He took courage. He threw himself at the 
 knees of the grand-duchess, and embraced 
 them with boldness. The princess was 
 agitated ; she let fall some tears ; and re- 
 tiring precipitately from the transports of 
 Soltikoff to go and shut herself in her 
 cabinet, she addressed to him that verse 
 which Monimia speaks to Xiphares in the 
 tragedy of Mithridates : — 
 
 " ' Et meritez les pleurs que vous m'allez coAter.'* 
 
 From that moment the chamberlain re- 
 sumed his wonted gaiety with returning 
 hope ; and the alteration in his behaviour 
 was felt by all around him." The con- 
 clusion of this adventure may be more 
 readily conceived than described. 
 
 Peter, blinded for a time, at length sus- 
 pected this domestic treachery, and com- 
 plained to the empress of the man who had 
 dared to inflict this dishonour upon him. 
 Elizabeth was incensed, and would have 
 banished the offender to Siberia; but, at 
 the suggestion of the chancellor Bestuchef, 
 Soltikoff was sent abroad under the veil of 
 an honourable embassy. 
 
 Catherine did not long regret the absence 
 of her paramour, whose place was soon sup- 
 plied by another. This was Count Stanislaus 
 • And merit those tears you are about to cost me. 
 230 
 
 Poniatowski, a Polish adventurer, whose 
 grandfather had been a steward on a small 
 estate of one of the nobles of his country, 
 but whose father had acquired distinction by 
 the services he rendered to Charles XIL, 
 whom, as we have related, he led, Avhen 
 wounded and helpless, off thefield at Pultawa, 
 through the ranks of the opposing Russians. 
 The archduchess, in writing to the old count, 
 observed — " Charles knew how to distinguish 
 your merit; I also can distinguish that of 
 your son, whom I may one day raise, per- 
 haps, even above Charles himself." To dig- 
 nify her new lover she contrived to obtain 
 for him the post of ambassador from the 
 king of Poland to the empress Elizabeth. 
 The open sensuality of the latter was con- 
 tinually increasing — a circumstance which 
 tended to make Catherine less guarded in 
 her amours. Her husband, who lived apart 
 from her, now acknowledged Elizabeth 
 Vorontzoff as his mistress ; an event which 
 the archduchess rather rejoiced in, as fur- 
 nishing some indirect apology for her own 
 irregularities. So careless did she become, 
 that she was surprised by Peter in a situation 
 with Poniatowski which left no doubt of her 
 guilt. Irritated at this painful confirmation 
 of what he had previously merely suspected, 
 the grand-duke complained to the empress, 
 and, when exhorted to moderation, threat- 
 ened to cudgel Poniatowski to death. The 
 latter, fearing the consequences of his crime, 
 fled from St. Petersburg, and returned to 
 Poland. 
 
 Catherine's estrangement from her hus- 
 band had ripened from dislike into hatred. 
 He had the imprudence to talk of repudiating 
 her as soon as he came to the throne — a cir- 
 cumstance which she resolved to anticipate 
 by a bolder movement. Assisted by the 
 wily Bestuchef, and by several of the Rus- 
 sian nobles, she lent herself to a conspiracy 
 for the purpose of excluding her husband 
 from the succession, and the elevation of 
 herself as regent during the minority of her 
 infant son Paul. It was with this object, 
 then, that Bestuchef had laboured to make 
 the grand-duke unpopular, and had reported 
 to the empress every indiscretion he com- 
 mitted, every hasty expression he uttered. 
 
 Cautious as the high chancellor was, he 
 had proceeded in his criminal design with 
 too much rapidity. General Apraxin was 
 tried for his retreat from the Prussian troops 
 whom he had defeated, but acquitted — only, 
 however, to die immediately afterwards. 
 But the intrigues of Bestuchef were revealed, 
 
A.D. 1758—1759.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [progress of the war. 
 
 and he was arrested. His letter, directing 
 Apraxin to retreat, was produced against 
 him, and found to be written in the name of 
 the empress, though it was dispatched with- 
 out her knowledge, and in contravention of 
 her will. Amongst his papers, also, was found 
 a copy of the deed of renunciation, which he 
 intended to compel Peter to subscribe in the 
 event of the conspiracy being successful. 
 His guilt was evident, and he was sentenced 
 to banishment. 
 
 In the spring of 1758, the Russian army 
 again invaded the Prussian dominions. By 
 his successes, towards the close of the pre- 
 ceding year, Frederic had to some extent 
 retrieved his fortunes, and he received an 
 enormous subsidy from England, where his 
 heroism had excited as much enthusiasm as 
 it had elicited from his own subjects. After 
 some operations against the Austrians, Fre- 
 deric marched to meet the Russians, who 
 slaying, burning, and destroying wherever 
 they went, had penetrated into the heart of 
 his realm. Frederic attacked them at Zorn- 
 dorf, near Frankfort, on the Oder. Tlie 
 battle was a long and bloody one; for not 
 only were the Prussian soldiers irritated by 
 the wanton ravages of their half-savage in- 
 vaders, but a feeling of deep animosity 
 existed between them and the Russians. 
 The loss on both sides was immense, but that 
 of the Russians was the most severe. Yet 
 both armies claimed the victory, and the 
 Russians maintained their position for several 
 days after the battle ; but they gave Frederic 
 no further trouble that campaign. 
 
 Elizabeth still resolved on the ruin of 
 Frederic. In the fourtJi campaign (1759), 
 the most disastrous of all during this fiercely- 
 contested war, the Russians, under Count 
 Soltikoff (not the banished paramour of 
 Catherine), spread themselves over the Prus- 
 sian territory, and commenced their cus- 
 tomary devastations. The Russian army, 
 consisting of nearly 70,000 men, and aided 
 by a powerful artillery, was intercepted in an 
 attempt to eflfect a passage of the Oder by a 
 Prussian army, consisting ouly of 30,000 
 men, under General Wedel. Besides this 
 inferiority in numbers, the position of the 
 Prussians was very disadvantageous. They 
 had to pass a bridge and a defile, so narrow 
 that scarcely the third of a battalion could 
 march in front. From the nature of the 
 ground, also, the cavalry could not support 
 the infantry. Yet the engagement was reso- 
 lutely maintained, though it terminated in a 
 defeat of the Prussians, who lost 4,700 men 
 
 in those killed and taken prisoners, while 
 the wounded were estimated at 3,000 more. 
 The disheartened Prussians were compelled to 
 retire: their victorious adversaries seized oa 
 the towns of Krossen and Frankfort, eflFected 
 a junction with 12,000 Austrian cavalry 
 and 8,000 infantry, under General Laudohn, 
 and intrenched themselves strongly at Ku- 
 nersdorf. 
 
 Frederic, joined by the discomfited forces 
 of General Wedel, and by some other rein- 
 forcements, was at the head of an army of 
 50,000 men. That of the Russians, since 
 the junction of General Laudohn, was up- 
 wards of 90,000, whose intrenched camp 
 was defended by a prodigious number of 
 cannon. Yet Frederic hastened to attack 
 them; and notwithstanding the disadvan- 
 tages arrayed against him, it was imperative 
 that he should give them battle. Berlin 
 was threatened by the Austrians, under 
 General Daun ; Saxony was also exposed to 
 the ravages of the imperial troops; while 
 the Russians were encamped before his 
 eyes in Silesia, the best and richest part of 
 his dominions. It has been observed, that 
 " the sanguine temper of other generals has 
 often obliged them to fight under disad- 
 vantages ; but the king of Prussians cir- 
 cumstances were such, that, from the mul- 
 titude of his enemies, he was neither able 
 to consult times nor situations. Rashness 
 could hardly dictate anything which, in his 
 condition, would not have been recom- 
 mended by prudence." 
 
 The battle was fought on the 12th of 
 August, and after a fierce cannonade, Fre- 
 deric's troops attacked the left wing of the 
 Russian army with an impetuosity which car- 
 ried everything before it. Great slaughter 
 ensued, the Russian iutrenchments were 
 forced, and seventy-two pieces of cannon 
 captured. Several redoubts which covered 
 the Russian camp were successively attacked 
 and taken by the Prussians. The former 
 fought with extraordinary obstinacy ; but 
 they were driven back with immense loss; 
 and Frederic concluded that the day must 
 be his own. So satisfied was he of this, 
 that he dispatched a courier to Berlin with 
 a note to the queen, saying, " Madam, we 
 have beat the Russians from their iutrench- 
 ments. In two hours expect to hear of a 
 glorious victory." The king's conclusion 
 was a precipitate one ; the Russians, shat- 
 tered and almost defeated as they were, 
 rallied and made a stand at a redoubt 
 which had been erected in a position re- 
 
 231 
 
PROGRESS OF THE WAR.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1759. 
 
 garded as almost impregnable. Frederic 
 saw that if he could drive them from this 
 point, that utter defeat must await them. 
 But with an array which, though beaten, 
 was still numerically superior to his own, 
 and prepared to dispute every inch of 
 ground with a dogged courage that seemed 
 insensible of danger, the enterprise Avas 
 both hazardous and uncertain. Frederic's 
 generals expostulated with him ; as they 
 were unanimous in their opinion that it was 
 unwise to attempt to push any further the 
 advantages they had obtained. They repre- 
 sented to him that the enemy was still very 
 numerous, their artillery considerable, and 
 the post they occupied one of great strength; 
 that his troops, who had been engaged for 
 some hours in a severe action, during an 
 exceedingly hot day, were too much ex- 
 hausted for a new attempt, especially one of 
 such diflaculty as might daunt even troops 
 that were fresh. They added, that he would 
 reap all the effects of a victory, as the enemy 
 would be obliged to retire into Poland, and 
 thus leave him free to act iu other quarters 
 where his presence was just as necessary. 
 
 Admitting the force of these arguments, 
 Frederic yet decided upon hazarding a blow 
 which might effectually scatter the Russian 
 forces. His infantry, almost fainting from 
 heat and the fatigue of six hours' fighting, 
 M'ere again led to the attack, but repulsed 
 with great slaughter. Frederic led tAvo 
 charges in person, had two horses killed 
 beneath him, and his coat pierced by several 
 bullets. It was in vain; and so fearful 
 was the massacre, that a feeling of terror 
 began to spread through the Prussian 
 ranks. Frederic then put the matter in 
 the hands of his cavalry, who spent their 
 remaining strength in several unavailing 
 attacks. When on the point of abandon- 
 ing their fruitless efforts, a large body of 
 Russian and Austrian horse, which had 
 been hitherto unengaged, charged their 
 jaded ranks. The Prussian cavalry was 
 broken, hurled back upon the foot, and the 
 whole army thrown into confusion. A 
 panic spread from rank to rank, and the 
 men fled in disorder. The king acted with 
 wonderful energy and heroism, and nearly 
 fell into the hands of his enemies. The 
 approach of night, and a judicious use of 
 some eminences, alone saved the Prussian 
 army from total destruction. Ail their 
 artillery ^ was lost, 20,000 of them had 
 perished "or been taken prisoners, and many 
 thousands more were hopelessly scattered. 
 232 
 
 Exhausted in body, and shattered in mind, 
 Frederic reached a ruined and deserted 
 farmhouse, where throwing himself on a 
 heap of straw, he dictated another despatch 
 to the queen. This second missive differed 
 widely from the one sent earlier in the day, 
 and ran thus : — " Remove from Berlin with 
 the royal family. Let the archives be car- 
 ried to Potsdam. The town may make 
 conditions with the enemy." So complete 
 did the king's ruin appear, that he again 
 thought of suicide, and even wrote a fare- 
 well to some of his friends. In one of 
 these letters he observed — " I have no re- 
 sources left ; all is lost. I will not survive 
 the ruin of my country. Farewell for 
 ever ! " 
 
 The Russians and Austrians lost some 
 time in congratulations and rejoicings, and 
 more in disagreements arising from jealousy. 
 Marshal Daun, the Austrian general, was 
 for pushing forward and passing the Oder; 
 but Soltikoff, the Russian general, said he 
 had done enough, and declined to move far 
 from Poland for fear he should be without 
 the means of provisioning his troops. He 
 therefore retired into winter quarters in 
 Poland, Avhile his soldiers committed such 
 atrocities in their progress, that Frederic, 
 on learning the particulars, exclaimed — 
 " We have to do Avith barbarians who are 
 digging the grave of humanity." The king 
 so profited by the delays and dissensions of 
 his enemies, that, at the close of 1759, he 
 still stood on the defensive, with a consider- 
 able army at his command ; but his pros- 
 pects for the future were gloomy in tlie 
 extreme. 
 
 Some fruitless negotiations for peace took 
 place in the following spring (1760.) Hos- 
 tilities -were therefore resumed, and the 
 campaign opened unfavourably for Frederic. 
 The Russians and Austrians entered Berlin, 
 took up their quarters in the royal palaces, 
 emptied the arsenal, and levied contribu- 
 tions on the inhabitants; but they deemed 
 it prudent to retire on the approach of the 
 king. As his presence was no longer re- 
 quired at Bei'lin, Frederic entered Saxony, 
 Avhere he was induced, by the desperate 
 situation of his affairs, to attack the Aus- 
 trians under Marshal Laudohu at Lignitz, 
 where, after an obstinate battle, he gained 
 a victory, and compelled them to retreat. 
 Shortly afterwards he gained a sanguinary 
 triumph over another Austrian army under 
 General Daun, which compelled the im- 
 perial troops to retire from his dominions. 
 
A.D. 1761.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [last days of ELIZABETH. 
 
 Their example was followed by the Russians, 
 to the dissatisfaction both of Elizabeth and 
 the Austrian court, who were each surprised 
 that the combined imperial forces had not 
 accomplished more. A feeling prevailed, 
 both at Vienna and St. Petersburg, that the 
 fault lay with the Russian general; there- 
 fore Soltikoff was recalled, and the com- 
 mand given to Count Butterliu. 
 
 At the commencement of 1761, it was 
 evident that the position of the king of 
 Prussia was most critical; and probable 
 that the great soldier who had so long held 
 at bay a most formidable and ungenerous 
 combination, would soon be hunted to his 
 ruin. The resources of Prussia were be- 
 coming exhausted ; and though in this cam- 
 paign no great battle was gained by the 
 enemy, yet, "in spite of the desperate 
 bounds of the hunted tiger, the circle of 
 pursuers was fast closing round him.'^ Oc- 
 cupying a strong camp iu Silesia, he re- 
 mained watching, with rage and bitterness 
 of heart, the proceedings of his enemies, 
 who, spread over his defenceless territories, 
 carried on the work of extortion or desola- 
 tion. His strong mind was much affected 
 by the seemingly desperate nature of his 
 position, and he felt his misfortunes more 
 heavily than ever. He became reserved, 
 and seldom talked even with his most con- 
 fidential officers; indeed, he afterwards 
 admitted that he began to look around him 
 with blank despair at the desolated state of 
 the country, unable to imagine where re- 
 cruits, horses, or provisions were to be 
 found. Towards the close of the year his 
 misfortunes received an addition by the 
 death of George II., king of England, who 
 expired suddenly on the 25th of October, 
 and the abandonment of the Prussian in- 
 terests by his youthful and narrow-minded 
 successor. The first Mr. Pitt was compelled 
 to retire from the ministry, and his succes- 
 sors sought to make peace with France, and 
 to shake off any continental alliance that 
 interfered with their project. " The policy 
 then followed," observes Mr. Macaulay, 
 " inspired Frederic with an unjust but deep 
 and bitter aversion to the English name, 
 and produced effects which are still felt 
 throughout the civilised world. To that 
 policy it was owing that, some years later, 
 England could not find on the whole conti- 
 nent a single ally to stand by her, in her 
 extreme need, against the house of Bourbon. 
 To that policy it was owing that Frederic, 
 alienated from England, was compelled to 
 2a. 
 
 connect himself closely, during his lateryears, 
 with Russia, and was induced to assist in 
 that great crime — the fruitful parent of other 
 great crimes — the first partition of Poland." 
 
 But the despondency of Frederic was 
 greatly lightened by another event which 
 occurred shortly after the death of George II. 
 and the defection of England. This was the 
 death of his powerful and persevering enemy 
 the empress Elizabeth, which took place on 
 the 25th of December, 1761, after a reign of 
 twenty years. 
 
 The health of the empress had been for 
 some time declining; and she doubtless ac- 
 celerated the progress of natural decay in 
 vain endeavours to evade the results of illness 
 by a recourse to her customary dissipation. 
 Festivities, balls, masquerades, and brilliant 
 shows still yielded a faint amusement ; and, 
 dreading to lie down upon a restless pillow, 
 she frequently went to the opera or play at 
 eleven, passed the rest of the night at table, 
 and went to bed at five in the morning. At 
 other times she listened with avidity to the 
 idle tales brought to her concerning the 
 amorous revels of the grand-duke Peter 
 with his mistress, the coarse, ugly Countess 
 Vorontzoff, to whom she scornfully gave 
 the nickname of la Pompadour : and in such 
 amusements as these did the empress of 
 Russia seek for some alleviation of the in- 
 firmities that were rapidly terminating her 
 life. As the close of her existence approached 
 she was tormented with violent pains iu the 
 stomach, which no medicines had power to 
 alleviate. To procure some respite from 
 suffering she had frequent recourse to her 
 usual means of stifling sensibility in the 
 stupefaction brought on by the use of strong 
 waters. In vain did her physicians represent 
 to her that she herself was contributing to 
 frustrate their efforts, and accelerating the 
 period of her days. In vain did her attend- 
 ants, by sacrificing obedience to affection, 
 secretly remove or destroy the intoxicating 
 beverage ; she would constantly have a case 
 of it in her chamber, of Avhich the key was 
 always kept within reach. 
 
 The enemies of the grand-duke had re- 
 cently so blackened his character to the em- 
 press, that she was even induced to entertain a 
 ridiculous fear that he might be led to acce- 
 lerate her death by poison. Influenced by 
 this feeling, she ordered him to be denied ad- 
 mittance to her apartment, and also extended 
 this prohibition to Catherine, with whom 
 she had been for some time displeased. If 
 Elizabeth died without seeing the grand- 
 
 233 
 
CHAKACTER OF ELIZABETH.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1761. 
 
 duke and his consort, it was feared injurious 
 rumours might be circulated among the 
 people. Count Pauin, therefore, the governor 
 of Catherine's infant son, Paul Petrovitch, de- 
 voted himself to bringing about an interview 
 and a reconciliation. The count, therefore, 
 concerted arrangements with the confessor 
 of the empress, who, approaching the bedside 
 of his mistress, commenced a religious dis- 
 course to her. He spoke of the Supreme 
 Sovereign by whom earthly monarchs reign — 
 of his justice, his clemency, and his tribunal, 
 before which only they who forgive can ob- 
 tain forgiveness; and of that kingdom of 
 God, of which the terrestrial paradise was 
 but a faint resemblance ; but where only the 
 charitable can obtain admission, where only 
 the merciful can hope for mercy. Touched 
 by fears for her salvation, the dying empress 
 consented to see her nephew and his consort. 
 At this instant the grand-duke entered, 
 leading Catherine by the hand, and they 
 both fell upon their knees by the bedside. 
 Then Elizabeth, in an indistinct tone of voice, 
 and as if her lips only spoke the words, 
 uttered whatever was dictated to her by the 
 priest. Addressing hex'self to the prince 
 and princess, she said, " that she had always 
 loved them ; and that, with her dying breath, 
 she wished them all kinds of blessings." 
 Every witness of this scene saw that the 
 pardon came only from the lips of the 
 empress; but Peter was satisfied with the 
 appearance of a reconciliation, and his par- 
 tisans repeated, through the city, the affec- 
 tionate words pronounced by the empress, 
 together with several additional embellish- 
 ments of their own. 
 
 The partiality of the grand-duke Peter to 
 Frederic we have alluded to : it was more 
 than a friendship ; it amounted to a perfect 
 infatuation in favour of the monarch he ad- 
 mired and sought to imitate. He even went 
 so far, amongst his Holstein associates, as to 
 allude to him by the title of " the king my 
 master." Frederic knew that, from Russia, 
 he had no more to fear during this terrible 
 struggle, and he was at liberty to direct his 
 eflFoits entirely against his other enemies. 
 
 Elizabeth died during the autumnal phase 
 of life, in her fifty-second year. She was 
 one of those comparatively negative cha- 
 racters who do little harm, and less good. 
 The business of the empire was conducted 
 for her by others ; for she was too indolent to 
 arrive at any judgment of her own. When, 
 as in the case of the war with Prussia, she 
 formed anv strong opinion, it arose not from 
 234. 
 
 a dispassionate examination of conflicting 
 facts, but from motives of an entirely per- 
 sonal nature. Though not deficient in in- 
 tellect, yet her mental power was paralysed 
 by her constitutional indolence. This was 
 so great, that even for months together 
 she could not be induced to give the 
 least attention to the affairs of state. 
 Sometimes, for a considerable period, she 
 refused even to sign her name. The three 
 great points in her character were indolence, 
 voluptuousness, and superstition. Perhaps 
 the greatest harm she did, was the immoral 
 example she set to the ladies of her court and 
 empire — an example which, sustained as it 
 afterwards was by the empress Catherine, 
 produced abundance of pernicious fruit. 
 
 The oppressions and tyranny carried on 
 during her reign, were, with a few excep- 
 tions, rather permitted than transacted by 
 her. Such was her superstition, that the 
 most abandoned licentiousness and the 
 most shameless orgies were alternated with 
 prayers and devotional exercises. The viola- 
 tion of a fast threw her into pangs of 
 remorse ; and the sight of a person in 
 mourning awoke in her very painful emo- 
 tions. Profligacy of the most abandoned 
 kind remained unchecked by her ; for how 
 could she reprehend that which her own 
 example created ? But she punished with 
 great rigour the assumed ofl'ence of eating 
 an egg on a day which the church had 
 appointed for abstinence. 
 
 " The empress Elizabeth," observes Tooke, 
 "had insensibly proceeded from moderate 
 pleasures to the extravagance of sensuality ; 
 and her taste for devotion augmented with 
 her voluptuousness. She continued whole 
 hours on her knees before the picture of 
 some saint, to which she spoke, which she 
 even consulted ; and passed alternately from 
 acts of bigotry to the intemperance of lust, 
 and from scenes of lasciviousness to the 
 opiates of prayer. She would freqiiently 
 drink to excess; and, at such times, too 
 sensual, too impatient for the delays of 
 unlacing, her women used to effect the 
 same purpose by means of the scissors. In 
 what manner such nights were passed, it 
 becomes not the historian to undraw her 
 curtains to reveal." 
 
 Amongst her follies — for the word vice is 
 perhaps too harsh for these minor imperfec- 
 tions of character — were the girlish vanity 
 and wanton extravagance of the empress. 
 She regarded it as a crime against the state, 
 if one of the ladies of her court presumed to 
 
A.D. 1761.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [anecdote of ELIZABETH. 
 
 wear dresses of the same pattern as those 
 •which adorned her, or received the newest 
 French fashions before she did. After the 
 death of Elizabeth between fifteen and 
 sixteen thousand dresses were found in her 
 wardrobe ; some of which had been worn 
 but once, while others had never been put 
 on at all. In addition to these were two 
 large chests full of silk stockings, two others 
 of ribands, some thousand pairs of shoes, 
 and several hundred pieces of French and 
 other rich stiitFs. These were neither given 
 away nor sold, although the empress was 
 constantly in pressing want of money ; but 
 left undisturbed until they spoiled. 
 
 The greatest virtue of Elizabeth was her 
 aversion to the shedding of blood ; but her 
 much-praised clemency was sullied by many 
 acts of oppression, and even of cruelty. If 
 she did not sanction the infliction of death, 
 she permitted that of torture, which was 
 used to a frightful extent during her reign; 
 she also estal)lished a detestable system of 
 espionage, wliich crushed all public, and 
 poisoned all private, freedom. It is com- 
 puted that, every year, about 1,000 of her 
 subjects were privately arrested and con- 
 signed to prison. It was an easy thing for 
 one of the numerous favourites and parasites 
 who swarmed around the empress, to obtain 
 a secret order, granted without inquiry, 
 for the arrest of some one who had incurred 
 their displeasure. Even if one of the ladies 
 of the court considered herself slighted, she 
 could obtain an order by which the object 
 of her anger was forced out of bed at 
 night, gagged, blindfolded, and hurried 
 away to some dungeon, where such unhappy 
 victims frequently dragged out the re- 
 mainder of their lives without being charged 
 
 with any crime, or even knowing in what 
 part of the country they were. It was 
 dangerous for the family to pursue inquiries 
 after the lost one. " He has disappeared," 
 was held to be a suflficient answer to their 
 distracted questions. Probably much, if not 
 all, of this dark tyranny was transacted 
 without the knowledge of the empress, who 
 was generally goodnatured, and even amia- 
 ble, to those who had the address to please 
 her, but unforgiving and vindictive when 
 offended. Even her good temper was 
 chilled and largely neutralised by a vivid 
 consciousness of what was due to her as 
 empress. It is related of her, that one 
 day she was waited on at her toilet by a 
 lady of the court, who remained stand- 
 ing only at the expense of great and visible 
 effort. This was at length discerned by 
 Elizabeth, who inquired what was the 
 matter with her. " My legs are very much 
 swelled," was the reply. " Well, well," 
 returned the empress, ''lean against that 
 bureau; I will seem as if I did not see 
 you." Notwithstanding her personal indo- 
 lence, she had some taste for literature, and 
 established a university at Moscow, and an 
 academy for the fine arts at St. Petersburg. 
 She also exerted herself to forward the 
 compilation of a code of laws for the Rus- 
 sian empire — a task which was begun under 
 Peter the Great, but not completed until 
 the reign of Catherine II. Though Eliza- 
 beth was never married, she left several 
 natural children. One of these was the 
 unfortunate Princess Tarrakanoff, to whom 
 we shall have occasion to allude hereafter, 
 and whose sad fate, brought about by the 
 jealousy of Catherine II., forms one of the 
 most touching episodes of Russian history. 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 ACCESSION OP PETER III. ; HE MAKES PEACE WITH PRUSSIA ; HE EFFECTS RAPID BUT IMPORTANT REFORMS J 
 RECALL OF MARSHAL MUNICH AND OTHER EXILES FROM SIBERIA; PETER'S CONDUCT TO HIS CONSORT 
 CATHERINE; HE SEIZES ON THE PROPERTY OF THE CHURCH ; CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE EMPEROR ; HE 
 MAKES PREPARATIONS FOR A HOSTILE EXPEDITION TO DENMARK ; OUTBREAK OF THE CONSPIRACY, AND 
 APPEAL OF CATHERINE TO THE ISMAELOFFSKI GUARDS ; SHE IS PROCLAIMKD EMPRESS ; VACILLATING 
 CONDUCT AND COWARDICE OF THE CZAR; HE SURRENDERS TO CATHERINE; SIGNS A FORM OF ABDICA- 
 TION ; TRIUMPHAL ENTRANCE OF CATHERINE INTO ST. PETERSBURG ; REACTION OF THE POPULAR FEEL- 
 ING ; MURDER OF PETER. III. ; ESTIMATE OF HIS CHARACTER. 
 
 The conspiracy against the grand-duke I the eyes of Elizabeth closed in death, than 
 Peter was not sufficiently ripe to be carried the courtiers pressed in crowds around 
 into execution. No sooner, therefore, were I Peter, and accosted him as their sovereign. 
 
 233 
 
ACCESSION OF PETER IIk] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1561. 
 
 Laying aside the weakness and indecision 
 which so frequently characterised him, he 
 accosted them with dignity, and at once 
 received the oaths of the officers of his 
 guards. He tlien rode through the streets 
 of St. Petersburg, and distributed money to 
 the people, who, notwithstanding the at- 
 tempts that had been made to bring him 
 into contempt, received him with acchima- 
 tions. The soldiers also mixed their shouts 
 with those of the populace; and, flocking 
 around the new monarch, exclaimed, " If 
 thou take care of us, we will serve thee as 
 faithfully as we served our good empress.'^ 
 Still it was plainly observable that there 
 was no enthusiasm or affection on the part 
 of the people towards Peter; none of that 
 real joy which is commonly manifested by a 
 people on the accession of a young prince 
 to the throne. The absence of this feeling 
 was universal, and the iiew sovereign did 
 not find any more affection in the larger 
 circle of his court, than in the smaller 
 one of his family. An ill-feeling towards 
 foreigners prevailed in Russia ; and although 
 the blood of Peter the Great ran in the 
 veins of the new emperor, and he had so far 
 a claim upon the national afl'ection, yet he 
 was a German on the father's side, and had 
 resided so little in Russia, that he was re- 
 garded as almost a foreigner. Unhappily, 
 also, his confidence and familiarity were 
 confined to the Germans from his dukedom ; 
 and neither in manners, language, nor in 
 religious pi'ofession, did he seem a complete 
 and genuine Russian. He was also sus- 
 pected of a design to remodel the whole 
 system of the empire, and to put everything 
 on a German footing. In addition to this, 
 it was believed by the friends of his consort 
 Catherine, that he intended to divorce her, 
 deprive her son Paul of the succession, and 
 raise his mistress, Elizabeth Vorontzoff, to 
 the imperial throne. 
 
 The young, energetic, brilliant, but we 
 fear unprincipled Princess Daschkaw, M'ho 
 was the chief agent of the conspiracy which 
 so soon deprived Peter of his throne and 
 life, in a work* written for the purpose of 
 vindicating herself from the aspersions cast 
 upon her, especially by the French authors, 
 assigns no reason for the part she took in 
 conducting this conspiracy, further than her 
 attachment to Catherine, and her fears that 
 Peter might divorce his erring consort, or 
 consign her to a convent or other prison. 
 • Memoirs of the Princess Daschkatc, Lady of 
 Honour to Catherine II. ; written bu herself 
 236 ^ ^ 
 
 A few days after the accession of the em- 
 peror, he sought an interview with the 
 princess, whose sister was, as we have men- 
 tioned, his mistress, and a singular con- 
 trast in manners and intellectual culture to 
 herself. The princess thus relates what 
 passed : — " The emperor, as soon as I had ap- 
 peared in his presence, began to address me 
 on a subject which seemed very near his 
 heart, and in a manner which confirmed all 
 my suspicions and alarm on account of the 
 empress. He spoke in a low voice and in 
 half-sentences, but in terms unequivocally 
 expressive of his intentions to displace her, 
 as he indicated the empress, and to raise 
 Romanovna, as he said, when speaking of 
 my sister, to the throne. Having thus de- 
 clared himself, he proceeded to give me 
 some salutary cautions. ' If, my little 
 friend,' said he, 'you will take my advice, 
 pay a little more attention to us ; the time 
 may come when you will have good reason 
 to repent of any negligence shown to your 
 sister; believe me, ib is for your interest 
 alone I speak ; you have no other way of 
 making yourself of any consequence in the 
 world than by studying her disposition, and 
 striving to gain her countenance and pro- 
 tection."' Without aspersing the truthful- 
 ness of the Princess Daschkaw, it is evident 
 that she wrote with a strong bias against 
 the unfortunate Peter, and she omits no 
 relation that can place him in a contempti- 
 ble light. ''To act as corporal-major every 
 morning on the grand parade," she ob- 
 serves, " to eat a good dinner, to drink 
 Burgundy, to spend the evening among 
 buflFoons and a certain set of ladies, and to 
 do everything which the king of Prussia 
 ordered him to do, was what formed the 
 felicity and glory of Peter III., and is an 
 epitome of his mode of life for the seven 
 months which constituted his reign." 
 
 Peter announced his accession to the 
 king of Prussia before he communicated 
 this important information to any other 
 power. He even liberated all the Prussian 
 prisoners, and gave them money to defray 
 their expenses home. An armistice with 
 Prussia was soon concluded, attended by a 
 manifesto, in which Peter declared, that 
 his first duty being the welfare of his 
 people, that welfare could not be consulted 
 so long as hostilities were continued; that 
 the war had produced no advantage to 
 either party, but done incredible liarm to 
 both ; that he would no longer sanction the 
 wanton destruction of his species; that, in 
 
A.D. 1762.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [imprudence of petek. 
 
 conformity with the divine injunction rela- 
 tive to the preservation of the people com- 
 mitted to his charge, he terminated the 
 unnatural and impious strife; and that he 
 was resolved to restore the conquests made 
 by the Russian troops. The emperor would 
 deserve high commendation for these gene- 
 rous sentiments, but that they w^ere uttered 
 to colour the peace he was about to conclude 
 with Frederic, and not from any abstract 
 love of peace itself. At tliis very time he 
 was not only loud in his expressions of 
 enmity to Denmark, but he had resolved on 
 war with that kingdom to resent some in- 
 jury done to his father, and to wrest from 
 it the duchy of Schleswig, which he regarded 
 as being his by inheritance. Frederic gave 
 his admirer some good advice, and urged 
 him not to engage in a war with Denmark, 
 or to leave the empire before he was firmly 
 seated upon the throne; but Peter never 
 listened to good counsel until it was too 
 late to follow it. 
 
 The emperor was regardless of the in- 
 terests and intentions of his allies. The 
 Austrian court was merely informed that he 
 was about to conclude peace with the king 
 of Prussia. Peter hiirried forward the pro- 
 ceedings ; and, on the 5th of May, the treaty 
 was signed at St. Petersburg, and shortly 
 afterwards proclaimed in Berlin. By it the 
 emperor not only concluded such a peace 
 with Frederic as the latter could only 
 have hoped for after a series of victories, 
 but entered into an offensive and defensive 
 alliance with him; and 15,000 Russian 
 troops were sent to join the shattered Prus- 
 sian army, against which they had been so 
 recently opposed. Frederic made great use 
 of this timely assistance. He reconquered 
 Silesia, gave the Austrians a defeat, and 
 soon presented to the forces of Maria 
 Theresa a front as formidable as before the 
 great reverses of 1759. Sweden followed 
 the example of Russia, and concluded a 
 peace with Frederic shortly after the czar 
 had done so. 
 
 Peter's conduct towards Frederic was 
 both precipitate and unwise, when we con- 
 sider the strong anti-German feeling exist- 
 ing among the Russian people. It was 
 well to make peace with the Prussian 
 monarch, with whom the empress Eliza- 
 beth had gone to war without a sufficient 
 cause; and, indeed, for hardly any other 
 reason than that of personal animosity. 
 But that peace should have been concluded 
 with sobriety, and, if possible, in conjunction 
 
 with the allies of Russia. Assuredly Peter 
 should have abstained from rendering direct 
 assistance to Frederic, and from permitting 
 his troops to act against those of his ally, 
 Austria. To such an imprudent extent did 
 he carry his admiration of that monarch, 
 that one evening, when he had been drink- 
 ing to excess, he directed his conversation, 
 according to custom, upon the great soldier- 
 king. Fixing his eyes suddenly on VolkofF, 
 one of the ministers of state, he exclaimed — 
 " You must agree that he is a magician, a 
 sorcerer, that king of Prussia ! He knew 
 all our plans for the campaign as soon as we 
 had resolved on them." Volkofi' coloured ; 
 but Peter resumed — " Why that embarrass- 
 ment? You have no longer any need to 
 fear Siberia. Is it not true that, notwith- 
 standing the dread you had of it, you com- 
 municated to me all the plans and projects 
 that were resolved on in the council, and 
 that I sent them off to his majesty the 
 king?" 
 
 Other circumstances, also, contributed to 
 place the emperor in a false light with 
 respect to his people. Instead of remaining 
 at home to win their affections, he, at this 
 critical period, made preparations for a visit 
 to Germany, merely for the sake of obtain- 
 ing an interview with the distinguished 
 monarch, the contemplation of whose genius 
 seems to have disturbed the balance of his 
 intellect. It was observed, also, by the 
 numbers who were interested in the fate of 
 Cathei'ine and her son, the grand-duke 
 Paul, that neither of them were mentioned 
 in the manifesto by which Peter pi'oclaimed 
 his accession to the throne. This circum- 
 stance strengthened the suspicions of those 
 who believed that he intended to repudiate 
 Catherine and deprive Paul of the succes- 
 sion, and gave additional activity to the 
 discontented courtiers who were conspiring 
 against him. He had also neglected to make 
 preparations for his coronation at Moscow, 
 which ceremony was viewed as deriving a 
 peculiar sanctity from its being performed 
 in that ancient city, which the people re- 
 garded with something of superstitious 
 reverence. 
 
 Yet Peter's errors were such as produced 
 little or no injury to the empire ; while he 
 possessed some estimable qualities. Though 
 he censured the late empress for having 
 abolished capital punishment, and declared 
 that it was necessary to put great ofi'enders 
 to death, yet he was one of the mildest and 
 least revengeful of sovereigns who ever occu- 
 
 237 
 
BEFORMS BY PETER.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1762. 
 
 pied the Russiau throne. Though he had 
 many personal enemies, he pardoned them 
 all on his assumption of the imperial crown, 
 and seemed, in his capacity of emperor, to 
 have forgotten the wrongs inflicted on the 
 grand-duke. Though some of his notions 
 of reform were extravagant, yet he effected 
 many changes of a beneficial character. 
 He abolished that hateful system of es- 
 pionage which, under the name of the 
 " Secret Chancery,^' was the terror of every 
 family in Russia. He prohibited the use of 
 torture — a very necessary regulation, after 
 the frightful extent to which it had been 
 carried during the reign of Elizabeth. He 
 made a generous sacrifice to the interests of 
 his nobility, by making them independent 
 of the caprices of the sovereign. Prior to 
 his reign no boyard could enter on any pro- 
 fession, or forsake it when once embraced, 
 or retire from public to private life, or dis- 
 pose of his property, or travel into any 
 foreign country, without the permission of 
 the czar. Peter resigned these checks upon 
 the liberty of his nobles, and thus added an 
 important step to the career of social eman- 
 cipation. Though in the army he endea- 
 voured to introduce many changes which 
 were considered objectionable — such as the 
 introduction of the Prussian drill and cos- 
 tume — yet he enhanced the dignity of the 
 officers, by rescuing them from the de- 
 grading punishments to which they had 
 been previously subjected. He instituted a 
 court to take cognizance of all offences 
 committed against the public peace, and to 
 punish the deliuquencies of those who were 
 entrusted with the general police of the 
 empire. He made arrangements for the 
 promotion of commerce, and he constantly 
 showed himself <he protector and friend 
 of the poor. An elaborate historian of 
 this period remarks, that a complete and 
 sudden transformation occurred in the 
 chai'acter, or rather the behaviour, of the 
 new monarch. " Gentleness and humanity 
 took the place of violence, and reflec- 
 tion succeeded to passion. The grand- 
 duke had been inconsistent, impetuous, and 
 wild : Peter III. now showed himself equit- 
 able, patient, and enlightened." Uuhappily, 
 this seeming reformation was very transient, 
 and the czar soon acted as if he actually 
 desired to win the contempt of his nobles, 
 and the indifference, if not dislike, of his 
 people. 
 
 Peter also recalled from Siberia most of 
 those who had been sent there during the 
 238 
 
 reign of Elizabeth. Amongst the exiles 
 who returned was Marshal Munich, then 
 eighty-two years of age. The venerable old 
 soldier was met, on his approach to the 
 capital, by his one remainiug son and thirty- 
 two of his grandchildren and great-grand- 
 children. Accompanied by them, he pre- 
 sented himself before the emperor, dressed 
 in the rough sheepskin pelisse which he had 
 worn in the deserts of Pelim. Peter re- 
 stored to the aged soldier his rank of field- 
 marshal ; and expressed a hope that, not- 
 withstanding his advanced age, he might 
 still serve him. " Since your majesty," re- 
 plied Munich, " has brought me from dark- 
 ness to light, and called me from the depths 
 of a cavern to admit me to the foot of the 
 thi'one, you will find me ever ready to 
 expose my life in your service. Neither a 
 tedious exile, nor the severity of a Siberian 
 climate, have been able to extinguish, or 
 even to damp, the ardour I have formerly 
 shown for the interests of Russia and the 
 glory of its monarch." 
 
 Notwithstanding the clement temper of 
 the emperor, Catherine entertained a dread 
 that he might punish her for her infidelities 
 towards him. Though she had long ceased 
 to reside with him as his wife, yet she was 
 compelled to wear a peculiar dress at the 
 time of his accession, in order to conceal her 
 pregnancy. But Peter was jemarkably for- 
 giving, and appeared not to discern those 
 faults in her which were patent to every one 
 else. He appeared to forget the wrongs he 
 had suffered, in the attractions of her per- 
 son and the power of her mind. He fre- 
 quently passed many hours in her apart- 
 ments, and discoursed with her, in a confi- 
 dential manner, on important matters. Yet, 
 with the inconsistency which ever character- 
 ised him, he would sometimes refer with 
 bitterness to the wrongs she had done him, 
 and treat her with harshness and disrespect. 
 At one time he would bestow on her the 
 most profound marks of respect; and at 
 another, treat her in a manner which no 
 lady could bear with patience. Thus, on 
 the occasion of the benediction of the waters, 
 which is regarded as one of the most sacred 
 ceremonies of the Russian church, he made 
 her appear adorned with all the marks of im- 
 perial dignity ; while he followed in her train 
 as a simple colonel. Not long after, while 
 seated with Catherine at a public entertain- 
 ment, he called to his mistress, the Countess 
 Vorontzoff, who was passing by, and made 
 her come and sit down beside them. The 
 
A.D. 1762.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [seizuke of chtjrch lands. 
 
 empress immediately retired, and Peter 
 made no attempt to detain her. The 
 same eveninfr, while at supper, he loudly 
 called her a fool before a number of guests. 
 Catherine burst into tears; and Peter in- 
 jured himself more in the estimation of the 
 spectators by. this one act of temper than 
 he would have done by some public tyranny. 
 
 Scenes of this kind kept alive the dislike 
 which Catherine bore towards her husband, 
 and revived her hopes of supplanting him 
 on the throne. She made it her chief 
 business to gain those hearts which he was 
 losing. A perfect mistress of the art of 
 dissimulation, it cost her no effort to as- 
 sume, when in the presence of the multi- 
 tude, sentiments the most opposed to her 
 own secret convictions. Though a student 
 of the sceptical philosophy of France, and 
 an admirer of Voltaire, she assumed the 
 manners of a fanatic. Every day she sedu- 
 lously repaired to the churches of St. Peters- 
 burg, and prayed with all the semblance of 
 a fervent devotion. She became punctual 
 in the performance of the most superstitious 
 practices of the Greek church. She accosted 
 the poor with benignity, and treated the 
 priests with reverence. As a natural result 
 of this, the latter proclaimed her praises 
 from house to house, and the populace 
 regarded her as a benevolent princess. 
 Catherine also kept her court with a mixture 
 of dignity and affability which charmed all 
 who approached her. Peter, on the other 
 hand, soon relapsed into his old dissipated 
 habits. To such an extent did he forget 
 his rank, as to live familiarly with buffoons, 
 and to allow them to sit at table with him. 
 One evening, while at the Countess Narish- 
 kin's, after having attended the theatre, lie 
 caused the comedians to sit down promis- 
 cuously with the ladies and grandees of the 
 court, and seated himself beside a dancer, 
 whom he called his little wife. These acts 
 of imprudence not only displeased his 
 nobles and people, but caused injurious 
 reports to be made by the ambassadors 
 from foreign courts. 
 
 But the most dangerous of the emperor's 
 indiscretions was the sudden and sweeping 
 alterations he effected with respect to the 
 property of tlie church. He seems to have 
 been bent upon following the example of 
 his illustrious grandfather, without reflect- 
 ing that he had neither the power nor the 
 patience that was possessed by the wise 
 czar. Great was the difference between 
 the conduct of the two mouarchs with re- 
 
 spect to the church. Peter I. did not en- 
 deavour to abolish its notorious abuses 
 until, by a long career of great and brilliaut 
 actions, he had laid the foundations of his 
 throne in the hearts of his people. Peter III. 
 had no sooner laid his hand Jipon the im- 
 perial sceptre than he struck at the root of 
 all the power of the church, by depriving it 
 of its wealth — an act which, as it was of the 
 nature of a confiscation, he had no right to 
 do unless the priesthood had, by some great 
 offence, deserved to lose what v/as taken 
 from them, and which even then would 
 have been imprudent and dangerous, when 
 the intensely superstitious character of the 
 Russian people is remembered. 
 
 Without reflecting on these matters, the 
 emperor seized the vast possessions of the 
 church, and made them into domains of the 
 crown. The clergy he placed upon yearly 
 salaries, varying from 5,000 down to 100 
 roubles. He even proceeded still further 
 to irritate. the clergy, by taking from the 
 churches the figures of the saints, which 
 both priests and people regarded as objects 
 of profound veneration, and made certain 
 arbitrary regulations concerning the beards 
 and costume of the secular clergy. The 
 Bishop of Novgorod, who exclaimed against 
 this conduct as an impious violation of the 
 sanctuary, he condemned to banishment, 
 but afterwards showed his weakness by re- 
 calling in obedience to popular clamour. 
 Peter cared but little for religion; but he 
 had exhibited a bias towards Lutheranism 
 rather than to the Greek form of Christianity 
 used by the Russian church. The incensed 
 priests therefore spread a report throughout 
 the empire, that the emperor had only pre- 
 tended to embrace the Greek communion 
 to qualify himself for filling the throne, but 
 that he was still a Lutheran at heart, of 
 which he was every day giving proofs by 
 showing a profound contempt for the rites, 
 the ceremonies, aud the religion of the 
 Russians. Frederic of Prussia, with whom 
 Peter constantly corresponded and informed 
 of all he did, recommended him to be cau- 
 tious with respect to the possessions of the 
 church, and not to meddle with the dress of 
 the monks, as small matters were of great 
 consequence in the eyes of the ignorant and 
 fanatical. Fearing wiiat might happen, 
 Frederic also urged him to maintain the 
 respect which was due to his consort, the 
 moi-e especially so for his own security. 
 The unsuspicious Peter, who was sur- 
 rounded by traitors, aud breathing an air 
 
 239 
 
SITUATION OF CATHERINE.] 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1762. 
 
 tainted by duplicity and conspiracy, replied, 
 " In regard .to the concern you take in my 
 safety, I beseecli you to give yourself no un- 
 easiness. The soldiers call nie their father, 
 and say that they had rather be governed 
 by a man than by a woman. I take my 
 walks alone about the streets of St. Peters- 
 burg; if any one designed to do me harm, 
 he would have executed his purpose long 
 ago. But I am continually doing good on 
 all occasions that offer, and I trust in the 
 protection of God alone. With that I have 
 nothing to fear." 
 
 The Countess Voronlzoff, Peter's mis- 
 tress, had obtained a considerable amount 
 of influence over him, and she now had the 
 address to cause him to renew the promise 
 he had made when only grand-duke — that 
 he would marry hei', and place her on the 
 throne instead of Catherine. Elated with 
 the prospect of this distinction, she had the 
 imprudence to boast of it — a circumstance 
 which led to her own ruin, and accelerated 
 that of the czar. The latter, equally indis- 
 creet, seemed to authorise by his conduct 
 the reports she spread, and appeared no 
 longer to take any pains to conceal his in- 
 tention of repudiating Catherine, and pro- 
 claiming the illegitimacy of the grand-duke 
 Paul, whom it is commonly supposed was 
 the son, not of the emperor, but of his 
 handsome chamberlain, Soltikoff. Peter 
 imagined that, by publishing the proofs of 
 Catherine's infidelity, she would sink in the 
 estimation of the people, and that his con- 
 duct would elicit the approbation, not only 
 of his subjects, but of every court of Europe. 
 With this view he recalled Soltikoff from 
 Hamburg, where the latter had resided 
 since his dismissal from the court of Eliza- 
 beth ; and, loading him with caresses and 
 benefits, put every stratagem in practice to 
 draw from him an authentic avowal of the 
 criminal interviews which had formerly 
 passed between him and the empress. It 
 was at this period that Peter visited the un- 
 fortunate prince, the dethroned Ivan III., 
 at the fortress of Schlusselburg. It is pre- 
 sumed that the emperor designed to adopt 
 Prince Ivan — to declare him his successor, 
 and to unite him in marriage with the young 
 Princess of Holstein-Beck, then resident at 
 St. Petersburg, and whom he cherished as 
 a daughter. As it may excite surprise, and 
 perhaps incredulity, that Peter, yet in the 
 summer of life, should adopt a stranger for 
 his heir, it may be mentioned, that although 
 he had an ardent passion for vromen, yet he 
 240 
 
 suffered from some physical disqualification 
 which he appeared convinced incapacitated 
 him from again becoming a father. 
 
 On leaving the cell in which the unhappy 
 Prince Ivan was confined, the emperor 
 directed that a new edifice should be con- 
 structed, in which the prince could be 
 lodged in a manner more befitting his ex- 
 alted rank. *^ Let the building," said Peter 
 to the commandant, " run in a straight line 
 from one wall to the other of this angle of 
 the fort, so as to form nine rooms in front ; 
 and the rest of the space, to the extremity 
 of the angle, may be made into a little 
 garden, with which he may amuse himself 
 in the air, and find some alleviation of the 
 severity of his confinement. When the 
 building is finished, I wiU come myself and 
 put the prince in possession." This building, 
 it was surmised, Avas not for the confine- 
 ment of Ivan, but intended for the recep- 
 tion and imprisonment of Catherine after 
 her disgrace and divorcement. The sup- 
 position, though probable, was not, how- 
 ever satisfactorily established. Peter caused 
 Ivan, for the meantime, to be removed to 
 the fortress of Kexholm, which stood on an 
 islet in the great lake of Ladoga, and Avas 
 much nearer to the imperial residence than 
 Schlusselburg. 
 
 The suspicions of the empress were now 
 converted into alarm. Peter dismissed her 
 from the court, and caused her to be lodged, 
 though not in actual confinement, in one of 
 the most retired apartments at Peterhoff, 
 where she passed her time in meditating 
 how to escape from the fate that threatened 
 her, by hurling her Imsband from the 
 throne. It was here that she was assisted 
 by one of the most active of the conspira- 
 tors, .her yet secret lover Gregory Orloff. 
 This man was descended from one Ivan 
 Orel, or Eagle, who, in the reign of Peter 
 the Great, was a private soldier in the ranks 
 of the Strelitz. When this body of troops 
 was broken up in 1698, in consequence of 
 its insubordination and repeated rebellions, 
 an immense number of the men were be- 
 j headed ; the czar himself, as Ave have re- 
 I lated, occasionally acting the part of execu- 
 tioner. It is a current story in Russia, 
 that this Ivan Orel, on being called to kneel 
 down to receive his death-stroke, kicked 
 I away a head which still remained on the 
 ] beam of timber on Avhich the victims were 
 '. decapitated in rows, coolly observing as he 
 i did so, " If this is my place, it ought to be 
 clear." Peter, struck with the courage of 
 
A.D. 1762.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [conspiracy against peter. 
 
 the man, spared his life, and placed him in 
 a regiment of the line, wliere, by his bravery, 
 he won his way to the rank of officer, which 
 brought with it that of noble. His son rose 
 to be governor of Novgorod, and had five 
 sons, of whom Gregory, the lover of the 
 empress, was one, and Alexis, who after- 
 wards rendered himself infamous as the 
 chief of the murderers of the unfortunate 
 Peter III., was another. 
 
 Gregory OrloflF, though he was destitute 
 of the advantages of birth and education, 
 yet possessed considerable courage and 
 great personal beauty. To such an extent 
 was he favoured by nature, that although 
 he only possessed a post in the artillery, the 
 Princess Kourakin, one of the handsomest 
 women of the court, bestowed upon him 
 her embraces. The discovery of the amour 
 made some noise; and the curiosity of 
 Catherine led her to wish for an acquaint- 
 ance with the young officer who had become 
 the topic of public discourse. An inter- 
 view was brought about by an ingenious 
 and unscrupulous waiting-woman, to whom 
 Catherine confided the management of her 
 intrigues of this nature. Gregory Orloif 
 was introduced to the empress, and it is 
 said that several interviews took place before 
 he was acquainted with the name and rank 
 of the fair lady who had bestowed her affec- 
 tion upon him. After a time, Catherine, 
 pleased with the boldness and apparent dis- 
 cretion of her inamorata, disclosed to him 
 who she was, and unveiled to him her am- 
 bitious designs. Orloff entered readily 
 into the conspiracy, into which he soon 
 after drew his companion Bibikoff, Lieu- 
 tenant Passik, and other officers. By this 
 means he was enabled to win over some 
 companies of guards, though without impart- 
 ing to them his secret design. Catherine's 
 real character now rapidly disclosed itself. 
 Not content with the attentions of her new 
 lover Orloff, she pursued other intrigues 
 with no less art than success. Her duenna, 
 Ivan ova, behaved with so much address, that 
 those whom she presented to the empress, 
 enjoyed her favours without knowing who 
 she was. At the very time that she re- 
 ceived the attentions of Gregory Orloff, 
 she carried on amours with several other 
 officers and courtiers; but as she did not 
 expect to find in them the devotedness and 
 genius that she required, she never disclosed 
 her secret to them. 
 
 During this time the Princess Daschkaw 
 kept up a correspondence from St. Peters- 
 2i 
 
 burg with the empress in her retirement at 
 Peterhoff. In this she gave an account of 
 all that was passing at court, and suggested 
 such means as she considered should be 
 employed for preventing the designs of the 
 czar. The Princess Daschkaw does not 
 herself, in her Memoirs, give a satisfactory 
 reason for the enmity which she entertained 
 towards Peter, and the vehemence with 
 which she participated in the conspiracy 
 against him. " Her attachment to Cathe- 
 rine," says Tooke, " was not the sole motive 
 which excited her zeal. She was principally 
 jealous of the glorious elevation that awaited 
 her sister ; and neither the menaces of that 
 sister and of her father, nor the authority 
 of the chancellor her uncle, in whose house 
 she had been brought up, were able to de- 
 tach her from a party of which she fondly 
 made it her pride to be the prime mover. 
 She had studied the languages, and read 
 many of the works of foreign authors, 
 during her sojourn at Moscow, which aug- 
 mented her natural vanity, and taught her 
 to despise the ignorance of the nation to 
 which she belonged. In the hope of arriv- 
 ing at the slippery honour of directing a 
 conspiracy, she openly braved the resent- 
 ment of her family : she would have braved 
 every danger, and even boldly looked death 
 in the face." 
 
 A considerable party was soon engaged 
 to promote the views of the empress, chiefly 
 through the active instrumentality of the 
 Princess Daschkaw. Amongst them were 
 the hetman Cyril Rasumoffski, brother of 
 the secret husband of the late empress 
 Elizabeth ; the subtle Count Panin, tutor 
 of the young grand-duke Paul ; Prince Vol- 
 konski, major-general of the guards; and 
 the Archbishop of Novgorod, who only 
 waited for an opportunity of signalising his 
 vengeance for the impotent sentence of 
 banishment the emperor had pronounced 
 against him. To these were added many 
 officers, who, either disliking Peter's intro- 
 duction of the Prussian drill and costume 
 into the army, or hoping to acquire fortune 
 in the storm of revolution, were ready to 
 enlist in any conspiracy against the em- 
 peror. 
 
 To depose Peter was an enterprise of 
 great danger and difficulty, and the con- 
 spirators were divided as to the manner in 
 which it should be accomplished. Orloff, 
 and some others, thought it best to begin 
 by seizing on his person at Peterhoff, at the 
 conclusion of one of those orgies which 
 
 341 
 
AIMS OF THE C»NSPIRATORS.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1762. 
 
 they felt satisfied would take place on his ] 
 arrival there to celebrate the anniversary of 
 St. Peter and St. Paul. Lieutenant Passik 
 proposed to stab him to the heart in the 
 midst of his court ; and this ruffian actually 
 lay in ambush for two days, that he might 
 accomplish this diabolical purpose, but 
 without meeting him. The conspirators 
 also differed as to who ought to succeed the 
 czar when he should be disposed of. Orloff 
 and the Princess Daschkaw, who were in 
 the entire confidence of the empress, pro- 
 pose.d that she should succeed her husband 
 on the throne. Count Panin, and the 
 hetman Rasumoffski, considered that she 
 should be appointed regent, and that the 
 title of emperor should devolve on the 
 young grand-duke Paul. 
 
 Panin had the courage, at a meeting of 
 the principal conspirators, to represent to 
 Catherine the objections that existed to 
 placing the crown upon her head. " I 
 know, madam,'' said he, "what you would 
 have, and what you are able to do; but I 
 know also where your ambition should stop. 
 You have repeated it a hundred times, while 
 as yet grand -duchess, that you were only 
 desirous of the title of mother of the em- 
 peror. Does that title at present seem too 
 diminutive to you? You would now re- 
 move your son from the throne of Russia ; 
 but what right have you to seat yourself 
 upon it alone? Are you of the blood of 
 the czars? Are you even a native of the 
 empire ? Think you that this ancient and 
 warlike nation will acknowledge for their 
 sovereign a countess of Anhalt? Think 
 you that they will not be incessantly plotting 
 in favour of the descendants of Peter the 
 Great, while one of them lies languishing at 
 the foot of the throne, and others continue 
 to groan in dark and loathsome dungeons? 
 Ah, madam, give up your pretensions to 
 what you can never obtain. Think it your 
 greatest happiness to be able to escape the 
 extreme danger that presses upon you ; and 
 that the only means of justifying our violent 
 undertaking, is to convince the world that 
 your son is, more than yourself, the object 
 of your concern." 
 
 The conspirators were struck with the 
 sense and firmness of this address, and, for 
 a short time, all remained in silence. Cathe- 
 rine herself was the first to break it. Turn- 
 ing towards Panin, she said, " Count, your 
 arguments are full of force; but they are 
 not sufficient to produce any alteration in 
 my sentiments. I know the Russians ; and 
 
 you yourself are so well acquainted with 
 them as to know, that, provided they are 
 governed, they care but little about the 
 origin of those by whom the government is 
 administered. This nation knows of no- 
 thing but obedience, even when the hand 
 that rules it leans heavily on it. Mentschi- 
 koff, Biren, Munich, may serve as proofs of 
 this truth. But it is not thus that I design 
 to reign; far from it. I shall act with 
 lenity, with justice, and in such manner as 
 not to give the slightest pretext to discon- 
 tent. But you, who tell me of murmurs 
 and rebellions, do you forget that it is chiefly 
 under regencies that rebellions break out ? 
 Nay, should we ever have had a thought 
 of that we have now been contriving, if 
 Peter III. were capable of guiding with 
 firmness the reins of government? You 
 are alarmed for my son ; but had you rather 
 abandon him to the fantastic humours of a 
 father, by whom he is already disowned, 
 than trust his fortune to a mother who 
 loves him ? And, if I aspire to the supreme 
 command, is it not for the welfare of that 
 child? is it not that I may be the better 
 able to recompense those who, like you, 
 assist me to defend him ? Doubtless, they 
 may all rely on my everlasting gratitude; 
 but, in order to prove it to my heart's con- 
 tent, I must have the power; and that 
 power is what I expect from you." The 
 conspirators were divided in opinion, and no 
 absolute decision was arrived at by them. 
 Catherine, however, discerned the motive 
 which dictated the opposition of Count 
 Paniu. He desired to place his pupil, the 
 grand-duke Paul, on the throne, only that 
 he might himself occupy the second place 
 in the empire, and govern in the imperial 
 name. 
 
 Catherine therefore endeavoured to allure 
 Panin to the entire advocacy of her in- 
 terests, by a promise to appoint him prime 
 minister when she ascended the throne ; 
 and it is most probable that this promise 
 led him to adopt the advocacy of her am- 
 bitious views. It is said, however, that 
 his conversion was effected by the Princess 
 Daschkaw, who obtained an influence over 
 him in consequence of an illicit passion 
 which he entertained for her. She, how- 
 ever, received the declaration of his love 
 with coldness, and gave him no hope of 
 success. One of the conspirators named 
 Odart, a scheming, unprincipled Piedmon- 
 tese, is reported to have undertaken to 
 remove her scruples, and that he actually 
 
A.D. 1762.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE, [progress of the conspiracy. 
 
 I 
 
 did so by representing tliat, if she thought 
 it a fault to yield to the solicitations of the 
 count, that fault would be ennobled by the 
 motive that impelled her to commit it ; that 
 no sacrifice should seem too dear in the 
 cause of friendship ; and that it would be 
 the triumph of heroism to brave the dis- 
 grace of making her charms subservient to 
 her ambition. It is added, that the roman- 
 tic imagination of the princess was excited 
 by this representation, and that she con- 
 sented to the proposals of the count; who 
 thereupon withdrew all opposition to the 
 designs of the empress. It is probable the 
 princess did exercise some influence over 
 the count ; but we do not credit the state- 
 ment that attributes a want of chastity on 
 her part with respect to him. She her- 
 self treated the accusation with indignant 
 scorn.* 
 
 It was necessary to gain over the sol- 
 diers ; but Catherine had not the requisite 
 funds for bribing them. Her situation at 
 this time was one of great danger ; and had 
 not Peter have acted with perfect infatua- 
 tion in disregarding the warnings that were 
 given him, the conspiracy must have been 
 discovered and crushed ; in which case arrest, 
 dethronement, and perpetual imprisonment, 
 or, perhaps, death itself, would probably 
 have been her doom. Disregarding the in- 
 timations he received of the plot against 
 him, the czar made ready to depart with 
 the expedition he had prepared against Den- 
 mark. One division of the fleet equipped 
 for this purpose remained at Cronstadt, 
 while the other lay waiting for it at Revel. 
 Some of the land forces were already in 
 Pomerania, and others were on their march to 
 join them ; while the czar had fixed his own 
 departure for the day following the festival, 
 which, according to custom, was to be cele- 
 brated at Peterhoff", and at the end of which 
 he designed to have the empress arrested 
 on a charge of being implicated in the con- 
 spiracy against him.f 
 
 In the meantime the emperor, absorbed 
 in indolent security, had gone to enjoy 
 
 • In her Memoirs she says — " I seldom saw M. 
 Odart, and not once during the three weeks pre- 
 ceding the revolution. I was glad to procure him 
 a. livelihood, but I never asked his advice on any 
 occasion ; and I believe he knew me a great deal 
 too well to dare to make any such proposals to me 
 on the part of M. Panin, as some French writers, 
 in their libellous and senseless pamphlets, have 
 thought fit to charge him with." 
 
 t Such was the blindness of this doomed monarch 
 to all that was passing around him, that frequently, 
 
 himself in the company of some of the 
 handsomest women at his court, at his 
 country palace of Oranienbaum. The con- 
 spirators who had agreed to seize and carry 
 him off^ on his return to St. Petersburg, 
 considered it more prudent to hasten their 
 movements, and carry this plan into execu- 
 tion on the appearance of the czar at Peter- 
 hoff*. Suddenly, an event occurred which 
 threatened instant discovery and destruc- 
 tion to all engaged in the plot. The 
 ruffian Passik, who had offered to murder 
 Peter, had gained the soldiers of the com- 
 pany of the guards in which he was lieu- 
 tenant. One of them supposing that Pas- 
 sik did nothing but in concurrence with his 
 captain, asked the latter on what day they 
 were to take up arms against the emperor. 
 The captain had the dexterity to conceal 
 his astonishment, and, by giving vague 
 answers to the questions of the soldier, he 
 drew out from him the secret of the con- 
 spiracy, and at once reported it to the chan- 
 cery of the regiment. 
 
 Passik was immediately arrested, and at 
 first placed in a room, where he contrived 
 to write with a pencil, on a scrap of paper, 
 " Proceed to execution this instant, or we 
 are undone." Giving this to a man who 
 presented himself at the door, and who, 
 though a stranger to him, the desperate 
 nature of his situation made him trust to, 
 he told him that if he ran with it to the 
 hetman Rasumoffski, he would be hand- 
 somely rewarded. The fellow was a spy in 
 the employ of the Princess Daschkaw, 
 whose duty it was to watch Passik, and see 
 that he did not betray his fellow-conspira- 
 tors. The man, therefore, hurried with the 
 paper to his mistress. He found her with 
 Count Panin, who did not regard the arrest 
 of Passik as an incident that threatened 
 danger, but thought it was probably the 
 consequence of some military off'ence. The 
 princess entertained a diff'erent opinion, and 
 desired Orloff" to go to the barracks of the 
 regiment, and ascertain whether Passik was 
 guarded as a state criminal, or merely under 
 
 when in a state of partial intoxication, he talked of 
 schemes of conquest and gave himself up to the 
 transports of an extravagant ambition. Two days 
 before the revolution that hurled him from the 
 throne, he held, it is said, the following discourse : — 
 " Of what use are all those petty sovereigns of 
 Europe ? What are they ? I am resolved that, in 
 future, there shall be but three powers in this part 
 of the world — Russia, Prussia, and France. I will 
 have all the north ; the king of Prussia shall have 
 all Germany ; and the king of France the rest." 
 
 243 
 
CATHEREtra ENTERS ST. PETERSBURG.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1762. 
 
 arrest as a military offender. The informa- 
 tion they received was, that Passik was 
 under arrest as a prisoner of state, guarded 
 by four sentinels at the door, and two at 
 each of the windows of his room. 
 
 Disguising herself in a man's great-coat, 
 the energetic princess hurried forth, and 
 caused orders to be conveyed to the officers 
 in the conspiracy to repair, without a mo- 
 ment's delay, to their regiment, the Ismael- 
 offski guards, and remain at their posts in 
 order to receive the empress at the suburbs 
 of the city. She also desired Orloff, or one 
 of his brothers, to fly like lightning to 
 Peterhoff, and entreat the empress to place 
 herself instantly in a post carriage, which 
 she would find in readiness, and drive to 
 the quarters of the Ismaeloffski guards, 
 whom she would find waiting to proclaim 
 her as sovereign, and to escort her into the 
 capital. 
 
 After some hesitation, Alexis Orloff under- 
 took the dangerous commission of going to 
 bring the empress from Peterhoff. During 
 his absence the princess yielded to the 
 terrors of her situation. "Plunged in a 
 desponding train of thought," she observes, 
 " scarcely an image presented itself but of 
 the most appalling nature. My imagina- 
 tion, however, constantly at work, would at 
 some moments anticipate the triumphs of 
 the empress ; and all these pleasing illusions 
 were hastily succeeded by others which 
 made me shudder with horror. The least 
 sound startled me, and presented Catherine 
 to my view — that idol of my fancy — pale, 
 disfigured, dying — the ^ictim, perhaps, of 
 our imprudence. This dreadful night, which 
 appeared to me a whole life of suffering, at 
 length passed away." 
 
 It was two o'clock in the morning when 
 Catherine was roused from a profound sleep, 
 and found a soldier standing by her bed- 
 side. To enable her the more easily to 
 escape in the event of the discovery of the 
 conspiracy, she had taken up her lodging at 
 a summer-house in the grounds of the 
 palace. At the foot of this building ran a 
 canal, communicating with the river Neva. 
 Near the door a small boat was fastened, as 
 if without design, but, in reality, with the 
 twofold object, that it might be of service in 
 the secret visits of her favourites, and to 
 facilitate her own escape into Sweden, 
 should such a step become necessary. Gre- 
 gory Orloff had given his brother Alexis a 
 key to this summer-house, and he it was 
 who had aroused the empress. " Your 
 244 
 
 majesty has not a moment to lose," he ex- 
 claimed; "get ready to follow me;" and 
 then instantly retired. 
 
 Notwithstanding the astonishment and, 
 perhaps, alarm which seized the empress, 
 she called her confidant, Ivanova. They 
 hastily dressed themselves in such a manner 
 as to avoid being recognised by the senti- 
 nels about the palace ; and no sooner had 
 they done so than Alexis Orloff returned, 
 and told the empress that a carriage was 
 waiting for them at the garden-gate. It 
 was a coach which, under pretence of having 
 change of horses for an excursion into the 
 country, the Princess Daschkaw had kept 
 for sereral days in readiness at a house in- 
 habited by one of her peasants, a few miles 
 from Peterhoff, and which Orloff had sent 
 one of his comrades to fetch. 
 
 Catherine trusted her safety to the con- 
 spirator. She and her companion reached 
 the carriage unobserved. Orloff then took 
 the reins, and drove off with the speed of a 
 madman. So relentlessly did he urge the 
 horses forward, that after a time they fell 
 exhausted upon the road, and remained 
 unable to move. Every effort to rouse 
 them to renewed exertions failed ; and al- 
 though the distance from St. Petersburg 
 was still considerable, such was the immi- 
 nent danger of delay, that they resolved to 
 proceed on foot. Before they had gone far 
 they met a peasant driving a light country 
 cart. Alexis Orloff seized the horses; the 
 man ran away in alarm; the empress and 
 her attendant got into the vehicle; and 
 again they started with such speed as they 
 could urge the animals to accomplish. Soon 
 they were met by another carriage, con- 
 taining Gregory Orloff, who, on the rack of 
 expectation, and alarmed at the non-ap- 
 pearance of the empress, had hurried forth 
 to meet her. Recognising her in an in- 
 stant, he called out that the conspirators 
 only waited for her presence to proceed to 
 action, and then hastily drove on before to 
 receive her at St. Petersburg. There Cathe- 
 rine arrived at seven in the morning, almost 
 exhausted with fatigue and anxiety, but re- 
 taining sufficient command of herself to 
 assume a sedate and tranquil air. 
 
 She proceeded immediately to the bar- 
 racks of the Ismaeloffski guards, where, on 
 the report of her arrival, about thirty sol- 
 diers, only half-dressed, ran out and received 
 her with shouts of joy. Struck with alarm 
 at seeing so small a number, Catherine re- 
 mained silent for a few moments. But the 
 
A.D. 1762.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [the revolution. 
 
 decisive step had been taken, and thei'e was 
 no choice but to go forward. Addressing 
 the soldiers in a tremulous voice, she said 
 that her danger had driven her to the neces- 
 sity of coming to ask their assistance ; that 
 the czar had intended to put her to death 
 that very night, together with her son ; that 
 she had no other means of escaping her 
 doom but by flight ; and that she had so 
 much confidence in their dispositions as to 
 put herself entirely in their hands. 
 
 The auditors were greatly excited at these 
 words, and swore to defend her to the 
 utmost of their lives. The numbers of the 
 soldiers collected around the empress in- 
 creased every moment, and before long the 
 hetman Rasumoffski made his appearance. 
 The chaplain of the regiment was then 
 called, and, fetching a crucifix from the 
 altar, he received on it the oath of the 
 troops of fidelity to Catherine. In the 
 tumult some voices were heard proclaiming 
 her as regent ; but these were soon stifled 
 by the threats of the conspirators, and the 
 far more numerous shouts of " Long live 
 the empress !" 
 
 Other regiments of guards tacitly fol- 
 lowed the example of those of IsmaeloflPski ; 
 the officers placing themselves at the head 
 of their companies with as much docility as 
 if they had been engaged in the conspiracy. 
 General Villebois and the artillery were 
 also gained over ; and in less than two hours 
 she was followed by about 2,000 soldiers, 
 and a great number of the inhabitants of 
 the city, who applauded the troops, and ap- 
 peared favourable to her pretensions. With 
 these she proceeded to the church of Kazan, 
 where the Archbishop of Novgorod (who was 
 animated by a bitter hatred of Peter), arrayed 
 in sacerdotal costume, and a great number 
 of priests, stood at the altar to receive her. 
 Placing the imperial crown upon her head, 
 he proclaimed her sovereign of all the Rus- 
 sias, by the name of Catherine II., and de- 
 clared the young grand-duke Paul her suc- 
 cessor. To render this ceremony the more 
 imposing, a Te Deum was chanted; the 
 solemn sound of the music being broken in 
 upon by the excited shouts of the multitude 
 without. Catherine then proceeded to the 
 palace that had been occupied by the late 
 empress Elizabeth, where, for several hours, 
 the crowd was indiscriminately admitted. 
 Many of the people, under the influence of 
 fickleness and excitement, fell on their 
 knees before her, and took the oath of alle- 
 giance. 
 
 The conspirators were incessantly active 
 in preparing for any resistance from the 
 friends of the emperor, but none was off^ered. 
 He seems for a time to have been perfectly 
 ignorant of the revolution that was being 
 effected at St. Petersburg. Such was his 
 simplicity, that he had that morning caused 
 a faithful officer to be arrested, who, the 
 evening before, having had some intimation 
 of the conspiracy, had hastened in the 
 night to Oranieubaum to inform him of it. 
 The emperor then set out in a calash, with 
 his mistress, his favourites, and the women of 
 his court, for Peterhoff, that he might be 
 present at the grand festivities designed to 
 take place on the following day. 
 
 The Princess Daschkaw was one of the 
 first to congratulate the imperial traitress, 
 who had so easily snatched the sceptre 
 from the feeble grasp of her husband. It 
 was with much difficulty that she contrived 
 to reach the palace, so entirely was every 
 approach to it blocked up by soldiers. But 
 on being recognised by some of the officers, 
 she was borne off the ground, and passed 
 over the heads of all before her, until, with 
 a giddy head and a tattered robe, she was 
 set down safely in an antechamber. From 
 thence she reached the presence of the em- 
 press. " We were soon," says the prin- 
 cess, "in each other's arms. 'Heaven be 
 praised V was all we could either of us for 
 some moments utter." 
 
 After some rest and refreshment, the 
 empress resolved on proceeding, at the head 
 of the troops, to Peterhoff, and proposed to 
 the princess to accompany her on the expe- 
 dition. The latter joyfully consented, and 
 they both equipped themselves in the uni- 
 form of the guards, having borrowed the 
 requisite costume of two young officers of 
 diminutive figure. It was on this occasion 
 that Potemkin (afterwards so distinguished 
 as favourite, and eventually minister of the 
 empress, but then only a lad of sixteen, and 
 ensign in the regiment of horse-guards), ob- 
 serving that Catherine had no plume in her 
 hat, rode up, and presented her with his. 
 The horse on which he was mounted, being 
 accustomed to form into the squadron, was 
 some time before it could be brought to 
 quit the side of that of her majesty — a cir- 
 cumstance which afforded her an opportu- 
 nity of noticing the manly grace and hand- 
 some features of him who eventually gained 
 such an influence over her. The troops, 
 who had been incessantly supplied with 
 beer and brandy, expressed their pleasure 
 
 245 
 
WEAKNESS OF PETER.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1762. 
 
 on beholding the empress in her male 
 attire, by reiterated shouts of their national 
 cry hourra, and by hurling their hats and 
 caps into the air. One regiment of cavalry, 
 of which Peter III. had been colonel when 
 only grand-duke, preserved a sullen silence ; 
 but its officers, who refused obedience to 
 Catherine, were placed under ai'rest, and 
 the men were too few to offer opposition. 
 
 The emperor, while on his way to Peter- 
 hoff, was informed of the flight of Catherine. 
 When he received the intelligence he 
 turned pale, and betrayed considerable agi- 
 tation. On arriving at Peterhoff, he ran to 
 the pavilion that had been occupied by the 
 empress, and, in his confusion, looked about 
 for her as if she might have been concealed 
 under the bed, or in one of the cupboards. 
 Eveiy one he met he overwhelmed with 
 questions, but without obtaining any satis- 
 factory information. Turning to his mis- 
 tress, the Countess Vorontzoff, whom he 
 beheld approaching up the walks of the 
 garden, he called out "Romanovna, will 
 you believe me now ? Catherine has made 
 her escape. I told you that she was capable 
 of anything !" Rumours of evil passed 
 among the servants and the women by 
 whom Peter was surrounded, and a gloomy 
 presentiment prevailed among them. At 
 length a countryman approached, and, with 
 a profound bow, delivered a note to the 
 emperoi', without uttering a single word. 
 Peter read it to the alarmed courtiers; it 
 was from one yet faithful to him, who had 
 contrived to evade the guards placed on the 
 road from St. Petersburg to Peterhoff, and 
 send him information of all that had oc- 
 curred in the capital. 
 
 Peter was greatly dejected ; the courtiers 
 uttered insincere consolations and assur- 
 ances that all would yet be well; and the 
 wily chancellor, Vorontzoff, represented that 
 this popular excitement could not be really 
 dangerous, and that, with the czar^s permis- 
 sion, he would proceed to St. Petersburg, 
 and soon return with the empress. Peter 
 consented, and the chancellor hastened to 
 Catherine, who assured him that she was 
 only yielding to the ardent desires of the 
 nation. Vorontzoff concluded by offering 
 her his services, but begged that she would 
 place him under a guard in his own house, 
 that he might not seem to have abandoned 
 his duty to the emperor. After the depar- 
 ture of the chancellor, Peter strode anxiously 
 about the gardens; formed many different 
 plans, and abandoned them as soon as he 
 246 
 
 had formed them ; sometimes uttering vio- 
 lent imprecations against his faithless con- 
 sort, and at others dictating useless mani- 
 festoes. The only really useful thing he 
 did was to dispatch a command to the 3,000 
 Holstein troops whom he had left at Ora- 
 nienbaum, to come immediately, and bring 
 their artillery. 
 
 The aged Marshal Munich soon after- 
 wards made his appearance, and offered 
 ad\ice which, if acted upon, might yet have 
 effectually crushed the insurrection. " Your 
 majesty's troops are arriving," said the 
 veteran ; " let us put ourselves at their head 
 and march straight to St. Petersburg. You 
 have still many friends there; immediately 
 on your appearance they will arm in your 
 defence. The principal part of the guards 
 are only under a momentary alienation, 
 into which they have been misled, and will 
 soon range themselves under your standard. 
 Besides, if we are forced to come to action, 
 be assured that the rebels will not long dis- 
 pute with you the palm of victory." Peter 
 consented to follow this advice; but, before 
 long, news arrived that the empress was 
 approaching with an army, said to consist 
 of 22,000 men. The courtiers trembled, 
 the women wept, and the timid emperor 
 seemed resolved not to expose himself to 
 danger. Munich then urged that they 
 should retire to Cronstadt. " You have 
 there," said he to Peter, '^a formidable 
 fleet and a numerous garrison. It is, in 
 short, from Cronstadt that you will find it 
 an easy matter to bring St. Petersburg back 
 to its duty." 
 
 Peter again consented, and two yachts 
 were hurriedly prepared for the departure 
 of himself and his court, who at once em- 
 barked. But this step was taken too late. 
 Catherine, aware of the importance of 
 securing the fleet in her favour, dispatched 
 Admiral Talitzen to take the command of it 
 in her name. Having obtained admission 
 into the fortress under the supposition that 
 he was a loyal subject of the emperor, 
 Talitzen excited the sailors to declare for 
 the empress, distributed money and brandy 
 amongst them, and induced them to arrest 
 the commandant and place him in confine- 
 ment. !Many of the soldiers joined the 
 sailors, and Talitzen, assuming the com- 
 mand, ordered the artillery to stand with 
 lighted matches at their guns. As soon as 
 the yacht containing the unfortunate mo- 
 narch cast anchor, a sentinel demanded, 
 " Who comes there ?" *' The emperor/' 
 
A.D. 1762.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [•IRRESOLUTION OP THE CZAR. 
 
 was the answer. " There is no emperor/' 
 replied the sentinel. Peter advanced on 
 deck, and throwing back his cloak, to show 
 the badges of his rank, exclaimed, " What ! 
 do you not know me ?" A thousand voices 
 responded simultaneously, "No, we know 
 of no emperor. Long live the empress 
 Catherine!" At the same time, Talitzen 
 threatened to sink the yacht if it did not 
 instantly retire. Gudovitch, the emperor's 
 aide-de-camp, took his startled master by 
 the arm, and then grasping one of the tim- 
 bers at the entrance of the mole, said, 
 " Place your hands by the side of mine, and 
 let us leap on shore. None will dare to fire 
 upon you, and Cronstadt will still belong to 
 your majesty." Marshal Munich reiterated 
 this advice ; but the spiritless czar shrunk 
 from all appearance of danger, and retreat- 
 ing to the cabin of the yacht, hid himself 
 among the terrified women. The cables 
 were then cut, and the yachts departed from 
 Cronstadt. 
 
 It was a fine starlight night, and Munich 
 and Gudovitch sat upon deck, gazing upon 
 the calm surface of the sea, and reflecting 
 sorrowfully upon the ruinous indecision of 
 the czar. After a time the vessels were 
 stopped, and Peter summoned Munich to 
 his presence. " Marshal," said he to the 
 old man, " I perceive that I was too late in 
 following your advice ; but you see to what 
 extremities I am reduced. You, who have 
 escaped from so many dangers, tell me, I 
 beseech you, what I ought to do." " Pro- 
 ceed immediately to join the squadron at 
 Revel," returned Munich ; " there take a 
 ship, go on to Pomerania, put yourself at 
 the head of your army, return to Russia, 
 and I promise you, that in six weeks St. 
 Petersburg and all the rest of the empire 
 will be in subjection to you." This sound 
 advice was frustrated by the fears of the 
 timid women and the abject courtiers, who 
 cried out, that the rowers would never have 
 strength to reach Revel. " Well, then," re- 
 joined the generous Munich, "we will all 
 row with them." Peter was more disposed 
 to listen to the representations of the Avomen 
 and the women-like men who formed his 
 companions. They persuaded him that his 
 
 • The unfortunate czar conducted himself with an 
 utter absence of dignity. The Princess Daschkaw, 
 who saw this note, says — " He declared, in distinct 
 and express terms, his abdication of the crown ; and 
 after naming some persons whom he wished to ac- 
 company him, he spoke of the supplies necessary for 
 his table, among which he did not forget to stipulate 
 for a plentiful supply of Burgundy, pipes, and to' 
 
 danger was not so great as he imagined ; 
 that Catherine would rapidly come to an 
 accommodation with him ; and that it was 
 better to negotiate than to fight. The czar 
 fell in with this cowardly counsel, and gave 
 directions to the rowers to proceed to 
 Oranienbaum. 
 
 Peter arrived there at four in the morn- 
 ing; and, after commanding the servants 
 who received him not to mention his return 
 to any one, shut himself up in his apart- 
 ments. There he wrote a submissive note 
 to the empress, acknowledging his miscon- 
 duct, and promising to share the sovereign 
 authority with her. Catherine had no in- 
 tention of sharing her newly-acquired power 
 with any one ; she therefore detained the 
 messenger, and left the letter unanswered. 
 At ten o'clock the emperor emerged from 
 his apartments, and was received with en- 
 thusiastic affection by his Holstein guards. 
 These faithful men shed tears of joy at 
 seeing him again; they even kissed his 
 hands and embraced his kness, and begged 
 him to lead them against the army of the 
 empress, declaring that, to a man, they 
 were ready to sacrifice their lives in defence 
 of his. Brave old Marshal Munich, also, 
 again strove to rouse the czar to adopt some 
 spirited course. " Come," said he, " march 
 against the rebels. I will go before you, 
 and their swords shall not reach you till 
 they have pierced my body." 
 
 The pusillanimous and irresolute mo- 
 narch seemed incapable of taking any bold 
 course. Learning that the empress and 
 her troops were still in a hostile attitude, 
 he ordered one of his horses to be saddled, 
 with the mad design of escaping alone, in 
 disguise, towards the frontiers of Poland. 
 He also wrote a second and most abject 
 letter to Catherine, in which he implored 
 her pardon, offered to resign to her the 
 crown of Russia, and only desired that she 
 would grant him a pension, with liberty to 
 retire into Holstein.* General Ismaeloff 
 was the bearer of this communication ; and 
 he readily entered into the service of Cathe- 
 rine, and even allowed himself to be seduced 
 into an attempt to snare Peter into her 
 power. The traitor returned to the czar, 
 
 bacco .'" It is not surprising that the princess, who 
 was a woman of astonishing spirit, and one who 
 would have faced death rather than submit to per- 
 sonal indignity, should have added with disgust — 
 " But enough on the subject of this ill-fated prince, 
 whom nature had formed for the lowest walks of 
 life, and whom fortune had unhappily placed on a 
 
 throne." 
 
 247 
 
Peter's i>eprisonment.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1762. 
 
 and conjured him to abandon his troops 
 and to repair to the empress, assuring him 
 that he would be well received, and obtain 
 all that he desired. Peter hesitated; but on 
 the assurance of Ismaeloff that delay was 
 most prejudicial to his interests, and that 
 his life was in danger, he entered a car- 
 riage, and, accompanied by the Countess 
 Vorontzoff, his mistress, and Gudovitch, 
 his aide-de-camp, proceeded to PeterhofF, 
 where the empress and her supporters were 
 staying for a time. 
 
 Peter trusted that he would be enabled 
 to move the heart of the empress ; but he 
 was not permitted to see her. As his car- 
 riage drove through the ranks of the army, 
 most of the men preserved a gloomy silence, 
 while others vociferated, " Long live Cathe- 
 rine ; long live the empress!" The hope- 
 fulness he had encouraged was succeeded 
 by despondency, which was greatly in- 
 creased when coarse insults were added to 
 neglect. His mistress, on stepping out of 
 the carriage, was hurried away by the sol- 
 diers, who tore off the riband and order 
 
 manner, to the Russian empire and to the 
 whole universe, that I for ever renounce 
 the government of the said empire, never 
 desiriug hereafter to reign therein, either as 
 an absolute sovereign or under any other 
 form of government ; never wishing to 
 aspire thereto, or to use any means, of any 
 sort, for that purpose. As a pledge of 
 which, I swear sincerely, before God and 
 all the world, to this present renunciation. 
 Written and signed this 29th of June 
 (o.s.), 1762." The imbecile monarch was 
 thus worked upon, through the medium of 
 his unworthy fears, to become the assassin 
 of his own reputation ; for Catherine well 
 knew that although such an extorted docu- 
 ment as this would not bind Peter if he had 
 the power to disregard it, yet that it would 
 draw upon him the contempt of the people, 
 and biu-y what little was left in him of 
 the emperor beneath a load of self-created 
 obloquy. Peter appeared more composed in 
 mind after he had signed the deed of renun- 
 ciation, by which act of submission he be- 
 lieved he had purchased the favourable con 
 
 with which she was decorated. Gudovitch \ si deration of the false wife who had become 
 
 received the insults of the soldiers with a 
 dignified tranquillity, and reproached them 
 for their insolence and treason. As to 
 Peter, he was led up the grand staircase, 
 and then stripped of the imperial orders 
 that decorated him, and even of his clothes. 
 For some time he remained in his shirt, 
 subjected to the outrages of a barbarous 
 soldiery. After having robbed him of all 
 his jewellery, they threw an old morning 
 gown over him, and, shutting him up in a 
 room by himself, placed a guard at the 
 door. 
 
 There he was waited upon by Count 
 Panin, who, after a conference of some 
 length, in which he assured him that the 
 empress would not keep him long in con- 
 finement, induced him to write out and 
 sign the following form of abdication : — 
 " During the short space of my absolute 
 reign over the empire of Russia, I became 
 sensible that I was not able to support so 
 great a burden, and that my abilities were 
 ixot equal to the task of governing so great 
 an empire, either as a sovereign, or in any 
 other capacity whatever. I also foresaw 
 the great troubles which must thence 
 have arisen, and have been followed with 
 the total ruin of the empire, and my own 
 eternal disgrace. After having, therefore, 
 seriously reflected thereon, I declare, with- 
 out constraint, and in the most solemn 
 248 
 
 his sovereign. He was deceived. Prudent 
 policy united in her mind with bitter per- 
 sonal dislike towards him, and she had no 
 intention of restoring him to liberty. The 
 very evening of the day in which he had signed 
 his abdication, he was removed, with a strong 
 escort, as a prisoner, to the castle of Ropscha, 
 distant about twenty versts from Peterhoff. 
 No presentiment of coming danger, no fear 
 of secret assassination or of open violence, 
 seems to have struck upon the mind of the 
 czar. He supposed that he should shortly 
 be liberated and sent into Germany. To 
 amuse himself during this period, he sent a 
 message to Catherine, desiring that she 
 would permit him to have a favourite negro, 
 who diverted him with his singularities, to- 
 gether with a dog he was fond of, his violin, 
 a bible, and a few romances ; at the same 
 time telling her that, disgusted at the 
 wickedness of mankind, he was resolved, in 
 future, to devote himself to a philosophical 
 life. Perhaps this modest application never 
 reached Catherine ; certainly it was never 
 complied with. 
 
 " Thus," it has been observed, " was a 
 revolution of such immense importance 
 effected in one day, and without shedding a 
 single drop of blood. The unfortunate em- 
 peror enjoyed the power, of which he had 
 made so imprudent and unpolitic an use, 
 no longer than six months. His wife, with- 
 
A.T). 1762.] 
 
 EUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [CATHERINE SOLE RULER. 
 
 out any hereditary title, was sovereign mis- 
 tress of the Russian empire ; and the most 
 absolute power on earth was now held by 
 an elective monarch." 
 
 Two manifestoes were published by the 
 empress, both filled with the strongest de- 
 clarations of affection towards the Russian 
 people, their interests, and their religion; 
 and interspersed with such strains of piety 
 as must have proved extremely edifying to 
 those who are acquainted v/ith the senti- 
 ments of pure religion by which great 
 princes are generally animated on occasions 
 of this nature. Enumerating, in exag- 
 gerated terras, all the faults of her fallen 
 husband, Catherine observed — " Inconsider- 
 ately and incessantly bent on pernicious 
 regulations, he so aUenated the hearts of his 
 subjects, that there was scarcely a single 
 person to be found in the nation who did 
 not openly express his disapprobation, and 
 was even desirous to take away his life ; 
 but the laws of God, which command sove- 
 reign princes to be respected, being deeply 
 engraved on the hearts of our faithful sub- 
 jects, restrained them, and engaged them to 
 wait with patience till the hand of God 
 struck the important blow, and by his fall 
 delivered an oppressed people." 
 
 The day after the removal of the de- 
 throned Peter to the castle of Ropscha, the 
 booming of cannon announced the trium- 
 phal entrance of Catherine, as an absolute 
 sovereign, into St. Petersburg. The citi- 
 zens, glad to have escaped from the dangers 
 of a prolonged revolution, and the horrors 
 of a military struggle, perhaps, in their very 
 streets, received her with acclamations which 
 were more noisy than sincere ; for Peter 
 had many friends in the city who would 
 readily have declared for him if he had 
 been bold enough to have made his appear- 
 ance at the head of a small force and de- 
 manded their assistance. Now, however, 
 the air was filled with shouts and the peals 
 of chui'ch bells, the strains of military 
 bands, and the dull roar of cannon, in 
 honour of Catherine. She well understood 
 the little arts by which popularity is won. 
 Entering the city on horseback, she re- 
 turned the shouts of the crowd by giving her 
 hand to many of the people to kiss. Near 
 the palace a great number of priests were 
 assembled, and as she passed by them, she 
 stooped to salute the cheeks of the principal 
 clergy while they were kissing her hand ; a 
 custom which prevailed in that country, 
 and was significant of the highest respect. 
 2 K 
 
 While the neglected Peter passed his time 
 in obscurity, and almost in solitude, the 
 empress was receiving the homage of the 
 principal nobility, who came flocking around 
 her, and even of the members of the little 
 court which the dethroned czar had held at 
 Oranienbaum. Amongst the latter was 
 the aged Munich, who, now no longer able 
 to aid a master who could not be in- 
 duced to help himself, came to make his 
 peace with . the ruling power. Catherine, 
 on seeing him, called out, " Field-marshal, 
 it was you, then, who wanted to fight me ?" 
 "Yes, madam," replied the veteran in a 
 firm and manly tone, " could I do less for 
 the prince who delivered me from captivity? 
 But it is henceforward my duty to fight for 
 you; and you will find in me a fidelity 
 equal to that with which I had devoted my 
 services to him." 
 
 For some days Catherine laboured inces- 
 santly to ingratiate herself with the different 
 ranks of the people. She enchanted the 
 multitude by the sweetness of her smiles 
 and the condescension of her manners ; she 
 attended the senate, and listened to the 
 causes that were tried there ; she held her 
 court with a graceful and easy dignity that 
 did much towards effacing the remembrance 
 of the means by which she had acquired the 
 throne ; and she had audiences with all the 
 foreign ministers, during which she ad- 
 dressed them in the most flattering terms. 
 Nor did she forget the services of the con- 
 spirators who had obtained for her the 
 sceptre she was so well able to grasp, 
 Panin was made prime minister; the title 
 of count was bestowed upon both Gregory 
 and Alexis Orloff : and the former, who was 
 for the time the favoured lover of the em- 
 press, was also appointed lieutenant-general 
 of the Russian armies, and chevalier of St. 
 Alexander Nevski. Promotion was be- 
 stowed upon many officers of the guards, 
 and four-and-twenty of them obtained con- 
 siderable estates. The finances of the em- 
 press were not sufiicient to permit of any- 
 thing further than a distribution of brandy 
 and beer amongst the soldiers ; but Cathe- 
 rine behaved towards them with the greatest 
 affability. She sometimes even subjected 
 herself to restraint to please them. A sin- 
 gular instance of this occurred three days 
 after the revolution. A soldier who had 
 drunk himself into a state of intoxicated 
 sleep, probably at the expense of the em- 
 press, dreamed that she had been seized 
 and carried away. Starting up under this 
 
 2i9 
 
EEACTION IN FAVOUR OF PETER.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1762. 
 
 impression, he ran about the barracks cry- 
 ing out that the Hoisteiners and the Prus- 
 sians had got possession of the empress. 
 The alarmed troops took up arms, and hur- 
 rying to the palace, insisted on seeing 
 her majesty. The hetman RasumofFski, 
 on learning the cause of the disturbance, 
 made his appearance at a window, and as- 
 sured the soldiers that the report was a 
 false one, and that the empress was then 
 taking that repose which the fatigues of 
 the few preceding days had rendered so 
 necessary. The soldiers were not satisfied ; 
 they redoubled their clamours, and refused 
 to retire without seeing their imperial mis- 
 tress. Rasumoflfski therefore went to the 
 chamber of the empress, and causing her to 
 be aroused, begged her not to be frightened. 
 " You know," answered she boldly, " that I 
 am frightened at nothing : but what is the 
 matter ?" " The soldiers imagine that you 
 are not here," was the reply ; " they insist 
 on seeing you." " Well, they must be 
 satisfied," responded Catherine ; and hastily 
 dressing herself, she called for her carriage, 
 and ordered it to be driven to the Kasanskoi 
 church. As the vehicle passed on through 
 the crowds of soldiers, they glanced anxiously 
 into it, exclaiming, " Is that indeed the em- 
 press ? Is that indeed our mother V On 
 arriving at the church, she showed herself; 
 and addressing the soldiers, thanked them 
 for their solicitude, and dismissed them, 
 greatly satisfied. 
 
 Catherine not only rewarded her friends, 
 but she had the policy to forgive those 
 whom she might have regarded as her 
 enemies. As yet no blood was shed in 
 this rapid revolution. Some few of the offi- 
 cers and friends of Peter were forbidden to 
 appear at court, and three, including Gudo- 
 vitch, the emperor's aide-de-camp, were im- 
 prisoned ; but there the anger of the sove- 
 reign stopped. Peter's mistress, the Countess 
 Vorontzoff, who had at first been roughly 
 treated by the soldiers, was sent to the 
 house of her father. She shortly after- 
 wards retired to a country place in the 
 neighbourhood of Moscow, and eventually 
 married a M. Palianski, with whom she 
 took up her residence at St. Petersburg. 
 Catherine forgot the wrongs of the wife so 
 far as to stand godmother, in person, to the 
 eldest son of this woman. Many years 
 afterwards her daughter, also, was nomi- 
 nated by the empress to be one of her 
 maids of honour. 
 
 Peter III., though he had made himself 
 250 
 
 many enemies, had yet no small number of 
 friends among the people, who could not 
 long forget that he had ever been the 
 friend of the poor, and to whom he was 
 perhaps even endeared by that very vul- 
 garity of manners which had disgusted so 
 many of his nobles and courtiers. The 
 revolution had been almost too rapid for its 
 endurance, and the safety of those engaged 
 in it. A reaction took place in favour of 
 the deposed monarch, and his clemency was 
 remembered, while his vices were forgotten. 
 The people pitied his sad reverse of fortune ; 
 and, even in the army, some regiments 
 murmured, and began to repent the part 
 they had taken against their lawful sove- 
 reign. As to the sailors, they openly re- 
 proached the guards that they had sold 
 their master for brandy and beer. Men 
 seemed as if aroused from a sense of intoxi- 
 cation, and, reflecting gloomily upon what 
 had passed, they doubtod the probity and 
 wisdom of their own conduct. It was ob- 
 served that many of the citizens who had 
 been exceedingly active in the tumult of the 
 revolution, were seized with a deep and 
 painful remorse, and lamented the suffer- 
 ings they had brought upon their monarch. 
 Many of the soldiers, accusing themselves 
 of treason towards their deposed master, 
 cursed those who had led them into it. 
 From abuse and imprecations they pro- 
 ceeded to blows, and several lives were lost 
 in the furious altercations which took place. 
 It only wanted some able and resolute 
 leader to have replaced Peter on the throne 
 from which, but a few days before, he had 
 been so suddenly precipitated ; and the 
 minds of the conspirators were filled with 
 apprehensions of a new insurrection. 
 
 While discontent prevailed at St. Peters- 
 burg, a still more dangerous state of feeling 
 existed among the military at Moscow. The 
 governor of that ancient city, on hearing of 
 the revolution which had placed Catherine 
 on the throne, assembled the troops there, 
 consisting of five regiments, in the great 
 square before the palace of the czars. He 
 at the same time invoked the presence of 
 the people, who assembled in immense 
 crowds. Having read the ukase by which 
 the empress announced her accession and 
 the abdication of her husband, he shouted, 
 " Long live the empress, Catherine II. !" 
 No response followed either from people or 
 soldiers, and a sullen and ominous silence 
 prevailed. This was at length broken by 
 low murmurs, and then the troops, gaining 
 
A.D. 1762.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [itfURDER OF PETER 111. 
 
 courage, complained that the regiments of 
 the guards had insolently dared to dispose 
 of the throne. The startled governor then 
 called upon the ofBcers to join the cry of 
 " Long live the empress \" and, having done 
 so, the multitude was dismissed, and the 
 soldiers marched back to their barracks. 
 
 Catherine felt much uneasiness and alarm 
 at these indications of popular feeling, so 
 threatening to her interest. To such an 
 extent was she haunted by the spectres of 
 her imagination during this period, that 
 sleep scarcely afforded her any repose ; and 
 several times in the course of the night she 
 would quit her bed, and occasionally even 
 her palace. It was not difficult to foresee 
 to what dark catastrophe such a temper on 
 the part of the people, and such a state of 
 mind on the part of the sovereign, would 
 eventually lead. 
 
 The deposed emperor had been placed in 
 the custody of Count Alexis Orloff and the 
 two brothers Baratinski, one of whom was 
 marshal of the court, and the other was 
 afterwards sent as envoy from Russia to the 
 court of France. Peter had been six days 
 in his obscure retreat, when Alexis OrlofF, 
 and an officer named Teploff, entered his 
 apartment, assured him of his speedy libera- 
 tion, and requested permission to dine with 
 him. The unsuspicious monarch readily 
 consented, and, according to the Russian 
 custom, wine-glasses and brandy were 
 brought in before dinner. While Teploff 
 amused the czar with some trifling dis- 
 course, Orloff secretly poured some poison 
 into the glass intended for the czar. Peter 
 drank the deadly potion offered to him 
 without mistrust, and was immediately 
 seized with most acute pains. The assas- 
 sins offered him a second glass, saying that 
 it would give him relief; but the unhappy 
 man, who then discerned their diabolical 
 object, refused it, and burst into reproaches 
 against them. Racked with pain, he called 
 loudly for milk, when the two monsters 
 offered him poison again, and urged him to 
 take it. Attracted by the noise, a French 
 valet, to whom Peter* was much attached, 
 ran into the apartment. The czar threw 
 himself into the arms of his servant, and 
 said, in a faint voice, " It was not enough, 
 then, to prevent me from reigning in Sweden, 
 and to deprive me of the crown of Russia ! 
 I must also be put to death !" 
 
 The valet interceded for his master, but 
 the murderers forced the man from the 
 apartment, and renewed their ill-treatment 
 
 of the czar. A struggle followed, during 
 which the younger of the brothers Bara- 
 tinski entered. Orloff, who was a man of 
 great strength, had thrown the emperor 
 on to the ground, and was kneeling upon 
 his breast with both knees, while with one 
 hand he firmly grasped his throat. Peter 
 struggled with the force arising from des- 
 pair, and inflicted a mark on the face of 
 Baratinski, which that villain long retained ; 
 but he was rapidly losing strength, when 
 the other ruffians, throwing a napkin round 
 his neck, terminated his life by strangula- 
 tion. 
 
 Some writers have expressed a belief that 
 the empress Catherine was not implicated 
 in this revolting murder ; but it is difficult 
 to arrive at that conclusion. Perhaps the 
 crime was not committed in consequence of 
 any command from her; but the assassins 
 evidently knew that its commission would 
 be agreeable to her. The fact that she 
 attempted to conceal the cause of her hus- 
 band's death, and so far from punishing the 
 murderers, retained them in her service 
 and her favour, is sufficient evidence that 
 she sanctioned the crime, if she did not 
 command it. The Princess Daschkaw, 
 though evidently struggling at the time 
 with a suspicion she had much difficulty in 
 repressing, yet vehemently denies that the 
 empress directed or connived at the murder. 
 Her own language, however, shows that she 
 was not so satisfied on this point as she 
 desires her readers to believe. ** I was 
 shocked,'^ she observed, "at the news of 
 this catastrophe — so indignant at such a 
 winding up of this glorious* revolution, 
 that, although I spurned the idea of the 
 empress being in any degree an accomplice 
 in the crime of Alexis Orloff, I could not 
 bring myself to enter the palace until the 
 following day. I then found the empress 
 with a dejected air, visibly labouring under 
 much uneasiness of mind. These were her 
 words when she addressed me : — * My horror 
 at this death is inexpressible ; it is a blow 
 which strikes me to the earth,^ 'It is a 
 death too sudden, madam,' replied I, * for 
 your glory, and for mine.' " 
 
 No sooner was the murder effected, than 
 Alexis Orloff mounted his horse, and dashed 
 off at full speed to inform the empress that 
 her husband had breathed his last. He 
 imparted* the news to her just as she was 
 about to make her appearance at court. 
 
 • Perhaps infamous would be a more appropriate 
 epithet. 
 
 251 
 
CONDUCT OF CATHERINE.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1762. 
 
 She received it tranquilly, and then, shut- 
 ting herself up with Panin, Gregory Orlofif, 
 Rasumoffski, and some other of her minis- 
 ters, she deliberated with them whether the 
 senate and the people should be immediately 
 acquainted with the death of the emperor, 
 or the news withheld until the following 
 day. The latter plan was adopted as the 
 most prudent one ; and Catherine, wearing 
 her customary smiles, dined in public as 
 usual, and held a court in the evening. 
 
 The following day it was publicly an- 
 nounced that the emperor was dead. The 
 information was communicated to the court 
 while Catherine was at table. Rising from 
 her seat, with her eyes full of tears, she dis- 
 missed her courtiers and the foreign minis- 
 ters, and, retiring to her apartment, appeared 
 for several days to be plunged in the most 
 profound grief. During this time she pub- 
 lished the following declaration : — " By the 
 grace of God, Catherine II., empress and 
 autocratrix, &c. * * * The seventh day after 
 our accession to the throne of all the Rus- 
 sias, we received information that the late 
 emperor, Peter III., by means of a disorder 
 to which he was subject, was attacked with 
 a most violent griping cholic. That, there- 
 fore, we might not be wanting in Christian 
 duty, nor disobedient to the Divine com- 
 mand by which we are enjoined to preserve 
 the life of our neighbour, we immediately 
 ordered that the said Peter should be fur- 
 nished with everything that might be judged 
 necessary to prevent the dangerous conse- 
 quences of that accident, and to restore his 
 health by the aids of medicine. But, to 
 our great regret and affliction, we -were 
 yesterday evening apprised that, by the 
 permission of the Almighty, the late em- 
 peror departed this life. We have there- 
 fore ordered his body to be conveyed to the 
 monastery of Nevski, in order to its inter- 
 ment in that place. At the same time, 
 with our imperial and maternal voice, we 
 exhort our faithful subjects to forgive and 
 forget what is past, to pay the last duties to 
 his body, and to pray to God sincerely for 
 the repose of his soul; willing them, how- 
 ever, to consider this unexpected and sudden 
 death as an especial effect of the providence 
 of God, whose impenetrable decrees are 
 working for us, for our throne, and for our 
 country, things known only to His holy 
 will." 
 
 The body of the murdered emperor was 
 brought to St. Petersburg, and exhibited 
 for three davs in an open coffin in the 
 252* 
 
 church of the monastery of St. Alexander 
 Kevski. The deceased was attired in his 
 Prussian uniform, and, according to cus- 
 tom, persons of all ranks were admitted to 
 kiss his hand. But even the corpse seemed 
 to bear silent witness to the manner in 
 which the life of the unfortunate czar was 
 terminated. The face was nearly black; 
 extravasated blood oozed through the skin, 
 and even stained the gloves worn by the 
 body. So violent Avas the poison adminis- 
 tered, that some persons who, from motives 
 of affection, kissed the mouth of the dead 
 czar, returned with swollen lips, Catherine 
 and her ministers were aware that such 
 dreadful intimations might lead to a dis- 
 covery of the means by which the unhappy 
 monarch had been deprived of life; but 
 they were less interested in saving appear- 
 ances, than in preventing the excitement 
 which would have arisen in the event of 
 a supposition getting abroad among the 
 people that Peter was still living. On the 
 21st of July, the very daj'^ that the late em- 
 peror had fixed for Ids departure on the 
 expedition against Denmark, his body was 
 consigned to a grave within the church ; 
 but no monument, or even inscription, was 
 placed to mark the spot. The court of 
 Sweden went into mourning for him ; but 
 in no other nation was much sympathy 
 shown for his tragic fate. The Russian 
 people pitied their murdered czar ; and the 
 day of his funeral was a melancholy one 
 in St. Petersburg. Masses of the people 
 thronged around the church, and reproached 
 the soldiers of the guards with having 
 basely shed the last drop of the blood of 
 Peter the Great. 
 
 The character of Peter III. cannot com- 
 mand our respect, but his dismal fate excites 
 our pity. He was misplaced in life, and 
 had neither the mind nor manners requisite 
 for one holding so exalted and highly respon- 
 sible a station. Vulgar in his demeanour, 
 sensual in his habits, and trifling in his be- 
 haviour, he lacked even the ordinary refine- 
 ment of a private gentleman. It is probable 
 that he gave way to coarse and unbecoming 
 manners, and selected vulgar associates in 
 imitation of Peter the Great ; but that illus- 
 trious man, who redeemed all his vices by 
 far greater A'irtues as a ruler, could venture 
 on acts which it was dangerous for common 
 men to perform. The deposed czar, though 
 painfully deficient in energy and resolution, 
 and totally unable to confound his enemies 
 by the exhibition of a commanding will that 
 
A.u. 1762.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [character of peter in. 
 
 would brook no opposition, or a subtle intel- 
 lect capable of detecting and frustrating 
 their schemes, yet had the imprudence 
 to efiFect with rapidity a change, with respect 
 to the property of the church, more sweeping 
 than that which his wise ancestor had con- 
 sidered it well to delay until the latter 
 phase of his reign. The great wants of 
 Peter III. were the lack of discretion, by 
 which he was led into danger, and the lack 
 of a courage which would have extricated 
 him from it. During his latter days, con- 
 tempt for his cowardice often checks the 
 risiug pity which we feel for his misfortunes. 
 It has been conjectured that he was of un- 
 sound mind, but we do not think that this 
 supposition can be at all established. He 
 •was mentally feeble, and rather eccentric; 
 but a weak mind is not a diseased one ; nor 
 is the extravagance of conduct which arises 
 from want of reflection, and from frequent 
 intemperance, to be dignified with the name 
 of madness. Yet Peter had gleams of light 
 in the ordinary dimness of his mental facul- 
 ties. He saw desirable results, but had no 
 clear idea of the manner in which they were 
 to be arrived at. During his brief sway he 
 effected many valuable reforms, and it can- 
 not be doubted that he would have accom- 
 plished many more had his reign been pro- 
 longed. Personally, he was amiable even to 
 a fault ; and most of those who composed his 
 more intimate circle of acquaintance were 
 much attached to him. His gentleness was 
 in excess for a monarch, for he was deficient 
 of the sternness required to crush an enemy 
 or punish a traitor. His conduct to Cathe- 
 
 rine was, however, an exception to the amia- 
 bility of character usual with him : from the 
 first he subjected her to occasional rudeness 
 and neglect, and contrived to convert her 
 indift'erence, first into disgust, and then 
 into fear and hatred. Yet, beyond petty 
 vices, he committed no crime; his inten- 
 tions were benevolent, though they were 
 mostly deformed by that thoughtlessness 
 and utter want of discretion which enabled 
 a few obscure conspirators to hurl him from 
 his throne, and led him to that tragic death 
 by which he obtained a place among those 
 illustrious unfortunates of the earth who 
 must ever be regarded with deep emotions 
 of pity. 
 
 Frederic of Prussia, who had foreseen the 
 probable fate of the unfortunate Peter III., 
 and endeavoured, by the frequent offer of 
 good advice, to prevent it, formed a tolerably 
 accurate estimate of his character. Shortly 
 after the revolution, the Prussian monarch 
 thus wrote to Count Finkenstein, one of his 
 favourites: — "The emperor of Russia has 
 been dethroned by his consort: it was to be ex- 
 pected. That princess has much good sense, 
 and the same inclinations as the defunct. 
 She has no religion, but acts the devotee. 
 It is the second volume of Zeno, the Greek 
 emperor, of his wife Adriana, and of Mary 
 de Medicis. The late chancellor, Bestuchef, 
 was her greatest favourite, and as he has a 
 strong propensity to guineas, I flatter myself 
 that the attachments of the present period 
 Avill be the same. The poor emperor wanted 
 to imitate Peter I., but he had not the 
 capacity for it." 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 ! THE EMPRESS CATHERINE CONFIRMS THE PEACE WITH PRUSSIA ; HER CORONATION AT MOSCOW ; SHE REFUSES 
 TO RESTORE THE PROPERTY OF THE CHURCH ; DANGEROUS INSURRECTIONS, AND INTREPIDITY OF THE 
 EMPRESS ; GREGORY ORLOFF ; REFORMS EFFECTED BY CATHERINE, AND MILDNESS OF HER ADMINISTRA- 
 TION ; SHE INVITES FOREIGNERS TO COME TO RUSSIA, AND PRESENTS THEM WITH LAND ; COUNT PANIN 
 DESIRES HER TO SURRENDER HER ABSOLUTE POWER INTO THE HANDS OF AN ARISTOCRATIC SENATE ; 
 INTRIGUE TO INDUCE HER TO MARRY HER FAVOURITE ORLOFF, AND CONSEQUENT IRRITATION OF THE 
 PEOPLE ; TERMINATION OF THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 
 
 It was supposed that the peace and alli- 
 ance Avhich the late emperor had concluded 
 with Prussia would not long be observed by 
 Catherine. It was unpopular throughout 
 the empire; and as none of the conquests 
 which Peter had stipulated to restore to 
 
 Frederic were yet abandoned by the Russian 
 troops, they might yet be retained in the 
 event of a renewal of hostilities being de- 
 termined upon. Catherine was tempted to 
 pursue this course, but chiefly because she 
 believed that Frederic had encouraged the 
 
 253 
 
POLICY OF CATHERDfE.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1762. 
 
 late emperor in the severe measures he con- 
 templated against her. When, however, she 
 discovered some letters among the papers of 
 her late husband, counselling him to act with 
 more consideration and kindness towards 
 his consort, she abandoned her intention of 
 renewing the war. She was indeed fully 
 aware that the crown as yet stood so loosely 
 upon her head, that it was wise to confine 
 her attention for a time almost entirely to 
 her own safety. She saw that it was expe- 
 dient to collect within itself all the forces of 
 the empire, that she should be able to oppose 
 the designs of malcontents who might ven- 
 ture on some attempt to revenge the fate of 
 the late czar, or seek their own advancement 
 in the tumult of a fresh revolution. Under 
 these circumstances, she informed the minis- 
 ters of the king of Prussia, "that she was 
 resolved to observe inviolably, in all points, 
 the perpetual peace concluded under the 
 preceding reign; that, nevertheless, she had 
 thought proper to bring back to Russia, by 
 the nearest roads, all her troops in Silesia, 
 Prussia, and Pomerania.^' 
 
 Towards the empress-queen, Maria The- 
 resa, Catherine behaved with coldness. 
 Louis XV., of France, who had calculated 
 on deriving advantage from her supposed 
 attachment to his country, was surprised at 
 discovering that, notwithstanding her ad- 
 miration of French literature, she mani- 
 fested a feeling of aversion towards the court 
 of Versailles. Mr. Keith, the English am- 
 bassador, though he did not enjoy the same 
 freedom of access to the empress to which 
 his predecessor was admitted, was treated 
 as the minister of a friendly power, and 
 Catherine soon renewed the treaty which 
 had given to England the chief part of the 
 commerce of Russia. To the king of Den- 
 mark, against whom the Russian troops 
 were on their march at the time of the revo- 
 lution by which Peter was deposed, she 
 gave the assurance that he might make him- 
 self easy on the subject of Holstein, as it 
 was her intention always to keep up a good 
 understanding with him. Catherine was 
 wisely desirous of establishing peace abroad, 
 that she might preserve it within the em- 
 pire, for she knew that she had more to fear 
 from her own subjects than from foreign 
 potentates. 
 
 The distribution of bribes and brandy 
 among the soldiery at Moscow efiected some 
 change in their feelings towards the empress, 
 and it was difl&cult for them to refuse to 
 acknowledge so liberal a sovereign. Cathe- 
 254 
 
 rine, therefore, started for that city, for the 
 purpose of celebrating her coronation in the 
 ancient capital of the empire. She took 
 with her, as her attendants, Gregory Orloff, 
 whose influence was daily increasing; the 
 old chancellor, Bestuchef, whom she had 
 recalled from exile ; the greater part of the 
 nobles who had shown themselves devoted 
 to her interest, the principal ladies of the 
 court, and the young Grand-duke Paul. 
 She bestowed the government of St. Peters- 
 burg, during her absence, on Count Bruce, 
 of whose fidelity she felt satisfied ; while the 
 regiments of the guards, to whom, before 
 leaving, she gave further assurances of her 
 approbation, she left under the command of 
 the hetman Rasumofi'ski and Prince Vol- 
 konski, while Alexis Orloff was charged to- 
 watch over all with his usual activity. 
 
 Catherine and her court entered Moscow 
 with great pomp, were she was, notwith- 
 standing, received with much coldness. 
 Few acclamations welcomed her ; and those 
 shouts which were raised at her appearance 
 were suspected of being purchased. Silent 
 as the people mostly were at the presence of 
 the empress, they hailed the appearance of 
 the young Grand-duke Paul, and showed, 
 by the affection they displayed towards him, 
 their regret for the misfortunes of his 
 father. Catherine was crowned at the 
 chapel of the czars on the 22nd of Septem- 
 ber, in the presence of the soldiers and the 
 court. She lavished the most attractive 
 flatteries on the archbishop and the priests, 
 and prolonged festivities were held for the 
 gratification of the people. She also issued 
 a proclamation, praising the troops that had 
 fought against Prussia, and awarded half a 
 year's pay to the subalterns and common 
 soldiers who had been present at the vic- 
 tories obtained over the armies of that state. 
 Her friends also were gratified by a number 
 of promotions and presents ; and the em- 
 press herself assumed the rank of colonel in 
 each of the four regiments of life-guards. 
 Yet all these arts did not win the people or 
 soldiers into the expression of any enthu- 
 siasm ; and Catherine soon left ^Moscow in 
 disgust, and returned to St. Petersburg. 
 
 The empress had other difficulties to sur- 
 mount before she was firmly seated upon 
 the throne at which she had arrived by 
 such sinister and tortuous ways. But she 
 felt, and soon proved, herself equal to the 
 dangerous task. It was not only because 
 the priesthood were deceived by her habits 
 of assumed devotion that they had favoured 
 
A.D. 1762.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [POPUIAK DISAFFECTION. 
 
 the revolution which deposed her husband 
 and placed the sceptre in her hand. They 
 expected to obtain, as a return for their 
 services, the restoration of tiie possessions 
 of which Peter III. had deprived them ; and 
 they now reminded her of the promises she 
 had made to that eflFect. Catherine had 
 sought popularity by joining in the outcry 
 agaiust the spoliation of the church; but 
 still she secretly knew that it was prudent 
 to reduce the great wealth aud conse- 
 quent power of the priesthood, which had 
 been, and might again be, employed agaiust 
 the person or interests of the sovereign. 
 She therefore resolved to profit by the very 
 deed she had denounced as sacrilege : her 
 rash husband had incurred the odium of 
 the act, and she determined on reaping the 
 benefit arising from it. Instead, therefore, 
 of revoking the edict of Peter III., she 
 referred it to the examination of a synod, 
 composed of prelates whom she took care 
 should be implicitly subservient to her will. 
 The opposition of the principal members of 
 the clergy was then disarmed by the secret 
 distribution of heavy bribes, and the in- 
 terests of the rest were sacrificed. 
 
 The great mass of the priests were accord- 
 ingly actuated by a feeling of fury against 
 the empress; and as they had assisted to 
 place her on the throne, they resolved on 
 seeing if their influence could not prevail to 
 hurl her from it. Wherever discontent 
 existed among the populace, there they 
 fanned the embers of sedition, and they suc- 
 ceeded, in some measure, in introducing an 
 insurrectionary feeling among the soldiers. 
 They declared that the imprisoned prince, 
 Ivan, was the only lawful heir to the throne; 
 and they found, or, what is far more pro- 
 bable, forged, the copy of a manifesto, which 
 it was said Peter III, had caused to be 
 drawn up, and then signed with his own 
 hand. In it he enumerated all the weak- 
 nesses and faults of Catherine, accused her 
 of adultery, and declared that he would not 
 acknowledge the young grand- duke for his 
 son, since he was the fruit of the scandalous 
 commerce of his wife with Soltikoff. The 
 exasperated priests dispersed copies of this 
 document amongst the people aud the sol- 
 diers, of whom many repented the part they 
 had taken in the recent revolution, and 
 pitied the sad fate of a prince whose life 
 had paid the penalty of his errors. 
 
 Many were soon disposed to avenge the 
 fate of one whom they could not restore ; 
 and there was some danger of a new revolu- 
 
 tion. But Catherine was far more vigilant 
 than her ill-fated husband, and her emis- 
 saries quickly discerned the signs and the 
 sources of the spreading discontent. An 
 imperial proclamation was issued, forbid- 
 ding the soldiers of the guards to assemble, 
 except on receiving orders to do so from 
 their ofl&cers. Some, whose violence had 
 betrayed them, were arrested, and suflFered 
 the punishment of the knout, or were 
 banished to Siberia. As an intimation to 
 the priesthood, the empress also dismissed 
 the Archbishop of Novgorod from the court, 
 and he retired, with a heart bursting with 
 rage, to the clergy, who hated him for 
 having sold their interests. Several of the 
 officers and courtiers also experienced the 
 displeasure of Catherine, and were com- 
 pelled to retire from their posts. 
 
 But the spirit of insurrection, though 
 encountered, was not suppressed. The 
 priests were still active in exciting discon- 
 tent among the people and the soldiery. 
 They were so far successful, that great dis- 
 turbances prevailed in the barracks; and the 
 danger became so serious, that for a whole 
 day it was regarded as probable that the 
 empress would experience a fate similar to 
 that of her husband. But the high spirit 
 of Catherine never forsook her; and with- 
 out calling her council, she took private 
 measures for calming the revolt. On her 
 ministers testifying their uneasiness, she 
 spoke to them with great confidence, and 
 with a dignity that was peculiar to her. 
 " Why are you alarmed ?" she inquired. 
 " Think you that I am afraid to face the 
 danger, or rather, are you afraid that I 
 know not how to overcome it? Recollect 
 that you have seen me, in moments more 
 terrible than these, in full possession of the 
 whole vigour of my mind ; and that I can 
 support the most cruel reverses of fortune 
 with as much serenity as I have supported 
 her favours. A few factious spirits, a few 
 mutinous soldiers, are to deprive me of a 
 crown that / accepted with reluctance, and 
 only as the means of delivering the Russian 
 nation from the miseries with which it was 
 threatened ! I know not with what pre- 
 tence they colour their insolence; I know 
 not on what means they rely ; but, I say it 
 again, they cause me no alarm. That Pro- 
 vidence which has called me to reign, will 
 preserve for me the glory and the happiness 
 of the empire ; and that Almighty arm 
 which has hitherto been my defence, will 
 now confound my foes." 
 
 255 
 
FIRMNESS OF CATHERINE.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1762. 
 
 The two OrlofiFs were incessantly active 
 in pacifying the guards by presents and 
 promises ; and Avheu they had succeeded in 
 reducing the prevalent irritation, four-and- 
 twenty of the disaffected officers were ar- 
 rested and placed on their trial for high 
 treason. Four of them were declared guilty, 
 and condemned to be quartered; but Cathe- 
 rine, who desired rather to awe than to 
 punish, mitigated the terrible sentence into 
 banishment to Siberia, though, prior to their 
 expatriation, the offenders were scourged by 
 the hand of the common executioner. Com- 
 bining policy with firmness, the empress 
 stooped to soothe the most dangerous of the 
 priests, and contrived to stop the cabals 
 of the monks. The soldiers and people 
 soon discovered that they were ruled by a 
 vigorous hand, and they learned, first sub- 
 mission, and eventually admiration. Cathe- 
 rine delighted the young and gay among her 
 courtiers by her attachment to pleasure; and 
 the older and more grave of them by her devo- 
 tion to the business of the state. She assisted 
 at all the deliberations of the council; read 
 the despatches from her ambassadors ; dic- 
 tated the answers that were to be sent to 
 them ; and took every pains to observe that 
 her commands were executed. Aiming at 
 the acquisition of fame as well as that of 
 power, she contemplated the example of 
 those illustrious monarchs who, by the 
 grandeur of their actions, effaced the 
 memory of their crimes or follies. She saw 
 that elevation of purpose and firmness of 
 execution were essential to the character of 
 a great ruler. " We should be constant in 
 our plans," she would observe; "it is better 
 to do amiss than to alter our purpose. 
 None but fools are irresolute.^' 
 
 Among the courtiers who incurred the 
 displeasure of the empress was her friend, 
 as she called her, the Princess Daschkaw. 
 A mutual aversion existed between this 
 lady and the two Orloffs, who doubtless 
 misrepresented her to Catherine. The em- 
 press had refused to the princess the title 
 of colonel in the Presbrazinski guards, 
 which carried with it certain social distinc- 
 tions she was anxious to possess. The 
 princess murmured at the ingratitude of 
 her imperial mistress, to whose ears her 
 complaints were carried. The latter first 
 warned the princess, and afterwards kept 
 her at a distance. Desirous of throwing as 
 much light as possible on the interesting 
 subject of the personal character of Cathe- 
 rine, we wiU quote a passage from the 
 256 
 
 Memoirs of the princess, having reference to 
 this period : — " As the days of my illusions," 
 she observes, " respecting the friendship of 
 sovereigns are about to cease, I may be 
 allowed to dwell a moment longer on the 
 recollection of those hours of intimacy which 
 the fascinating powers of the empress could 
 often diversify Avith the sportiveness of 
 childhood itself. I was enthusiastically 
 fond of music, but she was fi\r from being 
 so; and Prince Daschkaw, though Avith 
 some taste for it, was as little of a per- 
 former as the empress. She was, neverthe- 
 less, fond of hearing me sing; and some- 
 times, Avhen I had done, secretly passing a 
 sign across to Prince Daschkaw, she would 
 gravely propose a duet ; which she used to 
 call the music of the spheres, and Avhich, 
 without either of them knowing how to 
 sing a note, they both performed in concert. 
 A sudden burst of the most exalted and 
 ridiculously discordant tones was the conse- 
 quence ; one seconding the other with 
 scientific shrugs, and all the solemn, self- 
 complacent airs and giimaces of musicians. 
 From this, perhaps, she passed to the cat 
 concert, and imitated the purring of poor 
 puss in the most droll and ludicrous manner, 
 always taking care to add appropriate half- 
 comic, half-sentimental words, which she 
 invented for the occasion ; or else, spitting 
 like a cat in a passion, with her back up, 
 she suddenly boxed the first person in her 
 way, making up her hand into a paw, and 
 mewing so outrageously, that instead of 
 the great Catherine, nothing but the wrongs 
 of a grimalkin remained upon one's mind. 
 I really believe there never was any one in 
 the world, and certainly never any sovereign, 
 who equalled her in the magic versatility of 
 her mind, the exhaustless variety of her 
 resources, and, above all, the enchantment 
 of her manner ; that in itself could give a 
 lustre to the commonest words and most 
 trifling matters." 
 
 Catherine's Polish lover, Poniatowski, had 
 kept up a correspondence with her; while 
 she, on her part, affected a romantic con- 
 stancy in her attachment towards him. 
 Delighted at the exaltation of the empress 
 to the throne, he advanced to the frontiers 
 of Poland, and requested the permission of 
 her majesty to pay a visit to her court. 
 Catherine, who had long transferred her 
 favours to Gregory Orloff, answered that his 
 presence was not necessary at St. Peters- 
 burg, and that she had different views in 
 his behalf. Yet, unwilling that he should 
 
A.D. 1763.] 
 
 EUSSIAN EMPIRE. [Catherine invites immigrants. 
 
 be informed of her new connections, she 
 continued to write to him in an affectionate 
 style, and sometimes even carried her dis- 
 simulation so far, as to shed tears when in 
 the presence of his confidants. Orloff, 
 however, had no scruples, and no longer 
 concealed the intimacy which existed be- 
 tween him and the empress. As he did 
 not now fear the result of the discoveiy of 
 his amour, he would not submit to any 
 inconvenient precaution to prevent its dis- 
 closure. Coarse in his manners, he even, 
 when in his cups, boasted of his influence 
 over the empress, and his power in the 
 state. Such was the arrogance of this man, 
 and the favour with Avhich she regarded 
 him, that she even permitted insolence from 
 him to pass by unregarded. One evening, 
 when he Avas at supper with the empress, 
 the hetman Rasumoffski, and some others 
 of the court, he talked of the influence he 
 had over the guards, and boasted of his 
 having solely brought about the revolution ; 
 adding, " that his power was so great, that if 
 he chose to abuse it, he could in one month 
 destroy his own work, and dethrone the 
 empress." The courtiers looked offended, 
 and the hetman thus rebuked the braggart: — 
 " You might do so in one month ; but, my 
 friend, within a fortnight afterwards we 
 should have hanged you \" Catherine did 
 not resent Orloff's rudeness : she knew the 
 value of his services; and the attachment 
 which commenced in affection, and still had 
 an influence over her, she maintained in- 
 violate through policy. 
 
 When early dangers were past, the em- 
 press did not relax her efforts for the con- 
 ciliation of her subjects. Most of the re- 
 forms that Peter III. decreed, she sanctioned 
 and caused to be carried into execution. 
 She confirmed the abolition of the secret 
 inquisition chancery, and commanded that 
 all its acts should be brought into the 
 senate, " and there sealed up in the archives 
 consigned to everlasting oblivion." She 
 also ordained that torture should never be 
 employed in the examination of criminals. 
 It must be acknowledged that Catherine, 
 with all her faults, was not a severe or cruel 
 sovereign : a spirit of mildness was usually 
 exercised in the administration of the laws; 
 and throughout her reign, the punishment 
 of death was rarely inflicted. She devoted 
 herself with great assiduity to the adminis- 
 tration of her vast estates, the advancement 
 of commerce, the augmentation of the navy, 
 and to the means of recovering the finances 
 2l 
 
 of the empire from those derangements into 
 which they had fallen. She published a 
 manifesto, assuring foreigners that they 
 should find welcome and support in her 
 dominions, and instituted a court especially 
 for their protection. She pointed out to 
 them unoccupied districts adapted for culti- 
 vation, and offered free lands, sufiicient for 
 some hundred farms, to foreigners who 
 would come to Russia and cultivate them. 
 Not agriculturists alone, but merchants, 
 artificers, and Avorkmen of any kind were 
 invited. The proclamation is in some re- 
 spects curious ; and the example of the em- 
 press might be advantageously followed 1)y 
 some states in Europe, and especially in Asia, 
 at the present time. The document set forth, 
 that " any one who is destitute shall receive 
 money for the expenses of the journey, and 
 shall be forwarded at the charge of the 
 crown. On. his arrival, he shall receive a 
 competent assistance ; and, if he want it, 
 even an advance of a capital, free of 
 interest for ten years. All that he brings 
 for his own use is duty free ; even for sale, 
 a family may introduce to the value of 300 
 roubles. The stranger is exempt from all 
 service, either military or civil; even from 
 all taxes and imposts for a certain time : in 
 Moscow, St. Petersburg, and the Livonian 
 towns, he enjoys five free years; in the 
 inland towns, ten ; on the hitherto unculti- 
 vated districts, thirty. In these new tracts 
 of land, the colonists live according to their 
 own good-will, under their own jurisdiction, 
 without any participation or cognizance of 
 the imperial officers. All religions are 
 
 TOLERATED." 
 
 This proclamation was the cause of an 
 extensive immigration, chiefly from the 
 German states, though settlers came also 
 from Poland, Sweden, and even from France. 
 Thousands of Germans, dissatisfied with 
 their government and the religion to which 
 they were forced to conform, hastened to ac- 
 cept the invitation of the empress. Obscure 
 literary men, artificers, mechanics, projectors, 
 vagabonds, and beggars, old and young, set 
 out in haste to take sliip at Llibeck and other 
 Baltic ports. Some of the petty sovereigns 
 of Germany issued prohibitions against 
 these emigrations, which they regarded with 
 a jealous and uneasy feeling, forgetful that, 
 in many instances, it was their misgovern- 
 ment which had driven their subjects to 
 seek a home in a foreign land. But after 
 many thousand families had settled in Rus- 
 sia, the movement received a check bv the 
 
 257 
 
COURT OF THE EMPRESS.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1763. 
 
 reports sent back by the colonists them- 
 selves. Starting with inordinate expecta- 
 tions, they naturally experienced a sense 
 of disappointment. Ignorant of the lan- 
 guage of the country, feeling the want of 
 their customary accommodation, and some- 
 times exposed to the harshness of persons in 
 office, many repented the step they had 
 taken. Others, who only wanted to live in 
 idleness, wondered that they were to begin 
 again to work, as it was exactly on that 
 very account that they had abandoned their 
 native country. Catherine, however, suc- 
 ceeded in planting a population in districts 
 which had been hitherto uninhabited ; and 
 although many of the new-comers were but 
 the offscourings of neighbouring states, and, 
 perhaps, never became industrious and esti- 
 mable subjects, yet, in the next generation, 
 they probably became respectable, and, in 
 the one following, were merged into the 
 general population of the empire. Cathe- 
 rine also encouraged many tribes from the 
 east of Europe and from Asia, who were 
 dissatisfied with their position or govern- 
 ments, to come and settle in her dominions. 
 Fully aware that the latent power of Russia 
 could only be developed as its population 
 increased, and also with a view to eradicate 
 a physical and moral cause of depopulation, 
 she erected a foundling and lying-in hos- 
 pital at Moscow, and also another at St. 
 Petersburg. In the November of the year 
 in which she ascended the throne (1762), 
 she also founded the medicinal college of 
 the empire at St. Petersburg. 
 
 Catherine had a correct estimate of her 
 own peculiar talents, and of the influence 
 she was likely to exercise on the empire and 
 on Europe. In conversing with a foreign 
 minister who had complimented her on her 
 political sagacity, she observed — "You think, 
 then, that Europe has, at present, its eyes 
 fixed on me, and that I have some weight 
 in the principal courts?" The answer 
 could not fail to be in the aflfirmative. " I 
 believe, indeed," she continued, with that 
 imperial dignity of manner which she could 
 assume with so much ease, " that Russia 
 merits attention. I have the finest army in 
 the world. I am rather short of money, it 
 is true; but I shall be abundantly pro- 
 vided with it in a few years. If I gave the 
 reins to ray inclination, I should have a 
 greater taste for war than for peace ; but I 
 am restrained by humanity, justice, and 
 reason. However, 1 shall not be like the 
 empress Elizabeth. I shall not allow my- 
 258 
 
 self to be pressed to make w^ar. I shall 
 enter upon it when it will prove advan- 
 tageous to me ; but never from complai- 
 sance to others." Catherine added, that 
 the world could not properly begin to form 
 a judgment of her until five years had 
 elapsed, as it required at least that time to . 
 reduce her empire to order, and to gather 
 the fruit of her care. 
 
 The empress was frequently reminded 
 that the people had not forgotten the tragic 
 death of her unhappy husband. Petty con- 
 spiracies frequently broke out; and although 
 they were detected and defeated by the 
 vigilance of her government, yet Catherine 
 knew that it was impossible to remove the 
 cause of them, and she frequently suffered 
 much uneasiness in consequence. Anxious 
 to conciliate her people, and to cause them 
 to forget the past, she neglected no means 
 of winning their attachment. Though 
 generous by nature, she was still more so 
 by policy. She also acted with kindness 
 to the friends of the deceased emperor, and 
 released from prison those few of his imme- 
 diate adherents who had been sent there on 
 account of their exertions in his favour. 
 
 Another source of grief to the empress 
 was, that the most distinguished of the 
 Russian nobles held aloof from her court. 
 Disgusted with the arrogance of Gregory 
 Orloff, and jealous of his influence over the 
 empress, they would not mix in an arena 
 where he was paramount. The courtiers of 
 Catherine were mostly rough soldiers who 
 had taken part in the conspiracy, and now 
 abused the claims they imagined they had 
 to her gratitude. She would willingly have 
 dismissed many of them from her presence, 
 but that she knew not how soon and how 
 urgently she might require their services. 
 Occasionally she blushed at the deference 
 she felt compelled to show them ; and to 
 excuse their defects of manners, she at- 
 tributed to them a fidelity which many 
 were far from possessing. "The life I 
 lead is far from agreeable to me," said she 
 one day ; " I know that I am surrounded 
 by people of no education ; but that I am 
 indebted to them for being what I am. 
 They are men of courage and probity, and 
 I am sure that they will never betray me." 
 
 Count Panin was almost the only one of 
 the courtiers of Catherine, at this time, who 
 was distinguished by polished manners and 
 a cultivated mind. But Panin injured his 
 influence with the empress by preferring his 
 own ambition to her interests. He had 
 
A.D. 1763.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [scheme of count panin. 
 
 desired Peter III. to place the real power of 
 the empire in the hands of an aristocratic 
 senate, and to resign the absolute power 
 which was supposed to reside in the hands 
 of the czar. Panin's scheme would have 
 rendered the nobles independent of the 
 sovereign, and have placed the people under 
 the rule of many tyrants instead of one ; 
 yet he endeavoured to induce Catherine to 
 adopt it. Observing, one day, that she 
 laboured under some anxiety in conse- 
 quence of the dangers to which her position 
 exposed her, he took the opportunity of 
 explaining to her the principles of the 
 system of government which he desired to 
 see established. " The sovereigns of this 
 empire," he remarked, " have hitherto uni- 
 formly enjoyed an unlimited power ; but it 
 is the very extent of that power which ren- 
 ders it dangerous to him in whom it is 
 lodged, since it may at any time be usurped 
 by some bold pretender, and the usurper is 
 thenceforth above the laws. Trust me, 
 madam, make the sacrifice of an absolute 
 authority. Create a fixed and permanent 
 council, which will secure to you the crown. 
 Solemnly declare that you renounce, for 
 yourself and for your successors, the power 
 of depriving at pleasure the members of 
 that august body. Declare, that if they 
 commit any crime or high misdemeanor, 
 their peers alone shall have the right to 
 judge and to condemn them, on accurate 
 and severe informations. From the mo- 
 ment you shall adopt this prudent measure, 
 it will be forgotten that you obtained the 
 crown by violence, in the sentiment that 
 you intend to preserve it only by justice." 
 Catherine was at first pleased with the 
 novelty of the idea, and the hope that, by 
 adopting it, she would render her name 
 illustrious, and conciliate the love of her 
 subjects. She told her minister to commit 
 his plan to paper, and implied that she might 
 probably adopt it. Reflection, however, con- 
 vinced her that to do so would be to divide 
 the authority it had cost her so much to ac- 
 quire, and which she would never recover if 
 she once suffered to be taken from her. In 
 a subsequent interview with Paniii, she 
 praised him for his zeal in her service, but 
 said that it was impossible she could adopt 
 his suggestions. " If the empress is deter- 
 mined to rule alone," said the disappointed 
 minister to his friends, "you will see what a 
 sad reign we shall make of it." But Panin 
 had not yet formed a correct estimate of the 
 abilities of his imperial mistress 
 
 Before long, Catherine had another dan- 
 gerous proposal made to her, which, also, 
 she had the discretion to decline. The 
 aged ex-chancellor, Bestuchef, with the ob- 
 ject of rendering himself of more impor- 
 tance in the state, and probably sinking 
 into dotage, informed the favourite Orloff 
 that he should be glad to see him emperor. 
 With all the subtle eloquence he possessed, 
 the old statesman urged his listener to 
 aspire to the hand of his mistress. " She 
 knows," he observed, " with how much zeal 
 and intrepidity you have acted in her ser- 
 vice. She knows from what dangers you 
 freed her to invest her with a sovereign 
 power. She cannot, then, worthily reward 
 you but by giving you a share in that 
 throne which she owes to your prowess. 
 Indeed, why should she refuse it ? Who is 
 better able than you to support that throne 
 against all attempts of conspirators to over- 
 turn it ? Who would be more agreeable to 
 the sovereign in the twofold capacity of her 
 admirer and her defender?" Orloff was 
 delighted, and, embracing the ex-chancellor, 
 promised to do whatever he desired. 
 
 Bestuchef soon sounded the empress on 
 the subject ; but Catherine answered, that 
 even if she was inclined to favour the pro- 
 posal, she could never resolve on taking a 
 step that might meet with so many difficul- 
 ties. To obviate these, the ex-chancellor 
 proposed a petition in the name of the Rus- 
 sian empire, in which, after eulogising all 
 that the empress had done for the happi- 
 ness of her people, he referred to the feeble 
 constitution of the young Grand-duke Paul, 
 and the anxieties caused by the frequent 
 alterations in his health, and conjured 
 Catherine to give the empire an additional 
 testimony of her love, by sacrificing her 
 own liberty to its welfare in taking a hus- 
 band. Perhaps, notwithstanding its ob- 
 vious imprudence, Catherine might have 
 been disposed to accede to the design ; for 
 she induced Maria Theresa, the empress- 
 queen, to dignify Orloff by the grant of a 
 diploma of prince of the empire, which it 
 was her own intention to follow up by 
 decorating him with the titles of Duke of 
 Ingria and of Carelia. 
 
 The ex-chancellor presented the petition 
 to the clergy, and induced twelve bishops to 
 put their signatures to it, specifying that 
 the empress ought not to marry Prince 
 Ivan (whom Bestuchef had artfully pro- 
 posed as her husband, merely for the pur- 
 pose of at first concealing his object), and 
 
 259 
 
SUSPECTED CONSPIRACIES.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1763. 
 
 adding a request that her majesty would 
 condescend to choose, from among her own 
 subjects, him whom she might deem most 
 worthy to participate in her throne. A 
 great number of general officers adhered to 
 the sentiment of the bishops ; but when 
 Bestuchef made known his proposition to 
 the chancellor Vorontzoff, the latter inter- 
 rupted him by saying, "By what conduct 
 have I merited the degradation of such a 
 confidence as you now dare to propose/^ 
 Then, leaving the room, he ordered his car- 
 riage, and hurrying to the empress, remon- 
 strated with her against the indecency and 
 danger of such a proceeding, advising her 
 to retain Orloff, if such was her pleasure, 
 as her lover, and to load him even with 
 riches and honours ; but not to think for a 
 moment of a marriage which could only 
 disgrace herself and the nation. Catherine 
 probably saAV the peril of the step which, it 
 appears, she contemplated, and answered, 
 "I never authorised that intriguing old 
 man to do what he has done ; and as to 
 yourself, I discover in the frankness and 
 loyalty of your conduct, too much attach- 
 ment to my person ever to mistake its 
 motive." Count Panin and the hetman 
 B-asumoffski gave similar advice to the 
 empress, and its wisdom was soon ap- 
 parent ; for the project of the marriage 
 having transpired, the populace, in the 
 utmost indignation, tore down one of the 
 images of the empress, and, after publicly 
 whipping it, dashed it to pieces. 
 
 Catherine was not displeased with Bestu- 
 chef, nor pleased at the interference of the 
 chancellor Vorontzoff. Indeed, the latter 
 was treated both by her and Orloff with 
 such marked coldness, that, under pretext 
 of failing health, he asked and obtained 
 permission to travel abroad for two years. 
 The empress feigned a regret at his de- 
 parture, and paid great respect to him 
 when in public, desiring him to hasten his 
 return to resume the functions of an ad- 
 ministration which, she said, he filled so 
 successfully for the happiness of the empire. 
 The empress had much difficulty in 
 silencing the murmurs which her rumoured 
 marriage with Orloff had occasioned. A bold 
 attempt was even made to seize the person 
 of the latter. A guard stood at the door 
 of his bedchamber, and one of the sen- 
 tinels was induced by a bribe to consent to 
 deliver him, while asleep, into the hands of 
 three of the conspirators. Fortunately for 
 the favourite, a mistake was made in the 
 260 
 
 hour ; and when the latter presented them- 
 selves, the sentinel who was their accom- 
 plice had been relieved by another. On 
 seeing three strangers about to enter into 
 Orloff^s chamber, the man gave the alarm ; 
 other soldiers soon arrived on the spot, and 
 the conspirators had only time to escape 
 under cover of the uniform they wore. 
 Catherine was alarmed ; and reports of 
 plots were constantly brought to her ears. 
 Count Panin and the hetman Basumoffski, 
 and even her once intimate friend the 
 Princess Daschkaw, were suspected of being 
 implicated in them. The empress contem- 
 plated the arrest of them all ; but having 
 no evidence against them on which she 
 could rely, and fearing to incur further 
 odium by an ill-timed severity, she thought 
 it better rather to act the part of the fox 
 than the lion, and to conciliate those whom 
 she could not venture to crush. 
 
 The empress knew that the Princess 
 Daschkaw, notwithstanding her high spirit 
 and her great abilities, Avas both precipitate 
 and imprudent. She therefore trusted to 
 be able to draw from her some information 
 which would clear up her doubts. With 
 this view, she addressed a long letter to 
 her, lavishing upon her many tender epi- 
 thets, and conjuring her, in the name of 
 friendship, to reveal to her what she knew 
 of the recent conspiracies, assuring her, at 
 the same time, that she would grant a free 
 pardon to all concerned in them. The prin- 
 cess discerned Catherine's motive, and angry 
 that she should endeavour to use her as an 
 instrument of vengeance, replied, in a brief 
 note, as follows : — " Madam, I have heard 
 nothing; but if I had heard anything, I 
 should take good care how I spoke of it. 
 What is it you require of me ? That I 
 should expire on a scaffold ? I am ready 
 to mount it." Though unsuccessful in her 
 attempt with the princess, Catherine yet 
 disarmed the disaffection of Panin and 
 Basumoffski, and bestowed upon them fur- 
 ther distinctions. Though not able to un- 
 ravel the web of conspiracy which she knew 
 existed, she prevented its being carried into 
 effect. She threatened those who should 
 be detected in treasonable designs with 
 severe measures, and declared that, for the 
 future, she would not conform to the edict 
 of the empress Elizabeth, by which that 
 potentate had promised never to put a 
 criminal to death. At the same time, 
 Catherine was aware that the best mode of 
 conciliating a people was to promote their 
 
A.D. 1763.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE, [end of the seven years' war. 
 
 interests ; and with this view she founded 
 colleges and hospitals in every part of her 
 empire, encouraged commerce and indus- 
 try, and took many steps for the enlighten- 
 ment of her people. Sensible of the great, 
 and yet undeveloped, natural advantages of 
 Russia, she issued an imperial edict con- 
 taining regulations for the promotion of 
 commerce, in which she thus enumerated 
 them : — " On the whole surface of the 
 earth, there is no country better adapted 
 for commerce than our empire. Russia has 
 spacious harbours in Europe ; and, over- 
 land, the way is open through Poland to 
 every regiou. Siberia extends, on one side, 
 over all Asia, and India is not very remote 
 from Orenburg; but on the other side it 
 seems to touch upon America. Across the 
 Euxine is a passage, though as yet unex- 
 plored, to Egypt and Africa ; and bountiful 
 Providence has blessed the extensive pro- 
 vinces of our empire with such gifts of 
 nature as can rarely be found as they are 
 wanted in all the four quarters of the 
 world." The measures which Catherine 
 took for the promotion of the commercial 
 interests of the empire, consisted chiefly in 
 the abolition of a number of oppressive 
 monopolies, and of the permission to her 
 people to export corn free of duty, except in 
 times of scarcity at home. 
 
 We may here mention, that the famous 
 Seven Years' War was brought to a close at 
 this time. Russia being no longer opposed 
 to Frederic, that able soldier soon repaired 
 his losses, reconquered Silesia, and inflicted 
 heavy blows ou the Austrian forces. Peace 
 
 having been concluded between England 
 and France, they paired off, and France 
 abandoned the cause of the empress-queeu, 
 as England had done that of the Prussian 
 monarch. The quarrel thus stood, as it at 
 first began, between Austria on one side, 
 and Prussia on the other. Though the 
 former country had greater means than the 
 latter, she could not hope to succeed in a 
 war unaided, which, even when supported by 
 powerful allies, she had been unable to 
 bring to a successful conclusion. Austria, 
 too, was threatened by a formidable enemy 
 in another quarter ; the standing enmity of 
 the Ottoman Porte was roused into acti- 
 vity, and 100,000 Turks were gathered on 
 the frontiers of Hungary. The bitterly-re- 
 vengeful spirit of Maria Theresa was com- 
 pelled to yield; and in the February of 
 1763, the peace of Hubertsburg terminated 
 a war which, for seven years, had devastated 
 Germany. After immense sacrifices of 
 human life and treasure, the political 
 balance of Europe remained unchanged. 
 " The whole continent in arms," observed 
 an eloquent writer, " had been unable to 
 tear Silesia from that iron grasp. Frederic 
 was safe. His glory was beyond the reach 
 of envy. If he had not made conquests as 
 vast as those of Alexander, of Caesar, and of 
 Napoleon — if he had not, on fields of battle, 
 enjoyed the constant success of Marl- 
 borough and Wellington, he had yet given 
 an example, unrivalled in history, of what 
 capacity and resolution can effect against 
 the greatest superiority of power and the 
 utmost spite of fortune." * 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 CATHERINE PLACES HER FORMER LOVER, PONIATOWSKI, ON THE THRONE OP POLAND ; CONSPIRACY OF MIRO- 
 VITCH, AND MURDER OF PRINCE IVAN ; SPECULATIONS CONCERNING THAT EVENT ; EFFORTS OF THE 
 EMPRESS FOR THE SECURITY OF HER THRONE AND THE IMPROVEMENT OF HER PEOPLE. 
 
 It was not long before Catherine had an 
 opportunity of exhibiting her power and 
 decision to the great states of Europe. 
 Augustus III., king of Poland, died on the 
 5th of October, 1763 ; and the empress of 
 Russia, who desired that the future monarch 
 of that country should be subservient to 
 
 her wishes, resolved to raise her former 
 lover, Count Poniatowski, to the vacant 
 throne. This was not agreeable to the 
 great majority of the Poles, who desired to 
 elect a Piast, one of the descendants of 
 their ancient kings. The Polish nobles, 
 • Macaulay. 
 
 261 
 
AFFAIES OF POLAND.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1764. 
 
 also, naturally indignant at the prospect of 
 being governed by a young man whose 
 birth was not illustrious, and who had not 
 those great natural gifts which enable their 
 possessors to command, as it were, by a 
 patent derived direct from nature herself, 
 viewed the proposed elevation of Count 
 Poniatowski with great aversion. What 
 services, inquired they, had he rendered 
 the country, to entitle him to so glorious a 
 reward ? 
 
 Poniatowski is described as endowed 
 rather with those qualities which are adapted 
 to conciliate the friendship of individuals, 
 than to fit him for wearing a crown. Tall, 
 well-made, of a figure at once commanding 
 and agreeable, he spoke and wrote with 
 fluency the principal languages of Europe ; 
 but he possessed only a slight knowledge of 
 those affairs with which it is necessary for a 
 statesman to be familiar. Rather weak 
 than gentle, rather prodigal than generous, 
 he might easily dazzle a thoughtless multi- 
 tude, but not persuade men of calm judg- 
 ment. He possessed more personal grace 
 than mental strength, and was better 
 adapted to mingle with the polished crowds 
 of a court than to occupy the solitary dig- 
 nity of a throne. But Catherine spared no 
 effort or political intrigue to effect his elec- 
 tion. Some one at St. Petersburg had the 
 boldness to tell her that Poniatowski was 
 not of a rank sufficiently dignified to entitle 
 him to the Polish throne, as his grandfather 
 had been steward of a little estate belong- 
 ing to the Princess Lubomirski. " Though 
 he had been so himself,^' retorted the em- 
 press, " I will have him to be king, and 
 king he shall be." She kept her word; 
 Poland was pressed upon by Russian 
 armies ; and on the 7th of June, 1764, an 
 action took place between the latter and a 
 body of Polish troops under Prince Radzivil, 
 in which, after a fierce contest, the Poles 
 were defeated. Finally, Poniatowski was 
 elected, and, on the 7th of September, pro- 
 
 * Frederic of Prussia sent a communication of this 
 kind to the Polish sovereign, which, from the sound- 
 ness of its political views, should be remembered by 
 princes and admired by their subjects. " Your ma- 
 jesty must reflect," said the great soldier-king, " that, 
 as you enjoy a crown by election and not by descent, 
 the world will be more observant of your majesty's 
 actions than of any other potentate in Europe ; and 
 it is but reasonable that it should be so. The latter 
 being the mere effect of consanguinity, no more is 
 looked for (though much more is to be wished) 
 from him than what men are endowed with in com- 
 mon. But from a man exalted by the voice of his 
 equals, from a subject to a king, from a man volun- 
 262 
 
 claimed king of Poland and grand-duke oi 
 Lithuania, under the name of Stanislaus 
 Augustus. The nobles who had opposed 
 his election now thronged to do him 
 homage, and he began his reign with as 
 much tranquillity as if he hkd not been 
 raised to the throne by unjust and violent 
 means. Europe submitted to Russian dic- 
 tation in Poland, and the new sovereign 
 received letters of congratulation from most 
 of the great continental courts.* 
 
 Prior to the conclusion of this election, 
 the empress Catherine, attended by her 
 favourite. Count Orloff, and a small retinue 
 of nobles, had started on a tour through the 
 provinces of Esthonia, Livonia, and Cour- 
 land ; and, during her absence, a tragic in- 
 cident, which is yet involved in some mys- 
 tery, occurred at the fortress of Schlussel- 
 burg, to which prison the unfortunate Prince 
 Ivan had been again conveyed. This victim 
 of his illustrious birth was the object of 
 considerable sympathy on the part of the 
 people, and of concern on that of the sove- 
 reigns who had successively occupied the 
 throne which, while an infant, he had for so 
 brief a time occupied. The empress Eliza- 
 beth once caused him to be brought in a 
 covered cart to St. Petersburg, where she 
 saw and conversed with him. On that oc- 
 casion, it is said that the graces of his figure, 
 the plaintive accents of his voice, and the 
 touching complaints he uttered, awakened 
 the sensibility of all present, and even drew 
 from the empress abundance of tears. She, 
 however, directed him to be taken back to 
 his prison, and did not soften the dreary 
 misery of his confinement. Peter III., as 
 we have already described, visited Ivan, and 
 probably contemplated restoring him to 
 liberty, and naming him as his successor. 
 Catherine also had an interview with him 
 soon after the commencement of her reign, 
 in order, according to her own statement, 
 to judge of his understanding and talents, 
 and to procure him an agreeable and quiet 
 
 tarily elected to reign over those by whom he was 
 chosen, everything is expected that can possibly de- 
 serve and adorn a crown. Gratitude to his people is 
 the first great duty of such a monarch ; for to them 
 alone (under Providence) he is indebted that he is 
 one. A king who is so by birth, if he acts in a man- 
 ner derogatory to his station, is a satire only on him- 
 self; but an elected one, who behaves inconsistently 
 with his dignity, reflects dishonour also on his sub- 
 jects. Your majesty, I am sure, will pardon this 
 warmth. It is the effusion of the sincerest regard. 
 The amiable part of the picture is not so much a 
 lesson of what you ought to be, as a prophecy of 
 what your majesty will be." 
 
A.D. 1764.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [conspiracy of mirovitch. 
 
 situation, suitable to his character and the 
 education he had received. To her great 
 surprise, she said, she found him suffering 
 from an impediment of utterance which 
 rendered his discourse almost unintelligible, 
 and a total privation of sense and reason. 
 He was unable to read, knew no one, and 
 could not distinguish between right and 
 wrong. The empress, therefore, felt com- 
 pelled to leave him where she found him, 
 with an order that he should be supplied 
 with all the comforts and conveniences that 
 his melancholy situation would admit of. 
 
 This statement has been suspected of un- 
 truth, and as being merely made in accord- 
 ance with a policy attributed to Catherine 
 of calumniating the unfortunate object who 
 had a claim to the throne on which she sat. 
 Certain it is, that the Russian court circu- 
 lated many doubtful stories about the un- 
 happy prince. At one time it was given 
 cut that he was stupid, and incapable of 
 uttering articulate sounds ; at another, that 
 he was a drunkard, and as ferocious as a 
 savage ; then it was rumoured that he was 
 subject to fits of madness, and supposed 
 himself to be inspired. But these reports 
 were not generally believed, and the dis- 
 contented regarded them as the result of a 
 malignant policy. Almost all the numerous 
 conspiracies which, in the early reign of 
 Catherine, constantly threatened her over- 
 throw, had for their object the restoration 
 of this unfortunate captive to the throne. 
 It was for his sake that men who had never 
 seen him, and whose very existence was 
 utterly unknown to him, were continually 
 braving the scaffold. That Ivan was igno- 
 rant is certain, from the way in which he 
 was brought up in a fortress, confined with- 
 out any means of obtaining even the most 
 simple education; but it does not appear 
 that he was either mad or simple ; and, in- 
 deed, the conversation he held with Peter III. 
 would exonerate him from the latter asper- 
 sion. 
 
 Catherine certainly had an interest in 
 the death of the imprisoned Ivan ; and she 
 is suspected, though perhaps wrongfully, of 
 promoting the incident we are about to 
 relate, which led to it under very painful 
 circumstances. The regiment of Smolensk 
 was stationed in the town of Schlusselburg, 
 and a company of about one hundred men 
 guarded the fortress in which Ivan was con- 
 fined. In this regiment was a young officer, 
 named Vassili Mirovitch, whose grandfather 
 had been implicated in the rebellion of the 
 
 Cossack chief Mazeppa, and had fought 
 under Charles XII. against Peter the Great, 
 at Pultowa. The estates of the family of 
 Mirovitch had, therefore, been forfeited to 
 the crown, and the young soldier had fre- 
 quently urged his pretensions to have them 
 restored. In answer to his application, 
 hopes were held out to him that the estates 
 might probably be restored, if he loould 
 show himself active in securing the tranquil- 
 lity of the empire. The answer leads to the 
 suspicion, that the services required from 
 him were the adoption of some means for 
 the assassination of Prince Ivan in such a 
 manner as would not implicate the em- 
 press and her government. In what other 
 way could a subaltern officer promote the 
 security of the Russian empire ? 
 
 We have nothing but surmises to guide 
 us in this matter; but Mirovitch was soon 
 engaged in a mad attempt to set the prince 
 at liberty. Whether the ease with which 
 the late revolution had been accomplished, 
 induced him to suppose that the work ot 
 dethroning a sovereign was one of but little 
 difficulty, and to lead him to seek for for- 
 tune in the convulsion of an empire; or 
 whether, on the other hand, his attempt to 
 deliver the prince was a mockery, in collu- 
 sion with the emissaries of the empress, 
 for the purpose of bringing about the death 
 of the unhappy Ivan, is more than can be 
 conclusively established. 
 
 Two oflacers, Captain Vlassieff and Lieu- 
 tenant Tschekin, slept with the imprisoned 
 Ivan in his cell. These men were in pos- 
 session of a discretionary order, signed by 
 the empress, by which they were enjoined 
 to put the imperial captive to instant death 
 on any insurrection that might be made in 
 his favour, supposing that it could not be 
 suppressed in any other way. 
 
 The door of Ivan's prison opened into a 
 sort of low arcade, which, together with it, 
 formed the thickness of the castle wall 
 within the ramparts, and in this arcade 
 eight soldiers usually kept guard ; the others 
 were in the guard-house, or at their re- 
 spective stations. This little force within 
 the fortress was commanded by an officer ot 
 the regiment, who was changed every week. 
 Whatever may have been the exciting cause, 
 it is certaiu that Mirovitch contemplated a 
 conspiracy for the release of the prince, or, 
 at least, for enabling him to obtain posses- 
 sion of the person of the royal captive. 
 Under the influence of irresolution, he had 
 allowed his period of duty to pass without 
 
 263 
 
MURDER OF PRINCE IVAN.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1764. 
 
 making the attempt he contemplated. 
 Under these circumstances, he solicited and 
 obtained permission to remain on guard for 
 one week longer. Feeling that he must 
 make instant use of the time allotted him, 
 he admitted one Jacob Pishkoff into his 
 confidence, and then began to tamper with 
 three corporals and two common soldiers. 
 These men also were won to his purpose, 
 and, between one and two in the morning, 
 they assembled again, and induced about 
 forty of the soldiers on guard to join them 
 in their desperate purpose. 
 
 Mirovitch then led them at once towards 
 the prison of Prince Ivan. BeredinkofF, 
 the governor of the fortress, roused from 
 his sleep by their noise, suddenly made his 
 appearance, and authoritatively demanded 
 of Mirovitch the reason of his appearing in 
 arms at the head of the soldiers ? Mirovitch, 
 without answering a word, knocked hiin 
 down with the butt- end of his firelock, 
 and giving directions to some of the men 
 to secure him, continued his march. Ar- 
 rived at the corridor into which the door of 
 Prince Ivan^s chamber opened, he attacked 
 the eight soldiers who guarded that avenue. 
 These men drove him back, on which he 
 ordered his followers to fire upon them. 
 The guard returned the fire, and though, 
 strange to relate, no one was killed or 
 wounded on either side, yet the conspirators 
 retired in dismay. Mirovitch endeavoured 
 to bring them again to the attack, but they 
 hesitated, and insisted on seeing the order 
 which he said he had received from St. Pe- 
 tersburg, authorising his conduct. The 
 schemer was provided for this emergency, 
 and he immediately took from his pocket 
 and read to them a forged decree of the 
 senate, recalling Prince Ivan to the throne, 
 and excluding Catherine from it, because, 
 it averred, she was gone into Livonia to 
 marry Count Poniatowski. The simple sol- 
 diers were deceived, and, falling into order, 
 prepared to resume their attempt to gain 
 possession of the prince. To render oppo- 
 sition useless, and to cause the inmates of 
 the cell to open the door, Mirovitch caused 
 a piece of artillery, which had been brought 
 from the ramparts, to be planted against it. 
 Having threatened to batter down the door, 
 it was thrown open, and Mirovitch and his 
 followers entered without opposition. The 
 sight that met their gaze was the bleeding 
 and lifeless body of the prince, on whose 
 pallid face the convulsive struggles of a 
 violent death yet lingered. By the corpse 
 264 
 
 stood the two officers who had slept in the 
 cell of the unfortunate young man, and 
 who, from his companions, had become his 
 butchers. 
 
 These men had, in the first instance, 
 called out to the sentinels to fire; but when 
 they heard the cannon placed against the 
 door, and preparations made for its dis- 
 charge, they held it impossible to resist the 
 force opposed to them, which was greatly 
 magnified by their fears. Conscious that 
 the peace of the empire would be endangered 
 by the liberation of their prisoner, and fear- 
 ful of the punishment they might incur iu 
 the event of their charge being wrested 
 from them, they held a hurried consulta- 
 tion, and came to the conclusion that their 
 duty required from them the performance 
 of the conditional command they had sworn 
 to execute — that of putting the wretched 
 captive to death. The prince had been 
 awakened by the report of the fire-arms; 
 and hearing the shouts of the assailants 
 without, and the threats of the officers 
 within his cell, he implored the latter to 
 spare his miserable life. Regardless ot 
 these entreaties, they proceeded to execute 
 their horrible design; but Ivan, though 
 unarmed and in his night-dress, fought 
 with his murderers with the strength of 
 despair. In a short time his right hand 
 was pierced through, and he had received 
 several wounds. Still he grasped the sword 
 of one of the assassins, and broke it; but, 
 at that moment, the other stabbed him from 
 behind, and threw him down. There the 
 ruffian whose sword he had broken, plunged 
 a bayonet several times into his body, and 
 the wretched prince soon expired. 
 
 It was at this moment that they opened 
 the door, and showed Mirovitch the new- 
 made corpse, and the order by which they 
 were authorised to perpetrate the fright- 
 ful deed they had just committed, in the 
 event of any attempt being made to 
 liberate their captive. Mirovitch appeared 
 struck with horror, and throwing himself 
 upon the body, exclaimed, ** I have missed 
 my aim ; I have now nothing to do but to 
 die." He made no attempt to escape, or to 
 avenge the fate of the prince by ordering 
 his followers to shoot the murderers; but, 
 on rising, he went passively to the spot 
 where he had left the governor in the hands 
 of the soldiers, and surrendering him his 
 sword, coolly observed, " It is now I that am 
 your prisoner." 
 
 The following day the corpse of the ill- 
 
A.D, 1764] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [punishment of mirovjtch. 
 
 fated Ivan was exposed before a timber 
 church within the castle, and the people 
 admitted to see it. Enormous crowds came 
 for that purpose from the neiglibouring 
 towns, and even from St. Petersburg. On 
 beholding the mangled body, their ex- 
 pressions of grief and indignation were un- 
 bounded. Ivan was full six feet in height, 
 and was finely formed. His features were 
 regular, and his complexion extremely fair; 
 he had very light hair, and a red beard. 
 The partial absence of colour from his face 
 and hair, was no doubt the result of his 
 having lived the greater part of his life 
 where he never beheld the natural light of 
 day, or felt the cheering rays of the sun. 
 At the time when his gloomy life was ter- 
 minated by the hands of assassins, he had 
 not completed his twenty-fourth year. The 
 body of the ill-starred captive, who in his 
 babyhood had sat upon the imperial throne 
 of the most powerful empire in Europe, was 
 wrapped up in a sheepskin, and buried 
 without ceremony. Vlassieff and Tschekin, 
 the murderers, were compelled, in conse- 
 quence of the murmurs of the people, to 
 hurry on board a vessel then about to start 
 for Denmark, where, on their arrival, they 
 were taken into the protection of tlie Rus- 
 sian minister. Shortly afterwards they re- 
 turned, and were rewarded by promotion 
 for their sanguinary fidelity to the empress. 
 The governor of Schlusselburg sent an 
 account of the catastrophe to St. Peters- 
 burg, together with a manifesto discovered 
 on the person of Mirovitch, which con- 
 tained many scurrilous invectives against 
 Catherine, and represented Prince Ivan as 
 the sole legitimate emperor; and was to 
 have been published at the moment when 
 the priuce, having been set at liberty, was 
 making a public entry into St. Petersburg. 
 A courier was immediately dispatched by 
 Count Panin to the empress, who was 
 then at Riga; suffering, it was observed, 
 under a visible impatience, and frequently 
 inquiring for news. So great was her 
 irritability and disquietude, that she oc- 
 casionally rose in the night to ask whether 
 any courier had arrived. These circum- 
 stances were remembered to her disadvan- 
 tage by those who suspected that the con- 
 spiracy of Mirovitch was originally insti- 
 gated by her or her ministers ; but it must 
 be remembered that her agitation was by 
 no means unnatural, when we consider that 
 
 • The Princess Daschkaw, always the apologist of 
 Catherine, thus endeavours to clear the character of 
 2 M 
 
 she had for some time been suffering from 
 apprehensions of the conspiracies which, she 
 had reason to believe, were ever fermenting 
 around her. 
 
 Catherine published a long manifesto, in 
 which she gave an account of the affair, and 
 commended the conduct of the assassins 
 " who had nipped this rebellion in the bud." 
 The trial of Mirovitch and his confederates 
 she referred to the senate, in conjunction 
 with the synod and the presidents of the 
 colleges. It was conducted with great for- 
 mality; but the conspirator himself pre- 
 served a calm and easy air. He even 
 replied in a frivolous and sometimes insolent 
 manner to the questions which were put to 
 him, as if, it has been urged, he knew the 
 trial to be a mockery, and felt secure of a 
 pardon whatever might be the verdict. If 
 such was the case — if he had really acted in 
 collusion with the government, he Avas now 
 cruelly deceived. Sentence of death was 
 passed upon him as a disturber of the public 
 peace. He received it unmoved, and even 
 walked with indifference to the scaffold. 
 Probably his demeanour was the result of a 
 contempt of life, since all his attempts to 
 advance himself had been failures ; but if he 
 had been the instrument of a barbarous 
 policy, he was now its victim. So far from 
 any pardon being extended to him, the time 
 fixed for his execution was accelerated. 
 Indeed, if the empress was guilty of a com- 
 plicity with Mirovitch, how could she have 
 shielded him from punishment without 
 drawing upon herself the charge of having 
 prompted his crime ? Besides this, she would 
 have preserved a dangerous witness, who 
 might have proved extremely troublesome. 
 
 Public opinion was much divided on this 
 matter ; and on the return of the empress 
 to St. Petersburg, many persons endea- 
 voured, by watching her countenance, to 
 discover if they could read in it any confir- 
 mation of their suspicions. In this they 
 were disappointed. Catherine, always mis- 
 tress of herself, wore a face of smiles, and 
 had a demeanour as serene, and a step as 
 firm, as those whose minds knew no care, 
 and whose hearts were unoppressed by guilt. 
 There is, indeed, just room to hope that the 
 empress was not implicated in the crime of 
 Mirovitch; but, on the other hand, there 
 are heavy reasons for suspicions against 
 her.* Though Mirovitch was the only 
 person put to death in consequence of this 
 
 her imperial mistress. We append her observations 
 from a sense of justice to the empress, whose great 
 
 265 
 
PRUDENCE OF CATHERIN*E.] 
 
 HISTORY 0¥ THE 
 
 [a.d. 1764. 
 
 conspiracy, no less than fifty-eight were 
 punished, and some of them with great 
 severity. PishkoflF, as the most guilty, was 
 sentenced to run the gauntlet twelve times 
 through a line of a thousand men. The 
 three corporals and the two soldiers, who 
 were the next seduced by Mirovitch, were 
 each flogged ten times, and then con- 
 demned to labour at the public works. 
 The rest were whipped through the ranks, 
 and sent into distant garrisons. This 
 severity was calculated to obviate the sus- 
 picions that were entertained concerning 
 the existence of any eminent participators 
 in their crime. 
 
 Whether or not Catherine or her minis- 
 ters were implicated in the events which 
 terminated in the murder of Prince Ivan, 
 the stability of her throne was established 
 by that dismal event. Under her rule the 
 empire was gradually becoming more Euro- 
 pean in its nature, more polished in its 
 population, and more developed with respect 
 to its resources. It was observed by one 
 of her biographers, that she had not only the 
 supreme authority which in Russia was the 
 source of the law, but also the judgment 
 which knew when to show that authority, 
 and how to employ it. Few monarchs 
 understood so well the art of being bounti- 
 ful at the most fitting time, and of making 
 presents with such significance as to fix the 
 gratitude of the receiver, and elicit the 
 sense of affectionate loyalty which is com- 
 monly acquired by beneficent princes. 
 "While Catherine," observes her biogra- 
 pher Tooke, "was giving law to Poland, 
 amusing Austria, conciliating the friendship 
 of Prussia, and treating with England, she 
 was also tampering with the other courts of 
 Europe, and labouring efficaciously towards 
 very soon making herself dreaded by them. 
 She exerted herself to the utmost in giving 
 new spirit to the commerce of her country, 
 in augmenting her navy, and, above all, in 
 softening the manners of her people, as yet 
 not far advanced in civilisation. But, badly 
 
 talents as a sovereign must ever act in modifying 
 our censure of her offences. "It has been said, and 
 affected to be believed in several countries of Europe, 
 that this whole affair was neither more nor less than 
 a horrible intrigue on the part of the empress, who 
 had gained over Mirovitch to act the part he did, 
 I and had afterwards sacrificed him. During my 
 j travels, in 1770, I frequently introduced in conver- 
 ; sation the subject of this conspiracy, in order to ex- 
 culpate Catherine from the twofold wickedness of 
 such a charge. I everywhere found, that nations, 
 viewing with a jealous eye the growing preponderance 
 
 266 
 
 seconded by the great personages of the em- 
 pire, and even by such as were about her, the 
 progress of her institutions was at first but 
 slow. The spirit of division continued to 
 reign in St. Petersburg. The outrages that 
 weretobe prevented or punished, always made 
 it necessary for Catherine to keep well with 
 the conspirators to whom she was indebted 
 for the throne. But the favours she was 
 incessantly heaping on that greedy and in- 
 solent crew, were so many additional sources 
 of hatred and discontent. Some new plot 
 or conspiracy was forming every day ; and 
 every day the good fortune of the empress, 
 or rather her prudence, delivered her from 
 danger. Punishments were secret and ter- 
 rible. The authors of one plot could but 
 rarely undertake a second." 
 
 Dissensions existed between Catherine's 
 chief minister, Count Panin, and her favourite, 
 Prince Gregory Orloff. The latter, con- 
 sidering himself permanently established in 
 the favour of the empress, was regardless of 
 those assiduities by which he had won it, 
 and even neglectful of his attendance at 
 court, from which he would absent himself 
 for several weeks at a time, engaged in 
 the pleasures of the chase. The astute 
 Panin, therefore, with the view of depriving 
 OrlofF of the favour of his imperial mistress, 
 placed near her a young officer, named 
 Vissenski, whom he had observed her re- 
 gard Avith apparent interest. Vissenski was 
 admitted by the empress into her favour, 
 and Panin trusted that Orloff would soon 
 be discarded. But the latter, hearing what 
 was going forward, suddenly appeared at 
 court, and became so assiduous in his 
 attentions to the empress, that the latter 
 felt her cooling affections for him revive ; 
 and the new favourite was loaded with bril- 
 liant presents, and dismissed to an employ- 
 ment that settled him in a province remote 
 from the capital. 
 
 Catherine employed many means for the 
 detection of the conspiracies which con- 
 tinually disturbed her repose, and for ascer- 
 
 of Russia, made it a common interest to establish 
 into truth, as a sort of political equipoise, every 
 calumny against its active and enlightened sovereign. 
 I remember, when speaking of this subject at Paris, 
 expressing my astonishment, as I had before done, 
 to M. and Madame Necker, at Spa, that a nation 
 like the French, which had had a Cardinal Mazarin 
 for its minister, should puzzle itself by accounting 
 for such an action in such a manner, when their own 
 annals must have so readily suggested the efficacious 
 expedient of a well-mixed cup, for arranging these 
 matters with greater secrecy and expedition." 
 
A.D. 1764.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [liberality of Catherine. 
 
 taining the names of those who were dis- 
 affected to her government. For this pur- 
 pose she intercepted the correspondence of 
 the foreiga ministers ; and unsuccessful 
 insurrection thus increased the vigilance of 
 despotism, and called into being a dan- 
 gerous system of espionage. She succeeded 
 in purchasing the letters of the French 
 charge d'affaires, and also in obtaining a 
 copy of his key to those written in a secret 
 cipher. In this correspondence she fan- 
 cied she detected a knowledge of, if not a 
 participation in, the traitorous schemes 
 which existed around her. This increased 
 her aversion to the court of Versailles, and 
 caused her to treat the French minister 
 Yrith so marked a coldness, that he deemed 
 it expedient to return to his native country. 
 Louis XV. replaced him by the Marquis de 
 Beausset, who arrived in St. Petersburg, 
 and was presented to the empress on the 
 1st of May, 1765. 
 
 This gentleman was unable to conciliate 
 the favour of Catherine, whom he presumed 
 to be actuated by a jealousy of the glory of 
 the French nation. Some such feeling pro- 
 bably existed ; but the coldness of the em- 
 press appears to have arisen from a sense 
 that the French government, and all per- 
 sons appointed by it, were inimical to her 
 
 interests, and ready to encourage any in- 
 surrection which might shake or overturn 
 her throne. As to the French nation, she 
 held it in esteem, and greatly admired the 
 distinguished authors who graced its litera- 
 ture. She corresponded with Voltaire and 
 D'Alembert, and solicited the latter to ac- 
 cept the situation of governor to her son 
 the Grand-duke Paul. She offered the phi- 
 losopher a salary of 24,000 livres a-year, 
 and every convenience for finishing the En- 
 cyclopedic at St, Petersburg, D'Alembert 
 declined, and Catherine wrote him a kindly 
 letter, in which she endeavoured to win him 
 to a reconsideration of his decision. Learn- 
 ing that the affairs of Diderot were not pros- 
 perous, and that he wished to sell his library 
 to provide for his daughter, she generously 
 purchased it, left it in his own possession, 
 and bestowed on him a handsome income as 
 her guardian of it. To the famous surgeon, 
 Morand, she sent a collection of gold and 
 silver medals which had been struck in 
 Russia, as a token of her satisfaction with 
 the anatomical subjects and surgical instru- 
 ments he had procured for her. Indeed, 
 almost all the distinguished men of letters, 
 and artists of Paris, received some proofs of 
 her princely, and it must be added politic, 
 munificence. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 INTERFERENCE OF THE EMPRESS WITH THE AFFAIRS OF POLAND ; SHE ASSUMES THE PROTECTION OF THE 
 DISSIDENTS, AND THE CATHOLIC POLES SEEK AID FROM TURKEY ; CATHERINE EXCLUDES THE ENGLISH 
 MINISTER FROM HER COURT, IN CONSEQUENCE OF AN AFFAIR OF GALLANTRY ; TOURNAMENTS AND FESTI- 
 VITIES AT ST. PETERSBURG ; CATHERINE'S LEGAL REFORMS AND ATTEMPT TO REGENERATE THE LEGISLA- 
 TURE OF THE EMPIRE; ASSEMBLY OF DEPUTIES FOR THE PURPOSE AT MOSCOW; HER FAMOUS INSTRUC- 
 TIONS FOR THE FORMATION OF A NEW CODE OF LAWS ; THE DEPUTIES VOTE HER THE TITLES OF GREAT, 
 WISE, PRUDENT, AND MOTHER OF THE COUNTRY ; SHE NARROWLY ESCAPES ASSASSINATION ; HER ASSI- 
 DUITY IN THE PROMOTION OF THE SCIENCES ; SHE INTRODUCES THE PRACTICE OF INOCULATION INTO 
 RUSSIA. 
 
 Catherine did not place her former lover, 
 Count Poniatowski, on the throne of Poland 
 in consequence of any affection she enter- 
 tained towards him. She was actuated 
 by a motive which, at the time, she did not 
 think it prudent to reveal. The empress of 
 Russia, rather than the king of Poland, was 
 the actual ruler of that country. But this 
 was not all ; and Catherine now put forward 
 pretensions of a kind she knew could only 
 
 be enforced by the power of the sword. She 
 altered on the map the boundary line be- 
 tween Russia and Poland, and insisted that 
 the limits of the two countries should be so 
 fixed according to her dictation. She also 
 demanded that Poland should contract with 
 her a treaty of alliance, offensive and defen- 
 sive, and that all who did not profess the 
 Jloman form of Christianity should enjoy 
 the same rights with those who did. The 
 
 267 
 
AFFAERS OF POL.\IST).] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.i). 1765. 
 
 Poles had adopted the Christian religion, 
 according to the church of Rome, between 
 the ninth and tenth centuries ; and as men 
 were then governed much more by forms 
 than principles, and accepted the new mode 
 of worship without much inquiry, a uni- 
 formity of opinion, or rather of faith, pre- 
 vailed. But, in the course of time, many 
 neighbouring states, either by conquest, by 
 right of succession, or by marriage, became 
 united to the kingdom of Poland. These 
 new provinces, in which the prevailing reli- 
 gion was chiefly that of the Greek church, 
 were upon an exact equality with the old in 
 every respect, and each was protected in the 
 observance of its own mode of worship. So 
 late as the commencement of the fifteenth 
 century, it was thought a happiness peculiar 
 to Poland, that, while other countries have 
 at different times been distracted by intes- 
 tine feuds and rancour arising from diversity 
 of religion, yet that the great variety of 
 opinions on that subject never produced 
 any strife or animosity among this nation. 
 Under these favourable circumstances, it 
 might be anticipated that, after the Reforma- 
 tion, protestantism would make rapid ad- 
 vances in Poland. In the year 1563, Sigis- 
 mund Augustus passed a law, by which all 
 sects, whether protestant, Greek, or Arian, 
 were permitted the full enjoyment of exer- 
 cising their worship, together with the right 
 of voting in the diets, and of holding the 
 same offices as the catholics. No one was 
 offended by this noble act of justice and 
 wisdom; indeed, so amicable a spirit existed, 
 that all men were glad to see that the differ- 
 ence of religion produced none in the poli- 
 tical and civil rights of the several members 
 of the community. As a mark of distinction, 
 the followers of the different modes of reli- 
 gion were called Dissidents, a term which, 
 though afterwards unhappilj'' converted into 
 a signal for proscription, did not then convey 
 any injurious imputation. 
 
 In the course of time the Roman catholics 
 of Poland acquired the ascendancy, and, 
 breaking through the law to which we have 
 alluded, robbed the Dissidents of the rights 
 to which they were entitled by it. The 
 Romanists first persecuted the Arians, and di- 
 vested them of all their privileges — a process 
 which the Greek and protestant Christian 
 beheld with great complacency. Their want 
 of charity and co-operation was a fatal error. 
 As might have been foreseen, they were next 
 attacked; and, in 1733, the Romanists suc- 
 ceeded in entirelv excluding them from the' 
 268 
 
 diets, and even deprived them of the natural 
 privilege of building any new churches. 
 Thus pressed, many of the Dissidents re- 
 turned to the church of Rome; but those 
 who retained their principles, cherished them 
 the more dearly on this very account. They 
 referred to the treaty of Oliva, of which so 
 many monarchs were the guarantees, as 
 securing them the rights of which they had 
 been despoiled. In consequence of this the 
 diet, then composed only of catholics, passed 
 a decree, attaching the guilt of high treason 
 to such Dissidents as should have recourse 
 to foreign powers for obtaining the execution 
 of the infringed treaty, and the re-establish- 
 meut of the law so despotically repealed. 
 
 This produced a reaction, and the Dissi- 
 dents were furious. Those of the Greek 
 church at once sought the protection of the 
 court of St, Petersburg, while the protest- 
 ants entreated the interference of England, 
 Denmark, and Prussia. The sovereigns of 
 the latter countries promised their support 
 — a circumstance which Catherine and her 
 ministers regarded as a suflBcient pretext for 
 the military interference of Russia. Such 
 was the state of affairs at the close of the 
 year 1765. 
 
 When the Polish diet assembled in the 
 autumn of 1766, the ministers of the pro- 
 tecting courts presented their memorials on 
 behalf of the Dissidents. This proceeding 
 produced much dissatisfaction, and the 
 catholic bishops were extremely violent. 
 Saltyk, the bishop of Cracow, not satisfied 
 with the iniquitous law passed against the 
 Dissidents, proposed that new ones of a 
 more severe character should be adopted. 
 His example was followed by others among 
 the Romanist priesthood and nobles : violent 
 clamours took place ; and, despite the pi'otest 
 of a few enlightened members, the recent 
 intolerant enactments against the Dissidents 
 were confirmed. 
 
 In the meantime a Russian army, under 
 the command of Prince Repnin, had entered 
 Poland, and advanced to the very gates of 
 Warsaw. The Russian general then de- 
 manded, in the name of the empress, not 
 only a toleration secured by law in behalf 
 of the Dissidents, but a complete political 
 equality with the catholic party. This the 
 latter furiously rejected ; and the Dissidents 
 formed themselves, under the Russian pro- 
 tection, into a confederation, for the pur- 
 pose of securing by force what they could 
 not obtain by reason. Romanist tyranny 
 thus led to a servile war, which soon raged 
 
A.D. 1766.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [affairs of POLAND. 
 
 in all its horrors, and additional bodies of 
 Russian troops were constantly entering the 
 Polish territories. King Stanislaus Augustus 
 assembled a diet-extraordinary, with the 
 hope of pacifying the contending parties. 
 His object was frustrated by the violence of 
 the Bishop of Cracow and his adherents, 
 who made speeches utterly in defiance of 
 reason and of prudence. Prince Repnin, 
 who had now quite invested the city of 
 Warsaw, caused the bishops of Cracow and 
 of Kief, and several of the most violent 
 catholic nobles, to be seized and hurried off 
 to Siberia. He offered the confederated 
 Dissidents an excuse for this outrage, by 
 assuring them that he had only violated 
 the liberty of the Poles for the benefit of 
 Poland; and when the king, at the instiga- 
 tion of the diet, desired the release of the 
 prisoners, Repnin treated the application 
 with disdain; nor were these offensively in- 
 tolerant persons permitted to return from 
 their exile in the deserts of Siberia, until 
 the lapse of a period of six years. 
 
 The diet was overawed, and adopted a 
 more moderate tone. It even appointed a 
 committee for settling the rights of the 
 Dissidents, in concert with the ministers of 
 the courts which had undertaken the advo- 
 cacy of their cause. Prince Repnin, in 
 consequence of the powerful army he had at 
 hand, ruled almost absolutely at Warsaw, 
 and the Dissidents obtained whatever the 
 Russian ambassador demanded in their 
 behalf. The ancient law, enforcing not 
 only toleration, but equal political rights, 
 for those who professed other than the 
 Roman form of Christianity, was restored; 
 and other enactments, still more favourable 
 to the Dissidents, were passed. This was 
 but justice ; but it was a notorious calamity, 
 that such a result was brought about by the 
 armed interference of Russia. Roman in- 
 tolerance gave a plausible pretext for that 
 foreign dictation which eventually led to 
 the extinction of Poland as a nation. More- 
 over, a number of regulations were enforced 
 by the orders of the empress Catherine, 
 which tended to promote the troubles and 
 anarchy of that distracted country, and to 
 leave it without defence against the usurpa- 
 tions she contemplated. 
 
 The catholic nobles, tliough intimidated 
 for a time, soon raised a loud outcry against 
 the Dissidents ; formed themselves into con- 
 federations for the defence of the Roman 
 religion; and even solicited, and obtained, 
 the protection of the Turks ! As to the 
 
 king whom Catherine had placed upon the 
 Polish throne, he was altogether powerless, 
 and resided at Warsaw more like a pri- 
 soner than a prince. The courts of Europe 
 regarded the conduct of the Russian empress 
 with amazement ; but she addressed herself 
 with consummate art to the task of dis- 
 arming any opposition they might be dis- 
 posed to give. She was sure of Frederic of 
 Prussia; for she knew that he desired 
 nothing better than to share with her the 
 provinces of Poland. Sweden she kept 
 quiet by her intrigues ; while she humoured 
 Denmark by holding out to it a hope of the 
 cession of Holstein. England she flattered 
 by a favourable treaty of alliance and com- 
 merce; while France alone seems to have 
 refused to be blinded as to her secret views. 
 The court of that country, in order to defeat 
 the projects of Russia by dissipating its 
 means, addressed itself to the design of 
 involving the empress in a war with Turkey. 
 The French ambassador at Constantinople 
 represented to the Porte, how unjust and 
 dangerous it was that Russia should dare to 
 violate the rights of the Poles, and invade 
 their territory. He assured the Moslem 
 cabinet that the demarcation of the limits 
 exacted by the court of St. Petersburg, 
 would be attended with consequences fatal 
 to the security of the Euxine ; and he ad- 
 vised them resolutely to oppose it. The 
 Turkish minister, therefore, sent a note to 
 the king of Poland, requesting that the 
 regulation of the limits might be suspended 
 till some explanations should be given the 
 sultan of a nature to remove his alarms 
 concerning the danger with which the ces- 
 sion of the Polish territory threatened the 
 Ottoman empire. Stanislaus Augustus, fear- 
 ful of offending Catherine, and most soli- 
 citous of regaining her friendship, answered 
 that there was not the least proposal for 
 altering the limits between Russia and 
 Poland. The Porte having received this 
 assurance, returned for a time to its cus- 
 tomary apathy. " Notwithstanding which," 
 observes a modern historical writer, " the 
 great empires of Russia and Turkey — the 
 most powerful in Asia as well as in Europe — 
 were soon to be engaged in a bloody conflict. 
 Religion had entered into the quarrel, and 
 added to its bitterness. The miserable 
 country of Poland was the theatre of a 
 contention not more destructive in its con- 
 sequences than singular in its causes and 
 pretexts. The despotic power of Russia 
 became the guardian of Polish freedom ; 
 
 269 
 
REFORMS OF THE EMPRESS.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1767. 
 
 and the catholic religion fled for protection 
 to the standard of Mohammed/' 
 
 The favourable treaty of alliance and 
 commerce into which the court of Russia 
 entered with that of England, was concluded 
 in the December of 1767. Yet, notwith- 
 standing the partiality which the empress 
 displayed towards this country, she was 
 induced to exclude the British minister for 
 some time from her court. This was in 
 consequence of an affair of gallantry be- 
 tween him and one of the maids of honour, 
 which became so public, that Catherine 
 deemed it requisite to interfere. She there- 
 fore dismissed the offending lady, and pro- 
 hibited the presence of the ambassador. It 
 might be supposed that a consciousness of 
 her own frailties would induce the empress 
 to regard deviations from the path of a 
 stera chastity with feelings of peculiar 
 leniency. Such, however, was not always 
 the case; and she occasionally assumed, 
 even in the presence of those who best 
 knew her, as great an appearance of aus- 
 terity in manners as of attachment to reli- 
 gion. On one occasion, when two ladies of 
 her court were, at a masquerade, talking 
 loudly concerning one of their admirers, 
 the empress went up to them, and com- 
 manded them to leave the ball-room, since 
 they knew no better than to pay so little 
 regard to decorum. 
 
 During the winter of 1767, Catherine 
 endeavoured to divert the disaffection which 
 yet existed, by the excitement of public 
 festivities. A spacious amphitheatre was 
 erected at St. Petersburg, and several tour- 
 naments took place, in imitation of those 
 common in the civilised countries of Europe 
 during the middle ages. On these occa- 
 sions the ladies of the court jousted as well 
 as the chevaliers ; and all, both ladies and 
 knights, wore upon their gorgeous dresses 
 of silk or velvet, a profusion of gold and 
 silver, pearls, and other precious stones. 
 The entertainments lasted during several 
 days ; and then the company, amounting to 
 several hundred persons, sat down to a 
 splendid supper, the dessert at the con- 
 chision of which represented the circus in 
 which the carousal had taken place. At 
 night the imperial summer gardens were 
 illuminated, and the walks lighted with 
 numerous arches of lamps burning with 
 naphtha, radiant temples, and illuminated 
 fountains. The pyrotechnic art lent its aid 
 to the display, and the festival terminated 
 with a masquerade in the gardens. 
 270 
 
 Catherine had a purpose in this gorgeous 
 trifling, which did not draw her attention 
 from the solid duties of her exalted station. 
 She was incessantly occupied in the erec- 
 tion of useful institutions, and the pro- 
 motion of those reforms which most soft- 
 ened the manners of her subjects. Ever 
 prepared to crush conspiracy, and active to 
 conciliate disaffection, she yet aimed at 
 dazzling the judgment of mankind, and 
 taking captive their admiration. The crude 
 state of the laws of the Russian empire had 
 for some time been notorious ; and previous 
 sovereigns had directed their attention to 
 the subject. Though absurdly voluminous, 
 they were yet found insufficient in practice, 
 extremely perplexing, and containing many 
 contradictions. In addition to this, they 
 were so loaded with precedents, reports, 
 cases, and opinions, that they produced 
 constant altercations, and could scarcely be 
 reconciled or understood by the very pro- 
 fessors of them. 
 
 The empress resolved, by one great legis- 
 lative act, to re-create the laws of the 
 country in such a manner that they should 
 be impregnated with the spirit of justice 
 and clemency. The senate and the col- 
 leges she formed into separate departments, 
 each of which was to address itself to one 
 sort of business only, by which the latter 
 was executed with more dispatch, and fewer 
 opportunities given for artifice and venality. 
 To obviate the well-known dishonesty of 
 the judges, she augmented the emoluments 
 of their offices, openly observing, in the 
 ukase she published on the occasion — " In- 
 digence may, perhaps, hitherto have given 
 you a propensity to self-interest ; but now 
 the country itself rewards your labours: 
 and, therefore, what might heretofore have 
 been pardonable, will henceforward be cri- 
 minal.^' Besides increasing the salaries of 
 the judges, the empress made some, though 
 an insufficient, provision for them, when 
 that period of life should arrive at which 
 increasing infirmities dictated their retire- 
 ment from active duties. 
 
 These were merely preliminary matters; 
 and Catherine now aimed at the glory of 
 giving a new, and, as far as circumstances 
 would permit, perfect code of laws to the 
 empire. With this object she commanded 
 all the provinces of Russia, even the most 
 remote and barbarous, to send deputies to 
 Moscow, competent to represent their ideas 
 as to the laws most fitted for their respective 
 conditions. The empress then proceeded to 
 
A.D. 1768.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [Catherine's instructions. 
 
 that ancient city, to welcome this novel 
 convention. The assembled deputies repre- 
 sented many nations and tribes, and differed 
 from each other widely in manners, in dress, 
 and in language. It might be supposed that 
 so heterogeneous an assembly — the greater 
 part of which had never even thought about 
 laws, much less the responsible task of con- 
 structing them-'— would merely listen to their 
 instructions, and obey them. Such, we may 
 not unfairly assume, was the intention of 
 the empress; and her object in convening 
 the assembly was to give at least the appear- 
 ance of a popular sanction to what, in reality, 
 she designed to be her own act. 
 
 When the deputies were assembled in 
 the hall appointed for their deliberations, 
 the business was commenced by the public 
 reading of a work written, or rather com- 
 piled, by the empress herself, and entitled, 
 Instructions to the Commissioners appointed 
 to frame a new Code of Laws for the Rus- 
 sian Empire.* These instructions, preg- 
 nant with a humane and exalted spirit, 
 were borrowed chiefly from the writings of 
 Montesquieu, and others of the French phi- 
 losophers. Catherine, therefore, does not 
 deserve the praise which was so profusely 
 lavished upon her as their authoress. Yet, 
 though the merit of originality must be 
 denied to her, she deserves no small com- 
 mendation for having compiled, and thus 
 given her sanction to, principles tending to 
 destroy despotism and enlighten a people. 
 In them she recognised no legitimate autho- 
 rity but that which was founded upon jus- 
 tice ; she aimed at the destruction of arbi- 
 trary legislation, and the prevention of those 
 who governed under her from exercising a 
 capricious or cruel authority. The instruc- 
 tions to the deputies were read to them in 
 the Russian language ; but the original was 
 written in French, almost entirely in the 
 handwriting of the empress. It has since 
 been deposited, inclosed in a magnificent 
 case, in an apartment of the Imperial Aca- 
 demy of Sciences at St. Petersburg. 
 
 The assembled deputies frequently inter- 
 rupted the reading of the instructions by 
 their bursts of applause; and all present 
 extolled the wisdom and humanity of the 
 sovereign. These expressions of admiration, 
 though no doubt proceeding, in some in- 
 stances, from conviction, were, in others, 
 
 * This work, considered the most remarkable of 
 those which proceeded from the pen of the empress, 
 was translated into English by M. Tatischeff, and 
 published in London in 1768. 
 
 merely the result of adulation. Yet the 
 meetings did not pass without some opposi- 
 tion to the imperial will, and a threatening 
 appearance of affairs without. Much con- 
 versation took place about the right of the 
 serfs to liberty ; and many thousands of this 
 unfortunate class prepared to obtain by 
 force that Avhich they correctly feared would 
 not be granted to them by equity. The 
 nobles dreaded an insurrection, in the event 
 of the system of serfdom being continued ; 
 but they dreaded still more a falling-off of 
 their revenues if it should be abolished. So 
 strong were their feelings on the subject, 
 that some of them threatened to poniard 
 the first man who dared to move for the 
 enfranchisement of the serfs. Still, Count 
 Scheremetoff, the wealthiest man in Russia, 
 declared his willingness to accede to this 
 measure ; and the debate was carried on with 
 so much warmth that fatal consequences 
 were apprehended, and the deputies dis- 
 missed to their respective homes. ( 
 
 Though the benefit intended for the people 
 of Russia was thus unhappily frustrated, it 
 was suggested that it should not be equally 
 lost to the sovereign who had projected it; 
 therefore, before the deputies separated, 
 they decreed to the empress, by general 
 acclamation, the titles of Great, Wise, Pru- 
 dent, and Mother of the Country. This 
 was, doubtless, very agreeable to the em- 
 press ; yet, when she was solicited to accept 
 those titles, she replied, with an assumption 
 of modesty, *' That if she had rendered her- 
 self worthy of the first, it belonged to pos- 
 terity to confer it upon her ; that wisdom 
 and prudence were the gifts of heaven, for 
 which she daily gave thanks, without pre- 
 suming to derive any merit from them her- 
 self; that, lastly, the title of Mother of the 
 Country was the most dear of all in her 
 eyes — the only one that she could accept, 
 and which she regarded as the most benign 
 and glorious recompense for her labours and 
 solicitude in behalf of a people whom she 
 loved." 
 
 Yet Catherine was naturally proud of the 
 flattering adulation which had been offered 
 to her; a luxury for which she possessed a 
 great and eager appetite. She commanded 
 copies of her instructions to be sent to those 
 sovereigns whose applause she most desired. 
 She received, in return, many compliments 
 on her literary performance, and assurances 
 that it would be an eternal monument to her 
 glory. The great soldier-statesman of Prus- 
 sia dazzled the empress by the incense he 
 
 271 
 
NATURE OF THE INSTRUCTIONS.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 fA.D. 1768. 
 
 thus offered, and bound her still more closely 
 to a regard to his interests. Writing with 
 his own hand to the Russian minister Panin, 
 he observed — " I have read with admiration 
 the work of the empress. I was not willing 
 to tell her all that I think of it, because she 
 might have suspected me of flattery ; but I 
 may say to you, with due deference to mo- 
 desty, that it is a masculine performance, 
 nervous, and worthy of a great man. We 
 are told by history that Semiramis com- 
 manded armies. Queen Elizabeth has been 
 accounted a good politician. The empress- 
 queen has shown great intrepidity on her 
 accession to the throne ; but no woman has 
 ever been a legislatrix. That glory was 
 reserved for the empress of Russia, who 
 deserves it." 
 
 The construction of the articles was a 
 work of considerable extent, even though 
 we exclude the preparatory labour of study 
 and reflection which, had the document 
 been entirely original, must necessarily have 
 preceded its execution. Yet, as an ingenious 
 compilation, it was not a light task, consisting 
 as it did of no less than 525 articles. In- 
 deed, though it failed to produce the eff"ect 
 intended, yet even the publication and dis- 
 persion of such a work throughout the em- 
 pire, could scarcely have failed to produce 
 valuable civilising and educational results. 
 Though not in itself a law-book, but merely 
 a number of instructions as to the spirit in 
 which laws should be made, it must have 
 exercised, and no doubt still exercises, a 
 considerable influence over Russian legisla- 
 tion. We subjoin a few of the articles, in 
 the tolerably confident hope that they will 
 not be without interest to the intelligent 
 reader. 
 
 "The spirit of the nation, the nation 
 itself, ought to be consulted in the framing 
 of laws. 
 
 "These laws should be considered no 
 otherwise than as a means of conducting 
 mankind to the greatest happiness. 
 
 "It is our duty to mitigate the lot of 
 those who live in a state of dependence. 
 
 "The liberty and the security of the 
 citizens ought to be the grand and precious 
 objects of all laws ; they should all tend to 
 render life, honour, and property as stable 
 and secure as the constitution of the govern- 
 ment itself. 
 
 " The liberty of the subjects ought only 
 to be restricted concerning what it should 
 be disadvantageous to them to do. 
 
 " In causes purely civil, the laws should 
 272 
 
 be so clear and precise, that the judgments 
 resulting from them be always in perfect 
 unison in the same cases, in order to remove 
 that jurisprudence of decisions which is so 
 often a source of uncertainties, of errors, or 
 acts of injustice, according as a cause has 
 been well or ill defended at one time or at 
 another, gained or lost, according to in- 
 fluence or circumstances." 
 
 With respect to legislation for crime, the 
 empress gave the following humane and 
 enlightened instructions : — 
 
 " It is incomparably better to prevent 
 crimes than to punish them. 
 
 "The life of the meanest citizen is of con- 
 sequence, and no one should be deprived of 
 it, except when it is attacked or required by 
 the country. 
 
 "In like manner his liberty should be 
 respected, by being cautious about imprison- 
 ment, by carefully distinguishing the cases 
 in which the laws will dispense with it, as 
 also those in which the public safety requires 
 arrest, detention, or formal imprisonment; 
 and in this case even concerning diff'erent 
 prisons. 
 
 " In the methods of trial, the use of 
 torture is contrai'y to sound reason. Hu- 
 manity cries out against this practice, and 
 insists on its being abolished. 
 
 " A prisoner is not to be sacrificed to the 
 torrent of opinions. Judgment must be 
 nothing but the precise text of the law; 
 and the office of the judge is only to pro- 
 nounce whether the action is conformable 
 or contraiy to it." 
 
 Concerning punishments, she said — 
 
 " The aim of punishment is not to tor- 
 ment sensible beings. 
 
 " All punishment is unjust when it is not 
 necessary to the maintenance of the public 
 safety. 
 
 "The atrocity of punishments is repro- 
 bated by the compassion that is due to- 
 human nature ; whenever it is useless, it is 
 a sufficient reason to regard it as unjust, 
 and, as such, to reject it. 
 
 "In the ordinary state of society, the 
 death of a citizen is neither necessary nor 
 useful." 
 
 Nothing in relation to government was 
 left untouched in these instructions, which 
 were replete with the most noble and liberal 
 sentiments. " Contrive," said the imperial 
 writer, "that the laws favour less the dif- 
 ferent orders of citizens, than each citizen 
 in particular. Let men fear the laws, and 
 nothing but the laws. Would you prevent 
 
A.D. 1768.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE, [nature of the instructions. 
 
 crimes ? provide that reason and knowledge 
 be more and more diffused among mankind. 
 To conclude : the most sure, but the most 
 difficult, method of making men better, is 
 by rendering education more complete.^' 
 
 Some writers, sinking from the historian 
 into the mere moralist, have felt, or affected, 
 so much indignation at the vices of Cathe- 
 rine, that they have resolutely denied her 
 the admiration which was her due, and 
 have endeavoured to place her most meri- 
 torious deeds in the meanest possible light. 
 The cause of virtue will never be served by 
 conduct like this ; which is neither truthful 
 nor honourable. The character of Catherine 
 must be contemplated with sober judgment, 
 and not with intemperate invective. It is a 
 psychological problem, not difficult of solu- 
 tion to the student of the human mind. 
 The private vices of the woman must be 
 separated from the public virtues of the 
 sovereign, and the latter acknowledged, not 
 grudgingly, but in a tone of generous 
 appreciation. Attempt to write or compile 
 history in any other frame of mind, and it is 
 in danger of becoming not only partial in 
 its views, and low in its estimate of hu- 
 manity, but altogether worthless. The in- 
 structions of Catherine, like all else she did, 
 have, by some writers — and those among 
 the most recent on the subject — been con- 
 demned in the carping spirit of Avhich we 
 have spoken, which, unhappily, is usually 
 more ready to censure than to deliberate; 
 more prone to the utterance of easy ob- 
 loquy, than addicted to habits of generous 
 forbearance. With respect to this literary 
 and legislatorial performance of the empress, 
 we are ourselves inclined to agree Avith the 
 favourable estimate of her biographer Tooke, 
 who says — " The whole performance is an 
 excellent compendium of choice observa- 
 tions, of just maxims, and of generous 
 sentiments ; and, at the same time, a beau- 
 tiful collection of striking passages from the 
 celebrated philosophers of Greece and 
 Rome ; of apt examples from ancient and 
 modern history, from the manners of cul- 
 tivated and savage nations, and even from 
 such nations as are not very much known 
 to the rest of Europe, the Chinese and 
 other Asiatics. "Whoever would make him- 
 self acquainted with the philosophy of legis- 
 lation, might reap considerable advantage 
 by taking it as his manual." 
 
 Catherine laboured zealously to establish 
 her fame by the services she rendered to 
 material as well as to legislatorial science. 
 2 N 
 
 Prior to the transit of the planet Venus 
 over the sun, in the summer of 1769, she 
 wrote a letter with her own hand to the 
 director* of the Academy of Sciences at 
 St. Petersburg, in which she desired to be 
 informed of the most proper places in her 
 dominions for making observations; and 
 offered to send workmen and artists, and to 
 construct buildings in all such places as the 
 academy might think proper for the pur- 
 pose, and to grant every assistance requisite 
 to the undertaking. At the same time she 
 desired, that if there were not sufficient 
 astronomers in the academy to make obser- 
 vations in all the favourable localities, that 
 notice might be given her, and she would 
 send a proper number of the officers of her 
 marine to qualify themselves, under the 
 direction of the professors of the academy, 
 for that undertaking. Such is the extent 
 of the Russian empire, that the observa- 
 tions which were made, both on the transit 
 and exit of this planet (the one in the 
 frozen regions towards the Pole, and the 
 other on the borders of the Caspian), were 
 carried on within its own limits; to some 
 part of which, astronomers from every part 
 of Europe went to behold that remarkable 
 occurrence. It is interesting to add, that 
 the instruments used by the members of 
 the academy on this occasion, were specially 
 procured for them from London, by Mr. 
 Short, a member of the Royal Society, who 
 was so successful in his efforts, and in the 
 suggestions he offered, that he received the 
 thanks of that body, and a letter containing 
 a confession of the doubt they entertained 
 of being able to comply with the desires of 
 the empress without his assistance. 
 
 In the year 1768, Catherine narrowly 
 escaped perishing by the hand of an as- 
 sassin. The fate of Peter III. had not been 
 forgotten by the people, who now regarded 
 the memory of that unfortunate monarch 
 with a feeling approaching to affection. 
 Amongst the malcontents who mourned the 
 murder of the late emperor, was a young 
 officer named Tschoglokoff, who appears to 
 have been of a highly excitable, if not 
 disordered mind. He entertained a super- 
 stitious belief that he was directed by 
 heaven to avenge the fate of Peter, by 
 depriving the empress of life. After brood- 
 ing for some time on this idea, he resorted 
 
 • Vladimir OrlofF, the youngest brother of Gre- 
 gory and Alexis ; the eldest, Ivan, lived a retired 
 life, and received from Catherine the nickname of 
 " the Philosopher." 
 
 273 
 
PATRONAGE OF SCIENCE.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1768. 
 
 to the palace for several days in succession, 
 and lurked about in the ill-lighted passages 
 leading to the apartments to which Cathe- 
 rine retired when she wished to be alone. 
 In one of these passages, through which she 
 was shortly about to pass, was the intended 
 assassin arrested, in consequence of his 
 having rashly confided his design to another 
 officer, whose friendship for him he incor- 
 rectly supposed to be stronger than his 
 duty to his sovereign. When Tschoglokoflf 
 was seized, a long poniard was found on 
 him, and he confessed, without hesitation, 
 the use for which it was designed. Cathe- 
 rine concealed the fear with which we 
 may reasonably suppose such a discovery 
 inspired her : she also suppressed her in- 
 dignation, and generously spared the life 
 of the enthusiast who would have taken 
 her's. Commanding him to be brought 
 into her presence, she mildly expostulated 
 with him on the enormity of the crime he 
 had striven to commit. Instead of being 
 hurried to the scaffold, he was at first sent 
 to prison, and afterwards exiled to the 
 heart of Siberia. Something of policy was 
 doubtless mingled with this mercy; but it 
 was mercy, nevertheless; and such as per- 
 haps no other potentate in Europe, at that 
 time, would have been wise enough to ex- 
 tend to any similar criminal. Catherine 
 desired not publicly to punish a crime 
 which, if it had been much talked of, might 
 soon have had imitators. 
 
 In order to carry out those national im- 
 provements to which the empress addressed 
 herself with so much energy, she gave 
 orders to the Academy of Sciences to select 
 a number of learned and able men, for the 
 purpose of travelling over the empire and 
 reporting concerning the capacities of the 
 land and the wants of the people. Her 
 commands were executed in a manner that 
 did much honour to the academy. Several 
 very distinguished men were amongst those 
 engaged in this vast labour, and their 
 journals contained a vast amount of valu- 
 able information. At this period the court 
 of Catherine obtained the illustrious dis- 
 tinction of being regarded almost as the 
 home of the sciences ; for to it she invited 
 distinguished learned men from every part 
 of Europe. 
 
 The empress had the acuteness to per- 
 ceive that it is less by the power of the 
 sword, the roar of artillery, and the fierce 
 parade of war, than by precedence in the 
 sciences and the arts, that nations obtain 
 274 
 
 an illustrious place in the annals of the 
 world. She therefore encouraged artists of 
 all kinds, and scholars of all views; and 
 while granting new privileges to the Aca- 
 demy of Sciences with a noble liberality, 
 exhorted its members to add the names of 
 several celebrated foreigners to those which 
 already conferred a lustre on their society. 
 She also assigned an annual sura of 5,000 
 roubles for the purpose of procuring transla- 
 tions of the literature of other nations into 
 the Russian language. Nor did she less 
 cherish the interests of the Academy of 
 Arts. She increased the number of its 
 pupils, whom she directed were not, in 
 future, to be received after the age of six 
 years, that their tempers might not be 
 spoilt, or their manners corrupted by the 
 influence of a bad education. When ad^ 
 mitted, the boys were placed for three 
 years under the care of women ; after which 
 they were delivered to the more advanced 
 tutors ; and they were finally instructed in 
 the art for the acquirement of which they 
 displayed the most aptitude. Some became 
 painters, sculptors, architects, watchmakers, 
 or engravers ; while others learnt the art of 
 casting in metals, or of making mathe- 
 matical and optical instruments. All these 
 lads were clothed, fed, and lodged at the 
 public expense; and, during the whole 
 period of their residence at the academy, 
 their parents were not at any expense for 
 them whatever. They remained for fifteen 
 years at the institution ; and, on leaving it, 
 those who carried off the highest prizes, 
 received a sum of money for the purpose of 
 travelling for three years over Europe. 
 
 At this period, that once terrible, but 
 now disarmed malady, the small-pox, made 
 great ravages amongst the inhabitants of 
 St. Petersburg. Neither rank nor fortune 
 secured to its possessors any security from 
 the assaults of this frightful disease. The 
 beautiful Countess Scheremetoff was at- 
 tacked and carried off by it on the very eve 
 of her intended marriage to Count Panin. 
 Considerable alarm prevailed, and the em- 
 press and her son, the Grand-duke Paul, 
 avoided the capital, and remained at Tzarsko- 
 selo. Under these circumstances a proposal 
 was made for introducing the practice of 
 inoculation into the empire. A remedy was 
 anxiously desired ; but a natural antipathy 
 existed against submitting to an operation 
 which, on a first reflection, appeared both 
 repugnant and unnatural. The empress 
 and the Grand-duke Paul (the latter, doubt- 
 
A.D. 
 
 1768.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRlfi. [introduction of inoculation. 
 
 less, influenced by the decision of his distin- 
 guished mother) resolved themselves to set 
 an example by first submitting to an opera- 
 tion still regarded as both hazardous and 
 experimental in its nature. Inoculation had 
 been most practised in Enghmd, where it 
 was introduced, about forty years before, 
 from Turkey, by the famous Lady Mary 
 TVortley Montague.* In the summer of 
 1768, Dr. Thomas Dimsdale, an able phy- 
 sician of London, was invited by Catherine 
 to St. Petersburg. On being introduced to 
 her majesty, she showed great pei'spicuity in 
 the questions she put to him concerning the 
 practice and success of inoculation, and then 
 invited him to dine with her. The following 
 is the doctor's description of the repast, 
 which, as presenting a picture of imperial 
 life in Russia at the court of this famous 
 sovereign, is not destitute of intei-est to 
 those who find a pleasure in efforts of the 
 imagination at realising the scenes of past 
 times and the habits of the famous ones of 
 the earth : — " The empress sat singly at the 
 upper end of a long table, at which about 
 twelve of the nobility were guests. The 
 entertainment consisted of a variety of ex- 
 cellent dishes, served up after the French 
 fashion ; and was concluded by a dessert of 
 the finest fruits and sweetmeats, such as I 
 little expected to find in that northern cli- 
 mate. Most of these luxuries were, how- 
 ever, the produce of the empress's own do- 
 minions. Pine-apples, indeed, are chiefly im- 
 ported from England ; though those of the 
 growth of Russia, of Avhich we had one that 
 day, are of good flavour, but generally small. 
 Water-melons and grapes are brought from 
 Astracan ; great plenty of melons from 
 Moscow, and apples and pears from the 
 Ukraine. But what most enlivened the 
 whole entertainment was the unaffected 
 ease and afl'ability of the empress herself. 
 Each of her guests had a share of her atten- 
 tion and politeness; the conversation was 
 kept up with a freedom and cheerfulness to 
 be expected rather from persons of the same 
 rank, than from subjects admitted to the 
 honour of their sovereign's company." 
 
 Dr. Dimsdale afterwards desired the em- 
 press to grant him the assistance of her 
 court physicians, to whom he wished to 
 
 • When we occasionally descant with so much 
 fluency upon the barbarism and prejudices of other 
 nations, it would be as well to reflect upon the igno- 
 rant and superstitious opposition with which the 
 beautiful and witty Lady Mary was encountered in 
 her benevolent attempt to introduce the practice of 
 
 communicate his mode of proceeding, and 
 the medicines he administered to his distin- 
 guished patients. To this Catherine Avould 
 not consent, and stated her reasons at length. 
 " You are come well recommended to me," 
 said she ; " the conversation I have had with 
 you on this subject has been very satisfac- 
 tory, and my confidence in you is increased. 
 I have not the least doubt of your abilities 
 and knowledge in this practice, while it is 
 impossible that my physicians can have 
 much skill in this operation. They want 
 experience; their interposition may tend to 
 embarrass you, without the least probability 
 of giving any useful assistance. My life is 
 my own ; and I shall, with the utmost cheer- 
 fulness, rely on your care alone. With re- 
 gard to my constitution, you could receive 
 no information from them. I have had, I 
 thank God, so good a share of health, that 
 their advice has never been required; and 
 you shall, from myself, receive every infor- 
 mation that can be necessary. I have also 
 to acquaint you that it is my determination 
 to be inoculated before the grand-duke, 
 and as soon as you judge it convenient. At 
 the same time I desire tliat this may remain 
 a secret business ; and I enjoin you to let 
 it be supposed that, for the present, all 
 thoughts of my own inoculation are laid 
 aside. The preparation of the great experi- 
 ment on the grand-duke will countenance 
 your visits to the palace ; and I desire to see 
 you as often as it may seem necessary, that 
 you may become still better acquainted with 
 what relates to my constitution, and also for 
 adjusting the time and other circumstances 
 of my own inoculation." 
 
 The empress was much pleased with the 
 satisfactory manner in which Dr. Dimsdale 
 performed the operation, both upon herself 
 and upon the grand-duke. She rewarded 
 the successful experimentalist with a pre- 
 sent of £10,000, together with a pension of 
 £500 a-year, to be paid him in England, 
 and by creating him a baron of the Russian 
 empire. On Dr. Dimsdale's son, who ac- 
 companied and assisted his father, she con- 
 ferred a similar title, and presented with a 
 superb gold snuff-box, richly set with dia- 
 monds. Before Dr. Dimsdale left Russia, 
 the empress purchased a house, and, under 
 
 inoculation into this country. The clergy actually 
 preached from their pulpits on the impiety of thus 
 seeking to take events out of the hands of Providence; 
 and the people were taught to hoot at her, as an un- 
 natural mother who had risked the lives of her own 
 children. 
 
 275 
 
TURKEY DECLAKES WAR.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1767. 
 
 his able directions, converted it into a hos- 
 pital for the purposes of inoculation, which, 
 under these favourable circumstances, was 
 soon resorted to by the most sensible of 
 the Russian people. In a grand thanks- 
 giving service for the recovery of the em- 
 
 press, which was performed in the chapel 
 of the palace, the metropolitan observed, in 
 the course of his sermon, "that the Rus- 
 sians had borrowed assistance from Britain ; 
 that island famed for wisdom, bravery, and 
 virtue." 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 AFFAIRS OF POLAND; WAR BETWEEN RUSSIA AND TURKEY; VISIT OF PRINCE HENRY OF PRUSSIA TO 
 CATHERINE; AN IMPERIAL FETE; REVERSES OF THE TURKS; WALLACHIA, MOLDAVIA, AND BESSARABIA 
 ACKNOWLEDGE CATHERINE AS THEIR SOVEREIGN ; NAVAL VICTORY OF THE RUSSIANS IN THE BAY OF 
 TSCHESME; SCHEME FOR THE SUBJECTION OF GREECE AND EGYPT TO RUSSIA; FATE OF THE TOUNG 
 PRINCESS TABKAKANOFF. 
 
 Poland, though retaining a delusive sem- 
 blance of independence, was in fact but little 
 more than a province of Russia. Its king 
 had been elected, and its laws were framed, 
 by Russian influence, while its states were 
 governed through the instrumentality of a 
 Russian army. The intolerant and tyran- 
 nical conduct of the Polish priesthood and 
 catholic nobles had given Catherine an ex- 
 cuse for interference; but the Poles saw 
 that their national independence was perish- 
 ing, and the Ottoman Porte became reason- 
 ably jealous of the almost absolute influence 
 over Poland which its great northern neigh- 
 bour had acquired. Catherine did not seek 
 for war with Turkey ; and when that power, 
 in consequence of the appeal made to it by 
 the Poles, and in accordance with a policy 
 usually regarded as a wise one, first assumed 
 a menacing attitude, she suspended the 
 settlement of the limits between Russia 
 and Poland, without, however, abandoning 
 her idea of eventually seizing on a portion 
 of the latter country. 
 
 Poland was distracted by a furious servile 
 war between the united catholic nobles 
 and priesthood and the Dissidents. Almost 
 every conceivable horror reigned iu that 
 miserable country ; and the fields, instead of 
 being devoted to the culture of the neces- 
 saries of life, were often covered with the 
 unburied bodies of those who used to till 
 them. The catholic confederates again im- 
 plored assistance from the Turks — a requisi- 
 tion which was supported by the influence 
 of France. The sultan resolved on war; 
 and causing the Russian ambassador to be 
 276 
 
 arrested, had him (in October, 1767) placed 
 in confinement within the walls of the 
 famous prison-fortress, called the Castle of 
 the Seven Towers. At the same time a 
 temperately-written rmmifesto, by the sultan, 
 explanatory of the cause of the hostile de- 
 meanour to Russia, was delivered to the 
 foreign ministers residing at Constantinople. 
 In it the empress was charged as a breaker 
 of treaties ; with having " set up for a king a 
 private Polish officer, in whose family there 
 had never been any king, and to whom 
 loyalty was not becoming;" and with in- 
 vading a frontier of the territories of the 
 Porte, and there massacring upwards of a 
 thousand Mussulmans. 
 
 Though Catherine had not desired war 
 with an enemy so powei-ful as the sultan, 
 yet she had prepared for, and no longer 
 sought to avoid, a contest which, sooner or 
 later, was inevitable. Catherine issued a 
 declaration to the courts of Europe, in which 
 she declared that the intentions of Russia 
 had been calumniated ; and complained, in 
 a tone of dignity, of the insult offered to her 
 ambassador. " The honour and glory of her 
 imperial majesty," said this document, "the 
 regard to her empire, point out the part it 
 is right for her to take. Confiding in the 
 justice of her cause, she appeals to all Chris- 
 tian courts on the situation she finds herself 
 in with regard to the common enemy of 
 Christianity." Immense preparations were 
 made iu Turkey for the war, and the Porte 
 gave out that they intended to open the 
 campaign with an army of 500,000 men. 
 
 The empress was not behindhand; and 
 
A.D. 1769.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE, [prince henry visits Catherine. 
 
 she gathered a formidable army, or rather 
 series of armies. Indeed, ou the breaking 
 out of the war, the general voice of Europe 
 seemed to presage victory to Russia, and 
 many persons expressed an opinion that 
 that power would be in possession of Con- 
 stantinople before the end of the first cam- 
 paign. Early in 1769 her troops began 
 their march, and soon extended from the 
 banks of the Danube to those of the Kuban. 
 Azoif and Taganrog were also put in a state 
 of defence; and Catherine caused her fleet 
 in the Euxine to be augmented. The Tartars 
 of the Crimea, so long dreaded by the Rus- 
 sians, were the first who now felt the weight 
 of their arms. The Russian forces next 
 laid siege to the fortress of Choczim, re- 
 garded as the key of the Turkish empire. 
 The Moslems knew the advantage of this 
 stronghold, and they concentrated their 
 whole power in its defence. Many furious 
 engagements followed, attended by im- 
 mense loss to both sides, and not produc- 
 tive of any great advantage to either. 
 
 Catherine and Frederic of Prussia sur- 
 mised each other's intentions with respect 
 to the partition of Poland ; but each of 
 them felt the necessity of conferring to- 
 gether on that great design. Yet, as an 
 interview between them might excite sus- 
 picions in the minds of the other monarchs 
 of Europe, Frederic determined on sending 
 his brother, Prince Henry, into Russia, to 
 represent his views to the empress. This 
 prince was one of the most celebrated 
 generals of the age ; and so great were his 
 military talents, that even his illustrious 
 brother, never prone to pay compliments, 
 said of him, that, in commanding an army, 
 he was never known to commit a fault. 
 Professor Richardson, then at St. Peters- 
 burg with the family of Lord Cathcart (the 
 English ambassador), gave the following viva- 
 cious description of the Prussian prince : — 
 "To judge of him by his appearance, I 
 should form no high estimate of his abili- 
 ties. But the Scythian ambassadors judged 
 in the same manner of Alexander the Great. 
 He is under the middle size ; very thin ; he 
 walks firmly enough, or rather struts, as if 
 he wanted to walk firmly; and has little 
 dignity in his air or gesture. He is dark- 
 complexioned, and wears his hair, which is 
 remarkably thick, clubbed and dressed with 
 a high toupee. His forehead is high, his 
 eyes large, with a little squint ; and, when 
 he smiles, his upper lip is drawn up a little 
 in the middle. His look expresses sagacity 
 
 and observation, but nothing very amiable ; 
 and his manner is grave and stiff, rather 
 than aff'able. He was dressed, when I first 
 saw him, in a light-blue frock, with silver 
 frogs; and wore a red waistcoat and blue 
 breeches. He is not very popular among 
 the Russians ; and their wits are disposed 
 to amuse themselves with his appearance, 
 and pai'ticularly with his toupte. They say 
 he resembles Sampson ; that all his strength 
 lies in his hair ; and that, conscious of this, 
 and recollecting the fate of the son of 
 Manoah, he suffers not the nigh approaches 
 of any deceitful Dalilah.'^ 
 
 Some artifices were resorted to to make 
 the visit of Prince Henry to the Russian 
 court appear a matter rather of accident 
 than of design. On his arrival at St. Peters- 
 burg, he was, however, received with the 
 honours which are usually paid only to 
 monarchs. On the day of his being pre- 
 sented to the empress, he dined in public 
 with her ; and all that passed was con- 
 ducted with the most rigorous attention to 
 ceremony : but, on subsequent occasions, 
 the empress and the prince met and dis- 
 coursed together without the least restraint. 
 Catherine entertained her guest with truly 
 imperial magnificence and hospitality. Not 
 a day passed without some new festivity; 
 and one entertainment, at Tzarsko-selo (the 
 palace of the czars, and the fixed summer 
 residence of Catherine), has been deemed 
 worthy of a lengthened description by many 
 writers. The palace stands at the extremity 
 of a thick forest, and is built in the form of 
 an amphitheatre. The exterior impresses 
 the observer with a sense of grandeur from 
 its magnitude ; while he is dazzled with the 
 profusion of its gilded ornaments. The 
 gardens — laid out in the English fashion — 
 are of great extent and beauty, and contain 
 a collection of antique and modern statues, 
 picturesque ruins, baths, lakes, pyramids, 
 and a spacious hall for musical entertain- 
 ments. 
 
 It was in this magnificent palace that 
 Catherine gave to the Prussian prince one 
 of those extravagantly gorgeous entertain- 
 ments with which she, at times, delighted 
 and astonished her court. On the approach 
 of evening, the empress, the Grand-duke 
 Paul, and Prince Henry, entered an im- 
 mense sledge drawn by sixteen horses, and 
 set out from St. Petersburg, followed by 
 upwards of 2,000 sledges, filled with cour- 
 tiers in masquerade costumes. Along the 
 road were triumphal arches, lit up in the 
 
 277 
 
SUCCESSES OF RUSSIA.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1769. 
 
 most brilliant manner ; illuminated temples, 
 pyramids of lamps, displays of fireworks, 
 vaulting and tumbling, and rustic dances 
 by shepherds and shepherdesses. On ap- 
 proaching the palace, an artificial mountain 
 was seen through an avenue in the wood, 
 pouring out from its summit torrents of 
 flames, in imitation of Vesuvius during an 
 eruption. On arriving at the palace, the 
 company danced for two hours in a sixite of 
 apartments lit by an enormous number of 
 wax- candles. Then came a roar of cannon; 
 the ball was suspended ; the lights were all 
 extinguished ; and the company ran to the 
 windows, from which they eujoyed a magni- 
 ficent exhibition of fireworks. When these 
 were terminated, another discharge of artil- 
 lery took place, the wax-candles were sud- 
 denly relit as if by magic, and a splendid 
 supper was already served up, and only 
 waiting the attack of the guests. After 
 this refreshment, dancing was resumed, 
 and continued until a late hour in the 
 morning. Indeed, all the entertainments 
 of the empress were conducted with a mag- 
 nificence not exceeded by any court in 
 Europe. 
 
 Among the numerous presents which 
 Catherine bestowed upon the prince, was 
 the star of the order of St. Andrew, full of 
 very large brilliants, and containing a single 
 diamond valued at 40,000 roubles. All 
 these pleasures did not arrest the accom- 
 plishment of the secret object of the journey 
 of the brother of the Prussian monarch. 
 The dismemberment of Poland was resolved 
 upon ; and it w as determined that Austria 
 should be bribed into acquiescence by 
 making her a sharer in the spoliation. 
 Prince Henry was so satisfied of the con- 
 sent of Joseph II., the son and successor of 
 Maria Theresa, that he even settled with 
 Catherine the conditions to be observed in 
 the dismemberment of Poland, and fixed 
 the extent of territory that each of the 
 powers engaged in this iniquitous scheme 
 should appropriate to itself. The treaty, 
 however, was not signed until two years 
 afterwards. 
 
 The war between Russia and Turkey 
 raged with fury on the frontiers of the 
 latter country. The results were variable ; 
 and the Russians were twice repulsed from 
 the fortress of Choczim; and even driven, 
 for a time, into Poland. But though the 
 Turks fought with great courage, the igno- 
 rance of their generals drew upon them 
 many reverses; and, after ten months of 
 278 
 
 war, their once numerous army was almost 
 destroyed, and Choczim eventually sur- 
 rendered to a very small force. The 
 offended sultan not only caused his un- 
 successful general to be deprived of the 
 command, but also to be put to death. 
 
 Catherine, satisfied with the attitude oi 
 her fleet on the Black Sea, boldly resolved 
 to strike a blow at her enemies even in the 
 Greek islands. With this object, she com- 
 manded a number of new vessels to be con- 
 structed ; and the dockyards of Cronstadt, 
 Revel, and Archangel swarmed with work- 
 men from all parts of the country. She 
 laboured strenuously to keep up a good 
 understanding with England and Denmark, 
 then the two most important maritime 
 powers; and she doubled the number of 
 English, naval officers engaged in her ser- 
 vice. Amongst the experienced British 
 naval officers who at this period entered 
 the service of Catherine, may be mentioned 
 the names of Elpl^instoue, Greig, Tate, Dug- 
 dale, and Admiral Knowles. The empress 
 also requested the maritime powers to give 
 a friendly reception and assistance to her 
 ships of war. England complied with this 
 desire ; but other states regarded it un- 
 favourably ; and France, Spain, Venice, 
 and Naples, would only consent to admit 
 the merchant vessels of Russia into their 
 ports. 
 
 By the September of 1769, a Russian 
 fleet, consisting of twenty sail-of-the-liue, 
 together with six frigates, and several trans- 
 port vessels containing troops, steered their 
 course into the Mediterranean, whose 
 waters had never before been breasted by 
 the war vessels of the great northern power. 
 It was placed under the command of Alexis 
 Orloff, assisted by Admiral Spiridoff. Eu- 
 rope gazed with astonishment on the spec- 
 tacle thus presented. A nation which, 
 prior to that century, was scarcely known 
 but on the map, had sent a fleet to agitate 
 the remotest parts of the Mediterranean ; to 
 excite and support the insurrections of the 
 Greek Christians against their Mohamme- 
 dan masters; and to create confusion and 
 alarm in this distant part of the vast empire 
 of its Ottoman enemies. Indeed, this expe- 
 dition is regarded as a not unimportant 
 era in naval history. Catherine was aware 
 that the fate of Poland, and the considera- 
 tion in which Russia should in future be 
 held in Europe, depended on the result of 
 the war against the Turks, and she there- 
 fore exerted herself to the utmost to ensure 
 
A.D. 1770.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [successes of RUSSIA. 
 
 its success. For some time before the sail- 
 ing of the Russian expedition, the emis- 
 saries of the empress had been at work 
 among the inhabitants of the isles of 
 Greece, with the object of exciting a general 
 revolt against the authority of the Porte; 
 but the Greeks were soon found to be fickle 
 and unprincipled, deficient both in dis- 
 cipline and courage, and far more devoted 
 to plundering than to fighting. 
 
 Prince Galitzin was superseded in the 
 command of the Russian army by Count 
 RoraantzofF. General Panin and Prince 
 Dolgoruki had each another army under 
 their directions. The Russians opened the 
 campaign of 1770 by laying siege to Bender, 
 in Bessarabia — a place which had acquired 
 some distinction as having been the refuge 
 of Charles XII. of Sweden. Their efforts 
 were unsuccessful, chiefly in consequence of 
 the harassing attacks to which they were 
 exposed from the Tartars. But the Rus- 
 sians were far more than compensated for 
 this disappointment by being victorious in 
 two pitched battles with the Turks. The 
 first was fought on the banks of the Pruth, 
 where a Turkish army, amounting to 80,000 
 men, was stationed. As General Romantzoff 
 was unable, for some time, to bring them 
 to an engagement, he made such move- 
 ments as induced the enemy to imagine 
 that he was about to retreat. The Turks 
 were deceived, and detached 20,000 men to 
 pursue him. These were repulsed with 
 great loss, and fled back in terror to their 
 camp. The Russians followed them; the 
 engagement was renewed; and the Turks 
 finally abandoned their intrenchments and 
 a great part of their baggage and artillery. 
 
 The Turks retired tOAvards the Danube, 
 where they were joined by large detach- 
 ments from the grand Ottoman army. The 
 Russian general, uninformed of this, and 
 supposing that he was in pursuit of an army 
 in confusion, followed them rapidly with a 
 force of only 18,000 men, and suddenly 
 found himself confronted by an army of 
 150,000 Turks. The grand-vizier saw his 
 advantage, and surrounded the Russian 
 army in such a manner as to cut off all 
 possibility of retreat. The following morn- 
 ing the Russians were attacked on all sides 
 at once ; and notwithstanding the immense 
 disparity of numbers, the firing was kept up 
 for five hours without any decided ad- 
 vantage to either of the adversaries. The 
 Russian general then seems to have re- 
 membered, that as the enemy could afford 
 
 to lose eight men to his one, a contest thus 
 conducted must terminate in his defeat, 
 and the probable destruction of his troops. 
 There was but one chance of escape — to 
 charge with the bayonet, and, by a despe- 
 rate effort, burst through the ranks of the 
 foe. This plan was adopted, and the Turks 
 gave way before the furious charge of their 
 assailants, and retreated within their in- 
 trenchments. Encouraged by this success, 
 the Russians renewed their efforts with 
 redoubled energy. The Turkish host was 
 thrown into confusion, and took to flight, 
 leaving an immense number of dead and 
 wounded upon the field of battle, and 
 abandoning 143 pieces of brass cannon, and 
 7,000 waggons loaded with provisions. 
 
 Other successes followed. Bender, which 
 had been a second time besieged, sur- 
 rendered, after a resistance of nearly three 
 months, to General Panin. On the fall of 
 this fortress, the Tartars of Budziak and 
 Otchakof submitted to the Russian rule. 
 Indeed, so great were the triumphs of the 
 imperial arms, that the provinces of Wal- 
 lachia, Moldavia, and Bessarabia, acknow- 
 ledged the Russians as their masters, and 
 sent deputies to do homage to Catherine. 
 
 By sea the Russians obtained a success of 
 which they were far more proud than of 
 their triumphs by land. The squadron of 
 Admiral SpiridofF, in the Archipelago, was 
 joined by another under Elphinstone, an 
 English naval officer, who held the rank of 
 vice-admiral in the Russian service. The 
 Turkish fleet opposed to the united Russian 
 squadron was under the directions of a 
 capudan-pasha, whose skill and valour had 
 obtained for him the surname of Gazi, or 
 " the Victorious." He had won some advan- 
 tage over the Russians, and compelled them 
 to retire from Lemnos ; but he was soon to 
 experience the superior power of his foe. 
 On the 5th of July, 1770, the rival fleets 
 met in the channel that separates the Isle 
 of Scio from Natolia. The Turkish fleet, 
 besides being superior in point of number 
 to that of the Russians, was stationed 
 behind some small islands and rocks, which 
 formed for it a sort of natural intrench- 
 ment. Yet the Russians had the spirit to 
 accept the offered battle, and the engage- 
 ment commenced. The Sultan, a ship of 
 90 guns, bearing the flag of the capu- 
 dan-pasha, challenged that of Admiral Spiri- 
 doff, and the two vessels were soon- side by 
 side in furious combat. Desperate efforts 
 were made on each side, and showers of 
 
 279 
 
THE BATTLE OF TSCHESME.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1770. 
 
 balls and grenades crossed the deck of each 
 vessel. At length the Turkish ship caught 
 fire; and as the Russian one could not be 
 disengaged from it, they both blew up 
 together, and covered the sea with their 
 smoking fragments. The admii'als and a 
 few officers were rescued; but the crews 
 perished. 
 
 A pause in the engagement ensued while 
 the ships were burning ; and the other 
 vessels, struck with terror for a time, aban- 
 doned the fight. It was soon renewed ; 
 but the approach of night separated the 
 combatants. The Turks then committed 
 an error which led to their destruction. 
 They had the imprudence to enter the nar- 
 row and slimy bay of Tschesme, where 
 some of their vessels ran aground, and the 
 confined space deprived the rest of the 
 power of action. The following morning 
 Vice-admiral Elphinstone stationed himself 
 at the entrance of the bay, to prevent the 
 egress of the Turks. He then directed 
 that four fire-ships should be prepared, 
 placed under the protection of the English 
 Lieutenant Dugdale, and protected by the 
 vessels of another Englishman — Vice-admi- 
 ral Greig. The day passed away; and as 
 midnight approached, Greig attacked the 
 Turks with four ships of the line and two 
 frigates. Under cover of this diversion, 
 Dugdale approached the Turkish fleet with 
 his fire-ships. Braving the vigorous fire of 
 the enemy, and encouraging the hesitating 
 Russians by his example, he himself fas- 
 tened the grapplings of a fire-ship to one of 
 the Turkish vessels, and then, with his 
 hands, face, and hair all burnt, threw him- 
 self into the sea, and swam to the Russian 
 squadron. So efl'ectual was the fire, and so 
 crowded were the Turkish vessels, that 
 within five hours the whole fleet was de- 
 stroyed. Only one man-of-war and a few 
 galleys escaped the devouring flames ; and 
 this was in consequence of their being towed 
 off by the Russians. The Turkish sailors 
 made no efforts to stop the conflagration, 
 and sought only to secure their own safety. 
 Some got away in boats, and others leaped 
 into the sea and endeavoured to save them- 
 selves by swimming ; but the Russians, 
 with an unnecessary ferocity, sent out boats 
 to knock these poor struggling wretches on 
 the head, or dispatched them by grapeshot 
 from the ships. An English officer who 
 was in command of a Russian boat, struck 
 with horror at this massacre, endeavoured 
 to put a stop to it ; but he was told by the 
 280 
 
 Russians that it was Count Orloff's order 
 that no quarter should be given. The 
 Turks who reached the shore dispersed 
 themselves about the country, and com- 
 mitted such excesses, that it was found 
 necessary to send out a body of troops to 
 put an end to their ravages. If it had not 
 been for the explosion of Admiral Spiridoff's 
 ship, which involved the destruction of six 
 or seven hundred persons, the Russians 
 would have purchased this victory very 
 cheaply, as, with that exception, they had 
 not fifty men killed and wounded. Indeed, 
 the greater part of the ships had never 
 come into action, and OrlofF himself had 
 kept at a distance, which preserved him 
 from all chance of danger. The loss of the 
 Turks was very severe, and estimated by 
 their victorious enemies at 10,000 men ; 
 but this was a gross exaggeration. Still 
 the slaughter was terrible ; for this Russian 
 victory was little else than a conflagration 
 and a massacre; and for many weeks the 
 bay and its shores were covered with dead 
 bodies, putrefying beneath the burning heat 
 of a summer's sun. When the work of 
 blood was over, and while the Russians 
 were yet reeking with the steam of 
 slaughter, Orloff ordered a general thanks- 
 giving to the Deity for the success of the 
 Russian arms; and the applauding Greek 
 priests, who had put off in boats from the 
 villages of Scio, Samos, and Anatolia, 
 sprinkled the ships with holy water, and 
 gave their blessings to the crews. On the 
 other hand, the infuriated Turks massacred 
 every Greek they could find — man, woman, 
 or child — between Tschesme and Smyrna. 
 
 After the destruction of the Turkish 
 fleet, the Russians entered the harbour and 
 bombarded the town, and a castle which 
 protected it, with so much success, that 
 both were reduced to a heap of rubbish. 
 The conflagration of the Turkish vessels 
 was the result of the exertions of the Eng- 
 lishmen — Elphinstone, Greig, Dugdale, and 
 Mackenzie ; but the empress gave the 
 credit of the idea of it to Alexis Orloff. 
 The Russian fleet then anchored at Paros, 
 from which point they commanded all the 
 Greek seas, and where they did not permit 
 a single vessel to approach without lower- 
 ing its topsails. 
 
 Orloff dispatched a courier with the news 
 to the empress Catherine, who was the first 
 person in St. Petersburg made acquainted 
 with the victory of Tschesme. Information 
 of the event was received with extreme joy, 
 
A.D. 1771—1772.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [alexis orloff. 
 
 and magnificent festivities given to cele- 
 brate it. When, in the spring of the fol- 
 lowing year, Alexis OrlofF returned to St. 
 Petersburg to enjoy his triumphs, the re- 
 joicings were renewed; and he was de- 
 corated by the empress with the grand 
 riband of St. George. He then laid before 
 the council a scheme for the subjection of 
 Greece to the Russian sceptre, and the 
 rescue of Egypt from the dominion of the 
 Porte. To accomplish this, he said he 
 would force the passage of the Dardanelles ; 
 and that to efiect all these designs, he 
 desired only ten millions of roubles. " I 
 grant you twenty," was the reply of the 
 ambitious Catherine, "for I am resolved 
 that you shall want for nothing." At the 
 same time she issued a command for the 
 equipment of a new squadron, to reinforce 
 that which was already iu the Archipelago ; 
 and the Russians, intoxicated by an acci- 
 dental success, vainly dreamed of becoming 
 a great naval power. Catherine, in the 
 height of her success, even contemplated 
 the expulsion of the Turks from Europe. 
 
 The Ottoman empire was not only humi- 
 liated by the serious reverses it had expe- 
 rienced, but distracted by internal misfor- 
 tunes. Egypt was in a state of rebellion, 
 under the able Ali Bey. Constantinople 
 was ravaged by the plague ; where, for 
 several weeks, about a thousand people 
 died daily from this terrible visitation. 
 The runaway sailors from the destroyed 
 fleet also, united with all the vagabonds 
 and ruffians who chose to join them, filled 
 the city with dread, in consequence of their 
 plundering and violence, and made several 
 attempts to set it and the suburbs on fire. 
 So powerful did these dissolute ruffians 
 become, that they ventured on an open 
 engagement with the Janissaries, who cut 
 many thousand of them to pieces, and dis- 
 persed the rest. Notwithstanding these 
 calamities, the Porte adopted every pre- 
 caution for the security of the Dardanelles. 
 The Turkish government collected the ships 
 still in its possession, and fitted them out to 
 assist in defending that famous passage; 
 new batteries were erected on the straits, 
 and the castles put into a proper state of 
 defence. 
 
 In 1771, Count Alexis Orloff left St. 
 Petersburg, crowned with honours and 
 loaded with rewards, in order to return to 
 the Archipelago. On his way he passed 
 some time at Vienna, where he gave him- 
 self up to a luxuriousness so extravagant as 
 2o 
 
 to excite general surprise. One evening, 
 while at supper with the Russian ambas- 
 sador and a numerous company, he spoke 
 of the revolution which had placed the 
 empress Catherine on the throne. From 
 motives of delicacy no one questioned him 
 concerning the death of the unfortunate 
 Peter ; but he created a sensation of horror 
 throughout the company by calmly relating 
 the particulars of it himself. Perceiving 
 the shudders of disgust that he excited, the 
 dull and strong-nerved ruffian endeavoured 
 to excuse himself by saying, " That it was 
 a lamentable thing for a man of so much 
 humanity as he possessed, to be forced to 
 do what he had been commanded." 
 
 On leaving Vienna, Orloff proceeded to 
 Leghorn, where, in obedience to the com- 
 mands of the empress, he engaged a cele- 
 brated German artist, named Philip Hackert, 
 to represent the engagement of the Russian 
 and Turkish fleets, and the destruction of 
 the latter at Tschesme. The artist was 
 unable satisfactorily to represent the blow- 
 ing-up of the Turkish vessels ; and on 
 Orloff complaining of this, he replied that 
 he had never seen a ship destroyed by ex- 
 plosion. To obviate this, OrlofF furnished 
 him with the most expensive model that 
 was ever made for an artist. In the month 
 of May, 1772, he caused a Russian frigate 
 to be blown up in the roads of Leghorn, in 
 the presence of the painter and of thou- 
 sands of persons who had assembled to 
 witness this novel sight. The artist caught 
 the character of the evanescent spectacle, 
 and the picture Avas then completed entirely 
 to Orloff's satisfaction. 
 
 The empress Elizabeth had left three 
 children, regarded as illegitimate, the result 
 of her clandestine marriage with Alexis 
 RasumofFski. The youngest of these was a 
 girl, who had been brought up under the 
 name of the Princess Tarrakanofl". This 
 young lady was, when about twelve years 
 old, carried away to Rome by the per- 
 sons to whom her education had been en- 
 trusted ; an act performed at the instigation 
 of the Polish prince and patriot, Radzivil, 
 who, irritated at Catherine's trampling on 
 the rights of his countrymen, entertained 
 the idea, that the daughter of Elizabeth 
 might furnish him with a signal means of 
 revenge. He conceived, that it would not 
 be in vain to oppose to the sovereign Avhose 
 armies were spreading desolation over his 
 unhappy country, a rival whom her mother's 
 name would render acceptable to the Rus- 
 
 281 
 
THE PRINCESS TARRAK-'^NOrF.] HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1772. 
 
 sians. It is probable that he also flattered 
 himself, that he, perhaps, might one day be. 
 enabled to mount the throne on Avhich he 
 desired to place the young princess. 
 
 Catherine was a dangerous foe, especially 
 when the secret agency of craft was to be 
 resorted to. On the ground of Prince 
 Radzivil being chief of the confederacy of 
 the malcontents, she caused all his estates 
 in Poland to be seized, and reduced him to 
 the necessity of living on the produce of the 
 diamonds and other valuables he had brought 
 with him to Italy. "When these were ex- 
 hausted, he left the Princess Tarrakanoff at 
 Rome in extremely narrow circumstances, 
 and returned to Poland to learn what he 
 could with respect to his own affairs. Here 
 an offer was made to restore to him his 
 estates, on condition that he would take his 
 ward to Russia. To this baseness he would 
 not consent; but he committed the lesser 
 wrong of purchasing his confiscated pro- 
 perty by engaging to take no further heed 
 of the \infortunate daughter of Elizabeth. 
 
 But the empress was resolved on securing 
 the person of the Princess Tarrakanoff ; and 
 Alexis Orloff undertook to become the 
 means of luring that young lady into her 
 power. Having engaged an unprincipled 
 Neapolitan, named Ribas, he sent him to 
 Rome, where this subtle agent soon dis- 
 covered the lodgings of the young princess, 
 and introduced himself to her as a Russian 
 officer. Affecting a profound grief at the 
 state of destitution in which he found her, 
 he said that he had waited upon her with 
 the sole desire of paying homage to a prin- 
 cess whose fate and fortunes were highly 
 interesting to all her countrymen. Finally, 
 he offered that pecuniary assistance of 
 which the unfortunate lady stood in so much 
 need; while she and her female attendant 
 regarded him almost as a messenger sent 
 from heaven for their relief. Ribas soon 
 gained the confidence of the deserted women ; 
 and he then informed the princess, that he 
 was commissioned by Count Alexis Orloff 
 to offer to her the throne that had been 
 occupied by her mother. He added, that 
 the Russian people were averse to the rule 
 of Catherine; that Orloff himself hated 
 her, on account of her ingratitude and her 
 tyranny ; and that, if the young princess 
 would accept of the services of that general, 
 and recompense him for them by the grant 
 of her hand, it would not be long before she 
 saw the breaking-out of the revolution he 
 had prepared. The snare was successful, 
 282 
 
 for the inexperienced girl had no suspicions 
 of the worthlessness of the human viper 
 who was luring her to her fate. Her high 
 birth was no secret to her : Prince Radzivil 
 had dazzled her with hopes of a brilliant 
 destiny ; and she seemed now upon the eve 
 of realising the gorgeous day-dreams which 
 had made her recent poverty and neglected 
 condition the more bitter. 
 
 When Alexis Orloff himself arrived at 
 Rome, he was received by the princess as 
 her benefactor. Some friendly persons 
 warned her and her gouvernante against a 
 man who was notorious for the reckless 
 wickedness of his character. It was in 
 vain. The deluded girl would not mistrust 
 her supposed benefactor, and even com- 
 municated to him the cautions she had re- 
 ceived; but he justified himself with so 
 much ease, that her confidence was rather 
 confirmed than shaken. Having removed 
 her transient distrust, he entreated her to 
 consent to their speedy marriage. The 
 trusting victim yielded to his wish ; the 
 ceremony was performed by some of his 
 attendants, disguised as priests and lawyers ; 
 and the princess fancied herself secure in the 
 arms of a husband Avho had contracted a 
 mock marriage only that he might betray. 
 
 Orloff conducted his bride to Pisa, under 
 the pretence that they would be exposed to 
 too much observation at Rome, and that it 
 would be better to wait in some other Italian 
 city for the breaking-out of the expected 
 revolution in Russia. At Pisa, Orloff lodged 
 the princess in a magnificent palace, and 
 treated her with every apparent respect 
 and tenderness ; but he did not suffer her 
 to be approached by any persons except 
 those who were entirely devoted to his 
 interests. At the theatre, or on the public 
 promenades, he always accompanied her 
 himself. One day, Orloff told the prin- 
 cess that a division of the Russian fleet had 
 just entered the port of Leghorn, and that 
 his presence was consequently necessary in 
 that city. He, however, offered to take her 
 with him, to which she readily consented, 
 more especially as she had heard much com- 
 mendation of the beauty of the port of 
 Leghorn, and the magnificence of the Rus- 
 sian ships. 
 
 On her arrival at Leghorn she was re- 
 ceived with the greatest consideration, 
 lodged in the house of the English consul, 
 and soon surrounded by a little court, in 
 consequence of the great number of persons 
 who came to pay their respects to her. 
 
A.D. 1771.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [fate of the princess. 
 
 Every one seemed anxious to study and to 
 anticipate her wishes. In the streets, the 
 people crowded to sec her ; at the theatre, 
 all eyes were directed to her box. Every- 
 thing tended to lull her into a fatal security, 
 and to dispel any thought of fear or sus- 
 picion. So strong was the confidence she 
 placed in her betrayer, that after a few days 
 spent in amusements, she herself requested 
 to be shown over the Russian fleet. Pre- 
 parations were immediately made for re- 
 ceiving her with becoming state, and she 
 was handed into a boat with magnificent 
 awnings. Vice-admiral Greig, who was in 
 command of the Russian squadron, and 
 Alexis Orloff, entered a second boat ; while 
 a third followed, filled with Russian and 
 English officers. They pushed off from 
 the shore in the sight of an admiring multi- 
 tude, and were received by the fleet with 
 shouts, music, and salutes of artillery. A 
 splendid chair was let down from the vessel, 
 on which the princess was to go on board, 
 and in this manner she was hoisted upon 
 deck. It was also told her, that these hon- 
 ours were bestowed in recognition of her 
 distinguished rank. No sooner had the 
 unfortunate girl stepped on board than this 
 dissimulation ceased. In a moment she 
 was rudely seized and handcuffed. She 
 then saw that she had been deceived ; but 
 she knew not the deep villany of her be- 
 trayer. She yet called him husband, im- 
 plored his interference, threw herself at his 
 feet, and watered them with her tears. It 
 was in vain. He was silent, and his despair- 
 ing victim was torn away and carried down 
 into the hold. The next day the vessel 
 sailed for Russia. On arriving at St. Peters- 
 
 burg, the princess was shut up in the for- 
 tress there ; and her subsequent fate re- 
 mains a mystery. Some affirm that she 
 was drowned six years afterwards, by the 
 waters of the Neva entering her prison 
 during the inundation of 1777; others say, 
 that she was secretly put to death by the 
 hands of the executioner ; but neither state- 
 ment has been confirmed by any unexcep- 
 tionable evidence. 
 
 The inhabitants of Leghorn were horri- 
 fied at the treachery which had been prac- 
 tised towards the unhappy victim of Russian 
 policy. The Grand-duke of Tuscany, whose 
 territory had been so shamefully insulted, 
 complained both to the courts of Vienna 
 and St. Petersburg, of the outrage that had 
 been committed, but he was unable to ob- 
 tain any satisfaction; and the Russian 
 traitor braved both his indignation and that 
 of the public. A circumstance which oc- 
 curred during the stay of Alexis Orloff at 
 Rome, tends to illustrate the coarse man- 
 ners of this brutal man. One evening, 
 when at supper at the house of the Mar- 
 chioness Gentili Bocca Paduli, he desired 
 to exhibit some instances of his extra- 
 ordinary strength. He first, with great 
 ease, broke in his hand several pieces of 
 crystal and iron; then, taking an apple 
 between two of his fiugers, he crushed it 
 into bits by tightly compressing them. One 
 of the pieces flew with force into the face of 
 a royal duke who was at table. Every one 
 present, except Orloff, used some expression 
 of regret ; he alone, as if disdainful of the 
 courtesies ever current amongst gentlemen, 
 viewed the accident unmoved, and did not 
 even make the slightest apology. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 MOSCOW DEVASTATED BY THE PLAGUE ; SUPERSTITION OF THE PEOPLE, AND CONSEQUENT RIOTS ; ACTIVITY 
 OF GREGORY ORLOFF IN PREVENTING THE SPREAD OF THE PESTILENCE; UNSUCCESSFUL NEGOTIATIONS 
 FOR PEACE BETWEEN TURKEY AND RUSSIA ; ORLOFF IS DISMISSED, AND VASSILTSCHIKOFF BECOMES THE 
 FAVOURITE OF THE EMPRESS ; THE FIRST DISMEMBERMENT OF POLAND. 
 
 During the whole of 1771, the city of 
 Moscow was subjected to the ravages of the 
 plague. The Russian army was first in- 
 fected, in consequence of the soldiers re 
 
 captured ; the Turks being, either from want 
 of cleanliness, or from some other cause, 
 more subject to that dreadful malady than 
 any other people in Europe. The Russian 
 
 siding in the Turkish towns which they had ' general at Jassv, where the pestilence raged 
 
 283 
 
THE PLAGUE AT MOSCOW.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1771. 
 
 in the winter of 1770, endeavoured to arrest 
 its fatal influence by diverting the minds of 
 his soldiers from the contemplation of it. 
 He therefore issued a peremptory order that 
 its name should not be pronounced, and 
 even obliged the military surgeons to draw 
 up a declaration in writing, that it was only 
 a spotted fever. This artifice did not avail ; 
 several thousand soldiers died, and great 
 numbers of the citizens perished. Even 
 the general fell a victim to the pestilence 
 as the summer advanced. The infection 
 was also spread to a far greater extent by 
 the insane folly of the soldiers themselves, 
 who persisted in robbing the houses, and 
 even the persons of the infected dead. 
 
 From the army the dreadful distemper 
 spread into Russia, and went on with a 
 steady and deadly advance until it reached 
 Moscow. Here the authorities either de- 
 ceived themselves, or in the hope of allaying 
 the fears entertained upon the subject, issued 
 an ukase, assuring the people that there was 
 no pestilence, and that a false alarm had 
 been wickedly raised among the citizens. 
 In Kief, where also the terrible scourge had 
 made its appearance, similar language was 
 held respecting it; and as none of the 
 physicians or surgeons there had ever seen 
 cases of the plague, they pronounced it to 
 be a putrid spotted fever. 
 
 The principal families of Moscow hurried 
 away from the city and went into the 
 country. Their flight was useless ; they 
 carried the contagion with them, and spread 
 it through the neighbouring towns and vil- 
 lages, where it destroyed at least 30,000 
 persons. But its ravages were far more 
 terrible in Moscow itself; for before it sub- 
 sided, it was estimated that only a fourth 
 part of the ordinary number of inhabitants 
 were left alive. Such was the want of 
 labour, and the apathy produced by fear, 
 that the dead often lay for three or four 
 days in the streets, on the spot where they 
 had dropt and ^ied. The empress, on 
 hearing the news, did not shut her eyes to 
 the real nature of the calamity. She issued 
 a proclamation, containing certain direc- 
 tions to be observed, and sent Gregory Orlofi" 
 to Moscow with unlimited power to adopt 
 whatever expedient he considered necessary 
 for checking, and, if possible, terminating 
 
 • " It is difficult to imagine," says Tooke, " to 
 ■what length the Russians carry their fanaticism for 
 the pictures of the saints, which they call bohgs at 
 gods. The figure of some saint is painted in gaudy 
 colours on a piece of board, and the silver, gold, or 
 
 284 
 
 the evil. The conduct of the favourite upon 
 this occasion was bold, active, and efficient ; 
 and it gained him great distinction. Orloff 
 appointed a commission of health, com- 
 prising the most skilful physicians amongst 
 its members. He converted monasteries 
 and palaces into lazarets; appropriated a 
 building for the reception of children whose 
 parents had perished of the plague ; turned 
 several of the public offices into houses 
 of quarantine for suspected persons; and 
 adopted other salutary measures. By these 
 means, the further spread of the pestilence 
 was, to a considerable extent, arrested ; but 
 no efficient mode of cure was discovered. 
 Most of those who were attacked died, and 
 the plague only subsided as winter ap- 
 proached. It carried ofi" in Moscow alone, 
 at the beginning of September, 800 persons 
 every day ; while in the middle of October, 
 five, six, or seven hundred were the daily 
 number of victims. By the 15th of No- 
 vember, the number had decreased to 150; 
 while, on the 30th, but seventy-five perished. 
 On the 4th of December only ten died; 
 and then the number diminished until the 
 6th of January, 1772, when the plague 
 ceased. 
 
 The folly or wickedness of men com- 
 monly steps in to aggravate those afflictions 
 which arise from the sickness of nature or 
 the decree, of an off'ended Deity. In this 
 case, it was not sufficient that the invisible 
 power of death floated on every breeze, and 
 rose with the dews of night into the still 
 air, broken only by the moans of agony, 
 the low wailings of despair, or the fierce 
 imprecations of the maniac and the blas- 
 phemer. To these terrors must be added 
 the double curse of ignorance and its twin- 
 brother, fanaticism. The dull and brutal 
 populace could not be induced to observe 
 the precautions recommended to them by 
 the government ; and so far Avere they from 
 following the prescriptions of the physicians, 
 that they charged the latter with being the 
 cause of the pestilence, and subjected them 
 to insult and violence. Foreign medical 
 men, especially, could not pass through the 
 streets without peril to their lives. The 
 ignorant people maintained, that the only 
 true mode of cure was continual prayer to 
 the pictures of the saints ;* and this super- 
 diamonds about the hands and face of it, constitute 
 its value. When a Russian enters a room, the first 
 thing he does is to salute the god, which is placed 
 against the wall in one corner, by bowing and cross- 
 ing himself. St. Nicholas, St John the Baptist, St. 
 
A.D. 1771.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [pestilence and riot. 
 
 stitious delusioa was not long before it led 
 to a criminal tragedy. 
 
 During the month of September, shortly 
 before the arrival of Gregory Orloff, an 
 impostor, or a madman, stood by one of the 
 gates of the city, and declared to every one 
 who passed by, that a picture of the mother 
 of God, placed near the gate, had appeared 
 to him, complained that its worship had 
 been neglected, and promised to quell the 
 pestilence by a miracle, if that worship was 
 zealously revived. Both priests and peo- 
 ple listened; and without questioning the 
 honesty or sanity of the fdlow, they spread 
 his story by relating it to every one they 
 met. With the mass of the people, to hear 
 was to believe ; for the terrors of the plague 
 had created so much dismay, that they were 
 in the frame of mind best adapted for the 
 reception of the narratives of the wonderful 
 and the miraculous. Multitudes flocked to 
 St. Barbara's gate, and bringing with them 
 trinkets to hang about the picture, they 
 addressed it in passionate entreaties or 
 vehement cries. Processions then com- 
 menced, and the pestilence was aggravated 
 in consequence of the concourse of people 
 always congregated in the neighbourhood 
 of the picture. Ambrosius, the primate of 
 Moscow, desired to put an end to this con- 
 fusion. Having procured the assistance of 
 five soldiers, he sent them, late in the even- 
 ing, to take down and bring away the picture 
 that had been the object of so much excite- 
 ment. But neither by night nor day was 
 the gate free from a fanatical tumult before 
 the painted mother of God. The soldiers 
 were driven ofl", and the incensed mob de- 
 nounced the primate as a heretic. Running 
 to the churches, they rang all the bells, on 
 which nearly all the inhabitants of the city 
 rushed into the streets, supposing it to be 
 an alarm of fire. On the fanatics informing 
 them of the intended removal of the holy 
 picture, the majority joined in the riot, and, 
 swearing vengeance against the primate, 
 went in pursuit of him. He had taken 
 
 Sergius, and St. Alexander Nevski, are the figures 
 in most request, except the hohgoroditza, the Mother 
 of God. Every one has his particular patron to 
 whom he applies in cases of need. When his neigh- 
 bours see that he succeeds in the culture of his 
 fields or in trade, they borrow or hire his god, to 
 which they attribute his prosperity. They then pay 
 the borrowed figure all sorts of reverence and offer- 
 ings. There are in some towns god-markets ; and 
 the sole difference between the chaffering is, that in 
 this the word ' money' must never be pronounced. 
 Some people will never go to their daily labour, or 
 set out on a journey, without taking their god with 
 
 refuge in the Donskoi monastery without 
 the city ; but he was tracked by the rabble, 
 who rushed into the church, and found him 
 engaged in the celebration of divine worship. 
 Unawed by the sanctity of the place, the 
 venerable appearance of the man, or the 
 nature of his employment, they beat the 
 unfortunate prelate to the ground, and then 
 dispatched him with their knives. 
 
 Leaving the mangled body lying before 
 the gate of the sacred building, the mur- 
 derers ran back into the city, where they 
 plundered the residence of the primate, 
 turned the sick out of the lazarets, ill- 
 treated the surgeons, and, breaking into 
 some Avine-cellars, soon added the madness 
 of drunkenness to that of fanaticism. Some 
 public officers who endeavoured to calm the 
 tumult were severely beaten ; and the tide 
 of popular fury turned against the medical 
 men, who were accused of having occasioned 
 the pestilence. Meeting Avith an Italian 
 dancing-master, whom they took to be a 
 doctor, they broke both his arms and his 
 legs, and left him lying in that shocking 
 condition in the street. Having attacked 
 and plundered the house of a well-known 
 physician, they pressed forward, staggering, 
 shouting, and filling the air with wild cries, 
 to the principal hospital. At their approach, 
 a hundred soldiers, who had been placed 
 there to protect it, took to their heels ; the 
 doctors and attendants had all previously 
 consulted their safety by retreating into the 
 country. 
 
 For a few hours Moscow was not only 
 smitten with the plague which struck in- 
 visibly, and removed its victims from 
 amongst the living with a rapidity that 
 engendered a mysterious awe, but it also 
 lay at the mercy of a fanatical, desperate, 
 and drunken mob. Few situations could 
 be more calamitous, when the destructive 
 powers of nature, and the blind wrath of 
 brutal men, combined to spread death and 
 terror throughout its dwellings. But the 
 sanguinary carnival that furious ignorance 
 
 them ; and if a stranger call at their house in the 
 meantime, and asks to salute the hohg, the wife replies 
 that he is gone into the fields, or on a journey. St. 
 George is a protector of horned cattle. The horses 
 are looked alter by St. Anthony, and the fish by St. 
 Jonas ; one cures one disease and one another. But 
 perhaps it is unjust to deride any religion for its 
 superstitions J all national religious establishments 
 have them under one form or another. The Russian 
 peasants, notwithstanding, are extremely tolerant. 
 ' Your God,' say they to those who are not of the 
 same religion with them — 'your God commands you 
 to serve him thus ; our God orders us differently.' " 
 
 285 
 
NEGOTIATIONS WITH TURKEY.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1772. 
 
 carried on within the city of the plague, 
 was suppressed in the evening by General 
 Yerakin, who arrived with 150 soldiers and 
 two field-pieces. Encouraged by the small- 
 ness of this force, the rioters encountered 
 it, and a furious fight, which was prolonged 
 until midnight, ensued. By that time 250 
 of the insurgents lay dead in the street, 
 300 were taken prisoners, and many more 
 crawled away, desperately wounded, and 
 died in their miserable homes. The de- 
 cision of General Yerakin restored peace to 
 Moscow ; and the governor and officers 
 who had fled from their duty, speedily re- 
 turned to it. 
 
 Soon after this wild outbreak, Gregory 
 Orloff arrived in Moscow with absolute 
 authority to adopt any means he considered 
 expedient for the reduction of the pesti- 
 lence. His fearlessness and activity con- 
 tributed much to that result. Some of the 
 means he put in practice were admirable 
 ones. When, in the spring of 1772, a 
 return of the calamity was apprehended, he 
 proclaimed throughout the city, that who- 
 ever kept in concealment any goods or 
 other things in houses that had been in- 
 fected, even though they were stolen, might 
 freely produce them, and instead of punish- 
 ment, should receive from ten to twenty 
 roubles j and that such articles as had been 
 in the possession of infected persons, and 
 must therefore be burnt, should be paid for 
 according to their full value. The result of 
 this proclamation was, that all the infected 
 garments and other articles which a revolt- 
 ing avarice had filched from the dead, even 
 at the risk of themselves speedily following 
 in the same dark path, were collected and 
 destroyed. Happily the plague, which, ac- 
 cording to a Russian estimate, had cost the 
 empire the lives of 133,299 persons, did not 
 return. Such had been the exertions of 
 Gregory Orloff in promoting this end, that 
 the empress Catherine caused a triumphal 
 arch to be erected to his honour, bearing 
 the inscription, " Moscow delivered from 
 the contagion by Orloff." Medals also 
 were struck as memorials of the service he 
 had rendered his country. 
 
 During this period Poland continued a 
 prey to confusion ; and on the 3rd of Sep- 
 tember, 1771, its powerless monarch nar- 
 rowly escaped assassination, in consequence 
 of the belief which prevailed amongst his 
 subjects, that he was acting in concert with 
 the empress Catherine, who, from day to 
 day, was adding to the weight of the yoke 
 286 
 
 she had forced upon their unhappy country. 
 The danger from which Stanislaus Augustus 
 had escaped, gave Catherine a new pretext 
 for pursuing the confederates of Bar, as the 
 intolerant catholic party were called, and 
 for preparing for the dismemberment of 
 Poland. 
 
 Turkey had suffered much in the war 
 with Russia, and desired peace ; Russia, who 
 had not sought the conflict, felt it to be a 
 heavy and dangerous responsibility, and 
 was, therefore, not averse to peace. The 
 more so, as the Russian squadron in the 
 Archipelago was devastated by an epidemic 
 which threatened to carry off every sailor 
 in the fleet. Consequently, when the minis- 
 ters of Austria and Prussia intervened to 
 bring about a peace, an armistice was 
 agreed upon, and a congress appointed to 
 meet at Fokshiani. Gregory Orloff saw in 
 this what he deemed a favourable oppor- 
 tunity for promoting his ambition. Could 
 he obtain a favourable peace for Russia, he 
 conceived that the gratitude of the empress 
 might induce her to make him her partner 
 on the throne, and that popular opposition 
 to such a step would be abandoned in the 
 general joy at the restoration of tran- 
 quillity. 
 
 The empress had been greatly attached 
 to Orloff; but the feeling he entertained 
 towards her was, it has been conjectured, 
 not affection, but the result of gratitude 
 and ambition. Proud of the favour of his 
 sovereign, he showed himself zealous to 
 deserve it; but when once he thought he 
 had acquired sufficient grounds for his pre- 
 tensions, his ardour began to cool, and he 
 even assumed a distant behaviour. The 
 more Catherine wished to bring him back 
 to his usual attentions, the more he seemed 
 inclined to retreat, and to seek his amuse- 
 ment in the company of other ladies. The 
 empress could not but resent this ungrateful 
 conduct, and feel hurt at the insensibility 
 from which it proceeded. However, on 
 account of the fondness for her child, of 
 which Orloff was the father,* she did not 
 at once discard him. The offspring of the 
 adventurer and his imperial paramour was 
 brought up in one of the suburbs of the 
 city, where Catherine, deeply disguised, 
 and under a false name, frequently visited 
 him. It is said, that from affection to this 
 child, and with the object of remedying the 
 inconstancy of Orloff, the empress made 
 him an offer of a clandestine marriage, but 
 * A boy, afterwards known as the Count Bobrinski. 
 
A.D. 1772.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [ORLOFF IS DISCARDED. 
 
 that he rejected it with disdain, as he pre- 
 sumed himself not unworthy of sharing 
 with her a throne gained, to no small ex- 
 tent, by his boldness, and upheld by his 
 influence. Catherine, though surprised, 
 masked her displeasure ; but considering 
 that the ambition of Orloff was not only 
 humiliating to her, but might give rise to 
 dangerous consequences, she resolved to 
 subdue her attachment to her aspiring and 
 ungrateful lover. 
 
 Catherine's chief minister, Count Panin, 
 was acute enough to discern the intentions 
 of his mistress. He had long regarded 
 Orloff with secret aversion ; and now that 
 the favourite had departed on his mission to 
 the East, again endeavoured to supplant him 
 in the estimation of the empress. Panin 
 watched her majesty closely, and soon per- 
 ceived that she often looked with com- 
 placency on a sub-lieutenant of the guards, 
 named Vassiltschikoff. This person was 
 young, handsome, and of a good figure ; but 
 he had not more than the average intel- 
 lect or talent, was deficient in a knowledge 
 of the world, and in that courage, or rather 
 confidence, which is commonly indispen- 
 sable in forwarding addresses where a dis- 
 parity of rank or fortune exists. But 
 Count Panin, and the courtiers who seconded 
 his design, played up to this new fancy of 
 the empress, and blackened the name of 
 Orloff, while they bestowed praises upon 
 his timid rival. In this case, the docility 
 of the latter was useful to him ; he did as 
 he was directed by the more accomplished 
 intriguers who were interested in his suc- 
 cess, and soon was appointed by the em- 
 press as her chamberlain ; in which situa- 
 tion her smiles and her magnificent presents 
 left no doubt concerning the familiarity 
 which existed between them. 
 
 When Gregory Orloff learnt that a rival 
 had supplanted him in the affections of the 
 empress, he was filled with rage and asto- 
 nishment. Trusting that his presence would 
 revive a passion which his pride forbade 
 him to believe altogether extinguished, he 
 abandoned Fokshiani without the permis- 
 sion of the empress, and giving up the 
 peace negotiations, hastened to St. Peters- 
 burg. On arriving at the gates of that 
 city, an ofiicer approached his carriage, and 
 presented him with an imperial order for- 
 bidding him to enter. The discarded favour- 
 ite regarded it with silent astonishment, and 
 directed his servants to drive him to Gat- 
 shina, one of his country-seats. 
 
 When Catherine, who knew the violence 
 of Orloff's temper, received intelligence 
 that he had quitted Fokshiani, she ex- 
 perienced some alarm; and apprehensive 
 that he might make his appearance in spite 
 of her, gave orders to double the guard of 
 the palace, and to place sentinels at the 
 gate of the new favourite. As Orloff had a 
 key to his apartments, she even caused the 
 locks to be changed. These precautions 
 were needless; nothing was to be feared 
 from the once powerful and arrogant cour- 
 tier. No sooner was it known that he had 
 lost the favour of the empress, than he had 
 not a follower left; while those who had 
 hitherto been his enemies in secret, showed 
 themselves on all sides. He at first braved 
 the anger of the empress by refusing to 
 surrender his employments; but Catherine 
 had no desire to punish where she had once 
 loved. With a politic indulgence she entered 
 upon a compromise with him; and Orloff, 
 overcome by her bounty, consented to leave 
 Russia, and set out on a tour through 
 various parts of Europe. The empress re- 
 warded his submission with a present of 
 100,000 roubles, the brevet of a pension of 
 150,000, a magnificent service of plate, and 
 an estate with 6,000 peasants upon it. He 
 had already obtained a patent of prince of 
 the Roman empire, and Catherine desired 
 that he should take the title, no doubt 
 wishing that her former favourite should ap- 
 pear before the world with a magnificence i 
 befitting the position he had once held. | 
 
 The arrogant demands of the Russians | 
 led to the rupture of the congress of Fok- j 
 shiani, but negotiations for peace between i 
 Turkey and Russia were afterwards resumed j 
 at Bucharest. While they were pending, j 
 the Russians concluded with a new khail 
 of the Crimea a treaty, by which he de- 
 clared himself independent of the sultan, 
 and placed himself under the protection of 
 the empress. He at the same time sur- 
 rendered to her the forts of Kertch and 
 Yenikale, together with the territory be- 
 longing to them. The Porte, incensed at 
 this, sent a squadron into the Black Sea to 
 oppose the war ships of the empress, which 
 already breasted its waters. 
 
 Catherine's attention was now particularly 
 directed to Poland, where she saw herself 
 about to reap the result of the political 
 intrigues she had so patiently carried on. 
 Frederic the Great was her accomplice in 
 the design of partitioning that miserable 
 country, which fell a prey to the ambition 
 
 287 
 
DISMEMBERMENT OF POLAND.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 
 
 -1773. 
 
 of its neighbours througli the vices of its 
 nobles and its priesthood, the weakness of 
 its kings, and the slavery of its people. 
 Frederic had drawn Austria into the scheme ; 
 and the emperor, Joseph II., was perfectly 
 willing to share in the plunder. England 
 had been deluded by a highly profitable 
 commercial treaty, which bound up her 
 interests with those of Russia, and ensured 
 her neutrality. France — then in the op- 
 pressed and exhausted condition which, 
 twenty years later, produced that terrible 
 revolution which astonished the world — she 
 disregarded. The nations of the Baltic, 
 though they felt jealous of the growing 
 preponderance of Russia, were not in a con- 
 dition to oppose her designs ; and the 
 Turks had enough to do to defend their 
 own territory without sending assistance to 
 Poland. 
 
 Prussia and Austria both seized some 
 pretext for pouring their troops into Poland, 
 which was already occupied by those of 
 Russia. The rest of Europe looked on in 
 silence, and wondered why three formidable 
 powers, in a time of peace, should seize 
 upon a country the independence of which 
 had been guaranteed by the most solemn 
 treaties. They were not long kept in sus- 
 pense. The treaty that had been entered 
 into by the three powers was avowed, and 
 the ambassadors of each of them presented 
 to the king and the diet of Poland declara- 
 tions in support of it. The internal troubles 
 of Poland, it was said, were productive of 
 danger to neighbouring states, who were 
 consequently obliged, at a great expense, to 
 take measures of precaution, in order to 
 secure the tranquillity of their own fron- 
 tiers. Russia, Prussia, and Austria were 
 therefore resolved on terminating the dis- 
 sensions of Poland, and at the same time, of 
 satisfying certain claims they had upon that 
 country, by taking possession of such parts 
 of its territory as would serve to fix more 
 natural and certain bounds between it and 
 them. In the autumn of 1772, each of the 
 three partitioning powers issued a specifica- 
 tion of the particular territory which they 
 had respectively agreed to appropriate. In 
 these documents, the sovereigns of Prussia 
 and Austria merely commanded the inhab- 
 itants of the districts to which they laid 
 claim, to take an oath of allegiance to them, 
 and to conduct themselves as loyal subjects. 
 The inclination of the people as to this 
 sudden transference of their loyalty was not 
 taken into consideration. Catherine acted 
 288 
 
 with a greater liberality. She solemnly 
 promised her new subjects the free and 
 public exercise of their religion, together 
 with the perfect security of their property. 
 She added, that looking upon them now as 
 her dear children, she gave them equal 
 shares in all the rights, liberties, and pre- 
 rogatives enjoyed by her ancient subjects. 
 In return for these graces, she expected 
 they would render themselves worthy of 
 them by a sincere love of their new country, 
 and an inviolable attachment to its sovereign. 
 Catherine, at the same time, commanded 
 them to take an oath of allegiance to her in 
 the course of a month; but she allowed any 
 of the nobility or landholders who were not 
 disposed to do so, three mouths to sell their 
 lauds before they left the country. 
 
 Stanislaus Augustus, the king of Poland, 
 while his country was thus being torn 
 asunder by strangers, was a sort of honour- 
 able prisoner in his capital, which was sur- 
 rounded with foreign troops. He was re- 
 quired by the representatives of the par- 
 titioning powers to give a sort of sanction 
 to their act of spoliation. They insisted 
 that a diet, presided over by the sovereign, 
 should solemnly cede to them the provinces 
 of which they had already possessed them- 
 selves. On the 19th of April, 1773, a diet 
 met to deliberate with the bayonet at its 
 bosom. Bribes and threats were used to 
 influence the votes of the deputies, and that 
 so successfully, that after some resistance, 
 the diet confirmed the dismemberment of 
 the country. No sooner was this done, 
 than several of the principal members of 
 the diet went to the king, and reproached 
 him with the ruin of their country ; for 
 though he had declared loudly against the 
 partition, he was suspected, by those who 
 knew his former devotion to the empress 
 Catherine, of still being the creature of her 
 will. At first he answered his irritated 
 nobles gently ; but as his moderation only 
 encouraged them to use expressions of in- 
 sult, he rose from his seat, and throwing 
 his hat upon the floor, said haughtily — 
 "Gentlemen, I am weary of listening to 
 you. The partition of our unhappy coun- 
 try is a consequence of your ambition, of 
 your dissensions, and your eternal disputes. 
 It is to yourselves alone that you ought to 
 attribute your misfortunes. As for me, if 
 no more territory should be left me than 
 could be covered by this hat, I should 
 nevertheless be still, in the eyes of all 
 Europe, your lawful but unhappy king." 
 
A.D. 1773.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE, [dismemberment of Poland. 
 
 By this, the first dismemberment of 
 Poland, it lost an extent of territory in- 
 habited by nearly 5,000,000 of persons, 
 and comprising more than one-third of its 
 whole extent. Of this territory, Russia 
 took 3,444 square leagues ; Austria, 2,700 ; 
 and Prussia, 900; but Frederic's portion, 
 though the smallest and least populous, was 
 also the richest and most enterprising.* 
 Some nobles of the usurped provinces pub- 
 lished protests against this proceeding ; but 
 these were of no avail in a country overrun 
 with foreign armies. The three powers 
 then brought forward, and induced the diet 
 to adopt, the plan of a new constitution, 
 which was to obviate the defects of the old 
 one. Its real object, and its actual effect, 
 was to confirm the dangerous privileges of 
 the nobility, and aggravate the confusion 
 from which the country suffered. These 
 were, indeed, calamitous ; much of the land 
 was reduced to a mere desert, the inhab- 
 itants being either exterminated or forcibly 
 carried off into Russia or Prussia. The 
 extortions imposed by Frederic, during the 
 occupation of Poland by Prussian troops, 
 were enormous ; and the actual sovereignty 
 of Poland, so far as any could be said to 
 exist, was in the hands of the Russian am- 
 'bassador, who never neglected an oppor- 
 tunity of treating its legitimate monarch 
 with the most galling insult. 
 
 " The violent dismemberment and parti- 
 tion of Poland,^' said an author who wrote 
 a few years after the events we have just 
 narrated, " Avithout the pi-etence of war, or 
 even the colour of right, is to be considered 
 as the first very great breach in the modern 
 political system of Europe. It is not, said 
 the politicians of the continent, sapping by 
 degrees the constitution of our great western 
 republic, it is laying the axe at once to the 
 root, in such a manner as threatens the 
 total overthrow of the whole. The surprise 
 of a town, the invasion of an insignificant 
 province, or the election of a prince who 
 had neither abilities to be feared nor vir- 
 tues to be loved, would some years ago 
 have armed one-half of Europe, and elicited 
 the attention of the other. "We now be- 
 hold the destruction of a great kingdom, 
 with the consequent disarrangement of 
 power, dominion, and commerce, with as 
 much indifference as we could read an 
 
 • Notwithstanding the smallness of the tract ac- 
 quired by Frederic, its importance to him was im- 
 mense, for it united the kingdom of Prussia with 
 Pomerania and the marches of Brandenburg, which it 
 2p 
 
 account of the extermination of one horde 
 of Tartars by another, in the days of Ghen- 
 gis Khan or Tamerlane. 
 
 " The idea of considering Europe as a 
 vast commonwealth ; of the several parts 
 being distinct and separate, though politi- 
 cally and commercially united ; of keeping 
 them independent, notwithstanding their 
 inequality in power ; and of preventing 
 any one, by any means, from becoming too 
 powerful for the rest, was great and liberal, 
 and though the result of barbarism, founded 
 upon the most enlarged principles of the 
 wisest policy. It is owing to this system, 
 that this small part of the world has ac- 
 quired so astonishing a superiority over the 
 rest of the globe. The fortune and glory 
 of Greece proceeded from a similar system 
 of policy, though formed upon a smaller 
 scale. Both her fortune and glory expired 
 along with the system. 
 
 " Some of the most desert provinces in 
 Asia have been repeatedly the seats of arts, 
 arms, commerce, and literature. These 
 potent and civilised nations have repeatedly 
 perished for want of any union or system of 
 policy of this nature. Some Scythian or 
 other barbarian has been suffered, un- 
 noticed, to subdue his neighbouring tribes; 
 each new conquest was made an instrument 
 to the succeeding, until at length become 
 irresistible, he swept whole empires, with 
 their arts and sciences, off the face of the 
 earth. In the same manner, a banditti, 
 who were afterwards called Romans, were 
 suffered to accumulate power, until they 
 had subdued the bravest and fiercest na- 
 tions, and become the masters of the best 
 part of the world. Each state looked on 
 with indifference, or enjoyed a malignant 
 pleasure at the ruin of its neighbour, with- 
 out reflecting that the weapons and power 
 of which he was deprived Avould be quickly 
 employed to its own destruction. 
 
 " It will not be denied, that the idea 
 of supposing a balance of power has in 
 some cases been carried to an extreme ; 
 that by artfully employing it to operate 
 upon the passions and jealousies of man- 
 kind, it has been made an engine subser- 
 vient to the designs of interested and am- 
 bitious persons ; and has, perhaps, thereby 
 been productive of some unnecessary wars. 
 The same objections might be made to that 
 
 had previously separated in a very awkward man- 
 ner, so that Voltaire was accustomed to compare 
 his illustrious friend's dominions to a long pair of 
 gaiters. 
 
 289 
 
THE WAB WITH TURKEY.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1773. 
 
 glorious jealousy with respect to civil 
 liberty, which has been the admiration and 
 envy of all ages ; which, for the happiness 
 of mankind, should subsist in full vigour in 
 every state in the world, and, to their mis- 
 fortune and punishment, is scarcely alive in 
 a few ; even that, the noblest quality of the 
 human mind, has been productive of wars 
 and other evils." 
 
 We may mention that, so perfectly was 
 England seduced by her commercial in- 
 terests to a connivance at the aggression of 
 Russia and the other partitioning powers, 
 that, when George III. met his reassembled 
 parliament on the 26th of November, 1772 
 (a time when the dismemberment of Poland 
 was known to all the world), his speech did 
 not contain a single allusion to that startling 
 
 innovation. As if approving all that had 
 been done, George expressed his satisfaction 
 at seeing there was reason to hope that the 
 war which had so long unhappily prevailed 
 in one part of Europe, was drawing to a 
 close; and he added, that although there 
 was no probability of England being in- 
 volved in these troubles, yet their discon- 
 tinuance would afford a fairer prospect for 
 the duration of peace, which he trusted would 
 not be affected by recent alterations in 
 Europe. Both houses of parliament gave a 
 formal and empty response to his speech, 
 and neither of them said a word about the 
 political annihilation of Poland, the Russian 
 proceedings in the Archipelago, and the 
 growing power and expanding territory of 
 the empress Catherine ! 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 HOSTILITIES BETWEEN EUSSIA AND TURKEY; FIRST MARRIAGE OF THE GRAND-DUKE PAUL; PEACE OF 
 KAINARDSHT ; PUGATSCHEF THE IMPOSTOR, AND THE GREAT COSSACK REBELLION ; PUGATSCHEF IS BE- 
 TRAYED AND EXECUTED ; CONCILIATORY MEASURES OF THE EMPRESS. 
 
 While the attention of the empress Cathe- 
 rine was chiefly occupied in the di%dsion of 
 Poland, her army and her fleet were engaged, 
 with variable success, with those of the 
 Turks. The Danube, which formed the 
 boundary between the hostile armies, was 
 the scene of many furious encounters, which 
 not unfrequently terminated in favour of the 
 Ottoman arms. The Russians, harassed by 
 frequent attacks, and suffering greatly from 
 the climate, were losing immense numbers of 
 their best troops in ineffectual service. The 
 empress, on learning this, sent despatches 
 to Marshal Romantzoff, desiring to be in- 
 formed why he did not give battle to the 
 enemy. The answer the general returned 
 was, that the grand-vizier had three times 
 more people than he, and might easily find 
 his advantage in such an event. Catherine, 
 in reply, wrote with a proud impatience — 
 " The Romans never asked after the number 
 of their enemies, but where they were, in 
 order to fight them.'* 
 
 Neither on land or by sea were the Rus- 
 sians so successful as they anticipated being. 
 Some trifling engagements took place be- 
 tween the hostile fleets on the Black Sea ; 
 290 
 
 but such was the badness of the vessels, and 
 the inexperience of the sailors on both 
 sides, that their contests did little more than 
 show that Russia was about as ill suited to 
 acquire, as Turkey was to defend, the do- 
 minion of those boisterous Avaters. In the 
 Archipelago the career of the Russian fleet 
 was a chequered one ; some hollow successes 
 were obtained, and some exhausting reverses 
 suffered. In the spring of 1773 the Russian 
 fleet made an unsuccessful descent upon the 
 island of Negropont, in which they suffered 
 great loss ; the Turks cutting off all the men 
 that were landed. Chiefly in consequence 
 of the numbers of their sick the Russians 
 quitted the isle of Paros, and sent a part of 
 their fleet to Leghorn, where they refitted 
 their ships, and fixed a hospital. The other 
 vessels were employed in desultory expedi- 
 tions of a piratical character. They made 
 several descents upon the islands of Cyprus, 
 Candia, and others, which were attended 
 with no further advantage than the accumu- 
 lation of plunder. They were, however, so 
 far from being always successful in these 
 affairs, that four sacks, full of Russian heads, 
 were sent from Stanchio to Constantinople, 
 
A.D. 1773—1774.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [peace with the PORTE. 
 
 as a proof of the reception they had met 
 with in that island. 
 
 Catherine had, for some time, desired to 
 see her son, the Grand-duke Paul, contract 
 an alliance which siiould result in ensuring 
 the continuance of the imperial dynasty. 
 Paul was weak in constitution and cold in 
 temperament ; and the empress entertained 
 some fears that he might be indisposed or 
 incapable of giving heirs to the empire. 
 Some of her confidants undertook to dispel 
 her doubts. For this purpose they engaged 
 an attractive Polish lady, a Avidovv, named 
 Sophia Ossipovna, to melt the coldness of 
 the prince, and win him to her endearments. 
 Paul was captivated; the lady bore him a 
 son,* and the empress was satisfied and 
 convinced. She shortly afterwards caused 
 Paul to be married to the Princess Wilhel- 
 mina, one of the daughters of the landgrave 
 of Hesse-Darmstadt. As a preliminary, the 
 lady embraced the Greek mode of worship ; 
 and the marriage, which was conducted with 
 great magnificence, took place on the 10th 
 of October, 1773. 
 
 Catherine was fond of communicating with 
 distinguished men of letters, and Voltaire 
 and Diderot were the correspondents whom 
 she most distinguished. She had several 
 times invited them to visit her at St. Peters- 
 burg. Voltaire had ever declined ; but this 
 year Diderot accepted the hospitality of the 
 empress, and travelled to St. Petersburg, 
 where he was received with much distinction 
 and liberality. The apostle of materiaUsm 
 wrote to a friend, that " while in a country 
 called the land of freemen, he felt as a slave ; 
 but now, in a land called the country of 
 slaves, he felt like a freeman." Every day, 
 after dinner, Catherine conversed with him on 
 philosophy, legislation, or politics. Diderot 
 unfolded his principles concerning the rights 
 of nations, with his usual eloquence and 
 enthusiasm. The empress used to make 
 him sit beside her; and, in his warmth, he 
 sometimes hit her on the knee with the back 
 of his hand — a familiarity which she never 
 resented or seemed displeased at. But, 
 though she seemed delighted to converse 
 with the philosopher, he did not often win 
 her to the adoption of his principles. " Mon- 
 sieur Diderot,'^ she remarked, " is a hundred 
 years old in many respects ; but, in others, 
 he is no more than ten." 
 
 • This child received the name of Simeon Velikoi. 
 He waa of a gentle and modest disposition, and at 
 an early age entered the Russian navy. He after- 
 wards formed one of twelve officers sent by the era- 
 
 Immense preparations were made, both 
 by the Turks and the Russians, for the cam- 
 paign of 1774. The army of the grand- 
 vizier, on the Danube, was reported to 
 amount to no less than 400,000 combatants, 
 while the Porte also fomented rebellions 
 amongst the Cossacks, and troubles with 
 the Tartars of the Crimea. The Russians 
 also had a powerful army on the Danube, 
 under the command of Marshal Romantzoff, 
 beneath whom served Generals Soltikoff, 
 Suwarrow, and Kamenskoi. 
 
 Notwithstanding the enormous numerical 
 force of the Turks, they were defeated in 
 several engagements ; and the severe re- 
 verses they suffered led, as was usual, to a 
 spirit of insubordination amongst them. 
 They not only fought furiously amongst 
 themselves, but deserted by whole detach- 
 ments. Their general had fixed his camp 
 at Shumla, at a considerable distance from 
 the main body of his army. Romantzoff 
 soon discerned this vital error, and, sur- 
 rounding the camp of the vizier, he cut oS 
 the communication of that thoughtless gen- 
 eral with the great body of his troops, and 
 also with his magazines. The vizier, un- 
 able to obtain any succours, to retire, or to 
 stand a battle, resolved to sue for peace. 
 
 The Russians had no objection to peace, 
 but they would abate nothing of their pre- 
 vious demands. To these the Turks now 
 agreed, and the treaty was concluded at 
 Kutschuk-Kainardshi, in Bulgaria. By it 
 Russia obtained the free navigation of the 
 Black Sea, and all other Ottoman seas, 
 together with the passage of the Darda- 
 nelles, with the sole restriction that she 
 should never have more than one armed 
 vessel in the Bosphorus. Russia retained 
 Azoflf, Taganrog, Kertch, and Kinburn, 
 but restored the rest of her conquests. 
 But the condition which perhaps most of 
 all galled the pride of the Porte, was the 
 declaration of the independence of the 
 Crimea ; though that government does not 
 appear to have foreseen that Catherine only 
 desired to obtain the independence of the 
 Crimea, that she might be the better 
 enabled to incorporate it with her own 
 dominions, to which, indeed, in a geogra- 
 phical sense, it properly belongs. Besides 
 these concessions, the empress obtained 
 from the Porte that tract of land lying on 
 
 press Catherine to learn the art of navigation in 
 England. While in this country he volunteered into 
 the English navy, and died in the West Indies in 
 1797. 
 
 291 
 
STATE OF THE EMPIRE.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1773. 
 
 the Euxine between the Bug and the 
 Dnieper, a pecimiary equivalent for the 
 expenses of the war, and a recognition of 
 her imperial title. By this treaty, there- 
 fore, she derived the twofold advantage of 
 increasing her own power and decreasing 
 that of her enemy. The commerce of the 
 Euxine, and the mart of the Levant, opened 
 to her a source of immense riches. The 
 protection which she granted the Tartars 
 furnished her with the means of dividing 
 them, and of conquering their country. 
 The acquisition of the Polish Ukraine put 
 her in a capacity of more easily carrying ou 
 a war in the regions of the Danube, of 
 overawing the Ottoman empire, and of 
 completing the ruin of Poland. The estab- 
 lishment of discipline among the Cossacks 
 added to her armies an excellent cavalry ; 
 and the empress beheld her influence and 
 her reputation extending throughout Europe. 
 Great joy prevailed at St. Petersburg in 
 consequence of the conclusion of peace, and 
 eight days were devoted to public festivities. 
 That the spirit of gladness might be uni- 
 versal, all prisoners, except those charged 
 with high treason, were released, and many 
 of the unfortunate outcasts who had been 
 exiled to Siberia permitted to return. 
 
 In fact, peace was almost as requisite to 
 Russia as to Turkey. The finances of the 
 empress were in a dilapidated state; Mos- 
 cow and the adjacent country had not 
 recovered the ravages of the plague, which 
 had made its appalling appearance in the 
 armies of the empress, and had even ex- 
 tended to her fleet in the Archipelago. An 
 insurrection, to Avhich we shall presently 
 refer, was rife in the provinces of Kazan, 
 Astracan, and Orenburg ; while from 
 seventy to one hundred thousand Kal- 
 muck families had, in consequence of some 
 oppression to which they had been sub- 
 jected, abandoned the steppes of Russia, 
 and sought the protection of the emperor of 
 China. Catherine, who could ill afford to 
 lose so considerable a number of the in- 
 habitants of her thinly-populated domi- 
 nions, demanded the restitution of the run- 
 aways. To this she received a dignified 
 refusal; the supreme tribunal of Pekin 
 saying — " Their sovereign was not so un- 
 just a prince as to deliver up his subjects to 
 foreigners, nor so cruel a father as to drive 
 away children who returned to the bosom 
 of their family. That he had no intimation 
 of the design of the Kalmucks till the 
 moment of their arrival; and that then, 
 292 
 
 without delay, he caused to be restored to 
 them the habitations that had belonged to 
 them from time immemorial." 
 
 Catherine herself, also, though equal to 
 immense exertions, yet desired repose. 
 Though triumphant over her enemies, the 
 admiration of Europe, idolised by her cour- 
 tiers, she was still frequently a prey to 
 secret disquietudes of great severity. Though 
 constantly projecting an extension of her 
 large dominions, she yet dreaded the 
 thought of being hurled from the throne. 
 Sometimes trembling for her life, yet she 
 gaily discoursed of the long career she had 
 probably still to run. Ou one occasion she 
 found a paper in her cabinet, in which 
 mention was made of a threatened assas- 
 sination; but never did she show herself 
 more confident and sedate than on that 
 day. Though sometimes distracted with 
 doubts, she never abandoned those pleasures 
 to which she had always been so much de- 
 voted. She frequently went from the 
 council to the ball-room and the theatre, 
 and from important sittings of the senate 
 to the most frivolous amusement. 
 
 Catherine was growing weary of her 
 favourite Vassiltschikoff", who, though he 
 did not abuse the trust placed in him, and 
 conducted himself with much moderation, 
 was yet rather a passive and insipid cha- 
 racter. At this point, Prince Orloff" re- 
 turned unexpectedly from his travels ; and 
 although the empress at first refused to see 
 him, she commanded Vassiltschikoft" to retire 
 to Moscow, and loaded him with presents 
 for his complaisant obedience. Orloff" soon 
 made his appearance at court, where the 
 empress received him with cheerfulness. 
 He aspired to gain his old ascendancy over 
 the heart of the empress ; but he was de- 
 ceived in this respect. She only desired 
 his presence and his influence, that she 
 might be the better able to oppose a faction 
 which she feared was forming under the 
 auspices of her son the Grand-duke Paul. 
 
 Clouds appeared to be gathering in the 
 horizon of Catherine. For some time discon- 
 tent had reigned among great bodies of the 
 people, on account of their suff'eriugs from 
 the plague and the war; and the boors 
 were almost desperate at seeing their sons 
 successively taken from them to perish by 
 the sword of the Turks, or the pestilence 
 which raged among the Russian armies on 
 the Danube. The empress had never been 
 a favourite with the ancient nobility of the 
 empire, while the priesthood secretly hated 
 
A.D. 1773.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [pugatschef the impostor. 
 
 her, on account of the wealth and privileges 
 she withheld from them. The latter, ready 
 to adopt any means of vengeance, privately 
 spread abroad a report that Peter III. was 
 still living, and would soon make his ap- 
 pearance to claim the throne Avhich was his 
 right. So early as the year 1767, a shoe- 
 maker of Voronetch declared himself to be 
 the deceased czar ; but he was soon taken, 
 and executed as an impostor. Three years 
 afterwards, a Russian soldier, who had de- 
 serted from his regiment, made the same 
 dangerous assertion; and although he re- 
 ceived a great deal of support from the 
 priests, shared the same fate as his prede- 
 cessor. Stefano Piccolo, a foreigner, who 
 had served among the Austrian irregulars 
 in the Seven Years' War, and afterwards 
 entered into the Russian service, was the 
 third adventurer in this direction. An in- 
 surrection followed, and his claim was soon 
 exposed ; but he himself was fortunate 
 enough to escape. A fourth and fifth im- 
 postor, who each claimed to be the mur- 
 dered Peter, perished by the hands of the 
 executioner. These miserable attempts were 
 but a gloomy prelude to the tragedy that 
 was to follow. 
 
 The next attempt to personate the de- 
 ceased czar was made in 1773, and with 
 remarkable success. The chief actor in it 
 was Ikhelman Pugatschef, the son of a Cos- 
 sack of the Don. In early life he served as 
 a common soldier in the Russian army, and 
 fought against Frederic of Prussia. He 
 afterwards served in the campaign of 1769 
 against the Turks, and was present at the 
 siege of Bender. When that town surren- 
 dered he applied for his dismission, and on 
 its being refused him, deserted and fled to 
 Poland. There he was concealed by some 
 hermits of the Greek church, whom he 
 sometimes entertained by narrations of his 
 various adventures. One day he mentioned, 
 that while he was in the Russian service, an 
 officer, after contemplating him for some 
 time, observed, " If the emperor Peter III., 
 my master, were not dead, I should believe 
 that I saw him once more in thee." The 
 hermits paid but little attention to this 
 anecdote, but a circumstance occurred 
 shortly afterwards which recalled it vividly 
 to their minds. One of their companions 
 who had been absent, seeing Pugatschef on 
 his return, exclaimed suddenly, "Is not 
 that the emperor, Peter III. 'i" On this the 
 monks conceived the project of inducing 
 Puj.atschef to assume the character of the 
 
 murdered czar, and found no difficulty in 
 winning him to a participation in the pro- 
 posed deception. 
 
 As soon as the monks considered the 
 deserter to be sufficiently prepared in the 
 details of the character he was to assume, 
 he proceeded to Little Russia, and putting on 
 the garb of a patriarch, bestowed his bene- 
 dictions on the people with all the solemnity 
 of a new apostle. He had no desire, he 
 told them, to recover his lost dignities; 
 declared that he was entirely weaned from 
 the vanities of the world ; that his life had 
 long been devoted to piety; and that as 
 soon as he had placed his dear son upon the 
 throne, he would again retire to terminate 
 his days in mortification and prayer. The 
 ignorant and superstitious people listened 
 with wonder and belief! Pugatschef was soon 
 at the head of a great number of followers, 
 and was even countenanced by many of the 
 nobility of that locality. 
 
 From Orenburg, where the revolt began, 
 Pugatschef went to the Cossacks of the Don, 
 where he was arrested on a charge of ex- 
 citing the people to sedition, and sent to 
 take his trial at Kasan. There the discon- 
 tented priests supplied him with money, 
 with which he corrupted his guards, and 
 then made his escape. Gathering a few of 
 his old comrades around him, they went 
 down the Volga as far as the mouth of the 
 Irghis, proceeded up that river, and pene- 
 trated into the desert. There, from day to 
 day, his followers increased, and soon be- 
 came sufficiently formidable to encourage 
 him publicly to declare that he was the 
 emperor Peter III., and had been delivered 
 by a miracle from the hands of his assassins ; 
 that a soldier, who greatly resembled him, 
 had been substituted as a victim to their 
 fury ; and that the report of his death was 
 a fiction coined by the court to compose 
 the minds of the people, and reconcile them 
 to the usurpation of Catherine. 
 
 Serious discontents prevailed among the 
 Cossacks, especially those who resided in 
 the neighbourhood of the river Ya'ik. The 
 chief of these arose from religious differences, 
 for the Cossacks of that locality belonged to 
 a party of separatists known as Roskolniki, 
 or heretics ; though they called themselves 
 Starovertzi, or believers according to the 
 old ftiith. The pretext on which Peter III. 
 had been , dethroned, was his attempt to 
 alter the dress and rites of the priests, and 
 to curtail the splendid revenues of the 
 church. The Cossacks, therefore, now be- 
 
 293 
 
PROGRESS OF THE REBELLION.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1773. 
 
 lieved that he was a true Roskolmk, who 
 had been deprived of his crown on account 
 of his adherence to their tenets. What, 
 then, more natural than that believing him 
 to be alive, they should receive him with 
 open arms ? 
 
 In the month of September, 1773, 
 Pugatschef and his followers made their ap- 
 pearance before the town of Yaitsk, which 
 contained 5,000 Cossacks and two field 
 regiments, and summoned it to surrender. 
 To these troops the impostor issued a mani- 
 festo, in which he declared "that he was 
 Peter III., who had escaped from Ropscha 
 at the instant when his assassins were about 
 to murder him; that the traitors who had 
 dethroned him!, and dreaded his return, had 
 falsely invented and propagated the report 
 of his death; that he had been obliged to 
 put on the disguise of a Cossack, to bear 
 arms for his persecutors, and afterwards to 
 conceal himself among the true and faithful 
 believers, to whom he had made himself 
 known ; that having learnt, at length, that 
 the brave Cossacks of the Yaik Avere re- 
 solved to free themselves from the yoke of 
 the usurpatrix, he was come to put himself 
 into their hands, and to offer to march with 
 them to victory and to vengeance." Imme- 
 diately 500 of the Cossacks came over to 
 him, accompanied by eleven of their officers ; 
 many of the others soon followed their ex- 
 ample; and the commander of the place, 
 who remained true to his duty, Pugatschef 
 seized and hanged. 
 
 It would be both wearisome and unneces- 
 sary to follow the steps of this barbarian in 
 his career of conquest and of cruelty. He 
 acted with great boldness and some military 
 skill, and defeated many bodies of troops 
 sent against him. Lured by the hope of 
 plunder and the excitement of a warlike 
 life, immense numbers joined his standard ; 
 and, during the winter, a body of 10,000 
 Kalmucks revolted, and went over to 
 him. At first Pugatschef conducted him- 
 self with an appearance of moderation ; he 
 wore an episcopal robe, gave his benedic- 
 tion to the people, and constantly repeated 
 that he was destitute of all ambition, and 
 that he only desired to place his son, the 
 grand-duke, on the throne, and then end 
 his days in religious retirement. Though 
 this mode of conduct attracted to him many 
 followers, he soon became tired, of it, and 
 the real character of the man revealed itself. 
 He omitted no opportunity for extending 
 the terror of his arms, and shrunk from no 
 294 
 
 cruelty that might promote that end. He 
 availed himself of every exhibition of weak- 
 ness or imprudence on the part of the 
 authorities, and displayed so much activity, 
 that scarcely had he reduced a town to sub- 
 mission, before he led his followers to engage 
 some force sent against him. Continued 
 success rendered him arrogant, and throw- 
 ing aside all restraint, he gave free scope to 
 his savage temper and his licentious pas- 
 sions. While besieging Orenburg he caused 
 all the officers and gentry of the surround- 
 ing country to be massacred, together with 
 their wives and children; resolving, as he 
 said, to shed the very last drop of blood of 
 the haughty and tyrannical nobility. 
 
 The spirit of rebellion extended itself as 
 far as Moscow. Catherine felt alarmed at 
 its extent, and recalling General Bibikoff 
 from the frontiers of Turkey, gave him the 
 command of a considerable army, with 
 orders to march against the insurgents. At 
 the same time she issued a manifesto, which 
 was circulated through the principal towns of 
 the empire. It promised a pardon to all de- 
 serters — especially to those of the Cossacks of 
 the Don and the Yaik — who should return 
 to their duty, and offered a reward of 100,000 
 roubles for the head of Pugatschef. The 
 rebel chief also published his manifestoes, 
 and affixed to them the name of Peter III. 
 By one of these documents he declared all 
 the serfs of the empire to be emancipated. 
 He even caused roubles to be coined, bearing 
 an impress of his likeness, with the inscrip- 
 tion, " Peter III., emperor and autocrator of 
 all the Russias." 
 
 General Bibikoff led an army of 35,000 
 men against the rebels, and obtained several 
 successes over them, but without much af- 
 fecting their number or decreasing their 
 atrocities. His good fortune, however, soon 
 abandoned him ; for, having detached Prince 
 Galitzin with a considerable body of troops, 
 he was unexpectedly attacked by Pugatschef, 
 and lost his life in the severe engagement 
 which followed. Prince Galitzin, on his 
 return, attacked the rebels, who fought des- 
 perately for a period of six hours, when, 
 after a great number had perished, Pugats- 
 chef and the rest took to flight, and escaped 
 to the shelter of the Ural Mountains. 
 
 Notwithstanding this heavy reverse, the 
 active rebel soon reappeared at the head 
 of a considerable force, and made himself 
 master of several towns to the east of the 
 mountains. Such as offered any resistance 
 he gave to the flames. Here he was again 
 
A.D. 1774.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [CAPTUKB OF PTTGATSCHEF. 
 
 attacked and defeated; and after being 
 hunted from place to place, though not 
 without occasionally inflicting sanguinary 
 checks upon his pursuers, he crossed the 
 Volga, and regained the desert with no 
 more than 300 followers, in whose bravery 
 and fidelity he placed his last hope. 
 
 Fortune had not yet deserted him, and 
 every day he was joined by numbers of 
 Cossacks, Kalmucks, and boors, who, at- 
 tracted by the name of liberty, had aban- 
 doned* their labour and taken to arras. 
 Elated by his popularity and the seeming 
 attachment of his people, he resolved to 
 march upon Moscow, where the populace, 
 never perfectly reconciled to the sway of 
 the empress, waited for him as a redeemer 
 and champion of their cause. Fortunately, 
 as he was beginning his march, he received 
 information that the empress had just con- 
 cluded a war with the Turks; and, appre- 
 hensive that he should have to contend with 
 the greater part of the returning army of 
 Marshal RomantzoflF, he thought it more 
 prudent to turn his arms in another direc- 
 tion. Learning that some Russian regi- 
 ments were encamped on the shores of the 
 Volga, he descended that river, fell upon 
 them by surprise, and routed them utterly. 
 Pugatschef also took several forts, and the 
 town of Dmitressk, the governor of which 
 he inhumanly caused to be impaled. The 
 rebel chief here showed himself as a ruffian 
 altogether destitute of merciful or generous 
 emotions. Hearing that the astronomer 
 Lovitch, member of the Imperial Academy 
 of Sciences at St. Petersburg, was employed 
 in the neighbourhood in taking levels for a 
 projected canal, he commanded the unof- 
 fending man of science to be brought before 
 him. As soon as the astronomer made his 
 appearance, Pugatschef ordered his men to 
 lift him on their pikes, in order, said he 
 derisively, "that he may be nearer the 
 stai's." The unfortunate man was then cut 
 to pieces by the attending Cossacks. 
 
 The career of the successful ruffian was 
 approaching to a conclusion. The empress 
 had sent General Panin to arrest his pro- 
 gress ; and an intimate associate of Pugats- 
 chef, who had been taken prisoner, was 
 suborned to betray him. But it was to 
 the indefatigable exertions of a Colonel 
 Mikelson that Catherine was peculiarly 
 indebted for the suppression of this dan- 
 gerous rebellion. He pursued the insur- 
 gents without intermission, marching over 
 deserts of trackless snow Avithout a guide, 
 
 and, at times, almost without food. In 
 every collision he had with the rebels he 
 was always successful ; and not only did he 
 surprise and defeat them, while encumbered 
 with baggage in a mountain pass, but cut 
 off their convoys, and reduced them to a 
 state of famine. Again deserted by the 
 great bulk of his followers, Pugatschef had 
 sought for safety in the deserts beyond the 
 Volga. His miserable associates, suffering 
 from hunger and thirst, and no longer able 
 to hope for any change in his fortune, re- 
 solved to betray him, and to purchase their 
 own safety with the life of their leader. 
 As he was seeking a meal by gnawing the 
 bones of a horse, the only food left him, 
 several of his associates approached, and the 
 first observed, " Come, thou hast been em- 
 peror long enough." Pugatschef shattered 
 the arm of the foremost of his assailants by 
 a pistol-shot, but he was soon overpowered 
 and bound by them. They then sent a 
 message to the Russian authorities, relating 
 what they had done. 
 
 Pugatschef was at first placed in close 
 confinement, together with several of his 
 principal accomplices, but he was afterwards 
 carried to Moscow in an iron cage. The 
 baffled rebel refused all sustenance, and ap- 
 peared resolved on self-destruction ; but his 
 keepers found means to compel him to eat. 
 He afterwards counterfeited madness, but 
 without producing the effect he intended. 
 He was subjected to many examinations 
 for the purpose of discovering if his career 
 of imposture had been suggested or aided 
 by any distinguished persons. Both the 
 Turkish and the French governments were 
 suspected of having excited this formidable 
 insurrection for the purpose of giving the 
 empress full employment at home. In a 
 letter which Catherine wrote the French 
 monarch, informing him that the leader of 
 the revolt was in her power, she said, "I 
 shall keep his depositions secret, that they 
 may not aggravate the disgrace of those 
 who set him on." 
 
 The delinquent was tried by the senate, 
 assisted by a special commission; and the 
 empress recommended them to be satisfied 
 with a simple confession of his crime, and 
 not to apply the torture for the purpose of 
 extracting the names of his accomplices. 
 She was prudently apprehensive lest his 
 declarations might oblige her to multiply 
 punishments, and plunge the empire into 
 fresh excitement. The empress, however, 
 departed from her customary lenity on this 
 
 295 
 
SUPPRESSION OF THE REBELLION.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1775. 
 
 occasion. Pugatschef ^yas condemned to 
 have his hands and his feet cut off, and then 
 to be quartered alive. Several of his asso- 
 ciates were to be hanged at the same time. 
 He was taken to the place of execution in a 
 cart painted black, and compelled to hold a 
 lighted candle in his hand. A priest sat on 
 each side of him, and behind stood the 
 executioner with two large axes placed on a 
 block. The preparations that had been 
 made created a great sensation in the minds 
 of the spectators, but Pugatschef himself 
 beheld them with an undaunted aspect. 
 With a strange insensibility respecting the 
 atrocities he himself had committed, he 
 uttered a wish, as he was driven through the 
 crowd, that if he had done aught amiss, the 
 people would pardon him for the love of 
 God ! He ascended the scaffold with per- 
 fect calmness and self-possession ; but, hap- 
 pily, the revolting sentence passed upon 
 him was not literally fulfilled. Either from 
 an error on the part of the executioner, or 
 from a sense of humanity in the man, he 
 struck off the head of the rebel first, and 
 severed the hands and feet afterwards. 
 Some persons have said that the punish- 
 ment of Pugatschef was thus mitigated in 
 consequence of a secret order from the em- 
 press to that effect ; but that is not probable, 
 as the unfortunate executioner had his 
 tongue cut out, and was sent to Siberia, for 
 presuming to alter the nature of the punish- 
 ment to which so notorious a criminal was 
 condemned. Five of the principal associates 
 of Pugatschef suffered with him, while 
 eighteen more imderwent the knout, and 
 were exiled to Siberia. His rebellion had 
 cost the destruction of a great number of 
 towns, and of upwards of 250 villages, be- 
 sides interrupting the works at the mines of 
 Orenburg, and the whole trade of Siberia. 
 The empress, to efface all memorial of the 
 revolt, changed the name of the river Yaik 
 into that of the Ural; and the town of 
 Yaitsk, where Pugatschef commenced his 
 rebellion, into that of Uralsk. She also 
 
 * That is, not estimable, but having a certain air of 
 grandeur from their being absolutely and widely 
 removed from littleness and meanness. Great crime 
 has often so dazzled the world by its brilliancy, that 
 men regard the author with emotions of admiration ; 
 but the criminal who crawls through life heaping 
 
 prohibited the discussion of the particulars 
 of this prolonged insurrection, forbade any 
 reproaches to be used on its account, and 
 pronounced a decree of silence and oblivion 
 on all matters concerning it. 
 
 After the suppression of this rebellion, 
 which had threatened to shake her throne, 
 Catherine adopted many measures of a na- 
 ture calculated to produce contentment in 
 the minds of the people, and to win their 
 attachment. She abolished a number of 
 the ancient taxes, especially such ast were 
 considered discouraging to agriculture, or 
 oppressive to particular provinces or orders 
 of the people. With a remarkable generosity 
 she also lent considerable sums of money, 
 without intei'est, for a specified term of years, 
 to those provinces which had been devastated 
 by the rebels, and were consequently suffer- 
 ing from famine. Those criminals who had 
 undergone long periods of imprisonment, or 
 had otherwise suffered severely for their 
 offences, she set at liberty. The same hu- 
 manity was shown, under certain restric- 
 tions, to im.prisoned debtors ; while the heirs 
 of those who lay under pecuniary obliga- 
 tions to the crown, were released from them. 
 These prudent measures were so far suc- 
 cessful that the disturbed districts were 
 tranquillised, and the insurgents everywhere 
 returned to their duty. 
 
 "ThuSj^^it has been well observed, "Russia 
 enjoyed her power, influence, and glory, with 
 a noble and splendid magnificence. All her 
 affairs were conducted upon a great and ex- 
 tensive system, and all her acts were in 
 a grand style. She sat supreme between 
 Europe and Asia, and looked like the dictator 
 of both. In her was seen a great but still 
 growing empire, which, not having reached 
 the summit of her destined power, felt life 
 and vigour glowing in every part. The suc- 
 cesses and consequences of the war enlarged 
 the spirit, extended the views, and dignified 
 the minds of the people. In such a state 
 everything is bold and masculine. Even its 
 vices and crimes are great."* 
 
 meanness upon meanness, and doing villanous M'ork 
 from vile and utterly selfish considerations, is not 
 only wicked, but disgusting. No sane man can 
 apologise for that which is vicious ; but yet even 
 Edmund Burke exclaimed, "that vice lost half its 
 evil by losing all its grossness." 
 
A.D. 
 
 1774.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE, [potemkin becomes favottrite. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 POTEMKIN BECOMES FAVOURITE OF THE EMPRESS; STATE VISIT OF CATHERINE TO MOSCOW; POTEMKIN 
 ENDEAVOURS TO INDUCE THE EMPRESS TO MARRY HIM ; HE IS DISCARDED AS THE LOVER, BUT REMAINS 
 AS THE FRIEND OF HIS MISTRESS; DEATH OF THE GRAND-DUCHESS; PAUL MARRIES THE PRINCESS OF 
 WIRTEMBERG ; CATHERINE'S THIRST FOR DISTINCTION ; HER INTRIGUES IN SWEDEN ; DISTURBANCES IN 
 THE CRIMEA ; CLAIMS OF RUSSIA WITH RESPECT TO MOLDAVIA AND WALLACIIIA ; NEW TREATY BETWEEN 
 RUSSIA AND TURKEY J COLDNESS OF THE EMPRESS TOWARDS ENGLAND ; SPLENDOUR OF THE COURT OF 
 CATHERINE. 
 
 When the empress dismissed her lover 
 VassiltschikofF, Prince Gregory Orloff was 
 again taken into favour. But this was but 
 for a short time, for Catherine had been im- 
 pressed with the manly beauty and noble 
 air of Potemkin. She remembered with 
 pleasure that, on the day of entrance into 
 St. Petersburg, during the revolution of 
 1762, Potemkin, then a mere youth, on ob- 
 serving her to be without a plume in her 
 hat, had gallantly ridden up and presented 
 her with his. 
 
 The coarseness of Orloff's manners were 
 not calculated to revive a cold attachment, 
 and the empress secretly bestowed her smiles 
 on the handsome Potemkin. Elated by this 
 prosperity, he one day boasted to Alexis 
 Orloff of the favour he enjoyed, and even 
 ventured to assert that he could remove 
 from court any person to whom he had 
 taken a dislike. Orloff returned a haughty 
 reply; sharp words ensued, and Potemkin 
 received a blow, which eventually deprived 
 him of an eye. In addition to this, the em- 
 press yielded to the solicitations of Gregory, 
 and Potemkin was compelled to abandon the 
 court. Retiring to Smolensk he remained 
 almost a year in solitude, suffering much 
 from vexation and from the injury to his 
 eye.* Sometimes he expressed his intention 
 of turning monk, as thousands of worldly 
 and disappointed men have done before 
 him ; at others, he gave way to the most ex- 
 travagant hopes. . At length an ardent and 
 submissive letter, which he wrote to the 
 empress, had the effect not only of producing 
 his recall, but of restoring to him the full 
 possession of her favour. He arrived during 
 the absence of Gregory Orloff on a hunting 
 excursion ; and the latter, on his return, soon 
 
 • It has been said that he might have been cured 
 of the injury done to his eye, but that, in his im- 
 patience, he burst a slight tumour that had formed 
 close to the ball, and deprived himself of the sight 
 of It. 
 
 2q 
 
 discovered that his reproaches and his com- 
 plaints were alike unavailing. 
 
 Potemkin was installed into the office of 
 favourite during the year 1774, with cer- 
 tain formalities, which were afterwards ob- 
 served towards all on whom the imperial 
 smiles were lavished. Some account of these 
 proceedings is, at the least, curious. When 
 Catherine cast her eyes on one of her sub- 
 jects with the intention of raising him to 
 the post of favourite, he was invited to 
 dinner by some lady in her confidence, and 
 she herself, as if accidentally, joined the 
 party. During the entertainment she en- 
 tered into discourse with the new-comer, to 
 ascertain if he was worthy of the favours she 
 contemplated bestowing upon him. A sign 
 to the confidant expressed her satisfaction, 
 or the reverse ; and, in the event of a favour- 
 able judgment, that discreet person took 
 care to inform the fortunate courtier of the 
 honour that was intended for him. The fol- 
 lowing day he received a visit from one of 
 the physicians of the court, who came to 
 inquire into the state of his health ; and, in 
 the evening, he accompanied the empress 
 to her palace called the Hermitage, and 
 took possession of the apartment which had 
 been prepared for him. This was situated 
 immediately beneath that of the empress, to 
 which it communicated by a private staircase. 
 The position of general aide-de-camp to her 
 majesty was bestowed upon him, in order 
 that he might accompany her everywhere 
 without attracting reproach or inviting ob- 
 servation. On the day of his being received 
 into favour he was presented with 100,000 
 roubles, and every succeeding month he 
 found 12,000 on his dressing-table. In ad- 
 dition to this, the marshal of the court was 
 ordered to provide him with a table of 
 twenty-four covers, and to defray all the 
 expenses of his household. The paramour 
 of the empress, or rather her favourite (for 
 that was the polite term in use at the Russian 
 
 297 
 
CATHERINE VISITS MOSCOW.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1775. 
 
 court), attended lier at all parties of amuse- 
 ment, at the opera, and on the promenade, 
 and was not permitted to leave the palace 
 ■without express permission. He was like- 
 wise given to understand, that it would not 
 be well received if he conversed familiarly 
 with other women ; and if he went to dine 
 with any of his friends, the mistress of the 
 house was always absent. When the fa- 
 vourite no longer possessed the power of 
 making himself agreeable to the empress, 
 he received orders to travel, and from that 
 time he was excluded from all further access 
 to her. But Catherine never dismissed her 
 paramours with anger, or behaved to them 
 otherwise than with a generosity truly im- 
 perial. The discarded favourite received 
 such lavish tokens of her past affection as, to 
 some extent, consoled him for the loss of her 
 presence. 
 
 The spring of the year 1775 saw the 
 Russian empire recovering from the ex- 
 haustion caused by its war against the 
 Turks, and the internal discord and misery 
 resulting from the great Cossack insurrec- 
 tion under Pugatschef. The time of the 
 empress was divided between those sensual 
 and extravagant pleasures to which she was 
 attached, and the cultivation of the arts of 
 peace and the improvement of the country. 
 In these efforts she found an efficient second 
 in Potemkin, who, notwithstanding his fri- 
 volity and waywardness, possessed consider- 
 able abilities, and of such a character as 
 enabled him to gain a remarkable ascen- 
 dancy over the empress. So conscious was 
 he of this, that he grew wanton in the 
 exercise of his power, and constantly de- 
 manded, and obtained, some new dignity or 
 accession of revenue. When any desire he 
 had formed was disappointed, he grew 
 sullen, and occasionally angry. By such 
 means he entered the council, and sup- 
 planted a more able man than himself in 
 the post of vice-president at war. Such 
 presumption necessarily created him a host 
 of enemies, and he was reproached for 
 undertaking all things, yet completing 
 nothing; and of making indiscriminate 
 promises which he never fulfilled. The 
 empress, though much captivated with him, 
 was still conscious of his failings; and it 
 was partly with a view to check his petu- 
 lance and audacity that she retained her 
 discarded lover (Prince Orloff) at court, 
 and strove to preserve peace between the 
 new favourite and the two fiery brothers. 
 Gregory, regardless of the pleasures, but 
 298 
 
 jealous of the honours of Potemkin, had 
 sullenly requested permission to retire ; but 
 to this the empress would not consent. 
 He then obtained an interview with her, 
 during which he recalled to her mind the 
 obligations which she owed to him ; spoke 
 of his zeal and fidelity ; and obsen'ed, that 
 she had nothing to reproach him with but 
 the circumstance of his not being so young 
 as his rival. Catherine listened with gentle- 
 ness ; and, without denying the wrongs of 
 which he complained, assured him she 
 should ever be his friend. The discon- 
 tented prince was subdued, and still re- 
 mained at court her trusted, because pro- j 
 bably hopeful, servant. 
 
 Early in 1775, the empress paid a visit 
 in great state to Moscow, chiefly for the ! 
 purpose of exterminating by her presence, j 
 her favours, and her liberality, the traces of 
 disaffection and sympathy ^vdth the rebel \ 
 Pugatschef, which lingered there. Though ; 
 she held in contempt the childish bigotry of | 
 the ignorant people, and almost equally ' 
 ignorant priesthood, and regarded the latter i 
 as dangerous subjects, she did not disdain I 
 to appeal to this very bigotry, and to use 
 the priesthood, for the piirpose of regaining 
 the alienated minds of her subjects in the 
 city and neighbourhood of Moscow. With 
 this object, she carried with her a great 
 number of little figures of saints, and dis- 
 tributed them in the churches and chapels 
 on the road. She also carried a large pic- 
 ture, richly decorated with gold and dia- 
 monds, for presentation to the cathedral of 
 Moscow. She was preceded into that city 
 by 600 soldiers from each regiment of the 
 guards, and followed by a brilliant retinue. 
 Two triumphal arches had been erected, at 
 a cost of 40,000 roubles, for the procession 
 to pass under, and everything connected 
 with the entrance of the empress into the 
 ancient city was grand and gorgeous. Only 
 one thing was wanting — but it was the one 
 least indispensable in displays of this nature 
 — the acclamations and enthusiasm of the 
 people. Catherine was unable to charm 
 them into any exhibition of loyalty, or to 
 dispel the dislike which the citizens of 
 Moscow had always entertained towards 
 her. They gazed on the gorgeous caval- 
 cade with silence, and permitted the em- 
 press to pass without the least demonstra- 
 tion of welcome. To the Grand-duke Paul, 
 whom they regarded as the son of their 
 murdered sovereign, they displayed a marked 
 contrast of feeling. Such was the enthu- i 
 
A.D. 1775.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [Catherine and her lovess. 
 
 siasm with which he was received, that it is 
 said, a courtier, either anxious to ascertain 
 his sentiments, or influenced by a treasonous 
 feehng towards the empress, observed to 
 him — "Your imperial highness sees how 
 much you are beloved. Oh, if you would 
 ." The speaker paused for en- 
 couragement to pursue his daring remark; 
 but Paul only responded with a look of 
 reprimand, which implied that he had no 
 intention of plotting against a mother whom 
 he neither loved or was loved by. 
 
 Catherine carried out her assumption of 
 devotion at Moscow by performing a pil- 
 grimage on foot, attended by her whole 
 court, to a convent situated at a distance of 
 forty versts. Her chief minister. Count 
 Paniu, was the only one not invited to take 
 part in this laborious and dramatic piece of 
 pretended piety. This might have been a 
 slight to the minister, who now troubled 
 himself about little but ease and amuse- 
 ments. He was a great glutton, a great 
 gamester, and a great sleeper; and had 
 become so enormously fat, as to render it 
 extremely doubtful whether he could walk 
 the distance of forty versts, however gently 
 the task might have to be accomplished. 
 So negligent had he become, that an urgent 
 despatch from Marshal Romantzoff (then 
 commanding the expedition against the 
 Turks) was, after an interval of four 
 months, found unanswered in the pocket of 
 Panin's dressing-gown. Such dangerous 
 inattention to the duties of his highly 
 responsible position, raised him up enemies 
 and rivals, amongst whom was Potemkin, 
 who strove to supplant the minister. 
 
 The favourite had also another and a 
 higher aim. Like Orloflf, he sought to 
 become the husband of the imperial mis- 
 tress whose favour he enjoyed. During 
 the stay of the court at Moscow, Potemkin, 
 who was so far from being influenced by 
 religious emotions that he treated all modes 
 of faith with a daring and impartial ridi- 
 cule, put on a semblance of the most 
 austere piety. During Lent he abandoned 
 the luxurious living to which he was much 
 attached, and fed upon nothing but roots 
 and water. Every day he went to con- 
 fession, and remained for some hours before 
 the pictures of the saints in prayer. It 
 was the confessor to the empress that this 
 crafty schemer selected to listen to the list 
 of his transgressions also. With a penitent 
 air, Potemkin entreated the priest to in- 
 form his imperial mistress that his alarmed 
 
 conscience would no longer allow him to 
 indulge in an intercourse that was criminal 
 when not sanctioned by marriage. The 
 monk performed his mission ; but the 
 shrewd empress at once divined the nature 
 of Potemkin's scruples, and the object he 
 was aiming at. Sending for him, she said, 
 with a dignity tempered by tenderness, that 
 though she had a regard for him, she was 
 sufl&ciently mistress of herself to subdue 
 her passion ; and that, if he was disinclined 
 to fill the post of favourite, she could easily 
 resolve to put another in his place. The 
 disappointed schemer was much humiliated, 
 and even talked of entering the church, 
 and causing himself to be consecrated arch- 
 bishop : but he soon forgot both his devotion 
 and his resentment in the mingled pursuits 
 of pleasure and ambition. 
 
 Whether this trifling and duplicity cost 
 Potemkin the affection of his mistress, or 
 Catherine had merely yielded to a new 
 impression, we cannot say. Certain it is, 
 that, not long after this event, the empress 
 transferred her smiles to a young ofl&cer 
 named Zavadofski, whom she first appointed 
 her secretary, and afterwards bestowed upon 
 him the title of favourite. Potemkin, on 
 whom she had recently showered gifts and 
 dignities, received the usual command to 
 set out upon his travels. This command 
 he evaded, even while pretending to obey. 
 Having prepared for his departure, he left 
 the palace ; but the very next day returned, 
 and, with the utmost composure, placed 
 himself opposite the empress just as she 
 was sitting down to her customary whist 
 party. Perhaps the discarded favourite had 
 received secret permission to remain in the 
 character of friend; certain it is, that the 
 empress did not appear displeased, but in- 
 vited him to join the table, saying that he 
 always played luckily. The subject of tra- 
 velling was not resumed, and Potemkin 
 retained all his posts, his honours, and his 
 influence, and, from the lover, became the 
 friend of his mistress. His abilities, which 
 bore some resemblance to her own, enabled 
 him to retain an ascendancy over her. The 
 amazed courtiers beheld two favourites; 
 and not understanding the somewhat equi- 
 vocal arrangement entered into, they could 
 not divine which lover the empress pre- 
 ferred. They did not suppose that Po- 
 temkin had resigned the latter character; 
 not reflecting that love is usually silent in 
 the presence of ambition. 
 
 It is not surprising that Catherine should 
 
 399 
 
DEATH OF THE gr.inb-ditchess.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1776. 
 
 entertain some jealousy of the popularity of 
 lier son th« Grand-duke Paul, especially 
 as a party existed Trho were desirous of 
 seeing him lay claim to a throne which, 
 assuming him to be really the son of 
 Peter III., undoubtedly belonged to him. 
 The empress viewed with distrust all per- 
 sons whom she deemed capable of instilling 
 ambitious thoughts into the grand-duke, or 
 who were in a condition to arm on his be- 
 half. Catherine's apprehensions were dis- 
 cerned and turned to account by Frederic 
 of Prussia. Aware that it would be scarcely 
 possible for Paul to succeed in any design 
 upon the Russian throne without his assist- 
 ance, he always, when desiring any conces- 
 sion from the empress, testified great con- 
 cern about her son. The alarmed Catherine 
 immediately made any sacrifices whatever 
 for preserving the friendship of the Prussian 
 monarch. 
 
 Paul lived in habits of close companion- 
 ship with Count Andrew RasumofFski, who 
 had been brought up with him. The count 
 possessed a bold and enterprising spirit ; 
 and Catherine, therefore, resolved to efi'ect 
 a division between him and her son. Watch- 
 ing Rasumoffski with this object, she ob- 
 sei'ved some expressive looks pass between 
 him and the grand-duchess, the consort of 
 Paul; and, with a woman's quickness in 
 such matters, she at once concluded that 
 the count had presumed to form some 
 rash design upon the princess. Catherine 
 at once communicated her suspicions to her 
 son, who, though he imagined them to be 
 without foundation, resolved to keep an 
 eye upon his friend, and desired his consort 
 to be more reserved in her behaviour. That 
 the grand-duchess entertained a partiality 
 for Rasumoff'ski, may be inferred from the 
 fact that she kept up a secret correspond- 
 ence with him. Some surmise that she 
 went further, and entered into certain poli- 
 tical intrigues for the purpose of being 
 revenged upon the empress for having 
 brought her virtue into suspicion. If so, 
 she had no time to execute her designs, as 
 she soon afterwards expired in childbed.* 
 Rumour, probably engendered from ca- 
 lumny, attributed her death to some 
 
 • On the 26th of April, 1776. 
 
 t We are not inclined to credit this suspicion ; but 
 Tooke observes — "What served to add credibility 
 to these surmises was, that the midwife who attended 
 the grand-duchess \evy soon made a great fortune. 
 She lived on a familiar footing with the empress, and 
 talked with Prince Potemkin and Count Besborodko, 
 who often went to dine with her, in the style of thee 
 300 
 
 criminal intervention of the empress.f 
 Paul was much afi"ected by the sudden 
 demise of his consort ; but when his grief 
 had somewhat subsided, he examined her 
 papers, and found among them letters from 
 the count. Presenting them to the empress, 
 he demanded vengeance : but she had at- 
 tained her object — the separation of Paul 
 and Rasumoffski ; and, desirous of avoiding 
 an unpleasant publicity, she sent the count 
 as her envoy-extraordinary to Venice. 
 
 In Poland, the commissioners of Russia, 
 Austria, and Prussia, could neither agree 
 among themselves nor with the Poles, 
 respecting the exact demarcations of that 
 country. Frederic, therefore, expressed a 
 wish that his brother, Prince Henry, might 
 go and confer with the empress, for the 
 purpose of settling such differences as 
 might have been raised in the matter be- 
 tween the courts of St. Petersburg and 
 Berlin. The prince arrived in Russia a 
 few days before the death of the grand- 
 duchess, and was received with as much 
 distinction as on his first visit. The prince 
 frequently discoursed in private with the 
 empress on the affairs of Poland ; and, on 
 one occasion, when Catherine had made 
 some objections, he repHed — " Madam, I 
 see one sure method of obviating all diflS- 
 culty. It may, perhaps, be displeasing to 
 you, on account of Poniatowski; but you 
 will, nevertheless, do well to give it your 
 approbation, since compensation may be 
 offered to that monarch, of greater value to 
 him than the throne, which is continually 
 tottering beneath him. The remainder of 
 Poland must be partitioned." The idea, 
 if not preconcerted, was at least welcome 
 to the ambitious empress; and the extinc- 
 tion of Poland as an independent nation 
 was resolved upon. 
 
 Scarcely had the grave closed over the 
 Grand-duchess Natolia, the consort of Paul, 
 than the empress directed her attention to 
 pro\'iding a second Avife for her son, as his 
 first had died without leaving a heir to in- 
 herit the empire. She selected the princess 
 of Wirtemberg-Stutgard, niece to the king 
 of Prussia, and engaged Prince Henry to 
 negotiate the marriage. Frederic gladly 
 
 and thou. Dr. Almann was the official accoucheur; 
 but upon being asked by a friend afterwards why he 
 was not present at the delivery, he replied, ' Because, 
 on a previous visit to her imperial highness, the em- 
 press said to me, ' Sir, if anything disastrous should 
 happen, you will answer it with your head.' ' Upon 
 which,' continued the doctor, ' I made my obeisance, 
 retired, and have never been at court since.' " 
 
A.D. 1776.1 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [domestic incidents. 
 
 accepted a proposal which would lead to a 
 closei' alliance Ijetween Prussia and Russia ; 
 and the young lady herself gave up the 
 Prince of Hesse-Darmstadt; to whom she 
 was engaged, in order to accept the offer of 
 the hand of an embryo emperor. Towards 
 the close of the summer of 1776, Paul and 
 Prince Henry, attended by Marshal Ro- 
 mantzoff and a numerous suite, set out on 
 this errand to Berlin. Paul was received by 
 the great Frederic with all the honours 
 due to the heir of the imperial house of 
 Russia. On being presented to the famous 
 soldier, the grand-duke observed — "The 
 motives which bring me from the extremi- 
 ties of the north to these happy dominions, 
 arc the desire of assuring your majesty of 
 the friendship and alliance to subsist hence- 
 forth for ever between Russia and Prussia ; 
 and the eagerness to see a princess destined 
 to ascend the throne of the Russian empire ; 
 who, by my receiving her at your hands, I 
 dare to promise you, will be the more dear 
 to myself and to the nation over which she 
 is to reign ; and chiefly to see that boon 
 granted me for which I have been ardently 
 wishing so long — the satisfaction of con- 
 templating the greatest of heroes, the ad- 
 miration of our age, and the astonishment 
 of posterity." 
 
 " Instead of which," responded Frederic, 
 "you behold, my prince, a gray-headed 
 valetudinarian, who could never have wished 
 for a superior happiness than that of wel- 
 coming within these walls the hopeful heir 
 of a mighty empire, the only son of my best 
 friend, the great Catheriue.^^ 
 
 Paul was then introduced to the Princess 
 of Wirtemberg, and the ceremony of the 
 nuptial contract took place the same day. 
 Great festivities followed ; and, on the 3rd 
 of August, the grand-duke took leave of the 
 king, and returned, loaded with presents, to 
 St. Petersburg. The princess, shortly after, 
 followed, and was united to him on the 13th 
 of October. At the same time she embraced 
 the Greek rehgion, and assumed the name 
 of Maria Feodorovna. Twenty years after- 
 wards this imperial couple ascended the 
 throne of the Russian empire. 
 
 Prince Potemkin had forgotten the lover 
 in the minister, and now occupied the first 
 place about the throne of Catherine. Proud 
 of his political influence and abilities, he left 
 the empress in the tranquil indulgence of 
 her inclination for Zavadofski. The latter 
 had filled the post of favourite for about a 
 year and a-half, when he also became ambi- 
 
 tious of political distinction, and endea- 
 voured to supplant Potemkin in his capacity 
 of minister. By so doing he entered on an 
 antagonism with a rival of far greater talents 
 than himself, who at once resolved on his 
 expulsion from court. Potemkin had per- 
 sonal experience both of the sensuality and 
 the inconstancy of the empress, and he 
 therefore placed in her way a young, tall, 
 and handsome Servian named Zoritch, an 
 officer in a regiment of hussars, Avho had 
 come to St. Petersburg in search of promo- 
 tion. The artifice succeeded ; the fancy of 
 Catherine was ensnared ; Zavadofski was 
 abruptly dismissed, loaded with presents ; 
 and Zoritch was installed as favourite. 
 The latter was a man of neither education 
 nor experience, and in no way calculated to 
 interfere with the projects of the ambitious 
 Potemkin. 
 
 Russia now enjoyed more internal repose 
 than had fallen to its lot since the accession 
 of the empress. The flames of rebellion 
 were extinguished; and disappointed con- 
 spiracy, never revealing itself except to be 
 crushed, was content to submit in silence 
 to a government it could not overthrow. 
 Catherine might herself have rested con- 
 tent with what she had done, and have 
 devoted most of her time to those pleasures 
 by which she was so much attracted. But 
 she was ever grasping after personal fame 
 and the aggrandisement of the Russian 
 empire. There was nothing she would not 
 sacrifice in the pursuit of glory, or, indeed, 
 of that celebrity which is not always real 
 fame. As her armies had ceased to gain 
 victories beyond her frontiers, she made 
 Europe resound with the brilliant acts of 
 her munificence, the encouragements she 
 affbrded to the arts and sciences, the prizes 
 she assigned to talent, the bounties she 
 showered upon foreigners, and the numerous 
 institutions she created for augmenting the 
 industry and the riches of her people. Ever 
 intent upon carrying out that regeneration 
 of the empire commenced by Peter the 
 Great, she constantly addressed herself to 
 the extension of education and the erection 
 of institutions for national improvement. In 
 the various public schools — most of which 
 had been established by the empress — about 
 6,800 children, of both sexes, were boarded, 
 clothed, and educated at her expense. 
 
 Catherine was too ambitious a sovereign 
 not to be a dangerous neighbour. It has 
 been seen how Poland, distracted by its 
 own dissensions, fell a victim to her ab- 
 
 301 
 
RUSSIA AND TURKEY.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1777—1779. 
 
 sorbing policy. Denmark had fallen under 
 her influence, and she carried on intrigues 
 in Sweden, with the object of still further 
 weakening a power whose armies, in the 
 time of Charles XII., had made Russia 
 tremble. By promoting the internal dis- 
 sensions of Sweden (the nobles of which 
 were divided into two factions, called the 
 " Caps" and the " Hats"), Catherine trusted 
 to reduce that country to such a condition 
 as would enable her to subjugate it at 
 some future period. Her eflPorts, however, 
 were interrupted by the abilities and deci- 
 sion of Gustavus III. Early in 1777, Gus- 
 tavus, alarmed at seeing that the empress 
 had fitted out a fleet of galleys from Cron- 
 stadt, demanded what might be the cause of 
 this armament. He received an unsatisfac- 
 tory answer ; and, although the Russian fleet 
 took no steps against Sweden, Gustavus 
 himself proceeded to St. Petersburg, under 
 the name of the Count of Gothland, to 
 confer personally with the empress upon 
 the subject. Catherine received him with a 
 sumptuous hospitality, and a hollow cor- 
 diality was exhibited on both sides. The 
 visit did not, however, raise the empress in 
 the esteem of Gustavus ; while it confirmed 
 in her the desire of humbling her youthful 
 rival. 
 
 By the late peace with Turkey, the 
 Crimea had been declared independent; 
 but the Tartars of that peninsula had now 
 two khans — the one supported by the 
 Turks, the other by the Russians. The 
 latter desired to place the whole of the 
 Crimea under the khan who enjoyed their 
 insidious protection, in order that they 
 might the more readily despoil him of it. 
 They therefore furnished him with a guard 
 of Russian soldiers, who, being viewed by 
 the ferocious Tartars with jealous feelings, 
 were attacked, and the greater part of them 
 massacred. 
 
 The empress immediately poured fresh 
 troops into the Crimea. The Russians 
 attacked and defeated the Tartars opposed 
 to the khan who had received the sanction 
 of the court of St. Petersburg; and his 
 competitor, Selim, was compelled to seek 
 for refuge in the mountains. As the 
 Turkish government refused to acknowledge 
 Sahim-Gueray as the khan of the Crimea, 
 the Porte was given to understand that that 
 country had placed itself under the protec- 
 tion of the empress, who would rather 
 rekindle the flames of war than abandon 
 the cause of the khan whom she supported. 
 303 
 
 The Turks were exasperated at this haughty 
 message, and seemed resolved to put the 
 dispute to the arbitrament of the sword. 
 
 France and other powers interfered to 
 prevent hostilities, for they had no wish to 
 see Russia further exalted, by fresh victories, 
 over its eastern neighbour. But the divan 
 continued undetermined and wavering be- 
 tween the difl'erent impressions it received. 
 The people of Constantinople called loudly 
 for war; and the Porte could not easily 
 prevail on itself to pardon Russia for her 
 successes and her invasions, which made it 
 remember the many defeats it had sufi'ered, 
 and the humiliating peace it had been 
 forced to sign. It was not to be expected 
 that the Turkish ministers could calmly 
 behold the Russian supremacy on the 
 Euxine, the flag of that empire displayed 
 even under the walls of Constantinople, 
 and its commerce extending from sea to 
 sea. The independence of the Crimea, also, 
 was a subject of annoyance ; but its pro- 
 bable subjugation by the Russians exceeded 
 their patience. Some other differences had 
 arisen between the ministers of Catherine 
 and the Ottoman Porte. By the recent 
 treaty of peace, the Russians had obtained 
 several privileges for the Greek Christians, 
 who were dispersed in great numbers 
 throughout the Turkish provinces of Mol- 
 davia and Wallachia. Since that period 
 many inhabitants of the opposite shore of 
 the Danube, who professed the Greek reli- 
 gion, abandoned their country, and passed 
 over into those localities in which they 
 exchanged toleration for protection. These 
 persons were naturally more attached to 
 the power to which they were indebted for 
 the new advantages they enjoyed, than to 
 that by which they had been so long op- 
 pressed. But Russia aimed at more than 
 this. She was secretly contriving to render 
 these provinces entirely independent of the 
 Porte ; and to accomplish that object, she 
 insisted that the princes or hospodars of 
 Moldavia and Wallachia should not be liable 
 to be deposed on any pretence whatever. 
 This interference the Turks regarded as not 
 more justifiable than that with respect to 
 the Crimea; but the good offices of the 
 French ambassador prevailed over the desire 
 for war. He induced the divan to release 
 several Russian vessels which had been de- 
 tained for more than a year in the Turkish 
 harbours. This courtesy led to the expres- 
 sion of a less hostile feeling; and, in the 
 March of 1779, a new treaty was signed 
 
A.D. 1779.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [splendour of the court. 
 
 through his mediation. By this the Russians 
 gave up some of their unjust claims with re- 
 spect to Moldavia and Wallachia, and agreed 
 to withdraw their troops from the Crimea, 
 the independence of which, however, was 
 again acknowledged. The Porte likewise 
 granted its subjects who professed the 
 ! Greek religion the privileges they desired, 
 I and enlarged the liberty already granted to 
 ! the Russians, of navigating the Ottoman 
 ! seas. With this treaty Catherine was so 
 I satisfied, that she sent magnificent presents 
 both to her minister at Constantinople, to 
 the French ambassadoi', the grand-vizier, 
 and the principal members of the divan. 
 
 The French ambassador, while thus serving 
 the interests of Turkey and propitiating the 
 favour of Russia, had also laboured to deprive 
 England of the support it derived from 
 Russia. This attempt met with some suc- 
 cess, and the close alliance that had so long 
 subsisted between the courts of London 
 and St. Petersburg was much weakened. 
 Catherine, free to navigate so many seas, 
 and the dominatrix of some, could not endure 
 that any other power should pretend to a 
 right of mastery in them. One of the causes, 
 therefore, that contributed to raise a cold- 
 ness on her part towards this country, was 
 the jealousy she experienced at its attempt 
 to force from every power an acknowledg- 
 ment of the superiority of the British flag. 
 Still the commerce with England was too 
 advantageous to be discountenanced. Cathe^ 
 rine looked on with secret satisfaction while 
 the English were losing a part of their 
 colonies, and with an oppressive civility she 
 invited them to come and fetch from her 
 ports the productions they could no longer 
 obtain from the continent of America. At 
 the same time she welcomed the vessels of 
 the new-born republic, and, in opposition to 
 the solicitations of the British minister, 
 granted to them the free navigation of the 
 Baltic. 
 
 Catherine had by degrees polished the 
 rough soldier-like court by which she had 
 been at first surrounded, until its splendour 
 surpassed that of any neighbouring po- 
 tentate. Indeed, it united the profusion of 
 Asiatic pomp with the ingenious invention 
 of European luxury. On court-days the 
 quantity of jewels worn by both sexes, and 
 
 • Instituted, our readers -will remember, by Peter 
 the Great, in honour of the assistance he received 
 from his consort in the camp on the banks of the 
 Pruth. This distinction is bestowed upon ladies 
 
 only, and consists of a narrow red ribbon, edged with ) the order. 
 
 the brilliant colours of the varied costumes 
 to be seen there, produced a remarkable 
 efi'ect. On these occasions both ladies and 
 gentlemen were, with the exception of the 
 military, dressed according to the prevailing 
 modes at Paris. To a foreigner nothing was 
 more remarkable than the number of dia- 
 monds and precious stones, worn as much 
 by men as by women, who appeared to have 
 challenged one another which should be 
 most covered by these costly ornaments. 
 As to the nobility, their buttons, buckles, 
 the scabbards of their swords, and even their 
 epaulets often consisted of diamonds, in ad- 
 dition to which many even wore a triple row 
 of precious stones round the borders of their 
 hats. When, on days distinguished by a 
 more than ordinary amount of ceremony, 
 the empress dined in public, she usually 
 wore a diamond crown of immense value, 
 the ribbons of St. Andrew and of St. George, 
 both over one shoulder, with the collars of 
 St. Alexander Nevski, St. Catherine,* and 
 St. Vladimir, and two stars, one above the 
 other, on her bosom. This imparted to her 
 a very brilliant appearance, and, as her 
 courtiers were equally fond of display, the 
 result presented was exceedingly gorgeous. 
 During the winter the empress gave mas- 
 querades at the palace, to which persons 
 of all ranks were invited. Sometimes the 
 number of tickets issued amounted to 8,000 : 
 yet inconvenient crowding seldom existed; 
 as twenty magnificent halls, splendidly illu- 
 minated, aff'orded sufficient room for this 
 multitude. One of these spacious apart- 
 ments contained an enclosure more adorned 
 than the rest, and appropriated to the nobi- 
 lity and the most favoured courtiers. At 
 these entertainments Catherine usually made 
 her appearance about seven in the evening, 
 and retired at eleven. 
 
 The Servian officer, Zoritch, had filled the 
 post of favourite about a twelvemonth, when 
 suddenly he received the usual orders to 
 travel. He immediately went and com- 
 plained to Potemkin, who supported him, 
 with the object of excluding any more able 
 and dangerous man from a position which 
 necessarily carried with it a certain amount 
 of influence over the empress. Potemkin 
 ventured to ask her for what reason she had 
 discarded her humble friend. " I was fond 
 
 silver, to which the figure of the saint (?Jis suspended, 
 set with diamonds and a silver star of eight points, 
 on the left breast, with the inscription, " Amore ct 
 Jidelitate." The empress was the grand-mistress of 
 
 303 
 
RIMSKI KORZAKOFF.] 
 
 HISTOUY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1780. 
 
 of him yesterday^ and to-day I am not/' 
 replied Catherine; "perhaps, if he were 
 somewhat more informed, I might love him 
 still ; but his ignorance puts me to the blush. 
 He can speak no other language than Russ. 
 Let him travel into France and England to 
 learn foreign languages/' 
 
 Prince Potemkin was not long in ascer- 
 taining the cause of the dismission of 
 Zoritch. That evening, at the Hermitage, 
 he perceived with astonishment, behind the 
 chair of Catherine, a chamberlain of whom 
 he had no knowledge. It was the new 
 favourite Kimski Korzakoff, who, though 
 afterwards distinguished as an able general, 
 had been suddenly raised from the humble 
 rank of a sergeant of the guards to that of 
 aide-de-camp of the empress. Korzakoff had 
 a handsome face and an elegant figure; 
 but if the ignorance of Zoritch had disgusted 
 Catherine, she was not likely long to remain 
 satisfied with her new lover. His want of 
 that common information which most men 
 
 moving in good society possess, is amusingly 
 evident in the following incident. He con- 
 ceived the idea that a man who occupied the 
 distinguished position to which he had been 
 advanced, ought necessarily to provide him- 
 self with a library. Sending, therefore, for 
 the principal bookseller of St. Petersburg, 
 he said that he wanted a great number 
 of books to put up in a house of which 
 the empress had just made him a present. 
 "What books would he please to have?" 
 was the natural inquiry of the dealer in these 
 dumb, yet eloquent productions ; not at first 
 comprehending that they Avere ordered only 
 like tables and chairs, as articles of furniture. 
 " You understand that better than I," replied 
 the favourite ; " that is your business. You 
 know the proper assortments; I have destined 
 a large room to receive them. Let there be 
 large books at the bottom, and smaller and 
 smaller up to the top ; that is the way they 
 stand in the empress's library."* The book- 
 seller bowed, and retired. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 THE ARMED NEUTRALITY ; LANSKOI ; POTEMKIN's DESIGNS ON CONSTANTINOPLE ; MEETING OF CATHKRINE 
 AND JOSEPH II, ; STATUE OF PETER THE GREAT ; RETURN OF THE PRINCESS DASCHKAW TO ST. PETERS- 
 BURG ; CATHERINE MAKES HER DIRECTOR OF THE ACADEMY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES ; CATHERINE AND 
 THE EMPEROR JOSEPH AVOW THEIR INTENTION OF SUPPORTING EACH OTHER'S CLAIM UPON TURKEY; 
 ANNEXATION OFJ THE CRIMEA TO RUSSIA ; DEATH OF COUNT PANIN AND PRINCE GREGORY ORLOFF ; RELI- 
 GIOUS TOLERATION ; GRAND PROGRESS OF CATHERINE TO THE CRIMEA ; ANECDOTES OF THE EMPRESS. 
 
 The war in which America wrung her inde- 
 pendence from England, produced a con- 
 siderable agitation throughout the south of 
 Europe; and England, France, Spain, and 
 Holland were continually sending forth their 
 armaments to decide whether America should 
 become a free republic, or remain a mere 
 colony of Great Britain. This war neces- 
 sarily gave an impetus to the commerce of 
 the north, which supplies the bulk of the 
 commodities required for the construction 
 
 * " But how did you contrive to find a sufficient 
 quantity of the large books for the bottom rank, 
 since folios are now so much out of fashion ?" said a 
 person who happened to call at the bookseller's shop 
 while his counters and fl-oors were loaded with the 
 books just come from the binders for executing this 
 curious order. " Oh, I went to my warehouse, and 
 brought out a number of old German commentators 
 on the Bible, and writers on jurisprudence, where 
 they had lain in quires ever since they were sent to 
 304 
 
 of naval armaments, as well as the stores of 
 corn for the sustenance of the trading and 
 manufacturing nations. The Dutch, who 
 then possessed a great part of the commerce 
 of the Baltic, endeavoured to save the vessels 
 they employed in it from the EngHsh cruisers 
 by navigating them under the neutral flag 
 of Denmark. Nevertheless, their ships were 
 frequently captured by our privateers, and 
 carried into the ports of London or Ply- 
 mouth. The vessels of Hamburg, Bremen, 
 
 my predecessor for a bad debt of a bankrupt book- 
 seller at Leipsic. There they are. See how gay 
 they look in their new coats. I have only taken 
 care to put up a set of Voltaire, of Eousseau, of 
 Buffon, and other fashionable French authors, in 
 conspicuous parts of the library, to be at hand in 
 case some inquisitive reader should ask for_ them ; 
 and as for the rest, their elegant outsides, as is com- 
 mon in the world, must be a passport for any defi- 
 ciency within." 
 
A.D. 1780.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [the armed neutrality. 
 
 and Liibeck often met with a similar fate. 
 The merchants of those towns, therefore, 
 implored the protection of the empress, and 
 were fortunate enough to secure her atten- 
 tion. 
 
 Catherine desired to extend the maritime 
 trade of her own people, and her pride was 
 hurt in consequence of the little respect the 
 English paid to ships freighted in her ports, 
 and sometimes even to those which sailed 
 under her flag. Instigated also by France, 
 and solicited to that effect by the ministers 
 of Denmark and Sweden, she adopted the 
 plan of an armed neutrality; and, in the 
 July of 1780, a treaty to that effect was 
 signed by the powers we have mentioned. 
 The principal claims of the confederate 
 powers were thus specified: — 1. That all 
 neutral vessels may freely navigate from one 
 port to another on the coasts of the nations 
 at war. 2. That the effects of the belligerent 
 powers shall be safe in all neutral vessels, 
 with the exception of prohibited mercantile 
 goods. 3. That the empress understands, 
 by prohibited mercantile goods, such as are 
 specified in the Articles 10 and 11 of her 
 treaty of commerce with Great Britain, ex- 
 tending her obligation in that respect to the 
 other powers at war. 4. That by a block- 
 aded port, is to be understood only a port so 
 strictly watched by the ships of the powers 
 which attack it, that to enter it would be 
 dangerous. 5. That these principles should 
 be admitted as the sole rule whereby to 
 decide the legality of prizes. — The empress 
 added, that, to enforce the observance of 
 these articles, to protect the honour of her 
 flag, the security of her commerce, and the 
 navigation of her subjects, she was about to 
 arm the greater part of her naval forces; 
 but that this measure should not in anywise 
 injure the neutrality which she intended to 
 observe as long as she was not provoked to 
 exceed the bounds of a just moderation and 
 the most perfect impartiality. 
 
 Prussia, Austria, aud even Portugal con- 
 curred with the other neutral states; and 
 thus a great power was seen dictating a new 
 code of maritime laws to mankind, essen- 
 tially difi'erent from those which for several 
 hundred years had been established among 
 commercial nations, aud tending directly to 
 the overthrow of that sovereignty or pre- 
 eminence on the ocean, which had been sO 
 long claimed and maintained by Great Bri- 
 tain. The English minister at St. Peters- 
 burg exerted himself in vain to break the 
 league of the neutral powers ; his expostula- 
 
 tions were disi'egarded ; and, for a short time, 
 the friendly alliance between this country 
 and Russia was jeopardised. 
 
 The able Prince Poterakin acquired al- 
 most absolute power at the Russian court. 
 His riches were immense, the dignities he 
 enjoyed were numerous ; and the court, the 
 army, and the navy were all submissive to 
 him. Marshal Romantzoff" alone would not 
 humble himself before the haughty minister 
 — a circumstance for which the latter re- 
 venged himself on the Countess Bruce, the 
 sister of Romantzoff", by encouraging a fancy 
 she had taken to Korzakoff*, the favourite of 
 the empress, and involving her in an intrigue 
 with that person. Catherine's pride was 
 hurt at the inconstancy of the presumed 
 lover, on whom, as usual, she had showered 
 presents of the most extravagant nature. 
 She dismissed Korzakoff, and commanded 
 the countess to retii'e to Moscow. Though 
 now at an age when, in most persons, the 
 sexual passions are " liurable, and wait upon 
 the judgment,"* yet the amorous empress 
 was unable, even for a brief period, to dis- 
 pense with the society of a favourite. 
 
 The very day that she discarded Korzakoff, 
 Catherine fixed her choice on Lanskoi", one 
 of the chevalier guards — a youth of delicate 
 and almost womanly features, and of a re- 
 markably graceful figure. This person after- 
 wards acquired the distinction — if so it can 
 be called — of being the one of the empress's 
 favourites to whom she was most attached. 
 
 Catherine's ambition had long caused her 
 to turn her eyes to the east ; but to Prince 
 Potemkin, whose views with respect to con- 
 quest in this direction coincided with those 
 of his imperial mistress, is attributed the 
 bold idea of causing Catherine to be crowned 
 in " the queen of cities," the capital of the 
 Ottoman empire ! Catherine acquiesced in 
 this extravagant idea, which, if practicable, 
 could only be accomplished by a long and 
 sanguinary war; but Potemkin was more 
 desirous than herself to carry it into execu- 
 tion. As a preliminary he proposed taking 
 possession of the Crimea, to which, as a mea- 
 sure almost ripe forvexecution, the empress 
 at once consented. 
 
 Before entering on this project, Cathe- 
 rine felt the necessity of securing the good- 
 will of her most powerful neighbours. De- 
 sirous of an interview with the emperor 
 Joseph II., she requested him to join her 
 in Poland ; and on the 30th of May these 
 two illustrious potentates met at Mohilef. 
 • Catherine was in her fifty-first year. 
 309 
 
STATUE OF PETER THE GREAT.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1782. 
 
 Catherine was surrounded by a most gor- 
 geous court; but the German emperor, 
 who travelled under the title of the Count 
 Von Falkenstein, affected a whimsical sim- 
 plicity in dress and manner, and begged his 
 imperial friend to spare him the necessity 
 of all vain etiquette and constraining cere- 
 mony. In the private conversations which 
 ensued between them, they agreed to unite 
 in an attack on the Ottomans — to share a 
 part of the spoils between them, to drive 
 the Turks out of Europe, and to re-estab- 
 lish the ancient republic of Greece. Cathe- 
 rine, also, forgetful of her ally Frederic, 
 engaged to support the emperor against all 
 opposition on the part of the king of 
 Prussia and the other princes of the Ger- 
 man empire. These stipulations were after- 
 wards confirmed by a treaty, signed at St, 
 Petersburg, which capital Joseph accepted 
 an invitation to visit. During his brief 
 sojourn there, it is said that he was equally 
 astonished at that mixture of refinement 
 and barbarism which the Russian nation 
 presented to his view, and the varied and 
 seemingly contradictory disposition of the 
 empress. He could not conceive how a 
 woman, who seemed formed by nature for 
 leading the whole world in chains, could 
 submit to be governed by two favourites at 
 her own court. 
 
 The year 1782 is in some respect memo- 
 rable at St. Petersburg, in consequence of 
 the inauguration of the famous statue of 
 Peter the Great, executed by Stephen Fal- 
 conet, who came from Paris for that pur- 
 pose, and was engaged for nine years in the 
 production of this colossal work of art. 
 Falconet proposed that the pedestal of the 
 statue should consist of a huge and rugged 
 rock, to indicate symbolically to posterity 
 the barren point from which the heroic 
 reformer started, and the tremendous ob- 
 stacles he surmounted. Catherine was 
 pleased with the idea ; and, after consider- 
 able search, a rock was found, partly sunk 
 in a vast morass, in a village near the shore 
 of the Gulf of Finland. The weight of this 
 enormous stone was estimated at 3,200,000 
 pounds, and it lay at the distance of eleven 
 versts, or about 41,250 English feet from 
 the spot where the monument was to be 
 erected. During its passage, it had to be 
 carried over heights, across rivers, morasses, 
 and swampy places; then down the river 
 Neva, and finally to be disembarked, and 
 drawn by land to the place of its destina- 
 tion. The serious difficulty of moving such 
 306 
 
 a mass was sufficient to deter many per- 
 sons from the attempt ; but Catherine de- 
 lighted to triumph over difficulties; and 
 although nearly four months elapsed before 
 the stone was raised from the earth, the 
 concentration of industry, and the utter 
 disregard of expense in the erection of 
 mechanical appliances, enabled the labourers 
 to accomplish their task. It was noticed as 
 a remarkable circumstance, that neither in 
 the morass, or for some distance around it, 
 was another stone to be found, or any other 
 kind of subtance, analogous to this stupen- 
 dous rock. Another circumstance respect- 
 ing it struck the beholders with astonish- 
 ment. One side of it had been struck and 
 damaged by lightning. On knocking off 
 the shattered fragment, a collection of many 
 kinds of precious stones was discovered ; 
 crystals, agates, topazes, cornelians, and 
 amethysts, presented to the eyes of the 
 curious a sight not less unexpected than 
 magnificent, and, to the naturalists, an object 
 of interesting investigation.* 
 
 The statue, of which this rock formed the 
 base, was generally considered as a master- 
 piece of art. The features are regarded as 
 being an admirable likeness of the illus- 
 trious original. The artist has represented 
 the hero on horseback, in the act of sud- 
 denly arresting the impetuous career of his 
 steed, on the overhanging verge of a steep 
 precipice which he has ascended. The czar 
 is attired in the Asiatic dress which he 
 discarded and condemned — an erroneous 
 conception, we think, of the sculptor. The 
 head of the statue is appropriately crowned 
 with laurels, and the right arm is extended 
 with dignity, while the left grasps the 
 bridle of the horse, whose beauty of form 
 and elegant attitude commands the admira- 
 tion of most spectators. The fiery courser 
 is represented as trampling on a serpent, 
 which writhes with anguish beneath its feet; 
 a type of the fate of those who, from mo- 
 tives of malignity, opposed the will of the 
 iron-handed and . imperious Peter. The 
 statue is gigantic; the figure of the mo- 
 narch being eleven feet in height, and that 
 of the horse seventeen feet. The expense 
 of this monument was truly imperial, 
 amounting to 424,610 roubles, of which no 
 less than 70,000 were expended on the 
 
 ♦ Thousands of these gems, as well as other parts of 
 the stone, were cut and polished into bracelets, rings, 
 necklaces, snufi'-boxes, heads of canes, &c. ; and 
 found a very rapid sale, not only among people of 
 fashion, but throughout the empire. 
 
A.i). 1782.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIEE. [the princess daschkaw. 
 
 transport of the rock from the morass near 
 the village of Lachta to St. Petersburg. 
 Still, a work which so prominently chal- 
 lenges attention, has necessarily elicited 
 much criticism ; and a recent French tra- 
 veller observes, that it is neither antique 
 nor modern, but a Roman of the time of 
 Louis XV. Ou the 7th of August, the 
 ceremony of the disclosure of the statue to 
 the public took place ; and the empress, 
 making her appearance in the balcony of 
 the senate-house, solemnised the event by 
 the distribution of gold and silver medals. 
 She also issued an ukase, terminating every 
 process of more than ten years' standing, dis- 
 charging all debtors who had suffered a five 
 years' captivity, and remitting all debts to 
 the crown below the sum of 500 roubles. 
 
 During this summer, the Princess Dasch- 
 kaw returned to St. Petersburg from her 
 travels in Germany, Italy, FKance, and 
 England. She was welcomed and again 
 received into favour by the empress, who 
 appears to have missed her vivacious so- 
 ciety and the assistance of her strong in- 
 tellect. Catherine treated her with great 
 kindness, advanced her son in the army, 
 and bestowed upon the princess an estate 
 having on it about 2,500 peasants. The 
 empress shortly afterwards expressed the 
 eccentric desire of appointing the princess 
 directress of the Academy of Arts and 
 Sciences ! 
 
 That lady declined the unexpected honour, 
 and then said jestingly — " Appoint me 
 directress of your majesty's washerwomen, 
 and you shall see with what zeal I am 
 capable of serving you." Catherine per- 
 sisted ; and the princess, on her return 
 home, wrote a serious letter of expostulation 
 to the empress on the subject. " I told 
 her," says the princess, *' without reserve, 
 that the private life of a sovereign might 
 pass unnoticed in the pages of history ; but 
 that an injudicious and hurtful nomination 
 to a public office never would j that nature 
 herself, in making me a woman, had dis- 
 qualified me for the direction of an academy 
 of science ; and that feeling as I did my 
 own literary insufficiency, I had never 
 sought the distinction of being admitted 
 into any learned society whatever, not even 
 
 * The inaugural discourse delivered by the princess 
 on this occasion will, we fancy, be perused with in- 
 terest, from motives which may vary according to 
 the sex or taste of the reader. The learned lady 
 spoke or read as follows -. — " Gentlemen, — A new 
 instance of the solicitude of our august empress for 
 the instruction of her subjects has this day assembled 
 
 when the opportunity offered at Rome of 
 purchasing it for a few ducats." 
 
 The princess requested Potemkin to de- 
 liver this communication to the empress ; 
 but, to her astonishment, he tore it in 
 pieces. Then, to an angry inquiry as to 
 the cause of his conduct, he replied — " Be 
 composed princess, and hearken to me. 
 You are sincerely attached to her majesty ; 
 nobody doubts it ; why will you, then, dis- 
 tress and grieve her on a subject which, for 
 the last two days, has occupied her thoughts 
 exclusively, and on which she has abso- 
 lutely fixed her heart ? If you are really 
 inexorable, here is pen, ink, and paper; 
 write your letter anew ; but believe me, in 
 expostulating thus, I am only acting the 
 part of a man devoted to your interest. I 
 ought, besides, to add, that in urging your 
 acceptance of the place proposed, her ma- 
 jesty has the further object in view of 
 securing your residence in St. Petersburg, 
 and of making it the occasion of a more fre- 
 quent and more immediate intercourse be- 
 tween you ; for, to say the truth, she is 
 worn out with the society of those fools by 
 whom she is eternally encircled." The 
 princess therefore consented, according to 
 her own account very unwillingly, to the 
 desire of the empress, who was really serious 
 in this strange appointment. Setting aside 
 the accidental circumstance of the sex of 
 the princess, which certainly must, in such 
 a matter, be regarded as a disqualification, 
 she seems to have made an active and very 
 excellent directress. She put an end to 
 much of that peculation which is the worm 
 that eats into the heart of most Russian 
 institutions; relieved it by good manage- 
 ment from pecuniary difficulties ; increased 
 the number of students ; and established 
 three new courses of lectures in mathe- 
 matics, geometry, and natural history, which 
 were delivered in the Russian language by 
 a native professor, gratuitously to all who 
 chose to attend them. The following year 
 the princess was also appointed to preside 
 over a new academy, of a purely national 
 character, founded by the empress for the 
 purpose of perfecting the Russian language, 
 and the advancement of its literature.* In 
 connection with it, she conducted the com- 
 
 us together. That genius which has already dif- 
 fused so many benefits over Russia has now given a 
 proof of its protective energy in behalf of the Rus- 
 sian language, the parent and source of so many 
 others. You will surely appreciate, gentlemen, the 
 gift which our great sovereign has conferred on our 
 country and on this assembly. The riches and 
 
 307 
 
ANNEXATION OF THE CRIMEA.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1782. 
 
 pilation of a dictionary of the Russian lan- 
 guage, the first that had been accomphshed. 
 It was, however, subjected to much adverse 
 criticism ; and it did not satisfy the expecta- 
 tions of the empress, on account of its being 
 arranged, not in an alphabetical, but in an 
 etymological order. 
 
 Towards the close of the year 1782, the 
 emperor of Germany laid aside the mask, 
 and avowed his intention of supporting 
 both his own claims and those of Russia 
 against the Turkish empire. At the same 
 time the courts of Vienna and St. Peters- 
 burg issued memorials, in which they 
 peremptorily insisted that the Porte should 
 not in future, under any pretence, interfere 
 in the affairs of the Tartars ; that the privi- 
 leges of the provinces of Moldavia and 
 Wallachia should not be infringed, nor the 
 free navigation of the Euxine and the 
 Archipelago in any way be obstructed. 
 The consequences of a failure with respect 
 to these demands could not be more fully 
 explained than they already were, by the 
 appearance of large Russian and Austrian 
 armies on the frontiers, and the vast pre- 
 parations for war made by both those em- 
 copiousness of our language are well known to you. 
 They are such as will render justice to the varied 
 treasures of antiquity. Transposed into our tongue, 
 the nervous eloquence of Cicero, the measured gran- 
 deur of Virgil, the attractive sweetness of Demos- 
 thenes, the easy eloquence of Ovid, and the thunder- 
 ing flashes of the lyre of Pindar, will lose nothing of 
 their respective beauties. Our mother-tongue unites 
 not only these advantages, gentlemen, but even in 
 all the subtleties of philosophy, in their affinities and 
 oppositions, it furnishes appropriate expressions, and 
 terms the most applicable and descriptive. But with 
 such resources, we have to lament the want of de- 
 terminate rules; rules for the inflections of words, 
 as v/ell as an authorised definition and limitation of 
 their meaning. Hence have arisen those varieties 
 of construction, those improprieties of imitation and 
 foreign idiom, which have hitherto disfigured and 
 depressed our language. The object of the Imperial 
 Russian Academy is to render it perfect, to raise it 
 to a standard of elevation suitable to the glorious 
 age of Catherine II. This, gentlemen, must be the 
 end and aim of the labours of a society founded and 
 supported by her gracious protection. The different 
 memorials of antiquity spread over the vast surface 
 of the Russian empire, our numerous chronicles, 
 those precious records of the great actions of our 
 ancestors, of which few of the nations of Europe 
 now existing can boast an equal number, present a 
 vast field for our exertions, upon which we are led 
 to advance under the guidance of the enlightened 
 genius of our august protectress. The high deeds 
 of our princes, the exploits of the past and the pre- 
 sent ever-memorable age, present an almost bound- 
 less range of subjects M'orthy of our labour. But, 
 gentlemen, the first fruits of our endeavours, the 
 first offering to be laid at the feet of our immortal 
 308 
 
 pires. The Porte, though it acted with 
 dignity, yet felt it necessary to submit. 
 The following year, Catherine poured her 
 troops into the Crimea, where, after many 
 intiigues, the khan was deposed, and the 
 principal Tartars compelled to take an oath 
 of allegiance to the empress. Turkey, 
 though extremely irritated, was not in a 
 condition to prevent this annexation, which 
 Catherine justified in a manifesto addressed 
 to the crowned heads of Europe. It is 
 fashionable to denounce the aggressive 
 policy of Russia ; but we think there is no 
 necessity for any indignant declamation in 
 this case. Geographically, the Crimea must 
 be regarded as a portion of the Russian 
 empire, to which it naturally belongs. It 
 is utterly dissevered from the Turkish do- 
 minions ; and for the sultan to exercise a 
 paramount and protecting power over it, 
 must have been an indignity and a cause 
 of uneasiness to Russia. As to the Tartars 
 themselves, they deserved no consideration 
 whatever: they had obtained the Crimea 
 by conquest, and, during the time of their 
 power, had ever been restless, marauding, 
 vindictive, and bloodthirsty neighbours. 
 
 sovereign, is a grammar of our language, exact and 
 methodical, and a rich and copious dictionary. 
 Allow me to flatter myself, gentlemen, that you will 
 not hesitate to give me credit for the sentiments with 
 which I am penetrated in the honour of being asso- 
 ciated with you by my generous sovereign, to concur 
 in the good of an establishment so useful to our 
 country. Believe me, gentlemen, that the zeal which 
 enkindles in my heart the love of that country will 
 never be extinguished, and that in everything which 
 may tend to render our society flourishing and suc- 
 cessful, I shall endeavour to supply, by indefatigable 
 application, the deficiency of otner qualifications of 
 which I am most sensible. I deem it an indispen- 
 sable duty, on this first occasion of our meeting, to 
 place before you a sketch which I have had the 
 honour of submitting to the consideration of her 
 majesty, in order that it may have the benefit of 
 your remarks, and the addition of wliatever may be 
 considered further necessary to establish the basis 
 of our constitution. Any imperfections which here 
 present themselves will not surely escape your pene- 
 tration ; but there are two considerations which solicit 
 your indulgence. The first is, that I have contracted 
 the habit of exposing to our incomparable sovereign 
 my ideas, however undigested and unarranged they 
 may be, with entire confidence and sincerity, which 
 she is pleased to receive with kindness, from a per- 
 suasion of the purity of my intentions. The other, 
 that it never entered my contemplation (and I trust 
 such a vain idea never can), that I, though placed at 
 the head of this academy, should be capable, in ray 
 own person, of upholding the labours and glory of 
 such an institution. It is on your aid, gentlemen, 
 that I count; and the confidence which I place in it, 
 is the strongest proof I can give of my profound 
 esteem for you." 
 
A.D. 1783.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [death of Gregory orloff. 
 
 They were, indeed, little better than a na- 
 tion of robbers, whose independence was 
 not consistent with the safety of peaceable 
 people. Russia did wisely in annexing the 
 Crimea, and governing her turbulent people 
 by the sword : under such circumstances 
 England would have acted in the same 
 manner. 
 
 The empress assured the Tartars that 
 they should be placed on an equality with 
 the ancient subjects of Russia; that they 
 should enjoy the most absolute liberty of 
 conscience, with the full exercise of their 
 public worship and religious ceremonies. 
 She also exhorted them to imitate the sub- 
 mission and zeal of the rest of her people. 
 The Tartars were not affected by these exhor- 
 tations, and resolved to free themselves from 
 the yoke just imposed upon them. Prince 
 Potemkin, informed of their design, gave 
 orders to General Prozoroffski to seize on 
 the principal persons concerned, and put 
 them instantly to death. That ofiEicer re- 
 coiled from a charge which he regarded as 
 inconsistent with the honourable duties of a 
 military man, and replied, that he was not 
 calculated for an assassin. General Paul 
 Potemkin, cousin to the minister, was less 
 scrupulous ; and under his directions no less 
 than 30,000 Tartars, of both sexes, were 
 massacred in cold blood. Such terrible in- 
 cidents are, we fear, ever the inseparable at- 
 tendants of conquest, even in humane times. 
 
 While Russia Avas engaged in this work 
 of annexation, she preserved an attitude so 
 formidable that Turkey despaired of being 
 able to encounter her in arms with any hope 
 of success. An army of 70,000 men, under 
 the orders of General Potemkin, was as- 
 sembled on the frontiers of the Crimea. 
 These Prince Repnia was ready to support 
 with another army of 40,000 men; while 
 Marshal Romantzoff, with a third army, held 
 his general quarters at Kief. The squadrons 
 of the Euxine were armed ; and ten sail- 
 of-the-line, with several frigates, were only 
 waiting the signal for proceeding from the 
 Baltic to the Mediterranean. Under these 
 circumstances France had no great difficulty 
 in inducing Turkey to negotiate, rather than 
 fight, with Russia. On the 9th of January, 
 1784, a new treaty, between the empress and 
 the sultan, was signed at Constantinople, by 
 which the entire sovereignty of the Crimea, 
 of the Isle of Taman, and a great part of the 
 Kuban, was ceded to Russia. To these places 
 the empress restored their ancient names : 
 the Crimea was called the Taurica, and the 
 
 Kuban the Caucasus — titles which never fail 
 to remind us of the fables of ancient Greece ; 
 Iphigenia in Tauris; the race-ground of 
 Achilles; the cities Pantikapseum, Bos- 
 phorus, and Tanais ; of the chained Prome- 
 theus ; and of the tribes of Caucasus and 
 Circassia, still famous for the beauty of their 
 women. 
 
 Before Catherine obtained this accession 
 of territory, she had lost two of the principal 
 chiefs of the conspiracy that had placed her 
 on the throne. Count Panin and Prince 
 Gregory Orloff died within a very short time 
 of each other; the first at St. Petersburg, 
 the other at Moscow. Panin, supplanted by 
 Prince Potemkin, had fallen a prey to grief 
 and vexation, and died on the 31st of March, 
 1783 : he left behind him the character of 
 an honest and generous man, though he 
 certainly did not always merit the first of 
 these epithets. The close of the life of 
 Gregory Orloff was in gloomy accordance 
 with that poetical justice of which we hear 
 more than we see. Though in the possession 
 of an immense fortune, and married to a 
 young and handsome wife, he was rendered 
 miserable by the knowledge that the smiles 
 of the empress were lavished upon younger 
 favourites. During the latter part of his 
 life he travelled almost incessantly, and a 
 despondency into which he had fallen was 
 increased to a profound melancholy by the 
 loss of his wife, at Lausanne, in 1782. He 
 returned to St. Petersburg, in the hope of 
 recovering his serenity by mixing in the 
 scenes of his past pleasures. The court itself 
 afforded him no relief, and he soon startled 
 his friends by conduct which indicated a 
 disordered intellect. He would sometimes 
 give himself up to an extravagant gaiety, 
 and then as suddenly burst out into re- 
 proaches against the empress. After a time 
 he retired to Moscow, where he became the 
 victim of a consuming remorse. He was 
 incessantly haunted by a vision of the mur- 
 dered Peter III. ; and, in the month of 
 April, 1783, he expired in the agonies of 
 despair. 
 
 The empress had long lost her affection 
 for Orloff; but she was deeply moved in the 
 following year by the loss of her favourite 
 Lanskoi. To him Catherine was so greatly 
 attached, that she addressed herself, per- 
 sonally, to remove the defects of his educa- 
 tion, and that with so much success, that he 
 soon became as distinguishable for his ac- 
 quirements and the elegance of his manners, 
 as he was already by the graces of his person. 
 
 309 
 
THE DINNEB OF TOLERATION.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1784. 
 
 Whether her love for Lanskoi would have 
 beeu more enduring than that which she 
 entertained for her previous favourites, it is 
 difficult to say, as he was attacked with a 
 violent fever, and perished in the flower of 
 his age, in the arms of his imperial mistress, 
 who lavished upon him, to the very last mo- 
 ment, all the tenderness the most passionate 
 afi'ection could inspire. After his death 
 Catherine abandoned herself to the most 
 poignant sorrow. For some days she refused 
 all food, and remained three months within 
 the walls of her palace. She afterwards 
 erected a superb mausoleum to his memory 
 in the gardens of the palace of Tzarsko-selo. 
 Two years afterwards, while walking acci- 
 dentally near this monument, she burst into 
 tears on beholding it. 
 
 Many persons at court were ambitious of 
 filling the post left vacant by the death of 
 Lanskoi; and the Princess Daschkaw has 
 the reputation of endeavouring to obtain it 
 for her son. This she denies. Certain it is 
 that the young Prince Daschkaw, though 
 possessed of a face and a figure calculated 
 to make an impression on the heart of 
 the susceptible empress, was not successful. 
 Catherine at length selected a lieutenant 
 of the name of Yermoloff, on whom to con- 
 fer her favours. 
 
 It has been observed that the spirit of 
 toleration which prevailed during the reign 
 of the empress was a remarkable feature in 
 a despotic government. Throughout her 
 long reign she never permitted any person 
 to suffer punishment on account of his reli- 
 gious opinions. She could not be induced 
 to visit those denounced as heretics with the 
 signs of her displeasure. " Poor wretches," 
 said she once, with a meaning smile, " since 
 we know that they are to suffer so much 
 and so long in the world to come, it is but 
 reasonable that we should endeavour, by all 
 means, to make their situation here as com- 
 fortable to them as we can." A writer on 
 this subject aptly remarks — " The intolerant 
 of more polished nations might go to the 
 provinces of Esthonia, Livonia, Finland, and 
 Russia, to take lessons of moderation and 
 Christian forbearance. But at St. Peters- 
 burg, the general and peculiar feature in the 
 public character is toleration — a virtue which, 
 in some sense, has long since taken root in 
 the nation at large ; but, from the confluence 
 of such numbers of people of various persua- 
 sions and the most diversified systems of 
 faith, has acquired so general and extensive 
 a sway, that certainly it is not easy to find a 
 310 
 
 spot of earth upon the globe, where, in this 
 respect, a man may more quietly pass his 
 days than at St. Petersburg. It is to be 
 understood, moreover, that the word ' tolera- 
 tion^ is not here confined to that narrow 
 meaning in which it is usually taken, in 
 speaking of an extorted and commanded 
 forbearance in matters of religion, or of the 
 permission for the weaker party to exist by 
 a stated law. The idea here connected with 
 the term includes a voluntarily and univer- 
 sally- dift'used forbearance, in every place, 
 and towards every person, his manner of 
 thinking and acting. It therefore compre- 
 hends not only, religion, but also political 
 and social toleration; and is remarkable, 
 not as the characteristic of the form of gov- 
 ernment, but as entirely that of the public." 
 
 The liberality of Catherine was displayed 
 by the sanction of a seminary of Jesuits* at 
 Mohilef, and by the protection of Moham- 
 medanism in the Crimea. Indeed, almost 
 every year she exhibited to her people some 
 remarkable instance of the protection she 
 granted to the liberty of worship. On the 
 day of the benediction of the waters of the 
 Neva, her confessor, at her orders, invited to 
 his house the ecclesiastics of all commu- 
 nions, and gave them a grand entertainment, 
 which the empress called the "Dinner of Tole- 
 ration." It was commonly attended by the 
 priests of no less than eight different forms 
 of religion ; and at the conclusion of the re- 
 past, the metropolitan usually said, with a 
 loud voice, either in Russ or Latin, " Glory 
 to God in the highest ! — On earth peace ! — 
 Good-will towards men \" 
 
 It was not in religion alone that the em- 
 press displayed an active liberality. Her 
 labours for the diffusion of instruction 
 amongst her people were unremitting. She 
 had already opened many schools in the 
 large towns ; but she now resolved to spread 
 these benefits to the future men and women 
 of Russia, as far as practicable, throughout 
 the empire. With this object she opened a 
 commission of public instruction, for the 
 institution of normal schools, which were 
 established on the same principle as those 
 then existing in Austria. Catherine took 
 much interest in her schools, and gave her- 
 self a great deal of trouble about them. 
 Occasionally she visited them herself during 
 
 * However, to guard against the danger com- 
 monly apprehended from this order of monks, they 
 were not permitted to leave the two or three towns 
 which had been assigned to them as places of resi- 
 dence. 
 
A.D. 1787.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [progress to KHERSON. 
 
 the hours of instruction. It was, indeed, a 
 pleasing trait in the character of the era- 
 press, that she was always fond of children, 
 and frequently bestowed great care upon 
 them. She generally had a number of them in 
 her apartments, where they enjoyed the same 
 liberty with her grandchildren, and she re- 
 turned their caresses with extreme kindness. 
 
 Catherine's favourite, Yermoloff, contrived 
 to make himself obnoxious to Prince Potem- 
 kin, to whom he is said to have behaved with 
 ingratitude. The irritable minister at length 
 said to the empress — " Madam, there is but 
 one alternative; you must either dismiss 
 Yermoloff or me ; for so long as you keep 
 that white negro,* I shall not set my foot 
 within the palace." The empress yielded ; 
 Yermoloff was dismissed, and a new fa- 
 vourite of the name of Count Momonoff 
 succeeded him. 
 
 On the 18th of January, 1787, Catherine 
 started on a magnificent progress to Kher- 
 son and the Crimea. So extensive were 
 the preparations that had been made for 
 this journey, that it was reported the Cleo- 
 patra of the North intended to be crowned 
 queen of Taurida, and to be declared pro- 
 tectress of all the nations of Tartars. Cathe- 
 rine had an important political object in 
 this intended display of magnificence and 
 power. She proposed, after having taken 
 the sceptre of the Crimea, and awed the 
 surrounding nations into submission, to 
 conduct her grandson Constantino to the 
 gates of that Oriental empire over which 
 she had designed him to rule. So fixed 
 was this idea in the mind of the empress, 
 that Constantino, from his birth, was placed 
 in the hands of Greek nurses, dressed in 
 the Greek costume, and surrounded by the 
 children of that nation, that he might ac- 
 quire their language, which he soon spoke 
 with great facility. 
 
 The illness of the young prince, which 
 compelled the empress to leave him at St. 
 Petersburg, together with some other cir- 
 cumstances, induced Catherine to abandon 
 the idea of the coronation, the assumption 
 of new titles, and to dispense with the 
 large military force which it was intended 
 should accompany her. Yet, to give dig- 
 nity to the occasion, Catherine had induced 
 the emperor, Joseph II., to consent to meet 
 and confer with her at Kherson. Stanis- 
 laus, the poor shadow-king of Poland, the 
 
 • Potemkin called Yermoloff by that name, because 
 he was thick-lipped and extremely fair, 
 t Memoira and Recollections. 
 
 last of the monarchs of that divided coun- 
 try, also swelled the triumph of the auto- 
 cratrix by joining this distinguished party. 
 The Porte took the alarm; and a storm 
 was gathering throughout the Ottoman em- 
 pire, to burst forth at no distant period. 
 Catherine, however, either despised, or 
 affected to despise, the effeminacy and the 
 ignorance of the Mussulmans, and the dull 
 life of their sultans, whose horizon did not 
 extend beyond the walls of their harem. 
 " These imbecile despots," said she, '' weak- 
 ened by the pleasures of the seraglio, ruled 
 over by their ulemahs, and captives to their 
 Janizaries, can neither think, speak, fight, 
 nor administer public affairs ; their infancy 
 is perpetual." 
 
 The empress started on her journey in 
 the depth of winter, attended by a brilliant 
 suite, and a cavalcade composed of fourteen 
 carriages and 184< sledges. " The cold," 
 said Count Segur,t who, in his capacity 
 of ambassador from France, accompanied 
 the empress, " rose to seventeen degrees ; 
 the road was excellent, and our carriages, 
 mounted on a sort of lofty skates, were 
 drawn along with such rapidity, that they 
 seemed to fly through the air. To protect 
 us from the cold, we were wrapped up in 
 furs of bear-skin, which we wore over 
 pelisses finer and more valuable, and we 
 had on our heads caps of sable. With 
 these precautions we did not feel the cold, 
 even when it rose to twenty or twenty-five 
 degrees. In the houses where we lodged, 
 the stoves gave us reason to fear an excess 
 of heat rather than of cold. At this time 
 of the year, when the days were shortest, 
 the sun did not give us light till very late, 
 and, at the end of six or seven hours, he 
 disappeared, and the darkest night suc- 
 ceeded. But in the midst of this darkness 
 we were not left in want of light. At short 
 distances from each other, and on both 
 sides of the road, enormous piles of fir,' 
 cypress, birch, and pine had been raised, 
 which were set on fire, so that we posted 
 through a range of fires more brilliant than 
 the rays of daylight. It was thus that the 
 proud empress of the North, in the midst 
 of the deepest night, willed and commanded 
 that there should be light." 
 
 Away went the imperial cortege, with an 
 almost incredible celerity, over vast plains 
 covered with snow, across frozen marshes, 
 and through forests of fir, whose dark 
 branches, hung with innumerable icicles, 
 sometimes irradiated by the faint gleams of 
 
 311 
 
ANECDOTES OF THE EMPRESS.] HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1787. 
 
 a winter's sun, bore a brief resemblance to 
 the lustre of the crystal and the diamond. 
 For some little distance beyond the towns 
 and villages, the road was thronged by citi- 
 zens and rustics, whose curiosity led them 
 to brave the severity of the cold, and ven- 
 ture forth to salute their sovereign with 
 acclamations. 
 
 Count Segur relates the following anec- 
 dote of the empress, which occurred during 
 the journey; and though not in itself of 
 any great moment, may contribute some- 
 thing towards enabling us to take a just 
 view of her character. " One day," he ob- 
 serves, " as I was sitting opposite to her in 
 her carriage, she expressed a desire that I 
 would repeat to her some little pieces of 
 poetry which I had composed. The de- 
 lightful familiarity which she permitted to 
 those who travelled Avith her, the presence 
 of her young favourite, the remembrance of 
 those who had preceded him in her favour, 
 her philosophy, her gaiety, her corres- 
 pondence with the Prince De Ligne, Vol- 
 taire, and Diderot, having led me to sup- 
 pose that she would not be shocked at a 
 tale of gallantry, I recited one to her which 
 was, in truth, a little free and gay, but 
 still sufficiently choice in its expressions to 
 have been well received at Paris by the 
 Due de Nivernais, by the Prince de Beau- 
 vais, and by ladies whose virtue equalled 
 their good-humour. To my great surprise, 
 I saw the laughing traveller suddenly as- 
 sume the deportment of a majestic sove- 
 reign. She interrupted me by a question 
 altogether foreign to the purpose, and 
 changed the subject of conversation. Some 
 minutes afterwards, in order to show that I 
 understood her lesson, I entreated her at- 
 tention to a piece of verse of a very different 
 kind from the former, and to which she lent 
 the most obliging attention. As if desirous 
 that her weaknesses should be lespected, 
 she took care to cover them with a veil of 
 decency and dignity. This anecdote re- 
 minds me of what my brother said, Avith so 
 much justness and originality, when speak- 
 ing of the indulgence permitted by women 
 thoroughly virtuous, and the apparent seve- 
 rity of those Avho are not quite so perfect. 
 ' Where virtue reigns,' said he, ' the show 
 of nice decorum is useless.' " 
 
 After six days' travelling the empress be- 
 came fatigued, and remained for three more 
 at the picturesque city of Smolensk. On 
 the second evening there she gave a grand 
 ball, at which 300 ladies, splendidly attired, 
 312 
 
 evidenced the progress vvhich the provinces 
 of the empire had made in imitating the 
 luxuries, the fashions, and the elegance of 
 the capital. The journey was rencAved, and 
 ten days' more travelling brought the impe- 
 rial party to Kief, the ancient capital of the 
 first princes of Russia, situated upon the 
 bank of the river Dnieper. Here Catherine 
 was compelled to remain until the 1st of 
 May. Still, in this ghost of a once great 
 city she kept a numerous and certainly 
 remarkable court. Around her were to be 
 seen warlike princes from many nations; 
 the nobles and beauties of Poland, Avho, 
 forgetful of the Avounds of their country, had 
 flocked there to meet the proud autocratrix 
 whose sword hung suspended OA'er it ; officers 
 of all the imperial armies, including those of 
 the Don Cossacks, richly clothed in the 
 Asiatic costume; Tartars, Circassians, and 
 Calmucks ; together with envoys from many 
 Avarlike and mostly Avandering tribes, often 
 beaten, but never subdued. " It was," said 
 an obserA'er, " the whole East congregated to 
 see the modern Semiramis receiving the 
 homage of the monarchs of the West. It 
 Avas like a magic theatre, where ancient and 
 modern times seemed to be mingled and 
 confounded with one another, and where 
 civilisation went hand-in-hand with bar- 
 barism," 
 
 Count Segur, disappointed at seeing so 
 little of the countries through which they 
 passed, ventured to complain that it was ex- 
 tremely vexatious to travel so far and never 
 to see anything but a court, never to hear 
 anything but Greek masses, and never to 
 attend at anything but balls. The empress, 
 hearing of it, said to him — " I am informed 
 that you censure me for traversing my em- 
 pire, in order to give nothing but audiences 
 and/e/e^; but listen to my reasons. I do not 
 travel to see the places, but to see the people ; 
 I know enough, by charts and descriptions} 
 with regard to a matter Avhich a rapid pro- 
 gress Avill not permit me to investigate. 
 That which is essential to me, is to give the 
 people the means of approaching me ; to open 
 a Avay for their complaints, and to make 
 those tremble who dare to abuse my autho- 
 rity in the expectation that I shall not dis- 
 cover their errors, their negligences, or their 
 injustice. Such, then, is the advantage 
 which I expect to derive from my journeys ; 
 their mere announcement does good; and 
 my motto is — The eye of the master fattens 
 the horse." 
 
 When the returning spring thawed the 
 
A.D. 1787.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [CATHERINE AT KHERSON. 
 
 waters of the ancient Borysthenes, the em- 
 press prepared to renew her journey. Before 
 doing so, she visited the monastery of Pets- 
 chersk-i, and distributed many favours and 
 decorations, diamonds and pearls. "The 
 Cleopatra of Kief," said the witty Austrian 
 soldier, Prince de Ligne, " does not swallow 
 pearls, but she gives many away." The 
 galley on which she embarked was attended 
 by a fleet of more than eighty vessels, manned 
 by about 3,000 men. The vessels containing 
 the empress and her immediate companions, 
 had splendid apartments, glittering with gold 
 and silk, constructed on the deck. Every 
 galley carried a band of music ; the warlike 
 strains of which, added to the shouts of the 
 spectators and the roar of cannon, assisted 
 in producing a most imposing spectacle. 
 The snow had thoroughly disappeared when 
 the empress departed from Kief; the earth 
 was covered with a rich verdure, and even, 
 in some spots, enamelled with early flowers ; 
 above all, a brilliant sun animated, enlivened, 
 and coloured every object. The rocks that 
 intercepted the navigation of the river, had 
 been partially broken down for this me- 
 morable occasion. 
 
 At KaniefF the fleet cast anchor to receive 
 Stanislaus, the king of Poland. Catherine 
 had not beheld her early lover for the space 
 of three-and-twenty years, and she seemed 
 momentarily aff'ected at the interview ; but 
 on assembling at the dinner-table, she dis- 
 played more than her customary cheerful- 
 ness. On rising, the king took from the 
 hands of a page the gloves and fan of the 
 empress, and presented them to her. Cathe- 
 rine returned the courtesy by handing to 
 him his hat. " Ah ! madam," he remarked, 
 in allusion to the crown of Poland, "you 
 formerly gave me a much finer one." 
 
 At Krementchuk the empress was lodged 
 in a magnificent mansion, and entertained 
 by a mock battle carried on by 12,000 men 
 in new uniforms. This was arranged by 
 Prince Potemkin, who showed an extraordi- 
 nary ingenuity and a boundless extrava- 
 gance in providing for the amusement of his 
 imperial mistress. Every means was adopted 
 to give an appearance of life and fertility 
 even to the barrenness of the desert. Large 
 flocks had been collected for the occasion, 
 to impart animation to the meadows in the 
 neighbourhood of the villages; groups of 
 peasants enlivened the banks ; and boats, full 
 of youths and maidens, siuging the rustic 
 airs of their country, sometimes surrounded 
 the galley of the empress. 
 2s 
 
 Joseph II. met Catherine, on the 18th of 
 May, near Kaydak, and from thence they 
 proceeded by land to Kherson. " "We en- 
 tered," says the gossiping Count Segur, 
 " upon what in Russia is called the Steppes — 
 vast and solitary meadows, altogether desti- 
 tute of trees, and varied only at great inter- 
 vals by hillocks quite bare, with some paltry 
 rivulet winding at their feet. We often tra- 
 versed seven or eight leagues without en- 
 countering a man, a house, or a bush. 
 Africa has its deserts of sand ; those of the 
 East are less barren — they are the deserts of 
 verdure. Immense flocks of sheep, and a 
 numerous breed of horses, alone inhabit these 
 profound solitudes, where they are left to 
 rove about the whole of the year. At the 
 first view, this immense and verdant horizon, 
 where nothing checks the sight, produces on 
 the mind the same impression as the ocean. 
 It seems to give greater grandeur to the 
 imagination, and greater depth to reflection ; 
 but, in proportion as you advance, the uni- 
 formity occasions weariness; you become 
 excessively tired of continually beholding, 
 above and around, nothing but the sky and 
 green fields, which have no limits." 
 
 The visit of the empress to the city of 
 Kherson, called by the Tartars " Kisiker- 
 man," or City of Daughters, was celebrated 
 with many festivities. It was here that she 
 beheld a gate bearing a Greek inscription, 
 meaning, " By this the way leads to Byzan- 
 tium." This incident has been magnified 
 into the statement, that she erected a 
 triumphal arch at this place, and, in a fit of 
 arrogant prophecy, inscribed those words 
 upon it. The visit of the empress to the 
 Crimea, though necessarily displeasing to 
 the Porte, was not conducted in open de- 
 fiance of it. Long before leaving St. Peters- 
 burg, she had certified her intention to the 
 divan at Constantinople ; the messenger 
 being directed to soften the communication 
 by the statement, that some necessary in- 
 ternal regulations were the only objects of 
 his sovereign in this visit to a part of her 
 subjects. The Porte, however, exhibited 
 symptoms of uneasiness, and appeared un- 
 decided as to whether they ought not to 
 consider the visit as an aggression. They 
 even sent four ships of war, while the em- 
 press was at Kherson, to anchor at the 
 mouth of the Borysthenes. This proceed- 
 ing so resembled a threat, that Catherine 
 beheld the vessels with much excitement, 
 and, turning to her courtiers, exclaimed — 
 " Do you see ! one would suppose that the 
 
 313 
 
CATHEErN~E AT PULTAWA.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1787. 
 
 Turks had no recollection of Tschesme !" 
 Her indignation was the greater on finding 
 that the Ottomans Avere assisted by French 
 officers and engineers. Prince Potemkin re- 
 proached Count Segur with this circum- 
 stance; but the latter answered, that the 
 Russians could scarcely be astonished at 
 precautions dictated by common prudence.* 
 Catherine, for some days, treated the French 
 minister with coldness, but soon received 
 him again into her favour. 
 
 Crossing the famous lines of Perekop, 
 the imperial party proceeded to the city of 
 Bachtchi-Sarai, and took up their residence 
 in the palace of the ancient khans. The 
 Turkish and Tartar merchants looked on 
 with an apathetic pride. On the approach 
 of a cavalcade they showed neither surprise 
 nor active displeasure. Regarding their 
 conquerors as infidels and dogs, they re- 
 tained their stupid pride; and instead of 
 imputing their reverses to ignorance, attri- 
 buted them to fatality alone. The pride of 
 the empress was natural and justifiable : it 
 had been reserved for her — a woman — to 
 annihilate the Tartar power in the Crimea, 
 
 and to subdue beneath the Russian sceptre 
 a race who had formerly been the con- 
 querors of Russia, ever delighting in fero- 
 cious excesses ; and who, but a few years 
 before their overthrow, had shown that they 
 still retained their brutal and brigand-like 
 spirit. 
 
 On the return of Catherine, she visited 
 the famous battle-field of Pultawa. There 
 a Russian army of 50,000 men was divided 
 into two bodies, and gave a mimic represen- 
 tation of the conflict between Charles and 
 Peter. During the charging of troops and 
 the roar of cannon, Catherine felt the fuU 
 excitement of the scene, and her eyes 
 sparkled with animation and delight. On 
 some of the courtiers pointing out to her an 
 error committed by the Swedes, she ob- 
 served — " Here we may see on what a small 
 matter the fate of empires depends. Had it 
 not been for this fault, we should not be 
 here.^' At Moscow the emperor Joseph took 
 leave of Catherine, and returned to his 
 dominions ; while she and her court pro- 
 ceeded to St. Petersburg, having traversed 
 nearly the whole length of the empire. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 TORKET DECLARES WAR AGAINST RUSSU ; SWEDEN DOES THE SAME ; EXTRAVAGANT DEMANDS OF GUSTAVUS; 
 CONSTERNATION AT ST. PETERSBURG ; SUCCESSES OF THE RUSSIANS AND THE TURKS ; CAPTURE OF OTCHA- 
 KOFF, AND MASSACRE THERE ; GUSTAVUS OBTAINS A NAVAL TRIUMPH OVER THE RUSSIANS ; PEACE 
 BETWEEN SWEDEN AND RUSSIA ; SUWARROW AND THE BATTLE OF THE RYMNIK ; DEFEAT OF THE TURKS 
 AT MARTINESTI ; THE TAKING AND MASSACRE OF ISMAIL ; ECCENTRICITY OF POTEMKIN ; HE GIVES AN 
 EXTRAVAGANT ENTERTAIN2HENT TO THE EMPRESS ; CATHERINE'S LAST FAVOURITE ; DEATH AND CHARACTER 
 OF POTEMKIN. 
 
 Turkey had been too bitterly wounded 
 long to submit in silence to the humilia- 
 tions it had received at the hands of its 
 northern neighbour. The Porte demanded 
 
 * Count Segur was also so fortunate as to enjoy 
 the confidence of the emperor Joseph, then accom- 
 panying the empress under the assumed title of the 
 Count de Falkenstein. Notwithstanding the treaty 
 between Austria and Russia, the count considered 
 the emperor as but little disposed to second the am- 
 bition of Catherine. " Constantinople," said Joseph, 
 " will ever be an object of jealousy and a ground 
 for discord, which will always render it impossible 
 for the great powers to agree in a division of Tur- 
 key." He appeared also very little struck with the 
 progress of the Russian establishments. "I find," 
 said he, "more of show than of reality. Prince 
 Potemkin is active, but more fit to begin great works 
 than to finish them. As to the rest, all becomes 
 314 
 
 the restitution of the Crimea. Fresh, 
 though trivial, disputes arose; and on the 
 18th of August, 1787, the sultan, secretly 
 instigated both by Prussiaf and England, 
 
 easy if we are prodigal of wealth and of human life. 
 We could not venture in Germany nor in France 
 upon what is hazarded here without oppx)sition. The 
 master commands, and troops of slaves obediently 
 labour. They are paid little or nothing; they are 
 badly fed ; they dare not let a murmur escape them ; 
 and I know that, during three years in these new 
 governments, fatigue and the unhealthiness of the 
 morasses have destroyed 50,000, without its being 
 complained of, or even alluded to." 
 
 f Frederic the Great was no more. He died on 
 the 17th of August, 1786, in the seventy-fifth year 
 of his age, and the forty-seventh of his reign. To 
 his nephew and successor (Frederic William II.) 
 he left a kingdom enlarged from 2,190 to 3,615 
 
A.D. 1787.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [war with turkey. 
 
 declared war against Russia, and sent the 
 ambassador of that power to the castle of 
 the Seven Towers. M. de BulgakofF was, 
 however, permitted to be attended by his 
 secretary and some servants, and an ele- 
 gant pavilion was constructed to enable 
 him to enjoy the fresh air. Shortly after- 
 wards Sahim-Gueray, the former khan of 
 the Crimea, was strangled at Rhodes, as a 
 punishment for his ancient concessions to 
 the Russians. 
 
 The Turks and the Russians were each 
 busied with preparations for a war, which 
 France strove in vain to prevent. England 
 had more influence with the Porte, into 
 whose quarrel it entered with some warmth, 
 in consequence of the jealous feelings with 
 which it beheld Russia form a treaty of 
 commerce with France. The divan ordered 
 80,000 men to march, in order to cover 
 Otchakoff; advanced a formidable army to 
 the banks of the Danube, and called upon 
 all true followers of the prophet to arm in 
 defence of his successor. The call was 
 readily obeyed ; for the Turks were furious 
 at the recent visit of the empress to the 
 Crimea, covered as it was by the vicinity of 
 an army of 150,000 men, and astonished 
 that a progress so insulting had not been 
 prevented. The brave old capudan-pasha, 
 Gazi the Victorious, who had recently re- 
 turned from the Archipelago, declared, that 
 though grown gray in the service of his 
 country, he still felt himself strong and 
 vigorous, and that there was nothing upon 
 earth he wished for so passionately, as to 
 close his life with the glorious act of 
 driving the infidels out of their fraudulent 
 usurpations in the Crimea and on the 
 j Euxine, and of replacing the ruined na- 
 tions of Tartars and other Mussulmans in 
 their ancient possessions. He soon after- 
 wards entered the Black Sea with a fleet of 
 sixteen ships of the line, eight frigates, and 
 several galleys, intent on erasing the 
 memory of the disaster of his country at 
 Tschesme. The Tartars, also, on being in- 
 vited to return to their former allegiance, 
 met and elected a fresh khan, Par-Gueray, 
 who soon beheld under his command an 
 
 German square miles; about 70,000,000 of dollars 
 (£10,000,000 sterling) in the treasury, and an army 
 of 200,000 men. Prussia had become a great power 
 in Europe ; but political errors soon lessened the new 
 sovereign's influence with foreign cabinets; while use- 
 less wars, and the extravagance of favourites, wasted 
 the treasure he had inherited. Tyrannical, sensual, 
 and superstitious, Frederic William abandoned him- 
 self to thfe society of his mistresses, and allowed his 
 
 army of 40,000 men. It was in vain that 
 Catherine had loaded the Tartars with 
 presents, and caused the Koran to be 
 printed at St. Petersburg for their use : 
 they beheld in her the Christian potentate ; 
 while they longed to be ruled by a true 
 follower of the prophet. 
 
 The empress had long regarded a re- 
 newal of the war with Turkey as a proba- 
 bility, and had made preparations accord- 
 ingly. She had already a great force in 
 the Kuban, or Caucasus, and her armies 
 were advancing in detachments to the 
 Crimea. Potemkin, who longed for mili- 
 tary distinction, assumed the command of 
 all these forces ; while Suwarrow, Kamenskoi, 
 Korsakofi", and other generals of reputation, 
 served under him. The famous Marshal 
 Romantzoff", disdaining to swell the fame of 
 Potemkin, assigned his advanced age as an 
 excuse for holding aloof. A Russian fleet, 
 consisting of eight ships of the line, twelve 
 frigates, and nearly 200 gun-boats, made 
 its appearance in the Black Sea, and two 
 strong squadrons were in readiness at 
 Cronstadt, to sail for the Mediterranean. 
 Catherine also induced the emperor, Jo- 
 seph II., to support her with an army of 
 80,000 Austrians, who proceeded to Mol- 
 davia ; and not a few statesmen anticipated 
 the approaching overthrow of the Ottoman 
 empire. Catherine also appealed to that 
 deep sense of superstition in her people 
 which, in reality, she despised. She caused 
 papers to be circulated amongst them, con- 
 taining the assumed prophecies of the Rus- 
 sian patriai'chs, Jeremiah and Nicon, in 
 which the speedy ruin of Constantinople 
 was affirmed. On the other side, a Tartar 
 prophet made his appearance, and affirmed 
 that an angel had revealed itself to him 
 in a wood, and promised to raise against 
 the Russians all the hordes of the Caucasus. 
 
 The Turks suffered a severe defeat before 
 Kinburn, where no less than three actions 
 took place. Suwarrow, who commanded, was 
 himself wounded, but 4,000 Turks perished ; 
 Otchakoff was laid siege to, but vigorously 
 defended: the same was the case with 
 Choczim. But the other powers of Europe 
 
 mind to be influenced by the mystics known as the 
 Ilhmiinati, who pretended to make Moses and Jesus 
 appear to him ; and on another occasion, during sup- 
 per, called up for his satisfaction, or rather seemed 
 to call up, the ghost of Caesar. This foolish monarch 
 was also so lavish in bestowing titles upon his 
 favourites, that a satirical writer observed, that it 
 would soon be more difiicult, in Prussia, to find a 
 man than a nobleman. 
 
 .SI .5 
 
SWEDEN DECLARES WAR.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1788. 
 
 did not view the conduct of Russia with- 
 out uneasiness. Turkey was secretly en- 
 couraged by France, and also by Prussia; 
 while England was sending it supplies. 
 This Catherine might, perhaps, hare antici- 
 pated ; but she had not foreseen that Gus- 
 tavus III. of Sweden would have had the 
 boldness to declare war upon her. The 
 policy of Russia had long been to prevent 
 Sweden from ever recovering her former 
 rank among nations, or any part of that 
 influence which she once held in the politi- 
 cal scale of Europe. A nominal king with- 
 out power or eflPect ; with a nation con- 
 stantly rent and distracted by jarring fac- 
 tions, any of which she might occasionally 
 support against the others, as best suited 
 her immediate purposes, would, in process 
 of time, afford her such continual opportu- 
 nities for interference and regulation, and 
 such frequent pretences for sending armies 
 into the country to support her decisions, 
 that all the substantial benefits of conquest 
 would thus be obtained without the odium 
 and jealousy ever inseparable from that 
 term. These schemes were destroyed by 
 the Swedish revolution, which regenerated 
 the government of that country ; and the 
 Russian cabinet regarded with jealousy an 
 active monarch, under whose rule her 
 coveted prey had eluded her. When, 
 therefore, Gustavus offered his services to 
 avert the war, by mediation between Russia 
 and the Porte, they were rejected by the 
 former power with contemptuous scorn. 
 This aroused into activity the hereditary 
 hatred between Sweden and Russia; and 
 Gustavus, moreover, felt that it might be a 
 more prudent policy to attack his gigantic 
 neighbour while she was occupied in a war 
 with Turkey, than to permit her subse- 
 quently to turn her hostile armies against 
 him. Gustavus was, moreover, subsidised 
 by Turkey ; while Prussia lent him money ; 
 and England (now openly showing its ill- 
 will towards Russia) promised him the assist- 
 ance of a fleet. 
 
 The Swedish fleet captured two Russian 
 frigates as they were cruising off Sweaborg ; 
 while Gustavus himself, at the head of 
 30,000 men, marched against Frederic- 
 shaum — circumstances which created both 
 astonishment and alarm at St. Petersburg. 
 That city was almost unprotected; for all 
 the Russian troops had been sent off to 
 fight against the Turks; and Gustavus 
 trusted to cover himself with glory, by 
 retaking from Russia the provinces lost by 
 316 
 
 Charles XII. He even, on the 1st of July, 
 haughtily demanded that Catherine should 
 restore them ; that she should accept of his 
 mediation to restore peace between her and 
 the Ottoman Porte, and authorise him to 
 ofi'er to the Porte the cession of the Crimea, 
 and the restoration of her frontiers as they 
 existed before the war of 1768. Catherine's 
 astonishment at these extravagant demands 
 was exceeded by her indignation and her 
 intrepidity. In a tone of irony she asked 
 the French ambassador what he thought of 
 them. "It seems to me, madam,^^ replied 
 the count, "that the king of Sweden, de- 
 ceived by a flattering dream, fancies that he 
 has already obtained three brilliant vic- 
 tories over your majesty.'^ " And if he had 
 gained them, count," rejoined Catherine 
 with warmth — " were he even in possession 
 of St. Petersburg and Moscow, I would 
 still show him of what a woman of high 
 character is capable, at the head of a brave 
 and devoted people, and standing erect on 
 the ruins of a great empire." Yet Cathe- 
 rine experienced considerable uneasiness ; 
 Gustavus had taken the Russians by sur- 
 prise, and it was extremely possible that he 
 might be able, for a short time, to expel 
 the empress from her capital, and recover 
 possession of Livonia. Gustavus himself 
 was so confident of such a result, that he 
 actually invited the ladies of Stockholm to 
 the ball he promised to give them at Peter- 
 hoff, and to the Te Deum he intended to 
 celebrate in the cathedral of St. Petersburg. 
 It was rumoured throughout the city that 
 the palace was all in alarm ; that the jewels, 
 furniture, objects of value, and private 
 papers of the empress were packing up ; 
 that a great number of horses were in readi- 
 ness at every post, and that Catherine in- 
 tended to leave in the night, and seek for 
 safety at Moscow. The empress heard, and 
 contemptuously denied, the rumour. " I 
 have given orders," said she, "for a great 
 number of horses to be immediately col- 
 lected along the road to Moscow, but only 
 to bring up, in all haste, the regiments I 
 have called for. I remain in my capital; 
 if I should quit it, it would only be to go 
 and meet the king of Sweden." It was not 
 without reason that that brilliant and viva- 
 cious Austrian, the Prince de Ligne, gave 
 her the name of the imperturbable ! 
 
 The Swedish troops were opposed by 
 such Russian forces as could be hastily col- 
 lected ; and several petty actions took place, 
 in which the former were generally sue- 
 
A.D. 1788.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIEE. 
 
 [the war with SWEDEN. 
 
 cessful. The Swedish fleet cruised about 
 the gulf, and advanced defiantly even within 
 sight of the batteries of Cronstadt. From 
 the harbour of that great fortress, Admiral 
 Greig issued with a strong fleet to counter- 
 act the designs of the enemy. There were 
 many British officers besides the admiral on 
 board this Russian fleet; for numbers, find- 
 ing, at the conclusion of the American war, 
 neither reward nor active employment in 
 their own country, had tendered their ser- 
 vices to the empress. The notorious buc- 
 caneer, Paul Jones, who had gained so much 
 distinction by piratical eff'orts against his 
 countrymen during the American war, was 
 also received by Catherine into her service, 
 and made a Russian admiral. The English 
 officers considered it a degradation to serve 
 with such a man, and threatened to lay 
 down their commissions rather than act in 
 any capacity whatever with a pirate and 
 a renegade. The court of St. Petersburg 
 was both vexed and embarrassed. Punc- 
 tilios of honour, operating in the face of com- 
 mand, was a thing unheard of in that ser- 
 vice. No Russian, unless of the highest 
 rank, would dare to insinuate such an idea. 
 The conduct of the British officers was re- 
 garded as a direct insult to the Russian 
 government, and would, no doubt, have been 
 resented as such at any other period. But 
 the necessity of the time prevailed; Paul 
 Jones was recalled from his command in 
 the Cronstadt fleet; and a circumstance 
 shortly afterwards occurred, which induced 
 his retirement from the Russian service. 
 
 On the 23nd of July, 1788, the Russian 
 and Swedish naval forces met off the island 
 of Hoghland. An engagement of two hours 
 followed ; when each side, having lost one 
 vessel and had several others disabled, 
 claimed the victory. In a subsequent en- 
 gagement, the Swedes were thrown into 
 some confusion, and lost the Oiistavus Adol- 
 phits, a ship of sixty guns, which was taken 
 and burnt by the enemy. The Swedes, 
 precluded from the means of refitting, con- 
 tinued during the campaign shut up in the 
 harbour of Sweaborg; while the Russian 
 fleet cruised triumphantly about the gulf. 
 
 The military efforts of Gustavus were 
 rendered almost powerless by a disaffection 
 which spread among his officers, especially 
 those in high commands, several of whom, 
 he found, carried on a traitorous corres- 
 pondence with the enemy. A great num- 
 ber of others declared openly, that they 
 could not, without a violation of their con- 
 
 science and the oaths they had taken to 
 their country, draw their swords in a war 
 undertaken without the consent of the 
 states of the kingdom, and therefore con- 
 trary to the constitution. To such an ex- 
 tent was this mutinous feeling carried, that 
 at the siege of Predericshaum, the officers 
 refused to lead their troops to the attack, 
 and many regiments of the men laid down 
 their arms. At the same time, an irruption 
 of the Danes — who acted in concert with Rus- 
 sia — into the richest provinces of Sweden, 
 induced Gustavus to abandon his refractory 
 army in Finland, and hasten to drive this 
 new foe from his dominions. Such was the 
 ill-success of a monarch who, on entering 
 into the war, had been so carried away by 
 his ambition, as to say vauntingly — "Should 
 fortune favour the arms of my people, of all 
 the monuments of Russian insolence I will 
 only spare the statue of Peter the Great, in 
 order to engrave upon the pedestal, and im- 
 mortalise, the name of Augustus." For- 
 tunately for Sweden, there existed in Europe 
 an alliance which proved a counterpoise to 
 the combined power of Russia and of Aus- 
 tria. A treaty, with that object, had been 
 concluded between England, Prussia, and 
 Holland; and the king of Denmark was 
 compelled, in consequence of their threats, 
 to withdraw his troops from Sweden, and to 
 conclude a peace with Gustavus. 
 
 During this period two or three desperate 
 engagements had taken place between the 
 Turkish and Russian fleets in that broad 
 lake which is formed by the Dnieper and 
 the Bug before their junction with the 
 Black Sea. In these, notwithstanding the 
 valour of the Turks, the Russians were vic- 
 torious. Indeed, such is the constitutional 
 indolence of the Turks, that they showed 
 themselves totally ignorant of the naviga- 
 tion of a river which for ages had been in 
 their possession. 
 
 The Russians defeated the Tartars of the 
 Kuban in several encounters, and made 
 themselves masters of Georgia. A Russian 
 array, estimated at 150,000 men, under the 
 orders of Prince Potemkin, assisted by the 
 most distinguished generals of his country, 
 including Suwarrow, frequently beat the 
 Turks ; who, in their turn, inflicted a severe 
 check upon the Austrians. Potemkin, who 
 had himself done little to contribute to the 
 success of the Russian arms, considered, or 
 affected to consider, it to be the consequence 
 of his having built a new church to his 
 patron saint, and declared, with an arro- 
 
 317 
 
MASSACRE AT OTCHAKOFF.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1788. 
 
 gant impiety — "I am, indeed, the spoiled 
 child of God!" 
 
 Potemkin had been long employed in the 
 siege of OtchakofiF, which was protected by 
 fortifications of uncommon strength, and 
 supplied, not only with a numerous garrison, 
 but also an abundant supply of ammunition 
 and provisions. As to the Russians, they died 
 in great numbers every night, from the seve- 
 rity of the cold, and suffered from want of 
 provisions. The cold, however, enabled 
 them to attack the fortress from the water- 
 side, where it was less fortified, and now ap- 
 proachable upon the ice. It was taken by 
 assault, led by subordinate officers, while 
 Potemkin himself remained in his camp 
 with his mistresses. This was the result of 
 eccentricity rather than fear; for only a 
 few days before, he had passed many times 
 to and fro, with the utmost coolness, under 
 the very cannon of the ramparts, because 
 he had heard that some one had presumed 
 to suspect his courage. 
 
 The Turkish garrison within Otchakoff de- 
 fended themselves with the utmost bravery ; 
 and almost the whole of these unfortunate 
 men were sabred by the victors. Mauy of 
 the inhabitants shared the same fate, and the 
 town was given up to plunder. A horrible 
 revel of blood and debauchery lasted during 
 three days, and cost the lives of 25,000 
 Turks. Amongst the captives were 4,000 
 women, who were spared less from motives 
 of pity than from those of sensuality. The 
 Russians, however, did not obtain their 
 triumph cheaply, as they were ten times 
 repulsed, and lost no less than 12,000 men 
 in the assault ; an expense of life at which 
 even victories were undesirable. This was 
 felt by the empress, who, early in 1789, 
 ordered a fresh levy of recruits throughout 
 her dominions, and even brought exiles 
 from the wilds of Siberia to serve in her 
 armies. So infuriated were the Russians at 
 Otchakoff, on account of the severe losses 
 they suffered, that two days after the as- 
 sault, when the fury of the battle-hour 
 might be supposed to have cooled, on find- 
 ing Turkish children who had been con- 
 cealed, they thi'ew them into the air, and 
 caught them on the points of their bayo- 
 nets, saying, " These, at least, shall do no 
 harm to Christians." 
 
 It is not necessary to dwell upon all the 
 
 * The French Revolution ; a History : by Thomas 
 
 Carlyle. The eccentric and eloquent author thus 
 
 points to the true causes of this great convulsion, 
 
 this " truth clad in hell-fire :" — " Shall we say, then, 
 
 318 
 
 events of this war ; and we may thus sum 
 up the events of the year 1788. The 
 Turks had been beaten at Kilburn, and re- 
 pulsed in the Crimea; in the Black Sea 
 they had experienced several reverses, and 
 lost many of their ships. They had lost 
 Otchakoff, with the adjacent territory ; they 
 had been compelled to evacuate Wallachia, 
 while the Tartars of the Kuban had been 
 dispersed. The Austrians, despite some re- 
 verses, had taken Dubitza, Sabatch, and 
 Novi; and the king of Sweden was driven 
 out of Russian Finland, and his fleet block- 
 aded at Sweaborg. At this period, France 
 made some effort to bring about a peace ; 
 but Catherine desired fii'st to effect a 
 fourfold alliance between Russia, Austria, 
 France, and Spain, for the purpose of pro- 
 moting each other's interests, and counter- 
 acting the influence of England and Prussia. 
 Fortunately, neither France nor Spain could 
 be brought to coincide with the views of the 
 empress. Prince Potemkin also began to 
 entertain different ideas upon the subject; 
 for, finding that the emperor of Austria de- 
 sired to back out of the war, and regarding 
 the support of France as uncertain, he 
 changed his system, and began to recom- 
 mend to his sovereign a connection with 
 England and Prussia, as being more for- 
 midable enemies, and more useful friends. 
 
 During the year 1789, the Swedes ex- 
 perienced several reverses, but scarcely of a 
 kind to render them incapable of continuing 
 the war, or to give much distinction to their 
 enemies. Indeed, Gustavus found, in his 
 talents and courage, resources proportioned 
 to the greatness of the perils which threat- 
 ened him. 
 
 It was the year 1789 which saw the 
 destruction of the infamous Bastille, and 
 the outbreak in France of that terrible revo- 
 lution which eventually convulsed Europe 
 and astonished the world. The crowned 
 heads of the continent beheld the pre- 
 liminary throes of this social storm with 
 surprise and pei'plexity, but none of them 
 appeared to foresee what was to follow. It 
 did not occur to one of them to consider 
 what would be the result, " if, indeed, that 
 dark living chaos of ignorance and hunger, 
 five-and-twenty millions strong, under his 
 feet, were to begin playing !"* 
 
 Gustavus, in 1790, himself took the com- 
 
 Woe to philosophism, that it destroyed religion ; what 
 it called ' extinguishing the abomination {ecraser 
 rinfamef) Woe rather to those that made the 
 holy an abomination, and extinguishable ; woe to all 
 
A.D. 1789. 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [peace AVITH SWEDEN. 
 
 1 maud of his fleet ; and, after a desperate 
 j battle, defeated that of the Russians, under 
 the command of the Prince of Nassau, from 
 whom he captured thirty vessels. The 
 Swedish monarch followed up this advan- 
 I tage by disembarking several battalions of 
 infantry, and some squadrons of light troops, 
 at a distance of not more than thirty miles 
 from St. Petersburg. The city and the im- 
 perial residence was thus again struck with 
 consternation; but the empress remained 
 at her summer palace. She commanded 
 General Igelstroem to spare nothing in the 
 attempt to recapture the post taken by the 
 Swedes, and to drive them from her do- 
 minions. 
 
 By sea, Gustavus experienced first a 
 reverse, and then a great victory. The 
 Russian fleet was twice as large as that 
 of the Swedes, but half of it was destroyed 
 or captured, together with no less than 
 10,000 men. The Prince of Nassau, who 
 commanded the Russians, imagined that 
 they had purposely allowed themselves to 
 be defeated, with the base object of tarnish- 
 ing his reputation. With this impression 
 he wrote to the empress — " Madam, I have 
 had the misfortune to fight against the 
 elements, t.he Swedes, and the Russians. I 
 hope that your majesty will do me justice." 
 As Catherine readily accepted this apology, 
 we may presume that there was some truth 
 in the supposition of the prince. Still she 
 must have experienced much secret humilia- 
 tion at having been defeated by a power 
 which, until recently, she had despised. 
 
 Gustavus had retrieved his reputation, 
 and was by no means unwilling to retire 
 from a war on which he had so imprudently 
 entered. Catherine, also, had more fighting 
 on her hands than she desired, or even her 
 vast resources were calculated to meet. 
 When, therefore, Spain off'ered her media- 
 tion, it was at once accepted ; and Cathe- 
 rine, with an aff'ected generosity in this 
 instance, proposed liberal terms to her 
 Swedish neighbour. She requested no more 
 than the re-establishment of the treaties of 
 Neustadt and Abo, and the total oblivion of 
 the late hostilities. Peace was signed at 
 Varela on the 14th of August, 1790. It 
 
 men that live in such a time of world-abomination 
 and world-destruction ! Nay, answer the courtiers, 
 it was Turgot, it was Necker, with their mad inno- 
 vating ; it was the queen's want of etiquette ; it was 
 he, it was she, it was that. Friends ! it was every 
 scoundrel that had lived, and, quack-like, pretended 
 to be doing, and had only been eating and ymsdoing, 
 
 will excite little surprise that the news of 
 the peace was received with much joy at 
 Stockholm ; but it M^as remarked with 
 astonishment, that the public rejoicings at 
 St. Petersburg were carried to an extreme, 
 which seemed little consistent either with 
 the pride oi that court, or with the con- 
 tempt with which it had so recently affected 
 to regard its late adversary. 
 
 We must return to our narrative of the 
 war which Catherine was waging against 
 her eastern neighbours, the Turks, whose 
 sultan, Abdul Achraed IV., died in the 
 year 1789, and was succeeded by the ca- 
 pricious, but enlightened reformer, Selim III. 
 Though the empress had failed in her scheme 
 of driving the Turks out of Europe, and 
 placing her grandson Constantino on the 
 throne of the ancient Greek emperors; 
 though the jealousy of the other great 
 powers of Europe had also induced her to 
 abandon her next favourite object of erect- 
 ing the provinces of Moldavia, Wallachia, 
 and Bessarabia into an independent sove- 
 reignty for her favourite minister, Potemkin ; 
 yet, with respect to the Crimea, the Black 
 Sea, and all other points of her claim upon 
 Turkey, she maintained an inflexible firm- 
 ness. England and Prussia expostulated 
 with warmth, and even wore a threatening 
 aspect. This it was that had made the em- 
 press anxious to conclude a peace with 
 Sweden ; for if the energetic Gustavus had 
 been supported by English fleets and Prus- 
 sian armies, he might have been enabled to 
 carry fire and sword into the heart of the 
 Russian empire. But this difiiculty pro- 
 vided against, Catherine relaxed no jot of 
 her efforts against the Turks. Prince 
 Repnin and General Suwarrow, who had 
 taken Otchakoff, obtained magnificent pre- 
 sents from the empress. Suwarrow, whom 
 Byron has tersely described as 
 
 " Hero, buffoon, half-demon, and half-dirt," 
 
 received, amongst other things, a gorgeous 
 plume of brilliants to wear in his hat; a 
 strange present for a man whose habits were 
 so disgusting, that he sometimes took off 
 his shirt, when amongst the Cossacks, and 
 directed them to hold it to the fire, saying, 
 
 m all provinces of life, as shoeblack or as sovereign 
 lord, from the time of Charlemagne and earlier. 
 All this (for be sure no falsehood perishes, but is as 
 seed sown out to grow) has been storing itself for 
 thousands of years ; and now the account-day has 
 come. And rude will the settlement be : of wrath 
 laid up against the day of wrath." 
 
 319 
 
GENERAL SUWAKROW.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1789. 
 
 that it was the best way of killing the 
 vermin. 
 
 Catherine showered rewards not only on 
 her generals who captured OtchakoflF, but 
 even on the subalterns and common soldiers. 
 This excited an active spirit of emulation in 
 the Russian armies, and their progress now 
 seemed one continued triumph. During 
 the year 1789, Prince Potemkin took the 
 island of Beresan ; Prince Repnin drove the 
 Turks from the borders of the Solska ; while 
 Suwarrow defeated them at Fokshiani. The 
 latter then hurried, at the head of 8,000 
 men, to the assistance of the Prince of 
 Saxe-Coburg, who, with 30,000 Austrians, 
 had been attacked by an army of 100,000 
 Turks. The Austrians were already flying 
 before their enemies, when Suwarrow came 
 up with his handful of men, and changed 
 the fortune of the day. " My friends !" 
 said he to his soldiers, " never look at the 
 eyes of your enemies. Pix your view at 
 their breasts; it is there you must thrust 
 A furious charge followed, 
 routed with a dreadful 
 remained master of the 
 
 your bayonets." 
 the Turks were 
 carnage, and he 
 field of battle. 
 
 Suwarrow has been accused of wanton 
 cruelty — a charge which is not without foun- 
 dation ; but, on this occasion, he deemed it 
 expedient to give the Turks no quarter, on 
 account of their great numbers; and there 
 can be little doubt that, judged as we must 
 judge such matters from a military point of 
 view, he was right. Besides, Suwarrow 
 was a soldier of impulse, not of intellect and 
 calculation ; and he gave way, in the hour 
 of victory, to that savage excitement which 
 exists in a latent state, to some extent, in 
 most men ; even in those who, under ordi- 
 nary circumstances, are generally actuated 
 by feelings of benevolence. Thus, on this 
 occasion, Suwarrow stood upon an eminence 
 surrounded by his staff, and while he Avatched 
 the progress of the terrible carnage caused 
 by the artillery firing incessantly upon the 
 wretches who had plunged into the river 
 Rymnik, exclaimed repeatedly, " Yes, yes ; 
 as I always say, the bayonet for victory, and 
 then hurrah for the cannon and the cavalry 
 to sweep up the runaways." This was in 
 accordance with his mode of warfare, which 
 is best described in his own brief sentences ; 
 such as — "Forward and strike ! — No theory ! 
 — Attack 1— Push with bayonet !— Trust to 
 the naked steel !— The ball is a fool; the 
 bayonet a hero V So confident had suc- 
 cess made him in these tactics, that when, 
 320 
 
 on another occasion, an Austrian general 
 recommended 2Lreconnaissa7ice,he responded, 
 "Reconnaissance ! I am for none of them; 
 they are of no use but to the timid, and to 
 inform the enemy that you are approaching. 
 It is never difficult to find your opponents 
 when you really wish it ! Form column — 
 charge bayonets — plunge into the centre of 
 the enemy : these are my reconnaissances'' 
 This extraordinary creature, eventually re- 
 garded by his countrymen as the first of 
 Russian generals, was as singular in his 
 appearance as he was repulsive in his 
 habits. Miserably thin, and almost a dwarf 
 in stature (being only five feet one inch iu 
 height), the unpromising nature of his ex- 
 terior was increased by a pug nose, and a 
 mouth of uncommon size. He appeared to 
 regard contempt for cleanliness as a soldierly 
 virtue. He slept upon hay or straw ; his 
 wardrobe consisted of his uniform and a 
 sheepskin; and he seldom wore linen, ex- 
 cept on occasions of ceremony or parade. 
 
 This victory, gained near the river 
 Rymnik, procured for Suwarrow the sur- 
 name of Rymnikski;* while the titles of 
 count, both of the Roman and Russian em- 
 pire, were conferred upon him. Shortly 
 afterwards he captured Turtukai in Bul- 
 garia ; and many other toAvns, both in Bes- 
 sarabia and on the Danube, were taken by 
 the Russians. Indeed, defeat became almost 
 habitual to the Turks, and the Ottoman 
 power shook to its foundations. 
 
 The Russians learnt to despise their foes ; 
 while the Turks feared that the hand of 
 the prophet was against them, and that 
 they were fated to humiliation. In the 
 month of September, 1790, a combined force 
 of Austrians and Russians, under the Prince 
 of Coburg and General Suwarrow, estimated 
 only at about 30,000 men, had the temerity 
 to attack the grand Turkish army, amount- 
 ing to 90,000. The battle took place near 
 Martinesti in Wallachia ; and the allies, with 
 little loss or difficulty, gained a signal and 
 extraordinary victory. It was, indeed, rather 
 a slaughter and a dispersion than a battle. 
 About 7,000 Turks perished, and nothing 
 but the blunted sabres and tired horses of 
 the pursuers checked the butchery. No 
 prisoners were taken ; for the Turks, mad- 
 dened by shame, disdained to accept of 
 quarter. Their Avhole camp fell to the 
 victors; and 300 camels, 400 oxen, 5,000 
 loaded Avaggons, 3,000 tents, six mortars, 
 seventeen pieces of heavy cannon, sixty-four 
 • That is, " He of the Rymnik." 
 
A.D. 1790.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [fall of ISMAIL. 
 
 field-pieces, near 100 standards, and a pro- 
 digious quantity of ammunition and stores, 
 were among the spoils. The loss of the 
 victors amounted to but a few hundred men 
 killed and wounded. 
 
 The Russians pursued their conquests to 
 the Black Sea ; but Ismail, or Ismailow — 
 an unskilfully fortified town in Bessarabia, 
 at the mouth of the Danube— still held out. 
 It had been besieged by Potemkin for seven 
 months ; but at length, growing impatient, 
 he resolved upon taking it at any cost of 
 life whatever. 
 
 In the camp this extravagant and ex- 
 centric man passed his time like one of 
 those ancient satraps whom he equalled, and 
 almost surpassed, in luxurious sensuality. 
 Abandoned to indolence and pleasure, he 
 was surrounded by a crowd of parasites and 
 women, who employed every effort to amuse 
 him. One of these ladies, pretending to 
 read the decrees of fate in the arrangement 
 of a pack of cards, predicted that he would 
 take the town at the end of three weeks. 
 Potemkin, with a smile, replied, that he had 
 a mode of divination far less fallible, and 
 immediately sent his orders to Sviwarrow to 
 come from Galatz and take Ismail within 
 three days. Suwari'ow was the idol of the 
 Russian soldiers ; and, on his arrival, they 
 were animated by a feeling of enthusiasm. 
 The fortifications of Ismail had been erected 
 without advanced works ; and Suwarrow, on 
 glancing at the crumbling wall and half- 
 choked moat on the landward side of the 
 town, at once resolved on an assault. To 
 excite still more the ardour and ferocity of 
 the soldiers, he promised to give the town 
 up to them to plunder, and commanded 
 them to yield no quarter until it was taken. 
 On the 21st of September he twice sum- 
 moned the city to surrender, and threat- 
 ened the inhabitants with the fate of Otcha- 
 kofF in the event of refusal. The Turks, 
 however, disdained his threats, and he gave 
 orders to prepare for the assault. In the 
 evening he assembled his chief officers, and 
 gave his final directions for an escalade, in 
 seven columns, an hour before daybreak 
 on the following morning. Admiral Ribas 
 was to assist by attacking with his whole 
 force, at the same hour, on the side of the 
 Danube. The advanced troops were not 
 only to carry ladders, but bags of earth, to 
 fill up more completely, where necessary, 
 the filth-choked ditch. Having concluded 
 his explanations to his officers, Suwarrow dis- 
 missed them, saying, " You now understand 
 2t 
 
 what is to be done, and how to do it. Two 
 hours before daybreak I shall rise, say my 
 prayers, dress myself, go out in front of the 
 tent, and crow like a cock. The men must 
 then be immediately got under arms. At 
 the second crow, which will be just half-an- 
 hour after the first, I expect everything to 
 be in readiness for the advance ; and, at the 
 third crow, you will push forward according 
 to my directions. And do not forget what 
 I have already told you — that, till resistance 
 has entirely ceased upon every point, the 
 men must not be encumbered with pri- 
 soners." 
 
 At four o'clock the cock-crow was given, 
 and so natural a sound before daybreak did 
 not alarm the Turks. The assault took 
 place; but the assailants were twice re- 
 pulsed with terrible loss. The Cossacks, 
 unused to storming operations, were mostly 
 shot down or cut to pieces. At length the 
 city was entered ; but the hottest part of 
 the struggle took place within it. Every 
 inch of ground was savagely contested; 
 every street was converted into a fortress ; 
 every house became a redoubt. Amidst 
 the roar of cannon, the clash of sabres, the 
 wild cries of the assailants, the impreca- 
 tions of the Moslems, and the shrieks of the 
 wounded, was heard, at intervals, the voices 
 of the Russian officers, shouting, " Forward ! 
 Strike! No quarter! No prisoners!" 
 Still four hours of horror elapsed, after the 
 Russians entered the city, before they were 
 enabled to fight their way to the market- 
 place, where the Tartars of the Crimea were 
 collected. For two hours more they fought 
 with all the fury of despair, neither seeking 
 nor giving mercy. They were at length all 
 massacred ; but the struggle was still kept 
 up in the streets. At last a passage was 
 made for the cavalry into the city, and they 
 charged through the streets, and cut down 
 men, women, and children, until four o'clock 
 in the day, when resistance ceased. Then 
 — to quote the language of one of the 
 greatest of our modern poets — 
 
 " 'J'he crescent's silver bow 
 Sunk, and the crimson cross glared o'er the field, 
 But red with no redeeming gore ; the glow 
 Of burning streets, like moonlight on the water, 
 Was imaged back in blood, the sea of slaughter." 
 
 The fighting ceased at four o'clock, but 
 not the carnage ; for Suwarrow gave the 
 devoted city up to be plundered by his 
 maddened and ferocious troops. This work 
 of horror was prolonged for three days and 
 nights, during which many Turks sacrificed 
 
 321 
 
ECCENTRICITIES OF POTEMKIN.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1790. 
 
 their lives in defending their property, and 
 many women \yere slain after poniarding 
 the ruffians who attempted to violate them. 
 Su war row, in the meantime, dispatched 
 a bulletin to Prince Potemkiu, which, in 
 doggerel Russian rhyme, expressed the fol- 
 lowing meaning — " Glory to God ! Glory 
 to thee ! Ismail is ours, and I am in it/' 
 Yet this man appears not to have been 
 altogether destitute of human emotion. 
 On an English traveller (who afterwards 
 met him in the Ukraine) asking him if, 
 after the massacre at Ismail, he was per- 
 fectly satisfied with the conduct of the day ? 
 he replied, that he went to his tent and 
 wept. 
 
 It is estimated that no less than 33,000 
 Turks were killed or severely wounded, 
 and 10,000 (including women) taken pri- 
 soners. Eight days were occupied in bury- 
 ing the dead or throwing them into the 
 Danube. It was said that the Russians 
 purchased this sanguinary triumph at a cost 
 of 15,000 men ; though that is, no doubt, an 
 exaggeration, as Suwarrow himself stated his 
 loss at 2,000 killed and 2,500 wounded. 
 The very day after the assault, Suwarrow, 
 who was extremely superstitious, and very 
 attentive to all the formulas of rehgion, 
 caused a solemn service of thanksgiving to 
 God to be celebrated in the convent church 
 of St. John. There was something shock- 
 ing, if not blasphemous, in this proceeding, 
 as the intonations of the priests and the 
 responses of the military congregation were 
 constantly broken in upon by the shrieks, 
 curses, and pistol-shots arising from the 
 authorised plundering and violence then 
 in full operation without and around the 
 building. 
 
 After the taking of Ismail, Prince Po- 
 temkin returned to St. Petersburg, to enjoy 
 the honours which were really due to 
 Suwarrow. The empress received her 
 eccentric minister with transports of joy, 
 and bestowed on him another palace, which 
 had been fitted up for his reception at an 
 expense of 600,000 roubles; and also a 
 coat laced with diamonds, which cost 
 200,000. Potemkin himself exhibited a 
 pomp and an extravagance which would 
 have appeared excessive in the most splen- 
 did court in Europe. The expense of his 
 table alone, was, on ordinary occasions, 
 about 800 roubles a-day. In the depth of 
 winter he purchased all the cherries of a 
 tree reared in a hothouse, at a rouble the 
 cherry. He possessed an enormous quan- 
 322 
 
 tity of jewels, some of which he never 
 looked at again after he had purchased 
 them. On one occasion he took a dislike to 
 his diamonds, and ordered them to be sold : 
 not long after, he desired to repossess them, 
 and directed them to be repurchased at any 
 price. In the latter part of his life, this 
 man, who had all Russia at his feet, suffered 
 greatly from depression of spirits. At these 
 times he would spend long winter evenings 
 playing with his diamonds, as children do 
 with toys. Sometimes he Avould sit pour- 
 ing them from one hand into the other; 
 then he would amuse himself, for hom-s, by 
 spreading them out on a black velvet in the 
 forms of circles, crosses, and fanciful figures. 
 During these periods of depression, he would 
 pass a couple of hours in biting his nails as 
 he walked up and down his apartment, 
 though there were a score of persons 
 present. 
 
 Potemkin probably cultivated eccentricity 
 as a source of distinction. This he obtained, 
 apparently, in a proportion far exceeding 
 his merits ; for though there were many 
 princes in Russia, most of them his superior 
 by birth, yet he was always called the pinnce, 
 by way of excellence. The lustre of gigantic 
 talents would necessarily eclipse that of high 
 birth ; but the abilities of Potemkin, though 
 considerable, could not be regarded as great. 
 He was indebted largely to personal qualifica- 
 tions for his elevated position, and his genius 
 may be said to have been rather physical 
 than mental. His eccentricity was blended 
 with a strong acquisitiveness, and he had a 
 childish eagerness to procure the most, 
 costly things of every kind. Though he 
 never played on a violin in his life, yet he 
 had ten or a dozen which had cost him an 
 exorbitant price; one of them being esti- 
 mated at the value of 6,000 roubles. Yet 
 he allowed them all to be either spoiled by 
 the dust or gnawed by the rats. When 
 some one spoke to him of a magnificent 
 library, he observed, that he had one of 
 greater value than the most learned man in 
 Europe could show. He then opened a 
 small case, containing several shelves of 
 books, which, on being taken down, were 
 seen to be boxes, gilt and lettered at the 
 back, filled with bank assignats, and rou- 
 leaux of imperials and ducats, to an amazing 
 amount. With all this wealth, it was with 
 great difficulty that he could be brought to 
 pay his debts; for, like all profligates, he 
 loved display more than justice. To thbse 
 who paid their court to him, he usually 
 
A.D. 1790.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE, [extravagance of potemkin. 
 
 behaved with great insolence ; and he more 
 than once struck a Russian prince or general 
 in public — a gross indignity, which certainly 
 no gentleman out of that empire would 
 submit to. Yet, from a knowledge of the 
 Russian character, and, no doubt, from mo- 
 tives of policy, he was kind and condescend- 
 ing to the soldiers, who, accordingly, were 
 attached to him in return. Many strange 
 projects of ambition were attributed to him. 
 It was even supposed that he designed taking 
 advantage of the influence he had over the 
 troops, for excluding from the throne the 
 Grand-duke Paul and his sons, on the death 
 of the empress, and of causing the eldest of 
 the grand-duchesses to be crowned. It was 
 added, that he designed to marry her, or, at 
 any rate, to have reigned in her name. 
 
 After the fall of Ismail, Potemkin remained 
 for several months at St. Petersburg, during 
 which period he expended upwards of 
 1,200,000 roubles. An entertainment which 
 he gave to the empress at the Tauridan 
 palace, reminds us of the fabulous scenes of 
 magnificence in the fairy tales of the East. 
 His mind was probably weakened by long- 
 continued debauchery, and he felt a presenti- 
 ment that this would be the last blaze of his 
 grandeur. He resolved, therefore, to distin- 
 guish the occasion by a gorgeousness which 
 should elevate the whim of an hour to the 
 dignity of an historical incident. A month 
 was passed in preparations, and several 
 hundred persons were daily assembled for 
 the purpose of rehearsing the final enter- 
 tainment. The empress, the imperial family, 
 the court, the foreign ministers, the nobility, 
 and great part of the people of condition in 
 the city were invited. When Catherine 
 entered her carriage, immense piles of gar- 
 ments, lofty pyramids of eatables, and an 
 enormous supply of liquors, were distributed 
 to the populace. On her entrance into the 
 Tauridan palace, she was greeted by the 
 music arising from an orchestra of 600 
 performers. When she and the brilliant 
 company had taken their seats, four-and- 
 twenty couple of the most beautiful persons 
 of both sexes, and of noble birth, including 
 among them the Grand-dukes Alexander 
 and Coustantine, opened the dances with a 
 quadrille. Their dresses, the value of which 
 was estimated at 10,000,000 of roubles, were 
 all white, and the wearers were only distin- 
 guishable by the colours of their girdles and 
 scarfs. Tlie music to which they danced 
 was accompanied with singing, and a famous 
 vocalist concluded the scene with a solo. 
 
 The company theti proceeded to another 
 hall, hung with tapestry of the most costly 
 kind. In it stood an artificial elephant, de- 
 corated with emeralds and rubies. It was 
 led by a Persian, who struck upon a bell, at 
 which signal a curtain rose and displayed a 
 magnificently-decorated theatre, where two 
 ballets and a dramatic piece were performed. 
 On the termination of the latter, the com- 
 pany divided into the several rooms of the 
 palace, all of which were illuminated with a 
 magnificence which struck the spectators 
 with amazement. The walls and columns 
 seemed to glow with various- coloured fires, 
 while large mirrors, attached to the sides of 
 the apartments, or made to form pyramids 
 and grottoes, multiplied the effect, and even 
 made the whole enclosure seem to be com- 
 posed of sparkling stoves. Six hundred 
 persons then sat down at one table to supper, 
 and the rest were entertained at sideboards. 
 Every article of use was of gold or silver; 
 flowers were in the most delicious abun- 
 dance ; a multitude of servants, in superb 
 dresses, were in attendance; and nothing 
 that the most studied epicurism was able to 
 procure could be asked for in vain ! 
 
 Catherine was pleased, and, for the first 
 time for many years, made an exception to 
 her general rule, by staying till midnight, 
 in order not to disturb the pleasure of the 
 host and his company. On her entering 
 the vestibule after supper, the choir of 
 voices melodiously chanted a hymn to her 
 praise. Surprised and affected, she turned 
 round to the prince, who, overpowered with 
 emotion, fell on his knee, and, seizing her 
 hand, bedewed it with tears. A gloomy 
 foreboding seemed to shake his whole frame, 
 and his countenance was expressive of the 
 conviction, that this was the last time he 
 should ever, on that spot, pour out his gra- 
 titude to his magnanimous patroness. 
 
 Having passed five months at St. Peters- 
 burg, Potemkin, satiated with pomp and 
 grandeur, quitted it to return to the army. 
 Pleasure no longer satisfied him; he felt a 
 conviction he should never return; he was 
 restless and uneasy, and his frequent sighs 
 betrayed the gloom that filled his mind. 
 Some time before his departure the empress 
 had dismissed Count Momonoff", and taken 
 another lover into favour. " That extraor- 
 dinary woman," said Segur, " presented in 
 her character an astonishing mixture of the 
 strength of our sex and the weakness of her 
 own. Age had set its stamp upon her fea- 
 tures; but her heart, as well as her self-love, 
 
 323 
 
COURT FAVOURITES.] 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1790. 
 
 preserved their youth ; both the one and the 
 other were now severely wounded." 
 
 Catherine not only behaved to Count 
 Momonoff with her accustomed liberality, 
 but even permitted him to extort from her 
 the most extravagant sums. Love was not 
 to be expected from a man in such a po- 
 sition; but he might have refrained from 
 insult. Young enough to be her son, he 
 felt his life to resemble that of a slave, and 
 groaned beneath the yoke of a favour which 
 restrained his liberty. His prison was a 
 palace, and his fetters chains of roses ; yet 
 still he sighed for freedom. In this con- 
 dition he contracted a passion for the Prin- 
 cess Scherebatoff, one of the ladies of honour 
 to the empress. The princess returned his 
 attachment ; and having received from him 
 assurances of constancy, is presumed to have 
 granted him those favours which ladies 
 usually reserve for their husbands. This 
 amour was for some time known to all the 
 court except the empress. At length she 
 became aware of it, and told Momonoff that 
 he had not surrendered to her the whole of 
 his heart. She added, that, as she wished 
 his happiness, she had formed the design of 
 uniting him to the young Countess Bruce, 
 one of the richest heiresses of the empire. 
 Momonoff declined the intended honour, 
 and the empress desired to know the cause 
 of his reluctance. As, in spite of his em- 
 barrassment, she insisted on being informed 
 on this point, he threw himself at her feet, 
 confessed that he had plighted his faith 
 to the Princess Scherebatoff; that, though 
 ashamed of his ingratitude, he was incapable 
 of changing his sentiments; and implored 
 the clemency of his sovereign. Irritated 
 by this information, Catherine quitted the 
 court, and secluded herself in her apart- 
 ments. She, however, speedily recovered 
 from a passion and a weakness little worthy 
 of her. Commanding the presence of Mo- 
 monoff and the princess, she had them 
 afiBanced before her, gave a rich dowry to 
 her maid of honour, and a valuable estate 
 to the count. She even attended at the 
 marriage ceremony; and, in accordance 
 with custom, herself placed a set of dia- 
 monds on the head of the bride. Having 
 gained this victory over her pride, she com- 
 manded them to retire from her court. 
 
 Whatever were the weaknesses of Cathe- 
 rine, meanness was not one of them. She 
 was entitled to at least respect from the 
 man whose ingratitude towards her she had 
 the power to punish. The count, however, 
 324 
 
 had the meanness and the want of prudence 
 to mention to his wife the particulars of his 
 interviews with the empress, and the countess 
 had the dangerous folly to divulge them 
 with a levity injurious to her imperial mis- 
 tress. That sovereign punished the babbler 
 with peculiar and eccentric severity. The 
 newly-married couple had retired to Moscow; 
 and one night, after they had gone to rest, 
 the master of the police of that city entered 
 their apartment. Then showing them an 
 order from the empress, he left them in the 
 hands of six men disguised as women, and 
 retired to an adjoining chamber. The pre- 
 tended women then seized the talkative 
 lady, and having entirely stripped her of 
 her night-clothes, whipped her severely witii 
 rods in the presence of her husband, whom 
 they forced to kneel down and witness this 
 humiliating flagellation. When the chastise- 
 ment was over, the police-master re-entered 
 the room, and said, " This is the way the 
 empress punishes a first indiscretion. For 
 the second, people are sent to Siberia." 
 
 It might have been supposed that, in the 
 neighbourhood of the Hyperborean regions, 
 the passions, if not dormant, would be at 
 least moderate, and that the men would 
 consequently be temperate, and the w^omen 
 chaste. Facts, however, lead us to a con- 
 trary conclusion; and it is left to the phi- 
 losophers to determine, whether the double 
 windows and heated rooms of St. Peters- 
 burg, added to an affectation of Oriental 
 manners, be not to the full as critical, in 
 respect to female virtue, as the climate of 
 Naples or Turin. Though now declining 
 in years, the empress still gave way to those 
 sensual pleasures to which she had ever 
 shown so strong a partiality. Momonoff 
 was no sooner dismissed, than she received 
 Plato Zuboff, a young officer of the guards, 
 into her favour. His name suggested to 
 Russian wits the pun, that the empress, after 
 all her amours, concluded with Platonic 
 love. This person rendered himself so 
 agreeable to the empress, that in a short 
 time he became almost omnipotent at St. 
 Petersburg. Not content with wealth and 
 honours, he affected public employments. 
 He was decorated with the title of prince, 
 and received the post of grand-master of 
 the artillery. Nearly all the admirals, 
 generals, and ministers of the empire were 
 to be seen at his levte, anxious to obtain his 
 smile of approbation, and even paying their 
 compliments at the same time, iu great 
 form, to his favourite monkey ! 
 
A.D. 1791—1792.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [peace with turkey. 
 
 The king of Prussia had signed a treaty 
 with the Turks, and another with the Poles. 
 Catherine thus lost an ally, and was ex- 
 posed to the probability of having a new 
 enemy to contend with. But though Frederic 
 "William did not draw the sword against her, 
 he sent his troops into Poland, under pre- 
 tence of defending that country ; and, what 
 perhaps occasioned still more irritation at 
 the Russian court, he took possession of the 
 cities of Dantzic and Thorn. 
 
 Catherine saw at length, that her victories 
 over the Turks were not only dearly pur- 
 chased, but, in fact, ruinous; and that re- 
 mote conquests might bring on the loss of 
 the provinces which she possessed in Poland. 
 Though she felt peace to be necessary, yet 
 her pride forbade her to seem to desire it ; 
 and rather than do so, she chose to con- 
 tinue the war. This involved the heavier 
 responsibility, as the death of her ally, the 
 emperor Joseph II.,* on the 20th of Feb- 
 ruary, 1790, left her to contend with the 
 Ottomans singly. 
 
 Victory still favoured the Russian troops, 
 and they continued to gain unfruitful 
 triumphs. In the May of 1791, General 
 KutusofF defeated a combined array of Turks 
 and Tartars at Babada in Bulgaria ; and in 
 the July following. Prince Repnin, at the 
 head of 25,000 men, entirely routed 70,000 
 Ottomans, whom he met and engaged not 
 far from Matzin. General Gudovitch also, 
 brother of the favourite of Peter III., cap- 
 tured the fortresses of Sudyuk-Kaly and of 
 Anapa, on the frontiers of the Crimea and 
 the coast of Circassia. But Austria con- 
 cluded in this year (1791), at Szistowa, a 
 peace with Turkey, by which she restored 
 all conquests to the latter power. 
 
 The revolution which was convulsing 
 France produced a considerable revulsion 
 of feeling in the empress Catherine. Falling 
 into the common error which attributed 
 that great and terrible outbreak to the 
 
 • Count Segur observes — " This prince, without 
 being a great man, was a monarch equally just, 
 virtuous, and prone to toleration ; severe to himself, 
 indulgent to others, kind, indefatigable, accessible to 
 truth, even occupied in relieving misfortunes, in en- 
 couraging the arts, and in rewarding merit. Prince 
 de Ligne, who sincerely deplored his loss, wrote the 
 following lines to the empress Catherine : — ' It will be 
 said by the soldier — Joseph II. stood many a can- 
 non-shot at the dike of Beschania, and many a mus- 
 ket-shot in the suburbs of Sabatch ; he has had 
 medals struck as rewards for bravery. By the 
 traveller — what splendid establishments for schools, 
 for hospitals, for prisons, and for education ! By 
 the manufacturer — what encouragement given to 
 
 writings of the French philosophers, she 
 discountenanced the study of them, and 
 banished the busts of Voltaire and of our 
 own statesman. Fox, to a lumber-room. 
 When the French ambassador left her court, 
 she observed to him, " Your predilection 
 for the new philosophy and for liberty, will 
 probably incline you to support the cause of 
 the people ; I shall regret it ; for aristocracy 
 is my profession, and I must adhere to it." 
 The state of France, and her desire to ex- 
 tinguish the revolution, inclined Catherine 
 to forget, or try to forget, her animosity 
 towards England ; the more so, as this 
 country, taking advantage of the moment 
 when she was detaching herself from France, 
 endeavoured to revive the amicable con- 
 nection that had formerly existed between 
 Russia and Great Britain. 
 
 England, therefore, proposed to mediate 
 between the empress and the sultan, on 
 condition that, in making peace, Catherine 
 should consent to give up her conquests, 
 and to take the treaty of Kainardshi as 
 the basis of the new arrangements. The 
 northern Cleopatra acted with a proud 
 independence, and treated a special envoy, 
 sent from this country, with alternate con- 
 ciliation and cold reserve. But Catherine 
 had resolved on making peace with the 
 Porte, and she accepted the mediation of 
 England, which was carried on in con- 
 junction with her allies, Prussia and Hol- 
 land. These three powers agreed to pro- 
 pose to Turkey the terms to which the 
 empress was disposed to submit, and de- 
 clared that, in the event of the refusal by 
 the Turks, they would abandon their cause 
 and leave them to prosecute the war alone 
 with Russia. 
 
 Preliminaries of peace between Russia 
 and the Porte were signed on the 9th of 
 January, 1792, at Jassy. It was calculated 
 that, in this war, Austria lost 130,000 
 soldiers, and expended 300,000,000 of 
 
 commerce. By the common labourer — he has him- 
 self ploughed the ground. By the heretic — he was 
 our protector. By the president of every depart- 
 ment, the heads of all offices — he was our chief 
 clerk, whilst at the same time he was superintending 
 us. By the ministers — he was falling a sacrifice for 
 the state, of which he called himself the first sub- 
 ject. By the sick — he never ceased to visit us. By 
 the citizen — he embellished our town with squares 
 and public walks. By the peasant and the servant 
 — we spoke to him whenever we pleased. By heads 
 of families — he aided us with his advice. By society 
 — he was safe and of agreeable manners ; he related 
 agreeably; there was much point in his conversa- 
 tion ; truth could be told to him upon every subject.' " 
 
 325 
 
DEATH OF POTEMKIN.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.I). 1701. 
 
 florins. Russia lost 200,000 men, five ships 
 of the line, seven frigates, and fourteen 
 smaller vessels, and expended 200,000 rou- 
 bles. The Turkish loss was estimated at 
 330,000 men, six ships of the line, and four 
 frigates, with several other vessels; and an 
 expense of 250,000,000 piastres. Yet the 
 peace placed affairs much on the standing 
 in which they were before the commence- 
 ment of this sanguinary and expensive con- 
 flict. The Dniester was recognised as the 
 boundary between the two empires ; the 
 ancient rights of Moldavia and Wallachia 
 were confirmed ; and the Porte agreed to 
 put a stop to the proceedings of the bar- 
 barous corsairs, and to restore all Russian 
 prisoners. 
 
 The presentiments of Prince Potemkin 
 were not without foundation. He did not 
 live to witness the conclusion of the peace 
 with Turkey. Having repaired to the con- 
 gress of Jassy, he was there attacked with 
 an epidenaical fever. On hearing that he 
 was ill, the empress sent two of her most 
 experienced physicians to his assistance. 
 He, however, disdained their advice, and 
 lived with his usual freedom. Nothing 
 could induce him to control his appetite. 
 His breakfast usually consisted of the 
 greater part of a smoke-dried goose from 
 Hamburg, and slices of hung beef or ham, 
 after which he drank a quantity of wine 
 and Dantzic liqueurs. At dinner he was 
 equally voracious. It cannot, therefore, 
 create surprise that his disorder gained 
 upon him; though a groundless suspicion 
 was afterwards entertained that he had 
 been poisoned. Fancying that a removal 
 from Jassy might benefit him, he set out 
 for Nicolaiefl', a town he himself had built. 
 Scarcely, however, had he travelled ten 
 
 miles, when he felt himself to be dying. 
 He was taken out of his carriage, and laid 
 down on the grass by the roadside, under a 
 tree, Avhere he expired in the arms of his 
 niece, the Princess Branicka. His death 
 took place on the 15th of October, 1791, at 
 the age of fifty-two. His body was removed 
 to Cherson, where a magnificent mauso- 
 leum was raised to him by command of the 
 empress. 
 
 The name of Potemkin holds a conspicu- 
 ous place in the annals of Russia, Nature, 
 in order to render him remarkable in every 
 point of view, had given hira a gigantic 
 stature, and a proportion of bodily strength 
 such as, in fabulous times, excited astonish- 
 ment in a Hercules and a Theseus. When 
 first beheld, he had something savage in his 
 appearance, which exhibited an extraordi- 
 nary mixture of rude and of cultivated 
 nature. His look was animated, lively, and 
 piercing; his countenance, fine, pliant, and 
 lofty, bespoke the head of a Richelieu or a 
 Mnzarin, on the robust shoulders of a 
 savage. Prone to taciturnity, and eager to 
 listen, his silence was the silence of thought 
 and reflection. Active, indefatigable, tur- 
 bulent, bold, and discreet, with a capacity 
 more comprehensive than just, he was 
 capable both of undertaking and accom- 
 plishing the most dangerous enterprises. 
 He paid little attention to the opinions of a 
 world which he pretended to despise, and 
 his passions acknowledged no restraint, 
 because his heart was destitute alike of 
 morality or principle. His mind was in- 
 fluenced by boundless ambition, a thirst 
 for independence, a love of sway, and also 
 by many noble, and all low, passions. He 
 was a wolf held by a golden chain; but 
 that chain was in the hand of Catherine. 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 
 CATHERINE, INTENT ON THE FURTHER DISMEMBERMENT OF POLAND, DECLARES WAR AGAINST IT ; SHE 13 
 JOINED BT PRUSSIA ; SECOND PARTITION OF POLAND ; REVOLT OF THE POLES UNDER KOSCIUSKO ; AUSTRIA 
 LENDS HER ASSISTANCE TO CRUSH THE POLES ; DEFEAT OF THE LATTER AT MACIEJOVICE ; STORMING AND 
 MASSACRE OF PRAGA UNDER SUWARROW ; FINAL DIVISION OF POLAND, AND ITS EXTINCTION AS A NATION; 
 CATHERINE PROMISES MILITARY ASSISTANCE TO THE FRENCH ROYALISTS ; SHE CONCLUDES A NEW TREATY 
 OF COMMERCE WITH ENGLAND, AND PREPARES TO ACT AGAINST THE FRENCH REPUBLIC ; THE YOUNG 
 KING OF SWEDEN ABRUPTLY BREAKS OFF A MATRIMONIAL ALLIANCE WITH ONE OF THE GRAND-DAUGHTERS 
 OF CATHERINE ; SHE ANNEXES COURLAND TO THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE, AND DIRECTS HER ARMS AGAINST 
 PERSIA ; DEATH OF THE EMPRESS ; HER APPEARANCE AND CHARACTER. 
 
 Catherine was soon reconciled to the loss I been under his direction she divided amongst 
 of Potemkin ; and the business which had ' her other ministers and her favourite, Platr 
 326 
 
A.D. 1792—1794.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [second division of Poland. 
 
 ZuboflF. The second dismemberment of 
 Poland is said to have been suggested by 
 this person, and the idea was instantly 
 sanctioned by the empress. Indeed, she 
 was eager to pmiish the Poles for the con- 
 stitution which they established in 1791 — a 
 constitution which abrogated the former 
 one (dictated by violence in 1775), and 
 afforded some prospect of a happy and 
 stable government ; if, indeed, such a thing 
 could exist in Poland while the power of the 
 state was in the hands of its own worthless 
 nobles and priesthood. The Poles, also, had 
 contracted an alliance with Prussia, in con- 
 tempt of the aversion of the empress to 
 such a measure, and in preference to one 
 with her ; and for this, also, she longed to 
 exact vengeance. 
 
 She therefore, in 1792, declared war 
 against Poland. The Poles received this 
 ungenerous declaration with calmness, and 
 prepared for their defence with enthu- 
 siasm; for they felt inspired with new life 
 by every breeze which came from revolu- 
 tionary Paris. But they were neither 
 powerful nor united, and their troops soon 
 fell back before the far more powerful 
 armies of the empress. The plains of 
 Poland were again drenched with blood; 
 and, despite some advantages obtained by 
 the army of that country, it was soon over- 
 whelmed, and almost consumed. It was in 
 this campaign that the subsequently illus- 
 trious patriot, Thaddeus Kosciusko, first 
 rendered service to his country, though he 
 had previously won some distinction by 
 fighting with La Fayette for the purpose of 
 obtaining the emancipation of America from 
 the misgovernment of George III. 
 
 Catherine also fought with other weapons 
 than the sword. Notwithstanding the 
 coldness that existed between her and the 
 king of Prussia, she opened a negotiation 
 with him, and proposed the definite par- 
 tition of Poland. In fact, she had con- 
 trived to reduce Frederic William to the 
 alternative either of defending Poland 
 against Russia, by virtue of his alliance 
 with that state, or of making a second par- 
 tition of it in conjunction with ,her. Frederic 
 William chose the latter, and sent a body 
 of Prussian troops into that country, 1,100 
 German square miles of which they imme- 
 diately occupied. He had bound himself 
 to assist the Poles, but he utterly deserted 
 them in their extremity. 
 
 The gold of Russia also did its work 
 among the corrupt Polish nobility; and 
 
 Stanislaus Augustus, still the slave of Cathe- 
 rine, was induced by her to make a public 
 declaration, that it was necessary to yield 
 to the superiority of the Russian arms. In 
 1793, the confederation of the partisans of 
 Russia assembled at Qrodno, where the 
 Russian general seated himself under the 
 canopy of the throne he was about to 
 overthrow. Sievers, the Russian minister, 
 also published a manifesto, in which he de- 
 clared that his sovereign intended to in- 
 corporate with her domains all the territory 
 of Poland which her arms had conquered. 
 The Russian troops, by their ravages and 
 depredations, struck terror into the Poles, 
 and the defenders of the nation were com- 
 pelled to disperse. The result was a second 
 partition of Poland in 1793, by which Prus- 
 sia took 22,500, Russia 83,000, and Poland 
 retained 85,000 square miles. 
 
 For a short time this unhappy country 
 was breathless and silent ; but, maddened by 
 so many calamities, the Poles resolved on a 
 great effort to free themselves from Russian 
 oppression. An extensive conspiracy w^as 
 organised, and the revolution broke out 
 in the spring of 1794, on the arrival of 
 Kosciusko from Italy, where he had retired. 
 Such was the confidence placed in him, that 
 all ranks of the people hurried to join him, 
 and ladies sold their jewels to furnish 
 him with the means of sustaining the 
 struggle. Oaths of obedience were taken 
 to him, and he was invested with the full 
 and absolute powers of a dictator. In con- 
 junction with the national council, he issued 
 proclamations enfranchising all the peasants, 
 who had hitherto been serfs quite as much 
 as their own class in Russia, and calling 
 upon them to arm themselves as best they 
 could, and to be ready to attack the enemies 
 of their country, and of all national and 
 personal liberty. The measure would have 
 been a wise one, had it been adopted a 
 century before. This had been prevented 
 by the selfishness of the nobles ; and now 
 Poland was doomed because she had no 
 PEOPLE — superstitious serfs denationalised 
 by generations of bondage, and even 
 ignorant of liberty; but no people in the 
 sense in which that word is understood in 
 free states. It was impossible at once to 
 elevate the serfs of Poland to the dignity 
 of citizens, or convert them into enthusiastic 
 patriots. Many scarcely understood the 
 advantages offered them ; others truly 
 thought that the benefit had been withheld 
 until tlie hour when the noble and wealthy 
 
 327 
 
EEVOLT OF THE POLES.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1794. 
 
 classes found they could not do without 
 them ; and they doubted that the promises 
 given in a season of danger, would be kept 
 when the peril was past. For these reasons, 
 the proclamation of enfranchisement pro- 
 duced but a very partial effect. Many of the 
 serfs did indeed fight bravely in the conflict 
 which succeeded, but these were mostly 
 followers of the few patriot nobles. Many 
 of the nobles, even in this hour of darkness, 
 when the smitten nationality of Poland was 
 staggering towards that steep precipice over 
 which it was so soon to be hurled, were 
 alarmed and irritated at the proclamation; for 
 they had ever bitterly opposed even a gradual 
 emancipation, and still looked upon their 
 serfs in the same light in which the ownei's 
 of plantations regard their negro slaves. 
 AVith a haughty, grasping, and worthless 
 nobility, a bitterly intolerant priesthood, a 
 brutalised sea of serf-life in lieu of a people, 
 and scarcely any middle class, Poland had 
 not in it the elements of national life. It 
 was in a state to invite aggression and 
 spoliation, and it fell in accordance with 
 inevitable natural laws; laws which must 
 eventually produce the annihilation even of 
 British nationality, if the same fatal causes 
 were at work in this empire. 
 
 At first success smiled upon Kosciusko, 
 and he obtained a victory at Raslowice with 
 4,000 Poles (two-thirds of whom were armed 
 only with scythes), over an equal number of 
 efficiently-armed and disciplined Russian 
 troops. The battle lasted for five hours ; 
 3,000 of the Russian troops were killed, 
 and eleven of their cannon taken. The 
 revolt of Warsaw followed; and the troops 
 of Russia and Prussia, after two days and 
 nights of murderous street-fighting, were ex- 
 pelled from that city. The struggle lasted 
 for several months, and the whole country 
 was one vast arena of butchery and blood- 
 shed. The troops of Russia and Prussia 
 were assisted by those of Austria, the em- 
 peror of which power had at first held 
 aloof; yet, notwithstanding the terrible 
 inequality of the contest, they appeared 
 unable to crush the patriots, who fought with 
 the fury of enthusiasm for their national 
 independence. In September, the savage 
 dwarf, Suwarrow, arrived with another Rus- 
 sian army, resolved on terminating the 
 struggle by striking some appalling blow. 
 
 Kosciusko, on receiving intelligence of 
 the approach of Suwarrow, resolved, if pos- 
 sible, to prevent hia junction with the other 
 Russian forces under General Fersen. With 
 328 
 
 this object the patriot marched against the 
 latter, and gave him battle, on the 10th of 
 October, at Maciejovice. Kosciusko had 
 about 21,000 men, undisciplined and half- 
 armed. The Russians had about thrice that 
 number of regular and practised troops, and 
 a large park of artillery. The Poles, never- 
 theless, fought with great bravery, and the 
 struggle was maintained for more than five 
 hours; then their ammunition was exhausted, 
 and the battle became a massacre. Nearly 
 the whole of the Polish army was cut to 
 pieces, or compelled to surrender. Kosciusko 
 himself, after receiving three sabre wounds, 
 and a thrust from a spear, dropped exhausted 
 from his horse, exclaiming, "Finis Polonice !" 
 For some time he lay in a state of insensibility 
 amongst the dead. On his being recognised, 
 some Cossacks, who had approached with 
 the intention of plundering and stripping 
 him, testified a rude respect and a generous 
 feeling towards the fallen hero. Making a 
 rude brancard Avith their lances, they placed 
 him upon it, and carried him to General 
 Fersen, who ordered his wounds to be at- 
 tended to, and treated him and his comrades 
 in misfortune with kindness. The empress 
 Catherine acted less generously. As soon 
 as Kosciusko was able to walk, he was 
 removed to St. Petersburg, and there con- 
 demned, as a Lithuanian, and, consequently, 
 presumed subject of Russia, to imprison- 
 ment for life — a harsh sentence, which was 
 revoked on the death of the empress. 
 
 All who escaped from the battle-field, 
 shut themselves, together with the remnant 
 of the patriot forces, up in Praga, the eastern 
 suburb of Warsaw — separated from that city 
 by the Vistula, as the borough of South wark 
 is separated from the city of London by the 
 Thames. Their numbers have been variously 
 estimated from 15,000 to 26,000 men, and 
 they had 104 pieces of heavy cannon, with 
 which to defend the bridges of the Vistula 
 and the approaches to the capital. The latter 
 were not calculated to sustain a vigorous 
 assault ; and Suwarrow, on his arrival, sur- 
 veyed them with a grim smile of anticipated 
 triumph. His force consisted of 22,000 
 men and eighty-six field-pieces; but, as 
 might have been anticipated from a general 
 of so much decision, who held human life so 
 cheaply, he resolved to assault at once, and 
 carry the Polish lines at the point of the 
 bayonet. "Let my children know," said 
 Suwarrow to his officers (for "children" was 
 the affectionate term which this strange man 
 applied to his semi-savage troops), " that I 
 
A.D. 1794—1795.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [extinction of POLAND. 
 
 intend repeating Ismail here, and that with- 
 out delay." The words were echoed from 
 naouth to mouth, with ferocious glee, by the 
 Russian soldiers, who understood the implied 
 permission that, Praga once taken, they 
 might give themselves up to a hideous revel 
 of murder, lust, and plunder. 
 
 'After cannonading the defences of Praga 
 for two days, Suwarrow gave directions for 
 the assault to take place at daybreak on the 
 3rd of November. As at Ismail, the signal 
 was to be three cock-crows, given by the 
 general himself, on which the attack was to 
 commence, and no prisoners were to be 
 made until all resistance had ceased. Not- 
 withstanding the badly-armed state of the 
 Polish troops, and their deficiency of ammu- 
 nition, their trenches were not carried until 
 after a desperate sti'uggle of five hours' dura- 
 tion. Then the Russian infantry pressed 
 forward, delivering close volleys of musketry, 
 and sending an incessant storm of grape- 
 shot from their cannon into the crowded 
 suburb. Thus a road, running with blood, 
 and strewed with mangled bodies, was made 
 into its centre, towards which the attacking 
 columns all converged. Suwarrow, impa- 
 tient at the opposition, heightened the horror 
 of the scene by ordering the wooden houses, 
 of which Praga was for the most part built, 
 to be set on fire. The result of these varied 
 means of destruction was terrible indeed. 
 It is estimated that 10,000 Polish soldiers, 
 and no less than 12,000 citizens, of every 
 age and sex, were shot, bayoneted, sabred, 
 burnt or suffocated in the flames, or driven 
 into, and drowned in, the Vistula. Happily, 
 the end of the bridge over that river, which 
 abutted upon Warsaw, broke down, and 
 saved the city from the fate of Praga. But 
 its unconditional surrender was inevitable, 
 and followed in a few days. Suwarrow, on 
 receiving the keys of the city from the prin- 
 cipal magistrate, pressed them to his lips, 
 and, with a glance towards that heaven whose 
 edicts of mercy he had recently so terribly 
 outraged, exclaimed, " I render thee thanks. 
 Almighty God, that thou hast not exacted 
 the same price for these keys as for the 
 possession of Praga." The empress Cathe- 
 rine was so gratified with the successes of 
 Suwarrow, that she made him a field-mar- 
 shal, and gave him a staff of command, made 
 of gold, with a wreath of jewels in the form 
 of oak-leaves, the diamonds alone of which 
 were valued at 60,000 roubles. To this she 
 added the present of a large and valuable 
 estate. 
 
 2u 
 
 The following year (1795) witnessed the 
 division of the remainder of Poland, between 
 Russia, Prussia, and Austria; the last parti- 
 tion treaty being finally settled in October. 
 By it Austria had Cracow, with the country 
 between the Pilitza, the Vistula, and the 
 Bug. Prussia had Warsaw, and the territory 
 to the banks of the Niemen. All the rest 
 — the lion's share — fell to Russia, Thus was 
 Poland erased from the map of Europe, 
 while England and France were passive 
 spectators of a spoliation which, unjust as 
 it was, affords room for many arguments of 
 extenuation. The fate of the dismembered 
 provinces differed according to the govern- 
 ments under which they fell. The Austrian 
 yoke was the harshest ; that of Prussia some- 
 what less so ; but the advantages which the 
 Polish subjects of this state enjoyed, were 
 counterbalanced by a decided tendency to 
 establish Germanism on the ruin of every- 
 thing that was national. Russia's share of 
 Poland was the best treated of the three : in 
 it the national language was preserved in 
 all ofiicial transactions, and an excellent 
 system of public education introduced into 
 the university of Vilna. Stanislaus Au- 
 gustus, who had never been a king but in 
 name, retired to the town of Grodno in 
 Lithuania : he signed a formal abdication of 
 a throne which really no longer existed. 
 The three partitioning powers bestowed 
 upon him a pension of 200,000 ducats, and 
 also undertook to pay his debts. He after- 
 wards removed to St. Petersburg, where he 
 died in the month of February, 1798, about 
 fifteen months after the death of the em- 
 press, of whom he had been the lover, the 
 dupe, and the tool. 
 
 Catherine's treasury was too much ex- 
 hausted by her war with the Ottomans to 
 enable her to join in that for the suppression 
 of the French revolution. She, however, 
 induced her late enemy, Gustavus III. of 
 Sweden, to do so, and subsidised him for 
 that purpose. But the assassination of that 
 monarch, on the 16th of March, 1792, ar- 
 rested his project. French emigrants of 
 distinction were now continually arriving 
 at the court of St. Petersburg, where they 
 applied for military aid, which, though the 
 empress did not refuse, she considered it 
 imprudent to grant. Indeed, though she 
 gave a welcome reception to all the French 
 who protested their attachment to their old 
 form of government, she severely proscribed 
 the rest, from an apprehension that the prin- 
 ciples on which the revolution was efl"ected 
 
 329 
 
ANNEXATION OF OOFRLAND.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1796. 
 
 might find their way into Hussia, and there 
 occasion some combustion subversive of the 
 throne. She even compelled all the French 
 in her dominions to take an oath of allegiance 
 to the Bourbon claimant of the crown of 
 France, and to swear an eternal hatred to the 
 republic. Those who refused to do so were 
 expelled from the empire. But Catherine 
 was far from being the only sovereign whom 
 terror and astonishment at the execution 
 of the unhappy Louis XVI., in 1793, drove to 
 acts of intolerance and ungenerous severity. 
 
 Turning again towards England as she 
 receded from France, Catherine, in the 
 March of 1793, concluded a new treaty of 
 commerce with this country; that which 
 had expired in 1786 not having been re- 
 newed. At the same time she published a 
 foolish edict, prohibiting the introduction of 
 French merchandise into her dominions. 
 Giving rein to her increasing animosity of 
 revolutionary principles, she even promised 
 to send a Russian squadron to co-operate 
 with the English fleet, and she gave com- 
 mands for the acceleration of the armament 
 at Cronstadt. The progress of the repub- 
 lican armies of France, and the meteor-like 
 successes of Napoleon, gave Catherine con- 
 siderable anxiety, and Suwarrow constantly 
 entreated her to send him against "the 
 French atheists," as the merciless little 
 monster called them. "That youngster 
 goes too fast," he frequently observed, " and 
 should be stopped at once. That would not 
 be difficult for me and my children, if our 
 lady-mother would give us leave." 
 
 On the death of Gustavus, he was suc- 
 ceeded by his eccentric and weak-minded 
 son, then but in his fourteenth year. The 
 youth of this arrogant boy, whose capricious 
 humour eventually cost him his crown, ren- 
 dered a regency necessary, and the affairs 
 of government were placed in the hands of 
 his uncle, the Duke of Sudermania. The 
 latter arranged a marriage between the 
 young king of Sweden and a princess of the 
 house of Mecklenburg, apparently with the 
 motive of avoiding an alliance with the im- 
 perial family of Russia. At this, Catherine 
 expressed displeasure, and stated, that the 
 late monarch had promised her the hand of 
 his son for one of her grandchildren, the 
 grand-duchesses. Some negotiations and 
 intrigues were terminated by the acceptance 
 
 * Courland, situated between the o6th and 58th 
 
 degree of north latitude, is divided into three parts — 
 
 Courland Proper, Semigallia, and the circle of Pil- 
 
 ten. It is bounded by Livonia, Lithuania, Samogitia, 
 
 330 
 
 of an invitation by the young king and the 
 regent to St. Petersburg. They arrived in 
 the August of 1796. Catherine received 
 them with great magnificence ; and Gustavus 
 Adolphus, captivated by the charms of the 
 Grand-duchess Alexandra, consented to 
 abandon his engagement with the Princess 
 of Mecklenburg. Proposals were made and 
 accepted, and the day was fixed for the 
 ceremony of the espousals. But, on the 
 contract being presented to the king for his 
 signature, he refused to put his name to it, 
 unless the princess previously changed her 
 religion — a circumstance which, he said, the 
 fundamental laws of Sweden obliged him to 
 require. Neither solicitation nor flattery 
 could induce him to forego a demand which, 
 urged at such a moment, had the appearance 
 of a studied insult. The empress then rose 
 ■with, dignity, and retired from the apart- 
 ment, followed by Paul, the grand-duchess, 
 and their children. So great was the im- 
 pression made upon her by this indignity, 
 that, on reaching her own apartment, it is 
 said, she had a slight fit, the precursor of that 
 which, so short a time afterwards, termi- 
 nated fatally. The following day, Gustavus 
 Adolphus and his retinue quitted St. Peters- 
 burg. 
 
 Even to the close of her life, Catherine 
 continued to enlarge her dominions. In 
 this year (1796) she contrived, by political 
 intrigues, to annex the duchy of Courland 
 to the Russian empire.* Courland, like 
 Poland, may be said to have had no people : 
 they were no better than serfs ; and the 
 land was all in the possession of a selfish, 
 petty, and domineering nobility. Their 
 sovereign was Duke Peter Biren, son of 
 the infamous man who, as the favourite of 
 the weak empress Anna, so long tyrannised 
 over Russia. Peter Biren was avaricious, 
 litigious, and much disliked; and his people, 
 availing themselves of his absence, made a 
 formal surrender of their allegiance to the 
 empress of Russia. This was accepted; 
 and certainly the Courlanders lost nothing 
 except a worthless prince. The acquisition 
 of Courland was of great importance to 
 Russia. It produces both corn and timber 
 in abundance, and has several ports advan- 
 tageously situated on the Baltic. That of 
 Vindau, which is never obstructed by 
 ice, might, by a little improvement, be 
 
 and the Baltic. The Dwina parts it from Livonia on 
 the north, and waters its frontiers for a space of more 
 than sixty leagues. A glance at a map of Russia will 
 show its immense importance to that empire. 
 
A.D. 1796.] 
 
 BUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [death op the empress. 
 
 rendered capable of containing a hundred 
 ships of the line. 
 
 Age did not deprive the empress of her 
 almost ceaseless activity. She now resolved 
 to turn her arms against Persia, and, 
 under pretence of defending Lolf-Ali-Khau, 
 gain possession of those provinces of Persia 
 which border on the Caspian. She endea- 
 voured to draw in the Turkish government 
 to second her design ; but the divan wisely 
 remained immovable. A Russian army, 
 under the command of Valerian Zuboff (a 
 brother of the favourite), advanced into 
 Daghestan, and captured Derbent, but after- 
 wards experienced a check at the hands of 
 the Persians. Catherine sent reinforce- 
 ments to Zuboff, and felt her usual confi- 
 dence that success would soon attend him. 
 Catherine, indeed, looked forward to a still 
 greater triumph than any success over a 
 crumbling state like Persia could afford. 
 She had just concluded a treaty with Eng- 
 land and with Austria, which was to secure 
 to her the assistance of those two powers 
 against Turkey; while she undertook to 
 furnish them with an army of 65,000 men 
 to act against the French republic. Thus 
 she trusted that the last great act of her 
 life would be the most gigantic and bril- 
 liant ; no less, indeed, than the accomplish- 
 ment of her cherished scheme of driving 
 the Ottomans out of Europe, and placing 
 one of the imperial family on the throne of 
 Constantinople. But to have realised all 
 her ambitious projects, this extraordinary 
 woman must have been immortal ; for she 
 had also addressed herself to humble the 
 power and haughty conduct of the French 
 republic.* Death, however, is a revolutionist 
 that has no respect even for the most power- 
 ful and illustrious of monarchs. 
 
 The empress had been unwell for several 
 days ; but, on the evening of the 15th of 
 November, she was in unusual spirits, amused 
 
 * It was the policy of the empress, who detested 
 the French republic without loving the Austrians, 
 to let both parties exhaust themselves ; determined, 
 however, whatever might be the fate of their arms, 
 to prevent either from acquiring an uncontrolled 
 sway in Germany. Orders were issued for a levy of 
 150,000 troops, destined to act, in some shape or 
 other, for the relief of the emperor of Germany. It 
 has been questioned, whether it would not have been 
 wiser policy in Catherine to have moved for the as- 
 sistance of the confederates sooner? She, perhaps, 
 entertained a persuasion, that the allies would stand 
 firm together, and make a more successful opposi- 
 tion to the republic. She was, no doubt, well 
 enough pleased to see almost all the other powers of 
 Europe weaken themselves by war; whilst, at the 
 
 herself with her buffoon, and I'allied him 
 upon the dread he was known to entertain 
 of death. However, she retired to her 
 chamber rather earlier than usual, saying, 
 that too much laughing had given her 
 slight symptoms of colic. The following 
 morning she rose in good spirits, and took 
 her usual breakfast. Afterwards she went 
 to her closet, where she staid an unusual 
 time. The women who waited upon her at 
 length became alarmed, and, opening the 
 door, they found their mistress in a state of 
 insensibility. Medical aid was immediately 
 sent for, but three-quarters of an hour 
 elapsed before the arrival of her chief physi- 
 cian. Dr. Robertson. That gentleman, con- 
 sidering her to be suffering from the effect 
 of a fit of apoplexy, caused her to be twice 
 bled/- The operation restored her to partial 
 consciousness, but she never spoke again. 
 In this state of torpor she remained until 
 the following evening, when, between nine 
 and ten o'clock, she expired so gently, that 
 the physicians were not aware of the mo- 
 ment of her death. Paul, who was absent 
 from St. Petersburg, did not arrive until 
 the evening when she died; the empress 
 still breathed, but she did not appear con- 
 scious of his presence. It has been sur- 
 mised — but, we think, without sufficient 
 authority — that, had she been conscious in 
 her last moments, she would have disin- 
 herited Paul, and bequeathed the throne to 
 one of her grandchildren. The empress 
 died in the sixty-seventh year of her age, 
 and the thirty-fourth of her reign. 
 
 Catherine had been handsome in her 
 youth, but she got corpulent as she ad- 
 vanced in years, though she preserved an 
 air of gracefulness, mingled with dignity, to 
 the latest period of her life. In person she 
 was not above the middle size ; but as she 
 was well-proportioned, and carried her head 
 high, she had the appearance of being tall. , 
 
 same time, it must have been her intention, as has 
 since appeared, to interfere more and more in the 
 general conflict, in proportion as the party she de- 
 tested gained ground on a sovereign prince; who, 
 though a neighbour and an ancient enemy, yet pos- 
 sessed an hereditary throne, and had ceased to be a 
 formidable rival. It is to be considered farther, 
 that had she moved sooner, the Turks, on the other 
 side, instigated by French intrigues, might have 
 moved also. The empress waited, too, until she 
 should secure peace, on the most formidable frontier, 
 by a marriage between her grand-daughter and the 
 young king of Sweden; an object which she had much 
 at heart, though it was found impossible to accom- 
 plish it without a concession to that headstrong boy, 
 inconsistent with the dignity of the Russian empire. 
 
 331 
 
CHAEACTER OF CATHEKmE.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1796. 
 
 She had a bold, expansive forehead, an 
 aquiline nose, an agreeably-shaped moiith, 
 and a chin which, though too long for 
 beauty, was not displeasing. She had a 
 profusion of auburn hair, in which she took 
 great delight ; and her eye-brows were dark 
 and thick. Her eyes were generally said to 
 be blue, though some observers have affirmed 
 them to be brown, and others gray. They 
 sometimes expressed a feeling of gentle- 
 ness, though that was frequently displaced 
 by one of pride and haughtiness. Though 
 her face was by no means deficient in ex- 
 pression, yet she had such a command over 
 her features, that no one could discover, 
 from gazing upon them, what was passing 
 in her mind. 
 
 The empress, on all public occasions, 
 dressed with great magnificence, and wore a 
 profusion of jewellery, especially diamonds, of 
 which gems she was particularly fond, and 
 possessed a prodigious number. In general, 
 she usually dressed after the ancient Russian 
 fashion, for the most part wearing green, 
 out of compliment to the nation. Her hair, 
 slightly powdered, flowed down upon her 
 shoulders, and was topped with a small cap, 
 covered with diamonds. She wore rouge, 
 after the fashion of the ladies of the French 
 court ; and in the latter part of her life she 
 put on a great deal, in order to prevent the 
 ravages of time from being visible on her 
 face. She was always strictly temperate 
 with respect to the pleasures of the table, 
 and that at a court where a little deviation 
 would not have given occasion to much 
 scandal. A slight breakfast, a moderate 
 dinner, and two or three glasses of wine, 
 constituted her usual diet. Supper she 
 never indulged in. 
 
 The personal vices of Catherine have not 
 been able to obscure her glory as a ruler, or 
 do more than faintly sully her greatness. 
 A modern historian, who certainly will not 
 be suspected of any undue lenity towards 
 crime or immorality, has observed of her, 
 that " few sovereigns will occupy a more 
 conspicuous place in the page of history, or 
 have left in their conduct on the throne a 
 more exalted reputation."* After the death 
 of Frederic the Great, Catherine remained 
 the most illustrious among the crowned 
 heads of Europe, and even towered amongst 
 them as an empress among petty princes. 
 She had the ambition to aim at any object, 
 however lofty; the courage to attempt its 
 accomplishment, however difficult or dau- 
 
 • Alison. — History of Europe. 
 
 332 
 
 gerous ; and the perseverance and genius 
 usually to succeed in it. She devoted her- 
 self to the civilisation of her subjects, by 
 means more gentle and gradual than those 
 employed by Peter the Great, and, conse- 
 quently, more efi"ectual. It has been said 
 that she efl'ected much real, and more 
 seeming good; and, doubtless, many of her 
 actions had a meretricious glare about them, 
 which, when it had attracted popularity, or 
 created a sensation, proved of no further 
 value. Catherine loved to dazzle her people 
 with the gorgeous display of that vast power 
 which she knew so well how to grasp and 
 direct. But she was not content to stay at 
 this point ; and her mind was frequently 
 directed to raising her subjects in the social 
 scale, and to conferring upon them sub- 
 stantial benefits. She did much for educa- 
 tion, much towards a better administration 
 of the law, and much for the advancement 
 of art and science. She even attempted to 
 emancipate the serfs of the empire ; and 
 though prevented, by the interests or pre- 
 judices of her nobles, from accomplishing 
 this great measure, she succeeded in ame- 
 liorating their condition. She has been 
 rightly called the great regenerator of Rus- 
 sia after Peter the Great, and she had the 
 good fortune to labour under more favour- 
 able circumstances. 
 
 Attached to literature, Catherine was 
 herself an authoress. It has been iirged, 
 that her works could scarcely be of much 
 value, or they would be more generally 
 sought for than is now the case. The 
 argument is a fallacious one ; for distinction 
 is not always the reward of merit ; and in 
 the great arena of letters and of genius, 
 both prince and peasant stand almost upon 
 level ground. We have had many royal 
 authors in England ; but their works are 
 seldom read now, except by curious scholars 
 and antiquarians. Every person in this 
 country, of any pretension to education, is 
 more or less familiar Avith the writings of 
 Shakspere; but the pedantic bombast of 
 James I. appeals to posterity in vain. The 
 works of Catherine, moreover, with the ex- 
 ception of the famous Instructions, were of 
 an unambitious kind. They chiefly consisted 
 of dramatic pieces, written in the Russian 
 language ; and tales, penned with the object 
 of instilling moral principles into her grand- 
 children. Her pubhshed letters to Voltaire 
 are considered to exhibit more grace and 
 playfulness of style than those which that 
 distinguished philosopher addressed to her. 
 
A.D. 1796.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [character of Catherine. 
 
 We do not infer that her ability in this 
 direction was great, but we conclude that it 
 was more than respectable. Had she been 
 less illustrious as an empress, she might 
 have been more regarded as an authoress. 
 As it was, the gorgeous and glowing bril- 
 liance of her jewelled sceptre eclipsed the 
 feeble rjidiance of her pen. Her detractors 
 have affirmed, that she merely coquetted 
 with literature, and that it made no ad- 
 vances during her reign. That she gathered 
 a reflected glory from the association of her 
 name with those of the gifted amongst men, 
 and that to do so constituted one of the 
 motives which induced her to shower gifts 
 and smiles upon them, is no dishonour to 
 her. We are scarcely justified in expecting 
 a higher or more critical motive than this 
 from any monarch whose time was largely 
 occupied with the highly responsible duties 
 inseparable from the active administration 
 of the affairs of an extensive empire. The 
 remainder of the sneer is a falsehood, de- 
 signed to utter that bitterness which some 
 writers lose no opportunity of expressing 
 towards Catherine personally, and towards 
 the Russian policy and people generally. 
 Russian literature scarcely existed prior to 
 her time, during which it made as much 
 progress as could reasonably be anticipated 
 in a nation not of a studious or literary 
 tone of mind, and in the higher ranks of 
 which, military accomplishments were those 
 mostly, if not almost entirely, regarded. 
 
 * " Both Anna and Elizabeth prosecuted expensive 
 wars, and executed many costly public works, with- 
 out bequeathing to their successors any national 
 debt. The outlay of Catherine on wars, colonies, 
 charitable, industrial and educational foundations, 
 besides the lavish pomp and extravagant splendour 
 of her court, could not have been sustained without 
 a still greater levy on the country. It is true that 
 she remitted many duties and taxes ; that she 
 abolished some of the ancient farms, and even a few 
 of the rich monopolies that had been enjoyed by the 
 crown ; but, on the other hand, her empire obtained 
 vast accessions of wealth during her reign. The 
 channels through which they were procured may be 
 thus enumerated : annexations by conquest ; the ex- 
 tension and encouragement of commerce ; the reduc- 
 tion of the property of the church, the bishops, and 
 the monasteries, by which the crown obtained a 
 great number of boors, large tracts of forests and 
 productive lands, and several valuable mines and 
 works, that had previously been rendered lucrative 
 by the enterprise of the clergy ; by the introduction 
 of the ohrok; by bestowing greater care and more 
 vigilant superintendence upon the mines ; the estab- 
 lishment of new duties ; the diffusion of the poll-tax 
 over provinces that had hitherto been exempt from 
 its operation ; and by a variety of reforms in the col- 
 lection of the revenue. In this respect, Catherine 
 
 Of Catherine's generosity to literary men, 
 we have recorded several instances. She 
 was a great promoter of the arts, both 
 useful and elegant ; even of music, which, 
 personally, she almost disliked, being some- 
 times unable to bear the noise of a large 
 orchestra. Great numbers of valuable pic- 
 tures were purchased by her, including the 
 Houghton collection from England — a cir- 
 cumstance which, Avhile it added to her 
 glory, disgraced this nation in the estima- 
 tion of foreigners. She was, indeed, in 
 every respect generous, even to a lavish 
 prodigality — at once a grace and a fault ; 
 but of which all that is reprehensible may 
 be easily forgiven in a great potentate ; the 
 more so in her case, as she doubled, if she 
 did not even treble, the revenues of the 
 empire.* Nor, while speaking of her virtues, 
 must we forget that she was magnanimous, 
 and could readily forgive. During a por- 
 tion of her reign, Russia was the only coun- 
 try in Europe in which French newspapers 
 were not prohibited ; but the Moniteur 
 having taken great liberties with her name, 
 and spoken with unflattering plainness of 
 the Grand-duke Paul, she desired it should 
 not be circulated in future until it had been 
 submitted to her inspection. Shortly after- 
 wards, she found a paragraph in it, which de- 
 scribed her as the Messalina of the North ; 
 3''et, instead of being off'ended, she remarked, 
 that as it concerned only herself, it might 
 be distributed. Certainly this magnanimity 
 
 may be regarded as the first sovereign of Russia who 
 brought to the fiscal department the advantages of 
 decision, system, and activity. The Gotha calendar 
 of 1790, estimates the annual revenue at £35,000,000; 
 an amount that has been adopted, from that work, in 
 several subsequent statistical publications. Mr. Coxe, 
 whose general accuracy entitles his opinions to be re- 
 ceived with respect, calculates the net income at nearly 
 £42,000,000. At the same time, he expresses some 
 surprise how the empress could have maintained, by 
 resources comparatively so limited, the munificence 
 and pageantries of her court. In the last edition of 
 Levesques history, the annual revenue is estimated 
 at £47,114,084, by the continuators of that work. 
 Tooke exhibits an elaborate view of the various 
 items of finance, and sums up the whole at upwards 
 of £46,000,000 ; expressing, at the same time, his 
 belief that it amounted 'to still more ; and stating 
 that, by another calculation which he had made, he 
 brought the total to £48,000,000. From these 
 contradictory speculations, it will be evident that the 
 means of furnishing an authentic table of the re- 
 venues of Russia do not exist." — Lardner's Cyclo- 
 padia. We have no recent return of the revenue of 
 Russia, but it is now estimated at about 400,000,000 
 silver roubles ; 45,300,097 of which are derived from 
 the domains of the crown. The debt Avas, in 1853, 
 788,573,112 silver roubles. 
 
 333 
 
CHAKACTER OF CATHERINE.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1796. 
 
 was not invariable : she was at times guilty 
 of acts of tyranny; and, on one occasion, 
 banished an accomplished Russian gentle- 
 man to Siberia, because he had written a 
 pamphlet against despotism. This, how- 
 ever, was a matter which excited but little 
 surprise in Russia, and was not considered 
 a stretch of imperial power. Catherine's 
 motive was, doubtless, entirely passionless 
 and political, for she was above most of the 
 prejudices of her time and nation. She 
 always encouraged liberal institutions, until 
 the wild extravagances and revolting mur- 
 ders of the revolutionists in Paris, created 
 in her that natural alarm which was felt, 
 more or less, by all the princes and nobles 
 of Europe. Of Catherine's comprehensive 
 toleration in matters of religion we have 
 already spoken. 
 
 The vices of the empress Catherine were 
 many. Though far from being cruel (for she 
 was, in most respects, a mild and forgiving 
 sovereign), yet she was resolute to crush her 
 enemies, or those who might become so. All 
 who had the misfortune to stand between 
 her and the imperial sceptre, perished. 
 The shades of Peter and of Ivan will ever 
 rest like dark and accusing visions over her 
 tomb. In neither case can the act of mur- 
 der be traced to her command; but she 
 alone profited by their deaths. It has been 
 urged, in extenuation (though, in this in- 
 stance, the plea is not a very potent one), 
 that she consented to the assassination of 
 her husband on the principle of self-defence. 
 However it may be viewed, the deed was a 
 shocking, and, if performed at her command, 
 an infamous one. A profound dissimula- 
 tion must be ranked among her vices, 
 though she used it rather in political trans- 
 actions than in social intercourse ; indeed, 
 in the latter, she was often most open, un- 
 restrained, and genial. Yet she was a per- 
 fect mistress of artifice when she desired to 
 employ it. 
 
 Catiierine's licentiousness was gigantic 
 and unbounded ; and were we writing 
 merely as moralists, could not be too 
 strongly condemned. But on the broader 
 and more worldly view the historian is 
 compelled to take, it must be remembered, 
 that her vices in this respect were personal, 
 and did not necessarily affect the condition 
 or morals of her subjects. Whether they 
 actually did so or not, has been both 
 
 • Annual Register for 1796. 
 
 t Encyclopcsdia Britannica. By the present age 
 the writer means the early part of this century, when 
 834 
 
 affirmed and denied. Some writers have 
 accused her of setting an example of de- 
 bauchery which was almost universally fol- 
 lowed. This is scarcely true. The Russian 
 court was extremely dissolute when Cathe- 
 rine ascended the throne; and though some 
 ladies of rank probably imitated the em- 
 press in keeping favourites and lovers, yet, 
 as we have shown, Catherine was oflFended 
 by any display of immorality, or even want 
 of decorous reserve in matters of gallantry, 
 and appeared desirous, by an external 
 austerity of manners, to make up, in some 
 degree, for the depravity of her private 
 actions. Many scandalous stories are cir- 
 culated respecting her and her confidants, 
 but these are unquestionably gross exag- 
 gerations in some cases, and impure inven- 
 tions in others. It has been well observed 
 on this point, that " it is an invidious thing 
 to pry, with too much curiosity, into the 
 frailties of such a character. The severest 
 critic has not been able to charge her with 
 anything unnatural, or, in her predicament 
 and situation, not easily to be forgiven.''* 
 
 We will conclude this estimate of an ex- 
 traordinary character with a few lines, 
 which are not only happily expressed, but 
 probably possess more of authority than 
 our own words. "No personage in our 
 own times has attracted a greater share 
 of censure and eulogium than Catherine; 
 and no woman, in any age, ever exhibited 
 more of the masculine greatness of one sex, 
 and the feminine weakness of another. As 
 a woman, she appears, at times, the slave of 
 passions, and the puppet of lier courtiers ; 
 but while we behold her diminishing, in this 
 point of view, into insignificance, we look 
 again, and contemplate the sovereign, tower- 
 ing like an immense colossus ; and with 
 one foot placed on Cherson, and another 
 at Kamtschatka, waving her iron sceptre 
 over the subject nations, and regulating the 
 destiny of a large portion of mankind. 
 
 " The frailties, however, of the woman 
 will soon be forgotten, while the glory that 
 encircles the brows of the legislatrix and 
 conqueror, will long continue to dazzle the 
 eyes of an admiring world. The present 
 age, however, shudders at the untimely fate 
 of Peter and Ivan ; and posterity will not 
 easily pardon the degradation of Stanislaus, 
 the partition of Poland, and the massacres 
 of Ismail and of Praga."t 
 
 the remembrance of the events to Which he alludes 
 was still strong in the public mind of Europe. More 
 gigantic incidents have since rather obscured them. 
 
A.D. 1796.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [doubtful birth of paul. 
 
 CHAPTER XLI. 
 
 DOUBTFUL PARENTAGE OF PAUL ; HIS PERSONAL APPEARANCE ; HIS ACCESSION ; HE INSULTS THE MEMORT 
 OF CATHERINE, AND CAUSES THE COFFIN OF PETER III. TO BE EXHUMED AND CROWNED; PAUL AN- 
 NOUNCES HIS INTKNTION OF PURSUING A PACIFIC POLICY ; HE RELEASKS KOSCIUSKO AND OTHER POLISH 
 PATRIOTS FROM CONFINEMENT; HE RESTRAINS THE DANGEROUS POWER OF THE GUARDS; HIS DESPOTIC 
 CONDUCT TOWARDS THE OFFICERS WHO RETIRE ; HIS ECCENTRICITIES AND PETTY CRUELTY ; HE DISMISSES 
 THE FAVOURITES OF THE LATE EMPRESS ; PROHIBITS THE USE OF ROUND HATS, AND PUNISHES THE 
 WEARERS OF THEM; FORBIDS THE HARNESSING OF HORSKS IN THE RUSSIAN FASHION; REVIVES THE 
 BARBAROUS CUSTOM OF PROSTRATION BEFORE THE EMPEROR ; PAUL'S IRRITATING INTERFERENCE WITH 
 THE ARMY AND WITH THE TRIBUNALS OF THE EMPIRE ; HIS CENSORSHIP OF THE PRESS, AND FINANCIAL 
 EXPERIMENTS. 
 
 Paul, when he ascended the throae, was 
 forty-two years of age. Catherine, who 
 never exhibited towards hira the affection 
 of a parent, kept hira during her life under 
 restraint, and in comparative retirement. 
 This, doubtless, arose chiefly from a feeling 
 of jealousy on her part towards one who 
 was to succeed, and who might, by the dis- 
 affected, be made an instrument to dethrone 
 her. Such an emotion is common amongst 
 monarchs, and was entertained by each of 
 the first three of our four Georges. But 
 this was not the only cause of Catherine's 
 dislike for Paul. That he was the son of 
 Peter III. is highly questionable ; and some 
 doubt exists as to whether he was even the 
 son of Catherine. We have alluded to the 
 natural disqualification under which Peter 
 suffered ; and this, joined to the facts that 
 Paul was not born until between eight and 
 nine years after the marriage of his pre- 
 sumed parents, nor until after it was noto- 
 rious that Catherine had violated the fidelity 
 of the marriage vow • also that Peter, 
 though he indulged in many amours, had 
 no son by any other woman — gives rise to 
 more than a suspicion (indeed, a strong 
 probability), that Paul was not, on his 
 father's side, a scion of the imperial family. 
 The supposition that Paul was not the 
 son of Catherine, though not without an 
 appearance of probability, rests on a more 
 unsure ground ; upon conjectures, and not 
 upon evidence. It was suspected by many 
 persons, that he was one of the children of the 
 empress Elizabeth, and of her secret hus- 
 band Rasumoffski, or some other favourite 
 less known to the world. This belief re- 
 ceived some colouring from the mean ap- 
 pearance and Tartar cast of the features 
 and figure of Paul. Others, again, have 
 represented him as a Finnish foundling, 
 adopted by Catherine from political motives, 
 and, therefore, in no way connected by 
 blood with the imperial family : we are not. 
 
 however, aware that this suggestion rests 
 upon any autliority of a kind to entitle it to 
 credence. Neither can we place much re- 
 liance upon the general law of the heredi- 
 tary transmission of appearance or character 
 from parent to child, simply because it is 
 general and not universal, but admits, in- 
 deed, of constant exceptions. If we could, 
 Paul's claim to be the son of Catherine 
 must not be admitted. Diminutive in his 
 figure, extremely ugly in his features, 
 having a pug or turned-up nose, and a 
 smirking air which struggled strongly with 
 an expression of a sense of self-importance 
 and arrogance, so great as to amount to 
 disease — narrow in his capacity, and petty in 
 his views and habits, he was as wide a con- 
 trast to the handsome, strong-minded, and 
 commanding Catherine, as it was possible 
 to conceive. But as this matter is rather 
 speculative than historical, we will not 
 pursue it further than to add, that the em- 
 press's strong dislike of Paul, has been re- 
 garded by some as tending to prove that 
 he was her child by her husband Peter, and 
 that the natural repugnance she bore to the 
 father, descended to his offspring. For 
 reasons above stated, we place no depen- 
 dence on this conjecture. 
 
 Catherine had frequently expressed an 
 unfavourable opinion of Paul's judgment 
 and disposition ; and, indeed (as the reader 
 will presently see), she must have been 
 strangely partial had this not been the case. 
 We have already referred to the common 
 belief, that she would have disinherited him 
 had she been able to do so. Certainly, her 
 conduct towards him had made his temper 
 even more sour and splenetic than it was 
 by nature. Though the empress was pro- 
 digally liberal to all her favourites, and to 
 those who deserved rcAvard at the hands of 
 the state, yet she resti-ained Paul to an 
 allowance less than the income of many an 
 untitled English gentleman. She also ex- 
 
 335 
 
ACXJESSION OF PAUL.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1796. 
 
 eluded the grand-duke from all participa- 
 tion in public aflFairs, kept him at a dis- 
 tance from the court, and surrounded him 
 •with spies. She even took away his chil- 
 dren from the time of their birth, and had 
 them brought up beneath her care, as if she 
 considered it improper to trust their educa- 
 tion to a person of such mean capacities as 
 their father. Sometimes the grand-duke 
 and the grand-duchess were not permitted 
 to see their children for months ; and it 
 appeared as if the empress desired to 
 alienate their aflfections from their parents. 
 We cannot be surprised that such conduct, 
 prolonged over a period of years, made 
 Paul reciprocate the dislike with which he 
 was regarded by his mother. Hints were 
 several times given to him, that a strong 
 party only wanted his sanction to bring 
 about a revolution which should dethrone 
 the empress, aiid place the imperial sceptre 
 in his hand. Paul did not encourage them ; 
 but it is presumed (and we think justly so), 
 not from a respect for the empress, but 
 from a dread of the danger of failure. 
 
 Immediately upon the death of Cathe- 
 rine, Paul was recognised as emperor. 
 With a politic and dramatic flattery, his 
 wife was the first who paid him homage as 
 sovereign, though he had never treated her 
 with that affection which a woman naturally 
 expects at the hands of her husband. She 
 and her children knelt at his feet and 
 saluted him as their emperor directly it was 
 known that the great Catherine had breathed 
 her last. Paul raised and embraced them. 
 On the partner of his comparative obscurity 
 he shortly afterwards bestowed a princely 
 revenue ; while to each of his sons he gave 
 the command of a regiment of the guards, 
 and appointed the eldest to the important 
 post of military governor of St. Petersburg. 
 Less than a century before, Peter the Great 
 denounced the practice of conferring high 
 places upon inexperienced individuals, and 
 set the example, in his own person, of ren- 
 dering service and merits the only passports 
 to of&ces of responsibility ; but Paul fell at 
 once into those vices of old governments 
 from which Peter sternly held aloof, and 
 Catherine but seldom committed. 
 
 Paul experienced no opposition in ascend- 
 ing the throne. After his wife had rendered 
 him homage, the chief officers of the dif- 
 ferent departments, and of the army, did 
 the same, and took the customary oath of 
 allegiance. This example was followed by 
 the soldiery; and the next day Paul was 
 336 
 
 everywhere proclaimed emperor, and his 
 eldest son (Alexander) czarevitch, or heir- 
 presumptive to the throne. 
 
 For a short time, the new monarch sup- 
 pressed the cynical and capricious bitterness 
 which years of restraint, acting upon a 
 mean nature, had engendered. He be- 
 haved with apparent cordiality to Plato 
 Zubofi", the lover and one of the chief 
 ministers of the late empress. He retained 
 the favourite in his offices, and even thanked 
 him for the attachment he had showu to 
 his mother. The other ministers, and the 
 heads of the diff'erent departments, were 
 also confirmed in their posts, and some of 
 them were even promoted. This was done 
 to secure them to his interests; but he 
 acted in a very diff'erent manner as soon as 
 he knew himself strong enough to do with- 
 out them. For some years he had drawn 
 up a number of regulations with respect to 
 the future direction of the succession to 
 the crown. These he now produced, and 
 caused to be invested with the po^ver of 
 law. 
 
 Paul's next step was one which appears 
 to have given to his perverse and splenetic 
 nature a feeling of intense satisfaction. He 
 resorted to every means possible, without 
 doing violence to public decorum, of casting 
 contempt upon the grave of Catherine, and 
 of bringing to remembrance the darkest 
 blot upon her character. Every circum- 
 stance connected with her funeral he took 
 under his own immediate direction. The 
 bones of his assumed father he caused to be 
 removed from the obscure grave in the con- 
 vent of Alexander Nevski, where they had 
 lain fur nearly five-and-thirty years. When 
 the coffin was opened, Paul wept over the 
 remains of the murdered emperor ; and, 
 perhaps, on this solemn occasion, thei'e 
 might have been something of sincerity in 
 the tears he shed over the bones of one 
 whom he, at least, doubtless believed to be 
 the immediate author of his being. After 
 this display of emotion, he caused the coffin 
 to be conveyed to the palace with extraordi- 
 nary pomp, and placed in a temple con- 
 structed for the purpose, side by side with 
 the corpse of Catherine, which was then 
 lying in state. Then the coffin containing 
 the dust of Peter was solemnly crowned ; 
 for the living emperor had been hurled 
 from the throne before he had undergone 
 that ceremony. As if in sardonic mockery 
 of the terms on which Catherine and Peter 
 had lived together during the period of 
 
A.D. 1796.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [funeral of CATHERINE. 
 
 their unhappy marriage, their coffins were 
 linked together with a kind of true-love 
 knot, bearing, in the Russian language, the 
 inscription — " Divided in life ; united in 
 death." Enormoiis crowds of people were 
 admitted to behold this grand and semi- 
 theatrical scene, and to kiss the coffin of 
 Peter and tlie cold hand of Catherine. She 
 had been badly embalmed; it has even 
 been said purposely so, by order of Paul. 
 Certainly, the result was such as might have 
 gratified a petty malignity. The empress 
 was so disfigured, as not only to be scarcely 
 recognised by those who had only seen her 
 in public, but her remains had become so 
 far subject to corruption, as to inspire dis- 
 gust, if not horror, in those who approached 
 them. Her face was swelled, much dis- 
 coloured, and not in a state fit for public 
 exhibition, while her hands were blue and 
 yellow. 
 
 Paul thus punished the dead empress for 
 any share she might have had in his reputed 
 father's death. The revenge he took upon 
 the actual murderers was remarkably eccen- 
 tric. Count Alexis OrlofF and Prince Bara- 
 tinski Were immediately, on the death of 
 Catherine, commanded to repair to St. Pe- 
 tersburg, and assist in the funeral by bear- 
 ing the pall which covered the remains of 
 the emperor Peter. For thi'ce hours they 
 were compelled to remain, one on each side 
 of the coffin, in the presence of the assembled 
 court. During this period the countenance 
 of the iron-nerved Orloff exhibited signs 
 of the mental agony he endured ; but it is 
 probable that this arose as much from fear 
 as from remorse, as the regicide doubtless 
 anticipated that this would be but the be- 
 ginning of his punishment. He, however, 
 bore up during the ceremony, and was then 
 dismissed with a permission to travel abroad. 
 This he immediately availed himself of, and 
 left St. Petersburg for Germany, from which 
 he did not return until after the death of 
 Paul. Prince Baratinski, whose nerves were 
 not so strong, nor his sensibility so blunt, 
 as that of the coarse, large-limbed OrlofF, 
 suff^ered intensely during the funeral cere- 
 mony of the unfortunate monarch whom, 
 five-and-thirty years ago, he had assisted to 
 murder. There must, indeed, have been 
 something strangely terrible to a guilty con- 
 science, in the scene in which he was com- 
 pelled to be a principal actor. The black 
 hangings, the sombre plumes, the subdued 
 and spectral-looking light of tlie tapers ; the 
 almost paififul silence, broken only occa- 
 2x 
 
 sionally by the wailing chant of a dirge for 
 the dead ; the oppressiveness of the air 
 which such grim, charnel-house pageantry 
 seems to produce on the awed spectator ; and, 
 above all, the presence of the mouldering 
 bones of the wretched victim, who seemed as 
 if he had risen from his obscure grave to point 
 out his murderers to public execration — 
 must have fallen, cold and sickening, almost 
 like a sentence of death, upon those scared 
 assassins. Baratinski fainted under the in- 
 fliction of this wild punishment, and was 
 only enabled to remain in his position 
 during the ceremony, by the frequent appli- 
 cation of volatile salts and other stimulants. 
 He was not subjected to any other punish- 
 ment further than what was contained in 
 the information that his presence at court 
 Avas no longer necessary. 
 
 The Princess Daschkaw was not forgotten 
 by the Emperor Paul. She was commanded 
 to retire to her estate at Novgorod, "and 
 reflect on the events of 1762." As the vil- 
 lage which was assigned her for a residence 
 in her exile, was only a collection of cabins, 
 she suff'ered considerable liardship until her 
 friends procured her partial pardon, and 
 pel-mission to live at Serpukh, in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Moscow, where she resided till 
 her death on the 4th of January, 1810. It 
 would have been more politic had Paul 
 appeared to have forgotten the past; for 
 these proceedings excited more surprise than 
 sympathy at St. Petersburg. It was be- 
 lieved that his conduct was less a tribute of 
 love to the memory of his father, than a 
 reproach to the memory of his mother. He, 
 however, sought out and loaded with favours 
 several old officers who, in 1762, had opposed 
 the revolution, and retained their allegiance to 
 the unhappy Peter. One of them, the aged 
 Baron Sternberg, who had long renounced 
 all interest in the aff'airs of state, was made 
 geueral-in-chief, and invested by the emperor 
 with the riband of St. Alexander. " See," 
 said he to the veteran, as he directed the at- 
 tention of the latter to a picture of Peter III., 
 which had been placed in the chamber, "I 
 will have him to witness my gratitude to- 
 wards his faithful friend." 
 
 An unfavourable opinion had been gene- 
 rally entertained of the character of the new 
 emperor; but he at first adopted several 
 measures which raised hmi in the popular 
 estimation, and excited hopes that his mind 
 was not so narrow, and his nature so morose, 
 as had been commonly supposed. He issued 
 a ukase, announcing a pacific policy — a cir- 
 
 337' 
 
RELEASE OF KOSCIUSKO.] 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1796. 
 
 cumstance which created great joy amongst 
 the people ; for the interests of Russia re- 
 quired repose after the great military dis- 
 bursements of the preceding reign. This 
 ukase also annulled a command given by 
 Catherine, shortly before her death, to raise 
 a body of recruits, in the proportion of one 
 peasant in every hundred. Such an escape 
 from the severities of military service, which 
 is regarded with detestation by the great 
 mass of the Russian peasants, was hailed by 
 them with delight. It was also extremely 
 acceptable to the nobility, whose interests 
 would have suffered by the intended con- 
 scription. 
 
 Paul also went in person to release the 
 unfortunate Polish patriot Kosciusko, who 
 was in confinement at St. Petersburg, still 
 suffering severely from the effect of his 
 wounds, and the despondency resulting, in 
 his imaginative nature, from the ruin of his 
 country. Respect for his high personal cha- 
 racter had caused the rigours of imprison- 
 ment to be dispensed with in his case. Thus, 
 while his fellow-prisoners were closely con- 
 fined in the dismal castle of Schlusselburg, 
 or in the fortress of the capital, he was per- 
 mitted to live at the house of Count Anhalt, 
 in which apartments were assigned to him, 
 together with an ofiicer who acted as his 
 guard. Paul appears to have been moved by 
 the appearance of the unfortunate patriot, 
 who, pale and attenuated, and with his 
 head still wrapped in bandages, presented a 
 pitiable appearance. He treated him kindly, 
 and offered him an estate in Russia, with 
 a number of peasants upon it. This was 
 declined by Kosciusko, who accepted, in- 
 stead, a sufficient sum of money to carry 
 him to America, and make a provision there 
 for the remainder of his life. All the com- 
 panions of Kosciusko were likewise set at 
 liberty. These generous acts made a great 
 impression upon the people, who regarded 
 them as evidences of a noble nature, which 
 had previously been restrained from fol- 
 lowing out its natural bias. They were 
 deceived; Paul was magnanimous for the 
 moment, either from caprice, or a desire to 
 act in all things contrary to the will of his 
 illustrious predecessor. 
 
 For the first few days of his reign, Paul 
 almost hourly announced some beneficial 
 change, decreed some just punishment, or 
 awarded some merited favour. The guards, 
 who for several reigns had been the acting 
 power in every revolution, and had bestowed 
 the sceptre on those whom they pleased to 
 338 
 
 favour, he resolved to place under strong 
 restraint. They had been the military 
 despots of the court ; and it was through 
 their influence that Peter III. was hurled 
 from the throne. In fact, they had long 
 held a position in the capital which kept 
 the sovereign in a state of comparative fear. 
 Paul was well aware of the power they pos- 
 sessed, and of the diificulty of openly dis- 
 banding them. He therefore incorporated 
 into the different regiments of guards the 
 battalions that had served under him at 
 Gatshina, promoting the officers two or 
 three steps, and dispersing them so freely 
 through the corps of St. Petersburg, as, by 
 the force of numbers, to absorb the in- 
 fluence of the old companies. By this 
 means the guards were unable to combine 
 for the purpose of conspiracy ; and many of 
 their regiments were under the command of 
 men who owed their appointment to the 
 emperor. Another result followed. The 
 old officers of the guard — most of whom 
 were connected with the first families ot 
 the empire — were incensed at finding 
 juniors of plebeian extraction, who, in some 
 cases, had but a short time before served in 
 the ranks, suddenly promoted over their 
 heads. Irritated, also, by the novel and 
 harassing discipline to which they were 
 subjected, the wealthy threw up their com- 
 missions, and the remainder sullenly sub- 
 mitted to what they could not resist. 
 
 The emperor was annoyed at the with- 
 drawal of several hundred officers into 
 private life ; and probabh'^ felt some alarm 
 at the extent of the disaffection. His 
 despotic character instantly showed itself. 
 He went in person to the barracks, and, 
 after making many encouraging promises to 
 those who remained at their posts, he ex- 
 pressed his determination to exclude from 
 all civil or military employment every officer 
 who had retired, or who should do so. Not 
 satisfied with this severity, he commanded 
 all officers or subalterns who had left the 
 guards, or might subsequently do so, to 
 quit St. Petersburg at once. In the execu- 
 tion of this tyrannical decree, many persons 
 were taken from their beds, and at once 
 expelled from the city ; some nearly desti- 
 tute of clothing, and all of them without 
 any provision for the future. Several of 
 these unfortunate men perished from expo- 
 sure to cold and want. 
 
 Paul speedily cast away the little popu- 
 larity which he had gained by the early acts 
 of his reign. He had no talent for decep- 
 
A.D. 1796.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [ECCETXTRiaTIES OF PAUL. 
 
 tion, and apparently but little desire to 
 practise it. He soon trampled beneath his 
 feet the mask of generosity and a mild rule 
 which, at his accession, he seemed disposed 
 to wear. Irritable, peevish, and arrogant, 
 he was restless and miserable himself, and 
 therefore resolved that all around him 
 should be so likewise. He has been fre- 
 quently pronounced insane ; and though we 
 do not rest absolutely in that conclusion 
 (for he appears to have understood the 
 nature of his conduct sufficiently for him 
 to be held accountable for it), yet it is 
 difficult to consider him as the possessor 
 of a brain untouched by disease. Masson* 
 thus attempts to depict, or rather illustrate, 
 his character : — " The sovereign whom Paul 
 appears to have chosen for his model is 
 Frederic William, father of the great king 
 of Prussia. The same austerity of manners, 
 and the savne passion for soldiers, are found 
 in the Russian autocrat. For the rest, I 
 have drawn, I conceive, the character of 
 Paul in relating his actions ; if not, the 
 task, I confess, is above my powers. It is 
 well known, that nothing is so difficult to 
 paint as an infant, whose physiognomy is as 
 yet unsettled ; and it is the same with the 
 character of an eccentric man. The most 
 favourable plea we can make for him is, 
 that the light of the French revolution had 
 touched his brain and disordered his intel- 
 lect. It had already disturbed the much 
 stronger head of his mother. It is said, 
 that the people of Paris, crowding to see 
 Paul (then a youth), cried, 'My God, how 
 ugly he is !' and that he had the good sense 
 to laugh at it. He has not improved since 
 he has grown old, bald, and wrinkled. The 
 empress appears, by his side, like one of those 
 beautiful women who are painted with a 
 little deformed blackamoor near them, as a 
 contrast to their dignity and grace. The 
 singularity which he affects in his dress, 
 and the severity of his manners, add greatly 
 to his deformity. Without excepting even 
 the Cal mucks and the Kirghises, Paul is 
 the ugliest man in his extensive dominions ; 
 and he himself considers his countenance as 
 so shocking, that he dares not impress it 
 upon his coin. 
 
 " I shall here subjoin some traits, which 
 will serve to describe Paul by his own 
 actions; and will prove, that when grand- 
 
 • Memoires Secretes, &c. It will be observed, 
 that this sketch was penned during the life of the 
 emperor, and by one who had ample opportunities 
 of observing him. 
 
 duke, he announced what we have seen of 
 him since his accession. 
 
 " Near his castle of Pavlofski he had a 
 terrace, from which he could see all the 
 sentinels, whom he delighted to station 
 about him wherever there was room for a 
 sentry-box. On this covered terrace he 
 spent a part of each day, and observed, with 
 a spy-glass, all that was passing about him. 
 Often he sent a servant to a sentinel, to 
 order him to button or unbutton a little 
 more of his coat, to keep his musket higher 
 or lower, to walk at a greater or less dis- 
 tance from his sentry-box. Sometimes he 
 would go himself nearly half a mile to give 
 these important orders, and would cane the 
 soldier, or put a rouble into his pocket, ac- 
 cording as he was angry or pleased with him. 
 
 " Pavlofski was an open village ; yet 
 guards were appointed, who wrote down the 
 names of all who entered or went out of it ; 
 and who were obliged to tell whence they 
 came, whither they were going, or what 
 they wanted. Every evening each house 
 was- visited, to learn if there were any 
 strangers there. Every man who wore a 
 round hat, or had a dog with him, was 
 arrested. The village, which had been 
 much frequented because of its beautiful 
 situation, soon became a desert ; many 
 persons turned out of their way to avoid it : 
 and when Paul was perceived at a distance, 
 he was carefully shunned. These circum- 
 stances increased his displeasure and suspi- 
 cions, and he often caused the persons who 
 thus sought to avoid him to be pursued and 
 questioned. 
 
 " One day he put all the officers of his 
 battalion imder arrest, because they had 
 saluted him awkwardly in filing off after 
 their drill; and he ordered them to be 
 called out, for eight days successively, to 
 file off and salute before him, sending them 
 regularly back to the guard-house till they 
 were able to perform according to his fancy. 
 
 " As he was one day exercising his regi- 
 ment of cuirassiers, the horse of an officer 
 threw him. Paul ran furiously towards 
 him, crying, ' Get up, rascal ! ' ' Your high- 
 ness, I cannot, I have broken my leg.' 
 Paul spat upon him, and retired swearing. 
 
 " Passing, at another time, unexpectedly 
 and secretly by one of his guard-houses, 
 the officer, not knowing him, did not 
 order out his men ; upon which he in- 
 stantly turned back, boxed the ears of the 
 officer, and ordered him to be disarmed and 
 put under arrest. 
 
 339 
 
PROHIBITION OF ROUND HATS.] HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1796. 
 
 " One day, travelling from Tzarsko-selo 
 to Gatshina, the road to which was in the 
 middle of a marshy forest, he suddenly 
 recollected something, and ordered the 
 coachman to return. ' Presently, your 
 highness,' said the coachman ; * the road is 
 here too uarrow.' * How, rascal !' cried 
 Paul, ' won't you turn immediately ?' The 
 coachman, instead of answering, hastened 
 to a spot where it was possible to comply. 
 Paul, however, called to his equerry, and 
 ordered him to arrest and punish the rebel- 
 lious coachman. The equerry assured him 
 that he would turn in a moment. Paul 
 flew into a passion with the equerry also. 
 'You are a pitiful scoimdrel like himself,' 
 said he. ' Let him overturn the carriage ; 
 let him break my neck; but let him obey 
 me, and turn the instant I command him.' 
 During this dispute the coachman suc- 
 ceeded in turuing; but Paul had him chas- 
 tised on the spot. 
 
 " Since his accession, one of his horses 
 stumbled with him in one of the streets of 
 St. Petersburg. He alighted immediately, 
 held a sort of council with his attendants, 
 and the horse was condemned to receive 
 fifty lashes with a whip. Paul caused them 
 to be given on the spot, before the populace, 
 and himself counted the strokes, saying, 
 ' There, sir, that is for having stumbled 
 with the emperor.' " 
 
 The new czar had, immediately upon his 
 accession, behaved with kindness to Plato 
 Zuboff, and confirmed him in the various 
 offices he held. Shortly afterwards Paul 
 sealed up his papers, and dismissed him from 
 the court with contemptuous abruptness. 
 The corrupt conduct of the favourite de- 
 served punishment; but the emperor, by 
 his previous cordiality, had expressed au 
 implied forgiveness of all that was past. 
 For some time the springs of the Russian 
 government had been chiefly in the hands 
 of ZuboflF, Avho perverted them for the pur- 
 poses of self-interest. He promoted the 
 war in Persia, with the double object of en- 
 riching himself by plundering the army, 
 and conferring a lucrative command upon 
 his brother. All offices of state he con- 
 ferred upon his parasites, his favourites, or 
 his family. His father he elevated to the 
 office of a judge ; and had the shameless 
 audacity to turn the appointment to account 
 by buying up all the old causes in the court, 
 and then obtaining decisions in his own 
 favour. In addition to this, he had exer- 
 cised the most arrogant tyranny over the i 
 340 
 
 \ oldest generals and counsellors of the em- 
 I pire. Such a man deserved degradation 
 ] and punishment ; but Paul's conduct had, 
 i in fact, exonerated him. The dread of 
 i being charged with inconsistency, never 
 ' curbed the acts or eccentricities of the em- 
 peror. Zuboff's secretaries were banished, 
 the officers of his suite dispersed in different 
 corps throughout the empire, and he him- 
 self commanded to quit Russia. This 
 I severity towards the favourite was not 
 I attributed to any desire on the part of the 
 ; emperor to puuish corruption, but to the 
 j implacable resentment with which he re- 
 j garded every person who had been attached 
 } to his mother. Several other cases are 
 ' recorded in which Paul flattered and 
 j caressed, on the first day of his reign, those 
 j whom, within a few weeks afterwards, he de- 
 graded or punished. 
 
 That, however, of the early acts of Paul's 
 reign which most attracted attention, was 
 the minute details of police and military 
 discipline which he commanded to be ob- 
 served, and devoted the greatest portion 
 of his time to seeing carried out, even to 
 the smallest particulars. With an unac- 
 countable singularity, he prohibited the 
 wearing of round hats in the streets of St. 
 Petersburg, and directed the soldiers and 
 the police to take them away from those 
 who appeared in them, and to tear them in 
 pieces in case of resistance being off'ered. 
 Many tumultuous scenes followed this petty 
 and irritating edict, especially before it was 
 generally known. An English merchant 
 travelling in a sledge was stopped, and his 
 hat snatched ofl" by a soldier. Imagining 
 himself to be assailed by a robber, he leapt 
 from his sledge, knocked the man down, 
 and called the guard. They soon arrived 
 on the spot — not to assist, but to overpower 
 and bind him. As the merchant was being 
 carried off" to answer before the police for 
 his assumed off'ence, he was fortunate 
 enough to meet the carriage of the English 
 minister; and he instantly claimed the 
 protection of that gentleman. Sir Charles 
 Whitworth complained to the emperor, and 
 remonstrated in a very spirited manner. In 
 consequence of this the merchant was set 
 at liberty ; and Paul modified his mandate, 
 by publishing that strangers who were not 
 in the emperor's service, or naturalised, 
 were exempt from the prohibition. Persons 
 who wore round hats were no longer sub- 
 jected to the indignity of having them torn 
 from their heads but they were taken be- 
 
A.D. 
 
 1796.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [irritating regulations. 
 
 fore the police, that their country might be 
 ascertained. If found to be Russians, they 
 were compelled to enter the ranks as soldiers; 
 and if Frenchmen, they were expelled from 
 the empire as Jacobins. This might lead 
 to the supposition that round hats were 
 regarded as the badge of some political 
 society, or as expressive of some offensive 
 sentiment on the part of the wearer. Such 
 was not the case. The prohibition arose 
 solely from the fact, that Paul had for some 
 years entertained a peculiar aversion to 
 round hats, in the same way that certain 
 individuals entertain unaccountable anti- 
 pathies to some common or harmless object. 
 This would have been a sufficient reason 
 for his setting another fashion in the matter 
 of hats, or prohibiting any one from ap- 
 pearing before him in one of the objection- 
 able shape. But it in no way excused the 
 peevish and petty tyranny — trivial as the 
 whim of some ill-tempered school-boy — to 
 which he gave way. There are few who 
 will not sympathise with another English- 
 man in St. Petersburg; who, on his hat 
 being taken from him by an officer of the 
 police, folded his arms, and, surveying the 
 official with a look of compassion, exclaimed, 
 " Ah, friend ! how I pity thee for being a 
 Russian \" So earnest was Paul in this 
 absurd matter, that he commanded the 
 charge d'affaires of the king of Sardinia 
 to quit St. Petersburg within twenty-four 
 hours, because he had ventured to indulge 
 in some raillery about the proscription of 
 round hats, and to say that such trifles had 
 often been on the point of occasioning 
 seditions in Italy. 
 
 Another of Paul's petty, silly, and vexa- 
 tious regulations, was that which prohibited 
 the harnessing of horses after the Russian 
 mode, and commanded the German fashion 
 to be adopted instead. With strange pe- 
 remptoriness, only a fortnight was allowed 
 for those who kept carriages or other 
 vehicles, to provide themselves with the new 
 harness that was requisite to enable them 
 to comply with the imperial mandate. The 
 police were ordered, on the expiration of 
 that time, to cut the traces of every carriage 
 they happened to find harnessed in the old 
 fashion. As may be presumed, the harness- 
 makers availed themselves of the occasion 
 to charge enormous prices for their labour 
 and their commodities. But the new regu- 
 lations extended from the harness to the 
 coachman, who were commanded to adopt 
 the German style of dress, which was 
 
 neither more convenient nor more elegant. 
 Indeed, those of the ishvoshiohki, or coach- 
 men, who could be induced to part with 
 their beards and their kaftans, and tie a 
 false tail to their hair, cut an extremely 
 ridiculous figure. The majority, however, 
 of these poor people obstinately adhered 
 to their old costume. That commanded to 
 be worn was assailed with ridicule ; and 
 Paul was at length compelled to soften his 
 mandate into a request, that the people, if 
 they desired to merit his favour, would dress 
 in the German fashion. 
 
 In the more barbarous times of the em- 
 pire, a slavish custom prevailed, according 
 to which, every person, whether noble or 
 serf, male or female, used, on the appear- 
 ance of the czar, to alight from their coach 
 or horse, and prostrate themselves in the 
 snow or the mud before him. This base 
 custom Avas abolished by Peter the Great, 
 in whom it excited so much manly indig- 
 nation, that he ordered every person to be 
 caned who practised it, and not unfre- 
 quently administered the punishment him- 
 self. Paul, who had not the sense to see 
 that such a humiliating and semi-idolatrous 
 salutation, on the part of the ruled towards 
 the ruler, was a dead, rotten vestige of the 
 past, which could not be permanently re- 
 vived, resolved to re-establish it in all its 
 rigour. It is a strange reflection, that this 
 miserable despot, deficient both in the in- 
 tellect and fair personal proportions usually 
 falling to the lot of the human race — seem- 
 ing, by his dwarfish and disgusting appear- 
 ance, and his malignant tricks, to bear a 
 closer affinity to the monkey than the man, 
 should yet be so strangely anxious to com- 
 pel God's creatures to bow perpetually into 
 the dust before him. Perhaps this morbid 
 desire, that men should observe towards 
 him the most humiliating external forms of 
 reverence, arose from a strong conscious- 
 ness of his own natural meanness and in- 
 ability to command the respect of his fellow- 
 men. The etiquette observed within the 
 palace was rendered more servile than it 
 had ever been before. Those who were 
 permitted or required to kiss his hand were 
 compelled to make the floor resound with the 
 stroke of their knee as they knelt, and to let 
 the sound of the kiss be plainly heard as an 
 evidence of its genuineness. Foreigners, on 
 visiting any of the palaces or imperial gar- 
 dens during the absence of the emperor, 
 were compelled to remain uncovered the 
 same as if he was present. Paul thus arro- 
 
 341 
 
PAUL'S Mn.ITARY MEDDLING.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1796. 
 
 gated, even to his residences, the ceremonials 
 that are commonly observed only in the 
 temples of religion. Any neglect of these 
 trivial and offensive regulations was punished 
 as if it had been a serious crime. A general 
 officer, who passed on without his coach- 
 man's observing the emperor riding by on 
 horseback, was immediately stopped and 
 arrested. Prince Galitzin was also put 
 under arrest by Paul himself, on account 
 of his having kissed the hand of the impe- 
 rial idiot in too negligent a manner. 
 
 Another of these early and contemptible 
 regulations of Paul, was a command to all 
 tradesmen to obliterate from the front of 
 their shops the Prench word magasin, and 
 substitute the Russian word lavka, or shop. 
 The reason assigned for this frivolity was, 
 that only the emperor could have maga- 
 zines, and that it was the duty of tradesmen 
 not to make use of lofty terms, but to make 
 known their occupations in the plainest 
 language. The real cause of this alteration 
 was Paul's dread of Prench revolutionary 
 principles, and his consequent aversion to 
 everything derived from Prance. This 
 feeling caused him to descend so far into 
 absurdity, as to issue one ukase forbidding 
 the academy from employing the word revo- 
 lution when speaking of the course of the 
 stars ; and another, commanding the actors 
 to use the vfoxA. permission, instead of liberty, 
 in the bills of the theatres. Many other 
 new regulations were made, many of which 
 contradicted or frustrated one another: 
 thus, what was ordained one day, was often 
 obliged to be modified or annulled the next. 
 
 These changes, with respect to civil affairs, 
 were outdone by those which Paul intro- 
 duced into the army. He had almost a 
 mania for military meddling, and the as- 
 sumption of the duties of the corporal and 
 the army-tailor. It is generally admitted 
 that many reforms were required in this 
 direction ; but, assuredly, Paul was not the 
 man to effect them. He was altogether 
 devoid of military talents, and merely loved 
 to play with soldiers, and dress and drill 
 them as children do dolls. The changes 
 Paul effected were not improvements, and 
 in no way promoted the efficiency of the 
 troops. The dress of the Russian soldier 
 was simple, convenient, and adapted to the 
 severity of the climate. It consisted of two 
 garments only; a red and green jacket, 
 which was fastened by a girdle within the 
 folds of the loose chavari, or red pantaloons, 
 terminating in boots which were not only 
 342 ^ 
 
 put on with ease, but, from their size, ad- 
 mitted of such additions underneath as pro- 
 tected the wearer from the inclemency of 
 the atmosphere. Yet it was with the dress 
 of the soldiers that Paul most delighted to 
 interfere. He compelled them to adopt the 
 military costume of Prussia, which was not 
 only detested by the men as graceless and 
 a nti- national, but regarded as unsuited for 
 them. The costume we have briefly de- 
 scribed was thrown aside, and the whimsical, 
 lacquey-like dress of the Prussian troops 
 given to the soldiers instead. The men had 
 to spend an hour every morning ia plaster- 
 ing down their hair with powder and poma- 
 tum, or rather with grease and flour, which 
 Paul ordered to be used instead as more 
 economical; and in buttoning their tight 
 black spatterdashes. The annoyance of the 
 men amounted to irritation, the more so as 
 these alterations were discountenanced by 
 the most distinguished of their generals. 
 When the brave and eccentric Suwarrow 
 received orders to establish these novelties, 
 together with little sticks as models for the 
 soldiers' pigtails and side-curls, he expressed 
 his contemptuous feelings in some doggerel 
 lines, which are not destitute of wit. " Hair- 
 powder," said the blunt soldier, "is not 
 gunpowder ; curls are not cannon ; and tails 
 are not bayonets." The sarcasm was re- 
 peated through the whole army, and reached 
 the ears of Paul, who was so incensed that 
 he dismissed Suwarrow from his command, 
 and exiled him to his estates, where the 
 eccentric veteran chiefly occupied himself iu 
 practising bell-ringing, hopping a long dis- 
 tance upon one leg, and similar odd pas- 
 times, until the exigencies of the empire 
 compelled Paul to restore to him his mili- 
 tary honours. 
 
 The emperor commenced his new regula- 
 tions from the very morning that he flrst 
 grasped the imperial sceptre. The palace 
 and its courtyards were at once thrown 
 into the utmost confusion. It is said they 
 had the appearance of having been taken by 
 assault by foreign troops, as the men who 
 mounted guard there, differed so much, in 
 dress and style, from those who had done so 
 the day before. Every morning the new 
 emperor, before he would attend to any 
 other business, devoted three or four hours 
 to manoeuvring his soldiers, and teaching 
 them to mount guard after a fashion of his 
 own, which, according to military authority, 
 was as original as it was singular. His 
 wacht-parade (guard-parade) he regarded as 
 
A.B. 1796.1 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [changes in the executive. 
 
 a most important institution, and the central 
 point of his military system. This he had 
 tried, with what he believed to be success, 
 when he was grand-duke, when he had no 
 authority to consult but his own will, and 
 no opinion to regard beyond the limited 
 circle of his own staff. He believed that it 
 would apply, with equal certainty in its 
 results, to the imperial army; and that idea 
 so engrossed his attention, that he almost 
 abandoned all other objects in order to 
 dedicate himself assiduously to this strange 
 and fruitless design. So intent was he 
 upon the morning exercise, that he would 
 not permit any one to approach upon other 
 business, of whatever importance, while he 
 was thus engaged. In order to take away 
 all excuse for disturbing him at this time, 
 he established a sort of office on the stairs 
 of the palace, in which all letters were de- 
 posited ; Paul promising to read them in due 
 time, and furnish the necessary answers. 
 Every morning, no matter how intense the 
 cold might be, he was to be seen in the 
 courtyard of the palace. There, in a plain 
 dark-green uniform, jack-boots, and a large 
 hat, he exercised his guards, gave his orders, 
 received reports, published his favours, re- 
 wards, and punishments; and there every 
 officer had to be presented to hi in, as he 
 stood, surrounded by his sons and aides-de- 
 camp, stamping his heels on the pavement 
 to keep himself warm, his bald head bare, 
 his nose cocked up, one hand behind his 
 back, and with the other raising and sink- 
 ing his cane in due time, and crying " Raz, 
 dva; raz dva^' (one, two; one, two.) He 
 prided himself in braving a cold of fifteen or 
 twenty degrees of Reaumur without furs. 
 After this, none of the officers dared any 
 longer appear in pelisses; and the old 
 generals, tormented with coughs, gout, and 
 rheumatism, were obliged to form a circle 
 round Paul, dressed like himself 
 
 Though an advocate of the most servile, 
 passive obedience, and regarding himself as 
 the chief emblem in Europe of the autocratic 
 principle, Paul delighted in constant and 
 rapid changes in every department of the 
 state. So frivolous were his motives in 
 many instances, that it has been observed, 
 for anything to have subsisted under the 
 reign of his mother, was a sufficient reason 
 why it should cease to exist under him. 
 The changes which he commanded to be 
 observed in the civil departments of the 
 
 * Thia ptate of things was materially strengthened 
 by the absolute Paul during his brief reign, and 
 
 state, were even more capricious and unrea- 
 sonable than those he had accomplished in 
 social and military circles. The emperor 
 was, in fact, influenced by a rage for altera- 
 tion, which extended itself over every branch 
 of the public service. All the provincial 
 tribunals of the empire were remodelled, 
 and their seats changed. These sudden 
 movements produced great confusion and 
 misery, for upwards of 20,000 persons, hold- 
 ing responsible appointments, were thrown 
 out of employment. 
 
 The population of Russia had been divided 
 into two classes — the nobles and the pea- 
 santry. The middle class was so incon- 
 siderable, that it can scarcely be said to have 
 existed. The reader will have seen that 
 rank in that empire was rather a personal 
 than an hereditary affair. The will of the 
 sovereign could raise persons of the lowest 
 origin to the dignity of nobility, as Peter 
 the Great converted a peasant girl into an 
 empress, and an itinerant pie-boy into a 
 prince ; and as Catherine II. had raised ob- 
 scure officers to the highest rank which a 
 subject, not of the imperial blood, could 
 attain to. The path to nobility lay through 
 a variety of channels. It was sometimes 
 attained through military talents or civil 
 service, but more frequently by corruption 
 and favouritism. Paul abolished the former 
 dignities, probably with a view to conciliate 
 the old nobility. The result, however, was 
 the creation of a middle order of society, 
 possessed of wealth and the advantages of 
 education. These were repulsed from the 
 exclusive circle of the aristocracy, and thrown 
 back upon the community below them. It 
 has been well observed, that ''if ever a 
 revolution of a popular character were to 
 take place in Russia, it would spring from 
 the sympathies which were by this means 
 generated between the middle class and the 
 serfs ; the former, in a spirit of retaliation, 
 endeavouring to elevate the latter, and both 
 combining against the nobility. But the 
 overawing power of the throne, embodied in 
 the absolute authority of the emperor, who 
 may at any moment revoke or reconstruct, 
 give or take away the rights of his subjects, 
 renders the prospect of such a struggle ex- 
 tremely doubtful. Russia is, in fact, gov- 
 erned by ukases ; and all orders in the 
 country, as well as all its laws and institutes, 
 exist solely by the breath of the supreme 
 and irresponsible mouarch.* The whole 
 
 was rigidly maintained by his sons Alexander and 
 Nicholas. There was more freedom in Russia under 
 
 343 
 
CENSORSHIP OF THE PRESS.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [A.D. 1796. 
 
 empire, throughout its most minute ramifi- 
 cations, may be regarded as the most perfect 
 example of arbitrary government that has 
 ever subsisted in the world. So compre- 
 hensive and searching has been its despotism, 
 that even if political freedom were granted 
 to the people, they would be incapable of 
 turning it to advantage. They have been 
 kept in such a state of vassalage that they 
 are literally ignorant of the full meaning of 
 liberty. They understand it to mean nothing 
 more than exemption from labour, and per- 
 mission to leave the glebe to which they are 
 confined, and wander vagrantly, like loosened 
 cattle, into other pastui'es. Domestic ser- 
 vitude has become second nature to them, 
 and their notions of a happier mode of exist- 
 ence do not extend beyond a release from 
 immediate oppression." 
 
 An instrument so dangerous to despotic 
 governments as the press, was not likely to 
 escape the restrictive and rigorous hand of 
 Paul. He established a censorship of so 
 inquisitorial and severe a kind, that it 
 amounted almost to a prohibition of the 
 printing-press. Only three were allowed to 
 be used, and they were to be confined to 
 printing the numerous ukases of the em- 
 peror, books for the church, and such works 
 as should be approved of by the government 
 and the chief ecclesiastical dignitaries. The 
 importation of foreign catalogues was for- 
 bidden, that the people might not be made 
 acquainted with the progress of literature 
 and philosophy in other countries. Even 
 the insipid and emasculate volumes that 
 were permitted to be published, were obliged 
 to have stamped on their title-page the fact 
 that they had passed the censorship, and 
 obtained the imperial permission to be cir- 
 culated. Any person, also, who received a 
 book or newspaper of any kind from abroad, 
 was compelled to carry it immediately to the 
 committee appointed to control the press. 
 In almost any other country in Europe, such 
 a tyrannous edict would have produced a 
 revolution : but books are not even yet a 
 national want in Russia; even the higher 
 classes are not much given to literature, and 
 the intellect of the people is slow and slug- 
 gish — indeed, almost latent, as far as thought- 
 fulness and intellectual culture is concerned. 
 
 the sway of Catherine II. than there has ever been 
 since. Under that enlightened ruler, the Russian 
 empire bid fair to reach a degree of civilisation and 
 popular culture which it is now vain to expect, un- 
 less another sovereign of her intellectual calibre and 
 liberal sentiments succeeds to the sceptre of the 
 344 
 
 Thus the severity of Paul's despotic mea- 
 sures with regard to the press, was not so 
 severely felt as it is natural for Englishmen 
 to suppose. The suffering and feeble negro 
 does not feel, as a heavy burden, the chain 
 to which long use has accustomed him. 
 The Russian peasant who could not read, 
 and the Russian gentleman who seldom 
 cared to do so, did not feel very bitterly an 
 oppression which would be so intolerable to 
 Englishmen, that, amongst them, it could 
 not be maintained a day. 
 
 The new emperor extended his oppressive 
 regulations from books to education. He 
 forbade all his subjects to send their children 
 into Germany to be educated, assigning as 
 a reason, that dangerous principles were 
 inculcated in that country. All Russians 
 studying at foreign universities were com- 
 manded to return home, on penalty of con- 
 fiscation. At the same time, the appointment 
 of all foreigners to judicial or ecclesias- 
 tical positions in Russia, was declared null 
 and void. 
 
 But perhaps the most inquisitorial and 
 offensive of all these despotic whims, was a 
 command that all strangers in Russia should 
 regularly attend at their respective places of 
 worship, and rigidly perform all the rites 
 of their religion. Roman catliolics were 
 required to attend the confessional, to take 
 the sacrament of penance, and to pre- 
 pare themselves for receiving the host at 
 Easter. Any neglect in these matters 
 rendered them liable to be punished as 
 rebels ; yet, at the same time, the priests 
 were ordered only to give absolution to 
 such as should merit it — a regulation which 
 made the good-will of the priest necessary 
 for the safety of the individual. The catholic 
 church, which had been almost deserted, 
 was now crowded. The priests belonging 
 to it — French, Germans, Italians, and Poles 
 — took their seats in the confessionals. A 
 box was placed before every confessional, 
 and into it the presumed penitent was com- 
 pelled to drop a card, containing his name, 
 occupation, and address. Every evening 
 these cards were taken to the emperor, who 
 forgot the dignity of his exalted station in 
 performing the petty and obnoxious duties 
 of an agent of police. Every person, after 
 
 north. In reflecting upon Russia as it was under 
 the reign of Paul, and comparing it with the empire 
 as ruled by Catherine, we seem to have relapsed into 
 the barbaric past, rather than have gone forward into 
 the future. Catherine was an absolute monarch 
 her successors have been despots. 
 
A.D. 1796.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [financial difficulties. 
 
 confession, received a card of absolution, 
 which admitted him to the communion- 
 table, and exempted him from further per- 
 secution. The priests soon carried on a 
 profitable trade in these cards, which they 
 readily sold to those who desired the pro- 
 tection conferred by them, yet objected to 
 attending the confessional. With an osten- 
 tatious parade of charitable consideration, 
 the sick were informed that they might 
 require the confessor to attend them at 
 home; and the poor, that the host should 
 be carried to them gratis. It can scarcely 
 excite surprise, that after such despotic and 
 eccentric regulations as these, Paul should 
 prohibit the wearing of pantaloons and la- 
 pelled waistcoats. These articles of raiment 
 were placed in the same category with round 
 hats, and equally excited the irritability of 
 the moon-struck emperor. To such an ex- 
 tent did he carry his petty persecutions, 
 that hotel-keepers and those who let lodg- 
 ings were imperatively required to inform 
 against every person entering their houses 
 who wore the condemned pantaloons, hats, 
 and waistcoats, or who did not attend 
 church. 
 
 The long wars in which Russia was en- 
 gaged during the reign of Catherine, to- 
 gether with the great improvements she 
 effected, and her personal extravagance, had, 
 notwithstanding the great increase of the 
 revenue, produced certain pecuniary diffi- 
 culties which exerted a very injurious in- 
 fluence on the circulation. To meet the 
 heavy demands upon her, required greater 
 means than could be safely obtained by 
 taxation, in the existing state of the em- 
 pire. Catherine, therefore, adopted the ex- 
 pedient of introducing paper money into 
 circulation, and the Russian assignat came 
 into existence. In Russia a singular cause 
 operated in producing a diminution in the 
 circulation of the precious metals. The 
 serfs are not the legal possessors of their 
 own persons, much less of any property 
 they may be fortunate enough to accumu- 
 late. If they were known to possess pro- 
 perty, they would in most cases soon 
 be deprived of it by the cupidity of their 
 lords,* or the unblushing extortion of some 
 
 • The proprietor of the soil seldom hesitates to 
 seize, by some fraudulent pretext, the savings of the 
 peasant, when he discovers them. The following 
 painful example of this kind of oppression is related 
 in Clarke's Travels m Russia : — " A peasant, in the 
 village of Selo Molodi, near Moscow, who had been 
 fortunate enough to scrape together a little wealth, 
 ■wished to marry his daughter to a tradesman of the 
 2y 
 
 government official. The peasant, there- 
 fore, who had saved a little money, com- 
 monly buried it in some secret place, 
 frequently concealing the circumstance even 
 from his wife or children, lest they might 
 betray or plunder him. Thus, when a serf 
 was drawn for a soldier, sold by his master, 
 or removed to some other locality, it fre- 
 quently happened that the buried treasure 
 was never heard of again. Even in Moscow 
 and the large towns of the empire, the same 
 custom was observed ; and in this manner 
 large suras were constantly withdrawn from 
 the circulation. Gold was also sent out of 
 Russia, in large quantities, during this reign, 
 for the purpose of purchasing the services 
 of spies in other countries, and to prosecute 
 secret designs for objects of ulterior aggran- 
 disement. Thus, in Poland, immense sums 
 were lavished on the traitors who facilitated 
 the slavery of their native land ; in Moldavia, 
 to win over the nobility; in Constanti- 
 nople, to keep up a system of espionage ; 
 and in the Archipelago and other places, to 
 promote an insurrection among the Greeks, 
 and the subjects of the sultan in the Adriatic 
 gulf. 
 
 When Catherine had recourse to assignats, 
 she promised that she would not permit the 
 issue of these notes to exceed in value the 
 sum of 100,000,000 roubles, for which a 
 bank, established for that purpose, was 
 rendered responsible. For some time the 
 empress kept her word, and the issue of 
 assignats was in due proportion to the 
 amount of specie in reserve. The con- 
 venience of the new paper money, and the 
 confidence reposed in the empress, ren- 
 dered it so popular, that the course of 
 exchange rose, in time, to between two and 
 five per cent, in its favour. Catherine, 
 ignorant of the science of finance, supposed 
 that this favourable state of affairs might 
 be maintained, though the quantity of 
 assignats in circulation was materially in- 
 creased. Yielding to the temptation, she 
 therefore violated the promise she had 
 given, and issued assignats to the amount of 
 600,000,000 roubles, instead of 100,000,000, 
 to which she had promised to limit herself. 
 The result was, that the assignats fell 
 
 city ; and for that purpose, that she should be free, 
 he offered 15,000 roubles for her liberty ; a most 
 unusual price of freedom, and a much greater sum 
 than persons of his class will be found to possess. 
 The tyrant took the ransom, and then told the father 
 that both the girl and the money belonged to him ; 
 and, therefore, she must still continue among the 
 number of his slaves." 
 
 345 
 
Paul's financial experiments.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1796. 
 
 gradually in value, were at last altogether 
 rejected, and a calamitous panic ensued in 
 commercial circles. Not understanding 
 the cause of this, the empress continued to 
 multiply the quantity of assignats, and thus 
 increased the evil. She even issued a new 
 kind of paper money, called cabinet notes, 
 which partook something of the nature of 
 exchequer bills, and were put into circula- 
 tion for the purpose of discharging her own 
 private debts. They were payable at the 
 end of a year, and bore interest at the rate 
 of six per cent. ; but, in the event of the 
 interest not being claimed immediately 
 after the expiration of the year, it was 
 refused to be paid, nor would the treasury 
 reimburse the holders of the notes until they 
 had exacted a bonus from them. The con- 
 sequence of this was the ruin of thousands. 
 Tradesmen, into whose hands these notes 
 happened to fall, or "who were obliged to 
 accept them in cases of necessity, were glad 
 to negotiate them at a loss of forty per 
 cent. ; and at last it became impossible to 
 negotiate them upon any terms. The re- 
 sult of this breach of good faith was the 
 withdrawal of public confidence from the 
 empress, and the rapid disappearance of gold 
 and silver from circulation. 
 
 Still in ignorance of the cause of these 
 disasters, the empress persevered in a course 
 of error, by causing the coin of the empire 
 to be progressively adulterated, with the 
 object of diffusing a smaller intrinsic value 
 over a larger space. The inevitable result 
 followed ; credit fell rapidly, and the rouble 
 in specie sank below its intrinsic value ac- 
 cording to the rate of exchange in London 
 and Amsterdam. Many persons speculated 
 upon this disastrous state of things, by buy- 
 ing up the roubles, and reselling them in 
 Prussia and Austria, where they were melted 
 down, and reissued at a considerable advan- 
 tage. Gold and silver at length disappeared 
 from circulation, and nothing was left of the 
 metallic currency, except copper. Even 
 this was sent out of the country in large 
 quantities, in consequence of the dishonesty 
 of the ministers, who farmed out the mines 
 to their favourites, and participated in the 
 profits arising from a corrupt system, by 
 which the state was defrauded. By the 
 commencement of the year 1796, the bank, 
 unable to change the assignats, was on the 
 point of bankruptcy ; a calamity which the 
 
 ♦ The absurdity and injustice of this order will 
 be better understood if the reader will bear in 
 mind that the value of the silver rouble is about 
 
 346 
 
 (mpress endeavoured to avert by giving 
 orders for an adulteration of the* coin to 
 such an extent, as to recast them at double 
 their former value ; thus, the silver pieces 
 of ten kopecks were to pass for twenty, 
 and those of twenty for thirty. The death 
 of the empress prevented the issue of this 
 fraudulent coin, and the financial difficulties 
 of the state were left to be adjusted by her 
 successor. 
 
 Paul, on his accession, immediately sus- 
 pended the fabrication of this base coin, 
 and did not permit the quantity that had 
 been prepared to find its way into circula- 
 tion. With more wisdom than might have 
 been expected from him, he strove to restore 
 credit to the assignats ; and began by 
 diminishing their quantity. His earnestness 
 in the business, and the punishments he 
 threatened to inflict on any person in 
 authority who should be detected in cor- 
 rupt conduct with respect to the finances, 
 produced a feeling of confidence, and 
 brought about some beneficial results. The 
 assignats rose in value from ten to fifteen 
 per cent. Paul, however, soon showed that 
 he understood no more of the doctrines of 
 finance and currency than Catherine did. 
 Influenced alike by ignorance and despot- 
 ism, he issued an order, that the paper 
 rouble should pass at the same value as the 
 silver rouble.* He even employed his son, 
 the Grand-duke Constantine, to perform 
 the dishonourable task of visiting in dis- 
 guise the shops of tradesmen, for the pur- 
 pose of entrapping them into a violation of 
 the imperial order. Every one thus con- 
 victed of jobbing in money was severely 
 punished. 
 
 Of course, this arbitrary and ridiculous 
 expedient soon made matters worse than it 
 found them ; for the natural tendency of 
 such regulations is towards the entire ex- 
 tinction of commerce, or the reduction of it 
 to the primitive and inconvenient form of 
 barter. Paul then announced that he in- 
 tended to raise the assignat in estimation, 
 by publicly burning a number to the value 
 of 6,000,000 roubles. This ceremony was 
 accordingly performed with great gravity, 
 in the presence of the emperor, to whom 
 the ashes of the notes were solemnly pre- 
 sented. The assembled people raised shouts 
 of joy; but it was soon known that the 
 affair was a paltry and dishonest trick, from 
 
 four francs in French, or 3s. 4.d. in English money ; : 
 while the proper rouble is worth only about one j 
 franc, or tenpence. 
 
A.D. 1796.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [financial experiments. 
 
 which no good could result, as the assignats 
 wliich were destroyed did not form any part 
 of the quantity that had been sent iuto cir- 
 culation, but were a remnant of the stock 
 prepared by the empress Catherine, to be 
 used as her necessities might dictate. The 
 detection of this miserable subterferge ex- 
 posed Paul to the charges of insincerity, 
 and of trifling with the public disaster. 
 kt The next step of the imperial meddler 
 was to submit the matter to a committee of 
 finance; a thing which he ought to have 
 done at first. They were instructed to take 
 the subject into consideration, and then 
 make such proposals as appeared most likely 
 to effect the object in view. After some 
 deliberation, the committee concluded that 
 the best plan would be to put an increased 
 amount of the precious metals into circu- 
 lation. This was indisputable; but the 
 question was, how could it be done ? Where 
 was the gold, silver, and copper to come 
 from ? The mines were so badly managed, as 
 to be comparatively unproductive. Another 
 injurious and oppressive expedient was 
 therefore resorted to. A heavy duty was 
 laid upon all merchandise, whether imported 
 or exported ; and this duty was required to 
 be paid in foreign money, which it was in- 
 tended to recoin into imperials and roubles, 
 and put into circulation in Russia. The 
 result of this regulation was to inflict 
 another serious check on commerce. To 
 pay the duty on his goods, the merchant 
 was compelled to purchase dollars and 
 ducats, which necessarily rose in price as 
 the demand for them increased; so much 
 so, that he was compelled to pay them to 
 the government at a loss of about one-third 
 upon what they had cost him. He there- 
 fore placed an exorbitant price upon his 
 goods, besides resorting to smuggling ; for 
 which the extent of the frontiers and the 
 dishonesty of the officers afforded great op- 
 portunities. Thus, the advantages gained 
 by the new duties were lost by this means ; 
 and while these foolish experiments were in 
 progress, the credit of the assignats went 
 down again to the same ruinous point at 
 which Paul found it on his accession. 
 
 The finance committee being as ignorant, 
 and, consequently, as unlucky as their master, 
 the emperor devised a new scheme of his 
 own. This was to collect all the precious 
 metals to which the government could lay 
 claim in any part of the empire. Catherine 
 joved to shower gifts upon all who served 
 her, and to shed a splendour over everything 
 
 connected with her government. In the 
 exercise of this temper, she had caused 
 magnificent hotels to be erected in all the 
 chief towns, for the residence of the heads 
 of the several departments of the local 
 government. She also presented each 
 governor with a costly service of plate, to 
 be used on festivals and other public oc- 
 casions. There were twenty-three govern- 
 ments possessing services of this kind, the 
 least valuable of which had cost no less 
 than 50,000 roubles. Paul calculated that 
 much relief would be afforded by their con- 
 version into money; and the governors 
 were commanded to deliver them up to the 
 mint. When this order was complied with, 
 it was found that the intrinsic value of the 
 plate was comparatively so small, that it 
 would be of no avail in remedying the 
 scarcity of money. Paul had forgotten to 
 make allowance for the heavy charges of the 
 goldsmiths in fashioning the plate, or for 
 the expense of conveying it to the several 
 provinces. Vexed at this disappointment, 
 the foolish and irritable monarch ordered 
 the plate to be broken up and formed into 
 helmets, cuirasses, and other pieces of 
 armour, to be used at his approaching 
 coronation. This Avas done, and the silver 
 armour then given to the goldsmiths, as 
 payment for their labour in making it. 
 Such were the financial operations of the 
 emperor Paul ! 
 
 Notwithstanding the embarrassed state 
 of the national affairs, and the economical 
 pretensions of the new monarch, he soon 
 gave way to an extravagance as unmeaning 
 and frivolous as it was enormous. In his 
 coronation, he attempted to outvie even the 
 sumptuousness of Catherine. The costly 
 crown which had adorned her brow he re- 
 fused to wear, and ordered another to be 
 made of such magnificence, that its value 
 was estimated at several millions of roubles. 
 Catherine had given extravagant sums to 
 her favourites; but Paul was still more 
 lavish and reckless in his gifts. These were 
 bestowed only on persons already so wealthy, 
 that the increase merely served to pamper 
 their pride and power into demonstrations 
 of arrogance, dangerous both to the safety 
 of the throne and the interests of the 
 people. " Sycophants gorged by frauds," 
 observes an energetic writer, " received 
 presents from Paul that, had they been 
 more judiciously distributed, would have 
 maintained hundreds of families, and re- 
 warded the deserts of thousands who served 
 
 347 
 
TYRANNY OF PAUL.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1796. 
 
 the state with zeal^ in indigence and ob- 
 scurity. But it is one of the repulsive 
 characteristics of a pure despotism, that the 
 rich alone accumulate riches, while the poor 
 not only remain poor, but are oppressed in 
 proportion as the higher classes are raised 
 more and more above the reach of the 
 social sympathies. The impolicy of such 
 proceedings is apparent, not only in the 
 criminality of wasting the public resources 
 upon improper objects, but in the creation 
 of a craving and powerful bod)'^, whose 
 attachment to the throne being purchased 
 by expensive favours, is liable to be loosened 
 from it whenever the means of buying up 
 their support shall have become exhausted. 
 In this mainly consists the difference be- 
 tween a sovereignty based upon the willing 
 allegiance, the reasoning affections, and the 
 consistent gratitude of a nation ; and an 
 authority looking out upon its possessions 
 from behind a barrier of mercenaries, and 
 perpetually coerced into fresh acts of tyranny 
 by the very fears that arise from the con- 
 sciousness of insecurity .^^ 
 
 Not only did the emperor soon lose the 
 popularity that seemed inclined to attach to 
 him, in consequence of the first acts he per- 
 formed after his accession, but he incurred 
 general dislike. At court, a system of 
 espionage and humiliating etiquette created 
 a constant uneasiness and sense of fear. 
 The people were harassed with petty and 
 degrading regulations. A secret police paid 
 inquisitorial visits, at all hours, to the houses 
 of those who had excited the displeasure or 
 suspicion of the emperor. Midnight arrests 
 took place; citizens suddenly disappeared 
 from their accustomed haunts; eccentric 
 punishments were constantly inflicted ; and 
 a general panic prevailed. In the army, 
 the caprice and despotism of the emperor 
 spread terror amongst the officers. Any 
 breach of PauFs minute regulations fre- 
 quently elicited the severest punishments; 
 and the officers went to the parade pale and 
 fear-stricken. Even civilians, who, attracted 
 by curiosity, had come to witness the exer- 
 cise of the troops, were placed under arrest 
 by^the emperor, if their costume or their 
 looks chanced to displease him. St. Peters- 
 burg became a gloomy residence, where all 
 lived in a state of fear. No security re- 
 mained for life or liberty, and all who could 
 leave the city, did »o. Every one dreaded 
 
 to meet the emperor ; and he, aware of the 
 sentiments of fear and aversion which he 
 inspired, lived in a state of constant appre- 
 hension. He frequently reflected on the 
 fate of his presumed father, and dreaded 
 the dark designs of the assassin. As his 
 fears increased, his despotism became more 
 intolerable. Suspecting every one, he dis- 
 trusted even the empress. If she spoke in 
 a low voice, he immediately supposed that 
 some conspiracy against him was in pro- 
 gress. On one occasion, when she was en- 
 gaged in conversation with a foreign am- 
 bassador, he suddenly interrupted her by 
 saying, " You are preparing, perhaps, ma- 
 dam, to act the part of Catherine; but 
 know, that you will not find in me a 
 Peter III.^^ 
 
 Amidst Paul's tyrannies, he performed a 
 few charitable actions ; these were, however, 
 of so confined and petty a character, as to 
 be almost contemptible. At Moscow, he 
 converted an old building into a hospital, 
 where fifty patients were supported at his 
 expense. Sometimes he caused food to be 
 distributed to poor officers; a mode of bounty 
 which must have created a sense of degrada- 
 tion in those who received it. At other 
 periods, small sums of money were given to 
 certain distressed persons. But it has been 
 truly observed, that his charities, like 
 his military regulations, were essentially 
 microscopic. What good he did proceeded 
 from caprice, and not from benevolence; 
 and when contrasted with the sums he 
 wasted in needless expenditure, became 
 altogether insignificant. 
 
 The law promulgated by Paul, regulating 
 the succession to tlie throne, is regarded as 
 the wisest and most useful act performed 
 by him. This law corresponded with the 
 system generally adopted in the oldest 
 European states. By it the crown was to 
 descend to the eldest son and his male 
 issue; and in default of the latter, the 
 second son and his male issue -were to 
 inherit; but in default of males, the chil- 
 dren of the female descendants were to 
 succeed, always observing the same order 
 of proximity. When the successor was 
 under age, the reigning sovereign was to 
 appoint a regent; and in the event of his 
 failing to do so, the regency Avas to be con- 
 fided to the mother of the minor, or to the 
 nearest relative. 
 
/^(V^^^ 
 
 Q■^<^^J^mA^y^ha^;^ ^?. ^^^i^^ii^y^ ^^^4S!;:^4#^^^!^^^ '/7S'd'i!^/S'/:^'/0. 
 
 Tiry, LONDON I'RaNTING AN^D FTJBLISiilNG COM PAWr^ IilMITED 
 
A.D. 1796.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [the PERSIAN INVASION. 
 
 CHAPTER XLII. 
 
 PAUL RECALLS THE RUSSIAN TROOPS FROM THE PERSIAN TERRITORIES ; HIS HATRED OF THE FRENCH, AND 
 OF REVOLUTIONARY PRINCIPLES; HE ENTERS WITH ACTIVITY INTO THE ALLIANCE FORMED BY CATHERINE 
 WITH AUSTRIA AND ENGLAND, FOR THE PURPOSE OF CRUSHING THE REPUBLICAN GOVERNMENT OF 
 FRANCE, AND RESTORING MONARCHY IN THAT COUNTRY ; PAUL CAUSES HIMSELF TO BE ELECTICD GRAND- 
 MASTER OF THE KNIGHTS OF ST. JOHN OF MALTA ; SUWARUOW APPOINTED TO THE COMMAND OF THE 
 RUSSIAN AND AUSTRIAN ARMIES IN ITALY ; VICTORIES OF SUWARUOW; ILL-FEELING BETWEEN THE RUS- 
 SIAN AND AUSTRIAN TROOPS. 
 
 We have related that Catherine coveted 
 that portion of the Persian empire which 
 extended along the shores of the Caspian, 
 and sought to annex it to her own do- 
 minions. The expedition which she had 
 sent there, under General Zuboff, brother 
 to the favourite, had received a severe 
 check, and the result was rather matter 
 of disappointment than of congratulatiou 
 to Russia. Paul, on his accession, resolved 
 on the recall of an expedition which had 
 been neither wisely undertaken nor suc- 
 cessfully conducted. His attention was re- 
 quired in other directions ; but even if such 
 had not been the case, he would probably 
 have taken the same course in his eager 
 desire to reverse, wherever it was prac- 
 ticable, the policy of his predecessor. 
 
 A Avar with Persia seemed little more 
 than a mere wantonness and an idle parade 
 of power on the part of the empress. Such 
 was not, however, altogether the case. Her 
 motives have been thus ably analysed by a 
 writer to whom we have before been in- 
 debted :- — " Catherine had accustomed her 
 subjects to such warlike habits, and had 
 been so incessantly engaged in projects of 
 aggrandisement, that the peace she entered 
 upon with Sweden and Turkey plunged her 
 into a state of inactivity, which presented 
 too sudden a transition to be of long con- 
 tinuance. While she was thus releasing 
 herself from expensive and protracted wars, 
 the whole of the rest of Europe was in- 
 volved in contention. She had, therefore, 
 hardly closed the Turkish campaign, when 
 her restless spirit, repenting of that hasty 
 measure, longed for new fields of conquest, 
 and discovered, in the unsettled state of 
 Persia, a tempting region, not only for the 
 employment of her armies, but for enabling 
 her, indirectly, to resume that scheme of 
 ambition, in reference to the East, which 
 her treaty with Turkey had inopportunely 
 suspended. Inveterate as were her pre- 
 judices towards France, and anxious as she 
 was to embark in hostilities against that 
 
 power, she was not yet prepared to assist 
 Austria in its calamitous struggles, or to 
 venture upon the succour of Italy, Egypt, 
 and Malta. She perceived, in the spreading 
 acquisitions of France, the seeds of future 
 convulsions and the germ of an European 
 wax*, and craftily postponed the period of 
 her interference until the belligerent powers 
 should have become so exhausted by their 
 efforts that she could dictate her own terms. 
 England was engaged in a sanguinary war 
 with France, and Prussia was occupied with 
 her new acquisitions in Poland. The dis- 
 turbed stat;e of Europe was in the highest 
 degree favourable to her plans; and she 
 saw, when it was too late, that, had she 
 not concluded a peace with Turkey, the 
 time was arrived when she might have 
 marched, almost certain of victory, into 
 the dominions of the Porte, and planted 
 her standard on the walls of Constantinople. 
 The only available movement, therefore, 
 which remained opened to her, and which 
 presented the probable means of ultimately 
 extending her territories to the south ot 
 Europe and Asia, was an invasion of Persia. 
 The internal troubles which agitated that 
 country assisted her materially in the pro- 
 secution of her designs.^^ 
 
 Great natural obstacles lie in the way ot 
 the advance of an army from Russia into 
 Persia. The stupendous chain of the Cau- 
 casus mountains, extending from the shores 
 of the Caspian to those of the Black Sea, 
 seem as if designed by nature as a limit 
 to the nations on either side, and as a 
 barrier against their encroachments upon 
 each other. Yet Peter the Great had en- 
 deavoured to extend the power of Russia 
 beyond this gigantic barrier; and, notwith- 
 standing the failure of his effort, Catherine 
 made the same attempt. AVe have related 
 that General Zuboff and his forces captured 
 the town and fortress of Derbend, the capi- 
 tal of Daghestan; that the Russian army 
 suffered severely from contagion, followed 
 by a great mortality — was exposed to harass- 
 
 319 
 
RETUBN OF THE EXPEDITION.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 lA.d. 1797. 
 
 iug attacks from the fierce mountain tribes, 
 which, though successfully repulsed by the 
 Russians, inflicted on them such losses as 
 seriously reduced their ranks, and made 
 i large reinforcements necessary. In addition 
 I to these difficulties and misfortunes, the 
 i Russians received a severe check in a battle 
 with the Persians and the Lesghians, in 
 which, after a desperate conflict of several 
 hours' duration, neither side were in a con- 
 dition to claim a victory. Zubofl" had put 
 his troops into winter quarters, and was 
 waiting for further reinforcements, when 
 the death of the empress Catherine took 
 place. 
 
 Zuboff received, together with the news 
 of this event, an order from Paul to suspend 
 all operations, remain in his present quar- 
 ters, and make the army swear allegiance to 
 the new sovereign. The latter had resolved 
 on the abandonment of the expedition ; but, 
 with his usual eccentricity and want of 
 thought, he recalled the army in a manner 
 which exposed it to be cut to pieces on its 
 return to Russia: this, too, only for the 
 purpose of insulting a general who owed his 
 appointment solely to the favour of Cathe- 
 rine. After the lapse of a few weeks, a courier 
 arrived from St. Petersburg with a large 
 packet from the emperor, for General Zuboff". 
 The latter, upon opening it, was mortified 
 to find that it contained nothing more than 
 a number of sealed despatches directed to 
 the several commanding officers of the 
 j various regiments, but not a word addressed 
 I to himself. The indignity to which he was 
 i thus subjected, was augmented by the dis- 
 i covery that the despatches contained pe- 
 remptory orders to each officer to return 
 immediately to Russia by the shortest route. 
 On receiving these commands, the officers 
 represented to Zuboff", that it was not pos- 
 sible for them to march at such an incle- 
 ment season, especially as they were desti- 
 tute of forage for the horses, without the 
 requisite provisions for the troops, and when 
 the mountain passes, through which it was 
 necessary to pursue their way, wei'e choked 
 up with snow. The general could only 
 reply, that he had no longer the authority 
 to interfere, and that he durst not tamper 
 with the orders of the emperor. He then 
 dismissed the officers by saying, that how- 
 ever reasonable their statements were, they 
 must, at all hazards, comply with the em- 
 peror's injunctions. Broken up into sepa- 
 rate detachments, without a leader, or being 
 able to make the necessary preparation for 
 
 its perilous journey, the army began its 
 march. Each regiment took the route that 
 seemed best to its colonel. Concerted action 
 was therefore impossible, and the troops 
 fell into the utmost disorder on the road. 
 Their ignorance of the country, and the 
 confusion that pervaded their ranks, en- 
 tailed greater losses upon them than they 
 had suff'ered at the hands of their enemies. 
 After a miserable march of six weeks, the 
 straggling remnant of the Russian army 
 reached Kislar in the spring of 1797, re- 
 sembling a military mob rather than an 
 army. Zuboff himself, having received no 
 orders, remained behind with two battalions 
 of chasseurs. His situation was one of ex- 
 treme peril. In a hostile country, 400 i 
 miles from the Russian frontiers, and with 
 a mere handful of troops, he daily expected 
 to be surrounded and cut off by the Persians 
 or Lesghians. As he received no orders to 
 retreat, he at length resolved to do so with- 
 out orders, though at the risk of incurring 
 the displeasure of the emperor. On arri\ing 
 at St. Petersburg he resigned his com- 
 mission ; an example which was followed 
 by many of the officers who served under 
 him. This miserable termination of what 
 was intended to be a great invasion of Persia, 
 resulting in the conquest of that country, 
 may be usefully reflected on by those who 
 entertain fears that Russian troops could 
 ever proceed to India, and there contend 
 with the English for the sovereignty of that 
 vast peninsula. 
 
 With respect to European politics, Paul 
 seemed at first disposed to adopt a system 
 of neutrality in the great war between repub- 
 lican France and the allied powers. It was, 
 however, difficult for Russia long to remain 
 passive. The triumph of the democratic 
 principles in France, and the brilliant suc- 
 cesses of the armies of that nation ; its inva- 
 sion of Switzerland, of Rome, Naples, Malta, 
 and Egypt, added to the hatred which Paul 
 boi'e towards everything French, induced hioi 
 to alter his determination. The National 
 Convention of France had now, for several 
 years, assumed a hostile attitude towards 
 all the ancient aristocratic governments of 
 Europe, and not only threatened them with 
 a sweeping democratic propaganda, but also 
 promised that France would grant frater- 
 nity and assistance to all people who wished 
 to recover their liberty. This was a fatal 
 position to take up, and necessarily pro- 
 duced retaliation. Austria, Prussia, and 
 England endeavoured to avenge and rein- 
 
A.D. 
 
 1798.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [alliance against France. 
 
 state the Bourbons; and the wars of the 
 Revolution were the result. 
 
 Catherine, though pi'epared to interfere, 
 had held aloof from the struggle, with the 
 intention of deciding it in favour of Russia 
 when the mutual exhaustion of the conflict- 
 ing parties became apparent. Prior to the 
 revolution she had liked the French; but 
 that great convulsion, which tore up mon- 
 archy by the roots, and, for a while, tram- 
 pled order into the dust, had excited in her 
 a feeling of dread and hatred, on account of 
 its being the birthplace of those principles 
 which threatened to destroy every European 
 despotism. This was the only point on 
 which Paul sympathised with the late em- 
 press, and on this he went beyond it. Not 
 only did he bitterly detest the republican 
 and anti-religious opinions so prevalent 
 in France, but he disliked the French 
 people themselves. Their natural gaiety 
 was offensive to the sullen austerity of his 
 nature, while their repugnance to dead for- 
 malisms seemed to censure a man whose 
 life was devoted to the establishment and 
 elaborate performance of minute, and, com- 
 monly, senseless and frivolous formalities. 
 Paul insisted on the most rigid observance 
 of the externals of religion, because they 
 formed the bulwark of his government ; and 
 though he kept an ugly and diminutive 
 mistress, he professed a great admiration 
 for morality. Never does it seem to have 
 occurred to this strange creature, that his 
 whole life, passed in selfishness, caprice, 
 violence, and cruelty, was one of prolonged 
 outrage upon both religion and morality. 
 He condemned the French for their want 
 of religion and morality. He sincerely be- 
 lieved them to be the most immoral people 
 in the woi'ld ; and, as it has been happily 
 expressed, " he, with his usual inconsistency 
 and extravagance, hated them less for the 
 faults which he found in them, than for the 
 faults which his implacable prejudices as- 
 signed to them. Catherine liked the 
 French, until the revolution inspired her 
 with vengeance against a country which 
 had shown an example so fraught with 
 perils to the old despotisms : Paul hated 
 the French long before the revolution had 
 furnished him with a feasible excuse for 
 hostilities. This was precisely the differ- 
 ence between them : that Catherine acted 
 in a spirit of watchful policy; and Paul took 
 the current of his passions, which hap- 
 pened in this instance to run in the same 
 ; channels." 
 
 Before the accession of Paul, he is re- 
 ported to have made this memorable obser- 
 vation — " In whatever light, and in what- 
 ever circumstances I wish to view an 
 emperor of Russia, his noblest part will 
 always be that of a pacificator." The new 
 emperor was, however, influenced by no prin- 
 ciples ; and if, as is most probable, he made 
 this remark, he never retained it in mind as 
 a guide of his conduct. In the February of 
 1795, an alliance, offensive and defensive, 
 was formed between Russia, England, and 
 Austria, with the object of acting against 
 the republican government of France, the 
 extinction of the revolution, and the restora- 
 tion of monarchy in that country. This 
 alliance was not, as we have shown, pro- 
 ductive of any great results at the time. 
 Catherine desired to husband her strength, 
 and to hold the balance between the great 
 contending powers ; she aimed, in fact, at 
 being the arbitress of the affairs of Europe. 
 Prussia held aloof from this triple alliance, 
 and, in the April of the same year, made 
 peace v/ith the republic, to which Spain had 
 already submitted. 
 
 Catherine, at the time of her death, had 
 an army of from 40,000 to 50,000 men, 
 under General Suwarrow, assembled in 
 Galicia, with the object of joining the 
 troops of her allies against France. Paul, 
 who disliked Suwarrow, and feared a general 
 who was so popular with the soldiery, grasped, 
 as we have seen, at a petty opportunity of 
 depriving him of his command. But the 
 solicitations of Austria and the subsidies of 
 England, now induced Paul to enter into 
 active hostilities against France. He agreed 
 to assist Austria with 60,000 Russians ; and 
 in the December of 1798 he entered into 
 an engagement with England, by which he 
 bound himself to furnish an auxiliary force 
 of 45,000 men, to act with the British troops 
 in the north of Germany; in return for 
 which, England was to provide a monthly 
 subsidy of £75,000, and an immediate ad- 
 vance of £225,000. 
 
 In entering actively upon the war, Paul 
 was, however, influenced by another and 
 more personal consideration. The island 
 of Malta was granted by the emperor 
 Charles V., in 1530, to the grand-master 
 and religious fraternity of St. John of Jeru- 
 salem, who had recently been expelled from 
 Rhodes by the Turks. The knights of St. 
 John thus became sovereigns of Malta, and 
 were independent, with the exception of a 
 
 trifling annual feudal acknowledgment 
 
 351 
 
 of 
 
QUARREL CONCERNING AL^LTA.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1798. 
 
 tenure to the king of Sicily. To protect 
 the island against the Turks and the pirates 
 of the Mediterranean, they commenced 
 those famous fortifications which remain to 
 the present day. The knights -were di^dded 
 amongst themselves by dissensions, and a 
 few of their number ofi'ered to surrender, 
 or rather to sell, the island to Russia. 
 They had applied to Catherine upon the sub- 
 ject, but she declined to avail herself of 
 their proffered treachery. On the offer 
 being made to Paul, he accepted it ; but he 
 was so long in arranging the details of the 
 bargain, that it slipped from his grasp. In 
 1798, the French expedition which was con- 
 veying Napoleon to Egypt, made its ap- 
 pearance before Malta; and the fortress, 
 which was held to be impregnable, capitu- 
 lated without firing a shot. The cause of 
 this was, that while one section of the 
 knights were engaged in selling the island 
 to Paul, anothor section, including Baron 
 Homspesch, the grand-master, concluded 
 arrangements for the same purpose with 
 Napoleon. The grand-master was to re- 
 ceive 600,000 francs, a principality in Ger- 
 many, or a pension for life of 300,000 
 francs ; while to each of the French cheva- 
 liers was awarded a pension of 700 francs 
 per annum. The successful conspirators 
 had taken their measures with so much 
 precaution, that when the French fleet ar- 
 rived, the batteries were unarmed, the gar- 
 rison was scattered in disadvantageous situa- 
 tions, besides being almost destitute of 
 stores and ammunition. It was fortunate 
 for the captors that such was the case, for 
 j the fortifications of La Yalette were so 
 ! strong, that they might have baflfled the 
 I whole power of the French fleet and army, 
 j even supposing that Napoleon could have 
 spared time for the siege. As he and his 
 staff passed through the triple line of for- 
 tifications. General Caffarelli observed to 
 him, that " it was lucky there was some one 
 within to open the massive gates to them ; 
 for had the place been altogether empty, 
 they would have found it rather difficult to 
 get into it." Thus fell one of tlie most 
 renowned fortresses in the world ; the mag- 
 nificent plate, and other treasures of the 
 order, were taken on board the French 
 fleet ; and Napoleon, leaving a garrison be- 
 hind him, departed for Egypt. 
 
 This disappointment greatly irritated 
 
 Paul, who had made so sure of possessing 
 
 Malta, that he had already appointed a 
 
 governor of it. The power of France seemed 
 
 352 
 
 to be taking that aggressive course which, 
 in Paul's estimation, was only to be fol- 
 lowed by Russia. He was also encouraged 
 by the subsequent destruction of the French 
 fleet by Nelson, at the battle of the Nile — 
 a circumstance which broke the charm of 
 republican invincibility. Now he believed 
 was tlie time when the arms of France 
 might be effectually resisted ; and he pub- 
 lished a declaration, announcing that he 
 was ready, witli all the force of his arms and 
 the resources of his empire, to assist in 
 restoring the old relations among the Euro- 
 pean states, and to arrest the progress of 
 anarchy and democratic principles. As to 
 Malta, though it was then in the possession 
 of the French, he became grand-master, in 
 name, of the really now extinct order of 
 the Knights of St. John. Those who re- 
 sided within the Russian empire, declared 
 the Baron Von Homspesch and his com- 
 panions to be traitors, and they appealed to 
 the protection of the emperor. Paul gave 
 a gracious response, and caused them, in 
 their names, and in those of their absent 
 brethren, to elect him as grand-master. 
 It was a strange anomaly, to see the head of 
 the Greek church in Russia assume the 
 office of grand-master of the catholic order 
 of St. John of Malta. At the same time, 
 the invasion of Egypt by Napoleon had 
 drawn the Porte into the league against 
 France. A curious and confused spectacle 
 was thus presented. The union with the 
 Turks of the grand-master of Malta, whose 
 first vow was the extermination of the INIus- 
 sulmans ; the advance of the battalions of 
 Russia, decorated with the catholic cross of 
 St. John of Jerusalem, the schismatic cross 
 of St. Andrew of Russia, and the protestant 
 cross of St. Anne of Holstein, fighting be- 
 side the standard of the prophet, to re- 
 establish the pope in Rome, Catholicism in 
 France, and Islamism in Egypt, was a sight 
 at once strange and perplexing. 
 
 The Russian army commenced its march 
 under General Rosamberg, and proceeded 
 to cross the south of Germany. Tlie inso- 
 lence of some of the Russian officers towards 
 the Austrians, and the misconduct of the 
 Russian troops, who not unfrequently ap- 
 propriated whatever they could put their 
 hands on, and ill-treated those who com- 
 plained, caused the emperor, Francis II., to 
 represent to Paul the absolute necessity of 
 recalling Suwarrow, whose influence over 
 the soldiers was absolute, and whose fame 
 would be a prestige of victorv. For this 
 
A.D. 1799.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [war with FRANCE. 
 
 there was also a further reason. The Rus- 
 sian officers affected to despise the Aus- 
 trians, while the latter were too proud to 
 submit to the command of Russian generals 
 who had not acquired a distinguished mili- 
 tary reputation. Paul hesitated to appoint 
 Suwarrow, for his ill-feeling towards that 
 remarkable man had not subsided. He 
 was, however, induced, by repeated remon- 
 strances, to sacrifice his personal feelings to 
 what was regarded as the interest of the 
 common cause of the allies. 
 
 Suwarrow, on being dismissed from his 
 command, retired, in the first instance, to 
 Moscow. There the stories in circulation 
 concerning his exploits rendered him an 
 object of universal interest. The vindictive 
 Paul, therefore, issued an order requiring 
 the old general to leave the city, and take 
 up his residence in a remote village. When 
 this order was presented to the eccentric 
 soldier, he inquired what time was allowed 
 him for settling his affairs ? " Four hours," 
 was the reply of the police officer. *' Oh \" 
 exclaimed the veteran, in a sarcastic tone, 
 " this is too kind 1 an hour is sufficient for 
 Suwarrow." At the end of that time he had 
 packed up his gold and jewels in a case, 
 and was ready to depart. A travelling car- 
 riage was placed at his disposal ; but re- 
 garding it contemptuously, he exclaimed, 
 " Suwarrow has no need of a coach to go 
 into exile ; he can go there in ^he same 
 equipage which he made use of to repair to 
 the court of Catherine, or to the head of 
 the armies. Bring me a cart !" A cart 
 Avas provided accordingly ; and in this un- 
 comfortable vehicle did the general, accom- 
 panied by the police officer, perform a dreary 
 journey of 500 versts. On arriving at his 
 destination, he took up his residence in a 
 wooden hut, where he remained under the 
 surveillance of some subaltern officers of the 
 police. There his solitude was made more 
 oppressive by his not being permitted either 
 to write or to receive visitors. On one 
 occasion, Paul, either from caprice or from 
 some better feeling towards the veteran, 
 sent a courier to him with a letter, ad- 
 dressed, "To Field -marshal Suwarrow." 
 " This is not for me \" exclaimed the old 
 soldier; "if Suwarrow were field-marshal, 
 he would not be banished to a village ; he 
 would be seen at the head of the army." 
 So saying, he returned the letter unopened, 
 nor could any representations induce him 
 to receive it. Paul was irritated that he 
 could not subdue the spirit of the warrior, 
 2z 
 
 and caused the guard about him to be 
 made more strict than before. Shortly 
 after this, Paul was compelled, by his own 
 interests and the representations of the 
 Austrian emperor, to reinstate the field- 
 marshal, which he did with more grace 
 than might have been expected from him. 
 " I have resolved," he wrote, " to send you 
 into Italy, to the assistance of his majesty 
 the king and emperor, my brother and 
 ally. Suwarrow has no need of triumphs 
 or laurels, but my country has need of 
 him; and my wishes agree with those of 
 Francis II., who, having conferred on you 
 the supreme command of his Italian army, 
 begs you to accept that dignity." On re- 
 ceiving this epistle, Suwarrow forgot his in- 
 juries, and joyfully accepted the command. 
 The whole of ^Russia also looked forward, 
 with expectant pride and elated enthusiasm, 
 to the honours which the conqueror of 
 Ismail was to win for the empire. 
 
 Suwarrrow and his battalions arrived, in 
 the April of 1799, on the banks of the 
 Mincio, and took the command of the allied 
 Russian and Austrian troops in Italy. The 
 extravagant flatteries recently lavished upon 
 him, had naturally fostered the high opinion 
 he entertained of his OAvn genius as a general, 
 and the superiority of his troops over those 
 of other countries. The jealousy of the 
 Austrian officers was revived by the arro- 
 gance of his speech and bearing. He already 
 talked of the capture of Paris, the restora- 
 tion of the government of the Bourbons, 
 and the punishment of all revolutionary 
 atheists. The Austrian generals called a 
 council of war, for the purpose of hearing his 
 plans, and taking them into consideration. 
 Councils of this kind were held in contempt 
 by Suwarrow, and that not without reason. 
 A perfect army acts like a vast living ma- 
 chine, pervaded by one undivided and abso- 
 lute will. Question that will, and its unity 
 is destroyed ; destroy the unity of an army, 
 and its efficiency is gone. The members of 
 the council, beginning at the youngest, pro- 
 posed their several schemes. Suwarrow 
 listened in silence ; and, when all had spoken, 
 he took a slate, drew two lines on it, and 
 said, " Here, gentlemen, are the French, 
 and here the Russians ; the latter will march 
 against the former and beat them." Then 
 he rubbed out the French line, and added, 
 "This is all my plan; the council is con- 
 cluded." 
 
 Just before the arrival of the Russians, the 
 French army in Italy had suffered a defeat 
 
 353 
 
SUWAKROW IN ITALY.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1799. 
 
 at the hands of the Austrians at Magnano. 
 In consequence of this, Scherer, the general 
 in command^ had been superseded by the 
 able Moreau, who had recently attained 
 great distinction in the field against the 
 Austrians. Moreau found the French troops 
 reduced to the number of 28,000, and so 
 much wasted by sickness and slaughter, that 
 it was impossible for them to maintain 
 their position. He therefore retired towards 
 Milan, leaving immense military stores, 
 parks of artillery, and a bridge equipage in 
 the hands of the enemy. This movement 
 favoured the operations of the latter ; for the 
 Archduke Charles (who commanded the 
 Austrian forces) and General Suwarrow had 
 adopted the plan of making such a diversion 
 of the French armies in Switzerland and 
 Italy, as would enable the allies ultimately 
 to prevent all communication between them ; 
 and, forming a junction of their own troops, 
 to penetrate into France by the defiles of 
 the Jura and the defenceless Vosges — the 
 same quarter on which the great invasion of 
 1814 was afterwards effected. 
 
 Moreau had deemed it prudent to take up 
 a position on the right bank of the Adda, 
 where he posted his forces in three divisions. 
 Suwarrow, who had lost none of the energy 
 of his earlier days, was speedily upon them, 
 and, before the French had time to concen- 
 trate their strength, he forced the passage of 
 the river in two places, thus dividing the 
 enemy's battalions into three parts, which 
 enabled him to beat them in detail. One 
 division was driven back towards Milan with 
 a loss of 3,400 men, of which 1,100 were 
 taken prisoners; another, after a brave 
 resistance, threw down their arms ; while the 
 tliird was thrown into such confusion that 
 they fled at the first shock. It is estimated 
 that, in tliis opening engagement, the French 
 lost 11,000 men, besides being driven from 
 their most formidable positions. Suwarrow 
 and the allies pushed on for Milan, which 
 city they entered in triumph on the 29th 
 of April. Suwarrow received the captive 
 French oflBcers with an ironical ceremony, 
 which, though very humiliating, was better 
 treatment than they had expected, as the 
 barbarity of the Russian soldiers had be- 
 come proverbial among the other nations of 
 Europe. Indeed, it has been asserted, that 
 the Austrians found it necessary to escort 
 the captured French soldiers through tlie 
 ranks of the ferocious Russians, who would 
 otherwise have massacred them without hesi- 
 tation. 
 
 354 
 
 Suwarrow should have instantly pursued 
 the discomfited French; but he remained 
 for more than a week at Milan, absorbed by 
 the festivities with which he was congratu- 
 lated in that city. During that time the 
 shattered remains of the French army 
 eff'ected their retreat, after securing the 
 communications with the adjacent passes of 
 the Alps ; the one towards Alexandria, with 
 a view to occupy the defiles of Bocchetta 
 and the approaches to Genoa; and the 
 other, commanded by Moreau, to the plain 
 between the Po and the Fanaro, at the foot 
 of the northern slope of the Apennines. 
 The commander of the allied imperial forces 
 at length left Milan, and pushed forward 
 with the design of forcing the Po, turning 
 the left of the French, and drawing them 
 into a general and conclusive action. 
 
 Moreau poured down upon the allies with 
 such resistless force, that Suwarrow deemed 
 it prudent to retire from the opposite bank 
 of the Po, and to march upon Turin, then 
 the chief depot of the French magazines. 
 After this he designed to cut off the commu- 
 nication of Moreau with France. Turin 
 was captured by the allies, and the French 
 garrison forced to take refuge in the citadel, 
 and to leave in the hands of the enemy 
 nearly 300 pieces of artilleiy, 60,000 mus- 
 kets, and an enormous quantity of ammuni- 
 tion and military stores. This heavy loss 
 deprived Moreau of all his resources, and 
 threatened his army with destruction. But 
 his high spirit triumphed over his apparently 
 desperate circumstances. Invincible to the 
 last, he strove to form a junction with the 
 army at Naples, under the command of 
 Macdonald, and endeavoured to regain his 
 position on the west of the Apennines, so 
 as to cover the avenues to Genoa. With 
 Suwarrow close upon his rear, he succeeded, 
 by indefatigable labour, in making a rugged 
 mountain path across the Apennines, prac- 
 ticable for artillery and waggons, in four 
 days; and over this precipitous track he 
 defiled in excellent order, and reached the 
 southern side of the mountains without in- 
 terruption. The French army was saved; 
 but the Italian conquests of Napoleon had, 
 with the exception of a few fortresses, been 
 wrested from the grasp of his countrymen. 
 The French standards, which had recently 
 floated on the towers of the principal cities 
 of Lombardy, were now shivering in the 
 desolate snows of the Alps. 
 
 Macdonald and Moreau made arrange- 
 ments for a junction of their forces, with the 
 
A.I>. 
 
 1799.1 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [battle of the trebbia. 
 
 hope of dislodging the allies from their con- 
 quests. The former, in his progress, with an 
 army of 37,000 men, obtained a victory over 
 Prince Hohenzollern, who lost 1,500 men 
 in the engagement. This success was fol- 
 lowed by others ; and Macdonald became 
 master of Parma, Placentia, and the wliole 
 of the country in that direction. He also 
 compelled Field-marshal Ott to retire be- 
 hind the Tidone, in preference to risking a 
 pitched battle in the open plains. 
 
 Suwarrow was soon on the alert ; and on 
 the 1 7th of June he arrived within sight of 
 Macdou aid's forces, which he resolved to 
 attack the following day. The energy of 
 Macdonald, however, led to an almost im- 
 mediate engagement, which took place on 
 the banks of the Trebbia. The Austrians 
 were at first driven back in great disorder 
 by the impetuous attack of the French ; but 
 Suwarrow succeeded in turning the fortune 
 of the day. The French retired in excellent 
 order, until a wild charge of Cossacks on 
 their flank threw them into confusion. The 
 latter, pursuing with too much temerity, 
 received a check in their turn, and great 
 numbers of them were mowed down by the 
 grapeshot of their opponents. 
 
 Each army made preparations during the 
 night for a general engagement on the fol- 
 lowing day. It was, however, noon before 
 the Russians and Austrians were ready, and 
 Suwarrow then led them against the French, 
 who were drawn up in order of battle on 
 the banks of the river. The latter crossed 
 the river and charged the allies; but they 
 met with a repulse. The conflict lasted 
 until night, and was carried on with great 
 fury. When twilight and exhaustion closed 
 this second day's struggle, the French had 
 been driven back across the stream, after 
 suffering a sevei'e loss. The hostile armies 
 lay during the night with their arms by 
 their sides, and the soldiers resting upon 
 their guns. At midnight an alarm took 
 place, and the French rushed into the river 
 and fired upon the Russian videttes. Both 
 armies were aroused, and the firing was con- 
 tinued for some time upon each side. 
 
 At ten o'clock the next morning the battle 
 was renewed for the third time. Again the 
 French were the assailants, and plunging 
 into the river, they pushed on vigorously, 
 and outflanked the Russian right. The 
 latter sufi'ered considerably, but fought with 
 great firmness. They were at length driven 
 back ; but being reinforced by several batta- 
 lions, the French were repulsed in their 
 
 turn, and compelled to reoross the river. 
 They also crossed the stream at anothef 
 point under a shower of grapeshot, and, 
 making a successfnl bayonet charge on the 
 centre of the allies, succeeded in carrying all 
 the batteries of the Austrians under Mehis, 
 and in throwing the whole line into confu- 
 sion. But their good fortune did not con- 
 tinue ; they soon became the assailed instead 
 of the assailants : the battle raged Avith fury 
 along the entire line, and Suwarrow at length 
 became master of the whole left bank of the 
 river. But his attempts to pass to the op- 
 posite side were repulsed by the closeness and 
 rapidity of the French fire. Night again sepa- 
 rated the combatants and ended this severe 
 conflict, prolonged over a period of three days. 
 
 Each side had suffered heavy losses. 
 That of the French, in killed and wounded, 
 was estimated at 12,000 men; while that of 
 the allies was not much less. Macdonald, 
 exhausted by so severe a conflict, feared to 
 risk a renewal of the engagement. Aban- 
 doning his wounded, he retreated during 
 the night, and directed his course towards 
 the Apennines. Unhappily for him, a des- 
 patch which he forwarded to Moreau, de- 
 scribing the forlorn state of his army and 
 the line of his retreat, fell into the hands of 
 Suwarrow, who, acting instantly upon this 
 information, commenced a vigorous pursuit. 
 The French were overtaken, and attacked 
 both in front and flank. Immense num- 
 bers were taken prisoners, and the rest 
 driven to seek refuge in the mountains. 
 Amongst the captives were four generals 
 and 506 officers. When Macdonald could 
 safely pause to review his broken battalions, 
 he discovered that, in this unfortunate cam- 
 paign, he had lost no less than 15,000 men. 
 In this famous battle the advantages lay 
 with the allies ; but it is only just to admit, 
 that the honours of the day were divided. 
 The French historians are naturally un- 
 willing to admit that Macdonald was de- 
 feated. They say that the French could 
 not conquer, but that they were not con- 
 quered. 
 
 In the meantime, Moreau had met with 
 a better fortune than his brother in arms. 
 While the Russians were pursuing Mac- 
 donald, he had thrown four battalions of 
 the Austrians, under Bellegarde, into con- 
 fusion, and raised the siege of Tortona. 
 Suwarrow, therefore, abandoned the further 
 pursuit of Macdonald, and marched against 
 Moreau. 
 
 The latter retreated before the advance 
 
 355 
 
BATTLE OF NOVI.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1799. 
 
 of the Russian general, and, on finding 
 himself hard pressed, retired to his former 
 defensive position in the mountains. It 
 has been asserted, and with much proba- 
 bility, that if Suwarrow had been allowed 
 to have followed up his advantages, he 
 would, in this campaign, have completed 
 the conquest of Italy, and penetrated into 
 the south of France. But the Aulic Coun- 
 cil, which governed the great movements of 
 the war, had issued positive orders not to 
 extend the operations of the army beyond 
 the Apennines, until all the fortified places 
 in Lombardy had been reduced. The siege 
 of these fortresses had been interrupted by 
 the other operations of the campaign ; and, 
 with the exception of the citadel of Turin, 
 all these strongholds were garrisoned by 
 French troops. Suwarrow, therefore, Avas 
 restrained from pressing forward at a mo- 
 ment favourable to victory. The truth 
 was, that the cabinet of Vienna was jealous 
 of the successes of the Russians, and by no 
 means pleased to see Suwari-ow play the 
 master in Italy. Francis II. desired to 
 check the French, but not to give too great 
 a preponderance to the increasing power of 
 Russia. Francis and his ministers were de- 
 sirous to get into their own hands the whole 
 of the Italian conquests. Now, therefore, 
 that the republican forces had been shat- 
 tered by a series of disasters, and that 
 nothing remained to secure the possession of 
 Italy but the subjugation of the fortresses, 
 they wished to relieve themselves from the 
 presence of their formidable ally, whose in- 
 terference on the shores of the Mediterra- 
 nean, except under such an emergency as 
 had originally called him there, was not 
 regarded without some vague apprehensions 
 both by Austria and England. An expla- 
 nation took place between the allied powers, 
 and it was agreed that the whole of the 
 Russian troops, after the fall of Alexandria 
 and Mantua, should be directed by Suwar- 
 row against Switzerland, while the Austrians 
 should be left to prosecute the war in Italy. 
 Indeed, so much ill-feeling existed between 
 the Russian and. Austrian troops, that it 
 would have been difficult, under any circum- 
 stances, to have held them together much 
 longer. Yet their separation was productive 
 of calamitous consequences, for neither 
 Austria nor Russia alone were a match for 
 the brave and enthusiastic troops of France. 
 Some time was lost in comparative inac- 
 tivity by the alUes. This the French used 
 to great advantage. The two divisions of 
 356 
 
 their army in Italy were reunited, Mac- 
 donald was recalled, large reinforcements 
 arrived from France, and the youthful but 
 brave and gifted hero, Joubert, was ap- 
 pointed to the command. Moreau, superior 
 to any feeling of jealousy, accompanied the 
 army, and, while he served under Joubert, 
 gave him the benefit of his experience. 
 Suwarrow, who, in obedience to his orders, 
 had been watching over the progress of the 
 sieges, on receiving information of the ap- 
 proach of the republican army, immediately 
 made preparations to meet and encounter 
 it. The desperate battle of Novi, which 
 was fought on the 15th of August, followed. 
 Joubert, whose army amounted to 43,000 
 men, rashly advanced from a secure posi- 
 tion into the presence of a far superior 
 force. Suwarrow immediately took advan- 
 tage of this error, and fell upon the French 
 while unprepared. Early in the day, Jou- 
 bert was shot while in the act of waving 
 his hat and exclaiming — " Forward, grena- 
 diers ! let us throw ourselves upon the 
 tirailleurs V He expired almost imme- 
 diately; his last words being — "Advance, 
 my friends, advance \" Great disorder fol- 
 lowed his death, but this was retrieved by 
 Moreau, who then assumed the command. 
 The contest was resumed, and the Austrians 
 were driven back, and would have been 
 compelled to retreat, had not the Russians 
 pressed forward to their assistance, at the 
 price of a terrible carnage amongst them- 
 selves. The grapeshot of the flying artil- 
 lery and masked batteries, and the destruc- 
 tive discharge of the musketry of the French, 
 swept down whole companies of those fear- 
 less men. Yet as fast as their ranks were 
 destroyed they were replaced by fresh bat- 
 talions, who were sacrificed in the same 
 way by the steady and effective fire of 
 the French. Yet these courageous troops, 
 closing their ranks as rapidly as they were 
 thinned, still pressed onwards, to the cry of 
 "Perod! perod!''*and"Nieboss! niebossl^f 
 and, with bayonets charged, advanced, in a 
 spirit of invincible obstinacy, to receive 
 their deaths by the side of their expiring 
 comrades. The conduct of the Russians on 
 this, as well as on every other occasion 
 throughout the war, justifies the remark of 
 Frederic the Great, that "it was less diffi- 
 cult to kill them than to conquer them.^' 
 This attempt to force the French lines 
 
 * Forward ! forward ! 
 
 t Never fear! never fear ! War-cries of the Rus- 
 sians in battle. 
 
A.D. 
 
 1799.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [the battle or novi. 
 
 utterly failed, and Suwarrow, therefore, re- 
 solved to concentrate his forces for a gene- 
 ral and decisive attack. This also was 
 withstood by the firm array and masterly 
 organisation of the French, who hurled 
 back their assailants with a storm of fire. 
 The energetic Austrian general, Kray, re- 
 turned ten times to the charge, and on each 
 occasion was driven back with great loss. 
 A frightful slaughter was continued for four 
 hours, and then, both sides exhausted by 
 fatigue, and perhaps appalled by the sangui- 
 nary nature of the battle, lapsed into a sus- 
 pension of hostilities. The arrival of Melas, 
 with the left wing of the alHed army, in- 
 duced Suwarrow to return to the attack. 
 He himself led the main body of the allied 
 army, like a torrent, against the centre of 
 the French, while Kray and Melas fell upon 
 the right and left wing. The French at 
 length gave way ; and Moreau, seeing that 
 the day was hopeless, prepared for retreat. 
 But his troops were so completely sur- 
 rounded, that it was found impossible to 
 effect this in good order. Whichever way 
 they turned, the bayonets of their antago- 
 nists gleamed upon them, and they fled in 
 disorder across the broken grounds in their 
 rear. The allies were too much exhausted 
 to pursue them, and were so crippled by 
 their own losses, that they had little more 
 than the name of a victory. The loss of 
 the allies was estimated at 1,800 killed, 
 5,200 wounded, and 1,200 prisoners ; that of 
 the French at 1,500 killed, 5,500 wounded, 
 and 3,000 prisoners. In addition to this, 
 they lost thirty-seven cannon, twenty-eight 
 caissons, and four standards. Still the 
 battle of Novi led to no material advantage 
 on the part of the allies. Nothing was de- 
 cided by it : both armies fought with courage 
 and brilliancy ; both experienced enormous 
 losses; and the French were able, after its 
 conclusion, to return to their former posi- 
 tion. This engagement closed the campaign 
 of the Russians in Italy ; " a campaign," 
 it has been well observed, " signalised by 
 that extraordinary resignation to death for 
 which the Russians have since become cele- 
 brated, and which, even more than their 
 valour, rendered them so formidable to 
 their opponents." 
 
 National honours were bestowed upon 
 Suwarrow by his countrymen. Even the 
 emperor Paul seems to have shared the 
 common enthusiasm, for he conferred upon 
 the successful veteran the title of Prince 
 Italinski ; and also issued an ukase, in which. 
 
 with his usual eccentricity, he ordained that 
 Suwarrow should be considered as the 
 greatest general of ancient or modern times. 
 The latter, in return, promised the emperor 
 that the next campaign should see him 
 enter France in triumph, after he had 
 driven the French out of Switzerland. A 
 careful writer, reflecting upon these events, 
 observes — " To Russia it was of importance 
 to make this, her first essay in the great 
 European war, appear to the world in its 
 most imposing shape ; and certainly she was 
 largely indebted to the skill, as well as to 
 the courage, of her renowned general for the 
 triumphs achieved by her arms. Previously 
 to the Italian campaign the Russians were 
 regarded as undisciplined savages, who were 
 completely ignorant of the art of war, and 
 who were indebted for their victories to 
 their fierceness and physical strength, rather 
 than to their power of combination and 
 knowledge of the use of arms. This mis- 
 apprehension of their qualities operated 
 both advantageously and disadvantageously. 
 It spread at first a species of terror amongst 
 the French, who were led to expect an array 
 of monsters, ogres, or giants, wielding strange 
 and unaccustomed weapons, aud enacting 
 superhuman wonders on the field; but it 
 had the ultimate effect, when the preposter- 
 ous and indefinite notion of their powers was 
 dispelled by actual collision, of inducing the 
 French to treat them with contempt, be- 
 cause they found them nothing more than 
 a race of hardy and obstinate soldiers. 
 Thus, a French soldier, marching to the 
 first rencontre with them, is said to have 
 exclaimed, *We shall see whether they 
 have four arms V and, upon his return, to 
 have duly observed, * Weil I they have but 
 two, and know not how to make use of 
 them.' 
 
 " There is no doubt that the brilliant 
 tactics of Suwarrow in Italy, his per- 
 severance, celeritj^j and forethought, drew 
 the Russians more rapidly into the theatre 
 of European warfare than the mere tempta- 
 tion of their position could have done. Had 
 Suwarrow failed, it is probable that, instead 
 of pressing with such force upon the south, 
 they would have retired to their own incle- 
 ment regions, and conceutrated their opera- 
 tions towards the east. But so completely 
 did his successes engross the public mind 
 and inflame the vanity of the empire, that 
 it was confidently anticipated he would, in 
 a few weeks, make a triumphant entry into 
 Paris, as he had previously done at Warsaw ; 
 
 357 
 
THE KUSSIANS IN SWITZERLAND.] HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.b. 1799. 
 
 nor were there wanting sagacious people to 
 predict that the Russians and Tartars would 
 once more make the conquest of the entire 
 of Europe. What might have befallen had 
 Suwarrow been permitted to prosecute the 
 war upon the point which he had already 
 
 shaken, it is difficult to calculate ; but the 
 jealousy of Austria prevented that consum- 
 mation of his plans, and consigned him to 
 another quarter, where an enemy more for- 
 midable than any he had yet encountered, 
 awaited his approach." 
 
 CHAPTER XLIII. 
 
 THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN IN SWITZERLAND ; DEFEAT OF THE RUSSIANS UNDER KOUZAKOFF AT ZURICH, BY 
 MASSENA; SUWARROW ENTERS SWITZERLAND BY THE ST. GOTHARD ; HIS TROOPS MURMUR AT THE 
 SEVERITY OF THE PROGRESS ; HE REANIMATES THEM, AND DRIVES AN ADVANCED BODY OF THE FRENCH 
 BEFORE HIM ; KORZAKOFF SUSTAINS A SECOND DEFEAT ; SUWARROW IS COMPELLED TO RETREAT ; THE 
 REMNANT OF HIS TROOPS REACH RUSSIA IN A MISERABLE CONDITION ; DEATH OF SUWARROW ; ILL- 
 SUCCESS OF THE UNITED ENGLISH AND RUSSIAN ARMS AGAINST THE FRENCH IN HOLLAND ; PAUL WITH- 
 DRAMS FROM THE COALITION AGAINST FRANCE. 
 
 Napoleon (then General Buonaparte) had, 
 in 1797, seized upon a considerable portion 
 of Switzerland, and annexed it to the Cisal- 
 pine Republic, which was the name given by 
 France to the new government it conferred, 
 or imposed, on the jNIilanese and Mantuan 
 states. In the following year the French 
 spread over the greater part of Switzerland. 
 The design of the emperor Paul in join- 
 ing the war against France, partook of the 
 extravagance which characterised all his 
 other notions. Not content vdih issuing 
 a manifesto, stating that he and his allies 
 had resolved to destroy the impious govern- 
 ment that ruled that nation, he even con- 
 templated the accomplishment of a complete 
 and permanent league amongst all the sove- 
 reigns of Europe, to arrest the progress of 
 democratic principles, to restore the interests 
 that had been swept away by the French 
 arms, and to combine all denominations of 
 Christians in an universal semi-political 
 church, which should limit education to 
 
 * The writer of the " History of Russia," in Lard- 
 ner's Ct/clopcedia, observes, •with an amusing gravity, 
 that '• the military system of Paul must not be con- 
 founded with that of Frederic the Great, or of Mar- 
 shal Saxe, or that which was proposed by Griebert." 
 "We certainly should not have dreamed, even in the 
 most disturbed and imaginative sleep, of there being 
 any chance of so remarkable a mistake. The writer 
 then proceeds to describe the " thing of shreds and 
 patches," dignified, by an excess of courtesy, with the 
 title of the " military system of Paul." " It was," he 
 says, " wholly made up of a minute pedantry in re- 
 gulations for the handling of arms, for the position 
 of the fingers, the curve of the body on parade, the 
 number of buttons on the coat and gaiters, the shape 
 of the hat, the colour of the cockade, and such in- 
 358 
 
 the point it considered safe and prudent, 
 and constantly teach the doctrines of the 
 duty of passive obedience on the part of 
 subjects, and the divine and unlimited right 
 of monarchs to govern them in what manner 
 and with what severity they pleased. 
 
 While Suwarrow had, in the early part of 
 the campaign of 1798, been fighting side by 
 side with the Austrians against the French in 
 Italy, a Russian army, consisting of upwards 
 of 40,000 men, had entered Switzerland, 
 with the object of expelling the French 
 from that locality. It was placed under 
 the command of Rimski KorzakofT, one 
 of the favoured lovers of the late empress 
 Catherine. Like all who had shared her 
 smiles, Korzakoff soon found himself dis- 
 graced by the emperor Paul; but the wily 
 soldier regained the good opinion of the 
 capricious monarch by pretending an in- 
 tense admiration of the changes which the 
 latter introduced into the discipline of the 
 army,* and by calumniating the French 
 
 significant matters. These were the points that 
 absorbed his attention ; while more serious conside- 
 rations — the tactics and evolutions of the troops — 
 were left in a great measure to the genius of the 
 commander, who usually acted on the impulse of the 
 occasion, without being much indebted to any pre- 
 vious method or rules of art. It was on this ac- 
 count that Frederic the Great regarded the Russian 
 general, Butterlin, as one of the most dangerous of 
 his enemies. ' One cannot,' he said, ' make any plan 
 of defence against that man ; he always acts in a 
 manner directly contrary to every rational supposi- 
 tion.' Perhaps, observes a contemporary writer, 
 Butterlin might have reasoned in reply, that if he 
 had attacked that great master according to the 
 rules with which he was so well acquainted, h« 
 
A.D. 1799.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [campaign in Switzerland. 
 
 soldiers, whom he arrogantly aflfected to 
 despise. Korzakoff's instructions were to 
 act in concert with the Archduke Cliarles, 
 then in Switzerland, for the general plan 
 of the campaign, but to maintain the Rus- 
 sian army separately, that the fame of its 
 exploits should not be shared with the 
 Austrians, as it had been in Italy, The 
 national vanity and insolence of KorzakofF 
 will be at once estimated by the following 
 incident. In a conference held with the 
 archduke (who had proved himself an able 
 general), relative to the positions the allied 
 armies were to assume, the latter, placing 
 his finger upon a spot of the map, said — 
 " Here you must place a battalion." " A 
 company, you mean," responded the Rus- 
 sian. "No; a battalion." " I understand," 
 rejoined KorzakofF, " an Austrian battalion, 
 or a Russian company." The vulgar infla- 
 tion which dictated this speech was soon to 
 receive a seasonable check. 
 
 The campaign had been opened in Swit- 
 zerland before the arrival of the Russians, 
 who were anxiously expected by the arch- 
 duke. The French army was under the 
 command of the calm and gifted Massena, 
 the brilliancy of whose military conceptions 
 was so highly appreciated by Napoleon, 
 that he gave him the flattering surname of 
 the " favoured child of victory."* Massena 
 had taken up a powerful position, from 
 which the Austrians had vainly attempted 
 to dislodge him ; and on the arrival of the 
 Russians, KorzakofF exhibited so much arro- 
 gance, that the archduke determined to 
 leave the field open to him. He accord- 
 ingly drew off the great body of his troops 
 for the Upper Rhine, leaving the limited 
 force of Korzakoff and Hotze, amounting to 
 56,000 men, to occupy a line forty miles in 
 length. The French and the Russians were 
 encamped on the opposite banks of the river 
 Limmat, from which they gazed at each 
 other with emotions of curiosity and wonder. 
 The feelings excited in the minds of the 
 French by the sight of their semi-savage 
 adversaries, may be understood by the fol- 
 lowing observations of a French general 
 who served in this famous campaign. He 
 observed — " I have seen on the right bank 
 
 would have been beaten ; and that, therefore, he in- 
 curred less risk by infringing them all. Even Suwar- 
 row frequently reversed the usual modes of proceed- 
 ing ; choosing the most difficult routes, assailing the 
 strongest points, and abandoning the happiest posi- 
 tions, for movements which other generals would 
 not have adopted except in cases of extreme neces- 
 •ity." 
 
 of the Limmat, while our array kept the 
 left, posts of Cossacks squatted together in 
 the most grotesque manner. They were 
 seen to eat raw the aliments which are 
 very carefully dressed in all civilised coun- 
 tries, such as meat, pumpkins, cucumbers, &c. 
 The French music came occasionally, and 
 played warlike airs on the banks — not long 
 since so happy — of the beautiful Limmat. 
 At such times, these Cossacks would rise 
 spontaneously to dance in a ring, while the 
 sentinel that they had in front stood leaning 
 on his lance, motionless as a statue. On 
 seeing, for the first time, these strange 
 soldiers, I recalled to mind the travels and 
 the Hottentots of Le Vaillant, or of Abys- 
 sinian Bruce. These troops are ill-attended 
 to, badly clothed, and appear more des- 
 picable than they really are. There is a 
 marked difference between the Cossacks 
 and regular regiments; and it is diflBcult 
 to be conceived, on seeing them in the 
 same camp, that they were calculated for 
 understanding each other and serving to- 
 gether. But there exists a difference still 
 more striking between one officer and 
 another of the same regiment. As much 
 education, elegance, and politeness as you 
 will perceive in a certain class of Russian 
 officers, so much will you be surprised at 
 the contrary in another class. Those of 
 the latter are only distinguished from the 
 simple Cossack by the distinctive mark of 
 their rank." 
 
 A modern writer, commenting upon these 
 remarks, observes, that the author of them 
 " evidently underrated the military quali- 
 fications of the uncivilised Cossacks, whom 
 he seems to have regarded more with the 
 eye of an artist than a soldier; but his 
 remarks serve to show the opinions of the 
 French concerning their uncouth adver- 
 saries. Their position, and the hopes by 
 which they Avere severally animated at this 
 moment, cannot be contemplated without 
 feelings of the deepest interest. The Rus- 
 sians, for nearly a century past, had been 
 accustomed to success. Alternately tri- 
 umphant in the north and in the east, they 
 now found themselves encamped in the 
 south, elated vith a blind confidence that 
 
 • Disraeli, in his novel of Coningshy, observes, that 
 " several of the French marshals, and the most famous 
 — Massena for example — was a Hebrew; his real name 
 was Manasseh." Unfortunately for the reputation 
 of his race, Massena acquired great odium by the 
 constant exhibition of that insatiable avarice which 
 is attributed to the Jews as the great vice of their 
 chai'acter. 
 
 359 
 
THE RUSSIANS AT ZUKICH.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1799. 
 
 here also their progress must be a succes- 
 sion of victories ; an anticipation which 
 was doubly strengthened by their religious 
 fanaticism and their hatred of republican 
 France. The French, on the other hand, 
 were excited by the proud recollections of 
 those splendid acquisitions which they had 
 won during the Avar; of their grand do- 
 mestic assertion of popular theories over 
 the monarchical principle ; and, above all, 
 by the wonderful resistance they had main- 
 tained against a formidable union of powers, 
 each of which was, singly, an antagonist 
 more than equal to themselves in territorial 
 strength and fiscal resources. That the 
 course of their bold campaigns was darkened 
 by occasional disasters, and sometimes even 
 clouded by the darkest reverses of fortune, 
 had no other effect than to render them more 
 circumspect, to give them a more combined 
 system of action, and to draw into play 
 more vividly that energetic spirit of personal 
 courage and national honour which, on their 
 side, counterbalanced the ferocity and reck- 
 lessness of their opponents. They possessed, 
 besides, this signal advantage — that they 
 were headed by a celebrated general, the 
 companion-in-arms of Buonaparte, upon 
 whose crest victory had frequently alighted ; 
 while the Russians were commanded by an 
 officer who had never distinguished himself 
 in the field, and who was known even to 
 his own troops only by his punctuality upon 
 parade." 
 
 These brief reflections have led us, for a 
 few moments, from our narrative, in which 
 we left the French and the Russians en- 
 camped on opposite sides of the clear and 
 rapid river Limmat. Suwarrow had aban- 
 doned the plains of Piedmont, and arranged 
 to join his countryman Korzakoff, and the 
 Austrian general, Hotze, at Zurich. For 
 this purpose he crossed the Alps and Mount 
 St. Gothard, intending to dash, with his 
 usual impetuosity, on the flanks of the 
 enemy. This movement was anticipated 
 by Massena, who resolved to strike a de- 
 cisive blow before the intended junction 
 could be efiiEcted. 
 
 Massena's plan was to make a false 
 attack upon the town of Zurich, and then, 
 by crossing further down the river, to attack 
 Korzakoff at the same time both in front 
 and rear. By this movement the garrison 
 at Zurich Avould be cut off from its right 
 wing down the river, while it was already 
 separated from its left by the lake. On the 
 15th of September, the French crossed the 
 360 
 
 river in pontoons, under cover of their 
 masked batteries, which played with great 
 effect upon the Russian troops, who were 
 drawn up on the other side of the stream. 
 The latter were driven from their position ; 
 and although they twice rallied, were at 
 length shot or bayoneted in heaps. 
 
 A body of 15,000 French were thus estab- 
 lished on the right bank of the river. At 
 the same time, a feigned attack on the left 
 created a diversion of the Russian forces on 
 the lower Limmat, while a dashing demon- 
 stration against Zurich drew the bulk of the 
 Russian centre to that point. The French, 
 who had crossed the river, carried Hurg 
 and the heights on the north-west of Zurich ; 
 and Korzakoff then discerned that he was 
 placed in a position of imminent peril, botili 
 in rear and front. A desperate sally, which 
 he made at the head of 5,000 men, had no 
 effect in improving his situation. Retreat 
 appeared imperative; yet the only road by 
 which it could be effected was in possession 
 of the French troops. Within the walls of 
 Zurich the allies were thrown into the 
 utmost confusion. As night approached, 
 the numerous watchfires on the adjacent 
 hills discovered to the besieged the increas- 
 ing lines of the enemy drawing closer every 
 hour around them ; while the bombs, falling 
 fast in the crowded streets, choked up Avitli 
 waggons and horsemen, the dead and the 
 dying, with the cavalry trampling over the 
 bodies of the woimded in their despairing 
 efforts to force their way outwards, in the 
 vain chance of making head against the 
 enemy, whose victorious shouts were ringing 
 in their ears — formed, altogether, a scene of 
 horror such as was not Avitnessed before 
 throughout the whole of this devastating 
 war. 
 
 In this state of things, the French gen- 
 eral summoned the garrison to surrender ; 
 but Korzakoff made no reply. The French, 
 therefore, passed the night in preparing for 
 an assault on the following morning ; and 
 the Russians in making arrangements for 
 a last and terrible effort to effect a passage 
 through the French lines, and gain the 
 road to Winthenthur, the only practicable 
 line of retreat. In the course of the 
 night, the Russians Avere somewhat cheered 
 by the arrival of two strong Austrian 
 battalions, and of the whole right wing 
 of the array, hitherto detained by the 
 feigned attack of the French ; but which, 
 on learning the real state of affairs in 
 Zurich, had, by a long circuit, evaded the 
 
A.D. 1799.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [defeat of the Russians. 
 
 outposts of the enemy, and succeeded in 
 reaching head-quarters. 
 
 At break of day the Russians formed 
 into order of battle, and dashed with im- 
 petuosity against the French division sta- 
 tioned on the German road. A furious 
 contest followed, in which the Russians suc- 
 ceeded in cutting a passage before them. 
 They then made arrangements for a retreat, 
 leaving only a small rear-guard to defend 
 the ramparts until the mass of the ti'oops 
 should have passed out of the city. Though 
 the French were at first compelled to retire 
 before the dense ranks of the Russians, 
 which advanced with mechanical regularity, 
 yet the sharpshooters of Massena, alternately 
 discharging and retreating, together with 
 the showers of grapeshot poured against 
 the solid square of the Russians by the 
 flying artillery of their enemy (which gal- 
 loped up in the intervals of the Russian 
 fire, and then returned to reload in a safe 
 position), committed terrible havoc. Re- 
 iterated charges of this kind at length 
 threw the Russians into confusion, which 
 was contributed to by the inexperience of 
 the arrogant Korzakoff, who utterly lost his 
 presence of mind in conflict with an army 
 which he had affected to despise. Un- 
 accustomed to the skilful manoeuvres of the 
 French, he soon became bewildered by the 
 rapidity and multiplicity of their move- 
 ments; and his irresolution produced first 
 uncertainty, and then panic. Consterna- 
 tion spread from the front to the rear 
 of the Russian army, which abandoned 
 its ammunition-waggons and baggage, 100 
 pieces of cannon, and the militaiy chest, 
 containing 60,000 Dutch ducats in specie, 
 and 300,000 florins in silver. 
 
 The battle was, in fact, decided, and the 
 Russians were defeated ; but the French 
 rushed into the town, and the conflict was 
 prolonged in the streets and in the ap- 
 proaches to the ramparts. At length, the 
 few troops which remained in the garrison 
 laid down their arms, but not before the 
 ingenious and benevolent physiognomist, 
 Lavater, was shot, while animating the sol- 
 diery and aiding the sufferers.* The Rus- 
 sian army might have been annihilated, but 
 that some information which Massena pos- 
 sessed withheld him from pursuit. The 
 dispirited Korzakoff' therefore effected his 
 
 retreat, but not without a loss of 8,000 
 men in killed and wounded, besides 5,000 
 in prisoners, and all his baggage and am- 
 munition. It is considered that this memo- 
 rable battle of Zurich saved France from 
 invasion by the allied powers, and con- 
 tributed to the subsequent dissolution of 
 the coalition which had been formed be- 
 tween the Russians and the Austrians. 
 The victory of the French was followed by 
 another triumph. The Austrian force, en- 
 camped higher up on the Liutli, was taken 
 by surprise by Marshal Soult, and com- 
 pelled to retreat beyond the Rhine, leaving 
 Hotze (its general) and many dead on the 
 field, 3,000 of its number prisoners in the 
 hands of the enemy, together with the 
 whole of its baggage, and twenty pieces of 
 cannon. 
 
 Massena now prepared to deal with Su- 
 warrow, who, while these misfortunes were 
 falling upon his lieutenants, was toiling 
 through the acclivities and gorges of the 
 Swiss Alps, every step of his way purchased 
 by the lives of his vainly-sacrificed soldiers. 
 Massena had detached Lecourbe, with about 
 4,000 light troops, to harass and impede 
 the advance of the Russian field-marshal. 
 This task they performed in a remarkably 
 efficient manner. Posted in detached par- 
 ties behind jutting rocks and scattered trees, 
 they poured down a murderous fire upon 
 the advancing foe. The winding and pre- 
 cipitous paths of the St. Gotliard were diffi- 
 cult of ascent under any circumstances ; and 
 now, when covered by platoons of musketry, 
 the Russians believed them to be impreg- 
 nable. Exhausted by privation and fatigue, 
 they began to murmur; some refused to 
 advance any further ; while others turned 
 and fled before the shower of bullets which 
 was directed against them. On this occa- 
 sion, Suwarrow, amazed and angry, ex- 
 hibited an instance both of the wild energy 
 which ever characterised him, and of the 
 extraordinary influence which he exercised 
 over the minds of his troops. Having 
 caused a grave to be dug in the road, at the 
 foot of the ascent, he threw himself into it, 
 exclaiming — " Cover me with earth, and 
 here leave your general. You are no 
 longer my children; I am no longer your 
 father. I have nothing more to do than 
 to die V The soldiers were deeply aff'ected 
 
 • The death of Lavater is commonly attributed to 
 a French grenadier; but it is also said that this 
 man was not one of the enemy, and that the act was 
 
 that of an assassin. It is further supposed that ' and did notdie until the beginning of 1801 
 3 A 361 
 
 Lavater knew the man, but, from a Christian spirit 
 of forgiveness, never betrayed him. Lavater lin- 
 gered a long time under the effects of his wound, 
 
 I onH HiH nrvf Aia iirvf!! tVio koralnn^i-.^. <->f 1 firti 
 
REVERSES OF SUWAKROW.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1799. 
 
 by this dramatic scene, and, crowding 
 round the veteran, entreated to be led up 
 the mountain. At the word, Suwarrow 
 put himself at their head, and impetuously- 
 dashed up the path. The small body of 
 French slowly yielded way, and were driven 
 across the summit of the St. Gothard. 
 Throwing their artillery into the river 
 Reuss, they retired down the valley of 
 Schollonen, and caused another obstruction 
 to the progress of the Russians by destroy- 
 ing the Devil's Bridge. 
 
 So impetuous was the advance of the 
 Russians, and so unskilfully was it con- 
 ducted, that when they arrived the next 
 morning at the broken bridge, hundreds of 
 the leading files were forced over the edge 
 of the abyss into the Reuss, by the pressure 
 of the rear, which continued its mechanical 
 march, unaware of the impediment which 
 retarded the advance of the front. The 
 difficulty caused by the broken bridge 
 being surmounted, the Russians at length 
 emerged from the Alps at Altorf, only, 
 however, to find their progress arrested by 
 the wide expanse of the Lake of Lucerne, 
 where neither the Austrians nor the pro- 
 mised transport boats (which had been 
 seized and destroyed by the French) awaited 
 them. Suwarrow, almost mad with passion 
 at what he regarded as the neglect of his 
 subordinates, was compelled to lead his 
 troops through the difficult defile of the 
 Shachenthal, which rendered it necessary to 
 abandon the artillery and stores. Two 
 days of great fatigue and sufiering brought 
 his worn and dispirited troops to the fer- 
 tile valley of the Mutten. There he re- 
 ceived intelligence of the defeat of Korza- 
 kofi" and the death of Hotze. Suwarrow, 
 burning with rage and mortification, sent a 
 messenger to Korzakofl", informing him of 
 the arrival of his superior, directing him to 
 march forward, and declai'ing that he would 
 hold him responsible with his head for any 
 further retrograde movement. 
 
 Korzakoff, stung by this imperious com- 
 mand, and, perhaps, alarmed by the tlu'cat 
 of the general, reorganised his broken 
 forces, and turning almost despairingly 
 upon the advancing French, gave them 
 battle near Constance. The Russians were 
 again worsted, though their cavalry behaved 
 with great spirit; and, after being thrice 
 broken in furious charges against a dense 
 body of infantry, they rallied under a de- 
 structive fire of grapeshot and musketry. 
 But for the Archduke Charles, who hastened 
 362 
 
 to the assistance of Korzakoff's army, it 
 might have been annihilated. 
 
 Suwarrow, after a terrible march, in 
 which he lost numbers of his men, who 
 dropped from exhaustion, or lost their foot- 
 ing on the slippery ridges and fell into the 
 ra\dnes below, found that the Austrians 
 Avhom he had expected had suflfered too 
 much to be able to join him. The glory of 
 the famous Russian general was on the 
 wane, and he was entangled in difficulties 
 which his wild energy was impotent to 
 overcome. It seemed as if not merely the 
 French, but nature itself, was in arms 
 against him ; that the silent mountains 
 became conscious and grimly mocked his 
 eff'orts. In their sublime presence an army 
 sunk into strangely small and insignificant 
 dimensions, and a raging general was almost 
 as helpless as a famishing wolf. 
 
 Suwarrow now found himself in the 
 heart of the Muttenthal, where the French 
 were rapidly drawing their lines around 
 him, and enclosing him within a circle 
 from which escape seemed impossible. His 
 troops were ragged and barefoot from much 
 marching, disheartened by the mass of 
 difficulties which weighed upon them, 
 and almost without provisions. Suwarrow 
 trusted to receive reinforcements from the 
 emperor Paul, but none were sent. Having 
 waited for some time in sullen inactivity, 
 varied by fierce imprecations upon his foes, 
 Suwarrow called a council of war, and pro- 
 posed to force his way towards Schwytz, in 
 the rear of the French position. His offi- 
 cers expostulated against a step which he 
 himself felt to be dangerous even beyond 
 rashness, and advised that he should adopt 
 the more prudent course of retreating into 
 the Glarus and the Orisons. The veteran 
 at length yielded to what he felt to be a 
 painful necessity, and, for the first time in 
 his life, gave an order to retreat. So 
 deeply was he wounded at this conclusion 
 of his exploits, that he burst into tears after 
 he had done so. His reputation for invinci- 
 bility was extinguished. Yet, his resolu- 
 tion once taken, he acted upon it with his 
 usual energy. Massena vainly endeavoured 
 to draw him out of the defiles, in the hope 
 of bringing his dispirited forces to an en- 
 gagement, and of taking him prisoner. 
 His retreat was conducted with consum- 
 mate skill; keeping his enemies at bay 
 like a lion, and compelling them to main- 
 tain a respectful distance by the fierceness 
 of his attitude. On one occasion, when the 
 
A.D. 1799.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [death of suwarrow. 
 
 French assailed the rear-guard of the 
 Russians, the latter turned upon them witli 
 such desperate fury, that tliey were repelled 
 with the loss of 1,000 men killed, as many 
 more in prisoners, and five pieces of cannon. 
 
 Suwarrow permitted his men a brief 
 repose at Glarus, and then resumed his 
 retreat over the rugged summits of the 
 Alps. As he advanced the difficulties in- 
 creased. The paths were choked with snow, 
 and the men destitute of stores to sustain 
 their strength. No covering could be ob- 
 tained to shelter them from the inclemency 
 of the wintry tempests, or trees to make 
 fires to cheer their dreary bivouacs. Num- 
 bers perished from cold and famiue ; but 
 the rest, impelled by an inexorable neces- 
 sity, yet pushed on. On attaining the sum- 
 mit of the ridge, a prospect still more dis- 
 heartening revealed itself to them. Every- 
 where mountains covered to their pinnacles 
 with snow appeai'ed to rise around them. 
 The heavy clouds that floated over the 
 peaks of the Tyrolese Alps, revealed by 
 glimpses, as they rolled ofi* at intervals, 
 the seemingly interminable extent of these 
 mighty mountains; and there was not a 
 single sign of life or vegetation, not a 
 wreath of smoke, nor a trackway visible, 
 to afford them a direction out of this hope- 
 less situation. During the night, most of 
 the unfortunate soldiers had to sleep un- 
 covered in the snow ; and it was by a 
 succession of fatigues and miseries which 
 exceed description, that they gained the 
 valley of the Rhine, from whence the 
 remnant of that once fine army limped 
 back to Russia, half-clothed, without bag- 
 gage or artillery, and presenting in their 
 wretchedness a most humiliating spectacle 
 
 Suwarrow, in the natural pride of a 
 career that had never known defeat, had 
 talked of conquering France, and promised 
 to enter Paris at the head of his triumphant 
 troops. He returned a baffled, though not 
 conquered, fugitive. Of a fine army nothing 
 remained but a ragged and famishing troop, 
 and a stain had passed over the military 
 glor)' of the empire. His successes in Italy 
 could not console him for this lamentable 
 termination of the campaign. He became 
 morose and sullen, and accused the Aus- 
 trians, and even the archduke, of treachery. 
 Paul had given orders for the reception of 
 the veteran general at St. Petersburg, with 
 the intention that he should make a tri- 
 umphal entry into the capital. Apartments 
 were even prepared for him in the imperial 
 
 palace. But when the capricious emperor 
 learnt the result of the campaign in Swit- 
 zerland, his complacency was succeeded by 
 extreme irritation. By the time Suwarrow 
 arrived at Riga, on his road to St. Peters- 
 burg, he was informed that he had fallen 
 into disgrace. Paul attributed to him a 
 great part of the reverses which had taken 
 place in Switzerland, rejected his represen- 
 tations, and refused to give him a fresh 
 command. 
 
 This last blow proved fatal to Suwarrow; 
 the veteran was crushed beneath a load of 
 humiliation too great for him to bear. He 
 proceeded to St. Petersburg, and entered 
 the city furtively in the dusk of evening; 
 no longer the idol of the populace and the 
 pride of his country, but a disgraced and 
 unregarded man. He vras supported from 
 his carriage to his bed, which he never left 
 again. Those whom he had recently re- 
 garded as his friends held aloof from him ; 
 and such was the dread entertained of in- 
 curring the anger of the emperor, that 
 even the Countess Zuboff, the favourite 
 daughter of Suwarrow, towards whom he 
 had ever shown the strongest affection, 
 suffered an unworthy fear to withhold her 
 from the presence of her miserable and 
 dying father. Paul afterwards softened to- 
 wards the dying veteran, and permitted the 
 grand-dukes to visit him. He was, how- 
 ever, far past that point at which the 
 smiles of princes could have acted as » 
 restorative. His mind frequently wandered, 
 and after lingering until the 10th of May, 
 1800, he died at the age of seventy, after 
 expressing a wish that a portrait of the 
 empress Catherine, which he had worn con- 
 stantly about his person, might still rest 
 on his bosom in the grave. The greatest 
 blemish of his character was his utter dis- 
 regard of life in the execution of his duty ; 
 while his merits may be expressed in the 
 sentence, that he is one of the few generals 
 who never lost a battle. His funeral was 
 conducted with great solemnity, and 15,000 
 of his soldiers accompanied his body to its 
 last resting-place. 
 
 Paul's anger was not appeased by the 
 disgrace of Suwarrow. The contemptible 
 monarch, with that absence of generous or 
 enlarged feeling which characterised almost 
 every act of his life, poured out his wrath 
 upon the suffering troops who had so faith- 
 fully served him, and whose bravery and 
 endurance had extorted admiration even 
 from their ibes. With an ungrateful and 
 
 363 
 
EXPEDITION TO HOLLAND.] 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1799. 
 
 insolent forgetfulness of their services, Paul 
 endeavoured, by an imperial order, to dis- 
 grace the memory of the officers who had 
 perished in that fatal campaign. All, too, 
 ■who were missing — that is, who were pri- 
 soners in France ; a list which included some 
 of the bravest men in the service — he caused 
 to be broken as deserters. As to the cap- 
 tive soldiers, he abandoned them to their 
 fate, and refused to adopt any means of 
 promoting an exchange, or otherwise to 
 alleviate the misery of their situation. One 
 consolation only remained to him in the 
 matter, and that arose from the belief that 
 the reverses of Russia were solely brought 
 about by the jealousy and treachery of the 
 Austrians. 
 
 The disappointments of the emperor Paul, 
 in connection with this campaign, did not 
 end with the defeats and disasters expe- 
 rienced by his armies in Switzerland. He 
 had recently concluded a treaty -with Eng- 
 land, by which he agreed to send a Russian 
 force to co-operate with the British in an 
 attack on the French in Holland. This 
 country was selected for attack because, of 
 all those in possession of republican France, 
 it lay nearest to the shores of England, and 
 also because its means of defence were in- 
 considerable. It was arranged that England 
 should furnish 13,000, and Russia 17,000, 
 men. Besides furnishing her complement 
 of troops, England was to pay .€44,000 per 
 month for the expenses of the Russians, 
 and to employ her Avliole naval force to 
 support the operations. On the 13th of 
 August, Sir Ralph Abercrombie, who was 
 entrusted with the chief command, sailed 
 with the first division, consisting of 12,000 
 British troops embarked in transports, to 
 join Lord Duncan, who was then cruising 
 in the North Seas, The fort of the Helder 
 Avas immediately abandoned by its garrison, 
 and taken possession of by Abercrombie. 
 The Dutch fleet also surrendered, and hoisted 
 the Orange flag. General Brune, the French 
 commander, with a force of 35,000 men, 
 attacked the English, with the hope of dis- 
 lodging them before the arrival of the Rus- 
 sians, but was repulsed with a loss of 3,000 
 men. Abercrombie was, nevertheless, left 
 for a whole month in a very critical situa- 
 tion, but his inferior force resolutely stood 
 its ground. In September the Russian 
 army arrived, under General Hermann, and 
 the remainder of the English force, accom- 
 panied by the Duke of York. From this 
 time nothing went well ; and evei-y difficulty 
 364 
 
 which befel the English appeared in some 
 strange way to arise from the shortcomings 
 of the Russians. In the first battle that 
 was fought after the junction of these ill- 
 sorted allies, the Enghsh succeeded in driv- 
 ing back the French, and in taking all the 
 villages that lay before them. Tliis partial 
 success was, however, neutralised by the 
 reverses of the Russians. General Her- 
 mann's troops fell, after a short time, into 
 confusion. The French, encouraged at the 
 sight, assailed them furiously both in front 
 and flank, and drove them, at the point of 
 the bayonet, behind the allied intrench- 
 raents. The Russian general was taken 
 prisoner; 3,500 of his men were killed or 
 wounded, and twenty-six pieces of cannon 
 and seven standards captured. 
 
 When this news reached the Duke of 
 York, he withdrew his men from the pur- 
 suit of the enemy, and attempted to retrieve 
 the misfortune of his allies. It was in vain ; 
 and after a sharp struggle, he was compelled 
 to retire within the fortified lines. 
 
 Other engagements followed, not dis- 
 honourable to our troops, but disastrous 
 in their results, and rather disgraceful in 
 point of generalship. Every day the pros- 
 pects of the allies became more hopeless ; 
 and the approach of the autumnal rains 
 in a country so exposed to inundations that, 
 in ancient times, it was doubted whether 
 the inhabitants belonged to the land or to 
 the sea, raised up new obstacles to the 
 allies. By the 17th of October, the Duke 
 of York, baffled in an attempt upon Haar- 
 lem, was induced to conclude a convention, 
 by which it was agreed that the English 
 and Russians should be allowed to embark 
 without molestation, on condition that 8,000 
 prisoners of war, French and Batavians, 
 taken before that campaign, and then pri- 
 soners of war, should be set at liberty. 
 
 The failure of this expedition under such 
 ignoble circumstances, especially as regarded 
 the Russians, and the scattering of the latter 
 by their allies over Guernsey and Jersey, 
 the inhabitants of which continually re- 
 minded them of their reverses, excited the 
 irritable Paul almost to frenzy. He applied 
 the most opprobrious terms to the coalition, 
 of which he had been the most active 
 member, and rudely treated the English 
 and Austrian ambassadors at his court, 
 refusing to confer with them, and express- 
 ing a desire that they should leave St. 
 Petersburg. He even attributed the dis- 
 asters in Holland to the English, as he 
 
TlIK LONDON iimniini 
 
 ID I'UiiMSJi INC. I'OMI'ANY 
 
A.D. 1800.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [paul's change of policy. 
 
 had before accused the Austrians of the 
 unfortunate results of the campaign in 
 Switzerland. Not satisfied with treating 
 his allies with an insulting contempt, he 
 even tacitly withdrew from the coalition 
 without publishing his reasons for doing 
 so. The sudden withdrawal of his troops 
 from Italy — where Suwarrow, shortly before 
 his death, had proposed to attempt, with 
 the Austrians, a desperate scheme, with 
 the object of repairing the calamities that 
 had befallen him — happily broke up the 
 alliance between Austria and Russia. Paul, 
 in fact, saw, for the first time, that he 
 had committed an error in assisting the 
 
 Austrians in Italy against the French. 
 What he proposed to himself in this alli- 
 ance was, the extinction of revolutionary 
 and republican principles. What he actu- 
 ally, though, of course, unconsciously and 
 unintentionally did, was to promote the 
 interests of Austria in Italy, and thus dis- 
 turb the balance of power on the very side 
 on which he had interfered to correct it. 
 Paul, therefore, when he perceived this, 
 broke up the alliance abruptly, and, in the 
 fury arising from a consciousness of error, 
 extended his anger to every person in con- 
 nection with it, against whom any excuse for 
 contempt or punishment could be devised. 
 
 CHAPTER XLIV 
 
 PAUL, HAVING ABANDONED HIS ALLIES, CONCEIVES AN ADMIRATION FOR NAPOLEON; MALTA SURRENDERED 
 TO THE ENGLISH; PAUL SEIZES THE BRITISH TRADING VESSELS IN THE RUSSIAN HARBOURS; MARITIME 
 COALITION OF THE NORTHERN POWERS AGAINST ENGLAND; BATTLE OF COPENHAGEN; TERROR CAUSED 
 BY THE TYRANNY OF PAUL; FORMATION OF A CONSPIRACY TO DEPOSE HIM; THE GRAND-DUKES ALEXAN- 
 DER AND CONSTANTINE ARE ADMITTED TO IT; MURDER OF THE EMPEROR; ESTIMATE OF HIS CHARACTER ; 
 DISSOLUTION OF THE NORTHERN COALITION ; REFLECTIONS UPON THE DESIGN OF PAUL AND NAPOLEON 
 ON THE BRITISH EMPIRE IN INDIA. 
 
 Another change had taken place in the 
 government of France. Napoleon, on his 
 return from Egypt in October, 1799, had 
 overthrown the Directory, and attained the 
 dignity of First Consul, or chief magistrate 
 of France. He also aimed at the recon- 
 struction of a monarchy ; and, towards the 
 end of January, 1800, removed from the 
 palace of the Luxembourg to that of the 
 Tuileries, into which royal residence he 
 made his public entrance amidst the accla- 
 mations of the multitude. 
 
 Probably the emperor Paul divined the 
 intentions of Napoleon, and saw that the 
 great soldier would endeavour to raise, in 
 his own person, a new monarchical dynasty 
 upon the ruins of the ancient royalty of 
 France. Doubtless Paul would have pre- 
 ferred that the sceptre should have remained 
 in the hands of the Bourbons, than that it 
 should pass into those of a military adven- 
 turer. Yet, to the mind of Paul, any form 
 of government was better than a republic ; 
 any principles preferable to those of the 
 revolution. 
 
 No sooner had Paul violated the compact 
 into which he had entered with Austria 
 
 and with England, than a remarkable 
 change took place in his feelings towards 
 France. He appeared impressed with a 
 sense of respect, if not of admiration, for 
 Napoleon, and by no means indisposed to 
 enter into a treaty of peace with France. 
 This conduct was perfectly in accordance 
 with the passionate and fickle nature of the 
 northern autocrat. Napoleon was not slow 
 to perceive and to profit by this change of 
 sentiment on the part of Paul ; for he was 
 well aware of the immense importance of 
 neutralising the hostility of Russia. An 
 opportunity at once oflFered which enabled 
 Napoleon to make a graceful advance to- 
 wards conciliation. The English had re- 
 fused to redeem the Russian soldiers, 
 amounting to about six or seven thousand, 
 who had been made prisoners in their ser- 
 vice, and were then in captivity in France. 
 Napoleon, therefore, set them free, without 
 either exchange or ransom. He even went 
 so far as to restore to them their arms and 
 standards, and provide them with new 
 clothing in the uniform of their respective 
 regiments. In sending them back to their 
 own country, he also forwarded a letter to 
 
 365 
 
SEIZURE OF BRITISH VESSELS.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1800. 
 
 the Russian minister, saying, " that he was 
 unwilling to suflfer such brave soldiers as 
 these Russians were, to remain longer away 
 from their native land on account of the 
 English." Such an act of courtesy neces- 
 sarily led to expressions of warm acknow- 
 ledgment on the part of the emperor, and to 
 an interchange of friendly offices. Shortly 
 afterwards the emperor addressed a letter 
 to the illustrious Corsican, in which he 
 wrote : — " Citizen, Chief Consul, — I do not 
 write to you to discuss the rights of men or 
 citizens ; every country governs itself as it 
 pleases. Whenever I see at the head of a 
 nation a man who knows how to rule and 
 how to fight, my heart is attracted towards 
 him. I write to acquaint you of my dis- 
 satisfaction with England, who violates 
 every article of the law of nations, and has 
 no guide but her egotism and her interest. 
 I wish to unite with you to put an end to 
 the unjust proceedings of that government." 
 This flattering letter led to a regular corres- 
 pondence between the emperor and the 
 chief consul; and the latter took advantage 
 of it to nurse into being the naval conven- 
 tion which subsequently took place among 
 the northern powers. 
 
 The recent allies of Paul were astonished 
 at his caprice ; but he was far too irritated 
 against them to attach any importance to 
 their opinions on such a point. Napoleon, 
 now at liberty to direct his arms chiefly 
 against the Austrians, inflicted a severe 
 defeat upon them at the battle of Marengo 
 (I4th June, 1800) ; an event which wonder- 
 fully consolidated his power, and increased 
 his influence over the minds of the people of 
 France. The government of Naples was in 
 imminent danger from the victorious troops 
 of the republic ; and the queen of that city 
 went in person to St. Petersburg, and im- 
 plored the intercession of the emperor with 
 Napoleon on behalf of her little kingdom. 
 Paul felt flattered by the application, and 
 promised to use all his influence with the 
 first consul for the attainment of her wishes. 
 To give additional weight to his mediation, 
 he sent Loweschefi", an ofiicer of his house- 
 hold, to the court of the Tuileries. The 
 envoy Avas received with extraordinary dis- 
 tinction ; and, in reply to his application. 
 Napoleon consented to spare Naples, and 
 undertook alone to regulate the destinies of 
 that kingdom. His first step with respect 
 to it, was to close the ports of Naples and 
 Sicily against English merchant vessels as 
 well as ships of war. 
 366 
 
 While incidents like these created a good 
 understanding between the first consul and 
 the emperor, the breach between the latter 
 and the English government was consider- 
 ably widened. In the September of 1800, 
 the French, who had been closely blockaded 
 within the fortifications of Malta for two 
 years, surrendered the island to the English, 
 in whose possession it has since remained. 
 Paul had caused himself to be elected 
 grand-master of the almost extinct order of 
 St. John, by the knights resident in Russia. 
 He therefore put forth a claim to the 
 sovereignty of the island, and asserted that 
 the conquest of it by the English was an 
 infringement of the convention of 1798; 
 which, he said, contained a stipulation that 
 the island should be given up to the order 
 of St. John of Jerusalem. As no such 
 stipulation was contained in the treaty, the 
 demand that the island should be surren- 
 dered to Russia was refused. 
 
 Paul was furious, and at once proceeded 
 to an act of most unwarrantable violence. 
 He seized all the British vessels in the 
 Russian harbours, amounting to nearly three 
 hundred, together with their valuable car- 
 goes. As to the crews, they were sent into 
 the interior of Russia, and allowed only a 
 few copecks* each a day for their support. 
 All the English property on shore, also, the 
 emperor put under sequestration ; and a 
 few vessels at Narva having weighed 
 anchor and escaped, he was so incensed, 
 that he burnt the remainder. Not only 
 were these outrages contrary to the usages 
 of all civilised states, but they were in direct 
 violation of an article in an existing treaty 
 between Russia and England ; by which it 
 was expressly stipulated that, in the event 
 of a rupture between the two powers, no 
 embargo should be laid on the vessels of 
 either, but that the merchants, on both 
 sides, should be allowed a year to take away 
 or dispose of their goods. 
 
 This flagrant proceeding on the part of 
 Paul, was the first outbreak of that spirit of 
 combination against England which was 
 resolving itself into the shape of a maritime 
 coalition of the northern powers. In the 
 December of 1800, a maritime convention 
 was completed, and signed by Russia, 
 Sweden, and Denmark, and, subsequently, 
 by Prussia. By this, the right of search of 
 neutral vessels, claimed and exercised by 
 England, was declared to be an attempt 
 
 * A copeck is something less in value than an 
 English halfpenny. 
 
A.D, 1801.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [naval coalition. 
 
 against the sovereign rights of the several 
 powers forming the confederacy; which 
 promised to assemble a squadron of the 
 four Baltic powers, to protect their mer- 
 chant vessels, and resist any attempt at 
 searching them.* 
 
 The British government regarded this 
 proceeding with jealousy and indignation. 
 When George III. met the recently opened 
 parliament, on the 2nd of February, 1801, 
 he adverted, in his speech from the throne, 
 to the ii'ihappy course of events on the 
 continent, and announced that a fresh storm 
 vras gathering in the north ; that the court 
 of St. Petersburg had already proceeded to 
 commit outrages against the ships, property, 
 and persons of his subjects j and that a con- 
 vention had been concluded by that court 
 with those of Copenhagen and Stockholm, 
 the object of which was to renew their 
 former engagement for re-establishing, by 
 force of arms, a new code of maritime laws, 
 inconsistent with the rights, and hostile to 
 the best interests, of this country. He 
 added, that he had taken the earliest mea- 
 sures to repel the aggressions of this hostile 
 confederacy, and expressed his confidence 
 that both houses of parliament would afford 
 him effectual support in his firm determi- 
 nation, to maintain to the utmost, against 
 every attack, the naval rights and interests 
 of his empire. Some members of the oppo- 
 sition recommended conciliatory measures, 
 and even the suspension of the right of 
 search, or a tacit assent to the principles of 
 the armed neutrality, which the empress 
 Catherine had first raised against us during 
 the American war, and which the northern 
 powers were now about to revive — hinting at 
 the terrible consequences which might arise 
 from the closing of the corn ports on the 
 Baltic. Pitt expressed a regret that mem- 
 bers of the legislature should increase the 
 difficulties of the nation by starting doubts 
 on the question of its right of search ; ob- 
 serving, that it was singularly unfortunate 
 that these gentlemen should first have began 
 to doubt when the enemy began to arm. 
 
 • This coalition was mainly promoted by Napo- 
 leon, who, aiming at the destruction of the naval 
 supremacy of England, contended for the maritime 
 rights of the neutral powers of Europe, which he 
 rested on the following principles : — 1. The sea is 
 the dominion of all nations. 2. The flag covers the 
 merchandise. 3. A neutral ship may be visited by 
 a belligerent vessel, to ascertain its flag and cargo, so 
 far as to be satisfi:ed that it carries no contraband 
 goods. 4. Contraband goods are considered to be 
 military stores only. 5, Neutral ships may be pre- 
 vented from entering a place that is besieged, if the 
 
 Preparations were immediately made for 
 sending the British fleet into the Baltic; 
 and an order was issued for a general em- 
 bargo on all vessels belonging to the con- 
 federation. Letters of marque were also 
 issued ; and so vigorously were they acted 
 upon, that nearly one-half of the merchant- 
 men of the northern powers were soon to 
 be found in the British harbours. The 
 English ministry perceived that our naval 
 supremacy depended upon striking some 
 decisive blow before the naval forces of the 
 confederacy should be united. The Danes 
 had distinguished themselves, ever since the 
 beginning of the war with France, in 
 carrying French goods and articles contra- 
 band, and had resisted or eluded the search 
 whenever they were able to do so. The 
 Danes, therefore, were selected as an ex- 
 ample of the naval power of England, in 
 the event of their refusing to accede to the 
 terms it should dictate with respect to the 
 northern coalition. 
 
 On the 12th of March, a fleet, consisting 
 of eighteen sail-of-the-line and a number of 
 frigates and smaller vessels, under the com- 
 mand of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker and Vice- 
 admiral Lord Nelson, who acted in subordi- 
 nation to him, proceeded to the Baltic. As 
 negotiation was preferred to war, Mr. Van- 
 sittart accompanied the squadron as pleni- 
 potentiary, with full powers to treat. He 
 left the fleet in the Scaw, and proceeded in 
 a frigate with a flag of truce to Copenhagen ; 
 but returned without success from his mis- 
 sion, which only served to stimulate the 
 Danes, and give them time to augment their 
 means of defence. Nelson disapproved of 
 distant negotiation. He remarked, " The 
 Dane should see our flag every moment he 
 lifts up his head.'' Notwithstanding his 
 representations, several days were dissipated 
 in inactivity. On the 30th, however, the 
 British fleet passed the Sound ; and despite 
 the batteries of Cronenberg Castle, anchored 
 near Copenhagen. The naval battle which 
 takes it name from that city, was fought on 
 the 2nd of April, and declared by Nelson 
 
 blockade be real, and the entrance be evidently dan- 
 gerous. — On the other hand, the English government 
 peremptorily contended — 1. That materials adapted 
 for building ships, such as timber, hemp, tar, &c., 
 were contraband goods. 2. That although a neutral 
 ship had a right to go from a friendly port to an 
 enemy's port, it could not traffic between one hostile 
 port and another. 3. That neutral ships could not 
 sail from the enemy's colony to the mother country. 
 4. That neutral powers had no right to have their 
 merchant ships convoyed by ships of war ; and that, if 
 they did so, this would not exempt them from search. 
 
 367 
 
Paul's friendship for napoleon.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1800. 
 
 to be the most dreadful affair, and the 
 hardest fought battle he had ever witnessed. 
 The victory of the British was purchased with 
 the loss of 1,200 men ; that of the Danes was 
 estimated at 1,700 or 1,800, besides about 
 4,000 prisoners. Six line-of-battle ships 
 and eight praams were taken; but all, ex- 
 cept one of the former, were burnt. This 
 success, together with an incident we shall 
 shortly relate, broke up the northern 
 coalition. 
 
 We have gone rather in advance of those 
 events which are exclusively Russian, and 
 must take a retrospective step in our nar- 
 ration. The alliance between Paul and 
 Napoleon had warmed into something ap- 
 proaching to friendship. The English and 
 Austrian ambassadors were dismissed from 
 St. Petersburg ; and Count KalitschefF went 
 to Paris as the ambassador of Russia, and 
 was received with distinction. " France," 
 said Napoleon, publicly, " can ally itself 
 only with Russia, for Russia is mistress of 
 the Baltic and Black Seas, and she holds 
 the keys of India in her hands; the em- 
 peror of such a country is truly a great 
 prince. Paul is eccentric, but he has at 
 least a will of his own." 
 
 The emperor had, indeed, gone far beyond 
 eccentricity ; and his conduct towards those 
 ai'ound him, and to all who had the mis- 
 fortune to be subject to his authority, 
 was daily assuming a more arbitrary and 
 irrational aspect. Changeable in his moods, 
 shifting constantly from one mad whim to 
 another, he remained only resolute in vin- 
 dictive severity, which increased as his 
 growing fears magnified the natural hatred 
 which surrounded him. So variable were 
 his humours, that he sometimes encouraged 
 one day the very actions for which he would 
 inflict punishment the next. At length, 
 not only his family, but the whole empire 
 became aware that he had lost all command 
 over his passions ; and many persons chari- 
 tably attributed his extravagant behaviour 
 to insanity. At one period he conceived 
 the project of taking the institution of Free- 
 masonry under his special protection, and 
 of placing himself at its head. He even 
 proceeded so far in this matter, as to estab- 
 lish a committee to examine the acts and 
 statutes of the Freemasons, with a view to 
 revise their organisation. He, however, soon 
 abandoned this scheme, for the purpose of 
 connecting himself with the ancient and 
 romantic order of the Knights of St. John of 
 Malta. Then, completely reversing his in- 
 368 
 
 tentions, he prohibited all secret assemblies, 
 and compelled the presidents of the lodges 
 of the Masons to promise that they would 
 not hold any meetings without his consent ; 
 in this manner, his promised protection was 
 converted into oppression. 
 
 A state of things resembling a reign of 
 terror prevailed at St. Petersburg, and 
 arrests and banishments took place every 
 day on the slightest pretences. Carts filled 
 with prisoners constantly took the road to 
 Siberia ; and the unfortunate victims were 
 seldom allowed time to settle their aflFairs, 
 or even to provide the clothing necessary to 
 guard against the rigours of the inclement 
 region to which they w^ere expelled. Not 
 only banishment, but the fearful punish- 
 ment of the knout, was decreed for the 
 slightest faults, and sometimes inflicted 
 where no fault whatever had been com- 
 mitted. No one, either man or woman, was 
 safe for an hour; for the fury of the em- 
 peror was poured out indiscriminately on 
 all classes and ranks of society. His hours 
 of calmness became progressively rarer, and 
 it is certain that he laboured under a mental 
 irritability which narrowly bordered upon 
 insanity. Napoleon afterwards declared, 
 that he thought, " latterly, Paul was mad." 
 Great probability was given to this suppo- 
 sition by the state papers and articles 
 written by the despot, and published in the 
 St. Petersburg Gazette. On one occasion 
 he issued, through the medium of that 
 journal, an invitation to the sovereigns of 
 Europe to come to St. Petersburg and 
 settle their disputes by a combat, with their 
 ministers — Pitt, Thugut, Bernsdorf, and 
 Talleyrand — as esquires. This strange whim 
 was the result of the irritation produced in 
 his mind by some English caricatures repre- 
 senting him as an idiot, which had been 
 artfully sent him by Napoleon. Paul was, 
 indeed, embittered against this country. 
 Whenever despatches were presented to 
 him from England, proposing terms of 
 reconciliation, he contemptuously thrust 
 them through with his penknife, and then 
 returned them unopened. 
 
 Paul's own family were not exempt from 
 the effects of his furious and ungovernable 
 temper. The empress submitted patiently 
 to all his caprices, though her place, as his 
 wife, was supplied by the ugly and diminu- 
 tive Mademoiselle Nelidof. Yet neither 
 the empress nor her sons were able to avoid 
 incurring the morbid suspicions of Paul. 
 It was rumoured by persons of influence at 
 
A.D. 1800.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. fcoNspiiiACY against paul. 
 
 court, that he had said he would send the 
 empress to Kalamagan in the government of 
 Aslracan, Alexander to the dismal fortress 
 of Schlusselburg, and Constantino to the 
 citadel of St. Petersburg. Whether or not 
 Paul threatened this proceeding, it was felt 
 by the distinguished persons alluded to, 
 that he might at any time put it into prac- 
 tice, and that no carefulness to avoid offence 
 would be a security against unmerited but 
 severe punishment. This induced even the 
 family of the emperor to share the growing 
 feeling, that it was necessary to remove him 
 from the exalted position he was so utterly 
 unfit to fill. * ' 
 
 It was conjectured by some persons, that 
 the mental derangement of Paul was caused 
 by the disappointment of an illicit passion 
 which he entertained for the Countess 
 Lapoukhin, a lady of the court, who wisely 
 preferred an honourable marriage with a 
 subject to the invidious distinction proposed 
 to her by the emperor. The refusal of the 
 lady threw him into such fits of rage, as 
 were calculated to produce serious results 
 even to himself, and rendered him danger- 
 ous to every person whose unpleasant "duty 
 it was to approach him. Many of his frantic 
 acts were attributed to the suggestions of 
 the Count Koutaisof, who, from his barber, 
 had become his favourite and minister.* The 
 latter denied the imputation, and perhaps 
 Avith truth, for court favourites are always 
 exposed to accusations of that kind. More- 
 over, the elevation of this man, who was a 
 Turk by birth, had given great offence to 
 the nobility, and assisted in promoting 
 the discontent which had become general 
 amongst them. The caprices of Paul, how- 
 ever, wounded not only their pride, but 
 their interests. As landed proprietors, they 
 suffered greatly by the suspension of com- 
 mercial intercourse with England. This 
 consideration also pressed heavily upon the 
 
 • Koutaisof was a Turk of low origin, •who had 
 been originally ralet-de-chambre to Paul, and who 
 so far won his favour, that he rose, at last, to 
 be his confidant and minister. Such was the 
 power which this man obtained over the emperor, 
 that even the nobility, who detested him, bowed 
 before his authority. Suwarrow alone, unaccus- 
 tomed to the servility of courts, did not hesitate 
 to humiliate him by the expression of his contempt. 
 Paul had occasion one day to communicate with 
 Suwarrow, and sent this favourite to the veteran to 
 convey his commands. When the name of Count 
 Koutaisof was announced, Suwarrow exclaimed, 
 " Koutaisof! I do not know a Russian family of that 
 name." Koutaisof replied, " that he was a Turk, 
 and that the favour of the emperor had elevated 
 3 B 
 
 mercantile classes, who feared to enter into 
 any extensive speculations under a govern- 
 ment at once so variable and insecure. 
 
 All these circumstances led to a result 
 Avhich it is not difficult to anticipate. A 
 conspiracy uras entered into amongst a 
 number of officers and others, most of 
 whom held important and confidential 
 situations near the person of the emperor. 
 Amongst them were Plato Zuboff, and his 
 brothers. Valerian and Nicholas, who had 
 all suffered loss and insult at the hands of 
 Paul, but were then restored to favour; 
 Generals Benningsen, Ouvaroff, and Jasch- 
 wel; and Colonels Tatarmoff and Jesse- 
 lowitz. But the director and master-mind 
 of the conspiracy was Count Pahlen, the 
 military governor of St. Petersburg. He 
 was an Esthonian by birth, and a man of a 
 cold, crafty, and faithless nature. He had, 
 to some extent, been the instrument of the 
 severities of the emperor ; but he hated a 
 master whom he could not serve either with 
 respect or safety to himself. The high cha- 
 racter of Pahlen was such as to neutralise 
 the suspicion of the emperor, should it 
 be excited ; while the suavity of his manners 
 and the readiness of his speech were also 
 calculated to disarm it. It is said that he 
 had long entertained a wish to depose the 
 despotic Paul, and to place the Grand-duke 
 Alexander on the throne, in the hope of 
 rising to the first place in the councils of 
 the inexperienced monarch, or even to reign 
 over the empire in his name. This is by no 
 means improbable; but that which appears 
 to have been the direct inducement for 
 him to join the conspiracy, was his discovery 
 that Paul intended to dismiss and disgrace 
 him. 
 
 Count Pahlen proceeded with consum- 
 mate art to provide for the success of the 
 dangerous scheme in which lie had em- 
 barked. It is presumed that the intention 
 
 him to the dignity with which lie was invested." 
 " You have, without doubt," responded Suwarrow, 
 " distinguished yourself in arms ?" " I have never 
 served in the field," answered Koutaisof. " Or in 
 the ministry ?" inquired Suwarrow. " I have not 
 been charged with civil affairs," said Koutaisof, " I 
 have always been placed near the person of the em- 
 peror." " Well, well," persevered the old general, 
 " and in what capacity ?" Koutaisof wished to turn 
 the conversation, but the pitiless warrior pursued his 
 questions, until he forced him to avow that he had 
 been valet-de-cJia»ibre. Suwarrow then turned to 
 his own servant, and said, " See, Ivan, what it is to 
 conduct oneself well; this lord was once what thou 
 art — behold him now decorated with a blue riband." 
 — Levesque, 
 
 309 
 
mS SONS IMPLICATED IN IT.] HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1801. 
 
 of those who were admitted to the secret, 
 was to compel Paul to sign a deed of abdi- 
 cation, and that they had not any intention 
 of murdering him. However that may be, 
 Pahlen contrived to collect in St. Peters- 
 burg, and imphcate in the plot, a number of 
 persons who had sustained injuries from 
 the emperor, and who were not likely to 
 recoil from bloodshed. Pahlen also had the 
 address to alienate from the favour of the 
 doomed emperor all those courtiers whom 
 he feared would be adverse to his design. 
 
 The masterpiece of Pahlen, however, 
 consisted in implicating the Grand-dukes 
 Alexander and Constantino in the con- 
 spiracy against their father. This was 
 necessary for his safety; for if the plot 
 failed, Pahlen's life would be sacrificed to 
 the rage of Paul ; and if it succeeded, he 
 might yet fall a victim to the vengeance of 
 Alexander. The latter danger would pro- 
 bably be removed if the future monarch 
 shared the crime which was to place him 
 on the throne. Pahlen, therefore, secretly 
 excited the father against the sons, and 
 then worked upon their fears to excite them 
 against their father. He represented to the 
 grand-dukes that he was labouring for their 
 welfare, and urged that their safety and 
 that of the empire required that the in- 
 sanity of the emperor should be restrained 
 from producing any further injury to the 
 public interests. He spoke no word which 
 implied that any violence was intended to- 
 wards Paul, and dwelt upon the emperor's 
 assumed intention of placing his sons in 
 confinement. The princes both recoiled 
 from any active participation in the con- 
 spiracy ; but they felt the cogency of 
 Pahlen's arguments, and consented that 
 their father should be compelled to abdi- 
 cate. Alexander concurred so far, that he 
 signed the proclamation announcing his 
 own assumption of the reins of govern- 
 ment two hours before the consummation of 
 the conspiracy. 
 
 When so many persons were admitted to 
 the plot, it is not surprising that some 
 rumours of it reached the ears of the empe- 
 ror, whose miserable fears made him suspect 
 every one who approached him to be an 
 assassin. Sendiug for Pahlen, Paul ac- 
 quainted him with his apprehensions, and 
 desired him to spare no means of informing 
 himself of all the facts of the case. The 
 astute minister replied calmly, " Sire, I 
 know it all ; and, in order to assure myself 
 of the guilty, I am myself a conspirator." 
 370 
 
 The apparent openness of this answer paci- 
 fied the emperor, and induced him to con- 
 fide in the presumed integrity and vigilance 
 of his minister. It was not long, however, 
 before he received more explicit informa- 
 tion, and he then suspected that Pahlen had 
 taken a real and not a feigned part in the 
 conspiracy. Under this impression, he 
 wrote to Araktcheief, the former governor 
 of St. Petersburg, then commanding some 
 trusty troops at a distance of forty verstg 
 from the capital, desiring his immediate 
 presence, and expressing a belief that he 
 had been betrayed by Pahlen. The latter, 
 aware of every movement that took place at 
 the palace, arrested the courier, and, open- 
 ing his despatches, saw that his only chance 
 of escaping destruction, lay in carrying the 
 design against Paul into immediate opera- 
 tion. The next day was accordingly fixed 
 for its accomplishment. 
 
 The time thus necessarily adopted was a 
 favourable one, for it was the period of the 
 Maslanitza, or Russian carnival, when the 
 whole population surrender themselves to 
 festivity. An hour before midnight, about 
 twenty of the conspirators presented them- 
 selves at the side door of the palace which 
 opened on the gardens. They were at first 
 refused admission by the sentry ; but on 
 representing to the man that they had been 
 sent for by the emperor, who intended that 
 night to hold a council of war, and know- 
 ing most of them to be officers of rank, he 
 allowed them to pass. Silently ascending 
 the staircase, they advanced cautiously to 
 the antechamber. Then ArgamakoflF, the 
 aide-de-camp in waiting, who had entered 
 into the design, went forward alone. The 
 Cossack on guard he deceived by saying 
 that there was a fire in the city, and that 
 he came to awaken the emperor. The Cos- 
 sack permitted him to pass, and Argamakoff 
 knocked at the door of the royal apartment, 
 and announced his name. Paul was in 
 bed ; but, knowing the voice, he opened the 
 door by means of a cord attached to it for 
 that purpose. No sooner had he done so, 
 than the other conspirators crowded into 
 the antechamber. A conviction of their 
 intended purpose flashed across the mind of 
 the guard, who shouted, " Treason !" He 
 had no time to give the alarm further ; for 
 the confederated officers instantly cut him 
 down, and then rushed into the chamber of 
 the emperor. They found the bed empty, 
 and some exclaimed that the despot had 
 escaped. " That is impossible," said Gene- 
 
A.u. 1801.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [murder of PAUL. 
 
 ral Benningsen, who feared that at this 
 critical moment the irresolution of some of 
 his associates might lead to their common 
 destruction. Turning to them, he ex- 
 claimed threateningly, " No weakness, or I 
 will put you all to death." Then, putting 
 his hand on the bedclothes, and feeling 
 them warm, he added, that the emperor 
 could not be far off. Almost immediately 
 afterwards, Paul was perceived crouching 
 behind a screen, from which ineffectual 
 hiding-place he was dragged by the resolute 
 general. Just before the entrance of the 
 conspirators, the trembling despot had 
 seized a sword, and attempted, in his night- 
 dress, to gain a private staircase, from 
 which he could have effected his escape. 
 It was too late ; but now, though detected, 
 and brought face to face with those whom 
 he must have regarded as his intended 
 assassins, he confronted them in a bold and 
 manly manner. Passion and excitement 
 gave him for the time a courage which he 
 did not ordinarily possess. Turning on 
 some of those present, on whom he had 
 conferred his capricious favours, he re- 
 proached them bitterly as traitors and in- 
 grates. Heedless of his anger, Plato Zuboff 
 read to him the act of abdication that had 
 been prepared, and required him to sign it 
 instantly. Paul refused, saying, that " he 
 was emperor, and would remain emperor;" 
 and then burst into a torrent of invectives 
 against Zuboff in particular. The latter 
 coolly informed him that he was no longer 
 emperor, and called upon him to surrender 
 in the name of the czar Alexander. Paul, 
 bursting with passion, struck at Zuboff j and 
 the conspirators, dismayed by this boldness 
 drew back and hesitated. 
 
 It was a critical moment ; for the life of 
 the despot trembled in one scale, that of the 
 
 * Considerable differences exist amongst the vari- 
 ous narrations concerning the details of the death of 
 Paul ; but where all the witnesses had an interest in 
 concealing the particulars, it can scarcely be expected 
 that every account should coincide. One account 
 was given by the soldier who guarded the ante- 
 room to the bedchamber of Paul ; for the man, 
 though cut down, was not killed by the conspirators, 
 and was afterwards taken by the empress into her 
 protection. It is not, however, likely that this man, 
 taint from the loss of blood, and fearing for his own 
 life, was in a condition to be very accurately ac- 
 quainted with proceedings which took place in the 
 next apartment. All accounts, however, though 
 differing in detail, agree as to the main facts ; and 
 we have endeavoured to attain as much correctness 
 in the relation of these as the evidence of the best 
 accessible authorities would enable us. It is stated 
 by some writers, that Paul, from the moment he 
 
 conspirators in the other. Their veneration 
 of the imperial authority, and the habit of 
 passive submission to it, was regaining its 
 influence over most of them. The arrival 
 of a few persons faithful to the czar would 
 have struck panic into these lawless aven- 
 gers of the sufferings of an empire ; even 
 the merest accident might have effectually 
 awed the conspirators, and saved the miser- 
 able autocrat, who, with his hideous face 
 distorted with excitement, and livid from 
 the conflicting emotions of rage and terror, 
 glared at them like a wild beast at bay. A 
 distant shout, or the sound of approaching 
 footsteps towards that fatal chamber where 
 stood the living emperor whose moments 
 were numbered, might have rescued him. 
 It was not to be; there was at least, among 
 the conspirators, one whose resolution was 
 undaunted; and his spirit reanimated the 
 rest. This was General Benningsen, who 
 reminded them that, if Paul escaped, an 
 inevitable death upon the scaffold awaited 
 them. 
 
 This observation roused the confederates 
 to a sense of their position, and awakened 
 in them that resolution which commonly 
 springs from a sense of danger. Nicholas 
 Zuboff instantly rushed upon the emperor, 
 and, by a single blow, broke his right arm. 
 His example was immediately followed, and 
 the other conspirators threw themselves 
 upon Paul, Excited to frenzy, he fought 
 with them furiously ; but such an unequal 
 struggle was necessarily of brief duration. 
 Overpowered, exhausted, and covered with 
 blood, he fell to the ground. In this posi- 
 tion a sash was hurriedly passed round his 
 neck, and his agony terminated by strangula- 
 tion. His last words were, "And you, too, 
 my Constantino !"* The wretched tyrant 
 fancied that his own son was among his 
 
 saw the conspirators until they broke out into 
 violence, did not utter a single word, but fell into a 
 sort of stupor, from whence he was awakened by 
 Prince Tatchwili, the major-general of artillery, who, 
 inflamed with wine, came in with several of his com- 
 panions ; and, finding Benningsen and seven or 
 eight of his friends standing motionless in the room, 
 furiously attacked the emperor, and, overturning the 
 lamp, involved the apartment in darkness. In the 
 struggle that followed, Benningsen, according to this 
 authority, is said to have repeatedly urged Paul not 
 to attempt to escape or to defend himself, as he 
 feared his life would be the penalty ; and, through- 
 out the whole scene, Benningsen did not take any 
 more active part. Having left the room to procure 
 a light, he found Paul, on his return, lying on the 
 ground strangled. The only resistance which Paul 
 is said, by this account, to have made, was putting 
 his hand between his neck and the sash, and ex- 
 
 371 
 
ALEX.-IXDER HAILED AS CZAR.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1801. 
 
 murderers. It has been denied that the 
 grand-duke was present^ or even aware that 
 the project in which he was implicated 
 would have so ti'agical a termination. Por 
 the honour of human nature we trust that 
 such was the case. It is difficult to enter- 
 tain a spark of pity for the despot, whose 
 cruelties had rendered him unfit to live, and 
 whose violent death we regard with no more 
 emotion than w'e should that of a wolf, or 
 other beast of prey. But that his own son 
 should have been present amongst the 
 assassins, and assisted to extinguish that 
 life from which he derived his own, Avould 
 have been a circumstance both unnatural 
 and appalling. The incident has been 
 explained, and we are willing to believe 
 truthfully so, by the statement that the 
 bewildered emperor took one of the con- 
 spirators for the grand-duke on account of 
 a similarity in their dress. 
 
 Thus perished Paul, on the night of the 
 23rd of March, 1801, * at the age of forty- 
 seven, after a brief reign of four years and 
 nearly five months, f 
 
 The subtle and unprincipled Count Pahlen, 
 who had been the animating principle of the 
 conspiracy, was not present during the 
 murder of the emperor. With a prudent 
 but profound and dishonourable duplicity, 
 he had placed himself at the head of a regi- 
 ment of guards, prepared either to congratu- 
 late his accomplices on their good fortune 
 in the event of their success, or to represent 
 himself as the deliverer of Paul should the 
 autocrat have escaped. 
 
 While the conspirators were engaged 
 with Paul, his eldest son, the Grand-duke 
 Alexander, remained in a room below, ex- 
 pecting to receive the news of his father's 
 arrest and deposition. Whether he antici- 
 pated, as he reasonably might have done, 
 the dark result of the design, or had heard 
 
 claiming in French, " Gentlemen, for heaven's sake, 
 spare me ! leave me time to pray to God !" which 
 were his last words. There are many reasons for 
 questioning the truth of this account. It is incon- 
 sistent •with the violent character of Paul, who 
 might reasonably be supposed to reproach his assas- 
 sins with the favours he had bestowed upon them ; 
 and it is equally inconsistent with the part which 
 General Benningsen took in the affair, having that 
 night supped at General Taiizin's with Pahlen and 
 the other leaders, and undertaken, with the energy 
 which is known to have distinguished him, the bold 
 office of heading the party at the palace. 
 
 • Some accounts say, that Paul was murdered 
 
 on the 24th of March, not the 23rd. As it was 
 
 about midnight when the event took place, it has 
 
 been referred by some narrators to the following day. 
 
 372 
 
 the noise arising from the struggle, and thus 
 guessed that his parent had been assassi- 
 nated, we are unable to say. But on the 
 return of the conspirators, he eagei-ly de- 
 manded of them, whether the life of his 
 father had been spared? On receiving a 
 reply in the negative, he tore his hair, and, 
 uttering passionate expressions of sorrow, 
 refused, for a short time, to allow himself to 
 be nominated to the succession. This emo- 
 tion might have been sincere ; but we must 
 confess to a suspicion of its hoUowness. The 
 admirers or adulators of Alexander have 
 given him the credit of being both humane 
 and affectionate. Emperors, however, are 
 never in want of flatterers, who are ready to 
 argue even their weaknesses or crimes into 
 ^'irtues; and a profound judge of human 
 character, who afterwards knew Alexander 
 well, pronounced him to be both false and 
 cunning. J 
 
 The news of the suddeu death of the 
 emperor, whom a complaisant court phy- 
 sician pronounced to have died of apoplexy, 
 soon spread through the city, and was 
 received with acclamations and expressions 
 of unbounded joy. So intolerable had the 
 tyranny of Paul become, that his death was 
 everywhere felt as a relief, and the people, 
 army and nobles, Avere unanimous in their 
 congratulations and rejoicings. To such 
 an extent was this carried, that a stranger 
 might have supposed some great festival to 
 be in course of celebration. Assembling 
 beneath the windows of the palace, the 
 populace rent the air with shouts, mingled 
 with the name of Alexander. These de- 
 monstrations induced him to abandon all 
 idea of refusing to accept the title of em- 
 peror; if, indeed, he seriously entertained it. 
 It was evident that an attempt to revenge 
 the death of his father might have resulted 
 in a revolution; for so great was the joy of 
 
 t Paul left ten children, all the offspring of his 
 second wife, the Pi-incess of Wurtemberg. Their 
 names and the dates of their births are as follows : — 
 Alexander, born 23rd December, 1777 ; Constantine, 
 born 1779; Alexandrina, born 1783, married to 
 Joseph, palatine of Hungary ; Helena, born 1784, 
 married to Frederic, prince of Mecklenburg-Strelitz; 
 Maria, born 1786, married to Charles, grand-duke of 
 Saxe- Weimar ; Catherine, born 1788, married fii-st 
 to Prince George of Holstein Oldenburg, secondly 
 to William I., king of Wurtemberg; Olga, born 
 1792; Anne, born 1795, married to William II., 
 king of Holland; Nicholas, born 1796; Michael, 
 born 1798. 
 
 I The emperor Napoleon I. Indeed, even the 
 panegyrists of Alexander admit that he was a pro- 
 found dissembler. 
 
A.D. 1801.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [character of PAUL. 
 
 the people, that they were with difficulty 
 restrained from hailing the regicides as the 
 saviours of the empire. Shortly afterwards, 
 a deputation of the nobility, the officials 
 and the magistrates of the city, waited on 
 Alexander, and tendered him their alle- 
 giance. At the same time, Count Pahlen, 
 who headed the deputation, read an address, 
 representing the indispensable necessity of 
 a total change of policy on the part of the 
 new emperor. 
 
 Little need be said respecting the cha- 
 racter of Paul, which has, perhaps, been suffi- 
 ciently revealed by our narrative. It is, 
 moreover, not agreeable to dwell on a pic- 
 ture which is all storm and shadows. He 
 has been said to have occasionally exhibited 
 traits of humanity ; but we are, after patient 
 reflection, at a loss to discover them. He 
 visited and pardoned Kosciusko for a whim, 
 and because the patriot had been condemned 
 to imprisonment by the empress Catherine, 
 whose commands Paul ever loved to reverse. 
 He also degraded poor officers by au osten- 
 tatious gift of food! which the management 
 of the army ought never to have permitted 
 them to want. This was eccentricity, not 
 humanity; for Paul abundantly proved that 
 he was destitute of all gentle and kindly 
 emotions. His tyranny was intolerable, and 
 his cruelty petty, harassing, and incessant. 
 He did not resemble the lion who rends 
 and slays, but the reptile which stings and 
 poisons. He delighted to terrify his sub- 
 jects, and to make them feel the weight of 
 his authority. Sometimes a touch of gi-im 
 humour was mingled with his caprice or 
 anger. On one occasion, while engaged in 
 private conversation with a nobleman of his 
 court, the emperor, without any provocation, 
 gave him a sound box on the ear, saying at 
 the same time, "This salutation with ray 
 hand Paul," in punning allusion to one of 
 the epistles of his namesake the apostle. 
 The vanity of the emperor was gigantic, his 
 arrogance unbounded. In that direction 
 the irritability of his mind appears to have 
 passed the bounds of disorder, and become 
 disease. The reverence which he com- 
 manded to be observed towards him, was 
 such as it is only becoming in men to pay 
 to the Deity. Capricious in all things, he 
 never adhered to any principle of policy, or 
 to any purpose. Narrow in his intellect, he 
 viewed every subject through the medium of 
 personal feelings. He even considered au 
 event or alliance as acceptable, or otherwise, 
 according as it pleased him, and not as it 
 
 affected the interests of the empire. As 
 Napoleon observed, he had a will of his 
 own, and a resolute one ; but it must be 
 added, that lie was utterly destitute of the 
 judgment requisite to direct it. To his 
 capricious and petty cruelty, he added a 
 treachery which he commonly visited upon 
 those whom he led to believe he had re- 
 garded as friends. No one could trust him ; 
 no one could depend upon his humour even 
 from one hour to another. His activity was 
 remarkable, especially in mischief; and, in- 
 deed, he was employed in little else. His 
 motives were little, and his actions mean 
 and unkingly. His nature was a mixture of 
 the military martinet and the inquisitorial 
 police-officer. His oppression was of a 
 puerile character, and might have been 
 regarded as ridiculous, but for the serious 
 consequences resulting from it. A furious 
 war against round hats, lapelled waistcoats, 
 or Russian harness, might seem, though irri- 
 tating, to be absurd; but these proceedings 
 take a very different complexion when we 
 learn that people were punished with merci- 
 less severity, even to the extent of being 
 exiled for life to the wilds of Siberia, for 
 even accidentally infringing the wliimsical 
 edicts of the emperor on these points. Paul 
 had a passion for remodelling everything; 
 yet it may be safely said that he improved 
 nothing. Everything he did was of a petty 
 and pragmatical kind ; the people, the army, 
 the legislature, the press, all bitterly felt the 
 pressure of his innovating hand. Indeed, 
 his reforms, or rather changes, always pro- 
 duced more evil than that which they were 
 occasionally intended to effect. We say 
 occasionally, because he often commanded 
 extensive alterations to be made in the 
 machinery of the state, without condescend- 
 ing to assign any reason whatever; if, in 
 fact, he possessed any. It was his will, and 
 he expected and enforced an unquestioning 
 obedience. In brief, if the emperor Paul is 
 to be regarded as accountable for his actions, 
 he must be pronounced as the worst and 
 meanest despot of modern times ; insignifi- 
 cant but for his despotic fury, and never 
 even great in crime. If, on the other hand, 
 we acquit him of his crimes against society 
 on the plea of insanity, we must deplore 
 that fatal form of government which is ever 
 liable to invest a maniac with absolute' and 
 uncontrollable power over the largest empire 
 iu the world. 
 
 To these remarks of our own, we will 
 append the following observations from the 
 
 373 
 
STIMOxXY OF COUNT SEGI7R.] HISTOUY OF THE 
 
 [a.». 180t 
 
 pen of Count Segur, the French ambassador 
 at St. Petersburg during a portion of the 
 latter part of the reign of the empress 
 Catherine. The count, possessing the suavity 
 of a courtier who had frequently seen and 
 conversed Avith the autocrat, Avas evidently 
 influenced by a desire to render his sketch 
 as devoid of repulsive features as a strict 
 regard for truth would permit. He says* — 
 "With much wit and information, the 
 Grand-duke Paul possessed the most rest- 
 less and suspicious temper, the most change- 
 able character. He was often affable to the 
 extreme of familiarity; oftener harsh, des- 
 potic, and haughty. Never, perhaps, did 
 there exist a man more uncertain, timid, 
 or capricious; less calculated, in short, for 
 imparting happiness to others or to himself. 
 " His reign bore evidence of this, Ihe 
 many acts of injustice which he committed, 
 the disgrace or banishment of so many per- 
 sons, are not to be ascribed to a wicked dis- 
 position (?) but to a kind of mental malady. 
 He was the torment of all Avho approached 
 him, because he was his own torment. He 
 always fancied that the throne was encom- 
 passed with precipices. Fear disturbed his 
 judgment : through his constant apprehen- 
 sion of imaginary evils, he gave rise to real 
 ones ; for, sooner or later, a monarch never 
 fails to communicate to others the terror to 
 which he is a prey, and the mistrust which 
 he harbours in his heart. 
 
 " At a later period, one of my colleagues 
 in the chamber of peers, who was at St. 
 Petersburg during the reign of Paul, quoted 
 to me some of his expressions, that bore 
 the deepest stamp of his despotic character. 
 Having allowed General Dumouriez to call 
 frequently to see him, and the general 
 having one day omitted to appear at the 
 palace, the emperor asked him, the next 
 time he presented himself, whether he had 
 been unwell. 'No, sire,^ replied Dumou- 
 riez ; * but having been invited to dine by 
 one of the most important personages of 
 your court, I could not excuse myself from 
 accepting the invitation.' 'I would have 
 you to know, sir,' rejoined the emperor, in 
 a severe tone of voice, ' that there is not any 
 person of importance here except the one I 
 may be addressing, and so long as I am ad- 
 dressing him.' Is it possible for the pride 
 of power and the contempt of mankind to 
 be carried to greater lengths ! 
 
 "In the early days of my arrival in 
 Russia, this prince had shown such a warm 
 • 3Iemoirs and Eecollections. 
 374 
 
 attachment to me, that it bore the appear- 
 ance of infatuation. This fancy did not 
 last long; it turned to indifference, Avhen 
 he found that the empress, his mother, 
 honoured me with marks of kindness, and 
 admitted me into her intimacy. For a long 
 time past he had ceased to express any wish 
 for a renewal of my intercourse with him ; 
 but at the moment of my departure, a fresh 
 caprice of his mind procured me a return 
 of confidence. He com^ersed with me for 
 several hours, and to the exclusion of 
 almost every other subject, respecting his 
 pretended causes of complaint against the 
 empress and the Prince Potemkin, the un- 
 pleasantness of his situation, the dread in 
 which he was held, and the melancholy fate 
 he had to expect from a court accustomed 
 to suffer and allow no other I'eign but that 
 of women : he was intimidated by the re- 
 flection of his father's deplorable end; it 
 was constantly in his thoughts, and was the 
 settled idea of his mind. 
 
 " In vain I urged that his prejudices de- 
 ceived him ; that, so far from fearing him, 
 his mother always left him at liberty to 
 hold his court without any interference on 
 her part, and even to retain near him, at a 
 short distance from Czarskozelo, two bat- 
 talions, the officers of w'hich were of his 
 own nominating, Avhich he trained, armed, 
 and clothed at will ; whilst his mother, 
 banishing all apprehension, only kept one 
 company of her guard near her person. 
 ' If this princess, monseigneur,' I said, 
 ' does not call you to her councils, and 
 gives you no share in public affairs, allow 
 me to observe, that it would be very difficult 
 for her to act otherwise ; aware, as she is, 
 that you find fault with her inclinations, 
 her connections, her system of administra- 
 tion, and her political conduct. As to the 
 evils which you dread by anticipation, rest 
 assured that your fears contribute to raise 
 them ; show yourself superior to them, and 
 they will infallibly disappear.' I did not 
 succeed in persuading him; and, by inces- 
 santly recriminating against the ministers 
 and all who were honoured with the con- 
 fidence of the empress, he was endeavouring 
 to prove to me, that, notwithstanding my 
 five years' residence in Russia, I Avas very 
 imperfectly acquainted Avith his character. 
 * Explain, in short,' said the prince to me on 
 one occasion, * why, in the European mon- 
 archies, sovereigns quietly reign and succeed 
 each other, Avhilst the throne of Russia is 
 so often stained with blood ?' 
 
A.D. 1801.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [regret of napoleon. 
 
 " * I see no difficulty, monseigneur/ I 
 replied, 'in tracing the cfxuse of all those 
 catastrophes; and, no doubt, it has not 
 escaped your observation. Everywhere else 
 the peace of nations and the tranquillity of 
 kings is secured by the inheritance to the 
 throne in the male line. Tiiis is the im- 
 portant difference existing between the 
 ancient Asiatic, Roman, Greek, and bar- 
 barian monarchies, and the modern ones; 
 the progress of civilisation may, perhaps, 
 be ascribed to this stability. Here, on the 
 contrary, there is nothing fixed on the sub- 
 ject ; eveiything is open to doubt ; and the 
 sovereign selects any successor he pleases. 
 Hence you have a perpetual source of am- 
 bitious hopes, of intrigues and conspiracies,' 
 
 "'1 acknowledge it,' he rejoined, 'but 
 where is the remedy to be found? With us, 
 the habit is of long standing, a sanctioned 
 eustom ; and an alteration in so important 
 a point could never be effected without 
 danger to the innovator; for, I repeat it, 
 the Russians prefer seeing a gown rather 
 than an uniform upon the throne.' — ' Never- 
 theless, I am of opinion, monseigneur,' I 
 continued, ' that this happy revolution might 
 be brought about at some signal epoch of a 
 new reign, such as a solemn entry, a coro- 
 nation, when the people's minds are open to 
 confidence, to pleasure, and to hope.' 
 
 " ' I can well conceive it,' he said, em- 
 bracing me; 'this might be attempted; I 
 must reflect upon it.' 
 
 " I thought no more of the subject ; and 
 he, perhaps, equally forgot it. When, how- 
 ever, on his ascending the throne a few 
 years afterwards, Paul established, as a fun- 
 damental law, the hereditary succession to 
 the throne in the male line and in the 
 order of primogeniture, it occurred to me 
 that our conversation might have contri- 
 buted in operating this memorable change 
 in Russian legislation." 
 
 The assassination of Paul, and the subse- 
 quent triumph of the British fleet at the 
 
 * Alison observes — " In truth, there was a con- 
 nection, and an intimate one, between them, though 
 not of the kind insinuated by the first consul. The 
 connection was that between flagrant misgovernment 
 and Oriental revolution. In every country, how 
 despotic soever, there is some restraint on the 
 power of government. When oppression or tyranny 
 has reached a certain height, a spirit of resistance is 
 inevitably generated, which leads to convulsions ; 
 and this is the case in Oriental as in European mon- 
 archies ; in the age of Nero as in that of James II. 
 It is the highest glory of representative governments, 
 to have given a constitutional direction to this neces- 
 sary element in the social system; to have con- 
 
 battle of Copenhagen, dissolved that for- 
 midable coalition of the northern powers 
 which was entered into to destroy the mari- 
 time supremacy of this country. Napoleon 
 was greatly irritated at the unexpected death 
 of Paul, and the events which so rapidly 
 followed it. So much so, that he publicly 
 implied, and probably himself believed, that 
 the murder of the emperor was brought about 
 by the influence of England. " Paul I.," 
 said Napoleon, in announcing the event to 
 the French people, "died on the night of 
 the 23rd of March. The English fleet passed 
 the Sound on the 30th. History will unveil 
 the connection which may have existed be- 
 tween these events." * The French papers 
 followed the example of the emperor, and 
 contended that the English ministry was 
 privy to the conspii'acy; the success of 
 which, and the murder of the emperor, was, 
 they said (though we certainly do not see 
 by what means), necessary to the success of 
 the English expedition against Denmark. 
 It is now generally admitted that these 
 assertions were merely idle calumnies. 
 Assuredly, a British fleet, with the illustrious 
 Nelson on board of it, did not stand in 
 need of Russian conspirators to enable it to 
 procure a victory over an inferior power. 
 Paul's death was the natural result of his 
 tyranny ; and it is only to be wondered at 
 that his capricious despotism was borne so 
 long as it was by a nobility to whom the 
 assassination of an emperor was no novelty. 
 Napoleon's acute minister, Talleyrand, en- 
 deavoured to pacify him, by observing, that 
 " this was the customary mode of abdication 
 in Russia." 
 
 Napoleon's regret for the death of Paul 
 arose from the partiality which the latter 
 had recently shown towards him, and the 
 desire he had evinced to promote the in- 
 terests of France. But the first consul was 
 further irritated by the consequent aban- 
 donment of the northern alliance against the 
 maritime supremacy of Euglaud, and also 
 
 verted a casual and transitory burst of vengeance 
 into a regular and pacific organ of improvement ; to 
 have substituted a hostile vote in the national as 
 serably for the dagger or the bowstring ; and, instead 
 of the revolution of the seraglio, introduced the 
 steady opposition of the British parliament. In 
 Ilussia, this important element was unknown. No 
 regular or useful check upon the authority of gov- 
 ernment existed ; the will of the czar was omnipo- 
 tent. Measures the most hurtful might emanate 
 from the palace without any constitutional means of 
 redress existing ; and if the conduct of the emperor 
 had risen to a certain degree of extravagance, no 
 means of arresting it existed but his destruction." 
 
 375 
 
PROJECT TO INVADE INDIA.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1801. 
 
 of a wild scheme Ayhich he had formed in 
 conjunction with Paul, of marching a com- 
 bined French and Russian array to India, 
 with the object of overthrowing the dominion 
 of Britain in that vast and wealthy penin- 
 sula. We entirely concur in the opinion 
 that the abandonment of this project was 
 far more fortunate for France and Russia 
 than it was for England. We believe that, 
 in consequence of the tremendous natural 
 obstacles to be overcome, the successful 
 accomplishment of such a scheme is utterly 
 impracticable. Nor do we attribute much 
 weight to the fact, that so great a general as 
 Napoleon thought otherwise. We think 
 that, intoxicated by a career of brilliant 
 successes, he had come to believe that it 
 was almost impossible that he could fail in 
 any enterprise to the accomplishment of 
 which he devoted himself. His faith in the 
 resources of France, in the spirit and military 
 genius of the French people, and in the 
 paramount ascendancy of 'Miis star" or 
 destiny, was unbounded. Yet, in his subse- 
 quent invasion of Russia, these failed him in 
 the most tragical manner; and we regard 
 that project as one of far less danger and 
 difficulty than his contemplated march to 
 India, Avhere, if the French and Russian 
 troops ever arrived at all, it would be to 
 encounter, in a state of exhaustion and 
 misery, a Succession of British armies well 
 supplied with every requisite for field service, 
 and fresh for conflict. If the reader will 
 refer to an atlas, and trace in the maps of 
 Europe and Asia the proposed line of pro- 
 gress of the allied armies to India, we think 
 that he will agree with us, that the enterprise 
 would have proved fatal to all who embarked 
 in it. Fears have even recently been enter- 
 tained of Russian ambition in that direction ; 
 but it requires not the mantle of a prophet 
 to predict, that should so wild a project ever 
 be attempted, India would prove the grave 
 — and one from which resurrection would be 
 more than doubtful — of the prestige of Rus- 
 sian statesmanship and military distinction. 
 
 This was the plan which received the 
 sanction of the great Napoleon ; but which, 
 from the gigantic — we believe insurmount- 
 able — difficulties surrounding it, has more 
 the appearance of 
 by the driveller Paul 
 
 "A French army, 35,000 strong, with 
 light artillery, under the command of Mas- 
 sena, shall be moved from Fiance to Ulm, 
 whence, with the consent of Austria, it 
 shall descend the Danube to the Black Sea. 
 376 
 
 having been concocted 
 
 " Arrived there, a Russian fleet will trans- 
 port it to Taganrog ; thence it shall move 
 to Tzaritzin on the Volga, where it will find 
 boats to convey it to Astracan. 
 
 "There it will find a Russian army of 
 35,000 men, composed of 15,000 infantry, 
 10,000 cavalry, and 10,000 Cossacks, amply 
 provided with artillery, and the horses ne- 
 cessary for its conveyance, 
 
 *^The combined army shall be transported 
 by the Caspian Sea, from Astracan to 
 Astrabad, where magazines of all sorts shall 
 be established for its use. 
 
 " The march from the frontiers of France 
 to Astrabad Avill be made in eighty days ; 
 fifty more will be requisite to bring the 
 army to the banks of the Indus, by the 
 route of Herat, Felah, and Candahar." 
 
 The most remarkable feature of this 
 strange project is, the perfect complacency 
 with which it utterly ignores difficulties of 
 a more gigantic and threatening character 
 than have ever been surmounted, or even 
 attempted, by any modern military power. 
 The intended allied army of 70,000 men 
 would be strangely inefficient for the accom- 
 plishment of so vast an end as that pro- 
 posed ; even supposing it to be practicable. 
 It is more than probable that 70,000 men 
 would be utterly consumed in the sickness, 
 sufferings, and privations of this compli- 
 cated progress. To supply such a force 
 with provisions, even to Astrabad, would 
 be a work of transcendant difficulty; but 
 the maintenance of it from that point to 
 the banks of the Indus, through Persia and 
 Affghanistan, where it would constantly be 
 assailed by fierce and hostile forces, would 
 be scarcely short of miraculous. Should 
 this have been overcome by any wonder- 
 fully arranged commissariat, the ti'oops, 
 especially the Russians, Avould have perished 
 in swarms from the effects of a climate 
 which is terribly fatal to men who have 
 been cradled in the snows of the north. 
 It was the climate which defeated Peter 
 the Great when he penetrated into Persia; 
 and a terrible sickness devastated and para- 
 lysed the array sent there by Catherine. 
 
 Even the very first steps of the French 
 army, before it joined that of Russia, would 
 be beset with difficulties. It was to descend 
 the Danube, " with the consent of Austria," 
 though it was, undoubtedly, the interest of 
 Austria to withhold that consent. The em- 
 peror, who was an ally of England, might 
 have withheld his consent; but supposing 
 him to have given it, it must be remem- 
 
A.D. 1801.] KUSSIAN EMPIRE. [natural obstacles to it. 
 
 bered, that the greatest portion of the 
 Danube runs through the dominions of the 
 sultan. His consent, tlierefore, must have 
 been obtained also : and as the invasion of 
 India was to be conducted in defiance of 
 Turkey, there is little doubt that, in the 
 progress down the Danube to the Black 
 Sea, considerable opposition Avould have to 
 be encountered. During this time, it is 
 scarcely possible that England would remain 
 in inaction, and passively behold the prepa- 
 rations that were being made to wrest from 
 her a vast territory, the loss of which, espe- 
 cially if taken from her by France and 
 Russia, would have materially lowered her 
 reputation as a first-rate European power. 
 Presuming, as we think under the circum- 
 stances we are warranted in doing, that the 
 Porte admitted a British fleet into the Black 
 Sea for the purpose of intercepting that of 
 Russia, encumbered with 70,000 troops, 
 and heavily laden with artillery, horses, 
 and stores — the result of such a conflict 
 as would certainly follow, could scarcely be 
 doubtful, even if Nelson had not been ap- 
 pointed to command the British men-of- 
 war. At the time of which we are writing 
 the spirit of England Avas unbounded, its 
 resources seemingly inexhaustible, the ex- 
 tent of its influence almost miraculous, and 
 its wrath terrible. Its resources, and con- 
 sequently its influence, are now far greater; 
 and if the indomitable spirit of its people 
 seems to have deteriorated, we suspect that 
 is because prolonged wars have not aroused 
 in them that strong sense of nationality and 
 military ardour which existed in times of 
 difficulty and danger. It is scarcely a 
 metaphor to say, that England has held 
 her own against a world in arms; nor too 
 much to predict, that the power of Russia, 
 even with that of France at its back, could 
 never wrest India from her iron grasp. If 
 that vast and grand peninsula, extending 
 from the luxuriant and verdant plains of 
 Cape Comorin to the snow-clad mountains 
 of the Himalaya and the savage wilds of 
 Tartary, and blessed b}'^ nature with all the 
 treasures of the roseate East, be ever lost 
 to England, it will not be in consequence of 
 foreign interpolation — not from the bayonets 
 and cannon of Russia and France; but 
 from English mismanagement, false secu- 
 rity, and wilful misunderstanding of the 
 native character — from an unjust inter- 
 ference with ancient usages, and an un- 
 generous and insane attempt insidiously to 
 force upon the Hindoos and Mohammedans 
 3c 
 
 of that burning clime, a religion to which 
 they entertain not only a repugnance, but 
 a hatred. England might, though we do 
 not believe she ever will, lose India in 
 consequence of a succession of well-or- 
 ganised rebellions agaijist her authority — 
 rebellions provoked by her own dogmatic 
 intolerance and Avant of faith towards her 
 swarthy subjects ; but we arc satisfied that 
 it can never be torn from her by any Euro- 
 pean power or confederacy. 
 
 In the above remarks we have referred 
 only to the difficulties which, in the plan 
 proposed by Paul and Napoleon, would 
 beset the allied Russian and French armies 
 in their progress to the banks of the great 
 river Indus. Assuming the journey had 
 been made, at this point the toils and 
 dangers of the expedition would appear to 
 begin again. In Scinde or the Punjaub, 
 the invaders, if they had survived the 
 suff'erings of the progress, would have to 
 meet the armies of Britain. Let us admit 
 that it is even possible that they might gain 
 a battle, yet it is certain that it would be 
 purchased at a cost scarcely less disastrous 
 than that of a defeat. This would be a 
 position in Avhich even the victories of the 
 invaders Avould destroy them piecemeal. 
 Certainly, much would depend upon the 
 natives ; if favourable to the invaders, it 
 would be a great assistance to them ; but if 
 these races, the most warlike in all India, 
 were ill-disposed towards the new-comers, 
 it would probably lead eventually to the 
 destruction of the latter. But there is 
 little reason to suppose that the native popu- 
 lation would regard the advance of a Euro- 
 pean army with emotions of satisfaction. 
 The progress of great bodies of troops 
 through the towns and villages of a country 
 not their own, is seldom regarded other- 
 wise than with aversion by the inhabitants. 
 Cases of spoliation are sure to occur, more 
 especially so with an array in the gaunt 
 arms of famine. Provisions are purchased 
 at any price the strongest please to pay for 
 them ; robberies ensue ; and women are 
 insulted, or worse. The inevitable result is 
 a hostile and even vindictive population; 
 the removal of provisions to secret places; 
 the desertion of villages ; and the murder 
 of all stragglers from the ranks of the 
 troops. All these things considered, we 
 are disposed to conclude that the successful 
 invasion of India, from the side of Russia, 
 would be an impossibility ; and it is gen- 
 erally admitted that it could not be assailed 
 
 377 
 
RUSSIA AND INDIA.] 
 
 HISTORif OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1801. 
 
 by a European power in any other direc- 
 tion. 
 
 Even those who contend for the practica- 
 biHty of a Russian invasion of India^ admit 
 that the probability of achieving such a con- 
 quest must not be confounded with its like- 
 lihood. They acknowledge that it would 
 take Russia so long a period to mature her 
 plans, that they could not escape detection ; 
 and the interval would be employed in 
 strengthening the frontiers of India. They 
 add, however, that the wiser and easier 
 course would be, to prevent the presumed 
 invasion by securing the independence of 
 those Asiatic nations that lie between the 
 Russian possessions and the ludus. Other 
 writers consider^ tliat the advance of Russia 
 to India would present no insuperable diffi- 
 culties, if she could but obtain possession of 
 Constantinople. We do not coincide in 
 that opinion ; and there is, moreover, so 
 significant a meaning in that little Avord if ! 
 The Turks are by no means so powerless a 
 people as many political writers are in the 
 habit of representing them ; and though 
 history shows them to be unequal to sustain 
 singly, without heavy disadvantages, a pro- 
 longed contest with Russia, yet recent events 
 have shown that the great powers of Europe 
 are now fairly aroused to the necessity of 
 checking any further encroachment by 
 Russia on the Turkish territory. The inde- 
 pendence of theOttoman empire is nowrecog- 
 nised as a European necessity, nor could a 
 balance of power be maintained without it. 
 If Constantinople was in the possession of 
 Russia, a vital injury would be inflicted upon 
 the commerce of England, which would thus 
 have a private as well as a public and general 
 interest in preventing such a result. The in- 
 terest of France in rescuing the city of the 
 sultan from the hostile advances of Russia, is 
 not so immediately apparent ; yet that power 
 cannot be unconcerned at any event that 
 
 * Napoleon, in his exile, frequently referred to 
 this subject. In O'Meara's work \Napoleo7i in 
 Exile), he is represented^ as saying — " Alexander's 
 thoughts are directed to the conquest of Turkey. 
 We have had many discussions about it. At first, I 
 •was pleased with his proposals ; because I thought it 
 would enlighten the Avorld to drive those brutes, the 
 Turks, out of Europe. But when I reflected upon 
 the consequences, and saw what a tremendous 
 •weight of power it would give to Russia, in conse- 
 quence of the number of Greeks in the Turkish 
 dominions who would naturally join the Russians, I 
 refused to consent to it, especially as Alexander 
 wanted to get Constantinople, which I would not 
 allow, as it Would have destroyed the equilibrium of 
 power in Europe. I reflected that France would 
 gain Egypt, Syria, and the islands, which would 
 378 
 
 would disturb the balance of power. A 
 French writer observes — ' The hero of Aus- 
 terlitz, at the head of France — of the em- 
 pire — did not dare to abandon Constanti- 
 nople to the pacific Alexander.'"* 
 
 A modern tourist, who has written a 
 pleasant and useful book on the capital 
 of Russia and its inhabitants, f observes — 
 " There is one subject Avhich, from time to 
 time, is repeated in England as an alarm- 
 bell to rouse the nation against the power 
 of Russia, which is the apprehension of an 
 attack from that quarter upon our Indian 
 possessions; but I hear nothing from the 
 most sanguine advocates of Russian aggran- 
 disement, which would make me think that 
 sensible men ever seriously entertained the 
 idea of such an impracticable project. I 
 have seen Russian officers who have lately 
 travelled into the country which separates 
 their farthest provinces from our Indian 
 frontier, and all agree in their description 
 of the dangers and difficulties attendant on 
 such a journey, even for a private individual, 
 much more for a numerous army. Some 
 reasoners go farther, and pretend to wish 
 that we should even advance our Indian 
 outposts towards their province of Cabool, in 
 order that we might meet amicably at that 
 distant point, and co-operate mutually in 
 promoting an overland communication from 
 thence with Europe, which -n'ould ensure 
 to them the benefits of carrying a trade 
 through Russia, and would be of great ad- 
 vantage to those English Avho are estab- 
 lished on that boundary of our Indian 
 empire. I listen, however, with caution to 
 any expression from that quarter, of a wish 
 that we should extend our influence and 
 power in any shape. On the other hand, 
 if war should ever be declared between the 
 two countries, there is hardly a doubt that 
 the scene of action will be in the East, 
 though not in the direction of India.'^ 
 have been nothing in comparison with what Russia 
 would have obtained. I considered that the bar- 
 barians of the North were already too powerful ; and 
 probably, in course of time, would overwhelm all 
 Europe, as I now think they will. Austria already 
 trembles ; Russia and Prussia united, Austria falls, 
 and England cannot prevent it. France, under the 
 present family (i.e., the Bourbons), is nothing; Austria 
 can ofi'er but little resistance to the Russians, who are 
 brave and potent. Russia is the more formidable 
 because she can never disarm : in Russia, once a 
 soldier always a soldier — barbarians who, one may 
 say, have no country, and to whom every country is 
 better than the one that gave them birth." Such were 
 the latest opinions of the great political seer. 
 
 t A Visit to St. Petersburg in the Winter qf 
 1829-'30 ; by Thomas Raikes, Esq. 
 
A.D. 1801.] 
 
 EUSSIAN EMPIRE. [accession of Alexander. 
 
 CHAPTER XLV. 
 
 ACCESSION OF AI.KXANDER I. ; HE INCLINES TO LIBERAL MEASURES, AND TROAIISES TO GOVERN ON THE 
 PRINCIPLES OF CATHERINE H. ; ADOPTS A PACIFIC POLICY TOWARDS ENGLAND, AND ADMITS THE RIGHT 
 OF SEARCH UNDER CERTAIN LIMITATIONS ; CONSEQUENT ABANDONMENT OF THE NORTHERN COALITION ; 
 TEMPORARY PEACE BETWEEN FRANCE AND ENGLAND ; REFORMS BY ALEXANDER; GEORGIA IS ANNEXED 
 TO RUSSIA ; ALEXANDER INTERFERES IN THE AFFAIRS OF GERMANY ; RUPTURE OF THE PEACE OF AMIENS ; 
 ARREST AND EXECUTION OF THE DUKE D'ENGHIEN ; ALEXANDER REAIONSTRATES M'lTH NAPOLEON CON- 
 CERNING IT; NAPOLEON ASSUMES THE TITLH OF EMPEROR; THIRD COALITION AGAINST FRANCE; THE 
 BATTLE OF AUSTERLITZ, AND DEFEAT OF THE EMPERORS FRANCIS AND ALEXANDER. 
 
 The concurrence of the guards had been 
 secured by Palilen and Benningsen j and 
 on the morning following the murder of 
 Paul — whOj it was reported, had died during 
 the night in a fit of apoplexy — Alexander 
 Paulovitch {i.e., son of Paul) was proclaimed 
 emperor. The chief offices of state neces- 
 sarily fell to the lot of the principal con- 
 spirators, and the new monarch was com- 
 pelled to take counsel with those whose 
 hands had recently been stained with his 
 father's blood. To such an extent was this 
 the case, that a lady of rank and wit wrote 
 to Fouche, on the occasion of a public 
 ceremony at which Alexander was present, 
 soon after his accession — "The young em- 
 peror walked, preceded by the assassins of 
 liis grandfather, followed by those of his 
 father, and surrounded by his own." 
 
 Notwithstanding this ominous epigram, 
 indicative of a dangerous state of things in 
 Russia, Alexander was hailed with joy by 
 the people. He was young, being only in 
 his twenty-fourth year, and possessed of a 
 majestic figure, and a cast of countenance 
 regarded as benevolent. He had been 
 educated by the celebrated Colonel La 
 
 * Alexander's manners were highly polished, and 
 expressed great amiability. In a biograpiiy of him 
 by H. E. Lloyd, many anecdotes are related illus- 
 trative of this quality. Amongst them are the fol- 
 lowing respecting his conduct to his instructor : — 
 " His attachment to La Harpe was rather filial than 
 that of a pupil ; his greatest delight was in his 
 society, and he would cling round his neck in the 
 most affectionate embraces, by which frequently his 
 clothes were covered with powder. ' See, my dear 
 prince,' La Harpe would say, ' what a figure you 
 have made yourself!' 'Oh! never mind it,' Alex- 
 ander replied ; ' no one will blame me for carrying 
 away all I can from my dear preceptor.' One day 
 he went to visit La Harpe, as was his custom, alone ; 
 the porter was a new servant, and did not know 
 him ; he asked his name, and was answered, Alex- 
 ander. The porter then led him into the servant's 
 hall, told him his master was at his studies, and 
 could not be disturbed for an hour. The servant's 
 homely meal was prepared, and the prince was 
 
 Hai'pe,* who is said — though we doubt the 
 assertion — to have imbued his mind with 
 liberal principles; indeed, La Harpe's OAvn 
 principles were unsettled, and his liberalism 
 eventually doubtful. Alexander had been 
 married, at the early age of sixteen, to the 
 Princess Louisa Maria Augusta of Baden; 
 on which occasion that princess adopted the 
 Greek form of Christianity, and took the 
 name of Elizabeth Alexiewna. 
 
 The first acts of the reign of the new 
 emperor were both pacific and popular. 
 He issued a ukase, in which, after ex- 
 pressing his intention of governing the 
 empire according to the maxims and plans 
 of his august grandmother, Catherine II., 
 he restored to the nobility all the pi'ivileges 
 they had enjoyed in that reign; re-estab- 
 lished the rights of municipalities ; abolished 
 secret proceedings in criminal cases ; granted 
 a general amnesty, and terminated all state 
 prosecutions then in progress. At the same 
 time certain benefits were conferred upon 
 the clergy, by which their personal dignity 
 was enhanced; and many indications were 
 given that the recent reign of terror was to be 
 succeeded by a mild and conciliatory sway. 
 
 invited to partake of it, which he did without affec- 
 tation. "When the hour was expired, the porter in- 
 formed La Harpe that a young man of the name of 
 Alexander had been waiting some time, and wanted 
 to see him. ' Show him in.' But what Avas La 
 Harpe's surprise to see his pupil ! He wished to 
 apologise ; but Alexander, placing his finger on his 
 lips, said, ' My dear tutor, do not mention it ; an 
 hour to you is worth a day to me ; and, besides, I 
 have had a hearty breakfast with your servant, 
 which I should have lost had I been admitted when 
 I came.' The poor porter's feelings may be better 
 imagined than described ; but Alexander, laughing, 
 said, ' I like you the better for it ; you are an honest 
 servant, and there are a hundred roubles to convince 
 you that I think so.'" The same author observes — 
 " La Harpe was, in some respects, the same to 
 Akxander that Le Fort had been to Peter the 
 Great, a hundred years before. He brought him 
 up, without political or i-eligious prejudices in the 
 wiser principles of an enlightened age." 
 
 379 
 
PACIFIC TKEATY WITH ENGLAND.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1801. 
 
 Paul had left Russia on the verge of ac- 
 tive hostilities with England. Sir Hyde 
 Parker, after the destruction of the Danish 
 fleet at Copenhagen, had gone in pursuit of 
 a portion of the Russian fleet, which fled 
 from the encounter, and was fortunate 
 enough to shelter itself beneath the batteries 
 of Cronstadt. Alexander wrote to that 
 admiral, informing him that he had set the 
 crews of the British ships at liberty; that 
 he was willing to close with the amicable 
 propositions made by the government of 
 this country to his predecessor ; and adding, 
 that he should hold the admiral responsible 
 for any act of hostility that might take place 
 after this notice. At the same time, Alex- 
 ander wrote, with his own hand, a letter to 
 George III., expressing his anxiety to 
 arrange the existing differences in a friendly 
 manner. Besides liberating the English 
 mariners who had been imprisoned by 
 Paul, and conveying them to the ports from 
 whence they had been taken, the new czar 
 revoked the prohibition that had been laid 
 upon the exportation of corn. This latter 
 measure gave great satisfaction both in 
 England and Russia. In this country it 
 relieved the distress of the people during a 
 period of severe scarcity ; and in Russia it 
 exchanged the accumulated stores of grain, 
 that was in danger of rotting in warehouses, 
 into the manufactures and gold of England. 
 This pacific spirit was readily met by the 
 English government. Lord St. Helens was 
 sent to St. Petersburg, where a treaty Avas 
 speedily concluded between the two powers, 
 which admitted and defined the right of 
 search claimed by this country, and, conse- 
 quently, abandoned the principles of the 
 armed neutrality. By this treaty, it was 
 provided, '^That the right of searching 
 merchant ships belonging to the subjects of 
 one of the contracting powers, and navi- 
 gating under a ship of war of the same 
 power, shall only be exercised by ships of 
 war of the belligerent party, and shall 
 never extend to the fitters-out of privateers, 
 or other vessels which do not belong to the 
 imperial or royal fleet of their majesties, but 
 which their subjects shall have fitted out for 
 war ; that the effects on board neutral ships 
 shall be free, with the exception of contra- 
 band of war and of enemy's property ; and 
 it is agreed not to comprise in the number 
 of the latter the merchandise of the pro- 
 duce, growth, or manufacture of the coun- 
 tries at war, which should have been ac- 
 quired by the subjects of the neutral power, 
 380 
 
 and should be transported for their ac- 
 count." Contraband articles, between the 
 two powers, were defined as " cannons, mor- 
 tars, fire-arms, pistols, bombs, grenades, 
 balls, bullets, firelocks, flints, matches, sul- 
 phur, helmets, pikes, swords, sword-belts, 
 pouches, saddles and bridles; excepting 
 such quantity of the said articles as may be 
 necessary for the defence of the ship and 
 crew.'' By this treaty, the right of search, 
 though admitted in principle, was placed 
 upon a more equitable footing, and divested 
 of its most galling features. 
 
 This treaty created great irritation in the 
 mind of Napoleon, whom Alexander in vain 
 endeavoured to pacify in a letter couched in 
 the most pacific terms. The First Consul 
 observed — " Europe beheld with astonish- 
 ment this ignominious treaty signed by 
 Russia, and which, by consequence, Den- 
 mark and Sweden were compelled to adopt. 
 It was equivalent to an admission of the 
 sovereignty of the seas in the British parlia- 
 ment, and the slavery of all other states. 
 This treaty was such, that England could 
 have desired nothing more; and a power of 
 the third order would have been ashamed to 
 have signed it." Napoleon sent general 
 Doroc to St. Petersburg, to counterbalance 
 English influence at that court ; but, though 
 that officer was received with marked dis- 
 tinction, he was unable to accomplish the 
 object of his journey. Yet Alexander 
 secretly assured him that he entertained a 
 feeling of admiration for the first consul, 
 and an anxiety to maintain friendly rela- 
 tions with France. 
 
 Sweden and Denmark, though not in- 
 cluded in the convention between this 
 country and Russia, were obliged to follow 
 the example of that state. The embargo 
 which had been laid on English ships and 
 property, was raised on the 19th of May, in 
 Russia, Sweden, and Denmark; and cor- 
 responding steps were taken on the part of 
 the English government. Prussia, Avhich 
 had been unwillingly drawn into the quar- 
 rel, also took the first opportunity of es- 
 caping from its effects. " Thus," observes 
 Alison, "was dissolved, in less than six 
 months after it had been formed, the most 
 formidable confederacy ever arrayed against 
 the English maritime power. Professedly 
 contracted in order so secure the liberty of 
 the seas, it was really directed against the 
 grandeur and prosperity of Great Britain ; 
 breathing only the sentiments of freedom 
 and justice, it was, in truth, intended to 
 
(2^4^ '^/t^^e^ia^t- a^a'^^^<z^ ■^e^i^'ee^i. ^^cfnaA^ <3^^s^i:ita. O'^z/t 
 
 Ti\Y. I.OMiON PlUJI'i'iNa ATT]) PUlil.lSJlLNG- COMPANY LrMlTFiX). 
 
A.D. 1801.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [a general peace. 
 
 divide, among the coalesced states, the power 
 and the ascendancy of a more fortunate 
 rival. The rapidity with which this power- 
 ful alliance was hrokcn up by England, to- 
 wards the conclusion of a long and burden- 
 some war, and when her people were labour- 
 ing under the combined pressure of severe 
 want and diminished emploj'ment, is one of 
 the most remarkable features of this memor- 
 able contest; and, perhaps more than aiiy 
 other, characteristic of the vast ascendancy, 
 moral as well as political, which she has 
 acquired among the other nations of the 
 world." 
 
 The convention between England and 
 Russia, signed at St. Petersburg on the 
 17th of June, 1801, was followed, on the 
 1st of October, by the signature of prelimi- 
 naries of peace between France and Eng- 
 land, or, in other words, by the temporary 
 pacification of Europe. The peace itself 
 was concluded at Amiens on the 27th of 
 March in the following year. Tenaporary 
 as the peace Avas, it was yet a necessity. 
 The two great belligerent powers had 
 scarcely the means of carrying on an active 
 warfare against each other. Without allies 
 or auxiliaries on the continent, England 
 could not hope to touch France by land; 
 while, on the other hand, with fleets ruined 
 or blockaded, and a navy completely dis- 
 heartened, France could not expect to touch 
 England by sea. Both nations, also, were 
 comparatively exhausted, and needed rest ; 
 the war, like a vast fire, had, at least for a 
 time, burnt itself out for mere want of 
 something to consume. The French nation 
 obtained the gratification of having the 
 republic recognised by England : this coun- 
 try had fought obstinately, and in some 
 respects brilliantly, with steel and gold, in a 
 quarrel where it should have stood aloof as 
 arbiter, instead of rashly mixing itself up as 
 a principal ; and by so doing, it had drained 
 the best blood of England, and swelled the 
 national debt from about £244,000,000 to 
 above £520,000,000. Sheridan quaintly 
 characterised the peace by saying, " it was 
 such as all men were glad of, but of which 
 no man could be proud.'^ Napoleon pri- 
 vately observed — " It was but a truce ; his 
 government stood in need of fresh victories 
 to consolidate itself; it must either be the 
 first government in Europe, or it must fall.^'' 
 
 As soon as Alexander had established his 
 foreign relations upon a pacific basis, he 
 directed his attention towards those internal 
 reforms which Russia required. He at 
 
 first showed a submission to Count Pahlen 
 and to some other of the conspirators ; but 
 he soon found means to get rid of men 
 whose presence must ever have reminded 
 him of the frightful catastrophe which led 
 him to the throne. The empress-mother, 
 who assumed a dramatic grief at the death 
 of the husband whom she had long known 
 only to dread, caused a picture to be 
 painted, representing Paul at the feet of the 
 Virgin, imploring the vengeance of Heaven 
 upon his assassins. Count Pahlen, alarmed 
 at the crowds attracted by this startling ex- 
 hibition, caused it to be removed. The 
 princess, irritated against the minister, said 
 to Alexander, '' My son, you must choose 
 between Pahlen and me." The emperor, 
 not sorry to be furnished with an excuse 
 for the dismissal of a person whose presence 
 was painful to him, caused it to be intimated 
 to Pahlen, that he must privately retire 
 from St. Petersburg. The ambitious states- 
 man felt that he had failed in his design to 
 rule through the instrumentality of a youth- 
 ful sovereign — that he had lost his hold on 
 the mind of the emperor ; and he therefore 
 sought his safety by resigning all his offices 
 and proceeding to Riga. The empress- 
 mother herself had the ambition to lay 
 claim, after the murder of her husband, to 
 the vacant throne. Some altercation took 
 place between her and her son on this sub- 
 ject ; but she was soon prevailed upon to 
 relinquish her pretensions. This collision 
 did not appear to leave any unpleasant 
 traces on the mind either of Alexander or 
 his mother, to whom, during his life, he 
 always continued to show respect and at- 
 tachment. 
 
 Pahlen banished, Alexander shared the 
 reins of government with some of the com- 
 panions of his early days. These were 
 Messrs. de StrogonofF, Nowosiltzoff", and 
 the Polish prince, Czartoryski, and a more 
 mature friend, M. de Kotschubey. The 
 imperial clique entertained notions which, 
 with something of truth and liberality, were 
 characteiised by more of extravagance. 
 Paul I., and even the illustrious Catherine, 
 they considered as barbarous and unen- 
 lightened sovereigns. The partition of 
 Poland they regarded as an outrage ; the 
 war against the French revolution as the 
 result of blind prejudices. Russia was, for 
 the future, to undertake a totally diff'erent 
 mission ; she was to protect the weak — to 
 curb the strong — to oblige France and Eng- 
 land to confine themselves within the limits 
 
 381 
 
INTERNAL REFORMS.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1801. 
 
 of justice — to force both of them to respect, 
 in their struggle, the interests of nations. 
 " Happy pretensions,^' remarks the French 
 historian Thiers, " noble ideas, if they had 
 been serious; if they had not resembled 
 those liberal impulses of the French no- 
 blesse^ brought up in the school of Voltaire 
 and Rousseau, talking of humanity and 
 liberty, till the day when the French revo- 
 lution came to require them to conform 
 their acts with their theories. Then those 
 titled philosophers became the emigrants of 
 Coblentz." 
 
 Alexander, influenced by the doubtful 
 liberalism which he was soon to discard, 
 and, under the influence of his young ad- 
 visers, having restored to the nobility the 
 prerogatives which had been wrested from 
 them by Paul, then extended the right of 
 possessing landed property to all the sub- 
 jects of the empire. The measure appeared 
 to indicate a desire to abolish the vassalage 
 of the peasants ; but in that direction the 
 emperor never proceeded any farther, but 
 appeared rather to recede from such prin- 
 ciples year after year, than to make any 
 advances towards carrying them into efi'ect. 
 The natural warmth of youth, and perhaps 
 the influence of his early training by La 
 Harpe, induced him to regard all questions 
 aff'ecting popular rights with more liberality, 
 at this period, than he ever afterwards dis- 
 played. By nature, Alexander was a mild 
 yet ai'tful despot ; and it was but for a 
 brief space that education, and other in- 
 fluences, placed him in the light of an 
 admirer of progressive and liberal princi- 
 ples. He had no real confidence in a 
 career founded on such tenets, and soon 
 learned to fear their results. It would, in- 
 deed, be difiBcult for an irresponsible auto- 
 crat to become a reformer in the interests 
 of the people. The emperor soon acquired 
 the notion that the Russians were not pre- 
 pared for liberty, and he based this assump- 
 tion upon the facts of their frequent revolu- 
 tions against despotism, and the vices which 
 slavery had engendered amongst them. 
 He did not reflect that slaves are never 
 prepared for liberty ; that it is necessary to 
 take off their chains before they can be 
 made to understand and appreciate those 
 rights which belong to the condition of 
 freemen. He found the people serfs, and 
 such he left them. 
 
 Alexander also set an example of judi- 
 cious economy in his own household ; he 
 abolished some useless offices, and en- 
 383 
 
 couraged the establishment of canals, roads, 
 and bridges. This was to improve the 
 country; but we do not find that he did 
 much towards improving the people. We 
 do not lay any great weight on the fact of 
 his abandoning the idea of the emancipa- 
 tion of the serfs, because the system, with 
 all its evils, has some counteracting bene- 
 fits ; and even many Englishmen have con- 
 tended, that the lot of the Russian serf is 
 happier than that of the British peasant. 
 The first, when past labour, is maintained 
 by those of his own class, and passes the 
 evening of his life in as much comfort as he 
 has known during any other period of it : 
 if the last outlives his ability to earn his 
 bread, he has no alternative but the union 
 workhouse; and a life hitherto passed in 
 independence, is closed in the serfdom of 
 pauperism. In these remarks we pass no 
 censure upon the English system ; it is the 
 result of a stern necessity. The circum- 
 stances ai-e widely different in the British 
 and Russian empires. In this country, the 
 limited extent of its territory, and the 
 wealth of a considerable portion of its in- 
 habitants, make the price of land exorbi- 
 tantly high : in Russia, these circumstances 
 are reversed, and land is readily parted 
 with for an almost nominal consideration. 
 To such an extent is this the case, that if 
 the serfs of the Northern empire possessed 
 the personal independence of British agri- 
 cultural labourers, and had their property 
 as effectually secured to them, aU the sober 
 and industrious among them would become 
 small landed proprietors in their old age. 
 Surrounded by their circumstances, the 
 English labourers of one generation would, 
 in the next, become farmers, cultivating 
 their own land. But the serf has but little 
 interest in his labour, the result of a con- 
 siderable portion of which goes to enrich 
 his lord. Nor has he any strong induce- 
 ment to accumulate property; for he is 
 always liable to be despoiled of it. It will 
 be seen, therefore, that it is manifestly in- 
 correct to conclude that serfdom is scarcely 
 an evil because the Russian serf is, under 
 certain circumstances, better off than the 
 British peasant. To establish this argu- 
 ment, it should be shown, that the slave- 
 peasant of Russia is as well off in his age 
 as the free peasant of Britain would be 
 under the same circumstances. In each 
 case the conditions must be equal, or the 
 analogy is deficient, and the result at- 
 tempted to be drawn from it inaccurate. 
 
A.D. 1801.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [the serf question. 
 
 Some writers infer, that the emperor 
 Alexander grew wiser as he grew older, and 
 "that the abandonment of a subject involving 
 the dearest interests of the millions of his 
 empire, was the natural result of this in- 
 creased worldly wisdom. We cannot re- 
 cognise any connection whatever between 
 this assumed cause and the result, and dis- 
 card it as altogether illogical. It would be 
 more correct to say, that Alexander grew in 
 selfishness and a distaste for experimental 
 and difficult reforms as he advanced in life, 
 rather than that he grew wiser. We ques- 
 tion if selfishness is wisdom, even in the 
 lowest conceivable worldly sense ; it looks 
 too much to immediate results, and is 
 seldom capable of taking a comprehensive 
 view of any subject. Alexander, doubtless, 
 soon saw, that to give liberty to the serfs, 
 would be to create a great number of small 
 owners of land, who would become sturdy 
 and independent as they attained a know- 
 ledge of their own strength and impor- 
 tance in the state. It would be, in fact, to 
 create a People ; and an independent people 
 might dethrone a despot who seriously 
 abused his power. Alexander does not 
 appear to have recognised the fact, that a 
 throne based upon the affections of a well- 
 treated and independent people, would be 
 far more secure and durable than one 
 erected upon the bayonets of a fickle army, 
 and the servile tenets of a superstitious, ig- 
 norant, and materialistic priesthood. Revo- 
 lutions in Russia are conducted by the 
 nobles, or those about the person of the 
 sovereign ; and the people have usually 
 regarded the murder of a czar with indif- 
 ference. To them it merely brought a 
 change of masters, the difference in Avhose 
 rule did not extend so low in the empire as 
 to affect their interests. But a free people 
 become attached to the sovereign under 
 whom they enjoy their freedom, and this 
 attachment is his safeguard against a dis- 
 contented and turbulent nobility. Peter 
 the Great found it so; and when his sub- 
 jects had learned rightly to understand 
 him, he was, in effect, the most absolute 
 monarch that ever swayed the sceptre of 
 the North. But the selfishness which Alex- 
 ander acquired, or rather gave a freer rein 
 to, as he grew easy in his imperial robes, 
 prevented him from seeing, or at least 
 trusting to, those distant results to which 
 we have alluded, arising from the emanci- 
 pation of the millions whom he ruled. To 
 him the commonalty of Russia were— to 
 
 use the language of a benevolent and ae- 
 complished English judge, who graced the 
 judicial seat with the elegancies of poetry — 
 
 " The common herd, 
 
 The vassals of our ancient house, the mass 
 Of bones and muscles framed to till the soil 
 A few brief years, then rot unnamed beneath it ; 
 Or, deck'd for slaughter, at their master's call 
 To smite and to be smitten, and lie crush'd 
 In heaps to swell his glory or his shame."* 
 
 Such Alexander found the serfs of Russia, 
 and such his prudent wisdom left them. 
 That it would have been dangerous in a 
 young monarch to have at once emanci- 
 pated them, we readily conceive; but the 
 clanger would chiefly have arisen from the 
 irritation of his nobility, who would thus 
 have been deprived of a source of revenue 
 which they acquired by accident, and ought 
 never to have possessed.f 
 
 Yet Alexander might have attempted, 
 and Ave believe accomplished, this emanci- 
 pation in the height of his power, when his 
 nobles dared not have made head against 
 him. It might have been preceded by 
 many preparatory measures, and effected so 
 gradually, that the presumed loss to his 
 nobility would have been but lightly felt. 
 That they Avould eventually have expe- 
 rienced any loss at all, we are by no means 
 convinced ; for their uncultivated estates 
 would soon have acquired a marketable 
 value, and found purchasers or tenants in a 
 newly-created class of society. Russia, at 
 the same time, would be placed in a posi- 
 tion from which she would make rapid 
 advances in wealth, power, and population ; 
 and, in fact, become in reality the greatest 
 of European powers. But Alexander was 
 too prudent to attempt a change which 
 would have made his memory cherished 
 by his people, admired by Europe, and 
 honoured by the world. As he grew more 
 secure in power, he became more and more 
 indifferent to the giant social problem of 
 the empire ; and the dread of serf outbreak, 
 and a sanguinary serf retaliation on their 
 oppressors, haunts, to this hour, the higher 
 circles of Russia, and creates apprehensions 
 which, though seldom spoken of, are deeply 
 felt. If those brutalised and contemned 
 millions should ever rise in wrath, and with 
 mad impatience proceed to retaliate for 
 
 * Talfourd's Ion. 
 
 t See ante, p. 85, how serfdom accidentally arose 
 from an edict of Boris Godunof, forbidding the 
 peasantry to remove from the estates on which they 
 were born. 
 
 383 
 
ANNEX.VTION OF GEORGIA.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1801. 
 
 ages of oppression, awful indeed would be 
 t'he result. The revolting scenes which 
 must inevitably take place in such a Jac- 
 querie, we trust it may never be the lot of 
 any future historian to describe. 
 
 Let us return from this brief digression. 
 The sickly nature of Alexander's liberalism 
 was evidenced by his conduct with respect 
 to the press. This had been, in effect, anni- 
 hilated by the unequivocal tyranny of his 
 father. The new emperor, though seeking 
 for confidence and popularity, only modified 
 the rigour of that censorship which had 
 paralysed the press, and arrested the young 
 but expanding literature of the empire. A 
 freer importation of books, also, Avas allowed ; 
 but this concession was so vigilantly watched 
 by the Russian police, that it scarcely pro- 
 duced any perceptible influence. 
 
 In the early part of his reign, Alexander 
 proved himself an energetic ruler ; and he 
 laboured with almost as much diligence in 
 public affairs as his illustrious grandmother, 
 Catherine, had done. Among the benefits 
 which, soon after his accession, he conferred 
 upon the empire, were a reduction of the 
 taxes, and a remission of the odious con- 
 scription for the army, which was as hateful 
 to the peasant as it was injurious to the 
 interests of his owner. Schools were in- 
 stituted for general education ; but they 
 were subjected to the rigorous control of 
 the government ; and we may not unfairly 
 assume that little more was taught than a 
 slight knowledge of the religious tenets 
 considered vital by the Greek church, and 
 the doctrine of the duty of passive obe- 
 dience to the emperor and all constituted 
 authorities. Yet much importance was at- 
 tached to education of the kind the emperor 
 thougbt fit to permit ; and a new branch of 
 administration — that of public instruction 
 — was created. 
 
 Perhaps the most important of the reforms 
 which distinguished the first year of the 
 reign of Alexander, was the abolition of the 
 secret department, which, under another 
 name, carried on the despotic and myste- 
 rious measures which, in former times, had 
 been performed by the dreaded chancery of 
 the secret Inquisition. This court — irre- 
 sponsible for the conduct of its proceedings, 
 the motives of its members, or the iniquity 
 of its decisions — had inflicted an incalcu- 
 lable amount of misery upon the country. 
 Any person who provoked the vengeance of 
 a superior, was in danger of being cited 
 before this terrible tribunal, which not un- 
 384 
 
 frequently condemned him to perpetual 
 imprisonment, or even caused him to be 
 secretly executed. No less than twenty-six 
 persons of rank, at St. Petersburg, ' had 
 disappeared in this manner within a few 
 months of the death of Paul ; and it is 
 probable that the horror and indignation 
 excited bv these events, aided considerably 
 in bringing about the murder of the despot. 
 Other improvements were effected by the 
 emperor Alexander in the administration 
 of public affairs : a permanent council was 
 established to examine, previoush^ to publi- 
 cation, all ordinances that were to be issued 
 on the affairs of the empire ; and every 
 minister was held responsible for the pro- 
 ceedings of his department, and compelled 
 to render an annual account of them to the 
 senate. 
 
 Before the close of 1801, Alexander 
 showed that he was as eager as his pre- 
 decessors had been to extend the dominions 
 of the empire in the direction of the East. 
 In the autumn of that year the emperor 
 issued a manifesto proclaiming the annexa- 
 tion of Georgia to the Russian empire ; 
 tliat country having previously been vmder 
 the nominal protection of Persia and Turkey. 
 With habitual insincerity, he assigned hu- 
 manity, and not ambition, as his motive. 
 The people of Georgia, though personally 
 brave, had suffered severely from the at- 
 tacks of the Lesghians and the Tartars ; to 
 which Avas added the calamity of dissensions 
 amongst themselves. During the reign of 
 Paul, Georgia had been occupied by Rus- 
 sian troops sent there ostensibly for the 
 purpose of assisting the inhabitants against 
 their enemies. The aid they rendered was 
 not sufficient to expel the latter, but yet 
 enough to show that the country would be 
 safe if under the dominion of the Russian 
 sceptre. When Alexander came to the 
 throne, he turned his attention to the affairs 
 of Georgia, with the avowed object of ascer- 
 taining if she could subsist, with her former 
 government, under the protection of Russia. 
 His preformed conclusion was soon ex- 
 pressed in a declaration, that the Ijcst way 
 to terminate the troubles of Georgia would 
 be, to unite it at once to the Russian do- 
 minions. An imperial ukase was accord- 
 ingly issued to that effect, and the Russian 
 eagle was planted on a portion of the ro- 
 mantic soil of the Caucasus. 
 
 Alexander also, during this period, showed 
 a disposition to extend the influence of Rus- 
 sia in another direction, by entering into a 
 
A.D. 1802—1803.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE, [russian jealousy of france. 
 
 negotiation with France respecting the com- 
 pensation, for the entire or partial loss of 
 their dominions, to be granted to certain of 
 the minor powers of Germany, with which 
 country he was connected, both through his 
 mother and through his father, who was 
 born head of the house of Holstein-Gottorp. 
 It was in the course of these negotiations 
 that he had his first interview with the 
 prevaricating Frederic William III., king of 
 Prussia — an interview which is understood 
 to have laid the foundation of an intimate 
 friendship between the two sovereigns, and 
 to have established a concurrence of views 
 which powerfully influenced the future 
 policy of each. Alexander, though secretly 
 dissatisfied with the unimportant part which 
 Napoleon allowed him to play in these 
 transactions, yet contented himself with a 
 show of outward respect, and a precedent 
 which went far to establish the right of Rus- 
 sia to interfere in the affairs of Germany. 
 
 The tranquillity which Russia now en- 
 joyed, gave Alexander full scope for the 
 improvement of the empire, and the exten- 
 sion of its commerce and manufactures. 
 He encouraged the English system of agri- 
 culture, and allotted a tract of land to be 
 cultivated in that manner. The brief re- 
 pose of Europe from the fierce wars which 
 had so devastated a great portion of it, gave 
 an impetus to commerce ; and the ports 
 both of the Baltic and the Euxine were 
 visited by immense numbers of ships, and 
 exhibited a great degree of prosperity. The 
 trade with China also shared the general 
 improvement; and a herring-fishery was 
 established on the White Sea, under the 
 immediate protection of the emperor. A 
 voyage round the world was also projected, 
 with the object of endeavouring to establish 
 the commerce of the Russian American 
 Company with Eastern Asia, and also for 
 the purpose of opening a more extensive 
 intercourse with Japan and China. Several 
 German professors accompanied the expedi- 
 tion, with the view of making discoveries in 
 geography and natural history. It also 
 carried an ambassador accredited to Japan ; 
 but the government of that nation refused 
 to receive him. 
 
 Even at this early period of his reign, 
 Alexander showed that he was bent on 
 rigidly maintaining everything that the 
 Russian government regarded as its right. 
 
 * By the peaca of Amiens, England had under- 
 taken to restore Malta to the knights of St. John ; 
 that it should be a free port, garrisoned by the 
 3d 
 
 Sweden had, in a most trifling matter, in- 
 fringed the frontier of Finland ; and a dis- 
 pute accordingly arose between the courts 
 of Stockholm and St. Petersburg, which 
 would have led to a war, had not hostili- 
 ties been averted by the concession of the 
 Swedish monarch. The military prepara- 
 tions of Russia were very extensive, and 
 the emperor took advantage of the oppor- 
 tunity thus afl^orded him by reorganising 
 the fleet and the army, and strengthening 
 his means of defence or aggression. Alex- 
 ander, however, had another motive iu thus 
 augmenting the military force of the em- 
 pire. He had become jealous of the colossal 
 and devouring power of Napoleon, who had 
 not acted with good faith towards him in 
 the settlement of the afi'airs of the minor 
 princes of Germany. 
 
 Alexander was doubtless encouraged in 
 the hostile feelings towards France, which 
 the conduct of the first consul had excited 
 iu him, by the rupture of the brief peace 
 between that country and England. The 
 annexation, in 1802, of Piedmont to the 
 French republic, irritated both England 
 and Russia, as Alexander had personally 
 interested himself for the king of Sardinia. 
 On the other hand. Napoleon took offence 
 at the refusal of England to deliver up 
 Malta, on the plea that a Neapolitan gar- 
 rison would have been but a poor security 
 against a hostile visitation of the French.* 
 Lord Whitworth, the English ambassador, 
 had a long and stormy conference on this 
 subject with Napoleon at the Tuileries. 
 The English minister having represented to 
 him that the state of things which the 
 treaty of Amiens had contemplated was 
 completely altered by his enormous acces- 
 sion of power in Italy, he peremptorily re- 
 jected the claim of England to interfere 
 in his arrangements concerning other states, 
 and insisted on Malta being delivered up to 
 some neutral power. Turning to Count 
 Markoff, the Russian ambassador, and to 
 the Chevalier Azara, who were standing at 
 a little distance. Napoleon said to them — 
 *' The English wish for war ; but if they be 
 the first to draw the sword, I shall be the 
 last to sheathe it. They have no regard for 
 treaties. We must henceforth cover them 
 with shame." Shortly afterwards he re- 
 sumed his conversation with Lord Whit- 
 worth, by observing — " For what reason are 
 
 troops of a neutral power, and that neither this 
 country nor France should have any representative 
 in the order. 
 
 385 
 
EXECUTION OF THE DUKE d'enghien.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1804 
 
 those armaments ? against whom are these 
 measures of precaution ? I have not a single 
 ship of the line in the ports of France ; but 
 if you will arm, I shall arm likewise ; if you 
 go to war, I shall go to war also. You 
 may, perhaps, be able to destroy France, 
 but never to intimidate her." " We do 
 not desire," responded Lord "Whitworth, 
 " either the one or the other ; we wish to 
 live in a good understanding with her." 
 "It is necessary, then," continued Napo- 
 leon with much excitement, " to pay regard 
 to treaties; those who pay no regard to 
 treaties will be responsible for it to all 
 Europe." The hostile feelings of the two 
 governments did not admit of longer re- 
 pression ; and England again declared war 
 against France, on the 18th of May, 1803. 
 
 Though irritated against France, Alex- 
 ander, who, at the commencement of his 
 reign, had assumed to himself the character 
 of pacificator amongst the European powers, 
 did not as yet feel called upon to enter into 
 hostilities against the republic. He desired 
 rather to terminate the quarrel which had 
 so long distracted Europe; and the Rus- 
 sian chancellor observed, " that if the war 
 were to be prolonged between France and 
 England, Russia would be compelled finally 
 to take part in it.'^ A hollow peace yet 
 prevailed ; but trifling and undignified dis- 
 putes took place between Napoleon and the 
 Russian ambassador Markoff, who actually 
 assumed the extraordinary position of a 
 foreign minister intriguing at Paris in 
 favour of the Bourbons. This induced 
 Napoleon openly to insult him, to order the 
 arrest of his secretary, and, in a fit of tem- 
 per, to defy the Russian government. Alex- 
 ander, feeling that his ambassador had 
 acted in a manner inconsistent with his 
 station, gratified the first consul by recalling 
 him ; but at the same time conferred upon 
 him a special decoration as a mark of his 
 continued favour. 
 
 Such was the state of afi'airs when, in 
 1804, Napoleon, irritated by conspiracies to 
 assassinate him, ordered the illegal arrest 
 and judicial mirrder of the young Bourbon 
 prince, the Duke d'Enghien. On the re- 
 newal of the war, the English government 
 took the French emigrants again into its 
 pay, and they were directed to go to the 
 German side of the Rhine, to act when 
 required. The duke, imfortunately for 
 himself, was regarded as their head. Mean- 
 time, the conspiracy of Georges and Piche- 
 gru was discovered at Paris. It has never 
 386 
 
 been proved that the duke was -pnyy to 
 that conspiracy ; but it appears that he' was 
 led to expect an insurrectionary movement 
 in France in favour of the Bourbons, of 
 which he intended to avail himself, by 
 entering that country at the head of the 
 emigrants. Napoleon, alarmed at the con- 
 spiracy, and at the avowed intention of 
 Georges to assassinate him, seems to have 
 persuaded himself that the duke was con- 
 nected with the Paris conspirators, and 
 that the whole was a plan directed by the 
 Bourbons in England, and by the English 
 government ; and he determined upon get- 
 ting rid of his enemies by summary means. 
 He accordingly dispatched a party of gen- 
 darmes, who crossed the Rhine, entered 
 without ceremony the neutral territory of 
 Baden, surrounded the chateau of Etten- 
 heim, and, on the 15th of March, seized 
 the person of the duke. The arrest was 
 immediately followed by a trial before a 
 secret court, and the duke was found guilty 
 of all the charges preferred against him, 
 though the worst of them was never proved. 
 They were, that he had borne arms against 
 the French republic ; that he had ofl'ered his 
 services to the English government ; that he 
 was at the head of a party of emigrants assem- 
 bled near the frontiers of France, and had 
 treasonable correspondence with the neigh- 
 bouring departments ; and, lastly, that he 
 was an accomplice in the conspiracy formed 
 at Paris against the life of the first consul. 
 The last accusation he indignantly denied, 
 but admitted the others. Sentence of 
 death was pronounced, and carried into 
 execution with a rapidity which was re- 
 garded as both harsh and indecent. The 
 trial took place on the 20th ; and that very 
 night, or rather before daybreak the follow- 
 ing morning, he was roused from sleep, led 
 into the ditch of the castle of Yincennes, 
 where he was confined, and shot by torch- 
 light. The body was instantly buried, 
 without any funeral ceremony, in a grave 
 which had just previously been dug on the 
 spot. A great sensation was produced by 
 this act, and much indignation expressed; 
 but we think the apology which Napoleon 
 afterwards made at St. Helena concerning 
 it, not without weight. It was, that he 
 believed that the duke was implicated in 
 the conspiracy against his life, and that he 
 was obhged to strike terror among the royal- 
 ists, and put an end to their plots, by show- 
 ing that he was not a man to be trifled 
 with. Still it must be admitted, that the 
 
A.D. 1804.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE, [expostulation of Alexander. 
 
 arrest was in violation of the law of nations, 
 and that the trial was an informal one. 
 
 The fate of the Duke d'Enghien excited 
 interest and commiseration throughout Eu- 
 rope. He was young, and reputed to be 
 brave, amiable, and one of the most pro- 
 mising of the Bourbon princes. The sove- 
 reigns of Europe were especially touched 
 and offended ; but the emperor Alexander 
 made the greatest exhibition of his feeling. 
 The sufferer was of royal blood, and Alex- 
 ander felt indignant that one of such rank 
 should have been shot like a common of- 
 fender ; his emotion was elicited less for the 
 man than for the distinguished position he 
 occupied. The autocrat at once addressed 
 a remonstrance to the French minister, 
 representing the alarm that conduct so un- 
 justifiable was calculated to spread through- 
 out Europe, and concluding with a hope 
 that the first consul would see the necessity 
 of putting an end to such a state of things. 
 Not satisfied with an interference which 
 Napoleon must have regarded as dictatorial, 
 if not uncalled for, Alexander also addressed 
 a note to the diet at Ratisbon, calling upon 
 the princes of the empire to demand satis- 
 faction for the violation of the neutrality of 
 Germany. He also went into mourning for 
 the unfortunate Bourbon, and commanded 
 the court at St. Petersburg, and all his 
 ministers at foreign courts, to do the same. 
 Napoleon was necessarily irritated at these 
 proceedings, and a sharp correspondence 
 took place between the French and Russian 
 ministers. As might have been expected, 
 the first consul repudiated altogether the 
 right of Alexander to interfere in the con- 
 cerns of France ; and, after alluding to the 
 influence which its enemies were allowed to 
 exercise at St. Petersburg, sarcastically de- 
 sired the emperor to act openly, if it was his 
 intention to form a new coalition. Recrimi- 
 nations followed, and it became highly pro- 
 bable that hostilities might ensue between 
 the two nations; for affairs were in that 
 condition, that any further disagreement 
 would almost inevitably lead to an open 
 rupture. 
 
 Further offence soon followed. On the 
 18th of May, 1804, Napoleon assumed the 
 title of emperor, and was solemnly crowned 
 as such in the ancient cathedral of Notre- 
 Dame, by Pope Pius VII., on the 2nd of 
 December following. Prior to the cere- 
 mony, Alexander made a strong remon- 
 strance against the assumption of the impe- 
 rial sceptre on the part of the great soldier, 
 
 and afterwards refused to acknowledge the 
 new sovereign. The ambassadors of the 
 two monarchs were respectively recalled. 
 The despotic king of Sweden followed Alex- 
 ander in his refusal to acknowledge the 
 imperial title assumed by Napoleon. Prus- 
 sia coldly acquiesced, and Austria assented 
 to the startling proceeding of the new 
 military emperor. Alexander therefore felt 
 himself placed in a position which demanded 
 circumspection, unless he felt inclined to 
 enter on a war with France without any ally 
 but England. This difficulty was increased 
 by the aggressive attitude which Alexander 
 had assumed towards Turkey; an attitude 
 justifying the insinuation of France, that 
 the northern autocrat had adopted one 
 course of policy in Europe, and another in 
 Asia. It is certain that his movements in 
 the latter direction were inconsistent with 
 his professions in the former ; that while he 
 was endeavouring to restore the old divisions 
 of the European kingdoms, he was laying 
 snares for the extension of his territory in 
 the east, and the subversion of the states of 
 Turkey and Persia. 
 
 Though Alexander acted with caution, he 
 prepared to take advantage of any favour- 
 able opportunity that might offer for acting 
 against France, and curbing the ambition 
 of its newly-made emperor. Great activity 
 prevailed in all the arsenals of Russia; re- 
 cruits for the navy were raised throughout 
 the provinces ; the since famous Sebastopol, 
 on the Black Sea, was declared the first 
 naval seaport, and merchant vessels were 
 excluded from the harbour. The military 
 force, also, was augmented to half a million 
 of men, and large bodies of troops were 
 assembled on the western frontiers. At the 
 same time, an attempt was made to remove 
 the distaste of the Russians for a new war, 
 by declarations that the commerce of the 
 empire was in a highly prosperous condition, 
 and by the reduction of duties in all the 
 ports of the Euxine. Yet, as if fearing any 
 expression of popular opinion, the censorship 
 of the press was rendered still more rigo- 
 rous — a measure which some hollow com- 
 mon-places about liberty and the " advance- 
 ment of real knowledge,'^ failed to render 
 the less odious. 
 
 The emperor Napoleon, finding that his 
 assumption of imperial state was received by 
 the other powers of Europe with less op- 
 position than he had anticipated, converted 
 the Italian republics into a kingdom, and on 
 the 26th of May, 1805, caused himself to 
 
 387 
 
COALITION AGAINST FRANCE.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1805, 
 
 be crowned with extraordinary pomp, in the 
 cathedral of Milan, as king of Italy. Na- 
 poleon seized the iron crown of the old 
 Lombard kings, and, placing it on his brow, 
 exclaimed, " God has given it to me ; woe 
 to him who shall attempt to lay hands on 
 it." He appointed his step-son, Eugene 
 Beauharnais, to be his viceroy of the king- 
 dom of Italy, and on the 7th of June opened 
 in person the session of the Italian legisla- 
 tive body. The republic of Genoa was, in 
 the same month, united to the French em- 
 pire, at the request of its doge and people. 
 The Italian republic of Lucca also was 
 transformed into a principality, and given 
 to one of Napoleon's family, to be held as a 
 fief of the newly-created empire, to the gov- 
 ernment of which the whole of Savoy, Pied- 
 mont, and Genoa was now subjected. With 
 one exception — that of San Marino — the 
 Italian republics were extinguished. 
 
 Austria remonstrated in vain against the 
 never-ending encroachments of Napoleon in 
 Italy ; and the views of that power under- 
 went a change in consequence of his usur- 
 pations in that direction. The representa- 
 tions of Russia alike remained unheeded. 
 A treaty had already been entered into be- 
 tween Russia and England, which, after 
 stating that the situation of Europe de- 
 manded a speedy remedy, bound the con- 
 tracting parties to consult respecting the 
 means of redress, without waiting for fur- 
 ther encroachments on the part of the 
 French government. This led to a conclu- 
 sion that the most effectual course would be 
 to form a league of the states of Europe, 
 and to collect a force which, independently 
 of the succours furnished by England, 
 should amount to 500,000 men, in order 
 either to persuade or compel, according to 
 circumstances, the French government to 
 the re-establishment of peace, and the res- 
 toration of the balance of power. The 
 objects to be attained were — 1. The re- 
 vival of the independence of Switzerland 
 and Holland. 2. The compulsion of the 
 French government to withdraw its troops 
 froni the north of Germany. 3. The ob- 
 taining the restoration of Piedmont to the 
 king of Sardinia. 4. To obtain the future 
 security of Naples, and compel Napoleon to 
 evacuate Italy. England agreed to contri- 
 bute forces by sea and land, and also such 
 subsidies as might be deemed requisite. It 
 was further agreed that, in the event of the 
 formation of the league, peace should not 
 be made with France without the consent 
 388 
 
 of all the powers who should become parties 
 to it. Yet actual hostilities were not to be 
 entered upon until the attempt to obtain 
 the objects of the proposed alliance by nego- 
 tiation should have proved a failure. 
 
 The engulphment of Italy by the ambi- 
 tion of Napoleon, induced Austria to be- 
 come a member of the proposed league ; and, 
 in the summer of 1805, a new coalition 
 against France was formed between England, 
 Russia, Austria, and Sweden. Prussia was 
 urged to join it; but the wily Frederic 
 William hesitated, increased his armies, 
 and remained neutral. His aid seemed to 
 promise victory to the side to which he 
 should attach himself, and a large party in 
 Prussia were anxious to draw the sword 
 against Napoleon. But Frederic William 
 still professed a friendship for the warlike 
 emperor, and he assembled a strong army on 
 the frontiers of Austria, to which the French 
 troops had been advanced by rapid marches ; 
 but whom that ai-my was to oppose was a 
 secret. When Alexander demanded a free 
 passage through Silesia for a Russian army, 
 he met with a refusal. On repeating his 
 demand in an imperious tone, the king of 
 Prussia answered, that his generals had 
 received orders to treat any Russian who 
 set his foot on the Prussian soil as an 
 enemy. There was little doubt that Frederic 
 William would either remain neutral, or 
 wait till one of the belligerent parties should 
 have been weakened by defeats, and then 
 join the victor, and take his share in the 
 spoliation either of Austria or France. 
 
 Napoleon afforded the powers arrayed 
 against him little opportunity for aggressive 
 movements, and but scanty time for further 
 preparations. He resolved at once to con- 
 centrate his whole military force, for the pur- 
 pose of destroying the combination against 
 him before the Russian troops had passed 
 their own frontier. Austria was the first in 
 the field, and she marched an army, confided 
 to the command of the incapable General 
 Mack, into the electorate of Bavaria. Na- 
 poleon led the army which he had formed 
 at Boulogne for the invasion of England, 
 towai'ds the Rhine; and other troops from 
 Holland, Hanover, and the interior of France 
 were marched to the same quarter. Regard- 
 less of the neutrality of Prussia, he not o.nly 
 marched his troops through Anspach and 
 Bareuth, but even occupied those districts 
 — a bold step, which gave him incalculable 
 advantages over the enemy in point of time, 
 as the Riissians were obliged to reach the 
 
A.u. 1805.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [war with fbancf.. 
 
 theatre of the contest by circuitous routes. 
 Napoleon then opened one of those dazzling 
 campaigns which, for the rapidity of the 
 movements and the great talent displayed 
 in them, have never been surpassed in the 
 annals of history. During the month of 
 October he almost annihilated the Austrian 
 army by a succession of victories. Several 
 divisions laid down their arms to the French. 
 General Mack threw himself into Ulm, 
 where he allowed himself to be surrounded ; 
 and then surrendered, on the 17th of Oc- 
 tober, without fighting, with more than 
 20^000 men, and all his staff, artillery, and 
 stores. Napoleon dismissed no less than 
 eighteen Austrian generals on their parole, 
 and sent a waggon loaded with imperial 
 standards to Paris. The other Austrian 
 divisions scattered about were unable to 
 make any efiFectual resistance ; and the vic- 
 torious French army marched on Vienna, 
 and entered that capital in triumph ! 
 
 Alexander was startled, and hurried to 
 Berlin to exert his personal influence on the 
 Prussian monarch, and induce him to join 
 the coalition against Napoleon. The war 
 pjirty in Prussia was roused into gi'eat ac- 
 tivity by the recent violation of the Prussian 
 territory by the French army, and Frederic 
 William, sharing in that feeling, or carried 
 away by the tide of circumstances, not only 
 consented to an interview with Alexander, 
 but concluded a secret convention with him, 
 by which he bound himself to join the coali- 
 tion, unless Napoleon withdrew from Ger- 
 many before the 15th of December. The 
 Russian emperor attracted much popularity 
 at Berlin by the gracefulness and suavity of 
 his manner, and he paid so much attention 
 to all the relations of the great Frederic, 
 that a sort of fascination existed in his 
 favour. A curious scene also took place 
 at Potsdam during Alexander's visit. In 
 company with the king and queen, he visited 
 at midnight, by torchUght, the vault in 
 which lay the coflBn of Frederic the Great. 
 They knelt before it, and kissed the coffin. 
 Alexander then grasped the hand of his 
 brother sovereign, and solemnly pledged 
 himself that nothing should ever break their 
 friendship. He then hastened, by way of 
 Leipzig and "Weimar, to Dresden, from 
 whence he proceeded to Olmutz ; and there, 
 on the 18th of November, joined the em- 
 peror Francis of Austria. A Russian army 
 that had previously arrived to assist the 
 Austrians, had sufi"ered a disastrous defeat ; 
 a second one arrived on the same day as the 
 
 emperor did, and the allied army amounted 
 to about 80,000 men. That of the French 
 is usually estimated at about 75,000 ; but it 
 was composed of troops flushed with victory, 
 and immeasurably superior to their anta- 
 gonists in skill, ardour, and discipline. 
 
 Napoleon, on hearing that the emperor 
 Alexander had joined the army, sent General 
 Savary (afterwards Duke of Rivigo) to him 
 with a complimentary letter, in which he 
 expressed an earnest desire to cultivate the 
 friendship of the czar. The real object, 
 however, of Savary was to make himself 
 acquainted, during the three days which his 
 visit lasted, with the leading characters of 
 the emperor's camp, and the opinions that 
 prevailed amongst them. Alexander re- 
 ceived this messenger with great courtesy. 
 The interview which took place between 
 them is thus described by Savary himself: — 
 "When I arrived at the Russian head- 
 quarters, I found the officers and staff" de- 
 claiming against the ambition of the French 
 government, and full of confidence in the 
 success of their arms. The emperor received 
 me in the most gracious manner, and made 
 a sign for his attendants to retire. I could 
 not avoid a feeling of timidity and awe when 
 I found myself alone with that monarch. 
 Nature had done much for him; it would 
 be difficult to find a model so perfect and 
 gracious; he was then twenty-six years of 
 age. He spoke French in its native purity, 
 without the slightest tinge of foreign accent, 
 and made use on all occasions of our most 
 classical expressions. As there was not the 
 least aff'ectation in his manner, it was easy 
 to see that this was the result of a finished 
 education. The emperor said, when I put 
 the letter into his hand, ' I am grateful for 
 this step on your master's side ; it is with 
 regret that I have taken up arms against 
 him, and I seize with pleasure the first op- 
 portunity of testifying that feeling towards 
 him. He has long been the object of my 
 admiration ; I have no wish to be his enemy, 
 any more than that of France. He should 
 recollect that, in the time of the late em- 
 peror Paul, though then only grand-duke, 
 when France was overwhelmed by disasters, 
 and met with nothing but obloquy from the 
 other cabinets, I contributed much, by di- 
 recting the Russian cabinet to take the lead, 
 to induce the other powers of Europe to 
 recognise the new order of things in your 
 country. If now I entertain diff'erent senti- 
 ments, it is because France has adopted 
 diff'erent principles, which have given the 
 
 389 
 
NAPOLEON AND ALEXANDER.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1805 
 
 European powers just cause of disquietude 
 for tlieir independence. I have been called 
 on by them to concur in establishing an 
 order of things which may tranquilhse all 
 parties ; and it is to accomphsh that purpose 
 that I have come hither. You have been 
 admirably served by fortune, it must be ad- 
 mitted ; but I will never desert an ally in 
 distress, or separate my cause from that of 
 the emperor of Germany. He is in a critical 
 situation, but one not beyond the reach of 
 remedy. I lead brave soldiers ; and if your 
 master drives me to it, I will command them 
 to do their duty. You are already great 
 and powerful, and by your uniformity of 
 language, feelings, and laws, as well as phy- 
 sical situation, must always be formidable to 
 your neighbours. What need have you of 
 continual aggrandisement ? Since the peace 
 of Luneville, you have acquired first Genoa, 
 and then Italy, which you have subjected to 
 a government which places it entirely at 
 vour disposal.^ " 
 
 At the close of the conversation, the 
 emperor presented General Savary with a 
 reply to Napoleon's letter, addressed, "To 
 the chief of the French government;" ob- 
 serving at the same time, " Here is my 
 answer; the address does not express the 
 title he has of late assumed. I attach no 
 importance to such trifles.^' Savary found 
 the Russian generals eager for the contest, 
 and inflated with a vain-glorious sense of 
 their own prowess and military skill. This 
 impression Napoleon desired to strengthen, 
 and thus induce the impetuosity of the 
 Russians to lead them into a snare which 
 he had laid for them. He therefore sent 
 Savary again to the camp of the enemy, to 
 propose an interview between the French 
 and Russian emperors. Alexander declined 
 the interview ; but sent Prince Dolgoruki to 
 propose conditions to Napoleon. The Rus- 
 sian was received at the outposts of the 
 French camp by the emperor, when the 
 latter, having just finished the inspection of 
 his advanced posts, had nothing about him 
 to strike a vulgar mind. Dolgoruki be- 
 haved with an arrogance which showed the 
 delusion of his countrymen, and terminated 
 the negotiation. The emperor dismissed 
 him with the observation, that they would 
 settle elsewhere than in diplomatic con- 
 ferences the quarrel which divided the policy 
 of the two empires. Napoleon, however, 
 appears to have respected the military 
 character of the Russians. He told his 
 soldiers that they were going to meet a 
 390 
 
 new enemy, " who had been brought from 
 the ends of the world by the gold of Eng- 
 land." Then, in allusion to the high cha- 
 racter borne by the Russian infantry, he 
 added — " This contest is of much importance 
 to the honour of the French infantry. The 
 question must be now finally settled, whether 
 the French infantry be the first or the 
 second in Europe." The Russians, deceived 
 by the artifice of Napoleon, were eager for 
 battle. " He is falling back," said the staff 
 of officers who surrounded Alexander; " he is 
 in full retreat ; we must rush upon him and 
 overwhelm him." 
 
 Notwithstanding this enthusiasm, the allies 
 advanced but slowly; and Napoleon re- 
 mained during the whole of two days on 
 horseback, at the advanced posts, watching 
 their movements. After surveying the 
 heights of Pratzen, he said to his generals, 
 " If I wished to prevent the enemy from 
 passing, it is here that I should station 
 myself; but that would only lead to an 
 ordinary battle, and I desire decisive suc- 
 cess. If, on the other hand, I draw back 
 my right towards Briinn, and the Russians 
 pass these heights, they are irretrievably 
 ruined." Acting upon this principle, he 
 drew back the French right, as if it was 
 fearful of encountering the enemy. On the 
 morning of the 1st of December, Napoleon 
 beheld the columns of the enemy moving 
 across his position, and saw that it was 
 evident the resolution to turn the right 
 flank of his army had been decidedly taken. 
 Then, with the prophetic anticipation of 
 military genius, he exclaimed, " To-morrow, 
 before nightfall, that army is my own." 
 
 The Russian power was commanded by 
 Generals Kutusoflf and Buxhovden, and the 
 reserve was under the orders of the Grand- 
 duke Constantino. The Austrians were led 
 by Prince John of Lichtenstein. Their 
 allied forces amounted to about 80,000 
 men, of whom 15,000 were cavalry. Napo- 
 leon was on horseback by four o'clock in 
 the morning of the day of battle — the 2nd 
 of December. His soldiers were buried in 
 sleep, unconscious of the dangers they were 
 about to undergo, or of the triumph they 
 were to achieve. A bright winter's sun at 
 length revealed the position of the enemy ; 
 and he saw his expectations concerning 
 their movements confirmed. Having given 
 directions to his marshals for the attack, he 
 rode through the foremost ranks of the 
 army, and exclaimed, "Soldiers ! the enemy 
 has imprudently exposed himself to your 
 
A.D. 1805.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [battle of austerlttz. 
 
 blows ; we shall finish the war with a clap 
 of thunder." 
 
 The left wing of the Russian army at 
 first assailed the French with such violence, 
 that the latter were driven back ; and be- 
 fore Marshal Davoust could arrive on the 
 spot to succour them, the right wing of the 
 French army appeared completely turned. 
 When he did so, he attacked the Russians 
 while disordered by success, and not only 
 arrested their advance, but took from them 
 six pieces of cannon. The Russians, how- 
 ever, returned in greater force ; and the 
 conflict was maintained on both sides with 
 much bloodshed and obstinacy. 
 
 While this furious combat was proceed- 
 ing on the right of the French army. Mar- 
 shal Soult had attacked the position on 
 which depended the issue of the battle. At 
 a signal given by Napoleon, the powerful 
 corps of Soult was suddenly thrown on the 
 Russian centre while it was in open 
 columns of march, just beginning to ascend 
 the slopes of the Pratzen. Kutusofi" then 
 saw his danger, and did everything that 
 was possible to repair the error which 
 had been committed. The emperors Alex- 
 ander and Francis were both with the 
 centre column. Prince Czartoryski, who 
 stood between them, remarked to the 
 former the nimble and decided step with 
 which the French were ascending the pla- 
 teau, without returning the fire of the 
 Russians. At this sight, Alexander is said 
 to have lost all the confidence he had until 
 then possessed, and to have conceived a 
 sinister presentiment which never left him 
 during the engagement. Before the hasty 
 preparations of the allies could be com- 
 plete, the first line of Soult had ascended the 
 heights, and attacked the Russian front 
 with so much impetuosity, that its first line 
 was at once broken and driven back upon 
 the second ; and after two hours of desperate 
 fighting, the heights of Pratzen were car- 
 ried, six battalions were cut to pieces, and 
 the French were pursuing the Russians and 
 Austrians, who were hurled in confusion 
 down the declivities of that plateau. 
 
 At the same time, a desperate and almost 
 separate battle was fought between the 
 French left and the right of the allies. The 
 French, under Lannes and Murat, in this 
 direction also surprised the combined forces 
 in their line of march. The Russian right 
 were astonished at finding themselves sud- 
 denly assailed by French columns emerging, 
 in battle array, out of the mist. The sur- 
 
 prise was so complete, that the reserve, 
 under the Grand-duke Constantino, was one 
 of the first divisions to find itself engaged. 
 Though surprised, the Russians were un- 
 daunted, and, under cover of the fire of their 
 artillery, which was rapidly brought for- 
 ward, their columns wheeled into line. A 
 fierce conflict followed, in which the splen- 
 did Russian cavalry — the Hulans of the 
 guard — charged that of the French, and, 
 having broken it, dashed through the first 
 line of the French, and swept through the 
 openings between the second. There they 
 were in their turn charged by Murat, and 
 driven back in such disorder, that, what 
 with the sabres of the cavalry of the latter, 
 and the flanking fire of the infantry through 
 which they were driven, nearly half their 
 number were left dead or wounded on the 
 ground. 
 
 The struggle was resumed in the centre, 
 where the Russian imperial guard, led by the 
 Grand-duke Constantino, charged the French 
 in flank, and broke them by the force of the 
 shock. Napoleon sent General Rapp with 
 the cavalry of the guard to their relief. 
 The Russians were then hurled back with 
 the loss of their artillery. They rallied, and 
 on being reinforced by the regiment of the 
 chevalier guards (a corps in which all the 
 privates were gentlemen), returned to the 
 charge. Both imperial guards met in full 
 career; the shock was terrible; and the 
 most desperate cavalry action that had 
 taken place during the war ensued, and 
 lasted for above five minutes. The French 
 horse were driven back, and the Russians 
 pursued them with loud shouts and in some 
 disorder. While doing so, they were as- 
 sailed in flank by a powerful reserve of the 
 French army, composed of the very flower 
 of the guards, mounted on spirited chargers. 
 A furious contest ensued betwixt them and 
 Constantino's chevalier guards. The reso- 
 lution and vigour of the combatants were 
 equal ; squadron to squadron, man to man, 
 they fought with invincible firmness, and 
 soon the ground was strewed with the dead 
 and the dying. The Russians were at 
 length compelled to yield to the enthusi- 
 astic valour of the French. The cavalry 
 and infantry of their guard gave way ; and, 
 after losing their artillery and standards, 
 were driven back in confusion almost to the 
 walls of Austerlitz. 
 
 The allied ai'mies no longer fought for 
 victory, but for existence. Napoleon brought 
 forward his reserves, and rapidly followed 
 
 391 
 
THE PEACE OF PRESBTJRG.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.i>. 1805. 
 
 up his success. The allied centre had been 
 driven back above a mile from the field of 
 battle, and the left wing was exposed to 
 the most imminent danger. Assailed on 
 all sides, the remnant of the Russian and 
 Austrian army was at length overwhelmed. 
 Great numbers sought to save themselves 
 by crossing, with their artillery and cavalry, 
 the frozen lake of Satschan. The ice, 
 weakened by the warmth of a fine day, gave 
 way in some places beneath the weight of 
 the men, horses, and cannon ; and in those 
 spots the retreating Russians were en- 
 gulphed beneath it. Napoleon, perceiving 
 this, ordered a battery of the guard to fire 
 on those parts of the ice which still held 
 firm. The execution of this command was 
 followed by a frightful yell Avhich arose from 
 nearly 2,000 drowning men, who sunk and 
 perished beneath the shattered ice. One 
 unfortunate column of the Russians yet 
 remained upon the field, and, under General 
 Doctorow, behaved in the most courageous 
 manner, and endeavoxired to cut a path for 
 its retreat. A last and severe combat en- 
 sued; and part succeeded in escaping, but 
 the rest were sabred by Murat's dragoons. 
 The disorder was frightful; the rout complete. 
 The sovereigns of Russia and Prussia fled 
 from the field on which the victorious French 
 were shouting "Vive VEmpereur I" Alexan- 
 der was deeply dejected. Francis, more 
 tranquil, bore the disaster with great com- 
 posure. He had at least one consolation; 
 the Russians could no longer assert that 
 the cowardice of the Austrians constituted 
 all the glory of Napoleon. The two princes 
 retreated precipitately over the plains of 
 Moravia, amidst profound darkness, sepa- 
 rated from their households, and liable to 
 be insulted through the barbarity of their 
 own soldiers. 
 
 The battle of Austerlitz, or of the " three 
 emperors," as the French term it, is regarded 
 as the most brilUant of all the victories of 
 Napoleon, and the one in which he most 
 exhibited his astounding military genius. 
 He had re-established his superiority in 
 Europe, and inflicted a terrible blow upon 
 his enemies. The loss of the allies 
 amounted to no less than 30,000 men in 
 killed, wounded, and prisoners. The victors 
 also retained, as trophies, 180 pieces of 
 cannon, 400 caissons, and 45 standards. 
 The loss of the French, in killed and 
 wounded, has been differently estimated at 
 from 7,000 to 12,000. 
 
 The day after the battle, the emperor 
 892 
 
 Francis dispatched Prince John of Lichten- 
 stein to demand an interview with Napoleon. 
 " You want a suspension of arms," said the 
 latter to him ; " but before I grant you an 
 armistice, you must break with the Russians. 
 They must retire ; we will treat separately. 
 I will afterwards make a separate peace with 
 the emperor Alexander, or, if not, I will beat 
 him again. As for the house of Austria, I 
 must have guarantees that she will not again 
 take up arms against me. It was not I that 
 began this war. But, first of all, no more 
 Russians ! no more of your levies en masse 
 in Hungary and Bohemia !" The French 
 emperor then consented to an interview 
 with the Austrian monarch, which took 
 place the following day in the open air, near 
 a mill, within three leagues of Austerlitz. 
 The two emperors embraced when they met, 
 and Francis addressed his conqueror as " Sir, 
 my brother." It is said that he meanly 
 threw the whole blame of the war upon the 
 English; adding, that they Avere a set of 
 selfish traffickers, who would set the con- 
 tinent on fire in order to secure to them- 
 selves the commerce of the world. The 
 conference lasted upwards of an hour, and 
 terminated with an agreement upon con- 
 ditions dictated by Napoleon. " Take my 
 advice," said the latter to Francis, " do not 
 mix up your cause with that of the emperor 
 Alexander. Russia, alone, can now only 
 wage a fancy war in Europe. Vanquished, 
 she retires to her deserts, and you — you pay 
 with your provinces the costs of the war." 
 By the conditions to which the humbled 
 Francis submitted, the French Avere to keep 
 possession of all their conquests in Moravia 
 and Hungary, Upper and Lower Austria, 
 the Tyrol, Venice, Carinthia, Styria, Car- 
 niola, Goritz, Istria, Bohemia, and the circle 
 of Montabar. The Russians Avere to be 
 compelled to evacuate the Austrian states 
 Avithin fifteen days; nor was any foreign 
 army Avhatever to be admitted into the 
 latter — a condition which doubtless referred 
 to the Prussians. Napoleon perfectly un- 
 derstood the duplicity of the king of Prussia ; 
 and when he was congratulated, after the 
 battle, upon his victory, observed with a 
 sneer, that the Prussian compliments had 
 been intended for others, but that fortune 
 had transferred them to him.^ 
 
 When the terms agreed to between the 
 emperors of France and Austria Avere com- 
 municated to Alexander by General Savary, 
 the humbled autocrat observed — " Your 
 master has shown himself very great. I 
 
A.D. 1805.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [retreat of ALEXANDER. 
 
 acknowledge all the power of his genius; 
 and, as for myself, I shall retire, since my 
 ally is satisfied." He then ordered a retreat, 
 and, on the 6th of December, was on his way 
 back to St. Petersburg. Some French 
 writers assert, that Alexander and the Rus- 
 sian army was surrounded, and that they 
 owed their escape to the magnanimity of 
 Napoleon. By others, the Russian autocrat 
 is described as saving himself and army by 
 an exercise of duplicity. They say that he 
 deceived General Davoust, who followed 
 closely on his rear, by sending word to him 
 that an armistice was concluded — a state- 
 ment from which it would be supposed that 
 he was included in it ; such not being the 
 fact, the armistice existing only between the 
 French and the Austrians. It is probable 
 that Napoleon did not greatly desire to in- 
 tercept the retreat of the humiliated Rus- 
 sians, and thus renew the struggle. He was 
 aware that his own position in the heart of 
 Moravia, far from the frontiers of France 
 and from his reinforcements, after the 
 winter had set in, would have become a 
 critical one had he chosen to prolong the 
 war. Besides, he had done enough for one 
 campaign, in which Austria had been laid 
 prostrate for a time, and Russia had suffered 
 severely both in her resources and her 
 reputation; while the power and military 
 glory of France had been increased to an 
 extent not readily to be estimated. 
 
 It is true that Austria might possibly 
 have been dismembered by Napoleon ; but 
 policy dictated its preservation. The acute 
 Talleyrand, the day after the battle, urged 
 on the conqueror the necessity of treating 
 Austria with moderation, and even gene- 
 rosity. That power, observed the minister, 
 had been considerably diminished during 
 the last two centuries, and ought, therefore, 
 to be much less an object of jealousy than 
 formerly. A new power had arisen which 
 should take its place in this respect; that 
 was Russia ; and against this latter, Austria, 
 so far from being a danger, was a useful 
 barrier. Austria, a vast aggregation of 
 nations foreign to each other — as Austrians, 
 Slavonians, Hungarians, Bohemians, Italians 
 — might easily fall to pieces, if the bond, 
 already feeble, that held together the hetero- 
 geneous elements of which it was composed, 
 were to be further weakened; and its 
 
 3e 
 
 wrecks would have more tendency to attach 
 themselves to Russia than to France. They 
 ought, therefore, he contended, to desist 
 from inflicting blows upon Austria, and even 
 to indemnify her for the losses she was 
 about to sustain. The indemnification that 
 Talleyrand proposed was, to confer the pro- 
 vinces of Wallachia and Moldavia upon 
 Austria ; which, he said, would be worth more 
 than Italy itself; that they would console 
 Austria for her losses — alienate her from 
 Russia ; render her, in regard to the latter, 
 the bulwark of the Ottoman empire, as she 
 was already that of Europe. These pro- 
 vinces, he added, after embroiling her with 
 Russia, would embroil her with England, 
 and thus compel her to become the ally of 
 France. 
 
 When Napoleon returned to Paris, he 
 was received with the wildest enthusiasm, 
 which was much enhanced by the rapidity 
 with which he had concluded the brilliant 
 campaign from which he had just returned. 
 The municipality voted a monument to the 
 emperor and to the army. The cannon 
 which had been captured from the enemy, 
 to the number of 500 pieces, was melted 
 down and converted into a triumphal 
 column, surrounded by a statue, in bronze, 
 of the victor who had triumphed over such 
 powerful combinations against France. In 
 an exposition Avhich Napoleon caused to be 
 drawn up, of the state of the empire, the 
 advantages which France had derived from 
 the successive coalitions which had been 
 formed against it, were thus alluded to : — 
 " The first coalition, concluded by the treaty 
 of Campo Forraio, gave the republic the 
 frontier of the line, and the states which 
 now form the kingdom of Italy ; the second 
 invested it with Piedmont ; the third united 
 to its federal system Venice and Naples. 
 Let England be now convinced of its im- 
 potence, and not attempt a fourth coali- 
 tion, even if subsequent events should ren- 
 der such a measure practicable. The house 
 of Naples has irrevocably lost its dominions ; 
 Russia owes the escape of its army solely to 
 the capitulation which our generosity 
 awarded ; the Italian peninsula, as a whole, 
 forms a part of the great empire ; the em- 
 peror has guaranteed, as chief supreme, the 
 sovereigns and constitutions which compose 
 its several parts." 
 
 393 
 
PEKFroY OF PRUSSIA.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1806. 
 
 CHAPTER XLVI. 
 
 A RUSSIAN MINISTER SIGNS A TREATY OF PEACE WITH FRANCE, BUT ALEXANDER REFUSES TO RATIFY IT ; 
 PRUSSIA DECLARES WAR AGAINST FRANCE ; PROSTRATION OF PRUSSIA BY NAPOLEON ; THE RUSSIAN ARMY 
 ADVANCES TO THE VISTULA ; NAPOLEON TALKS OF THE RECONSTITUTION OF POLAND ; HE ENTERS WARSAW ; 
 THE RUSSIANS RETREAT BEFORE HIM ; BATTLES OF PULTUSK AND OF EYLAU ; NAPOLEON RETIRES TO THE 
 VISTULA, AND PROPOSES PEACE TO PRUSSIA ; NAPOLEON TAKES DANTZIC ; BATTLE OF HEILSBURG ; MUR- 
 DEROUS DEFEAT OF THE RUSSIANS AT THE GREAT BATTLE OF FRIEDLAND ; ALEXANDER DESIRES PEACE ; 
 HIS ADVANCES ARE READILY MET BY NAPOLEON ; ARMISTICE, AND AMICABLE INTERCOURSE BETWEEN THE 
 FRENCH AND RUSSIAN OFFICERS ; INTERVIEW OF THE TWO EMPEROES ON THE NIEMEN ; TREATY OF TILSIT ; 
 BASE CONDUCT OF ALEXANDER TOWARDS THE KING OF PRUSSIA ; SECRET ARTICLES OF THE TREATY BY 
 WHICH NAPOLEON AND ALEXANDER AGREE TO DIVIDE THE DOMINION OF THE WORLD BETWEEN THEM ; 
 REMARKS ON THE ALLIANCE OF THE TWO EMPERORS. 
 
 Peace between Austria and France was 
 signed at Presburg, in Hungary, on the 
 26th of December, 1805. Austria gave up 
 the Venetian provinces and Dalmatia to the 
 kingdom of Italy; Tyrol to the elector of 
 Bavaria, and other districts; besides a tribute 
 to France of 100,000,000 of francs. Thus 
 a war which was to have checked the pre- 
 ponderance of Napoleon in Italy, left that 
 country entirely at his disposal, and estab- 
 lished his influence over a great part of 
 Germany, where, having raised the electors 
 of Bavaria and Wurtemberg to the rank of 
 kings, he placed himself at the head of all 
 the smaller states, which he formed into a 
 league, under his protection, with the title 
 of the Confederation of the Rhine. 
 The old German empire was thus dissolved ; 
 and Francis, renouncing his title of empe- 
 ror of Germany, assumed, in lieu of it, that 
 of emperor of Austria. 
 
 Alexander was no party to the peace of 
 Presburg; and, according to the terms of 
 the coalition, he had no right to enter on a 
 peace with France ^vithout consulting and 
 obtaining the consent of England. The 
 latter country acted strictly up to these 
 conditions ; and Mr. Fox, then prime minis- 
 ter, refused to entertain overtures of peace 
 from France, unless they were acceded to 
 by Russia. ''Do you wish us to treat," 
 said he to Talleyrand, "conjointly with 
 Russia? "We answer — Yes. Do you wish 
 us to enter into a separate treaty indepen- 
 dent of that power ? — No V Scruples of this 
 kind were not entertained by Alexander, 
 and M. D'Oubril, the Russian plenipoten- 
 tiary at Paris, signed a treaty of peace with 
 France, on behalf of Russia, on the 20th of 
 July, 1806. This treaty Alexander after- 
 wards refused to ratify, on the pretence that 
 his minister had exceeded the instructions 
 given to him. D'Oubril was accordingly 
 disgraced; but the deception practised by 
 
 Alexander was too transparent to escape 
 ultimate detection. Some months had been 
 occupied in the negotiations between the 
 two courts ; and during this period, arrange- 
 ments were being made for a fourth coali- 
 tion against France. The negotiations 
 which led to the signature of the treaty, had 
 been carried on for the purpose of gaining 
 the requisite time for this proceeding. 
 
 The Prussian minister congratulated 
 Napoleon on his victory at Austerlitz, 
 though he had recently made a secret treaty 
 with Alexander to take up arms, under cer- 
 tain conditions, against the French empe- 
 ror. The latter was aware of this perfidy ; 
 and when Count Haugwitz, the Prussian 
 envoy, said to him, after the battle, " Thank 
 God, you have conquered," observed sarcas- 
 tically, "If I had lost, he would have said 
 the same to the emperors of Austria and 
 Russia." Still Napoleon considered it ad- 
 visable to bribe Prussia into a continuance 
 of neutrality ; and Frederic William re- 
 ceived the electorate of Hanover as the 
 reward of his duplicity. George III. was 
 elector of Hanover; and at the period of 
 receiving this gift, Prussia enjoyed the full 
 confidence of England, whose rights in that 
 province were thus ceded away by an enemy 
 and accepted by an ally. Prussia adopted 
 the treaty conferring on her this dangerous 
 gift, but resolved to defer the completion 
 of it until a general peace should be agreed 
 to, and the consent of the king of England 
 obtained. This insidious condition was in- 
 dignantly rejected by Napoleon, and a 
 second convention was concluded at Paris, 
 on the 15th of February, 1806, by which 
 Frederic William declared that he received 
 Hanover as a lawful conquest of Napoleon ! 
 
 England retaliated by a declaration of 
 war against Prussia; and in a few months 
 several hundred Prussian vessels were 
 seized by the English cruisers. Sweden, 
 
A.D. 1806.] 
 
 HUSSIAN EMPIRE. [Prussia declares against France. 
 
 th« ally of England, also threatened to in- 
 vade Prussia. In the meantime, Napoleon, 
 who hated Prussia and despised her trea- 
 cherous monarch, altered his tone towards 
 the latter. The Moniteur began to talk of 
 Prussia as a secondary power, which as- 
 sumed a tone which its extent and position 
 did not warrant. This was one cause of 
 oJBFence to the weak Frederic William. 
 Another was, that in some fruitless negotia- 
 tions for peace which Napoleon carried on 
 with England, he had offered to restore 
 Hanover to that power. A third was, that 
 the confederation of the Rhine extended 
 round a great part of the Prussian frontiers, 
 and created a feeling of jealousy and un- 
 easiness on the part of the Prussian king. 
 The foundation of the Rhenish Confedera- 
 tion, which, as Napoleon openly said, would 
 be as useful to him against Prussia as 
 against Austria, was only notified by him to 
 the Prussian cabinet after it was completely 
 established ; though such an union of most 
 of the members of the German empire 
 Avould not have been proposed to any of 
 them without previously consulting Prussia, 
 if Frederic William had been regarded by 
 Napoleon with the respect due to the head 
 of one of the great European kingdoms. 
 On the 1st of October, 1806, the Prussian 
 minister at Paris presented a note to M. 
 Talleyrand, in which, after remarking, " that 
 the king, his master, saw around his terri- 
 tories none but French soldiers or vassals of 
 France, ready to march at her beck," a de- 
 mand was made that the French troops 
 should evacuate the German territory. 
 Napoleon, in a defiant tone, replied, that 
 "to provoke the enmity of France was as 
 senseless a course as to pi'ctend to withstand 
 the waves of the ocean." These circum- 
 stances had induced the king of Prussia to 
 accede to the proposal of the emperor Alex- 
 ander, who promised to assist him with a 
 powerful army if he would declare war 
 against France. 
 
 England suspended her hostile intentions 
 against Prussia, that she might act against 
 France without embarrassment ; and Frede- 
 ric William presented an ultimatum to 
 Napoleon, and, on its rejection, issued a 
 
 * By it the British islands were to be considered 
 as in a state of blockade by all the continent. All 
 correspondence or trade with England was forbidden 
 under most severe penalties. All articles of English 
 manufacture, or produce of the British colonies, were 
 considered contraband. Property of every kind be- 
 longing to British subjects, wherever found, was de- 
 clared lawful prize. All letters to and from England 
 
 manifesto, which was equivalent to a decla- 
 ration of war. Thus Prussia was, by the 
 inexorable tide of events, drawn, in spite of 
 the evasions of its king, into active hostili- 
 ties against France, and an alliance with 
 Russia against that power. 
 
 The Prussian army was composed of 
 troops who, down to the very drummers, 
 thought themselves equal to the soldiers 
 with whom Frederic the Great had, for 
 seven years, resisted nearly the whole of 
 Europe. It was also increased by the nu- 
 merous and well-disciplined contingents of 
 the elector and dukes of Saxony, the elector 
 of Hesse-Cassel, the Duke of Brunswick, 
 and several other princes, who had con- 
 cluded an offensive and defensive alliance 
 with the king of Prussia. But Frederic 
 William was no match for the antagonist 
 whose wrath he had provoked, and he had 
 taken a step which he was bitterly to 
 repent. Napoleon crossed the Rhine with 
 an immense army, and soon attacked the 
 Prussians. Marshal Davoust arrested Frede- 
 ric William, and the division under his com- 
 mand, at the village of Auerstadt, in Upper 
 Saxony. A severe and sanguinary battle 
 followed on the 14th of October, in which 
 the Prussian monarch sustained a severe 
 defeat, and was compelled to retreat. On 
 the same day the other division of the 
 Prussian army, commanded by the Duke of 
 Brunswick, was encountered by the French 
 under Napoleon on the fatal field of Jena, 
 where, after a long and violently-contested 
 struggle, the Prussians were driven in dis- 
 order from the field. Their loss, in the 
 two battles, is estimated at about 20,000 
 men in killed, wounded, and prisoners. 
 The results were most disastrous. Most of 
 the Prussian divisions were surrounded and 
 obliged to lay down their arms. Almost all 
 their strong fortresses — Magdeburg, Span- 
 dau, Kustrin, Stettin, Hameln — surrendered 
 without firing a shot. The work of the 
 Great Fredericks whole life crumbled to 
 pieces in a few weeks. Al)out a fortnight 
 after the double victory of the French, 
 Napoleon entered Berlin in triumph, and 
 from that capital he issued his well-known 
 decree against British commerce.* Frede- 
 
 were to be detained and opened at the post-office. 
 This decree eventually exercised a powerful influence 
 on the interests of Russia and the conduct of the 
 emperor Alexander. It was even one of the remote 
 causes of the ruin of Napoleon himself. M. Thiers 
 {Consulate and the Empire) observes — "The effect of 
 this decree on the opinions of Europe was immense. 
 Some regarded it as a revolting excess of despotism ; 
 
 395 
 
ALEXANDER BENEWS THE WAR.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1806. 
 
 ric William had fled a fugitive to Konigs- 
 berg, and Prussia lay prostrate at the feet of 
 its conqueror. So rapid were all their pro- 
 ceedings, that Napoleon, in an address to 
 his army, observed — " Our entrance into 
 Potsdam and Berlin has preceded the fame 
 of our victories." He added — "We have 
 made 60,000 prisoners, taken 65 standards 
 (among vs^hich are the colours of the king of 
 Prussia's guards), 600 pieces of cannon, and 
 three fortresses ; among the prisoners there 
 are twenty generals. But notwithstanding 
 all this, more than half our troops regret 
 not having fired a single musket." 
 
 This terrible calamity fell upon Prussia 
 before the emperor Alexander had time to 
 reach the theatre of war. He had been 
 actively employed in repairing the losses 
 which his army had sustained in the cam- 
 paign of Austerlitz. Thirty fresh squadrons 
 and fifty-one battalions had been added to 
 its amount ; all the chasms occasioned by 
 the casualties of war supplied, and the new 
 French organisation into divisions univer- 
 sally adopted. An attempt was also made, 
 in a proclamation which excited the merited 
 ridicule and condemnation of a great part of 
 Europe, to give a religious character to the 
 war, and to excite the debased superstitions 
 of the Russian soldiers against their foe. 
 " Buonaparte," said this arrogant, and in 
 some respects blasphemous, proclamation, 
 which was nevertheless read in all the 
 Russian churches — " after having, by open 
 force or secret intrigue, extended his power 
 over the countries which he oppresses, me- 
 naces Russia, which Heaven protects. It is 
 for you to prevent the destroyer of peace, of 
 the faith, and of the happiness of mankind, 
 from seducing the orthodox Christians. He 
 has trampled under foot every principle of 
 truth ; in Egypt he preached the Koran of 
 Mohammed ; in France manifested his con- 
 tempt for the religion of Jesus Christ by 
 convoking Jewish synagogues. Do you love 
 your fellow-creatures? Fly the persecutor 
 of Christians. Do you desire to be saved ? 
 Oppose an invincible barrier to his ad- 
 vances. He has dared to the combat God 
 and Russia : prove that you are the defenders 
 of the Most Highy and of your country. 
 Chase far from your frontiers that monster ; 
 
 others as a stroke of profound policy ; all as an extra- 
 ordinary act, proportioned to the conflict of giants 
 maintained by England and France against each 
 other, the one daring to seize the dominion of the 
 sea, hitherto the common route of nations, and to 
 interdict all commerce to her enemies; the other 
 
 396 
 
 punish his barbarity to so many innocent 
 persons, whose blood cries aloud to Heaven 
 for vengeance. God will hear the prayer of 
 the faithful; he will shield you with his 
 power; he will cover you with his grace. 
 Your exploits will be celebrated by the church 
 and by your country ; immortal crowns or 
 abodes of eternal felicity await you." 
 
 Alexander and his troops had scarcely 
 reached the frontiers of Germany, when 
 they received information of the defeat of 
 the Prussians at Auerstadt and at Jena. 
 Surprised and alarmed, Alexander imme- 
 diately retreated across the Vistula. The 
 Russian troops consisted of a body of 50,000 
 men, under General Benningsen ; a second 
 force, of the same power, under General 
 Buxhovden; and a reserve was organised 
 under the Swedish general Essen; while 
 bodies of Cossacks preceded the regular 
 troops. Part of General Michelson's troops 
 were ascending the Dniester, and hastening 
 to Poland. Such were the then disposable 
 forces of the great Russian empire, which 
 showed, for the second time, that its re- 
 sources were not equal to its pretensions. 
 Joined to the Prussians, and while awaiting 
 the reserve of General Essen, the Russians 
 could not bring to the Vistula a force 
 reaching 120,000 men. This would have 
 been very insufficient to resist the progress 
 of Napoleon, if the climate had not been a 
 powerful auxiliary to the soldiers of the 
 North. By the climate we mean, not 
 merely the cold, but the soil ; the difficulty 
 of marching and subsisting in the immense 
 plains of Poland, alternately muddy and 
 sandy, and where the woods exceed in ex- 
 tent the part under cultivation. 
 
 Both Alexander and the miserable Frede- 
 ric William flattered themselves, that if a 
 single success crowned their efforts, Austria 
 would violate the neutrality to which she 
 had so recently pledged herself, and declare 
 in their favour ; but Austria was yet suffer- 
 ing too severely from the chastisement she 
 had received, to sufl'er her to act so per- 
 fidious a part for the present. Napoleon 
 seems to have been aware of this ; for he 
 was full of confidence. " Your majesty," he 
 wrote to the king of Prussia, " has sent me 
 word that you have thrown yourself into 
 
 aiming at the entire occupation of the continent by 
 force of arms, to reply to the closing of the sea by 
 the closing of the land. Unheard-of spectacle, with- 
 out example in the past and probably in the future, 
 exhibited at this moment by the unchained passions 
 of the two greatest nations of the earth !" 
 
A.D 1806.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [battle op pultusk. 
 
 the arms of Russia. Time will show whether 
 you have choseu the better and more effica- 
 cious part. You have taken up the dice- 
 box to play ; the dice will decide." 
 
 Napoleon, to increase the perplexity of 
 the northern autocrat, talked of the recon- 
 stitution of Poland as a kingdom — a measure 
 he never intended to effect. Yet, willing to 
 augment his own strength and to weaken 
 his enemy by turning to account the well- 
 known disaffection of the Poles towards 
 their Russian rulers, he introduced the fol- 
 lowing questions in one of his proclama- 
 tions : — " The love which the Poles enter- 
 tain for their country, and the sentiment of 
 nationality, is not only preserved entire in 
 the heart of the people, but it has become 
 more profound from misfortune. Their first 
 passion — the universal wish — is to become 
 again a nation. The rich issue from their 
 chateaus to demand, with loud cries, the re- 
 establishment of the nation, and to offer 
 their children, their fortune, their influence, 
 in the cause. That spectacle is truly touch- 
 ing. Already they have everywhere re- 
 sumed their ancient costumes, their ancient 
 customs. Shall the Polish throne be re- 
 established ? Shall the 'great nation' secure 
 for it respect and independence? Shall she 
 recall it to life from the grave ? God only, 
 who directs all human affairs, can solve this 
 great mystery." These observations, with- 
 out binding the emperor to the performance 
 of any act in favour of the Poles, yet won 
 for him the attachment of that people, and 
 threatened Alexander with an insurrection 
 in the Polish dominions. "I love the 
 Poles," said Napoleon to General Rapp, 
 after receiving a deputation from that na- 
 tion ; " their ardour pleases me. I could 
 wish to render them an independent people, 
 but it is no easy undertaking. Too many 
 nations are interested in their spoils — Aus- 
 tria, Russia, Prussia. If the match is once 
 lighted, there is no saying where it would 
 stop. My first duty is towards France ; 
 and it is no part of it to sacrifice its in- 
 terests to Poland; that would lead us too 
 far. We must leave its destinies in the 
 hands of the supreme disposer of all things 
 — to Time. It will possibly teach us, here- 
 after, what course we ought to pursue." 
 
 Napoleon was so successful in this move- 
 ment, that the Russian government, in alarm, 
 sent General Benningsen to Warsaw to quell 
 the rising storm, and overawe the disaffec- 
 tion evinced by the people. Napoleon at 
 once saw the difficulties in which he would 
 
 involve the Russian general by attacking him 
 when surrounded by an infuriated popula- 
 tion, ready on the first favourable opportu- 
 nity to join the invader. The emperor, 
 therefore, led his army into Poland, where 
 the people received him with enthusiasm, 
 while great numbers organised themselves 
 into a military force with amazing rapidity, 
 and followed his standard. 
 
 The van of the French army, under Murat, 
 moved forward to attack Benningsen in his 
 quarters at Warsaw. After several unsuc- 
 cessful rencontres on the part of the latter, he 
 effected his retreat from Warsaw, which the 
 French commander entered triumphantly on 
 the 28th of November. Benningsen had 
 taken up a position behind the Vistula, but 
 the impetuous Murat soon compelled him 
 to make another retrograde movement, and 
 to shelter himself behind the stream of the 
 Bug. From this spot he felt it prudent to 
 shift his quarters still further rearward, 
 placing between himself and the pursuing 
 French general the river Ukra, where the 
 Russian generalissimo. Field-marshal Ka- 
 minskoi, with three other divisions of the 
 autocrat's army, had arrived and pitched 
 their tents. Napoleon in person reached 
 the Ukra on the 23rd of December, and 
 made the passage of that river. Kaminskoi 
 then ordered the whole of his army to fall 
 back, and take up a position on the line of 
 the river Niemen, in Lithuania. General 
 Benningsen suffered severely, being closely 
 followed by the enemy, who harassed him 
 by hanging on his rear, and made a great 
 number of prisoners, besides capturing up- 
 wards of thirty pieces of cannon, in the 
 various skirmishes which occurred, on pass- 
 ing the Vistula and elsewhere, between the 
 pursuers and the pursued. Benningsen at 
 length ventured to make a stand at Pultusk, 
 notwithstanding the imperative orders of 
 the commauder-in-chief, Kaminskoi, to re- 
 treat at all hazards. At this place a long- 
 contested and murderous battle took place 
 on the 26th of December. The slaughter 
 on each side was enormous, and both French 
 and Russians claimed the victory. Some 
 accounts represent the latter as having lost 
 12,000 men in killed, wounded, and pri- 
 soners; while they deny that their loss 
 exceeded 5,000, and represent that of the 
 French as amounting to upwards of 10,000. 
 The French, on their side, contended that 
 their loss did not exceed 7,000. So con- 
 flicting are the accounts, that it is difficult to 
 say to which side the advantage attached ; 
 
 397 
 
PKOGRESS OF HOSTILITIES.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1807. 
 
 but it is probable that both parties suffered 
 very severely, and that neither could claim 
 a victory in the usual acceptation of that 
 word. The French, however, remained 
 masters of the ground on which they had 
 fought, and from whence they retired the 
 next day into winter quarters in the city of 
 Warsaw. 
 
 Alexander was too anxious for his own 
 safety and the preservation of the military 
 glory of his empire, to allow his troops to 
 remain idle, notwithstanding the inclemency 
 of the season, and the almost impracticable 
 state of the roads. He superseded Kamin- 
 skoi as commander-in-chief, that general's 
 mind having given way under the difficulties 
 of his position, and appointed Benningsen in 
 his place J and the French were continually 
 harassed by the Russians, in their winter 
 quarters. The emperor also endeavoured to 
 relieve his ally the king of Prussia, who was 
 still shut up in Konigsberg, together with 
 such troops as he had been able to collect 
 around him, where they were already suffer- 
 ing from want of provisions. To accomplish 
 the latter object Alexander proceeded to 
 Mohringen— a Russian town, fifty-six miles 
 south-south-west from Konigsberg. Here 
 he was opposed by a French army under 
 Marshal Bernadotte ; for the activity of the 
 Russians had compelled Napoleon in some 
 measure to alter his plan with respect to 
 remaining in winter quarters. A sharp en- 
 gagement followed on the 25th of January, 
 1807. At first victory seemed to incline to 
 the Russians; but the French afterwards 
 precipitated themselves with svich fury upon 
 their opponents, that the Russian forces were 
 completely flanked and driven from the 
 field. Still the French obtained no decisive 
 advantage, and were not in a condition to 
 claim a victory. 
 
 By the end of January, surprised at the 
 tenacity with which the Russians kept the 
 field. Napoleon broke up his quarters, and, 
 concentrating his forces, resumed the offen- 
 sive. He designed to get to the rear of the 
 Russian camp, and thus to cut off the 
 enemy's communication with his resources. 
 General Benningsen became aware of this 
 design by means of an intercepted despatch, 
 and countermarched with a skill which en- 
 tirely frustrated the tactics of his opponent, 
 who was, consequently, under the necessity 
 of executing a long series of manoeuvres, 
 which, at that dreary season, involved the 
 extremity of hardship. 
 
 Even the Russian troops, accustomed as 
 398 
 
 they were to the rigours of a northern 
 climate, suffered severely from the length- 
 ened marches they were compelled to make 
 at that inclement period, the miseries of 
 which were enhanced by the pangs of 
 hunger. In fact, the Russian army was in 
 Avaut of almost everything except weapons 
 and ammunition. The Poles were all hos- 
 tile; the Russian treasmy was exhausted; 
 and the commander-in-chief unable to cope 
 in the market, which Avas monopolised 
 by Jews, with the golden pieces of the 
 French. The half-starved Russians had no 
 resource but to prowl about and dig in the 
 earth for the corn and provisions the Polish 
 peasantry concealed. This labour, added to 
 their military duties, left them scarcely any 
 time for repose ; and when these unfortu- 
 nate men lay down to sleep, they had no 
 bed but the snow, no shelter but the sky, 
 no covering but rags. Under such painful 
 circumstances, they felt it was better to 
 fight than to starve ; better to die quickly 
 on the bayonets and beneath the grapeshot 
 of the French, than to perish slowly from 
 starvation. They therefore became clamo- 
 rous for action, and loudly demanded to be 
 led to battle, instead of traversing to and 
 fro on the almost impassable roads. 
 
 Benningsen, consequently, resolved to 
 make a stand at the town of Eylau, about 
 twenty-four miles south-east of Konigsberg, 
 where he encamped with his whole army, 
 consisting of about 90,000 men. The day 
 before the battle Napoleon attacked the 
 town, or rather village, which was several 
 times taken and retaken with horrible 
 carnage ; but towards evening it remained 
 in the hands of the French. The French 
 emperor, who commanded in person, spent 
 the whole night in making the requisite 
 preparations for the approaching struggle. 
 It commenced at dawn on the following 
 day, the 8th of February. The Russians 
 were the assailants, and began by opening a 
 cannonade upon the village. Napoleon 
 responded by ordering a cannonade against 
 an eminence in possession of the Russians, 
 which commanded the entrance to the plain, 
 and was essential to the offensive operations 
 of his army. As the opposing forces were 
 within half gun-shot of each other, nearly 
 every shot took effect, and the slaughter 
 that ensued was terrific. During these 
 operations a sudden and dense fall of 
 snow, accompanied by a mist that continued 
 for half-an-hour, involved both armies in 
 comparative darkness. This had nearly 
 
A.D. 1807.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [battle of eylau. 
 
 proved fatal to the French; for some of 
 their columns, inclining too much to the 
 left, became completely separated from each 
 other. This error was retrieved by the 
 masterly manoeuvres of the cavalry under 
 Murat, and the impetuosity with which 
 Davoust, falling upon the rear of the Rus- 
 sians, dislodged them from the eminence 
 they had so obstinately retained. During 
 fourteen hours the battle raged with un- 
 abated fury, and the chances of victory 
 continually changed sides. The French 
 made repeated and furious attacks on the 
 Russian infantry, which stood like walls of 
 brass, and never yielded to these terrible 
 onslaughts. The battle lasted until ten 
 o'clock at night, when the Russians retired 
 to the position they occupied in the morn- 
 ing. Half-starved and half-naked as they 
 were, they had displayed a heroism on the 
 field which astonished their enemies. Some 
 Prussian columns, under General Lestocq, 
 also behaved with great intrepidity. Again 
 both Russians and French claimed the vic- 
 tory, which it is difficult to assign to either. 
 Napoleon had received the severest check 
 he had experienced since the commence- 
 ment of his militarj'- career; and if it is 
 conceded that he gained a victorj', it was 
 one whose results were equivalent, in all but 
 the name, to a defeat. 
 
 During this battle the emperor Napoleon 
 himself narrowly escaped death or captivity. 
 On one occasion the French were swept 
 before a charge of Russian cavalry and 
 Cossacks. The fugitives rushed into Eylau, 
 where Napoleon had stationed himself in 
 the churchyard, on its eastern side. A 
 snow-storm had veiled the advance of the 
 Russians ; and clearing away, it now showed 
 their light troops almost at the edge of the 
 town. The serried masses of the old guard 
 stood firm in and around the cemetery; 
 while the branches of the trees above their 
 heads were constantly rent, or falling from 
 the enemy's cannon-balls. Presently a 
 Russian division, following the fugitive 
 French, entered Eylau by the eastern street, 
 and charged, with loud hurrahs, to the foot 
 of the mount, where the emperor was placed 
 with a battery of the imperial guard and 
 his personal escort of a hundred men. Na- 
 poleon's presence of mind did not forsake 
 him, and he ordered his little body-guard to 
 form line, in order to check the enemy's 
 advance, and dispatched orders to the old 
 guard to attack the column on one flank, 
 while a brigade of Murat's horse charged it 
 
 on the other. The Russians, ignorant of 
 the inestimable prize almost within their 
 grasp, were arrested by the firm attitude of 
 the little band of heroes who formed Na- 
 poleon's last resource; and before they 
 could re-form their ranks for a regular con- 
 flict, the enemy was upon them on either 
 flank, and almost the whole division was 
 cut to pieces on the spot. " I was never so 
 much struck with anything in my life," 
 said General Bertrand on a subsequent occa- 
 sion, " as by the emperor at Eylau, at the 
 moment when, alone with some officers of 
 his staflF, he was almost trodden under foot 
 by a column of four or five thousand Rus- 
 sians. The emperor was on foot, and Ber- 
 thier gave orders instantly for the horses to 
 be brought forward; the emperor gave him 
 a reproachful look ; and instead, ordered a 
 battalion of his guard, which was at a little 
 distance, to advance. He himself kept his 
 ground as the Russians approached, repeat- 
 ing frequently the words — ' What boldness ! 
 what boldness !' At the sight of the grena- 
 diers of his guard, the Russians made a 
 dead pause; the emperor did not stir, but 
 all around him trembled." 
 
 The loss on both sides had been terrific, 
 and it is affirmed that about 50,000 killed 
 and wounded were left upon the field; of 
 these, at least half were French. The latter 
 remained for eight days at Eylau, engaged 
 in the burial of their dead. The trophies of 
 victory were nearly equally balanced. The 
 Russians had to boast of the unusual spec- 
 tacle of twelve eagles taken from their 
 antagonists ; while the French had cap- 
 tured sixteen of the Russian guns and four- 
 teen standards. " Never," observes Alison, 
 " was spectacle so dreadful as that field pre- 
 sented on the following morning. Above 
 50,000 men lay, in the space of two leagues, 
 weltering in blood. The wounds were, for 
 the most part, of the severest kind, from 
 the extraordinary quantity of cannon-balls 
 which had been discharged during the action, 
 and the close proximity of the contending 
 masses to the deadly batteries, which spread 
 grape at half musket-shot through their 
 ranks. Though stretched on the cold snow, 
 and exposed to the severity of an Arctic 
 winter, the sufferers were burning with 
 thirst, and piteous cries were heard on all 
 sides for water, or assistance to extricate 
 the wounded men from beneath the heaps 
 of slain or load of horses, by which they 
 were crushed. Six thousand of these noble 
 animals encumbered the field, or, maddened 
 
 399 
 
NAPOLEON DESIRES PEACE.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 rA.D. 1807. 
 
 •with pain, were shrieking aloud amidst the 
 stifled groans of the wounded. Broken 
 gun-carriages, dismounted cannon, frag- 
 ments of blown-up caissons, scattered balls, 
 lay in wild confusion amidst casques, cui- 
 rasses, and burning hamlets, casting a livid 
 light over a field of snow. Subdued by loss 
 of blood, tamed by cold, exhausted by 
 hunger, the foemen lay side by side amidst 
 the general wreck. The Cossack was to be 
 seen beside the Italian ; the gay vine- 
 dresser, from the banks of the Garonne, lay 
 athwart the stern peasant from the plains of 
 the Ukraine. The extremity of suffering 
 had extinguished alike the fiercest and the 
 most generous passions. According to his 
 usual custom, Napoleon, in the afternoon, 
 rode over this dreadful field, accompanied 
 by his generals and staflF, while the still 
 burning piles of Serpalten and Sausgarten 
 sent volumes of black smoke over the scene 
 of death. But the men exhibited none of 
 their wonted enthusiasm ; no cries of * Vive 
 VEmpereur !' were heard ; the bloody sur- 
 face echoed only with the cries of suffering 
 or the groans of woe. ' The spectacle,' said 
 Napoleon in his bulletin, ' was fitted to 
 inspire princes with the love of peace and 
 a horror of war !' " 
 
 The confidence of Napoleon was shaken 
 by the result of the battle of Eylau, and he 
 made overtures of peace to General Ben- 
 niugsen, who sternly replied, " that his 
 master had sent him to fight, and not to 
 negotiate." At midnight the latter held 
 a council of war by a bivouac fire, at which 
 it was deemed expedient to retreat upon 
 Konigsberg, The march was commenced 
 almost immediately, though some of the 
 troops did not move until the next morning, 
 when they traversed the field in front of 
 the French, who did not attempt to inter- 
 cept them. Napoleon withdrew again to 
 the line of the Vistula ; and a few days after 
 the battle, he sent General Bertrand with a 
 courteous message to the king of Prussia, 
 who was then at Memel, and offered to 
 restore to that monarch a very large portion 
 of his dominions, on condition that he 
 should consent to a separate peace. Frede- 
 ric "William had been so severely punished 
 for duplicity, that, bitterly remembering 
 the lesson, he acted on this occasion in an 
 honourable manner, and replied that, cir- 
 cumstanced as he was, it was impossible for 
 him to enter into any treaty in which the 
 emperor of Russia did not participate. 
 Napoleon wished to be able to deal with 
 400 
 
 Russia singly, who, in the former campaign, 
 had been assisted by the Austrians, and in 
 this by the troops of Prussia and the promises 
 of England. The subsidies of this country 
 had previously been advanced with a nig- 
 gardly hand, and were in this emergency 
 denied altogether. Alexander applied to 
 his ally, the British government, to nego- 
 tiate for him a loan of £6,000,000 sterling, 
 and make an immediate advance on account. 
 The security offered is said not to have been 
 a bad one, but it was deemed insufficient, 
 and the English ministry declined the trans- 
 action. This gave great offence to Alex- 
 ander, and seriously crippled his exertions 
 against France. From this time he seems 
 to have doubted both the sincerity and 
 generosity of England, and to have begun 
 to consider how he should get out of the 
 coalition with the least possible loss, and 
 derive benefit and aggrandisement from a 
 treaty with Napoleon. Subsequently the 
 English ministry remitted the sum of 
 £500,000 to the court of St. Petersburg ; 
 but this subsidy was far from being suffi- 
 cient for the exigencies of the case, espe- 
 cially as they declined the assistance of a 
 British auxiliary force. 
 
 As the Prussian king declined Napoleon's 
 overtures for a separate peace, the latter 
 resolved to punish him by seizing upon 
 Dantzic, and on the few fortresses which 
 yet remained in the hands of the Prussians. 
 Dantzic, though defended with great skill 
 and the most undaunted courage, was forced 
 to yield to the superior tactics of the be- 
 siegers, and surrendered on the 7th of May, 
 1807. The attempts of the Russians to 
 raise the siege only drew further suffering 
 and failures upon themselves ; detachments 
 from their army experiencing severe defeats 
 at Braunsburg and Peterswalde. They 
 were also beaten back at other points ; a^nd 
 a number of rafts, which had occupied them 
 six weeks to construct, on the Bug, were 
 burnt by the French in two hours. 
 
 When Dantzic had fallen, the beleaguring 
 troops, amounting to 25,000 men, rejoined 
 the main army of France ; and this, to- 
 gether with new levies, enabled Napoleon 
 to resume offensive operations against 
 General Benningsen, at the head of 180,000 
 men; while the latter, notwithstanding 
 every exertion to increase his force, could 
 scarcely raise his army to its original 
 number of 90,000. This is to be accounted 
 for by the fact, that it has always been ex- 
 tremely difficult in Russia to raise levies 
 
A.D. 1807.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 PROGRESS OF THE WAR. 
 
 with promptitude, in consequence of the 
 vast extent of territory over which the 
 troops are scattered, the want of means of 
 transport on so large a scale, and the dan- 
 ger which is incurred by moving masses of 
 soldiers out of those remote territories, 
 which, acquired by fraud or violence, can 
 only be maintained by the constant pre- 
 sence of a military force. In addition to 
 these general causes, recent wars had 
 pressed hard upon the serviceable classes of 
 the population, and left but scanty re- 
 sources to draw upon. As for the allies of 
 Russia, Prussia already had almost ex- 
 hausted her strength in her own defence ; 
 Sweden was unable to render substantial 
 assistance ; and applications for troops were 
 made to England with even less success 
 than had attended that for monetary assist- 
 ance. The fact was, that England, threat- 
 ened with an invasion of its own shores by 
 Napoleon, had enough to do at home, and 
 felt that she had contributed sufficiently to 
 the assistance of the continental powers. 
 Moreover, she did not care to assist Alex- 
 ander to rescue the king of Prussia from a 
 fate which she felt he deserved. She had 
 set aside her own cause of quarrel ; yet, 
 though she did not strike, she would 
 not benefit the treacherous power which, 
 while in alliance with her, had accepted 
 Hanover from the hands of the French 
 emperor. 
 
 ^Jotvvithstanding the enormous prepara- 
 tions of Napoleon for war, he was desirous 
 of peace. The levies which he had made in 
 France had almost exhausted that country, 
 and general murmurs prevailed amongst 
 the people : it was, indeed, physically im- 
 possible that France could for many years 
 stand such terrible drains upon the flower 
 of her population. Many expedients were 
 resorted to for stimulating the martial en- 
 thusiasm of the people, and numerous mili- 
 tary fetes were given to dazzle the imagina- 
 tion of the multitude. Yet the popular 
 ardour languished ; painful blanks had 
 been occasioned in thousands of families ; 
 the flower of the population of France was 
 perishing in its continuous battles ; and a 
 sense of desolation fell upon the minds of 
 the people. Napoleon knew these things ; 
 and, conscious of the military difficulties he 
 had to encounter, especially with so power- 
 ful and obstinate a foe as Russia, he was, 
 doubtless, sincerely desirous of terminating 
 hostilities. To this Alexander, disgusted 
 with the indifi'erence of England, and 
 3f 
 
 alarmed at the power of the adversary with 
 whom he found himself engaged, was by 
 no means averse. After the fall of Dantzic, 
 Napoleon made that city his head-quarters, 
 and negotiations were secretly carried on 
 between him and the Russian emperor. 
 The nature of them did not transpire ; but 
 it appears the emperors were unable to 
 come to terms, and that the negotiations 
 were broken off. 
 
 The French soldiers constructed comfort- 
 able huts, in which they spent the winter; 
 and all the admirable arrangements of the 
 camp of Boulogne were again put in force 
 amidst the severity of a Polish winter. The 
 huts were arranged in streets, which re- 
 sembled, in regularity and cleanliness, those 
 of a city. The minds of the soldiers were 
 diverted by constant exercises, warlike 
 games, and reviews ; while the agricul- 
 tural riches of Old Prussia kept them 
 amply supplied with provisions. The Rus- 
 sian army was not so fortunately situated, 
 and was far from being fed and sheltered so 
 well as the French. It was situated around 
 Heilsburg, where a formidable intrenched 
 camp had been constructed. The only con- 
 test of any moment which took place while 
 the army occupied this position, was on the 
 ox'd of March, at Guttstadt, which was 
 attacked and carried by Marshal Ney, to-, 
 gether with the magazines which it con- 
 tained. The French, however, having im- 
 prudently advanced into the plain beyond 
 that town, several regiments were sur- 
 rounded by the Cossacks, pierced through, 
 and broken ; so that both parties were glad 
 to resume their quarters without having 
 much reason to boast of a,ny considerable 
 advantage. General Benningsen, notwith-, 
 standing the disparity of his forces, which 
 had been reinforced to the number of 
 120,000, was the first to recommence hos- 
 tilities. The emperor Alexander had ar- 
 rived at the head-quarters of his army on the 
 28th of March, and had resided since that 
 time at Bartenstein, a little in the rear of 
 the cantonments of the soldiers. On the 
 5th of June, the Russians commenced an 
 attack ou a strong French division under 
 the command of Marshal Ney. The French 
 lines were attacked at three different points.; 
 and although the Russians suffered severely, 
 yet the French were compelled to fall back 
 upon Ackendorf. The following day the 
 Russians renewed the attack, with a serious 
 loss to themselves, and but a slight one to 
 the foe. Still Napoleon deemed it expe- 
 
 401 
 
NAPOLEON ADVANCES TO FRIEDLAND.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1807, 
 
 client to leave his camp at Finkinstein, join 
 Marshal Ney at the village of Deppeu, to 
 which he had retreated, and take the com- 
 mand of the army in person. A sharp 
 engagement then took place on the 8th of 
 June, in which both sides suffered severely. 
 The French now assumed the offensive, 
 seized several of the enemy's camps, and 
 attacked, on the 10th, a division of the 
 Russian forces, consisting of about 17,000 
 cavalry and several lines of infantry, who, 
 however, repeatedly repulsed them. Yet 
 Benningsen was compelled eventually to 
 give way ; but, rallying his troops, he halted 
 at Heilsburg, a Prussian town in the pro- 
 vince of Ermeland, seated on the current of 
 the Alle. Here the Russians occupied a 
 very strong position, and the main army 
 lay surrounded by fortifications. Another 
 sanguinary engagement ensued, and the Rus- 
 sians maintained their ground for a Avhole 
 day, in the face of an enemy far superior to 
 themselves, both with respect to numbers 
 and discipline. The carnage was dreadful ; 
 the French suffered severely ; but the Rus- 
 sian army was ultimately driven from its 
 position, and compelled to continue its re- 
 treat, which it did in so precipitate a man- 
 ner, as to excite some suspicions that the 
 emperor Alexander was no longer in ear- 
 nest in the contest, and had allowed his 
 troops to be beaten in consequence of some 
 secret understanding to that effect between 
 himself and the emperor Napoleon. 
 
 Early on the morning of the 1 2th, the 
 French entered Heilsburg in triumph, and 
 took possession of the provisions, maga- 
 zines, and munitions which the Russians 
 had abandoned. On the afternoon of the 
 same day. Napoleon fixed his head-quarters 
 at Eylau, which had been the scene of so 
 terrible a battle in the pi'eceding February. 
 A great change had taken place in this 
 region since the French had last encamped 
 on its broad fields. Instead of a dreary 
 waste of ice and snow, over which the fires 
 of their melancholy bivouac gleamed with a 
 lurid light that gave increased horrors to 
 the scene, the reviving summer had spread 
 an exquisite picture of fertility. But the 
 clustering woods, the tranquil pastures, and 
 orderly villages that animated the scene, 
 were destined to be despoiled by the crush- 
 ing footsteps of legions, who, spreading 
 ruin on their track, looked upon such sights 
 with admiration only as they presented the 
 means for sustentation and a favourable 
 ground for military operations. 
 402 
 
 The Russians retreated across the Alle 
 and thus placed that stream between them- 
 selves and their pursuers. They then took 
 up their position opposite the town of 
 Friedland. In the meantime Napoleor 
 dispatched a division of the army, under 
 Marshal Soult, to manoeurre before Kbnigs- 
 berg, where the Russian magazines were 
 placed, while he himself marched with the 
 grand army upon Friedland to attack the 
 Russians. General Benningsen and his 
 army occupied a highly advantageous posi- 
 tion; a fact which was instantly perceived 
 by Napoleon. He therefore left no strata- 
 gem unattempted to induce his opponent to 
 recross the river to its western bank, where 
 he possessed decided advantages for the 
 disposition of his troops, and where the 
 Russians, in the event of defeat, would be 
 under the necessity of defiling through the 
 town and over the narrow bridge, which 
 would render retreat almost impracticable. 
 To deceive the enemy, he allowed only 
 a small part of his force to be seen; and 
 General Benningsen supposed that the 
 French troops he beheld consisted chiefly of 
 a division which had suffered severely at 
 Heilsberg. Under these circumstances, he 
 entertained a hope that, by a sudden attack, 
 it might be destroyed before the main body 
 of Napoleon's forces could advance to its 
 relief. He therefore ordered one corps to 
 cross the bridge; and finding no serious 
 opposition, he gradually transported the 
 whole of his army over the river, by means 
 of the bridge and three pontoons. The 
 Russian general was completely outwitted; 
 and no sooner had he accomplished this 
 movement^ than he discovered his mistake. 
 Heavy columns of French began to emerge 
 from a thick wood in which they had been 
 concealed ; their cannon was rapidly ad- 
 vanced into position, and Benningsen found 
 himself unexpectedly in the presence of the 
 great bulk of the grand army. Retreat was 
 impossible ; and no alternative remained but 
 to encounter the enemy at a manifest disad- 
 vantage. The broken and wooded country 
 which the French occupied, greatly facili- 
 tated their operations ; while the Russians 
 were so limited in space, and so exposed by 
 their situation, that they had nothiug to 
 rely upon but their indomitable courage. 
 
 The advanced body of the French, who 
 were under the command of Marshal 
 Lannes, received the approaching Russians 
 with a sharp fire of musketry, mingled with 
 discharges of cannon, and retired skirmish- 
 
A.D. 1807.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [battle of friedland. 
 
 ing. It was the 14th of June. '^ The an- 
 niversary of jMarengo/' observed Napoleon; 
 " it is a lucky day for us." As it would yet 
 take some time to collect all the French 
 troops, some of his lieutenants were of 
 opinion that they ought to defer fighting a 
 decisive battle until the morrow. " No, 
 no,^' replied the emperor, "one does not 
 catch an enemy twice in such a scrape." 
 
 The Russian army had a superior enemy 
 in front, and a deep river, traversed only by 
 four bridges, in its rear. The object of 
 Napoleon was to drive the Russians into 
 the Alle; he therefore directed his atten- 
 tion towards occupying the town of Fried- 
 land, and seizing the bridges by which the 
 Russians could effect a retreat. For this 
 dangerous task he selected the corps of Mar- 
 shal Ney. The emperor, grasping his arm, 
 and pointing to Friedland, the bridges, and 
 the Russians crowded together in front, 
 observed — " Yonder is the goal ; march to 
 it without looking about you ; break into 
 that thick mass, whatever it costs you; 
 enter Friedland, take the bridges, and give 
 yourself no concern about what may happen 
 on your right, on your left, or in your rear. 
 The army and I shall be there to attend to 
 that." Proud of his commission, Ney de- 
 parted with so much ardour to execute it, 
 that Napoleon, struck with his martial atti- 
 tude, exclaimed, " That man is a lion \" 
 
 The general engagement between the 
 two armies did not commence until five in 
 the afternoon, and Benuingsen entertained 
 the hope that the approach of night would 
 give him the means of retrieving his error 
 Jby enabling him to regain the right bank 
 of the river. In this he was mistaken ; for 
 at that hour the signal for Ney's attack was 
 given by the discharge of twenty pieces of 
 cannon from the French centre. Ney and 
 his corps then marched resolutely direct 
 upon Friedland. On they came (said an 
 elegant writer) with the fury of a tempest, 
 driving before them, like foam before the 
 waves, the Russian chasseurs of the guard, 
 and several regiments of cavalry and Cos- 
 sacks who were placed in advance, and had 
 endeavoured to check their progress. Some 
 Russian regiments broke and fled towards 
 the river, into which great numbers of the 
 men were precipitated and drowned. But 
 the advancing French were terribly exposed 
 to the enemy's artillery, which played upon 
 them with fearful effect. They had to sus- 
 tain not only the fire of the batteries before 
 them, but also the fire of those on the right 
 
 bank of the AUe, which it was impossible to 
 take, as they were separated from them by 
 the deep bed of the river. Whole files of 
 the French were swept away ; and the fire 
 became so severe, that the very bravest of 
 the troops could no longer endure it. At 
 this point the cavalry of the Russian im- 
 perial guard charged Ney's column with 
 such impetuosity, that several battalions 
 were thrown into disorder, and driven to 
 the rear, where they stood in groups around 
 their officers. Victory appeared to favour 
 the Russians, who, in their turn, became 
 the assailants. But the Russian guards 
 were not supported, and they were soon 
 encountered by General Dupont, who had 
 hastened to the relief of Ney. The Russian 
 cavalry had scattered in pursuit of the 
 French infantry, and in this state it was 
 fiercely charged in flank by Dupont, and 
 driven back to the edge of the town. The 
 presence of this reinforcement restored the 
 confidence of Ney's soldiers. The latter 
 formed anew, and resumed their march for- 
 ward. It was necessary to counteract the 
 formidable artillery of the Russians; and 
 Napoleon, therefore, ordered General Victor 
 to collect all the guns of his division, and 
 to range them in mass in front of Ney's 
 troops. This order was executed by the 
 skilful and intrepid General Senarmont, 
 who commanded that artillery. Taking it 
 some hundred paces ahead of the infantry, 
 he daringly placed himself in front of the 
 Russians, and opened upon them a fire, 
 which, from the number of pieces employed 
 and the accuracy of aim with which they 
 were directed, produced terrible effects on 
 the enemy. Directing one of his batteries 
 against the right bank, he soon silenced 
 those erected by the Russians on that side 
 of the river. Then, pushing forward his 
 line of artillery, he gradually approached 
 to within grapeshot range, and firing upon 
 the deep masses crowded together as they 
 fell back into the elbow of the AUe, lie 
 made terrible havoc among them. The 
 French infantry continued their advance 
 under cover of the artillery, and the Rus- 
 sians made a despairing effort to extricate 
 themselves from the crowded mass into 
 which they were being driven. Their im- 
 perial guard marched, with bayonets fixed, 
 upon Dupont's division, who, in turn, 
 charged them with the bayonet, and hurled 
 them back in confusion. The French then 
 assaulted the town of Friedland, pursued 
 the Russians through the streets, and drove 
 
 403 
 
BATTLE OF FRIEDLAND.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1807. 
 
 them upon the bridges of the Alle, which 
 Senarmont's artillery, from without, enfi- 
 laded with its shot. The fugitive Russians, 
 in their confusion, themselves actually set 
 fire to the bridges, and thus cut off their 
 own means of retreat. Some of the princi- 
 pal buildings of tlie town also took fire, and 
 Ney and Dupont met in the burning streets, 
 and congratulated one another on the suc- 
 cess of the task which had been assigned to 
 them.* 
 
 The centre and right wing of the Russian 
 army still kept its ground, though subjected 
 to an incessant cannonade which told with 
 terrible effect upon them, on account of the 
 dense masses into which the limited extent 
 of the ground compelled them to form. 
 They had, however, fought with some pros- 
 pect of success, or at least with undaunted 
 spirit, until the flames arising from Friedland 
 and the bridges, and the vast clouds of 
 smoke which darkened the atmosphere, re- 
 vealed the sad truth that their retreat was 
 cut off, and filled all hearts with despair. 
 At this point, Napoleon, anxious to take 
 advantage of the brief remainder of the day, 
 carried forward his whole line. Though 
 thus pressed. General Gortschakoff dis- 
 patched a column of infantry to the gates of 
 the town, in the hope of retaking it. These 
 at first drove back the soldiers of Ney and 
 Dupont, but were then themselves repulsed. 
 A new combat raged within the unfortunate 
 town, and the possession of it was disputed 
 by the light of the flames by which it was 
 being consumed. The French finally re- 
 mained masters, and the Russians were 
 driven back into the confined plain from 
 which there was no escape but through the 
 waters of the Alle. 
 
 The main body of the Russians, subjected 
 to the onslaught of the masses which Napo- 
 leon directed against it, still fought with a 
 wild and despairing bravery. It is difficult 
 to do justice to the obstinate and unyielding 
 courage which influenced these inflexible 
 soldiers. Though raked by the French ar- 
 tillery, which played upon them from half 
 cannon-shot distance, and subjected to a 
 rolling and destructive fire from the French 
 infantry, they were driven back slowly and 
 without disorder. Then, sooner than sur- 
 
 • " Napoleon, placed in the centre of the divisions 
 which he kept in reserve, had never ceased to watch 
 this grand sight. While he was contemplating it 
 attentively, a ball passed at the height of the bayonets, 
 and a soldier, from an instinctive movement, stooped 
 his head. ' If that ball were destined for you,' said 
 Napoleon, smiling, 'though you were to burrow a 
 404 
 
 render, they crossed the river by fords 
 which, earlier in the day, had been pointed 
 out to them by some peasants. Across these 
 did Benningsen convey the greater part of 
 his artillery; and by them immense numbers 
 of the Russians effected their escape ; though 
 great numbers of these unhappy men were 
 washed away and drowned — a fate which 
 their savage and determined energy led 
 them to submit to rather than be made 
 prisoners. 
 
 The battle was not concluded until past 
 ten at night ; but on this occasion, though 
 the Russians had sustained their defeat with 
 honour, yet the French had an unequivocal 
 victory. The loss of the Russians has been 
 variously estimated at between 17,000 and 
 25,000 in killed, drowned, wounded, and 
 prisoners. Most of the latter were wounded ; 
 not more than 500 of them being unhurt. 
 The French say that they captured eighty 
 pieces of cannon ; but other authorities deny 
 that more than a fourth part of that number 
 fell into their hands. The French had lost 
 about 10,000 men in killed and wounded, 
 and two eagles were taken from them. 
 Napoleon slept on the field of battle, sur- 
 rounded by his soldiers, who, though they 
 had nothing to eat but the bread they 
 brought in their knapsacks, shouted enthu- 
 siastically "Five I'Empereur !" Not more 
 than half of Napoleon's cavalry was upon 
 the field ; and this circumstance favoured the 
 escape of the Russian army. The night was 
 clear ; and, descending the banks of the Alle, 
 the great body of the Russians crossed that 
 river at the bridge of AUenburg. So rapid 
 was their march that, on the following day, 
 they were at "VVehlau, on the other side of 
 the Pregel. Though they had nobly sus- 
 tained their courage in the hour of battle, 
 yet such was the confusion into which they 
 had fallen, and the apprehensions they en- 
 tertained lest their rear-guard should be 
 attacked, that a general panic took place in 
 consequence of the accidental discharge of a 
 few muskets; and horse, foot, and artillery 
 rushed towards the bridge, trampling each 
 other under foot, and, breaking into the 
 town, spread there the wildest disorder. It 
 is generally admitted, that had Napoleon 
 followed up his success with his usual euergy, 
 
 hundred feet under ground, it would be sure to 
 find you there.' Thus he wished to give currency 
 to that useful belief, that Fate strikes the brave 
 and the coward without distinction, and that the 
 coward who seeks a hiding-place disgraces him- 
 self to no purpose." — Thiers: Consulate and the 
 Empire. 
 
A.D. 1807.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [RUSSIA DESIRES PEACfi. 
 
 the Russian host must have been anni- 
 hilated. Wlien, on the following day, the 
 French started in pursuit of their enemy, 
 and arrived at the Pregel, they found that 
 all the bridges had been broken down by 
 the retreating Russians. 
 
 We mentioned that, before the battle. 
 Napoleon had dispatched Marshal Soult 
 with a body of French troops to the city of 
 Konigsberg. It was vigorously defended 
 by the Prussian and Russian troops within, 
 until they learned the result of the battle 
 of Friedland. It was then no longer tenable ; 
 therefore, Generals Lestocq and Kamenskoi 
 abandoned it, leaving the immense stores, as 
 well as the sick and the wounded, to the 
 French, to whom the place was immediately 
 afterwards surrendered. Amongst the stores 
 were found quantities of corn and wine; and 
 (so say the French) 100,000 muskets, sent by 
 England, and still on l)oard the vessels which 
 had brought them. Sir Robert Wilson, who 
 was with the Russian army, denies this state- 
 ment, and affirms it to be " a falsehood of 
 the most extravagant character." England, 
 he says, had sent arms and ammunition, but 
 they did not arrive until they were too late 
 to be of any service. 
 
 Lestocq and Kamenskoi, with the allied 
 forces which they led from Konigsberg, suc- 
 ceeded in joining the main Russian army on 
 the 18th of June, which crossed the river 
 Niemen by the town of Tilsit, and, after 
 burning the bridge, encamped beyond it. 
 
 The emperor Alexander was dispirited, and 
 felt that he was no longer able to continue 
 the war without hazarding the entire ruin 
 of his empire. Disgust at the conduct of 
 England had a considerable share in making 
 him resolve upon seeking a peace with 
 France. His army also cried out loudly for 
 peace ; as, though not dissatisfied with its 
 own conduct, it regarded itself as incapable 
 of coping successfully with the superior 
 forces of Napoleon. Russian officers asked, 
 for whom the war was carried on ? Was it 
 for the Prussians, who could not defend their 
 own country? or for the English, who, after 
 so frequently announcing succours, sent 
 none, and thought only of conquering colo- 
 nies? They added, that it was through the 
 paltry ambition of England tliat brave men 
 were set together by the ears : they had 
 no reason for hate, or even jealousy, as 
 France and Russia had no cause to 
 envy each other. The humiliated king of 
 Prussia suggested to his imperial ally the 
 necessity of making proposals of peace 
 
 to Napoleon, and expressed a hope that his 
 friend, who alone had insisted on tiie pro- 
 longation of the war, would defend him in the 
 negotiations better than in the field of battle. 
 On the 18th, General Benningsen, at the 
 command of Alexander, transmitted to 
 Napoleon a letter, deploring the miseries 
 occasioned by the war, and desiring an 
 armistice as a means of putting an end to 
 them. This letter Napoleon received very 
 favourably, for he was fully aware of the 
 difficulties of his position at such a distance 
 from his capital, from which he had been 
 absent nearly a year. Moreover, he could 
 not depend on the uneasy neutrality of 
 Austria, or the continued indifference of 
 England. Napoleon also fancied he could 
 detect, on the part of Alexander, a disposi- 
 tion which might induce Russia to become 
 his ally against England. He therefore 
 returned an amicable answer, saying, that 
 after so many efforts, fatigues, and victories, 
 he desired nothing but a safe and honour- 
 able peace, and that he was ready to consent 
 to an armistice as a means of bringing it 
 about. At the same period, on the 22nd of 
 June, he issued to his victorious soldiers the 
 following proclamation : — Soldiers ! on the 
 5th of June we were attacked in our canton- 
 ments by the Russian army. The enemy 
 had mistaken the cause of our inactivity. 
 He perceived, too late, that our repose was 
 that of the lion: he repents of having dis- 
 turbed it. In the battles of Guttstadt and 
 Heilsburg, and in that ever-memorable one 
 of Friedland — in a campaign of ten days in 
 short, we have taken 120 pieces of cannon, 
 seven colours ; killed, wounded, or made 
 prisoners 60,000 Russians ; taken from the 
 enemy's army all its magazines, its hos- 
 pitals, its ambulances, the fortress of Ko- 
 nigsberg, the 300 vessels which were in that 
 port, laden with all kinds of military stores; 
 160,000 muskets which England was sending 
 to arm our enemies. From the banks of the 
 Vistula we have come, with the speed of the 
 eagle, to those of the Niemen. You cele- 
 brated at Austerlitz the anniversary of the 
 coronation ; this year, you have worthily 
 celebrated that of the battle of Marengo, 
 which put an end to the war of the second 
 coalition. Frenchmen, you have been worthy 
 of yourselves and of me. You will return 
 to France covered with laurels, and after 
 obtaining a glorious peace, which carries 
 with it the guarantee of its duration. It is 
 high time for our country to live in quiet, 
 screened from the malignant influence of 
 
 405 
 
INTERVIEW ON THE XIEMEN.] HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1807. 
 
 England. My bounties shall prove to you 
 ray gratitude, and the full extent of the love 
 that I feel for you." 
 
 A friendly intercourse was soon established 
 between the officers and men of the French 
 and Russian armies ; the former being en- 
 camped on the left bank of the Niemen; 
 those of the latter about a mile distant from 
 the right bank. They had too vivid an ex- 
 perience of each other's valour not to be 
 inspired with sentiments of mutual respect. 
 Alexander also dispatched Prince Labanoff 
 to the French camp, to desire a personal 
 interview with Napoleon. The Russian 
 noble expressed the strong desire felt by his 
 master to put an end to the war, his excessive 
 disgust for the English alliance, and his 
 extreme impatience to see the great man of 
 the age^ and to come to a frank and cordial 
 explanation with him. Napoleon, who was 
 dexterous in the use of an adroit and delicate 
 flattery, replied, that he desired notliing 
 better than to meet the young sovereign of 
 whom he had heard so much, and whose 
 understanding, grace, and fascinating quali- 
 ties were so highly extolled. He therefore 
 appointed the following day, the 25th, for 
 the interview. 
 
 The meeting of the two emperors took 
 place on a large raft moored in the middle 
 of the Niemen, equidistant from, and within 
 -sight of, both banks of the river. On the 
 raft a wooden pavilion was erected, sur- 
 mounted by the eagles of France and Russia, 
 and decorated with as much magnificence 
 as time and circumstances would permit. 
 This was for the reception of the emperors 
 alone; and, at a little distance, another raft, 
 with a building of less sumptuous construc- 
 tion, was stationed for their respective suites. 
 Each bank of the river was covered with the 
 imperial guard of the two monarchs, drawn 
 up in single lines. At one o'clock the 
 thunder of artillery made known that the 
 emperors had entered their respective boats 
 to proceed to the raft. Alexander was ac- 
 companied by the Grand-duke Coustantine, 
 General Benningsen, Prince Ijabanoff, Gen- 
 eral Ouvarofi, and Count Lieveu ; Napoleon 
 by Murat, then Grand-duke of Berg ; Mar- 
 shals Berthier, Bessieres, and Duroc; and 
 Caulaincourt, the grand- equerry. The boat 
 of Napoleon cleared the distance first; and 
 the emperor, stepping on the raft, passed 
 over and received Alexander on the opposite 
 j side. The monarchs instantly embraced 
 ! each other, amidst the shouts of the soldiers, 
 many of whom, especially the simple Rus- 
 i 406 
 
 sians, seeing this act of courtesy between 
 their masters, at once imagined that peace 
 was concluded. 
 
 " Why are we at war?" mutually inquired 
 the emperors. In fact. Napoleon was con- 
 tending with Russia chiefly as an ally of 
 England ; and Russia though naturally un- 
 easy about the domination of France, was 
 serving the interests of England much more 
 than her own, in persevering in the struggle 
 with such animosity. Alexander then re- 
 vealed how deeply he had been wounded by 
 the conduct and parsimony of the British 
 government. "I hate the English," said 
 he, " as much as you do ; and am ready to 
 second you in whatever you take in hand 
 against them." "In that case" answered 
 Napoleon, " everything can be easily settled, 
 and peace is already made." The interview 
 lasted two hours; but it is necessarily very 
 difficult to ascertain precisely what passed 
 between the two potentates dui'ing that 
 period. Many conversations have been in- 
 vented and imposed upon Europe as au- 
 thentic history; but they obtained but a 
 passing credit, and need not be referred to 
 here. !M. Thiers had peculiar means of 
 ascertaining the substance of this important 
 conversation : we shall therefore quote his 
 generalisation of it.* " Napoleon, seeking 
 to discover what were the sentiments of the 
 speaker which he ought to flatter, soon 
 perceived that two were then predominant. 
 In the first place, deep spleen against allies — 
 burdensome like Prussia, or selfish like Eng- 
 land; and in the next, a very sensitive and 
 deeply-mortified pride. He took pains, 
 therefore, to prove to Alexander, that he had 
 been duped by his allies ; that, moreover, he 
 had conducted himself with nobleness and 
 courage. He strove to persuade him that 
 Russia was wrong to persist in patronising 
 ungrateful and jealous neighbours like the 
 Germans, or in serving tiie interests of 
 greedy traders like the English. He attri- 
 buted this mistake to generous sentiments 
 carried to excess — to misconceptions to which 
 ministers, incompetent or bribed, iiad given 
 rise. He extolled the bravery of the Russian 
 soldiers, and told the emperor Alexander 
 that, if they were to unite the two armies 
 which had fought so valiantly against one 
 another at Austerlitz, at Eylau, at Friedland, 
 but which in those battles had both behaved 
 like real giants fighting blindfold, they might 
 divide the world between them, for its own 
 peace and welfare. He then insinuated, but 
 
 ^ • Consulate and the Empire. 
 
A.D. 1807.1 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [interview on the niemen. 
 
 very cautiously, that, l)y waging war with 
 France, Russia was spending her strength 
 without any possible compensation ; whereas, 
 if she would unite with France in subjecting 
 the west and east, on land and on sea, she 
 would gain as much glory, and certainly 
 more profit. Without explaining himself 
 further, he seemed to take it upon him to 
 make the fortune of his young antagonist 
 much more satisfactorily than they who had 
 led him into a career in which he had 
 hitherto met with nothiug but defeats. 
 Alexander, it is true, was under engage- 
 ments to Prussia ; and it was requisite that 
 his honour should get out of that situation 
 unstained. The emperor, therefore, gave 
 him to understand that he would restore to 
 him so much of the Prussian states as would 
 be required to release him honourably from 
 liis engagements to his allies, after which 
 the Russian cabinet would be at liberty to 
 follow a new policy — the only true, the only 
 profitable policy, resembling in all respects 
 that of the great Catherine. 
 
 " This conversation, which had touched 
 upon all questions without investigating 
 them thoroughly, had deeply moved Alex- 
 ander. Napoleon had opened to him new 
 prospects, which is always a pleasing thing 
 to a fickle, and especially to a discontented, 
 mind. Besides, more than once, Alexander, 
 amidst his defeats, feeling keenly the incon- 
 veniences of that furious war into Avhich he 
 had been led against France, and the ad- 
 vantages of a system of union with her, 
 had said to himself something like what 
 Napoleon had just been saying to him, but 
 not with that clearness, that force, and 
 above all, that seduction of a conqueror 
 who presents himself to the conquered with 
 hands full of presents, with mouth full of 
 caressing words. Alexander was fascinated ; 
 Napoleon clearly perceived it, and pro- 
 mised himself soon to render the seduction 
 complete. 
 
 " After flattering the monarch, he re- 
 solved to flatter the man. 'You and I,' 
 said he, ' shall understand each other better, 
 if we treat directly, than by eraployiug our 
 ministers, who frequently deceive or mis- 
 understand us, and we shall advance busi- 
 ness more in an hour than our negotiators 
 in several days. Between you and me,' he 
 added, ' there must be no third person.* 
 It was impossible to flatter Alexander in a 
 more sensible manner, than by attributing 
 to him a superiority over those around him, 
 similar to that which Napoleon had a right 
 
 to attribute to himself over all his servants. 
 In consequence, Napoleon proposed to him 
 to leave the hamlet Avhere he was living, 
 and establish himself in the little town of 
 Tilsit, which should be neutralised to receive 
 him, and where they might treat of business 
 themselves, in person, at any hour. This 
 proposal was eagerly accepted ; and it was 
 agreed that M. de Labanotf should go that 
 day to Tilsit to make the necessary arrange- 
 ments. They had still to talk of that un- 
 fortunate king of Prussia, who was at Alex- 
 ander's head-quarters, awaiting what should 
 be done with him and his kingdom. Alex- 
 ander offered to bring him to that same 
 raft on the Niemen to introduce him to 
 Napoleon, who should address a few sooth- 
 ing words to him. It was necessary, in 
 fact, that Alexander, before he passed from 
 one system of politics to another, should, if 
 he meant not to dishonour himself, have 
 saved some portion of the crown of his 
 ally. Napoleon, who had already taken his 
 determination upon this point, and who was 
 well aware that he must grant certain con- 
 cessions to save the honour of Alexander, 
 consented to receive the king of Prussia on 
 the following day. The two sovereigns then 
 left the pavilion, and, passing from serious 
 affairs to testimonies of courtesy, compli- 
 mented the persons of their respective suites. 
 Napoleon treated the Grand-duke Constan- 
 tino and General Benningsen in a flattering 
 manner. Alexander congratulated Murat 
 and Berthier on being the worthy lieu- 
 tenants of the greatest captain of modern 
 times. Parting with fresh demonstrations 
 of friendship, the two emperors again em- 
 barked, amidst the applause of the numer- 
 ous spectators assembled on the banks of 
 the Niemen." 
 
 In accordance with the proposal of Na- 
 poleon, Alexander and liis suite took up 
 their abode in the town of Tilsit. Every 
 possible attention was paid to the czar. 
 The furniture in his rooms was all sent 
 from the French head-quarters; and a 
 sumptuous train of cooks and other attend- 
 ants was in readiness to make him forget 
 the luxuries of St. Petersburg. Not having 
 his household with him, it was settled that 
 he should take all his meals with the em- 
 peror Napoleon. They passed the evening 
 together, and conversed for a long time in a 
 confidential manner, with a familiarity at 
 once dignified and graceful. On the next 
 day, Alexander brought the humiliated king 
 of Prussia into the presence of Napoleon, 
 
 407 
 
THE TREATY OF TILSIT.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1807. 
 
 The latter treated Frederic William with 
 coldness, and the Prussian was reserved, 
 stiff, and melancholy. The interview was 
 short ; and at its conclusion, it was decided 
 that the latter should come also to Tilsit to 
 reside with his ally Alexander. On the 
 27th, the two emperors reviewed the French 
 inrperial guard. These old soldiers, suc- 
 cessively of the Revolution, the Republic, 
 and the Empire, showed themselves with 
 pride to the sovereign whom they had de- 
 feated. They did not display the lofty 
 stature, the regular and measured march of 
 the soldiers of the north ; but they exhibited 
 that freedom of movement, that assurance 
 of attitude, and that intelligence of look, 
 which accounted for their victories and their 
 superiority over all the armies of Europe. 
 Alexander complimented them highly. They 
 responded with repeated shouts of " Vive 
 Alexandre ! Vive Napoleon I" Napoleon also 
 was much struck with the military aspect of 
 the Russian guard. The docility with which 
 the men submitted to their orders, impressed 
 him as being particularly admirable. " My 
 soldiers,^' he remarked, " are as brave as it 
 is possible to be, but they are too much 
 addicted to reasoning on their position. 
 If they had the impassible firmness and 
 docility of the Russians, the world would 
 be too small for their exploits. The French 
 soldiers are too much attached to their 
 country to play the part of the Mace- 
 donians.^' 
 
 The ascendancy which the French em- 
 peror acquired over the mind of his late 
 antagonist, was, especially when the subtle 
 character of the latter is considered, a re- 
 markable triumph of intellect. Alexander 
 eagerly embraced the general views of Na- 
 poleon, and never left him witliout express- 
 ing his unbounded admiration. " What a 
 great man V he said incessantly to those 
 who approached him ; " what a genius — 
 what extensive views — what a captain — 
 what a statesman ! Had I but known him 
 sooner, how many faults he might have 
 spared me ! What great tilings we might 
 l»ave accomplished together P' As might be 
 supposed, the miseralile Frederic William 
 was excluded from all this familiarity and 
 confidence. Napoleon treated him with de- 
 served neglect, while he showered the most 
 delicate attentions upon Alexander. A 
 superb dressing-case of gold, used by Na- 
 poleon, having appeared to please him, was 
 instantly ofi'ered and accepted. 
 
 The two armies shared the familiarity of 
 408 
 
 the emperors. The Russians did not re- 
 gard themselves as vanquished; and, not- 
 withstanding their misfortunes, even felt 
 much of the exultation of victory. Proud, 
 it has been observed, of having so long 
 arrested the progress of the conqueror of 
 the world, glorving even in the amount of 
 their losses and the chasms *in their ranks, 
 which told the desperate strife in which 
 they had been engaged, they mingled Avith 
 their recent enemies with feelings unlace- 
 rated by the humiliations of defeat. Great 
 cordiality, therefore, soon prevailed, and 
 hospitalities were frequently exchanged. 
 The officers of the two imperial guards, and 
 especially Prince Murat and the Grand- 
 duke Constantine, were remarkably cordial 
 and complimentary to each other. *' On 
 one of these occasions, to such a length did 
 the efi'usioiis of mutual respect and regard 
 proceed, that the officers of the two guards, 
 amidst the fumes of wine, and tlie enthu- 
 siasm of the moment, mutually exchanged 
 their uniforms ; French hearts beat under 
 the decorations won amidst the snows of 
 Eylau, and Russian bosoms warmed be- 
 neath the orders bestowed on the field of 
 Austerlitz. Last and most singular effect 
 of civilised life and military discipline, to 
 strengthen at once the fierceness of national 
 passions, and the bonds by which they are 
 to be restrained, and join in fraternal bro- 
 therhood, one day, those hands which, oa 
 another, had been dyed by mutual slaughter, 
 or lifted up in relentless hostility against 
 each other.''* 
 
 The conferences between the two em- 
 perors extended over a period of twenty 
 days ; and after a fortnight spent in con- 
 ference, the treaty of Tilsit was formally 
 signed and made public. The treaty be- 
 tween France and Russia was signed on the 
 7th of July ; and a separate one between 
 France and Prussia on the 9th. Alexander, 
 in the November of 1806, had written to 
 Frederic William — " I will do my utmost to 
 prevent the Prussian dominions from losing 
 even a village." Even during the time 
 spent at Tilsit, the czar had represented to 
 his brother monarch, that his intimacy with 
 Napoleon would be the means of obtaining 
 larger restitutions in favour of Prussia. Yet 
 this imperial actor, who used a pretended 
 benevolence as an instrument to deceive his 
 people and his friends, shutting out a recol- 
 lection of the oath he had sworn at mid- 
 night over the tomb of Frederic the Great, 
 ♦ Alison's History of Europe. 
 
A.D. 1807.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [treaty of TILSIT. 
 
 not only consented that Prussia should be 
 deprived of about half its territory and 
 population by France, but actually, to the 
 astonishment of the world, himself took 
 possession of Bialy stock, one of its ill-gained 
 Polish provinces.* 
 
 Alexander would probably have assisted 
 Frederic William if the effort had cost him 
 nothing ; but for a useless ally, he would 
 not cross the decisions of Napoleon. Prus- 
 sia was stripped of all those provinces 
 which, prior to the first partition in 1772, 
 had formed part of the kingdom of Poland. 
 These were to be erected into a separate 
 principality, to be called the Grand Duchy 
 of "Warsaw ; and, except Bialystock, to be 
 bestowed on the king of Saxony ; to whom, 
 also, was granted a right to a free military 
 road across the Prussian states, to connect 
 his German with his Polish dominions. 
 For the rest, Prussia was so dismembered 
 and curtailed, that its population was re- 
 duced from nine millions and a-half of in- 
 habitants to five millions ; and its revenue 
 from 120 millions of francs to sixty-nine 
 millions. At one blow, it was cast down 
 from the rank of one of the great monarchies 
 of Europe, to that of a third power ; even 
 the territory that was left to it was com- 
 pletely exhausted. Such a sudden downfall 
 taught Frederic William that he had la- 
 boured under a fatal mistake ; that his glory 
 was that of his ancestors, and his power a 
 phantom. Dantzic was declared an indepen- 
 dent city, under the protection of the kings of 
 Prussia and Saxony; which, in eflfect, ren- 
 dered it a frontier town of France. Prussia 
 and Russia recognised the confederation of 
 the Rhine ; and a new kingdom, to be called 
 the kingdom of Westphalia, was erected in 
 favour of Jerome Buonaparte, the emperor's 
 brother; composed of the provinces ceded 
 by Prussia on the left bank of the Elbe. 
 Napoleon's other brothers, Joseph and 
 Louis, were also recognised as kings of 
 Naples and Holland. France and Russia 
 guaranteed the integrity of each other's 
 dominions, and mutually restored all pri- 
 soners, Russia undertook to mediate with 
 
 • Alison, who endeavours, with a perverse inge- 
 nuity, to represent Alexander as both a great and 
 good man, thus mildly refers to this treachery on 
 the part of the czar : — " The province of Bialystock, 
 containing 200,000 souls, was ceded to Kussia, 
 which thus participated, in the hour of misfortune, 
 in a share, small indeed, but still a share, of the spoils 
 of its ally." Surely Sir Archibald must perceive, 
 that it was not the amount of this political theft 
 that made Europe cry out shame on Alexander, but 
 3g 
 
 England for a peace with France ; and 
 France with Turkey, for a peace with Rus- 
 sia ;t and each power undertook, in case 
 its mediation was refused, to make common 
 cause with the other. Russia engaged to 
 assist France against England with all its 
 forces, both by sea and land, if the latter 
 refused her mediation; or, "if having ac- 
 cepted it, peace was not concluded by the 
 1st of November, on terms stipulating that 
 the flags of every power should enjoy a per- 
 fect and entire equality on every sea, and 
 that all the conquests made of French pos- 
 sessions since 1805, should be restored ; in 
 that case, also, Russia shall demand a cate- 
 gorical answer by the 1st of December, and 
 the Russian ambassador shall receive a con- 
 ditional order to quit London." Then, in 
 the event of the English government not 
 making a satisfactory answer to the Rus- 
 sian requisitions, " France and Russia shall 
 jointly summon the three courts of Copen- 
 hagen, Stockholm, and Lisbon, to close 
 their hai-bours against English vessels, re- 
 call their ambassadors from London, and 
 declare war against Great Britain." The 
 king of Prussia also consented to close all 
 his harbours to the ships and commerce of 
 England, and to permit the fortresses left 
 him to remain in the hands of France, as a 
 security for the payment of the war con- 
 tributions to be levied on the unfortunate 
 inhabitants. 
 
 Another and a secret treaty was entered 
 into at Tilsit by the two emperors; and in 
 this an attempt was made to carry out the 
 idea of Napoleon, and divide the civilised 
 world between them. This topic was the 
 one discussed in the long conversations 
 which had taken place between the two 
 monarchs. Fortunately, there was one point 
 on which harmony did not exist between 
 them. This was the probable partition of 
 the Turkish empire in the event of its dis- 
 solution — an event then speedily expected 
 by the generality of politicians. In the dis- 
 cussion of the emperors on the subject, it 
 was arranged that Russia was to have the 
 banks of the Danube as far as the Balkan 
 
 the peculiar circumstances of duplicity and treachery 
 with which it was associated. The wavering king 
 of Prussia had been lured into the war by the czar, 
 who, after promising that he would exert himself 
 to the utmost in his favour to prevent his losing 
 even a village, then concludes by robbing him of a 
 province ! 
 
 t The particulars of the war which Kussia had 
 been carrying on against Turkey, will be narrated in 
 the next chapter. 
 
 409 
 
THE SECRET ARTICLES.] 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1807. 
 
 mountains; Napoleon the maritime pro- 
 vinces, such as Albania and the Morea; 
 while Bosnia, Servia, and the inland pro- 
 vinces were allotted to Austria. The sultan 
 was to be permitted to retain the country 
 south of the Balkans; that is, Constanti- 
 nople, Asia Minor, and Egypt. Alexander 
 objected to an arrangement by which Con- 
 stantinople was to be left in the possession 
 of the barbarians of Asia, and suggested a 
 different partition, by which Russia was to 
 have that city, universally regarded as the 
 real capital of the East ; while France seized 
 the islands of the Archipelago, Candia, 
 Syria, and Egypt. To this Napoleon would 
 not consent: to give up Constantinople, 
 and thus let Russia make the most brilliant 
 acquisition it was possible to imagine, would 
 not suit his views. He could permit the 
 torrent of Russian ambition to dash itself 
 against the foot of the Balkans; but he 
 would not permit it to pass those tutelary 
 mountains. He would not suffer the most 
 striking achievement of modern times to be 
 accomplished by any one but himself. He 
 was too jealous of the greatness of France, 
 and too desirous of alone filling the imagi- 
 nation of mankind, to consent to such an 
 enci*oachment on his own glory. One day 
 the two emperors, on returning from a long 
 ride, shut themselves up in the writing 
 cabinet, where numerous maps were spread 
 out. Napoleon, apparently continuing a 
 conversation briskly begun with Alexander, 
 desired M. de Meneval to bring him the 
 map of Turkey; then, unfolding it, he 
 resumed the conversation, and suddenly 
 clapping his finger on Constantinople, ex- 
 claimed several times, regardless of being 
 heard by his secretary, in whom he had 
 absolute confidence — "Constantinople! Con- 
 stantinople ! never ! 'tis the empire of the 
 world !" Alexander, however, was mollified 
 by the concession of Finland ; as, if he was 
 able to obtain this extensive territory, the 
 acquisition would add a lustre to his reign. 
 " You will take Finland," said Napoleon 
 to him, " as a compensation for the expenses 
 of the war. The king of Sweden, it is true, 
 is your brother-in-law and your ally; but 
 that is only an additional reason why he 
 
 • But with the exceptions already referred to. 
 The clause on this subject was in the following 
 terms : — " In like manner, if in consequence of the 
 changes which have recently taken place in the 
 government of Constantinople, the Porte shall decline 
 the intervention of France; or in case, having accepted 
 it, the negotiations shall not have led to a satisfactory 
 410 
 
 should conform to your policy : if he does 
 not, let him take the consequences of his 
 ill-will. Sweden may be a relation, an ally 
 of the moment ; but, geographically, she is 
 your enemy. St. Petersburg is too near 
 the frontiers of Finland. It will not do to 
 let your fair Russian beauties again hear 
 from their palaces the cannon of the 
 Swedes." 
 
 When the two potentates had agreed as 
 to the substance of the secret treaty, it 
 was drawn up by Napoleon with his own 
 hand. The articles which composed it, 
 though strongly conjectured from various 
 subsequent events, and even partially dis- 
 closed, were not fully known amtil 1834, 
 when they were published in the Biographie 
 Universelle ; the high character of which 
 guarantees the authenticity of the informa- 
 tion. The articles were, in substance, as 
 follows: — 1. Russia was to take possession 
 of European Turkey, and to extend its con- 
 quests in Asia to what extent it thought 
 proper."^ 2. The house of Bourbon in 
 Spain, and the house of Braganza in Por- 
 tugal, were to cease to reign, and a prince 
 of the house of Napoleon was to succeed to 
 each. 3. The temporal authority of the 
 pope was to cease, and Rome and its depen- 
 dencies to be united to the kingdom of 
 Italy. 4. Russia was to assist France with 
 her navy for the conquest of Gibraltar. 
 5. The French were to take possession of 
 Algiers, Tunis, and other towns in Africa ; 
 and, at a general peace, these conquests were 
 to be given as an indemnity to the kings 
 of Sicily and Sardinia. 6. Malta was to 
 belong to the French, and no peace w'as to 
 be made with England before its cession. 
 
 7. The French were to occupy Egypt. 
 
 8. The navigation of the Mediterranean was 
 to be permitted to French, Russian, Italian, 
 and Spanish vessels only ; all other nations 
 were to be rigidly excluded. 9. Denmark 
 was to be indemnified in the north of Ger- 
 many with the Hanseatic towns, but only on 
 condition of placing its nai'y in the hands of 
 France. 10. Their majesties, the emperors 
 of Russia and of the French, were to settle 
 an agreement by which no power should be 
 allowed to send merchant ships to sea, un- 
 
 adjustment in the space of three months, France will 
 make common cause with Russia against the Ottoman 
 Porte, and the two high contracting parties will 
 unite their efforts to wrest from the vexatious and 
 oppressive government of the Turks all its provinces 
 in Europe; Roumelia and Constantinople alone 
 excepted." 
 
A.D. 1807.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [results of the treaty. 
 
 less it possessed a certain number of vessels 
 of war. 
 
 The day after the signature of the treaties, 
 the two emperors parted with much cere- 
 mony and appearance of friendship. Na- 
 poleon, wearing the grand cordon of St. 
 Andrew, went to the house occupied by 
 Alexander, who received him decorated 
 with the grand cordon of the Legion of 
 Honour. Having exchanged the ratifica- 
 tions, the two monarchs mounted their 
 horses and showed themselves to their 
 troops. Napoleon desired, that the soldier 
 reputed to be the bravest of the Russian 
 imperial guard should be ordered to step 
 out of the ranks ; and on his doing so, con- 
 ferred on him the cross of the Legion of 
 Honour. The French emperor then ac- 
 companied his august friend to the bank 
 of the Niemen, where, after embracing 
 amidst the applause of the spectators, they 
 separated. 
 
 There is perhaps no instance in history 
 of such a sudden change in the councils, 
 and apparently even in the personal senti- 
 ments of a great sovereign, as took place in 
 those of Alexander at Tilsit. The me- 
 morable treaty made at that town, is an 
 era not only in Russian, but also in Euro- 
 pean history. It has been quaintly ob- 
 served, that it converted Alexander into 
 the enemy of all his allies, and the ally of 
 his enemies. It was, in fact, fraught with 
 evil consequences to both the potentates 
 whose' ambition had prompted them to a 
 dark and wicked league against the liberties 
 of the world. Happily for mankind, there 
 
 * Sir A. Alison has some strikingly judicious 
 remarks on the subject, which we shall take the 
 liberty of quoting. He says — " The perfidious con- 
 duct of Napoleon towards Turkey has been almost 
 overlooked by the liberal writers of Europe, in the 
 vehemence of their indignation at him for not re- 
 establishing the kingdom of Poland. Without 
 doubt, if that great act of injustice could have been 
 repaired by his victorious arm, and a compact, 
 powerful empire of sixteen millions of persons re- 
 established on the banks of the Vistula, it would 
 have been alike grateful to every lover of freedom, 
 and important as forming a barrier against Muscovite 
 aggrandisement in Europe. But was it possible to 
 construct such an empire, to form such a barrier, out 
 of the disjointed elements of Polish anarchy ? That 
 is the point for consideration ; and if it was not, then 
 the French emperor would have thrown away all the 
 advantages of victory, if, for a visionary and im- 
 practicable scheme of this description, he had incurred 
 the lasting and indelible animosity of the partitioning 
 powers. With the aid of 200,000 brave men, indeed, 
 which Poland could with ease have sent into the 
 field, he might, for a season, have withstood the 
 united armies of Russia, Austria, and Prussia ; but 
 
 are certain unalterable principles ever in 
 action throughout nature, which are not to 
 be influenced by human might, or dazzled 
 by its magnificence. Like the tides of the 
 ocean, they roll on for ever, unconscious or 
 regardless of the leagues of monarchs and 
 the decrees of despots : this fact both Na- 
 poleon and Alexander lost sight of, but 
 each of them had it subsequently painfully 
 forced upon his unwilling recognition. The 
 treaty of Tilsit, advantageous and honour- 
 able to Napoleon as it appeared to be, has 
 been considered by many distinguished 
 politicians as the first cause of his ruin. 
 He had made irreconcilable enemies, in- 
 congruous and doubtful friends, and raised 
 an immense political edifice, in which every- 
 thing was new, and which was run up so 
 rapidly, that the foundation had not time to 
 settle, or the mortar to harden. The entire 
 alienation of Prussia, which it accomplished, 
 is regarded as one of the greatest errors 
 ever committed by Napoleon. Poland also 
 was disappointed and deeply aggrieved, and 
 the hopes its people entertained of the 
 restoration of their nationality by the 
 French emperor, cruelly blighted. Towards 
 Turkey also. Napoleon, in consenting to her 
 dismemberment, had behaved with a most 
 unblushing perfidy, as we shall show in our 
 narrative of the recent affairs of that country 
 in connection with Russia.* The military 
 transactions which preceded the peace of 
 Tilsit, gained France unbounded glory by 
 their brilliancy; but the political arrange- 
 ments made by it have been universally 
 condemned. "In war," observes M.Thiers, 
 
 could he rely on their tumultuous assemblies sus- 
 taining the steady and durable efforts requisite for 
 permanent success? What made Poland originally 
 fall a victim to the coalesced powers, once little more 
 than provinces of its mighty dominions? 'The 
 insane ambition,' as John Sobieski said, ' of a plebeian 
 noblesse;' the jealousy of a hundred thousand electors, 
 incapable alike of governing themselves or of per- 
 mitting the steady national government of others. 
 Was this fatal element of discord eradicated from 
 the Polish heart? Is it yet eradicated? Was it 
 possible, by re-establishing Poland in 1807, to have 
 done anything but, as Talleyrand well expressed it, 
 ' organised anarchy ?' These are the considerations 
 which then presented, and still present, an invincible 
 obstacle to a measure, in other points of view recom- 
 mended by so many considerations of justice and 
 expedience. It is evident that the passions of the 
 people, their insane desire for democratic equality, 
 were so powerful, that, if re-established in its full 
 original extent, Poland would speedily have again 
 fallen under the dominion of its former conquerors ; 
 the same causes which formerly pi-oved fatal to its 
 independence, would, without doubt, again have had 
 the same efi"ect." 
 
 411 
 
AFFAIK OF TURKEY.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1805.' 
 
 '^Napoleon was guided by his genius; in 
 politics, by his passions/' He desired, by 
 the aid of Russia, to conquer England; 
 satisfied of his power of eventually over- 
 throwing the government of the northern 
 empire, if its too active ambition interfered 
 with his own projects. As to Alexander, 
 he was lured forward, fascinated, and awed 
 by the commanding genius of his late 
 antagonist ; and influenced also by the am- 
 bitious and dislionest desire of extending his 
 sceptre over Finland and the greater part, 
 
 if not the whole, of European Turkey. 
 Still he felt much uneasiness at the strange 
 alliance he had made, the projects to the 
 execution of which he had bound himself, 
 and the yet hidden results to which they 
 might lead. " Sire," said one of his coun- 
 sellors to him at Tilsit, " I take the liberty 
 of reminding you of the fate of your father, 
 as the consequence of the French alliance." 
 '^Oh God!" replied Alexander, "I know- 
 it ; I see it ; but how can I withstand the 
 destiny which directs me." 
 
 CHAPTER XLVII. 
 
 THE TURKISH CABINET CONGRATULATE NAPOLEON, AND CONSENT TO RECEIVE AN AMBASSADOR FROM 
 FRANCE ; GENERAL SEBASTIANI APPOINTED ; HE PERSUADES THE PORTE TO DISPLACE THE HOSPODARS OF 
 MOLDAVIA AND WALLACHIA, NOTWITHSTANDING A TRKATY WITH RUSSIA BINDING THE SULTAN NOT TO 
 DO SO WITHOUT THK CONSENT OF THAT POWER; EXPOSTULATION OF RUSSIA AND ENGLAND, AND RESTO- 
 RATION OF THE HOSPODARS ; A RUSSIAN ARMY ENTERS MOLDAVIA ; TURKEY DECLARES WAR AGAINST 
 RUSSIA ; THE RUSSIAN TROOPS TAKE POSSESSION OF WALLACHIA ALSO ; ALEXANDER, PRESSED BY THE 
 ARMS OF FRANCE, APPLIES TO ENGLAND FOR ASSI^ANCE AGAINST THE TURKS; AN ENGLISH FLEET 
 THREATENS CONSTANTINOPLE, BUT IS COMPELLED TO RETIRE, AND THE PORTE DECLARES WAR AGAINST 
 ENGLAND; NAVAL DEFEAT OF THE TURKS BY THE RUSSIANS; AN ARMISTICE IS ARRANGED AT TILSIT 
 BETWEEN ALEXANDER AND THE SULTAN ; TREACHERY OF NAPOLEON TOWARDS TURKEY ; WAR WITH 
 PERSIA. 
 
 While Russia was vainly employed in 
 attempting to overthrow the power of 
 Napoleon, she was also carrying on a con- 
 test with Persia and with Turkey. In 
 comparison with the great events in which 
 Russia was engaged in the west of Europe, 
 these wars sink into comparative insignifi- 
 cance, and a narrative of them appears to 
 lack the vital interest attaching to the 
 former. Yet they are links in the great 
 chain of historical sequence ; and the war 
 with Turkey by no means an unimpor- 
 tant one. 
 
 By a convention between Russia and 
 Turkey, in 1802, it was arranged, that the 
 hospodars of Moldavia and Wallachia, when 
 once appointed by the Porte, should remain 
 in otfice for seven years, and should not, on 
 any account, be removed from their govern- 
 ments before the expiration of that term, 
 without the concurrence of the Russian 
 minister at Constantinople. That such a 
 stipulation was derogatory from the sove- 
 reignty claimed and exercised for ages by 
 the sultan in these provinces, cannot be 
 denied. But the terms of the convention 
 were clear and precise; and when con- 
 412 
 
 eluded and ratified, any contravention of 
 its articles by one of the contracting par- 
 ties, without the consent of the other, could 
 not but be regarded as a breach of treaty, 
 affording to the other party a just ground 
 of complaint, and, on refusal of redress, a 
 justifiable cause of war. The convention 
 might have been originally improvident on 
 the part of the Turks, as being incompatible 
 with the dignity, and incon^istent with the 
 interests, of their empire ; but when con- 
 cluded, they were bound to abide by it, and 
 had no right to abrogate or set it aside 
 without the consent of Russia. 
 
 Such was the state of affairs when the 
 Ottoman government, alarmed at the pro- 
 gress of the French power, deemed it pru- 
 dent to send a special embassy to Paris, to 
 congratulate Napoleon on his assumption 
 of the imperial dignity ; and, contrary to 
 its former determination, consented to re- 
 ceive an ambassador from France. General 
 Sebastiani, a militHry officer, whose subtle 
 mind had been nurtured in a cloister and 
 matured in a camp, was selected by Napo- 
 leou to proceed to Constantinople in that 
 capacity. As the emperor was aware that 
 
A.D. 1806.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [invasion of MOLDAVIA. 
 
 war was impending between Russia and 
 France, he directed Sebastiani to do all in 
 his power to persuade Turkey to break her 
 alHance with Russia and Enghmd, to pro- 
 duce hostilities between her and her north- 
 ern neighbour, and to induce her to revert 
 to her ancieut connection with France. 
 
 On the arrival of General Sebastiani at 
 Constantinople, he laid before the divan the 
 treaty between France and Russia, recently 
 signed at Paris by M. D'Oubril ; and con- 
 tending that an article of that treaty, which 
 guaranteed, in geueral terms, the integrity 
 and independence of the Turkish empire, 
 amounted to a virtual repeal of the conven- 
 tion concerning the hospodars, succeeded in 
 persuading the Porte to recall them, and 
 appoint others in their places, without con- 
 sulting the Russian ambassador, or regard- 
 ing his formal protest against the measure. 
 Having carried this point against the Rus- 
 sians, while it was still uncertain whether 
 D'Oubril's treaty would be ratified by the 
 court of St. Petersburg, the French ambas- 
 sador, as soon as he understood that the 
 ratification of that treaty had been with- 
 held, presented a note to the Ottoman gov- 
 ernment, in which he demanded that the 
 passage of the Bosphorus should be shut 
 against all Russian ships of war, as well as 
 against every other vessel of that nation 
 bringing troops, ammunition, or provisions ; 
 though he knew, that by treaty between 
 Russia and the Porte, that passage Avas 
 open to the vessels of the former with- 
 out limitation. Yet Sebastiani not only 
 assured the Turks of the friendship and 
 protection of his master in case of their 
 compliance, but threatened them with a 
 declaration of war on the part of the French 
 emperor if they did not accede to his de- 
 mands. 
 
 The Porte, instead of resenting these in- 
 solent proposals, evinced a disposition to 
 comply with them. It, however, first com- 
 municated them to the English and Rus- 
 sian ambassadors at Constantinople, to ob- 
 tain their advice in so critical an aspect of 
 affairs. Both of them remonstrated in the 
 strongest manner against the conduct of 
 the Porte. M. Italinski, the Russian am- 
 bassador, threatened instantly to leave Con- 
 stantinople, unless the dismissed hospodars 
 were reinstated in their dignities. The 
 English ambassador also peremptorily an- 
 nounced to the divan, that if the demands 
 of Russia were not instantly acceded to, a 
 British f^eet would enter the Dardanelles 
 
 and lay the capital in ashes. Sensible of 
 his weakness, and of the exposed position 
 of Constantinople, the sultan complied with 
 the demands of the allied powers, and 
 caused the hospodars to be reinstated in 
 their governments. At the same time, 
 Selim secretly informed the French ambas- 
 sador that he had only yielded to the storm 
 until he was in a condition to brave it, and 
 that both his policy and inclination united 
 him with the emperor Napoleon. 
 
 The cause of war between Russia and 
 Turkey appeared now to be removed, when, 
 on the 23rd of November, 1806, a Russian 
 army, amounting to 50,000 men, under the 
 command of General Nicholson, entered 
 Moldavia, drove the Turks before them, 
 and took possession of Chotzim, Bender, 
 and Jassy. It is asserted, that the orders 
 for this proceeding were given before the 
 submission of the sultan, and that the 
 latter was not known at St. Petersburg 
 until it was too late to prevent the invasion 
 of his dominions. There is no reason to 
 believe this statement ; as the Russians 
 continued their occupation, notwithstand- 
 ing the restoration of the hospodars. We 
 accept the explanation of the conduct of 
 the Russians, given by M. Thiers, who 
 observes — "That invincible attraction which 
 draws them to Constantinople, had silenced 
 in them all the considerations of prudence. 
 It was, in truth, an egregious blunder, 
 when ihey had the French army upon their 
 hands, and scarcely 200,000 men to oppose 
 to it, to employ 50,000 of that number 
 against the Turks. But amidst the con- 
 vulsions of this age, the idea of seizing any 
 occasion to take what they pleased, was 
 then the predominant idea of all govern- 
 ments. The Russians, therefore, said to 
 themselves, that the time was perhaps come 
 for them to take possession of Moldavia 
 and Wallachia.'^ 
 
 When information of the invasion of 
 Moldavia reached Constantinople, that city 
 was filled with indignation and surprise. 
 A cry for war was loud and universal, espe- 
 cially among the ulemahs and the Janissaries, 
 whose religious fanaticism, and general 
 hatred of Europeans, were stung into fury 
 by the perfidy of the Russians; the objects 
 alike of their superstitious dread and their 
 deeply-rooted aversion. The Russian am- 
 bassador narrowly escaped the fury of the 
 mob, and also of being immured in the for- 
 tress of the Seven Towers ; but the sultan 
 permitted him to leave Constantinople in 
 
 413 
 
TURKEY DECLAJIES WAP.] 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1806. 
 
 the English frigate Canopus. The follow- 
 ing day, December 30th, 1806, the Porte 
 published a formal declaration of war 
 against Russia; and great preparations 
 were made, both by sea and land, to carry 
 it out with vigour. 
 
 In the meantime, the Russians having 
 completed the conquest of Moldavia, entered 
 Wallachia; and, after defeating a body of 
 Turkish troops, took possession, without 
 resistance, of Bucharest, the capital of that 
 province, from whence tliey sent detach- 
 ments in all directions. At the close of the 
 year they were masters of the three pro- 
 vinces of Bessarabia, Moldavia, and Wal- 
 lachia, and threatened to cross the Danube 
 and assist the Servians, then in revolt 
 against the Porte. The very rapidity of 
 these successes, however, perplexed the em- 
 peror Alexander and his ministers. Russia 
 was in serious danger from the arms of 
 France on the banks of the Vistula. There 
 it was, in fact, that the fate of Turkey was 
 to be decided ; for had the Russians 
 triumphed over the French, it is more 
 than probable that the Ottoman empire in 
 Europe would have been seized upon by 
 the czar. Alexander, anxious to draw off 
 the Turks, whom he had prematurely 
 aroused, applied to England to permit a 
 naval force, then cruising in the ^gean 
 Sea, to make a demonstration against Con- 
 stantinople, with the object of intimidating 
 the Porte into an abandonment of hostili- 
 ties with Russia, and the acceptance of 
 terms of peace. The English ministry con- 
 sented j and Sir Thomas Duckworth was 
 sent, with a fleet of seven ships of the line, 
 besides frigates and bomb-ships, to force the 
 passage of the Dardanelles, and, if certain 
 terms should not be acceded to by the 
 Porte, to bombard Constantinople. 
 
 When Mr. Arbuthnot, the English am- 
 bassador at Constantinople, learned that 
 Sir John Duckworth had arrived off Tenedos, 
 he delivered the English ultimatum to the 
 divan ; which was, the immediate dismissal of 
 the French ambassador, the accession of 
 Turkey to the alliance of Russia and Eng- 
 land, and the opening of the Dardanelles 
 to the vessels of Russia. These demands 
 were peremptorily refused, and Mr. Arbuth- 
 not considered it prudent to withdraw from 
 Constantinople, and take refuge in the 
 Endymion frigate, then lying off Seraglio 
 Point. The Porte resented the insulting 
 interference of England by immediately 
 declaring war against it. 
 414 
 
 The British fleet, therefore, passed the 
 Dardanelles on the morning of the 19th of 
 February, 1807. The batteries had been 
 suffered to fall into a state of comparative 
 decay : the Turks were taken by surprise, 
 and little resistauce was made, with the 
 exception of a tremendous cannonade from 
 the batteries of the castles of Europe and 
 Asia. After a time this was silenced by the 
 rapid and well-directed fire of the British 
 vess»ls, and a small Turkish squadron burnt 
 or dispersed. Great alarm prevailed at 
 Constantinople when the English squadron 
 anchored at no great distance from the 
 city. The divan at first resolved on sub- 
 mission ; but in consequence of the spirited 
 representations of General Sebastiani, the 
 French ambassador, they resolved to gain 
 time by negotiation, and prepare for a 
 vigorous defence. The English admiral 
 allowed himself to be deceived into suffer- 
 ing time to be consumed in the exchange of 
 notes and diplomatic communications, during 
 which almost the entire population of Con- 
 stantinople laboured day and night at the 
 fortifications, under the able direction of 
 Sebastiani, and assisted by a body of French 
 engineers. At the expiration of a week, 
 more than a thousand pieces of cannon were 
 mounted on the batteries, the naval arsenal 
 was furnished with immense resources, the 
 defences of the harbour were strengthened, 
 and the whole line of coast presented a 
 formidable aspect. A hundred gun-boats 
 were drawn across the mouth of the Golden 
 Horn ; while twelve Turkish line-of-battle 
 ships, and nine frigates, lay in the canal 
 with their sails bent, and ready for action. 
 Great quantities of fire-ships were prepared 
 to act against the fleet of the invaders ; red- 
 hot shot was kept constantly heated, in case 
 of the approach of the British ships; and 
 200,000 men, destined to march against the 
 Russians, were said to be in the city and 
 suburbs, prepared to repel the English if 
 they were enabled to effect a landing. 
 
 When the English admiral had suffered a 
 week to elapse, Constantinople and the 
 neighbouring coasts were so eflSciently 
 armed, that the contemplated attack upon 
 it became entirely hopeless. Some doubts 
 were even entertained, in consequence oi 
 the prevalence of an adverse wind, whether 
 the English fleet would be able to retire 
 and repass the Dardanelles at all ; in which 
 case, capture or total destruction Avere the 
 only alternatives open to it. Sir John 
 Duckworth, therefore, renounced the peri- 
 

 ^ i 
 
 J 
 
A.D. 1807.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [RUSSIA AND TURKEY. 
 
 lous enterprise which had heen so raslily and 
 unjustly undertaken; and on the 1st of March 
 the British fleet repassed the straits of the 
 Dardanelles in a very crest-fallen condition, 
 and through a succession of firing from the 
 batteries on either side. Such was the calibre 
 of the Turkish guns, that balls or blocks of 
 marble, of immense weight and size, were 
 fired at our ships, which they threatened to 
 sink with a single blow. One of these 
 projectiles, weighing 800 pounds, cut the 
 mainmast of the Windsor man-of-war in 
 two, and it was not without much trouble 
 and difficulty that the ship was saved. An- 
 other gigantic ball penetrated the poop of 
 the Standard, and killed or wounded sixty 
 men. At length the British fleet cleared 
 the straits, and regained their old station at 
 Tenedos, after having sustained a loss of 
 250 men. — Thus terminated this much- 
 talked-of expedition to the Hellespont and 
 the Bosphorus. It had broken the spell by 
 which, for many ages, the passage of the 
 Dardanelles had been guarded: still, the 
 result of the whole was little more than a 
 brilliant bravado, followed by a series of 
 blunders terminating in disgrace. Some 
 efforts were made, in the House of Com- 
 mons, towards calling Sir John Duckworth 
 to account ; but he was protected by the 
 ministry, and the affair passed off without 
 investigation. 
 
 This unfortunate demonstration against 
 Constantinople produced an effect exactly 
 the reverse of what was intended. It co- 
 operated with the address of Sebastiani, to 
 bring the Turkish government, for a time, 
 wholly under the influence of France, and 
 eventually, under that influence, to make 
 peace with Russia when Russia had declared 
 herself against England. 
 
 The English fleet was joined at Tenedos 
 by a Russian squadron of ten sail-of-the-line 
 and a number of frigates, under the com- 
 mand of Admiral Siniavin. The allied naval 
 forces, after taking possession of Lemnos 
 and Tenedos, for the service . of their fleets, 
 established a blockade of the entrance to 
 the straits; but the English fleet soon 
 departed for Egypt, and left the blockade 
 to be maintained by the Russians. As a 
 similar manoeuvre was adopted at the mouth 
 of the Bosphorus, by a Russian squadron 
 which came down from the Black Sea, Con- 
 stantinople was cut off from some of its 
 usual and most productive sources of sup- 
 j)lies, and in a short time a great dearth of 
 provisions was experienced. Seid Ali, the 
 
 Turkish grand-admiral, was therefore dis- 
 patched with a fleet to disperse the Rus- 
 sians and break up the blockade. Though 
 the Turks had a far inferior force to that 
 opposed to them, yet they gave battle to 
 the Russians on the 1st of Jiily, 1807, near 
 the isle of Tenedos. The contest was pro- 
 longed for seven hours, and carried on with 
 great obstinacy on both sides. Four of the 
 Turkish ships were carried by the wind 
 out of the line of battle, and the unskilful 
 crews were unable, or unw^illing, to bring 
 them again under fire. Seid Ali, who at 
 one period of the action was surrounded by 
 five Russian vessels, fought his ship with 
 admirable bravery and skill ; and, though 
 wounded in the action, made his way 
 through them. But the contest, after the 
 accidental separation of the four ships, was 
 altogether unequal. Four ships of the line 
 were taken ; three others were burned, and 
 the rest driven for shelter under the cannon 
 of the Dardanelles : above 1,000 Turks also 
 perished during the battle — a great number 
 in comparison with what usually takes place 
 in engagements at sea. Intoxicated by this 
 victory, the Russians became very over- 
 bearing in their attitude at sea towards the 
 Turks. The land campaign on the banks 
 of the Danube, though not productive of 
 any decisive results, was yet in some degree 
 favourable to the Russians, who held their 
 position in the principalities. On the 
 Asiatic frontiers of the two empires the 
 Russians were more successful ; and during 
 the month of June, the seraskier of Erzeroum 
 suffered a total defeat at the hands of Gen- 
 eral Gudovitch. This victory was the more 
 important from the fact, that it prevented 
 the Persians from making a bold diversion 
 in favour of the Turks. The latter were 
 somewhat relieved from the pressure of 
 these hostile proceedings by the treaty of 
 Tilsit, which led to an armistice between 
 Russia and the Porte. This was concluded 
 at Slobosia on the 24th of August, and was 
 to continue until the 3rd of April in the 
 following year. As the base of the truce, it 
 Avas agreed that the Russian troops should 
 retire from Moldavia and Wallachia, but 
 that these provinces should not be occupied 
 by the troops of the sultan until ratifica- 
 tions were exchanged of a definitive treaty 
 of peace between Russia and the Ottoman 
 Porte, which was to be concluded, under 
 the mediation of the emperor Napoleon, on 
 terms honourable to both empires. 
 
 Before the conclusion of the treaty of 
 
 413 
 
ARMISTICE MTTH TURKEY.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1807. 
 
 Tilsit a revolution had taken place at Con- 
 stantinople, and been followed by the de- 
 thronement of Sultan Selim and the succes- 
 sion of Mustapha IV. Napoleon basely 
 pretended that this circumstance released 
 him from the engagements he had made 
 to the Turkish government, under the pre- 
 text that they had been made with Selim 
 personally, and not with his successor. 
 Therefore, though he had made repeated 
 promises of assistance and friendship to the 
 Ottoman government, which he declared to 
 be the faithful ally of France, yet he entered 
 into an engagement with Alexander for the 
 ruin and partition of the Turkish empire. 
 The policy of Napoleon, in this respect, was 
 as erroneous as it was dishonest. After the 
 peace of Tilsit, Alexander was enabled to 
 pursue his aggressive measures with regard 
 to Turkey ; but Napoleon, engrossed with 
 his ambitious scheme with regard to the 
 Spanish peninsula, was unable to appro- 
 priate his share of the calculated spoils of 
 the Ottoman empire. He therefore re- 
 pented of the ready consent he had given to 
 the aggressive movements of Russia in that 
 direction, and became desirous of throwing 
 every obstacle in the way of their further 
 prosecution. 
 
 Napoleon preferred seeing Alexander 
 waste his strength on the banks of the 
 Danube. No sooner, therefore, was he 
 engaged in his projects with respect to 
 Spain, than he wrote to the Russian auto- 
 crat, saying that the armistice on the 
 Danube had been concluded without his 
 authority; that it did not meet his appro- 
 val, and that the Russian troops might 
 remain in the principalities ; but that, as to 
 the final partition of the Ottoman empire, 
 that was so grave a question, that it required 
 mature consideration. This was not the 
 only incident adverse to the interests of 
 Napoleon, arising from his treachery to- 
 wards the Turks at Tilsit. Though the 
 latter gladly availed themselves of the 
 French mediation with Russia, it was in the 
 belief that they were to obtain through it 
 the evacuation of Moldavia and Wallachia. 
 When they found that this was not the 
 case, they scorned a peace under such cir- 
 cumstances, and expressed their resolution 
 to continue the contest. "In what worse 
 situation," said they, " could we be if the 
 
 French, instead of being victorious, had 
 been heaten in Poland? Is this the em- 
 peror's care for his aUies, whom he has 
 drawn into the conflict, to leave their richest 
 provinces in the hands of their enemies?" 
 Some rumours of the nature of the secret 
 articles of the treaty of Tilsit soon after- 
 wards reached the Turks, and, finding that 
 they had been betrayed by Napoleon, they 
 resolved on fighting out their quarrel with 
 Russia alone, and declining any further in- 
 tervention on the part of the French. 
 
 Simultaneously with the aggressive war 
 on Turkey, Alexander was engaged in an- 
 other unprincipled war on the shores of the 
 Caspian, in making acquisitions at the ex- 
 pense of his feeble neighbours the Persians. 
 Unable to contend successfully against her 
 vast militaiy power, and hopeless of as-* 
 sistance or relief from England (whose good 
 offices for the restoration of peace with 
 Russia they had vainly solicited during the 
 last administration of Pitt), they, in 1806, 
 sent an embassy to Paris to request the aid 
 of the emperor Napoleon. That wonderful 
 man, whose ambition was boundless, and 
 whose views were still turned towai'ds the 
 East, had already dispatched a member of 
 the French senate on a secret mission to 
 Persia, to promote his schemes and advance 
 his interests in that quarter. He did not, 
 however, lend assistance to the Persians in 
 the struggle with Russia, and was, probably, 
 too much occupied with his aiFairs in 
 Europe to be able to do so. 
 
 It is scarcely possible, and certainly un- 
 necessary, to give an accurate account of 
 the predatory warfare which followed be- 
 tween the troops of Persia and Russia. 
 Though the Russians were generally suc- 
 cessful, in consequence of their superior 
 discipline and experience, yet they were 
 unable to compel the warlike tribes and 
 their chiefs to bow to the Russian sceptre. 
 The war was not terminated until 1813. 
 The principal events of it were — the defeat 
 of tiie Persians at Etchmiazin, by Prince 
 Zitzianoff, in the year 1804; the conquest of 
 the province of Sliirvan, by the same com- 
 mander, in 1806; and the taking of Der- 
 bent by the Russians, and the defeat of 
 the Persians by Paulucci, at Alkolwalaki, 
 in 1810. 
 
A.D. 1807.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [the frbnch alliance. 
 
 CHAPTER XLVIII. 
 
 DISCONTENT OF THE RUSSIAN NOBLBS AND MERCHANTS AT THE FRENCH ALLIANCE, AND CONSEQUENT SUP- 
 PRKSSION OF TRADE WITH ENGLAND ; TRF.ATMENT OF GENERAL SAVARY AT ST. PETERSBURG ; ALEXANDER 
 OFFERS HIS MEDIATION TO THE ENGLISH MINISTRY ; IN REPLY, IT DESIRES A COMMUNICATION OF THE 
 SECRET ARTICLES OF THE TREATY OF TILSIT; BOMBARDMENT OF COPENHAGEN, AND SEIZURE OF THE 
 DANISH FLEET BY THE ENGLISH ; ALEXANDER DECLARES WAR AGAINST ENGLAND ; ALSO AGAINST SWE- 
 DEN, AND POURS HIS TROOPS INTO FINLAND ; FINLAND CEDED TO RUSSIA ; A RUSSIAN FLEET AT LISBON 
 SURRENDERS TO THE ENGLISH ; NAPOLEON INVITES ALEXANDER TO A PERSONAL INTERVIEW ; OBJECTIONS 
 OF THE RUSSIAN PARTY AND OF THE EMPRESS-MOTHER ; MEETING OF THE TWO EMPERORS AT ERFURTH. 
 
 Russia had extricated herself from the war 
 with France comparatively unscathed, and 
 with her military renown untarnished. 
 Though repulsed and defeated by the 
 French, she had sustained reverses with a 
 heroism that proclaimed the valour of her 
 soldiers, who had only failed before the 
 troops of the most military people in the 
 world, led by its most gifted general. 
 Alexander, therefore, was received, on his 
 return to St. Petersburg, with public accla- 
 mations ; but much discontent and sullen- 
 ness prevailed in private, especially among 
 the nobility and the merchants of the 
 capital. The French alliance was un- 
 popular; for the power of France had 
 shown that the pretensions of Russia were 
 greater than her means to support them, 
 and the nobles and merchants were enriched 
 by their trade with England, which the 
 arrangements Alexander had acceded to 
 were to repress. The balance of trade with 
 that country was wholly in favour of Russia ; 
 yet the diflferences existing with it threat- 
 ened to result in war, which must neces- 
 sarily be accompanied with immense losses. 
 The nobles of Russia were aware, that 
 whatever advantages the czar might derive 
 from the treaty into which he had just 
 entered with France, that he had purchased 
 them by acceding to Napoleon's "conti- 
 nental system," and the consequent closing 
 of the ports of the empire to the ships of 
 Great Britain. "Assuredly," observed a 
 continental writer, "Alexander bought the 
 peace of Tilsit at a price much more heavy 
 than would have been paid by a disastrous 
 campaign. Nothing could be more men- 
 acing and serious to Russia than a rupture 
 with England. That manufacturing country 
 is the chief market for her raw materials. 
 The Russian proprietors, kept continually 
 poor by their habits of pomp and ostenta- 
 tion, are always eager to sell, and cannot at 
 3h 
 
 best find sufficient market for their produce ; 
 accordingly, the two countries are neces- 
 sary the one to the other The commerce 
 established by the ordinance of nature is 
 advantageous to England, but it is indis- 
 pensable to the Russians; and the czar 
 should have had very weighty reasons for 
 putting a stop to it." 
 
 Napoleon, desirous of retaining the in- 
 fluence he had obtained over Alexander, 
 sent General Savary to St. Petersburg, as 
 the ambassador of France, with directions 
 to apply all the resources of his mind to 
 cultivate and give stability to the alliance 
 concluded at Tilsit. On arriving at the 
 Russian capital, Savary was received with 
 extreme coldness by the court, with the ex- i 
 ception of the emperor and two or three 
 families composing his intimate society. 
 The execution of the Duke d'Enghien, which 
 was performed under the immediate direc- 
 tion of Savary, contributed to this result; 
 the chief cause of which, however, was the 
 remembrance of recent hostilities and de- 
 feats, and the aversion to the French alli- 
 ance. Alexander endeavoured to persuade 
 every one, that in the termination of the 
 recent war by a reconciliation with France, 
 events had taken the most favourable turn 
 possible : that his late ministers, in em- 
 broiling him with that power, had led him 
 into a fatal track, from which he had extri- 
 cated himself with equal good fortune and 
 skill : that he had committed but one 
 error — that of having believed in the valour 
 of the Prussian army, and in the integrity 
 of England. But these illusions, he said, 
 were now dispelled; and by the union of 
 the two great armies of Europe — those of 
 France and Russia — the peace and greatness 
 of both empires would follow. Peace, if 
 England would at length desist from its 
 maritime pretensions ; and greatness, if she 
 did not oblige Europe to lead with her a 
 
 417 
 
SAVARY AT ST. PETERSBURG.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1807. 
 
 life of torment and sacrifices ; in which case 
 every one must take care of himself and his 
 own interests, and tliat it was time for 
 Russia to think of her^s. Having arrived 
 at this point of his explanations, Alexander 
 — not daring to reveal all the hopes which 
 Napoleon had permitted him to conceive, 
 nor, above all, to avow the occult treaty 
 which they had promised themselves to 
 keep profoundly secret — assumed an air of 
 mystery, but of satisfaction ; leaving all to 
 be guessed that he durst not venture to 
 tell, though strongly tempted to do so. 
 Thus, speaking of Turkey, he said openly 
 that he was about to sign an armistice with 
 her, but should take care not to evacuate 
 the provinces of the Danube, where his 
 troops would remain for a long time ; and 
 that no diflBculty would be raised at Paris 
 on the subject of this prolonged occupation. 
 Alexander was warmly seconded by M. de 
 RomanzoflF, who, besides being acquainted 
 with everything, had served the empress 
 Catherine, and inherited her oriental ambi- 
 tion. The minister, like the monarch, re- 
 peated that his listeners must have patience, 
 and that they would soon have a satis- 
 factory explanation to give of the change of 
 politics effected at Tilsit. 
 
 But the words of the emperor fell on 
 incredulous and unwilling ears. He could 
 not induce his nobility to extend their hos- 
 pitality to the French ambassador, or treat 
 him otherwise than with a cutting coldness. 
 The example of Alexander, who lavished 
 every attention upon General Savary, and 
 invited him frequently to his table, prevailed 
 to open some of the great houses in St. 
 Petersburg to him. Still he was excluded 
 by most of the distinguished families; for 
 Alexander, though master of power, was, 
 nevertheless, not master of high society; 
 which was ruled by a loyalty" and code of its 
 own. The emperor having anticipated his 
 possession of the sceptre by a tragic catas- 
 trophe, strove to compensate his mother 
 (who had descended before her time to the 
 station of dowager), by leaving to her the 
 exterior of supreme power. This princess, 
 who mingled a stiff conventional virtue with 
 a selfish nature and a haughty manner, con- 
 soled herself for her apparent loss with Paul 
 of half of the empire, by the ostentatious 
 display of imperial splendour. The court 
 assembled at her residence, and not at 
 Alexander's. His life was generally de- 
 void of state. Entertaining a dislike to the 
 empress his wife (who was a cold and grave 
 418 
 
 beauty), he hastened, after his repasts, to 
 leave the palace, to employ himself in busi- 
 ness with the statesmen who were his confi- 
 dants, or to devote his hours to pleasure in 
 the society of a Russian lady to whom he 
 was much attached. As to the courtiers, 
 or those who had favours to obtain, they 
 thronged around the empress-mother as if 
 she were the sole author of the acts of the 
 imperial power. Even Alexander made his 
 appearance there with the assiduity of a 
 submissive son who had not yet inherited 
 the paternal sceptre. Though the empress- 
 mother would neither use or permit any 
 language calculated to displease her son, 
 she took no pains to disguise her evident 
 aversion to the French. General Savary 
 she had treated with rudeness, actually 
 turning her back upon him before the 
 assembled court. The French ambassador 
 received the insult without emotion ; but he 
 adroitly hinted to the son, that he was not 
 unobservant of the slights put upon him by 
 the empress-dowager. Alexander was an- 
 noyed, and apprehensive lest, under his 
 affected respect for his mother, a foreigner 
 might not recognise the real master of the 
 empire. Grasping the general's hand, he 
 said — " There is no sovereign here but 
 myself; I respect my mother, but every- 
 body shall obey, be assured of it. At all 
 events, whoever needs it, shall be reminded 
 of the nature and the extent of my au- 
 thority." Savary was satisfied with having 
 brought the emperor to such a confidential 
 communication by piquing the imperial 
 pride. The result appeared in some show 
 of cordiality on the part of the empress- 
 mother. " Let us wait," said Alexander 
 frequently to the ambassador, "and see 
 what England will do. Let us know what 
 course she will pursue ; I will then break 
 out : and when I have declared myself, no- 
 body shall resist." 
 
 The result of the peace of Tilsit in Eng- 
 land was to produce despondency, and to 
 remove the hope that the war with France 
 could be brought to a satisfactory conclu- 
 According to his agreement with 
 
 sion. 
 
 Napoleon, Alexander, on his arrival at St. 
 Petersburg, had addressed a note to the 
 British cabinet, expressing a wish for the 
 restoration of a general peace, and offering 
 his mediation to bring about a state of 
 amity between France and England. Mr. 
 Canning answered — that England was jfier- 
 fectly willing to treat, on equitable terms, 
 for so desirable an object ; but she required 
 
A.D. 1807.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE, [seizure of the banish fleet. 
 
 a frank communication of the secret articles 
 of the treaty of Tilsit, as a pledge of the 
 pacific intentions of the emperor Alexander. 
 This demand was eluded ; and, in reply, 
 Baron Budberg entered into a statement of 
 grievances said to have been sustained by 
 Russia at the hands of this country. 
 
 The king of Sweden was the only conti- 
 nental sovereign who refused to submit to 
 the domination of Napoleon. Before the 
 conclusion of peace between France and 
 Russia, Gustavus IV. denounced the armistice 
 existing between them. Napoleon instantly 
 dispatched 30,000 men, under Marshal 
 Brune, to Sweden ; and the Swedish forces, 
 numbering but 15,000, were compelled to 
 take refuge within the fortifications of Stral- 
 sund. For a short time they were sup- 
 ported by 10,000 English troops ; but these 
 were soon withdrawn, to assist in an expe- 
 dition against Copenhagen, to which we 
 shall presently refer; and the Swedes were 
 left to their fate. Finding the fall of the 
 city certain, Gustavus, at the earnest re- 
 quest of the citizens, abandoned it with his 
 troops, after the latter had destroyed their 
 magazines, spiked their cannon, smashed 
 their carriages, and thrown them into the 
 ditches. Stralsund itself, on the 20th of 
 August, with 400 pieces of cannon and 
 immense military magazines, fell into the 
 hands of the French. After some further 
 struggles the Swedes submitted ; a conven- 
 tion was concluded, and the French troops 
 withdrawn. 
 
 All the precautions of Napoleon and 
 Alexander had been unable to preserve in 
 secrecy their private treaty of Tilsit. By 
 means of bribery the English government 
 obtained a knowledge of the fact, that the 
 fleets of Denmark and Portugal were to be 
 placed at the disposal of France, and, con- 
 sequently, to be employed against this 
 country. Denmark was in an unfortunate 
 position, for she dared not resist the de- 
 mands of France, sanctioned by the power 
 of Russia; and to consent to them was to 
 place herself in a dangerous attitude of hos- 
 tility towards England. The ministry of 
 this country were aware, that if Napoleon 
 could carry out his projects, they would be 
 subjected to an attack from the combined 
 navies of Europe. They therefore resolved 
 to anticipate the efforts of the enemy. A 
 powerful naval force, consisting of twenty- 
 seven sail-of-the-line and numerous other 
 vessels, having on board a body of 20,000 
 troops, was hurriedly prepared and sent to 
 
 the Danish coast, where it arrived on the 
 3rd of August, 1807. Immediately, a de- 
 mand was made that the Danish fleet 
 should be deposited with the British gov- 
 ernment in pledge, and under an obligation 
 of restitution, until the conclusion of a gen- 
 eral peace. This demand was indignantly 
 refused. The English troops were there- 
 fore disembarked, and the city of Copen- 
 hagen invested. So rapid and unexpected 
 had been the proceedings of the English, 
 that the Danes were quite unprepared to 
 resist the formidable forces by sea and land 
 which threatened them. Still they perse- 
 vered in their rejection of the offers of the 
 invaders,* and the unfortunate city was 
 bombarded for three days and nights, during 
 which period 1,800 houses were destroyed 
 by fire, and 1,500 of the inhabitants 
 perished. The Danes then hung out a flag 
 of truce ; but the English would not agree to 
 any terms except on the unconditional sur- 
 render of the fleet, together with all the 
 artillery and naval stores which the place 
 contained. The Danes were compelled to 
 accept these severe terms, and the invading 
 fleet and army returned to England, bring- 
 ing with them the prize they had captured, 
 consisting of eighteen ships of the line, 
 fifteen frigates, six brigs, and twenty-five 
 gun-boats ! 
 
 An extraordinary sensation was produced 
 throughout Europe by this apparently wan- 
 ton outrage against a neutral nation, with- 
 out any previous declaration of war, or 
 known ground of hostility. This feeling 
 was shared by the English people, who, not 
 understanding the motive of the govern- 
 ment, were astonished at its conduct. Na- 
 poleon was incensed, and assumed to be 
 deeply afi'ected by the catastrophe, while 
 Alexander characterised the proceeding as 
 " a piratical expedition,^' and condemned it 
 as an uncalled-for violation of the law of 
 nations. The English cabinet, desirous of 
 justifying itself with the principal courts of 
 Europe, sent Lord Pembroke to Vienna, 
 and General Wilson to St. Petersburg, for 
 that purpose. ' The English ambassador 
 also stated that his cabinet had received 
 information of the secret articles of the 
 treaty of Tilsit, and the intended co-opera- 
 tion of the Danish fleet in a descent on the 
 
 * The crown prince is said to have exclaimed — 
 " You offer your alliance ; but we know what it is 
 worth I Your allies, who have been vainly expect- 
 ing your succours for a whole year, have taught us 
 what is the value of English friendship." 
 
 419 
 
CONDUCT OF ALEXANDER.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1807. 
 
 British shores, and called upon the Russian 
 minister to disprove the assertion by an 
 unreserved communication of these hidden 
 stipulations. The demand was refused, and 
 Alexander signified his intention to General 
 Savary immediately to declare war against 
 England, if the emperor Napoleon insisted 
 on it.* " Tell your master,^' said the em- 
 peror, " that as soon as my means are pre- 
 pared, I will crush Sweden ; but, as for the 
 English, I am ready to declare myself im- 
 mediately." 
 
 If Alexander was already playing false 
 with France (which we doubt), he must have 
 been the most abandoned of hypocrites. 
 His language to Savary expressed the most 
 ardent attachment to the French emperor. 
 " I shall be told," said he to that general, 
 "that Napoleon is insatiable; that he 
 wants all for himself, nothing for others; 
 that he is equally crafty and violent ; that 
 he promises me much, but will give me no- 
 thing; that he spares me just now, but 
 when he has got out of me all that he 
 wishes, he will fall upon me in my turn; 
 and that, separated from my allies, whom I 
 shall have suffered to be destroyed, I must 
 make up my mind to endure the same fate. 
 I believe it not. I have seen Napoleon ; I 
 flatter myself that I have inspired him with 
 a portion of the sentiments with which he 
 has inspired me ; and I am certain that he 
 is sincere. On the first doubt, on the first 
 unpleasant impression, let him write to me, 
 or send me word, and all shall be explained. 
 For my part, I promise him entire frank- 
 ness, and I expect the like from him. Oh 
 that I could see him, as at Tilsit, every day, 
 every hour ! — what talent for conversation ! — 
 what an understanding ! — what a genius ! — 
 what a gainer I should be by living fre- 
 quently near him ! — how many things he has 
 
 * The great power of dissimulation possessed and 
 constantly exercised by Alexander, has perplexed 
 many -writers, and makes it sometimes difficult to 
 ascertain what were his real sentiments. From the 
 following passage in Sir Walter Scott's Life of 
 Napoleon, presumed to be founded on official infor- 
 mation, it is made to appear that the cabinet of St. 
 Petersburg, though obliged to yield to circumstances, 
 ■was secretly gratified at the vigorous and decisive 
 blow struck at the Danish fleet :— " An English 
 officer of literary celebrity was employed by Alex- 
 ander, or those who were supposed to share his 
 most secret councils, to convey to the British min- 
 istry the emperor's expression of the secret satisfac- 
 tion which his imperial majesty felt at the skill and 
 dexterity -which Britain had displayed in anticipating 
 and preventing the purposes of France by her attack 
 upon Copenhagen. Her ministers were invited to 
 communicate freely with the czar, as with a prince 
 420 
 
 taught me in a few days ! I am doing all 
 I can to render mutual confidence as com- 
 plete as possible, but I do not exercise that 
 ascendancy here which Napoleon has at- 
 tained at Paris. This country, you perceive, 
 has been surprised at the rather too abrupt 
 change which has taken place. It is appre- 
 hensive of the injuries which the English 
 can inflict on its commerce ; it is angry at 
 your victories. These are interests which 
 must be gratified; sentiments which must 
 be soothed. Send French merchants hither ; 
 buy our naval stores and our productions ; 
 we, in return, will buy your Paris com- 
 modities ; the re-establishment of commerce 
 will put an end to all the anxieties which 
 the upper classes entertain on account of 
 their revenues. Assist me, above all, to do 
 something for the just ambition of Russia." 
 The latter remark referred to the emperor's 
 designs on Turkey, and especially on Con- 
 stantinople. This last Napoleon avoided 
 expressing an opinion on to Alexander, 
 whom he desired to be content with the 
 acquisition of Finland. Compliments and 
 presents passed between the two potentates, 
 and Napoleon sent word to the emperor, 
 that the minister Decres was about to pur- 
 chase twenty million worth of naval stores 
 in the ports of Russia ; and, in answer to an 
 application to that effect, that the French 
 navy would receive all tlie Russian cadets 
 who should be sent to it for instruction, and 
 that 50,000 muskets, after the best model, 
 were at the disposal of the imperial gov- 
 ernment. 
 
 The influence of Napoleon over Alex- 
 ander induced the latter to make the bom- 
 bardment of Copenhagen, and the seizure 
 of the Danish fleet, a pretext for break- 
 ing off all relations with England, and 
 proclaiming anew the principles of the 
 
 who, though obliged to yield to circumstances, was, 
 nevertheless, as much as ever attached to the cause 
 of European independence." The first communica- 
 tions the British ministers made in accordance with 
 this invitation, however, were received with such 
 coldness, as to show that either the agent had over- 
 stepped his instructions, or that the emperor had 
 changed his mind. Count Hardenberg, the dis- 
 tinguished Prussian minister, said — "The capture 
 of the Danish fleet was not the cause, but the 
 pretext of the rupture of Russia with England. 
 The cabinet of St. Petersburg \vas rot sorry at so 
 fair an opportunity for getting quit of all restraints 
 upon its meditated hostilities in the north ; and, not- 
 withstanding all its loud declamations against the 
 Copenhagen expedition, it beheld with more satis- 
 faction the success of England in that quarter, than 
 it would have done the junction of the Danish fleet 
 with the navy of the French emperor." 
 
A.D. 1807—1808.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [annexation of FINLAND. 
 
 armed neutrality. The imperial declaration 
 to this effect, issued on the 16th of October, 
 
 1807, reproached the English cabinet with 
 withholding assistance from Russia and 
 Prussia when they were engaged in a war 
 which it had kindled — with having acted in 
 a hostile manner to the commercial vessels 
 of Russia at the very time when the blood 
 of its people flowed for the interest of Eng- 
 land in the struggle against France — with 
 rejecting the mediation of Russia to effect a 
 general pacification — and with sending her 
 fleets and armies to the coasts of Denmark, 
 *'to execute there an act of violence of 
 which history, so fertile in wickedness, does 
 not afford a parallel example." Mr. Can- 
 ning, in an able reply, observed — " The 
 vindication of the Copenhagen expedition 
 is already before the world, and Russia has 
 it in her power at once to disprove the basis 
 on which it is erected, by producing the 
 secret articles of the treaty of Tilsit. These 
 secret articles were not communicated to 
 his majesty — they are not yet communi- 
 cated — not even that which prescribed a 
 time for the acceptance, by Great Britain, 
 of the proffered mediation of Russia. Even 
 after this unworthy concealment, however, 
 so unsuitable to the dignity of an inde- 
 pendent sovereign, the mediation was not 
 refused : it was conditionally accepted, and 
 the conditions were a communication of the 
 basis on which the proposed treaty was to 
 be founded, and of the secret articles of 
 Tilsit. * * -J^- Instead of granting either of 
 these demands, Russia declares war." 
 
 Alexander followed his hostile declaration 
 against England by summoning the king of 
 Sweden to join in the league against it, by 
 acceding to the continental system of ex- 
 cluding English commerce and manufac- 
 tures. Gustavus, relying on the support of 
 England, resolutely declined, and thus bade 
 defiance to the united power of Russia and 
 of France. War was therefore declared 
 against him by Russia, and Count Buxhov- 
 den entered Finland at the head of a Rus- 
 sian army of 25,000, in the February of 
 
 1808. There he issued a proclamation, 
 which contained the following passage : — 
 " Good neighbours, — It is with the greatest 
 regret that my most gracious master, the 
 emperor of all the Russias, sees himself 
 forced to send into your country the troops 
 under ray orders. But his majesty the 
 king of Sweden, whilst withdrawing more 
 and more from the happy alliance of the 
 two greatest empires in the world, draws 
 
 closer his connections with the common 
 enemy, whose oppressive system and un- 
 paralleled conduct towards the most inti- 
 mate allies of Russia and of Sweden herself, 
 cannot be coolly endured by his imperial 
 majesty. These motives, as well as the re- 
 gard which his imperial majesty owes to the 
 safety of his own states, oblige him to place 
 your country under his protection, and to 
 take possession of it in order to procure by 
 these means a sufficient guarantee in case 
 his Swedish majesty should persevere in the 
 resolution not to accept the equitable con- 
 ditions of peace that have been proposed to 
 him." 
 
 Gustavus, naturally irritated at a war 
 being commenced by an invitation to his 
 subjects to break their allegiance, issued a 
 declaration, in which he personally re- 
 proached the Russian emperor with perfidy 
 and meanness, and declared that the war, 
 " based on the avowed design of Russia to 
 dictate all their foreign connections to the 
 northern powers, was undertaken for no 
 other object than to add Finland to the 
 Russian dominions, and compel Sweden to 
 sacrifice her fleet and commerce as a security 
 for Cronstadt and Revel." But the struggle 
 was an unequal one ; and, after much fight- 
 ing, in a series of petty but brilliant actions, 
 which proved the bravery of the troops of 
 both nations, Finland was, partly by bribery 
 and partly by the bravery of the Russian 
 troops, annexed to the Russian empire. 
 By an imperial ukase, issued on the 28th of 
 March, Alexander declared — " We unite 
 Finland, conquered by our arms, for ever to 
 our empire, and command its inhabitants 
 forthwith to take the oath of allegiance to 
 our throne." This declaration was, how- 
 ever, somewhat premature, for the struggle 
 was prolonged after this period; but the 
 Russian forces were largely reinforced; ac- 
 cumulated misfortunes fell upon the Swedes ; 
 and they were driven to sign a convention 
 in November, 1808, by which the whole of 
 Finland, to the east of the Gulf of Bothnia, 
 was ceded to Russia. In the following 
 year Gustavus, whose despotic conduct had 
 rendered him hateful to his subjects, was 
 dethroned by them ; and the first care of his 
 successor was to conclude a peace with 
 Russia. 
 
 The acquisition of Finland was of great 
 importance to Russia, as it secured its as- 
 cendancy in the Baltic. It is regarded as a 
 great political fault, on the part of Napoleon, 
 that he suffered Russia to make itself master 
 
 421 
 
SmiRENDER OF A RUSSIAN FLEET.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1808. 
 
 of this formidable bulwark of the north ; 
 but that was the price he paid for the 
 neutrality of Alexander with respect to 
 Spain. "France and Russia," observes a 
 modern historian, " relying on each other's 
 support, now laid aside all moderation, and 
 even the semblance of justice, in their 
 proceedings ; and, strong in their mutual 
 forbearance, instantly proceeded to appro- 
 priate, without scruple, the possessions of all 
 other states — even unoffending neutrals, or 
 faithful allies — which lay on their own side 
 of the line of demarcation. It was easy to 
 see that the present concord which subsisted 
 between them could not last. The world 
 was not wide enough for two such great 
 and ambitious powers, any more than it 
 had been for Alexander and Darius, Rome 
 and Carthage. Universal empire, to one or 
 other, would, it was likely, be the result of 
 a desperate strife between them; and in 
 that case it would be hard to say whether 
 the independence of Great Britain had 
 most to fear from the Scythian or the 
 Gallic hosts." 
 
 At this period, however, Russia received 
 a considerable check at sea from the hands 
 of England. A Russian fleet, consisting of 
 ten ships of war, under the command of 
 Admiral Siniavin, was dispatched to Lisbon 
 for the purpose of compelling the Portu- 
 guese to declare against England, and to 
 adopt the continental system. The fleet 
 imprudently remained at Lisbon in fan- 
 cied security, as the French were in pos- 
 session of that city. During this period 
 the convention of Cintra was signed, and 
 the French abandoned Portugal. A few 
 days afterwards the Russian fleet surren- 
 dered to Admiral Cotton, without firing a 
 shot, on the condition that the vessels 
 should be restored when peace was con- 
 cluded. England acted with peculiar mo- 
 deration ; and instead of making the officers 
 and crews prisoners of war, sent them back 
 to Russia at her own expense. Some French 
 writers have made the (to us improbable) 
 conjecture, that this bloodless capture had 
 been previously arranged between the two 
 powers, and thus furnished another instance 
 of the dissatisfaction of Alexander at the 
 conditions he had entered into at Tilsit, 
 and his readiness to employ duplicity to 
 evade them. Certainly, heavy reasons existed 
 to account for any dissatisfaction, if it had 
 yet begun to be entertained. From the 
 ofl&cial accounts of the Russian trade up to 
 treaty of Tilsit, it appeared to have been 
 422 
 
 continually increasing; and nearly 4,000 
 merchant ships, of which a fourth part were 
 English, annually entered the ports of the 
 empire ; but in 1808, the number that 
 arrived in the eighteen most considerable 
 ports, was less than 1,000; of which only 
 300 visited the ports of the Baltic. The 
 soundest policy for Russia was peace; for 
 in the war with France, Alexander had been 
 compelled to call upon the rich for extra- 
 ordinary contributions, which they readily 
 furnished in great abundance. Further 
 wars necessarily led to new sacrifices ; but, 
 as matters stood, this great empire occupied 
 the undignified position of being no longer 
 at liberty to follow its own policy, but was 
 compelled to make war according to the 
 arrangements of Napoleon. Some little 
 misunderstanding had certainly commenced 
 between Alexander and Napoleon ; and the 
 former expostulated earnestly with M. de 
 Caulaincourt (who had succeeded General 
 Savary as ambassador at St. Petersburg), on 
 the prolonged occupation of Prussia by the 
 troops of Napoleon. Alexander also desired 
 to be permitted to annex the prorinces of 
 Moldavia and Wallachia to the Russian 
 empire, to which Napoleon now made some 
 objection, as it was not agreeable to him to 
 have to lead the Russians by the hand to 
 Constantinople, or bring them nearer to 
 that object of their ambition. 
 
 Since the peace of Presburg, Austria 
 had remained neutral in the struggle which 
 had been carried on against the ambition of 
 France. She was now, however, despite 
 her earnest protestations to the French 
 emperor to the contrary, preparing to renew 
 the war. The cabinet of Vien*ia deemed 
 the opportunity favourable, on account of 
 the occupation of the French armies in 
 Spain; and it was evident that they were 
 ready to declare against Napoleon on the 
 first opportunity. To overawe Austria was 
 one of the reasons which made Napoleon 
 write to the emperor Alexander, desiring a 
 personal interview. The former believed 
 that the Austrian government would scarcely 
 dare to recommence hostilities with France, 
 when in a close friendly alliance with the 
 next most powerful military state in Europe. 
 Another reason was, that Napoleon was 
 exasperated against the Turks, who, assert- 
 ing that France aimed at sacrificing them 
 to Russian ambition, behaved with a defiant 
 ferocity towards the French at Constanti- 
 nople. Napoleon, therefore, in inviting 
 Alexander to personal conference with him, 
 
A.D. 1808.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [invitation to erfurth. 
 
 held out to tliat ambitious potentate a lure 
 M'hicli to him was irresistible — that is, the 
 complete partition of the Ottoman empire; 
 and, consequently, the probable permission 
 to proceed undisturbed against the Turks 
 until he had obtained possession of Con- 
 stantinople. In his letter to Alexander, 
 Napoleon announced his intention of dis- 
 cussing the question of the empire of the 
 East, of considering it under all its aspects, 
 and of solving it definitely. He also ex- 
 pressed a desire to admit Austria as a sharer 
 in the spoliation of Turkey ; and, returning 
 to the wild scheme which he had enter- 
 tained in concert with the late emperor 
 Paul, specified as an essential condition of 
 this partition, a gigantic expedition to India, 
 across the continent of Asia, executed by a 
 French, Russian, and Austrian army. 
 
 Alexander received the invitation of his 
 ally with transports of joy, and read it 
 instantly in the presence of the French 
 ambassador. "Ah, the great man!" he 
 frequently exclaimed while doing so ; " the 
 great man ! There, he has come back to 
 iSie ideas of Tilsit \" Then, addressing M. 
 de Caulaincourt (the ambassador), the em- 
 peror said, in reference to Napoleon — " Tell 
 him that I am devoted to him for life; 
 that my empire, my armies, and all, are at 
 his disposal. Your master," he added, 
 "purposes to interest Austria in the dis- 
 memberment of the Turkish empire ; he is 
 in the right. It is a wise conception; I 
 cordially join in it. He designs an expedi- 
 tion to India ; I consent to that too : I 
 have already made him acquainted, in our 
 long conversations at Tilsit, with the diffi- 
 culties attending it. He is accustomed to 
 take no account of obstacles ; nevertheless, 
 the climate and distances here present such 
 as surpass all that he can imagine. But 
 let him be easy; the preparations on my 
 part shall be proportioned to the diflBculties. 
 Now we must come to an understanding 
 about the distribution of the territories 
 which we are going to wrest from Turkish 
 barbarism. Discuss this subject thoroughly 
 with M. de Roraanzoff. Still we must bear 
 in mind, that all this cannot be discussed 
 usefully and definitively but in an interview 
 between me and Napoleon." 
 
 On the proposal of Alexander, Erfurth (a 
 town of Upper Saxony) was selected as the 
 place of meeting between him and Napo- 
 leon ; and September was the time named. 
 The latter caused every preparation to be 
 made, for the purpose of giving dignity and 
 
 brilliancy to the meeting of two such power- 
 ful potentates. Four fine regiments were 
 ordered to march to Erfurth, where they 
 were to act as a guard of honour to the 
 sovereigns present at the interview. Officers 
 of his household were sent with the richest 
 portions of the crown furniture, in order 
 that the largest houses in the town might 
 be arranged to suit the wants of the dis- 
 tinguished persons about to be collected 
 there; consisting of emperors, kings, princes, 
 ministers, and generals. The tragedian 
 Talma, and the first French actors, were 
 also commanded to repair to Erfurth, in 
 order that the dramatic literature of France 
 should contribute to distinguish so remark- 
 able an incident. Finally, Napoleon gave 
 orders for the display of an extravagant 
 sumptuousness ; for he desired that France 
 should command respect by her elegance 
 and civilisation as much as by her arms. 
 The large party at St. Petersburg who 
 were hostile to the French alliance bitterly 
 censured the proposed meeting. The free 
 speech of the court of the empress-mother, 
 on this subject, was with difficulty restrained 
 by the express command of Alexander. She 
 herself broke out into violent reproaches 
 against Romanzoff", telling him that he was 
 leading her son to destruction, and that 
 perhaps at Erfurth a fate awaited him 
 similar to what had befallen the unhappy 
 sovereigns of Spain at Bayoune.* Finally, 
 she expressed her apprehensions to Alex- 
 ander himself, who did his best to assure 
 her that her fears were without foundation. 
 The Russian emperor arrived at Erfurth 
 on the 27th of September, 1808, accom- 
 panied by his brother the Grand-duke 
 Constantino ; the minister RomanzoS", the 
 French ambassador, and a fey? aides-de- 
 camp, having travelled in a plain caltche 
 more rapidly than the most hurried couriers. 
 Napoleon had arrived on the morning of 
 the same day ; and, on the approach of 
 Alexander, rode out, surrounded by an im- 
 mense staff, to meet him. On alighting 
 they embraced each other cordially, with 
 every sign of extreme pleasure. A great 
 number of sovereigns, generals, and diplo- 
 matists had been invited, and were present 
 to give dignity to the occasion : amongst 
 them were Prince William of Prussia and 
 the king of Saxony. Germany was repre- 
 
 * At Bayonne, Charles IV. and his son Ferdi- 
 nand — to which place they had been invited by Na- 
 poleon — were intimidated into a renunciation of. the 
 Spanish crown. 
 
 423 
 
THE EMPERORS AT ERFURTH.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1808. 
 
 sented by a crowd of crown princes, as 
 well as by many of its men of genius, 
 including Goethe and Wieland; and the 
 old and quiet town assumed a most ani- 
 mated and brilliant appearance. The place 
 was thronged with soldiers, officers, equi- 
 pages, and servants in livery ; while princes 
 and distinguished statesmen met in the 
 street as simple pedestrians. The kings and 
 princes invited were to dine every day at 
 Napoleon's table, as he was the host, and 
 the sovereign of the north was his guest. 
 In the evening of the 27th the town was 
 illuminated ; and, after the crowd of impe- 
 rial, royal, and titled persons had par- 
 taken of a splendid banquet, the tragedy of 
 Cinna was performed before them by the 
 most accomplished actors France ever pos- 
 sessed. 
 
 Between the numerous entertainments 
 which took place. Napoleon and Alexander 
 found time to confer together alone on the 
 important matters they had to arrange. The 
 former had reconsidered the Eastern question, 
 and renounced the idea of the partition of 
 Turkey ; for he saw that it was impossible 
 to agree with Alexander on that subject 
 unless he surrendered Constantinople, which 
 he was resolved not to do. As a compensa- 
 tion, however, he agreed to concede AVal- 
 lachia and Moldavia to Russia, in return for 
 which he required a close alliance for peace 
 and war, and an absolute union of efforts 
 against England and Austria, in the event 
 of the latter power resuming hostilities. 
 Alexander assented; for though somewhat 
 disappointed respecting Constantinople, he 
 was gratified by the cession of Moldavia 
 and Wallachia, which formed a stepping- 
 stone to its acquisition. He renewed his 
 protestations of attachment to Napoleon, 
 and of adherence to his policy, to which 
 friendly statements the latter replied in 
 terms of reciprocity. To bring over Alex- 
 ander to his views respecting the present 
 partition of Turkey, Napoleon examined in 
 detail with him the various plans that had 
 been proposed for its accomplishment. For 
 himself, he peremptorily withheld his con- 
 sent that Russia should, if she could, take 
 Constantinople. Then he pointed out the 
 difficulties which Russia would encounter 
 in the execution of such a project. Austria, 
 he said, would certainly not accede to it, 
 whatever offers might be made to her ; and 
 she would prefer a desperate conflict to a 
 partition of the Turkish empire. England, 
 Austria, Turkey, Spain, and part of Ger- 
 424 
 
 many, would join in a last eff'ort to resist 
 this unsettlement of the world. Was the 
 present moment, he urged, such as the two 
 empires ought to choose for so gigantic a 
 work ? Would not the attainment of Fin- 
 land, Moldavia, and Wallachia make the 
 reign of Alexander equally distinguished 
 with those of his predecessors which were 
 the most productive of territorial aggran- 
 disement? Besides, he added, they (the 
 two emperors) were both young ; they could 
 afford to wait, and postpone their vast pro- 
 jects respecting the East. Alexander, though 
 not convinced, was satisfied; but he stipu- 
 lated for the immediate possession of the 
 two Danubian provinces. 
 
 The first eight or ten days of the period 
 over which the interview was prolonged, was 
 devoted to the consideration of this subject; 
 and great as had been the previous courtesy 
 of the two emperors towards each other, it 
 was from that time expressive of more good- 
 will than ever. M. Thiers observes — "Alex- 
 ander especially seemed to blend affection 
 with politics; in the promenade, at table, 
 at the theatre, his demeanour towards his 
 illustrious ally was familiar, deferential, and 
 enthusiastic. When he spoke of him, it was 
 in a tone of admiration, with which no one 
 could fail to be struck.^' One evening, at 
 the theatre, Alexander paid Napoleon a 
 compliment remarkable for its elegance and 
 aptness. The play was Voltaire's tragedy 
 of (Edipus ; and Avhen the representative of 
 Philoctetes uttered the well-known line — 
 
 "L'amitie d'un grand homme est un bienfait des 
 dieux ;"• 
 
 Alexander grasped Napoleon's hand, and, 
 with a profound bow, exclaimed — " That I 
 have never more truly felt than at the 
 present moment !" 
 
 The most important part of the compact 
 entered into between the two emperors, was 
 that by which Alexander engaged to support 
 Napoleon in the war which was foreseen to 
 be approaching with Austria. Napoleon 
 felt convinced, that if the union between 
 France and Russia was sincere and manifest, 
 that Austria Avould be forced to remain 
 quiescent, for she would be crushed between 
 the two empires if she attempted to stir; 
 and that the submission of Austria would 
 compel England also to yield and agree to a 
 naval peace. The two emperors also re- 
 newed their alliance, and engaged to make 
 peace or war in common. They resolved to 
 
 • " The friendship of a great man is a blessing 
 from the gods." 
 
A.D. 1808.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [interview at erfurth. 
 
 make a formal proposal of peace to England, 
 in so public and conspicuous a manner, as 
 to render refusal the more difficult on the 
 part of the British cabinet. France, how- 
 ever, was only to consent to such a peace as 
 should insure to Russia, Finland, Moldavia, 
 and Wallachia ; while Russia was to consent 
 to such a peace only as should secure to 
 France, independently of her other posses- 
 sions, the crown of Spain. Immediately 
 after the signing of the convention, Russia 
 might take such steps with respect to the 
 Porte as were necessary to obtain, by peace 
 or war, the two provinces of the Danube; 
 but the language held by Russia to Turkey 
 was to be such as would not compromise 
 the alliance of France with the latter power. 
 At the urgent intercession of Alexander, 
 some modification of the severity of French 
 supremacy was obtained for Prussia. Finally, 
 it was agreed that if the conference did not 
 lead to peace on the continent, the two em- 
 perors should meet each other again within 
 a 3'ear. Before parting, they wrote a joint 
 letter to the king of England, in which 
 they invited him to conclude a peace on the 
 basis of sacrificing his Spanish allies.* 
 
 Another subject, of a domestic nature, 
 yet fraught with much political significance, 
 was talked of by the two emperors before 
 their separation. It related to a marriage 
 between Napoleon and a sister of Alexander. 
 The former had for some time thought of 
 divorcing Josephine, that he might marry 
 a princess who could give him an heir ; but 
 the aflFection which bound him to the wife of 
 his youth, and the difficulty of fixing his 
 choice, had hitherto proved obstacles to his 
 design. But now an opportunity presented 
 itself, as it was generally reported that Alex- 
 
 * This letter, dated Erfurth, 12th October, 1808, 
 was as follows : — " Sire, — The present circumstances 
 of Europe have brought us together at Erfurth. 
 Our first thought is to yield to the wishes and wants 
 of every people, and to seek, in a speedy pacification 
 with your majesty, the most efficacious remedy for 
 the miseries which oppress all nations. We make 
 known to your majesty our sincere desire in this 
 respect by the present letter. The long and bloody 
 war which has torn the continent is at an end, with- 
 out the possibility of being renewed. Many changes 
 have taken place in Europe ; many states have been 
 overthrown. The cause is to be found in the state 
 of agitation and misery in which the stagnation of 
 
 ander's marriageable sisters were ladies ex- 
 cellently endowed, both with respect to 
 appearance and accomplishments. The pride 
 of Napoleon, however, made him averse to 
 make any proposal, and Alexander never 
 alluded to the subject — a circumstance that 
 almost displeased his imperial friend. On 
 Talleyrand reporting to Napoleon some 
 complimentary observations of the czar, the 
 emperor exclaimed — " If he likes me, let 
 him give me proof of the fact, by uniting 
 himself with me more closely, and bestowing 
 on me one of his sisters. Why has he never 
 said a word to me of this in our daily confi- 
 dential intercourse? Why does he affect 
 thus to avoid the subject?" The acute 
 minister understood the hint, and brought 
 the subject before Alexander, w;ho received 
 the overture with the most flattering ex- 
 pressions of regard for Napoleon; but he 
 feared that his mother, who exercised an 
 absolute control over her daughters, would 
 not give her consent. The czar added, that 
 he should, doubtless, succeed in favourably 
 disposing his sister the Grand-duchess 
 Catherine, but that he could not flatter 
 himself with the hope of subduing his mo- 
 ther's prejudices, and that he could not 
 bring himself to restrain her by an exertion 
 of his imperial authority. He would, how- 
 ever, make the attempt, but without answer- 
 ing for its success. 
 
 The interview terminated on the 14th of 
 October, each emperor lavishing presents 
 and decorations on the suite of the other. 
 They parted with an exhibition of emotion 
 that was probably sincere. " They were 
 never to meet more," observes M. Thiers ; 
 " and of their projects of that hour not one 
 was destined to be accomplished !" 
 
 maritime commerce has placed the greatest nations. 
 Still greater changes may yet take place, and all of 
 them contrary to the policy of the English nation. 
 Peace, then, is at once the interest of the people of 
 the continent, as it is the interest of the people of 
 Great Britain. We unite in entreating your ma- 
 jesty to listen to the voice of humanity, silencing 
 that of the passions ; to seek, with the intention of 
 arriving at that object, to conciliate all interests, and 
 by that means to preserve all the powers wliich exist, 
 and to insure the happiness of Europe, and of the gen- 
 eration at the head of which Providence has placed us. 
 
 "Alexander. 
 
 " Napoleon." 
 
 3i 
 
 425 
 
AFFAIRS OF AUSTRIA.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1809. 
 
 CHAPTER XLIX. 
 
 AUSTRIA BEGINS A NEW WAR WITH NAPOLEON, BUT IS REDUCED, AFTER A SHORT CAMPAIGN, TO PURCHASE 
 PEACE BY THE CESSION OF TERRITORY ; ALEXANDER, WHO HAD COLDLY SECONDED NAPOLEON, SHARES 
 THE SPOIL ; ABANDONING THE IDEA OF A DOMESTIC ALLIANCE WITH ALEXANDER, NAPOLEON MARRIES 
 MARIA LOUISA, DAUGHTER OF THE EMPEROR OF AUSTRIA; ALEXANDER FEELS SLIGHTED; REPLY OF 
 ENGLAND TO THE PACIFIC PROPOSALS OF FRANCE AND RUSSIA ; ALEXANDER CAUSES THE WAR WITH 
 TURKEY TO BE RENEWED ; HE ISSUES AN LTCASE, ANNOUNCING THAT MOLDAVIA AND WALLACHIA ARE 
 ANNEXED TO THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE ; AFTER THREE CHEQUERED CAMPAIGNS, ALEXANDER DEEMS IT PRU- 
 DENT TO CONCLUDE PEACE WITH TURKEY, BY WHICH HE ABANDONS MOLDATIA AND WALLACHIA, BUT 
 RETAINS BESSARABIA. 
 
 The Austrian government was deeply 
 wounded in consequence of no representa- 
 tive of it being invited to the conferences at 
 Erfurth ; and it naturally anticipated evil 
 to itself from the ominous conjunction of 
 two such powers as France and Russia. 
 Austria had made its preparations, and 
 entered into a secret alliance with England, 
 which, however, wisely advised the govern- 
 ment of that empire, not to take any hos- 
 tile steps against France, unless its re- 
 sources were clearly equal to the inevitable 
 struggle which such a proceeding would 
 provoke. The Austrian cabinet, notwith- 
 standing the amicable relations which ex- 
 isted between Alexander and Napoleon, 
 actually sent Prince Schwartzenberg to St. 
 Petersburg, with directions to use every 
 effort to obtain the concession of Russia to 
 a new confederacy against France. The 
 Austrian ministry was aware that Alex- 
 ander was capable of acting with the un- 
 blushing treachery towards his friend and 
 ally which their application implied, and 
 they knew that, though fascinated by the 
 mannei;? and the vast schemes of Napoleon, 
 he yet had a lingering behef in the assumed 
 necessity of ultimately joining in a con- 
 federacy for the deliverance of Europe from 
 the aggressive ambition of France. " In 
 truth," observes Alison of his imperial 
 idol, "the emperor Alexander was much 
 perplexed how to act ; the obvious interests 
 of his empire impelling him one way, and 
 his secret engagements with Napoleon, 
 another. After a short struggle, however, 
 the latter prevailed. Alexander had given 
 his word to the French emperor; and 
 though capable of the utmost dissimulation, 
 
 • There is a moral contradiction in this senti- 
 ment. It is not permitted to a gentleman to be 
 publicly false and privately true ; treacherous with 
 respect to duties, yet sincere with regard to his 
 friendships : indeed, it is not, strictly speaking, pos- 
 sible. In such cases the truth and sincerity are 
 426 
 
 so far as the mere obligations of cabinets 
 were concerned, the czar was scrupulously 
 faithful to any personal engagements which 
 he had undertaken.* He was occupied, 
 moreover, with those great schemes of am- 
 bition, both on his northern and southern 
 frontier, which had formed the bait by 
 which Napoleon had lured him into the 
 French alliance, and little inclined to forego 
 present and certain conquests in Finland 
 and Moldavia, for the problematical advan-| 
 tages of a contest in the heart of Germany. 
 All attempts to engage Russia in the con- 
 federacy, therefore, proved abortive ; and 
 the utmost which the Austrian envoy could 
 obtain from the imperial cabinet, was a 
 secret assurance that Russia, if compelled 
 to take a part in the strife, would not, at 
 least, bring forward any formidable force 
 against the Austrian legions." i 
 
 Austria commenced the war on the 8th 
 of April, 1809, and at first achieved some 
 successes ; but the campaign, during which 
 Vienna was taken by the French, concluded 
 in the July following with the bloody battle 
 of "Wagram, in which 24,000 Austrians 
 were killed or wounded. So obstinate was 
 the conflict, that the loss of the French 
 nearly equalled that of their vanquished 
 foes. The emperor Francis desired an 
 armistice, which was followed by a peace 
 signed at Vienna on the 14th of October. 
 Austria purchased this peace by large ter- 
 ritorial concessions to the French ; and Alex- 
 ander, who had assisted Napoleon with an 
 army of 30,000 men, received for his share 
 of the spoils of Austria, the eastern part oi 
 Galicia in ancient Poland ; a territory con- 
 taining a population of 420,000 persons. 
 
 semblances, not realities. Alexander showed, in the 
 sequel, that though fascinated by Napoleon, he had 
 never entertained any really earnest friendship for 
 him : both of them, in fact, were much too selfish 
 to be deeply influenced by an emotion the essence of 
 which is self-denial. 
 
A.D. 1810.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [iMARRIAGE OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 On the 15tli of December, 1809, the 
 marriage of Napoleon with the empress 
 Josephine was dissolved by an act of the 
 senate, and a jointure of 2,000,000 francs, 
 or £80,000 a-year, settled upon the un- 
 happy lady. Napoleon, anxious for an heir, 
 and feeling the want of historical descent, 
 now hesitated whether he should ally him- 
 self with the imperial family of Russia, or 
 with that of Austria. He desired that his 
 contemplated marriage should not only, by 
 giving him a son, make him the founder of 
 a new dynasty, but that it should serve his 
 foreign policy by consolidating his system 
 of aUiances. The recent policy of Napo- 
 leon pointed to a Russian alliance ; but 
 since the interview at Erfurth, some cool- 
 ness had arisen between him and Alex- 
 ander, whom, he complained, had but ill 
 seconded hira in the war with Austria. 
 The mother of Alexander, filled with the 
 haughty prejudices of the high aristocracy 
 of Europe, had hurriedly married her 
 daughter, the Grand-duchess Catherine, to 
 the Duke of Oldenburg, in order to avoid a 
 domestic alliance with Napoleon. The latter, 
 however, was not yet diverted from his pur- 
 pose ; and he directed his ambassador at 
 St. Petersburg to propose to Alexander for 
 the hand of his younger sister, the Grand- 
 duchess Anne. Alexander replied, that he 
 would consult his mother, without compro- 
 mising the French emperor on the subject. 
 Anxious at the same time to take advan- 
 tage of the wishes of his imperial ally, he 
 bargained, as the price of his sister's per- 
 son, that a convention should be entered 
 into, binding Napoleon never to recou'struct 
 the kingdom of Poland. 
 
 The French emperor, impatient of the 
 delays created by Alexander, demanded, on 
 the 10th of January, 1810, ja. categorical 
 answer in the space of ten days. This 
 period was consumed in discussions with 
 the empress-mother, who spoke of the ex- 
 treme youth of the grand-duchess, who was 
 only sixteen, and of the diflFerence in their 
 religion. In conclusion, she demanded a 
 Russian chapel and priests in the Tuileries, 
 and the delay of a few months, to prepare 
 the young princess for so important a 
 change in her condition. Napoleon was 
 annoyed. "To adjourn,^^ said he, "is to 
 refuse ; besides, I do not choose to have 
 foreign priests in my palace, between my 
 wife and myself." Before the negotiations 
 with Russia were concluded, he proposed 
 for tlie hand of the Archduchess Maria 
 
 Louisa, the daughter of the emperor of 
 Austria. Francis instantly assented to the 
 proposal, in which he thought he saw the 
 security of his own empire, and the break- 
 ing up of the union between France and 
 Russia. The young lady also accepted the 
 brilliant proposal with becoming reserve, but 
 with real delight. She was eighteen, of 
 a good figure, and a fair German com- 
 plexion. " She is not beautiful," said Na- 
 poleon on a subsequent occasion, " but she 
 is the daughter of the Caesars." The mar- 
 riage was celebrated with extraordinary 
 pomp at St. Cloud, on the 1st of April; 
 and the following day the emperor and 
 empress made their entrance into Paris 
 amidst the roar of artillery, the clang of 
 bells, and the excited acclamations of the 
 people. 
 
 Alexander, though he had shown no par- 
 ticular solicitude for the connection of Na- 
 poleon with his sister, experienced a sense 
 of slight and mortification at seeing him 
 married to the scion of a rival imperial 
 family. This feeling was apparent even in 
 the congratulations he caused to be con- 
 veyed to Napoleon on the occasion ; indeed, 
 he could not but feel that the hand of his 
 sister was, to some extent, discarded, even 
 while the proposal for it was under con- 
 sideration at St. Petersburg. " Personally, 
 I may have some reason to complain," said 
 he to the French ambassador, "but I do 
 not do so; I rejoice at whatever is for the 
 good of France." Alexander deceived him- 
 self; and so strong was the sense of irrita- 
 tion which he felt on this point, that it 
 materially contributed to the coldness which 
 soon afterwards sprung up between the two 
 courts. 
 
 England did not shrink from the pros- 
 pect of having nearly the whole continent 
 arrayed against her, in the event of her 
 refusing to come to terms with Napoleon 
 and Alexander. She had braved this po- 
 sition before, and found the result not so 
 serious as would reasonably be supposed. 
 StiU mistress of the seas, she was com- 
 paratively secure against the efibrts of her 
 adversaries. It had been found impossible 
 eflfectually to close the continent against 
 her from one end to the other; and the 
 attempt, therefore, to annihilate her com- 
 merce was a failure. At this period also, 
 great enthusiasm existed in England on 
 behalf of the Spaniards ; and the nation 
 was not so desirous of peace as to wish to 
 obtain it on the condition of sacrificing an 
 
 427 
 
WAR WITH TURKEY.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1809—1810. 
 
 ally. Mr. Canning, therefore, replied to the 
 overtures of France and Russia — that Eng- 
 land, though she had often received pro- 
 posals for peace which she had strong reasons 
 for not believing to be sincere, would never 
 refuse to listen to overtures of that kind, so 
 long as they were honourable to her. She 
 accordingly insisted that all her allies, the 
 Spanish insurgents as well as the others, 
 should be included in the negotiations. 
 On this condition, Mr. Canning affirmed 
 himself ready to name plenipotentiaries, and 
 to send them wherever their presence might 
 be desired. Napoleon would not consent to 
 the admission of the Spanish insurgents; 
 and England declared the pacific proposals 
 addressed to her to be illusory ; that the 
 negotiations were, therefore, to be con- 
 sidered as broken off ; and that war would 
 be continued with all the energy called for 
 by the circumstances. 
 
 Alexander, feeling that a quarrel with 
 Napoleon was by no means improbable, 
 availed himself of the advantages of his 
 friendship, while it lasted, to crush the power 
 of Turkey, and possess himself of the Danu- 
 bian principalities. By the treaty of Tilsit, 
 an armistice was arranged between Russia 
 and Turkey; but the Russian troops had, 
 since that period, retained possession of 
 Moldavia and Wallachia. Active hostilities 
 had not, however, been renewed ; for Russia 
 had been occupied with the conquest of 
 Finland, and Turkey distracted by a series 
 of tumults and revolutions which terminated 
 in the exaltation of the able and inflex- 
 ible Mahmoud to the throne of the sul- 
 tans. 3ut, on the termination of the war 
 with Finland, Napoleon abandoned the prin- 
 cipalities to Russia, and Alexander caused 
 his army on the banks of the Danube to be 
 reinforced, until it amounted to 80,000 in- 
 fantry and 25,000 cavalry ; and gave direc- 
 tions to Prince Prosorowski, its commander, 
 to cross that river and carry the war into 
 the heart of the Turkish territories. 
 
 Notwithstanding the powerful force of the 
 Russians, which was far superior to that 
 brought into the field by the Turks, the 
 former experienced many reverses, besides 
 suflfering severely from the unhealthiness of 
 the climate. The campaign of 1809, how- 
 ever, terminated somewhat successfully for 
 the Russians, who resolved to carry on their 
 operations with increased vigour during the 
 following year. On the 21st of January, 
 1810, Alexander issued an imperial ukase, 
 announcing that Moldavia and Wallachia, 
 428 
 
 which, for three years, had been occupied by 
 his troops, were annexed to the Russian 
 empire ; the southern boundary of which, it 
 said, was now the course of the Danube 
 from the frontiers of Austria to the Black 
 Sea. 
 
 During the campaign of 1810, Silistria, 
 one of the strongest places on the Danube, 
 was taken by the Russians, while Tourtoukai 
 and Rasgrad yielded soon after to the terrors 
 of a bombardment. The Russians were, 
 however, repulsed from the famous strong- 
 hold of Shumla, after several weeks spent in 
 fruitless efforts before it. They then under- 
 took the siege of the Turkish town of 
 Roudschouck, which was defended by Hassan 
 Pasha, a man of cool judgment and consid- 
 erable military skill. Acting upon the 
 peculiar tactics of his country, he did not 
 return the fire of the besiegers until the day 
 of the assault, the 3rd of August. The 
 Russians were then received with a mur- 
 derous fire from every roof, window, and 
 loophole from which a gun or musket could 
 be brought to bear upon them. Two columns 
 of troops were permitted to enter the town, 
 where they were at once cut to pieces by the 
 furious Janissaries. The assault had been 
 made at daybreak, and the struggle was 
 maintained until six in the evening, when 
 the Russians were compelled to retreat, 
 leaving 8,000 of their number, in killed and 
 wounded, in the ditch and around the walls. 
 Of the latter, 4,000 were at once decapitated 
 by the victorious Turks. 
 
 The Moslems failed to follow up their 
 advantage, and the Russian general was 
 thus allowed time to repair his disasters, 
 and enable him to retain his position. Ka- 
 menskoi, who now commanded the Russians, 
 made a grand attack on the Turkish camp 
 on the 7th of September. The battle of 
 Battin followed, during the first day of 
 which the Russians suffered severely, and 
 narrowly escaped a defeat. The Turks, 
 intoxicated with their partial success, gave 
 way to every demonstration of joy, and, in 
 the sight of their foes, beheaded the wounded 
 who had been left on the field. The follow- 
 ing day the contest was renewed at dawn, 
 the whole of the Russian artillery brought 
 to bear upon the Turkish intrenched 
 camp, and the victory finally remained with 
 the Russians, who, in retaliation for the 
 cruelty practised by the Turks, put all the 
 wounded and prisoners to death. This suc- 
 cess was followed by the capture of Sistowa, 
 a fortified place in the neighbourhood; 
 
^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 I 
 •I 
 
A.D. 1811.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [the wak with turkey. 
 
 toj^ether with the whole Turkish flotilla, 
 which had taken refuge under its walls. 
 Roudschouck, also, which had been so 
 bravely defended, was now compelled to 
 capitulate; the pasha, his troops, and the 
 inhabitants being allowed to retire, while 
 the town, cannon, standards, and military 
 stores fell to the victors. The campaign 
 was concluded by the siege of Nicopolis, 
 which capitulated to the Russians, who tlien, 
 in consequence of the rainy season having 
 set in, recrossed the Danube (with the ex- 
 ception of those left to garrison the towns 
 they had captured), and took up their winter 
 quarters in Wallachia and Moldavia. 
 
 During the early part of the winter, the 
 Russian army was again reinforced ; and, in 
 consequence of the death of Kamenskoi, 
 General Kutusoft' was appointed to the chief 
 command. However, the pacific connec- 
 tion between the emperors Napoleon and 
 Alexander was in so precarious a state, that 
 in the February of 1811, the latter gave 
 orders for five divisions of the army to leave 
 their winter-quarters on the Danube, and 
 direct their march towards the Vistula, in 
 Poland. The Russian army on the Danube, 
 thus reduced to one-half of its former 
 amount, was no longer able to carry on 
 offensive operations. The Turks, en- 
 couraged by this reduction in the strength 
 of their enemies, and roused by the dangers 
 they had incurred in the preceding cam- 
 paign, made the most vigorous efforts for 
 the prosecution of the war, and trusted to 
 regain all the strongholds they had lost on 
 the right bank of the Danube. In this they 
 were deceived ; for the spirit of the Rus- 
 sians had not diminished, and they were now 
 led by a general of great military talents. 
 
 Towards the end of June, Achmet Pasha 
 advanced with 60,000 men, and seventy- 
 eight pieces of artillery, against the Rus- 
 sians. General Kutusoff concentrated his 
 troops, and took up his position in front of 
 Roudschouck. There he was attacked by 
 the Moslems on the 2nd of July, who, with 
 wild shouts and eager fury, charged the 
 Russian squares on three sides at once, at 
 the same time that they were played upon 
 by the Turkish batteries. This concen- 
 trated mode of attack had nearly secured 
 the victory ; for though the squares on the 
 right withstood the shock, the centre suf- 
 fered severely, while the third was nearly 
 swept away by the torrent of Turkish cavalry 
 which burst upon it. Four regiments of 
 dragoons and Cossacks were charged in 
 
 flank by the Moslem cavalry, pierced 
 through, and almost destroyed. Had the 
 Moslem horse been supported by a com- 
 petent body of infantry, they must have 
 obtained a victory. Such was not the case; 
 and these brave Asiatics were driven back 
 by the deadly volleys of grapeshot from 
 the batteries of the town. The Turks re- 
 tired sullenly from the field after about 
 3,000 men had been killed or wounded on 
 each side, and the Russians also withdrew 
 within the walls of Roudschouck, which 
 they shortly afterwards burnt and aban- 
 doned. Neither side obtained any advan- 
 tage in this sanguinary battle, nor could 
 either of them lay claim to a victory. 
 
 The Turks now crossed the Danube, and 
 became the assailants. At first, success 
 attended their efi"orts, and the Russia.ns 
 were so severely pressed, that it seemed 
 probable they would be driven out of the 
 Danubian provinces. In this state of affairs 
 they were reinforced by a large body of 
 Cossacks. General Kutusoff" then, by some 
 very able manoeuvres, contrived to surround 
 the Turkish army, and attack it in the rear. 
 The Moslems were taken by surprise, and 
 thrown into disorder. Their own cannon 
 was turned against them, and used with 
 terrible eff'ect; and so desperate was their 
 situation, that had the Russian general 
 been less cautious, the whole Turkish army 
 might have been destroyed. Its position, 
 entirely surrounded, and subjected to an 
 incessant cannonade, was perfectly des- 
 perate. Yet the Turkish general, with un- 
 shaken courage, refused the most advan- 
 tageous off'ers of capitulation, and formed 
 the audacious design of cutting his way, by 
 a sudden irruption, through the Russian 
 left, and intrenching himself under the 
 shelter of the guns of Roudschouck. For- 
 tunately for the Turks, Alexander, fearing 
 the enmity of his recent friend Napoleon, 
 was anxious for a peace. A convention, 
 therefore, between the Russian cabinet and 
 the Porte, with the object of adjusting their 
 cause of quarrel, was concluded at Giur- 
 gevo at the end of October ; and thus the 
 misery of the Turkish army Avas terminated, 
 and its honour saved. They capitulated on 
 the 4th of December, on condition of aban- 
 doning their intrenched camp without their 
 arms or cannon, which were to be restored 
 to them if peace were concluded. This 
 ended the campaign of 1811, in which both 
 parties had made prodigious efforts, and 
 neither had gained decisive success. 
 
 429 
 
PEACE WITH TURKEY.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1812. 
 
 The negotiations which followed were 
 earnestly pressed by Russia ; for Alexander 
 was, by this time, well aware of the for- 
 midable contest with Napoleon which was 
 impending over him. This circumstance 
 might have made the Turks less inclined 
 to conclude a peace, especially as the 
 French ambassador used every efifort to in- 
 duce them to continue the war. *But they 
 were made acquainted, by England, with the 
 secret articles of the treaty of Tilsit, in 
 which Napoleon had rewarded their friend- 
 ship to him by not only agreeing to the 
 partition of their European dominions, but 
 had himself stipulated for the possession 
 of Greece, the islands of the Archipelago, 
 Albania, and Macedonia, Concurrent tes- 
 timony of the treachery of Napoleon con- 
 vinced the Porte of the imminent danger to 
 wliich they would be exposed, if he obtained 
 a similar supremacy in the east of Europe 
 to that which he had so long exercised in 
 the Avest. 
 
 The Turkish government, therefore, for- 
 bore to make the utmost of the necessity 
 under which Russia lay of concluding the 
 war. The Ottoman ministry saw, that if 
 Napoleon subdued Russia, he would turn 
 the forces of both empires against them, and 
 that his possession of Moscow would be but 
 a preliminary to the subjugation of Con- 
 stantinople. They therefore consented to 
 abandon the provinces conquered by Russia, 
 in the beginning of the war, to the north of 
 the Danube, and agreed that the river 
 Pruth should form tlie boundary of the 
 two empires. Thus, though Russia lost 
 Moldavia and Wallachia, which Alexander, 
 in the insolence of anticipated triumph, had 
 declared annexed to the empire, she gained 
 Bessarabia, a province which conferred on 
 its holders the immense advantage of com- 
 manding the mouths of the Danube. The 
 treaty was signed at Bucharest on the 28th 
 of May, 1812, and was followed, on the 
 18th of July, by another, concluding peace 
 with England. Sultan Mahmoud was, how- 
 ever, highly dissatisfied with this peace, 
 which he regarded as disgraceful : so strong 
 was his feeling on this point, that he even 
 put a Turkish officer of distinction, who had 
 been engaged in its negotiation, to death 
 for having concealed certain facts which 
 would have warranted the Porte in holding 
 out for better terms. England made an 
 
 430 
 
 ungenerous use of Turkey, upon whom she 
 brought all her influence to bear in favour 
 of Russia, and thus enabled that power to 
 withdraw advantageously from the war, in 
 order that she might direct the whole of her 
 energies against France. Had Russia been 
 at war with Turkey on one side, and France 
 on the other (especially if consideration be 
 had to the state of those powers at the 
 period), her position would have been one 
 of no common danger. 
 
 " The vigorous and unlooked-for resist- 
 ance," observes AHson, " which Turkey at 
 this period opposed to all the efforts of that 
 Russians, sufficiently illustrates the elements 
 of strength which at that period lay dormant, 
 till roused to present danger, in' the Otto- 
 man empire; and may perhaps suggest 
 the necessity of modifying some of those 
 opinions as to the declining condition of the 
 power of the grand seignior, which have 
 been so long received as political maxims in 
 Europe. When it is recollected that Rus- 
 sia for three years directed her whole force 
 against the Turks ; that in the year 1810 she 
 had a hundred thousand men upon the 
 Danube ; and that this array was composed 
 of the conquerors of Eylau — it certainly 
 appears not a little surprising, that the Otto- 
 man empire was not altogether overthrown 
 in the shock. Nevertheless, the contest 
 was extremely equal ; and though the forces 
 with which the Ottomans had to contend 
 on the Danube fully equalled those which 
 fronted Napoleon on the Vistula, yet they 
 opposed neai'ly as effectual resistance to the 
 Muscovite arms, as did the conqueror of 
 Western Europe. The contest began on 
 the Danube, and it terminated, after three 
 years^ bloodshed, on the same river, with 
 the loss of only one or two frontier towns 
 to the Ottomans. This broad and decisive 
 fact proves, that although the political 
 power of Turkey has unquestionably de- 
 clined for the last century and a-half, and 
 the enormous abuses of its civil government 
 have occasioned, during that period, a con- 
 stant diminution in its inhabitants and 
 strength, yet it still possesses great resources 
 when they are fairly drawn forth by im- 
 pending danger; and that in the native 
 bravery of its inhabitants is often to be 
 found, as in the British soldiers, more than 
 a compensation for all the errors of their 
 direction or government." 
 
A.D. 1810.] 
 
 EUSSIAN EMPIRE, [altercations with napoleon. 
 
 CHAPTER L. 
 
 NAPOLEON ANNEXES THE DOMINIONS OF THE DUKE OF OLDENBUKG TO THE FRENCH EMPIRE ; DISSENSIONS 
 BETWEEN THE FRENCH AND RUSSIAN EMPERORS ; IN CONSEQUENCE OF THE HOSTILE ATTITUDE OP NAPO- 
 LEON, ALEXANDER PLACKS HIS DOMINIONS IN A STATE OF DEFENCE, AND RELAXES THE " CONTINENTAL 
 system" WITH RESPECT TO ENGLISH COMMERCE; NAPOLEON INSULTS THE RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR; 
 DRIVES SWEDEN INTO AN ALLIANCE WITH RUSSIA ; MODERATION OF ALEXANDER ; ENTHUSIASM IN FRANCE 
 AT THE PROJECTED INVASION OF RUSSIA; POWERFUL NATIONALITY OF THE LATTER STATE, AND ITS 
 PREPARATIONS FOR DEFENCE; NAPOLEON AT DRESDEN; HIS ADVANCE INTO POLAND; THE INVADING 
 ARMY CROSS THE NIEMEN ; PROCLAMATION OF ALEXANDER TO THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 In the last chapter we advanced somewhat 
 beyond our main narrative, in order to 
 bring the events of the war with Turkey 
 under one head. The friendship of Napo- 
 leon and Alexander endured for nearly five 
 years, and no rupture of it had yet taken 
 place. We have shown that a coldness had, 
 nevertheless, arisen between these high- 
 placed potentates ; but the chief canker to 
 Alexander, was his enforced adherence to 
 the principle of excluding English com- 
 merce and manufactures from the conti- 
 nent. This had been productive of the 
 most ruinous consequences to the trade of 
 Russia, and had caused great dissatisfaction 
 in that country. A system of connivance 
 to evade the prohibition had naturally 
 arisen ; but this was merely an alleviation of 
 the evil, which seriously oppressed the pros- 
 perity of the empire. 
 
 Such was the state of things when, in the 
 December of 1810, Napoleon annexed to 
 the French empire the dominions of the 
 Duke of Oldenburg, who was related to 
 Alexander by having married his sister 
 Catherine. This unjust act of spoliation 
 excited a feeling of irritability not only in 
 the mind of the emperor, but in those of 
 the inhabitants of St. Petersburg. Alex- 
 ander, also, still felt an uneasiness respect- 
 ing the grand-duchy of Warsaw, from which 
 he feared that Napoleon might reconstruct 
 the overthrown kingdom of Poland. The 
 grand-duchy had been largely augmented 
 with territory surrendered by Austria at 
 the treaty of Vienna, in 1809 ; and the 
 anxiety of Alexander induced him to open 
 a negotiation on that subject with the 
 French emperor. Napoleon at first con- 
 sented to gratify his cooling friend on this 
 point ; and, early in 1810, he authorised the 
 French ambassador at St. Petersburg to 
 draw up a convention, in which it was ex- 
 pressly stipulated that the kingdom of Po- 
 land should never be re-established, and 
 
 name of Poland should be 
 ever from every public and 
 
 that even the 
 effaced for 
 
 official document. Alexander was gratified, 
 and again expressed himself in the language 
 of friendship towards the towering rival 
 whom he secretly dreaded. Napoleon sub- 
 sequently refused to ratify this convention, 
 and proposed a suspicious alteration of its 
 terms. Alexander felt such conduct to be 
 a slight, and, in a conversation with the 
 French ambassador, he remarked, " If 
 affairs change, it is not my fault : I shall 
 not be the first to disturb the peace of 
 Europe. I will attack no one ; but if they 
 come to seek me, I shall defend myself.'' 
 Napoleon, when pressed on this subject, 
 answered in warm language ; and the Rus- 
 sian cabinet conceived an apprehension that 
 he meditated an attack on their Polish pos- 
 sessions. A new military levy was there- 
 fore ordered, of one man in every hundred 
 throughout the Russian empire, and the 
 Russian forces in Poland considerably in- 
 creased. 
 
 Napoleon, through the medium of his 
 ambassador, demanded an explanation of 
 these preparations. Alexander responded 
 with a dignified firmness. " You assert that 
 I am arming," said he to M. de Caulain- 
 court ; " and I am far from denying it. I 
 am effectually armed ; I am ready, quite 
 ready; and you will find me prepared to 
 defend myself to the utmost. What would 
 you have thought of me if I had acted 
 otherwise — if I had been so forgetful of my 
 duty as to leave my country exposed to the 
 prompt, exacting, and terrible will of your 
 master? But I have only armed after re- 
 ceiving certain information that Dantzic is 
 being placed in a state of defence ; that its 
 garrison is being augmented ; that the 
 troops of Marshal Davoust are being rein- 
 forced and concentrated ; that the Poles and 
 Saxons have been ordered to hold themselves 
 in readiness ; that Modlin and Thorn have 
 
 431 
 
THE COMING STRUGGLE.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1811. 
 
 been repaired, and all the fortifications pro- 
 visioned." Then, leading Caulainconrt into 
 a cabinet, in which were spread open his 
 maps, the emperor added — " On receiving 
 this information, see what I have done. I 
 have ordered defensive works, not in ad- 
 vance of, but behind my frontier; on the 
 Dwina and the Dnieper, at Riga, at Duna- 
 burg, at Balernisk ; that is to say, at a dis- 
 tance from the Niemen almost as great as 
 that which separates Strasburg from Paris. 
 If your master should fortify Paris, should 
 I complain of it ? And when he carries his 
 preparations so far in advance of his fron- 
 tiers, should I be accused of provoking war 
 because I arm myself behind mine ? I 
 have not such good generals as yours; 
 I am not myself so good a soldier or ad- 
 ministrator as Napoleon ; but I have good 
 soldiers and a devoted people ; and we will 
 perish sword in hand, rather than permit 
 ourselves to be treated like the Dutch, or 
 the people of Hamburg. At the same time, 
 I declare to you, upon my honour, that I 
 will not strike the first blow. I will let you 
 pass the Niemen before I pass it myself. 
 Believe me, when I say that I do not desire 
 war; and that my nation, although hurt 
 and terrified at your proceedings, does not 
 desire it; but, if attacked, she will not 
 recede." 
 
 Though Alexander was not disposed to 
 make the seizure of the duchy of Olden- 
 burg a cause of war with France, yet he 
 thought it necessary in some way to resent 
 what could not but be regarded as a slight 
 to him as well as the spoliation of his rela- 
 tion. On the 31st of December, 1810, 
 therefore, he issued an ukase, which pro- 
 hibited the importation of various articles 
 of French manufacture, and allowed that of 
 colonial produce. This, in efi'ect, was a 
 material relaxation of the system of exclu- 
 sion which had been carried on with respect 
 to English commerce ; as, under the pretence 
 of carrying on a trade in the colonial pro- 
 duce of Russia, English merchants were 
 able to effect extensive dealings with that 
 country. A coast-guard of 80,000 men was 
 established, under pretext of enforcing obe- 
 dience to this edict ; but, in reality, as a 
 covert means of augmenting the regular 
 army. Napoleon understood all this, and 
 made constant preparations for the war 
 which his own proceedings were rendering 
 inevitable. He had aimed at isolating 
 Russia from all other states, and making 
 any other alliance than with France impos- 
 432 
 
 sible to her. On the 15th of August, 1811, 
 he bantered Prince Kourakin, the Russian 
 ambassador, for some time in the presence 
 of several of his diplomatic compeers. 
 Speaking of the recent war of Russia with 
 Turkey, he said, with a provoking and in- 
 sulting sarcasm, the more bitter on ac- 
 count of its truth — "If we are now dictating 
 despatches, or writing for the journals, I 
 will at once admit that your generals have 
 been constantly victorious, and that it was 
 the state of your finances which compelled 
 you to withdraw a portion of your troops 
 from living at the expense of the Turks, to 
 make them live at the cost of the Russian 
 treasury. But if we are speaking frankly 
 before three or four of your colleagues, who 
 know the real state of aff'airs, I will plainly 
 tell you that you have been beaten; that 
 your errors have caused you to lose the line 
 of the Danube, and that its loss resulted 
 less from the ill-advised manoeuvres of your 
 generals, than from the mistake of your 
 government in depriving them of the neces- 
 sary forces, by withdrawing five divisions 
 from the Danube to the Dnieper. And 
 why was this done? To make a demon- 
 stration against me, whom you call your 
 ally ! You have committed faults upon 
 faults ! If you have any cause of anger 
 against me, you should openly declare it. 
 In any case, instead of scattering your 
 forces, you should have concentrated them 
 against Turkey, so as to have overwhelmed 
 it, and compelled it to a peace which should 
 have been as advantageous as that of Fin- 
 land, and then you would have been in a 
 position to have taken precautionary mea- 
 sures against me. But in policy, finance, 
 and war, you have committed a thousand 
 errors ; and for whom ? For the Prince of 
 Oldenliurg and some contrabandists. For 
 the sake of such persons it is that you have 
 exposed yourselves to the risk of a Avar with 
 me, whose resources you well know 1" The 
 emperor added — " I suppose you reckon 
 upon having allies. Where are they? Is 
 Austria one of them — Austria, with whom 
 you were at war in 1809, and from whom 
 you have taken a province at the conclusion 
 of peace ? Is Sweden one of them — Sweden, 
 from whom you have taken Finland? Is 
 Prussia one of them — Prussia, whose spoils 
 you accepted at the peace of Tilsit, after 
 having been her ally? You deceive your- 
 selves ; you will have no allies. Come to an 
 understanding then with me, and let us 
 have no war." This conversation, in which 
 
A.D. 
 
 1812.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE, [preparations of napoleon. 
 
 Napoleon overwhelmed and g^reatly embar- 
 rassed the Russian ambassador, was much 
 talked about, and formed a topic of con- 
 versation in all the saloons of Paris and 
 St. Petersburg. " This new circumstance," 
 said the emperor Alexander, with an air of 
 sadness, "has but confirmed my nation in 
 its resolution to defend its dignity and inde- 
 pendence to the death. Napoleon would 
 not have spoken thus, if he were not resolved 
 upon war." 
 
 The French emperor had acted with great 
 subtlety towards Russia, yet his own 
 violence and domineering ambition threw 
 an ally into her arms. This was Sweden, 
 which Napoleon placed in the painful posi- 
 tion of declaring war against England, or 
 against himself. Bernadotte,* who in 
 accepting the dignity of crown prince of 
 Sweden, had attached himself earnestly to 
 its interests, protested and entreated, but 
 was compelled to assent to this tyrannical 
 dictation. In the November of 1810, Swe- 
 den declared war against England, which 
 seeing its position, treated it with a gen- 
 erous forbearance. Napoleon was not yet 
 satisfied ; he made other demands upon the 
 Swedish government, and acted in a manner 
 so offensively overbearing, that it refused 
 compliance. To punish it, Napoleon, in 
 January, 1812, poured his troops into Pome- 
 rania, seized the fortress of Stralsund, con- 
 fiscated the Swedish ships which he found 
 in the harbour, and committed other un- 
 justifiable acts of hostility. The limits of 
 passive endurance were past: Sweden entered 
 into an alliance with Russia, and concluded 
 a peace with England. 
 
 Napoleon and Alexander each remained 
 for i\i time in an attitude of defence, and 
 occupied in preparing for that outbreak on 
 which the former had determined ; and the 
 latter, though he desired to avoid, would 
 not descend to avert by any undignified 
 concession. The dangers to which Alex- 
 ander was exposed, appear to have strength- 
 ened and purified his character, and he acted 
 as a patriotic monarch should have done. 
 Extremely averse to entering upon the war, 
 he desired that the whole of Europe should 
 see that he was not the aggressor. "The 
 joy of England must be great," said he, " to 
 see two such powers going to war." Even 
 so late as the early part of the year 1812, 
 
 • Bernadotte, though a Frenchman, and one of 
 Napoleon's marshals, had been elected by the Swe- 
 dish Diet as the successor of Charles XIII., the 
 reigning sovereign, who was without natural heirs. 
 3k 
 
 he made proposals to Napoleon, with the 
 object of bringing about an accommodation ; 
 but the latter left them unanswered. He 
 had resolved to make a grand display of his 
 military power on the banks of tlie Vistula, 
 and, if prevented by submission from con- 
 quering Russia, to show at least that he 
 could overawe it. 
 
 The attention of the whole of Europe 
 was fixed in suspense upon the approaching 
 conflict between its two greatest powers, 
 and most politicians anticipated that it 
 would result in the final prostration of Rus- 
 sia. That empire was, indeed, seriously 
 endangered; and it is not impossible that 
 it might have been conquered and dismem- 
 bered by the swords of France, had not 
 Napoleon, intoxicated by long prosperity, 
 attempted to finish in one campaign that 
 which it must have taken several successful 
 ones to accomplish. The expedition which 
 Napoleon proposed for the conquest of Rus- 
 sia, was regarded with enthusiasm through- 
 out France ; and during the spring of 
 1812, the roads of that country and of Ger- 
 many were thronged by cavalry, infantry, 
 and artillery, hastening to the scene of the 
 approaching conflict. "Young nuen," ob- 
 serves Alison, " of the richest and noblest 
 families solicited employment in an expedi- 
 tion where success appeared certain, resist- 
 ance impossible, and danger unlikely. AH 
 heads were swept away by the torrent ; 
 ambition, in every age and rank, was daz- 
 zled by the apparent brilliancy of the pros- 
 pect. The expedition, said they, which is. 
 preparing, will throw that of Egypt into the 
 shade. Never had the instinct of war, the, 
 passion for military glory, more strongly 
 seconded the ambition of the chief of an 
 empire. * We are setting out for Moscow, 
 but we shall soon return,' were the words witli, 
 which the joyous youth everywhere took 
 leave of their parents, their relations, their 
 friends. The march to St. Petersburg or 
 Moscow, seemed only a military promenade 
 — a hunting party of six months' duration, 
 in which little danger was to be met, but 
 ample excitement experienced ; a last effort, 
 which would place the empire of Napoleon 
 and the glory of France beyond the reach 
 of danger. The magnificence of the spec- 
 tacle, and the brilliancy of the prospect, 
 spread these feelings even amongst the 
 
 Bernadotte was much respected by the Swedes, who, 
 moreover, thought that by selecting. him as their 
 future sovereign, they would secure the friendshiii 
 and protection of the French emperor. 
 
 433 
 
ATTITUDE OF RUSSIA.] 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1812. 
 
 people of the vanquished states : the ex- 
 pected restoration of Poland, and humilia- 
 tion of Russia, gave an air of romance to 
 the approaching expedition ; and thousands 
 breathed wishes for its success." 
 
 In Russia, the intense nationality of its 
 nobles and its people was aroused, and they 
 rallied loyally around their emperor. He 
 and his counsellors were at times elated 
 with the hope, that the apparently irresis- 
 tible foe, who had gathered for their 
 destruction such a power as Europe had 
 never before seen, might be baffled by the 
 difficulties of carrying out an oflfensive war 
 into the heart of Russia; at others, they 
 cherished the mournful resolution of perish- 
 ing in the defence of their country, rather 
 than any confident hope of being able to 
 achieve its deliverance. 
 
 But the chief hope of the Russians lay in 
 the vast extent of their empire, which it was 
 impossible to overrun; and the severity of 
 its climate, which rendered it inaccessible to 
 invaders, except for a comparatively brief 
 period of the year. The plan devised by 
 the Russians was, therefore, to lay waste 
 their country in the path of the enemy, and 
 then, retiring into the farthest part of the 
 empire, see how the dreaded Napoleon 
 "would be able to maintain an enormous 
 army in the midst of desolated plains, 
 equally deficient in food for his soldiers, and 
 forage for his horses. They conceived the 
 hope, that, like another Pharaoh, he would 
 perish in the vastness of the desert, as did 
 the Egyptians in the vastness of the deep. 
 Clouds of light horse were to harass the 
 flanks of the enemy, and cut ofl" its foraging 
 parties ; the forces of Russia were to decline 
 battles, and to retreat into the interior of 
 the empire to avoid them, only pausing to 
 fight when the French should be exhausted 
 with hunger and fatigue. By this means it 
 was hoped that the vast armies of Napoleon 
 would be gradually wasted away. Some of 
 Alexander's officers even advised that the 
 desert should be carried forward, and that 
 for this purpose, they should invade Poland 
 and Old Prussia, and then retreat after 
 having destroyed their rich granaries and 
 laid the country desolate; but to this pro- 
 position he would not consent. 
 
 The forces collected by the emperor 
 
 • Barclay de Tolly was descended from a Scotch 
 family, a younger branch of which had migrated to 
 Livonia. He liad entered the Russian army at the 
 almost infantine age of twelve, and had risen by his 
 military merits to the highest rank in the service. 
 His admirers estimate him as the greatest general 
 434 
 
 Alexander, to oppose those of Napoleon, 
 consisted of 260,000 men, divided into two 
 armies ; one under the command of General 
 Barclay de Tolly,* and the other under that 
 of Prince Bagration. These were, as the 
 war proceeded, swelled by the addition of 
 the army from the Danube, and by other 
 reinforcements. 
 
 The force Napoleon had collected for the 
 invasion of Russia, was the most tremendous 
 accumulation of armed men, that had been 
 formed in modern times, or, probably, since 
 the beginning of the world. It amounted to 
 587,000 men: of whom 270,000 were French; 
 80,000 Germans of the confederation of the 
 Rhine; 30,000 Poles; 30,000 Austrians; 
 20,000 Prussians ; and the remainder 
 chiefly natives of the various Italian states. 
 The emperor of Austria, though now the 
 father-in-law of Napoleon, contributed his 
 contingent with an unwillingness he did not 
 deem it prudent to show; while the ruined 
 monarch of Prussia, who bitterly hated his 
 oppressor, had no choice in the matter, but 
 was compelled to send his troops into the 
 field, to fight against the side to which he 
 wished success. Indeed, Frederic William 
 was aware, that if Napoleon subdued Russia, 
 Prussia, as a state, would disappear from 
 the map of Europe ; but he was now as 
 powerless to resist the will of his conqueror, 
 as is the straAv or bubble to contend against 
 the current of the stream on whose bosom it 
 is swept rapidly onward. 
 
 Despite the general enthusiasm which 
 prevailed in France respecting this expedi- 
 tion, it was viewed with alarm by some of 
 its profoundest statesmen, and also by many 
 of its chief military men. Talleyrand ex- 
 hausted his utmost efi'orts to dissuade his 
 imperious master from it; but in vain. It 
 is said that he even predicted the overthrow 
 of the French empire as its result. The 
 astute Fouche also presented a memorial to 
 Napoleon, with the desire of inducing him 
 to forego a design which he felt would lead 
 to ruin. The emperor received it with a 
 haughty coldness. " War with Russia," he 
 remarked, "it would seem, pleases you as 
 little as that in Spain." Fouche replied, 
 that he hoped to be pardoned for having 
 thrown together some reflections upon so 
 important a crisis. "It is no crisis at all, 
 of Russia after Suwarrow. Prince Bagration was 
 descended from the ancient princes of Georgia, and 
 was a brave, impetuous soldier, who loved the ex- 
 citement of danger. To the Russian minister Bala- 
 choff. Napoleon observed, " Bagration is your only 
 general." 
 
4.D. 
 
 1812.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIllE. 
 
 [napoleon at DRESDEN. 
 
 sir," resumed the emperor, " but a mere 
 war of politics. Spain falls whenever I have 
 destroyed Englisli influence at St. Peters- 
 burg. I have 800,000 soldiers in readi- 
 ness ; with such an army, I consider Europe 
 as an old prostitute who must obey my 
 pleasure. Did not you yourself once tell 
 me that the word impossible is not French ? 
 You grandees are now grown too rich ; and 
 though you pretend to be anxious about my 
 interests, you are only thinking of what 
 might happen to yourselves, in the event of 
 my death, and the dismemberment of my 
 empire. I regulate my conduct much, more 
 by the sentiments of my army, than by 
 yours. Is it my fault that the height of 
 power which I have attained, compels me to 
 ascend to the dictatorship of the world ? 
 My destiny is not yet accomplished. The 
 picture exists hitherto only in outline. 
 There must be one code, one court of appeal, 
 and one coinage, for all Europe. The 
 European states must be melted into one 
 nation, and Paris be its capital. I will 
 destroy all Russian influence, as well as all 
 English influence in Europe. Two battles 
 will do the business; the emperor Alex- 
 ander will come to me on his knees, and 
 Russia shall be disarmed. Spain costs me 
 very dear : without that, T should have been 
 master of the world by this time ; but when 
 I shall become such, by finishing with Rus- 
 sia, my son will have nothing to do but 
 quietly to retain my place." 
 
 On the 9th of May, 1812, Napoleon 
 quitted Paris and proceeded to Dresden, to 
 which city his progress was one prolonged 
 festivity, or triumphal march. He had ex- 
 pressed a wish that the emperor of Austria, 
 and the minor kings and princes of Germany, 
 should meet him there. He imagined that 
 so brilliant an assemblage of sovereigns, 
 would contrast with the insulated state of 
 the Russian monarch, and produce in him 
 an alarming sense of being generally de- 
 serted. Either from motives of interest or 
 fear, his desire was obeyed, and Dresden 
 became the scene of a gorgeous munificence, 
 the description of which reads like some 
 creation of a warm imagination. As at 
 Erfurth, the most gifted actors of Paris 
 combined their talents, and plays were per- 
 formed, of which the passages descriptive of 
 heroes and illustrious princes, were all 
 applied to the soldier-monarch. Maria 
 
 • History of the Expedition to Russia; by General 
 Count Philip de Segur, son of the French ambas- 
 sador, at the court of Catherine II.; to whose writings 
 
 Louisa had accompanied her imperial part- 
 ner to Dresden. Around her was cast the 
 whole gorgeousness of rank and wealth, in 
 their greatest distinction and most wild 
 profusion. A modern historian observes — 
 " During the magnificent series of pageants 
 which followed her arrival, flattery exhausted 
 its talent, and luxury its magnificence ; and 
 the pride of the Csesars was forgotten in 
 the glory of one who had risen upon the 
 ruins of their antiquated splendour." But 
 it was the great soldier himself who was 
 the chief attraction of these brilliant scenes. 
 General Count Segur* says — "Whole na- 
 tions had quitted their homes to throng his 
 path; rich and poor, nobles and plebeians, 
 friends and enemies, all hurried to the scene. 
 Their curious and anxious groups were seen 
 crowding together in the streets, the roads, 
 and the public places; they passed whole 
 days and nights with their eyes fixed on the 
 gate and windows of his palace. It was not 
 his crown, his rank, the splendour of his 
 court, but him only, on whom they desired 
 to feast their eyes. It was a memento of 
 his features which they were anxious to 
 obtain ; they wished to be able to tell their 
 less fortunate countrymen and posterity, 
 that they had seen Napoleon." 
 
 The emperor remained at Dresden until 
 the 29th of May, living in a style of the 
 most gorgeous pomp, and distributing, with 
 more than Eastern munificence, diamonds, 
 snufi'-boxes and crosses, among the crowd 
 of princes, ministers, dukes, and courtiers 
 who thronged around his steps. He then 
 led his enormous host into Poland, where 
 he was soon assailed by the piteous com- 
 plaints of the peasantry, whom his soldiers 
 pillaged without mercy. The cavalry cut 
 down the green rye, and even stripped the 
 houses of their thatch, in order to find 
 provender for their horses. Napoleon 
 expressed himself hurt by these proceedings, 
 and addressed severe reproaches to those 
 princes or generals who sanctioned them. 
 But the depredations continued, for they 
 soon became necessary. The means of pro- 
 viding such a multitude with food, had been 
 considered as far as was possible. An army 
 of provision-waggons was to be loaded from 
 the magazines established on the Vistula: 
 but partly because the vehicles were too 
 heavy for the soil they were intended to 
 traverse, and partly from an inefiicient organ- 
 
 we hare previously referred. The son was one of 
 Napoleon's favourite generals, and accompanied him 
 in the fatal invasion of Kussia. 
 
 435 
 
INVASION OF RUSSIA.] 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d, 1812. 
 
 isatiou on this point, most of them were 
 left behind before reaching that river. 
 Contributions were, therefore, made on the 
 peasantry, who were speedily ruined by the 
 extent of these exactions, enforced by troops 
 from whom they expected deliverance from 
 their bondage to Russia. 
 
 Before daybreak on the 23rd of June, 
 the invading army approached the river 
 Niemen. Leaving his carriage, Napoleon 
 mounted his horse, and reconnoitred the 
 Russian river. As he came up to the bank, 
 his horse suddenly fell and threw him on 
 the sand. Some one observed, "This is a 
 bad omen ; a Roman would recoil \" But 
 the emperor, rising unconcerned, gave or- 
 ders for the construction of three bridges, 
 and retired to his quarters humming a tune. 
 The next morning, the emperor issued the 
 following address to his army, by whom it 
 was received with the most ardent enthu- 
 siasm : — " Soldiers ! the second Polish war 
 has commenced. The first ended at Fried- 
 land and at Tilsit. At Tilsit, Russia swore 
 an eternal alliance with Prance, and war 
 with England. She now violates her oaths. 
 She will give no explanation of her capri- 
 cious conduct until the French eagles 
 have repassed the Rhine ; by that means 
 leaving our allies at her mercy. Russia is 
 hurried away by fatality ; her destiny must 
 be accomplished. Does she imagine us 
 to be degenerated? Are we not still the 
 soldiers of Austerlitz? She places us 
 between war and dishonour; the choice 
 cannot be doubtful. Let us advance then — 
 let us cross the Niemeuj and carry the war 
 into her own territory. The second Polish 
 war will be as glorious for the French arms 
 as the first ; but the peace we shall this 
 time conclude, will carry with it its own 
 guarantee, and put an end to the fatal 
 influence which, for fifty years, Russia has 
 exercised in the affairs of Europe.^^ 
 
 After this address had been read to the 
 soldiers, the signal to advance was given. 
 The vast columns of the imperial army 
 defiled out of the forests and hollows on the 
 banks of the river, and commenced their 
 passage over to the Russian side; which 
 continued incessantly during the 24th and 
 the 25th. They met with no opposition; 
 and, indeed, not a foe was to be seen. Some 
 of the officers fancied that they heard the 
 distant report of cannon, and listened atten- 
 tively to ascertain from what direction it 
 came. But this was but the work of imagi- 
 nation : scarcely, however, had Napoleon 
 436 
 
 himself crossed the river, than the day, 
 which had been brilliant, became overcast; 
 a wind arose, and a thunder-storm burst 
 and rolled over the army. Black and heavy 
 masses of clouds poured out their contents 
 for several hours, and the roads and fields 
 were inundated. Many there were, even 
 amongst the most enthusiastic, who felt 
 terrified at what they conceived to be a 
 fatal presage. 
 
 Alexander had left St. Petersburg on the 
 21st of April, and joined his army. When 
 intelligence of the passage of the Niemen 
 by the French reached him, he was at a 
 ball at the country-house of General Ben- 
 ningsen, in the neighbourhood of Wilna. 
 For some time he remained with the com- 
 pany without exhibiting any change of 
 manner, or communicating the intelligence 
 he had received. He then wrote and 
 issued the following proclamation to the 
 empire : — " For long we have observed the 
 hostile proceedings of the French emperor 
 towards Russia, but we always entertained 
 the hope of avoiding hostilities by measures 
 of conciliation; but, seeing all our efforts 
 without success, we have been constrained 
 to assemble our armies. Still we hoped to 
 maintain peace by resting on our frontiers 
 in a defensive attitude, without committing 
 any act of aggression. All these conciliatory 
 measures have failed ; the emperor Napo- 
 leon, by a sudden attack on our troops at 
 Kowno, has declared war. Seeing, there- 
 fore, that nothing can induce him to remain 
 at peace, all that remains for us is to invok^e 
 the succour of the Most High, and oppose 
 our forces to the enemy. I need not 
 remind the officers and soldiers of their 
 duty, to excite their valour; the blood of 
 the brave Slavonians flows in their veins. 
 Soldiers ! you will defend your religion, your 
 country, and your liberty. I am with you. 
 God is against the aggressor." The em- 
 peror also announced the invasion of the 
 country to the governor of St. Petersburg, 
 in a letter which concluded with these 
 patriotic and resolute observations : — *' I 
 have the fullest confidence in the zeal of my 
 people and the bravery of my soldiers. 
 Menaced in their homes, they will defend 
 them with their wonted firmness and intre- 
 pidity. Providence will bless our just cause. 
 The defence of our country, of our indepen- 
 dence and national honour, have forced me 
 to unsheathe the sword. I will not return 
 it to the scabbard so long as a single enemy 
 remains on the Russian territory." 
 
A.D. 1812.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [napoleon at WILNA. 
 
 The nationality and patriotism of the 
 Russian people and soldiers needed not 
 these addresses to excite them. The latter 
 even received with regret the command to 
 retire before the enemy, who was advancing 
 with rapid strides upon Wilna, the capital 
 of Lithuania. But the policy of the Rus- 
 sians iu retiring and leaving the country 
 waste behind them, was indisputably a wise 
 one. To have immediately encountered the 
 invaders, would have been to be over- 
 whelmed beneath their immense numerical 
 superiority. The obstacles which nature 
 had placed in the country against invasion, 
 were silently yet terribly telling in favour of 
 the Russians. The waste of active warfare 
 liad already commenced its work upon the 
 French army. In consequence of incessant 
 rains and fatigues, and unwholesome pro- 
 vender, 10,000 horses dropt and died on the 
 road from the Niemen to Wilna; while 
 shortly after the arrival of the invaders at 
 that city, and even before a shot was fired, 
 
 25,000 sick and dying men filled its hos- 
 pitals, and the surrounding villages. 
 
 At Wilna Napoleon received a letter from 
 Alexander, in which the latter, animated by 
 a spirit of forbearance which was scarcely to 
 be expected, wrote, " that it was not yet too 
 late to negotiate; that a war was begun 
 which the soil, the climate, and the character 
 of Russia rendered interminable, but that all 
 accommodation had not become impossible ; 
 and that from opposite banks of the Niemen 
 they might yet come to an understanding." 
 It was already impossible for Napoleon to 
 retire to the other side of the Niemen, 
 without utterly losing the prestige that 
 attached to him as a great general. There- 
 fore he felt irritated at the proposal, and 
 replied — "I will treat of peace at Wilna, 
 and retire behind the Niemen when it is 
 concluded." The time of negotiation was, 
 in fact, long gone by ; and the quarrel be- 
 tween these two powerful potentates, could 
 only be settled by an appeal to the sword. 
 
 CHAPTER LI. 
 
 ENGAGEMENTS BETWEEN THE RETltllNG RXTSSIANS AND THE ADVANCED GUAKD OF THE FRENCH; 
 ALEXANDER APPEALS TO THE NOBLES AND PEOPLE OP MOSCOW ; THEIR ENTHUSIASTIC PATRIOTISM ; 
 ASSAULT ON SMOLENSK, AND DESPERATE DEFENCE OF THAT CITY ; THE RUSSIANS CONTINUE THEIR 
 RETREAT; CLAMOURS OF THE PEOPLE AGAINST THE POLICY OF A CONSTANT FLIGHT FROM THE 
 ENEMY ; BATTLE OF VALTELINA ; FRIGHTFUL CONDITION OF THE FRENCH ARMY ; GENERAL KUTUSOFF 
 APPOINTED TO THE CHIEF COMMAND OF THE RUSSIANS ; THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE BATTLE OF 
 BORODINO ; THE RUSSIANS CONTINUE THEIR RETREAT ; THE FRENCH ENTER MOSCOW, AND FIND IT 
 DESERTED. 
 
 Napoleon committed the serious error of 
 remaining for seventeen days at Wilna; a 
 circumstance which permitted the Russians 
 to retire in excellent order. The officers 
 nearest to the person of the emperor re- 
 marked to each other, that a genius so vast 
 as his, and always increasing in activity and 
 audacity, was no longer seconded by a vigo- 
 rous constitution. They were surprised at 
 finding him aflFected by the heat of a burn- 
 ing atmosphere; and they remarked to each 
 other, with melancholy forebodings, the 
 tendency to corpulence which his frame 
 had acquired, and which they regarded as 
 the forerunner of premature decay. 
 
 The division of the Russian army, under 
 the command of Prince Bagration, was 
 sharply followed by that of the French, 
 
 under Jerome Buonaparte and Marshal Da- 
 voust; and on the 9th and 10th of July, 
 engagements took place between the ad- 
 vanced guard and cavalry of each. These 
 terminated rather in favour of the Russians ; | 
 but the latter wisely continued their retreat. | 
 On the 23rd of July, an obstinate conflict | 
 between the same forces took place at Mo- 
 hilow,' on the Dnieper, in which each side j 
 lost about 3,000 men ; after which Bagration 
 again retired in excellent order, and joined 
 the main army under Barclay de Tolly, at 
 Smolensk, on the 3rd of August. 
 
 The emperor Alexander had left the army 
 on the 16th of July, and hastened to Mos- 
 cow; to which city the efforts of the enemy 
 were evidently directed. His object was to 
 stimulate by his presence the patriotic ex- 
 
 437 
 
EFFORTS OF AJLEXANDER.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 Ta.d. 1812. 
 
 ertions of its inhabitants. He was received I 
 by all classes with a frenzy of enthusiasm ; | 
 and having caused the chief nobles and ' 
 merchants to be summoned to meet him 
 within the ancient walls of the Kremlin, he 
 promised to have recourse to the extremest 
 measures, rather than lay down his arras. 
 "Never," said he, "was danger more 
 urgent. The national religion, the throne, 
 the state, can be preserved only by the 
 greatest sacrifices. May the destruction 
 with which we are threatened recoil upon 
 the head of the invader, and may Europe, 
 freed from the yoke of servitude, have cause 
 to bless the name of Russia \" The empe- 
 ror also issued an earnest proclamation to 
 the people, in which he said — "We invite 
 all classes to a general armament, in order 
 to co-operate with ourselves against the 
 designs of the enemy. Let him find at 
 every step the faithful sons of Russia ready 
 to combat all his forces, and deaf to all his 
 seductions; despising his fraud, trampling 
 under foot his gold ; paralysing, by the hero- 
 ism of true valour, all the efforts of his 
 legions of slaves. Illustrious nobles ! in 
 every age you have been the saviours of 
 your country : holy clergy ! by your prayers 
 you have always invoked the divine blessing 
 on the arms of Russia : people ! worthy de- 
 scendants of the brave Slavonians, often 
 have you broken the jaws of the lions which 
 were open to devour you ! Unite, then, 
 with the cross in your hearts and the sword 
 in your hands, and no human power shall 
 prevail against you.'* The people of Mos- 
 cow enthusiastically responded by raising a 
 levy of ten out of every hundred males, and 
 promising to clothe and arm them at their 
 own expense. The merchants also made an 
 enormous contribution in money to promote 
 the national defences — an example which 
 was followed by many other cities and pro- 
 vinces in the empire. 
 
 Napoleon and the centre of the French 
 army advanced from Wilna on the 16th of 
 July, with the intention of turning a for- 
 tified camp the Russians had erected at 
 Drissa. The emperor, however, soon learned, 
 that discovering it to be untenable, they 
 had abandoned it, and were marching to- 
 wards Witepsk, which they reached on the 
 25th. Thither Barclay de Tolly was fol- 
 lowed by Napoleon ; and on the evening of 
 the 27th, the soldiers on both sides antici- 
 pated a mortal struggle on the following 
 day. , But General Barclay had not yet 
 been joined by Prince Bagratiou; who, he 
 438 
 
 learnt, was directing his march towards 
 Smolensk. Barclay, therefore, silently de- 
 camped during the night ; and on the fol- 
 lowing morning the French were surprised 
 to find the camp of the enemy so utterly 
 deserted, that not even a baggage- waggon 
 or a straggler, with the exception of a 
 single Rusian soldier found asleep under 
 a bush, had been left behind. The invaders 
 were so exhausted with the rapidity of 
 their progress, under a burning summer's 
 sun, that it was found imperative to pause 
 at this point. " Here I stop," exclaimed 
 Napoleon: "here I must look around me; 
 rally, refresh my army, and organise Po- 
 land. The campaign of 1812 is finished ; 
 that of 1813 will do the rest." 
 
 He was, however, too restless to adhere 
 to this resolution, especially as he fre- 
 quently received intelligence concerning 
 the prodigious preparations of Alexander 
 in the interior of the empire. Napoleon, 
 therefore, held a military council, to con- 
 sider the expediency of a further advance. 
 Several of his generals were extremely ad- 
 verse to this, as fraught with great hazard. 
 Berthier dissuaded him even with tears. 
 The emperor overruled their objections. 
 " Why," he exclaimed, " should we remain 
 at Witepsk? The vicinity of the rivers, 
 indeed, makes it a defensible position in 
 summer; but in winter what would avail 
 their frozen streams? If they remained 
 there, it would be requisite to construct 
 towns and fortresses capable of defying the 
 elements; while at Moscow all would be 
 ready-made to their hands." He added, 
 that he perceived that their thoughts were 
 dwelling on Charles XII. ; but that if the 
 expedition to Moscow wanted a fortunate 
 precedent, it was because it had wanted a 
 man capable of undertaking it ; that in war, 
 fortune went for one-half in everything; 
 and that if people always waited for a com- 
 plete assemblage of favourable circum- 
 stances, nothing would ever be undertaken. 
 *' No blood has yet been shed," he observed ; 
 " and Russia is too powerful to yield without 
 fighting. Alexander can only negotiate 
 after a great battle. If it is necessary, I 
 will even proceed to the holy city in search 
 of that battle; and I will gain it. Peace 
 waits for me at the gates of Moscow." 
 
 Notwithstanding the sufterings of his 
 troops, who were perishing by thousands 
 from disease and hunger, Napoleon resolved 
 to continue his march. He abandoned 
 Witepsk on the 13th of August, and on the 
 
A.D. 1812.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [the French at Smolensk, 
 
 16th came in sight of Smolensk and the 
 united Russian armies, under Barclay de 
 Tolly and Prince Bagration. At this sight, 
 Napoleon, transported with joy, exclaimed — 
 "At length I have them !" He was again 
 deceived. Barclay de Tolly, instead of 
 risking a battle to save Smolensk, thought 
 it sufficient to protect the flight of the in- 
 habitants, and to empty the magazines. 
 Having done this, the Russian army con- 
 tinued its retreat. General Newcrosskoi, 
 and a body of Russian troops, amounting 
 to 30,000 men, which had already fought 
 an heroic action with the French cavalry 
 near Krasnoi, remained in the town and 
 covered the retreat of the main army. Na- 
 poleon, irritated that his foes had again 
 escaped him, ordered an assault on the city. 
 It was defended by 200 pieces of heavy 
 cannon, which kept up such a storm of fire 
 against the assailants, that, unable to breach 
 its massy walls, they were compelled even- 
 tually to retire. The Russians then set fire 
 to Smolensk, and secured their retreat 
 under cover of the dark columns of smoke 
 which rose from the burning city. The 
 loss on both sides was very heavy. It is 
 variously estimated ; , but French and Rus- 
 sians probably had each of them, in killed 
 and wounded, no less than 10,000 men. 
 
 In the meantime, Alexander, leaving 
 Moscow, hurried to St. Petersburg, and 
 thence to Orebro, in Sweden, where he con- 
 cluded a treaty of alliance with England ; by 
 which the latter agreed to furnish a subsidy 
 of £800,000, and stipulated, that if the Rus- 
 sian fleet was endangered by the French 
 invasion, it should be removed, as a measure 
 of security, to the British shores. On the 
 20th of June, Alexander also contracted an 
 oflfensive and defensive alliance with the 
 supreme junta of Spain. On the 21st, he 
 had an interview at Abo with Bernadotte, 
 the crown prince of Sweden. By an alli- 
 ance concluded with him, it was arranged, 
 that the Russian army which had been 
 kept on the frontiers of Finland to guard 
 against an outbreak from the Swedes, 
 should be at liberty to be used against the 
 French. As a return, Alexander, untaught 
 by the tribulation suspended over his own 
 head, promised, as a compensation for the 
 loss of Fmland, to join Sweden in wresting 
 Norway from Denmark. During the in- 
 terview of Alexander with Bernadotte, the 
 news arrived of Napoleon's entry into Smo- 
 lensk. " Should St. Petersburg itself be 
 taken," exclaimed the emperor, "I will 
 
 retire into Siberia; I will there resume our 
 ancient customs, and, like our long-bearded 
 ancestors, will return anew to conquer the 
 empire." "This resolution," exclaimed 
 Bernadotte, with more enthusiasm than 
 reason, "will liberate Europe." 
 
 The abandonment of Smolensk was re- 
 garded by the Russian soldiers and people 
 rather as an act of pusillanimity than of 
 prudence ; and a violent clamour was raised 
 against Barclay de Tolly, whose foreign 
 extraction was not forgotten. They de- 
 clared him to be a traitor, who permitted 
 all their divisions to be destroyed piece- 
 meal, and dishonoured the army by an in- 
 terminable flight. " Why employ this 
 stranger?" said the people; "was not Ku- 
 tusoff", the comrade and rival of Suwarrow, 
 yet living ? A Russian was wanted to save 
 Russia." 
 
 The Russian army was again divided ; and 
 the troops under Barclay had, from motives 
 of an erroneous policy, taken the road to 
 St. Petersburg ; while that under Bagration 
 was retreating by the Moscow-road. Napo- 
 leon sent his pursuing columns in both of 
 these directions. On the 19th of August, 
 Marshal Ney, with three divisions of the 
 French army, attacked the Russian rear- 
 guard at Valtelina, which Barclay had sta- 
 tioned there to cover a cross-movement 
 from the St. Petersburg to the Moscow- 
 road ; which he saw to be imperative, unless 
 he would allow the French to cut the Rus- 
 sian forces in two, and beat them in detail. 
 The troops engaged were at first incon- 
 siderable in number; but they were gra- 
 dually strengthened on both sides, until 
 the engagement swelled into an extensive 
 battle, in which, altogether, 30,000 men 
 were engaged. This was carried on with 
 obstinate bravery; for the Russians fought 
 to defend their cannon, wounded, and bag- 
 gage ; and the French with the hope of 
 taking them. The French made repeated 
 charges with the bayonet ; but were as con- 
 stantly driven back by the stolid bravery of 
 the Russians. The contest was continued 
 until night, and then ceased, from the ex- 
 haustion of the assailants. Neither side 
 obtained any advantage ; but the Russians 
 retained their position ; and victory may be 
 regarded as rather favouring them than 
 their adversaries, though both sides laid 
 claim to it. The French lost about 8,000 
 men, amongst whom was that distinguished 
 soldier General Gudin; and the Russians 
 6,000. The result might have been far 
 
 439 
 
 u^ 
 
SUFFERINGS OF THE FRENCH.] HISTORY OF i THE 
 
 [a.d. 1812. 
 
 more favourable to the French, but for the 
 indecision of General Junot; who, alarmed 
 by an overwhelming sense of responsi- 
 bility, remained in inaction. Napoleon was 
 so irritated in consequence, that he threat- 
 ened to dismiss him from the army. At 
 the dawn of the following day, Napoleon 
 visited the battle-field ; and was astonished 
 at the energy with which his troops must 
 have fought, judging from the number and 
 attitudes of the dead. They lay mingled with 
 the Russians, amidst the stumps of broken 
 trees, on ground trampled by the feet of 
 the combatants, furrowed with balls, strewed 
 with the fragments of weapons, tattered 
 garments, scattered limbs, dead or wounded 
 horses, and carriages overthrown. The em- 
 peror was compelled to pass over or tread 
 upon carcasses, broken weapons, and bayo- 
 nets twisted by the violence of the shock. 
 The battalions of General Gudin were 
 melted down to platoons ; their clothes yet 
 smelt of burnt cartridges and powder, and 
 their faces were begrimed with smoke. 
 Napoleon experienced a sense of grateful 
 admiration for these brave men, who had 
 fought their last battle. "With such 
 troops," he exclaimed, " you might conquer 
 the world. This is the most glorious of our 
 fields ; the dead have won immortal glory \" 
 Notwithstanding his apparent cheerful- 
 which sustained the spirits of his 
 
 ness. 
 
 troops, the emperor was occasionally op- 
 pressed with forebodings of evil. The 
 enemy fled- before him, and could not be 
 brought to a decisive engagement. He was 
 pushing forward over desolate tracts, laid 
 waste by the retiring Russians ; or through 
 dark forests intersected by swampy streams 
 or rocky dells. The spirits of the troops 
 were oppressed by the solitude around them, 
 and the suflFerings they had to endure. The 
 losses already sustained by hunger, fatigue, 
 and sickness, had been tremendous. Typhus 
 fever and dysentery had swept off thousands ; 
 and what remained of Smolensk was but 
 one vast hospital. Provisions were scarce, 
 and many soldiers suffered severely from 
 the intemperate use of a spirit distilled 
 from grain, and mingled with the juice of 
 narcotic plants. Numbers of those who, 
 debilitated by fatigue and want of proper 
 food, had indulged in it, were seized with 
 dizziness, stupefaction, and torpor. In this 
 state they sat or lay down in the ditches or on 
 the roads, their half-open, watery, and lack- 
 lustre eyes fixed on vacancy, until their ex- 
 hausted frames succumbed, and they expired 
 440 
 
 sullenly and without a groan. The convents 
 of Smolensk which had escaped the flames, 
 had been converted into hospitals, and were 
 the scene of frightful horrors; while around 
 the ramparts of the city was such an accu- 
 mulation of corpses, that they infected the 
 air, and increased the sickness which was 
 devastating the invading army. Napo- 
 leon's generals took care that he should be 
 well acquainted with these matters; for 
 most of them dreaded this advance into so 
 vast and sterile a territory. The emperor, 
 however, decided on advancing, in the hope 
 of eclipsing the sufferings of his troops by 
 the brilliancy of a great battle, " The con- 
 dition of the army," said he, " is frightful ; 
 I know it. At Wilna one-half were strag- 
 glers ; now they amount to two-thirds. 
 There is not a moment to lose; we must 
 grasp at peace, and it can be only foui;d at 
 Moscow. Besides, the state of the army is 
 such, as to render a halt impossible : con- 
 stant advance alone keeps it together : you 
 may lead it forward, but you cannot arrest 
 its movement. AVe have advanced too far 
 to retreat. If I sought but for military 
 glory, I should have nothing to do but to 
 return to Smolensk, and extend my wings 
 on either side, so as to crush Wittgenstein 
 and Formasoff. These operations would be 
 brilliant ; they would form a glorious ter- 
 mination to the campaign ; but they would 
 not conclude the war. Peace is before us. 
 We have only to march eight days to ob- 
 tain it. So near is our object, it is impossi- 
 ble to deliberate : let us advance to Moscow." 
 The emperor continued to advance upon 
 that city; and the Russians, under Barclay 
 de Tolly, to fall back in good order before 
 him. That general, stung by the re- 
 proaches of the Russians, had at length 
 resolved on giving battle to the French, 
 when the emperor Alexander, yielding to 
 the outcry against him, deprived him of the 
 command, and gave it to General Kutusoff; 
 who, as the pupil of Suwarrow, was pointed 
 out by the army and the people as the per- 
 son most fit to hold it. This man, who had 
 restored the fortunes of Russia in the last 
 campaign against the Turks, is thus de- 
 scribed by M. Thiers : — " Although seventy 
 years of age, so perfectly worn out by war 
 and pleasure as to be scarcely capable of 
 holding himself on his horse, thoroughly 
 corrupt, false, perfidious, and a liar, he was 
 possessed of consummate prudence, and 
 had the art to make himself the idol of the 
 party which was ardent for the plan of 
 
o 
 
 ^ 
 
 P3 
 
A.D. 1812.]' 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [the halt at BORODINO. 
 
 engaging, whilst he was himself the decided 
 partisan of the system of retreat. And no 
 man could be more capable than he was of 
 gaining the mastery over men's minds, of 
 directing them as he chose, of ruling them 
 by affecting passions which he had not, and 
 of opposing Napoleon by patience — the only 
 arm with which he could be successfully 
 fought." 
 
 KutusoflFwas, however, compelled to assent 
 to give battle to the French, on account of 
 the near approach of the latter towards Mos- 
 cow. He therefore halted on the plain of 
 Borodino, which had been selected as offer- 
 ing many advantages to an army acting on 
 the defensive. Napoleon announced to his 
 troops that they were on the eve of a great 
 battle, and allowed two days for rest and 
 for the collection of provisions. He knew 
 the necessity of terminating, if possible, this 
 wearisome struggle by a decisive contest; 
 for every day told upon his jaded troops, 
 who now suffered so much from want of 
 water, that the men sometimes dropped 
 dead while in search of it, from the effects 
 of exhaustion and thirst. 
 
 On the 5th of September, the French 
 army came in sight of the Russians, drawn 
 up in order of battle at Borodino, and de- 
 fended by some hastily-erected inti-ench- 
 ments and redoubts; one of the latter, of 
 great size, standing on a height which com- 
 manded the whole plain in front of the 
 army. It was defended by 10,000 Rus- 
 sians, and supported by twelve pieces of 
 heavy artillery. Napoleon gave orders for 
 the attack of this redoubt, as he well knew 
 its immense importance in the coming en- 
 counter. The task of taking it was assigned 
 to the fiery Murat ; and after a frightful 
 and most sanguinary struggle it was cap- 
 tured. The Russians returning to the 
 attack, cut down the troops who had en- 
 tered it; and the redoubt was three times 
 taken and retaken in the course of the 
 evening; but at night it remained in the 
 hands of the French. 
 
 The next day was occupied in prepara- 
 tions ; and, by a kind of mutual consent, it 
 had been allowed to pass by without even 
 the discharge of a musket. Over each 
 army reigned a portentous calm, like that 
 which precedes great tempests. The French 
 passed the day in repose, and indulged in 
 cheerful discourse. Sustained by the love 
 of military glory, they felt no doubt but 
 that they were going to obtain a great 
 victory, and to enter Moscow with their 
 
 •3 L 
 
 invincible leader. Feelings of a far dif- 
 ferent kind prevailed in the Russian camp. 
 Gloomy, exasperated, resolved to fight to 
 the death, having no hope but in the 
 assistance of heaven and the saints, the 
 troops were on their knees in the midst of 
 a thousand flambeaux, before a miraculous 
 image of the Madonna of Smolensk — saved, 
 it was said, on the wings of angels from the 
 conflagration of that unfortunate city, and 
 now carried in procession by the Greek 
 priests through the bivouacs of the camp of 
 Borodino. At the same time. General 
 Kutusoff — who, so far from believing in the 
 miraculous image, scarcely believed in the 
 existence of the Deity — accompanied the 
 procession with his head uncovered, his 
 eyes fixed on the ground, and surrounded 
 by his staff. He afterwards issued a pro- 
 clamation to the soldiers, appealing to their 
 fanaticism, and abusing the French em- 
 peror, whom he called a reptile, and an 
 arch-rebel against all laws, both human and 
 divine. 
 
 Napoleon passed the night in a state of 
 sleepless anxiety, for he entertained appre- 
 hensions that his weak and famished sol- 
 diers might be physically unequal to sus- 
 tain the shock of encounter with their 
 furious enemies. He contemplated a fear- 
 ful struggle; and observed, that a great 
 day was at hand, and that the battle would 
 be a terrible one. During the whole night 
 he suffered much from illness. Fatigue, 
 care, and anxious expectation, had worn 
 him out. The chilliness of the atmosphere 
 had struck to him ; while fever, a dry cough, 
 and excessive thirst, distressed hira. 'He 
 also laboured under an attack of an old and 
 painful disorder, of a kind very depressing 
 to the spirits. At five in the morning he 
 mounted his horse, and advancing towards 
 the group of officers who waited his ap- 
 proach, took a survey of the Russian 
 position.' 
 
 The French army then with the emperor 
 consisted of 133,000 men, who brought into 
 the field 590 pieces of cannon. The Rus- 
 sian force was estimated at 132,000 men, 
 assisted by 640 pieces of artillery. Thus 
 the forces on each side were nearly equal ; 
 for although the French were superior in 
 discipline to the Russians, they were in a 
 far inferior physical condition. At six in 
 the morning the battle commenced by the 
 advance of the French columns, under Da- 
 voust, against the Russian left wing. They 
 were received with so severe a fire, that 
 
 441 
 
BATTLE OF BORODINO.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1812. 
 
 several of the French generals were killed, 
 and others wounded — a circumstance which 
 created some hesitation in their ranks. 
 They shortly rallied; and Kutusoff, seeing 
 that the left wing was in danger of giving 
 way before them, ordered up considerable 
 reinforcements to its support. 
 
 Marshal Ney then received orders to 
 support the left of Davoust, by attacking 
 the redans in that part of the enemy's line. 
 Ney's three divisions advanced to the charge, 
 preceded by 70 pieces of cannon, and en- 
 deavoured to take the heights of Semenow- 
 skoi, which became the principal object of 
 contention. After four hours passed in 
 sanguinary fighting, in which success had 
 favoured first one side and then the other, 
 Ney sent to the emperor and desired assist- 
 ance. Napoleon, perceiving that the Rus- 
 sians still retained the heights, resolved on 
 a grand attack. He therefore sent the 
 young guard, together with Murat and a 
 large body of his cavalry, to the support of 
 Davoust and Ney ; while 400 pieces of can- 
 non were brought to bear upon the redoubts. 
 Under cover of a tremendous fire from the 
 latter, immense columns of infantry and 
 cavalry advanced to the assault. A terrible 
 carnage took place, and continued for about 
 an hour, when the Russians were compelled 
 to retire from the contested heights ; which, 
 however, they did in good order. 
 
 During this time an obstinate conflict 
 was carried on in the centre, where the 
 Russians were driven from the village of 
 Borodino; but General Barclay de Tolly 
 and Prince Bagration succeeded in retaking 
 the great redoubt, which, on the evening of 
 the 5th, had fallen into the hands of the 
 French. Yet, after a murderous struggle, it 
 was again recaptured by the latter. During 
 the contest for this position, many distin- 
 guished French officers perished. As Murat 
 was speaking to General Galichet, a bullet 
 whistled between them. "Not a very safe 
 position this," said the fearless king, with a 
 smile. "But we will remain in it, never- 
 theless," was the intrepid reply. At the 
 same moment the Russian cuirassiers poured 
 down en masse, and the French division 
 had scarcely time to form into two squares, 
 connected by a line of artillery. Murat 
 took the command of one of them, and 
 Galichet of the other ; and during a quarter 
 of an hour they received, with the most 
 imperturbable coolness, the furious charges 
 of the Russian cavalry. 
 
 The Russian soldiers who had been 
 44^ 
 
 charged with the defence of the redoubt, 
 desperately refused quarter at the hands of 
 their assailants, and nearly all perished in 
 the assault. Trusting to profit by this 
 success. General Grouchy led his cavalry 
 against the chasseurs of the Russian guard, 
 who drove them back with severe loss. 
 This encouraged General Kutusoff" to make 
 a forward movement, with the hope of re- 
 occupying the ground on which his army 
 had stood, in the centre, at the beginning of 
 the action. Large bodies of Russian in- 
 fantry and cavalry advanced on this errand 
 under a fearful fire, which the French 
 directed upon them from the batteries they 
 had erected on the captured heights. By 
 several gallant charges, the Russians even 
 recaptured some of the redoubts from which 
 they had been driven ; but they were speedily 
 retaken ; and KutusoflF, wearied of exposing 
 his troops to a profitless butchery, at length 
 recalled them. 
 
 Still this terrible battle lasted until night, 
 by which time the Russians were everywhere 
 driven from their original position, but were 
 ranged in unbroken ranks in another to 
 the rear of it. During the day. Napoleon 
 showed an irresolution, which many of his 
 officers believed deprived him of the advan- 
 tages of a decided victory. Several portions 
 of the French reserve had been brought into 
 action; but the imperial guard, amounting 
 to 20,000 men, remained ia the rear. The 
 position of the Russians was such, that it 
 was presumed a final shock, directed against 
 them obliquely, might have thrown them 
 into disorder. But the French were ex- 
 hausted by the fatigue and carnage of the 
 day : the men could scarcely handle their 
 arms, or the cavalry remain upon their 
 horses; even the sabres were bent and 
 blunted by repeated strokes. Napoleon 
 saw that the contest could not be carried on 
 with men so unlike their usual selves ; and 
 he would not endanger his guard. " At a 
 distance of 800 leagues from France," said 
 he, "it would scarcely be wise to risk our 
 last remaining reserve." The French fell 
 back to the ground they had occupied before 
 the battle, and the sun sunk upon this 
 terrible scene of slaughter. 
 
 This fearful 7th of September is now 
 memorable as the date of the most gigantic 
 and sanguinary battle recorded in the annals 
 of modern history. The loss on each side 
 was frightful. Of the Russians, 15,000 
 were killed, and 30,000 wounded : amongst 
 the former was the brave soldier, Prince 
 
A.D. 1812.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE, [the Russians again retreat. 
 
 Bagration; while the latter included thirty 
 generals of distinction. Very few were 
 taken prisoners ; and it was by the number 
 of these that the French had been ac- 
 customed to judge of the extent of a victory. 
 They knew that a multitude of dead was 
 rather a proof of the courage of the enemy, 
 than an evidence of decided success. The 
 loss of the French can scarcely be regarded 
 as inferior to that of the foe whom they 
 claimed to have beaten. No less than 
 forty-three French generals were killed or 
 wounded ; while the total loss was 12,000 
 in killed and 38,000 wounded ! An awful 
 result ; the more so as the battle was not a 
 decisive one. The trophies of victory were 
 also nearly equal ; the French took thirteen 
 pieces of cannon from their enemies, who 
 also captured ten from them. 
 
 Murat exclaimed, " That in this great day 
 he had not recognised the genius of Na- 
 poleon !" Such was the common feeling 
 among the French generals; and at night 
 there were no manifestations of joy or 
 of enthusiasm. Throughout the day the 
 emperor had exhibited an unaccustomed 
 apathy, and remained so far from the 
 theatre of action, as to make the com- 
 munication of his orders tardy, and correct 
 observation difficult, if not impossible. 
 Illness, doubtless, had some share in pro- 
 ducing this result ; but Napoleon, knowing 
 by painful experience the obstinate valour 
 of the enemy, anticipated another great 
 battle before the walls of Moscow, and 
 would not, therefore, expose his troops to 
 further loss in this. " It was my duty," 
 said he, " to think of the general result of 
 the campaign; and it was for that I spared 
 my reserves." 
 
 General Kutusoff did not, however, ven- 
 ture another battle for the sake of saving 
 Moscow. On the day after the battle, the 
 Russians retired in good order to within 
 half a league of Moscow, and there held a 
 council of war. Some of the Russian gen- 
 erals were for risking another conflict for 
 the sake of saving the capital, the loss of 
 which, they contended, would spread con- 
 sternation throughout the empire. Kutusoff 
 and Barclay urged that the retreat should 
 be continued. The former observed — " Not- 
 withstanding the valour which my army 
 displayed at Borodino, I was obliged to 
 yield to numbers, and commence my retreat. 
 Since then the enemy has received numer- 
 ous reinforcements ; and at present I have 
 fewer chances of success than I had then. 
 
 Our dangers are increased by the proximity 
 of Moscow, where I should lose half my 
 army, if it was necessary, after a reverse, to 
 traverse the capital. On the other hand, 
 if we retire without combating, we must 
 abandon it ; a cruel sacrifice, it is true, but 
 not one which draws after it the destruction 
 of the empire. On the contrary, the enemy, 
 far removed from his resources, possessing 
 as his only communication the road from 
 Smolensk to Moscow; on the eve of ex- 
 periencing reverses on the Dwina by the 
 arrival of the armies of Moldavia and Fin- 
 land, will find himself in the most critical 
 position. The army is in a bad position, 
 and is inferior in numbers to the enemy. 
 Such were the losses which it sustained at 
 Borodino, that entire brigades are now com- 
 manded by field-officers, and regiments by 
 captains; consequently, the same precision 
 as heretofore in its movements is scarcely 
 to be expected. Everything, therefore, con- 
 spires to prove that we should be beat if we 
 fought a battle. The safety of the country 
 depends on the preservation of the army ; a 
 victory would not rid us of the enemy ; while 
 a disaster so near Moscow would occasion 
 its entire destruction." This reasoning pre- 
 vailed, and on the 14th of September the 
 Russian army continued its retreat, mourn- 
 fully defiling through the streets of " the 
 sacred city." 
 
 It has been conjectured that the Russian 
 general might have arrived at a different 
 conclusion, had he known the exhausted 
 and impoverished condition of the French, 
 deficient alike both in provisions and in 
 ammunition. On the morning of the 14th, 
 the advanced guard of the French army 
 came in sight of the domes and towers of 
 Moscow. Filled with hope, they shouted 
 with delight at the prospect of a termina- 
 tion of the sufferings they had undergone. 
 The sounds reached the ears of the em- 
 peror, who, hastening forward, exclaimed, 
 " Behold at last that famous city ! It was 
 full time." 
 
 Napoleon was, however, doomed to ex- 
 perience a bitter disappointment. Moscow 
 was found to be deserted. Murat and his 
 cavalry preceded the French army into 
 the city, as yet untouched, but inanimate. 
 '•' Struck with profound astonishment," ob- 
 sei*ves Segur, " at the sight of this complete 
 solitude, they replied to the taciturnity of 
 this modern Thebes by a silence equally 
 solemn. These warriors listened, with a 
 secret shuddering, to th{5 steps of their 
 
 443 
 
THE FREXCH ENTER MOSCOW.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1812. 
 
 horses resounding alone amid these deserted 
 palaces. They were astonished to hear 
 nothing but themselves amid such numer- j 
 ous habitations." On learning the news, 
 the emperor was incredulous, and he waited 
 in expectation of receiving a deputation 
 from the magistrates or chief nobles of the 
 city. At length he became convinced of 
 the ti nth; and on the 15th of September he 
 entered the city, and at first took up his 
 residence in a suburban palace. The silence 
 that reigned throughout the city was painful 
 to the French troops, who, however, took 
 possession of the houses, which they found 
 full of excellent provisions. The superior 
 officers were received at the gates of palaces 
 by servants in livery, eager to offer a bril- 
 liant hospitality. The owners of these man- 
 sions, unaware of the fate which awaited 
 the city, had taken great pains to procure 
 protectors for their rich dwellings, by re- 
 ceiving French officers into them. The 
 latter, after the privations they had so re- 
 cently experienced, welcomed with pleasure 
 the luxury, fraught with all those signs of 
 sensuousness which form so strange but fre- 
 quent a contrast with ardent, popular de- 
 votion, and savage military energy. 
 
 The emperor Alexander behaved with a 
 dignified patriotism on this occasion. After 
 the entrance of the enemy into the capital, 
 the czar issued an address to the empire, 
 
 which concluded with these spirited words : 
 " Let there be no pusillanimous depression ; 
 let us swear to redouble our courage and 
 perseverance. The enemy has entered de- 
 serted Moscow as into a tomb, without the 
 means either of ruling or subsistence. He 
 invaded Russia at the head of 300,000 men ; 
 half have perished from the sword, famine, 
 or desertion ; the other half are shut up in 
 the capital, bereft of everything. He is 
 in the centre of Russia, and not a Russian 
 has yielded to his power. Meanwhile our 
 forces increase, and surround him. He is 
 in the midst of a warlike people, whose 
 armies envelop him on every side : soon, to 
 escape from famine, he will be compelled to 
 cut his way through our brave battalioas. 
 Shall we, then, yield, when Europe is in 
 admiration at our exertions ? Let us show 
 ourselves worthy of giving her an example, 
 and bless the hand which has chosen us to 
 be the first of nations in the cause of free- 
 dom.* In the present miserable state of 
 the human race, what glory awaits the na- 
 tion which, after having patiently endured 
 all the evils of war, shall succeed, by the 
 force of courage and virtue, not only in re- 
 conquering its own rights, but in extending 
 the blessings of freedom to other states; 
 and even to those who have been made the 
 unwilling instruments of attempting its 
 subjugation V 
 
 CHAPTER LII. 
 
 CONFLAGRATION OP MOSCOW; NARROW ESCAPE OF NAPOLEON FROM THE KREMLIN; HE REMAINS AT 
 MOSCOW WITH THE EXPECTATION OF RECEIVING PROPOSALS OF PEACE FROM ALEXANDER; TALKS OF 
 MARCHING ON TO ST. PETERSBURG ; ALEXANDER REFUSES ALL NEGOTIATION; NAPOLEON ABANDONS 
 MOSCOW ; BATTLES BETWEKN THE FRENCH AND RUSSIANS ; RETREAT OF THE FRENCH BEFORE THE 
 ADVANCING ENEMY ; THE WINTER SETS IN SUDDENLY ; DREADFUL SUFFERINGS OF THE FRENCH ; THEIR 
 DEFEAT AT KRASNOI ; FEARFUL PASSAGE OF THE BEREZINA; NAPOLEON ABANDONS THE ARMY AND 
 RETURNS TO PARIS ; THE REMAINS OF THE GRAND ARMY REACH THE PRUSSIAN TERRITORY, AND ARE 
 TREATED WITH COMPASSION. 
 
 The French army at Moscow anticipated 
 either a speedy peace, as a result of its oc- 
 cupation of the capital of the enemy, or 
 good winter cantonments in case the* war 
 should be prolonged. These hopes were 
 
 • This is unfamiliar language when uttered by a 
 Russian czar ; but Alexander really meant the free- 
 dom of princes, not the freedom of peoples. Napoleon 
 was the oppressor of monarchs ; and the latter rising 
 444 
 
 doomed to be extinguished beneath a tragic 
 accumulation of disappointment and distress. 
 On the very day that the French entered 
 the city, a fire broke out in a building con- 
 taining vast quantities of spirits ; and before 
 
 against him, uttered gracious language to the sub- 
 jects on whose resources and energies they so 
 depended, and whom it was, therefore, necessary to 
 conciliate. 
 
o 
 
 
 s 
 
_•.«• • ft 
 
A.D. 1812. 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [conflagration of Moscow. 
 
 it was effectually extinguished^ another con 
 flagration burst forth in a collection of 
 buildings called the Bazaar, situated at no 
 great distance from the Kremlin. The sol- 
 diers were unable to prevent the destruction 
 of the Bazaar; but although a violent wind 
 prevailed, the fire did not extend further. 
 During the night, the Exchange was dis- 
 covered to be in flames, which the wind 
 carried to many neighbouring buildings. 
 It is said, that rockets were also seen in the 
 air, and some wretches seized in the act 
 of spreading the conflagration. Napoleon 
 ordered that military commissions should 
 be formed in each quarter of the city, for 
 the purpose of trying and executing all in- 
 cendiaries, and that all the available troops 
 should be employed in extinguishing the 
 flames. The following day the emperor 
 hastened to the spot ; and Marshal Mortier, 
 whom he had appointed governor of the 
 city, pointed out to him some houses closely 
 shut up, and uninjured from without, yet 
 from which a black smoke was already 
 issuing. Napoleon left the spot in a pensive 
 humour, and proceeded to the vast palace 
 of the Kremlin, to which he now removed 
 his head-quarters. 
 
 On the 16th, the emperor wrote a letter 
 containing proposals of peace to Alexander, 
 and dispatched it by a Russian officer who 
 was found in the great hospital. It re- 
 mained unanswered. Alexander had taken 
 his course, and resolved to defeat the enemy 
 by a kind of passive resistance. This night, 
 also, fires raged in diff'erent parts of Moscow, 
 and the city appeared to be in flames in 
 every direction. Napoleon was greatly 
 agitated. He rose frequently, paced to and 
 fro, and again sat down abruptly. Then 
 hastening to the window, he watched the 
 prpgress of the conflagration, at the same 
 time uttering such exclamations as, " What 
 a tremendous spectacle ! — It is their own 
 work ! — So many palaces ! — What extraor- 
 dinary resolution ! — What men ! — These are 
 indeed Scythians \" 
 
 Though the fire was still a considerable 
 distance from the emperor, as the river 
 Moskwa and an extensive vacant space was 
 between them, yet the panes of the windows 
 against which lie leaned, already felt hot to 
 the touch. At this moment, it was reported 
 that the Kremlin was undermined, and some 
 of the attendants of the emperor were beside 
 themselves with fear ; but he received the 
 information with a smile of incredulity. 
 The atmosphere, at length, became oppres- 
 
 sive from the thick smoke which filled it; 
 and several of his generals, including even 
 the fiery and fearless Murat, implored him 
 to remove from this scene of danger. It 
 was not until a shout arose that the Krem- 
 lin was on fire, that Napoleon yielded to 
 their entreaties. The tower of the arsenal 
 was in flames, and a Russian soldier of the 
 police had been found in it. The incendi- 
 ary was interrogated in the presence of the 
 emperor, and afterwards dispatched by the 
 enraged grenadiers with their bayonets. 
 
 Napoleon then yielded to necessity, and 
 abandoned the Kremlin, though not without 
 great danger of perishing in the flames by 
 which that vast collection of buildings was 
 besieged in every direction. By a narrow 
 passage the emperor, his officers, and his 
 guards made their escape. General Segur, 
 who was of the party, thus narrates the 
 incident : — " But what had they gained by 
 this movement? They had approached 
 nearer to the fire, and could neither retreat 
 nor remain where they were ; and how were 
 they to advance ? how force a passage 
 through the billows of this sea of flame? 
 Those who had traversed the city, stunned 
 by the tempest and blinded by the ashes, 
 could not find their way, since the streets 
 themselves were no longer distinguishable 
 amidst smoke and ruins. 
 
 " There was no time to be lost. The 
 roaring of the flames around us became 
 every moment more violent. A single, 
 narrow, winding street, completely on fire, 
 appeared to be rather the entrance than the 
 outlet to this hell. The emperor rushed 
 on foot, and without hesitation, into this 
 narrow passage. He advanced amid the 
 crackling of the flames, the crash of floors, 
 the fall of burning timbers, and of the red- 
 hot iron roofs which tumbled around him. 
 These ruins impeded his progress. The 
 flames, which, with impetuous roar, con- 
 sumed the edifices between which we were 
 proceeding, spreading beyond the walls, 
 were blown out by the wind, and formed an 
 arch over our heads. We walked on a 
 ground of fire, beneath a fiery sky, and 
 between two walls of fire. The intense 
 heat burned our eyes, which we were never- 
 theless obliged to keep open and fixed on 
 the danger. A consuming atmosphere, 
 glowing ashes, detached flames, parched 
 our throats, rendering our respiration short 
 and dry ; and we were already almost suf- 
 focated by the smoke. Our hands were 
 burnt, either in endeavouring to protect 
 
 445 
 
EXTINCTION OF THE FIRE.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1812. 
 
 our faces from the insupportable heat, or in 
 brushing oflP the sparks which every mo- 
 ment covered and penetrated our garments. 
 
 " In this inexpressible distress, and when 
 a rapid advance seemed to be our only 
 means of safety, our guide stopped in 
 uncertainty and agitation. Here would 
 probably have terminated our adventurous 
 career, had not some pillagers of the first 
 corps, recognising the emperor amidst the 
 whirling flames, ran up and guided him 
 towards the smoking ruins of a quarter 
 which had been reduced to ashes in the 
 morning/' 
 
 From this spot Napoleon arrived at Pe- 
 trowsky, where he passed the night in rumi- 
 nating on the terrible state of danger to which 
 his troops were exposed. The next morn- 
 ing (the 17th) he cast his first looks towards 
 Moscow, in the hope that the conflagration 
 had subsided. The whole city appeared 
 like a vast furnace, from which columns of 
 fire rose in whirling eddies to the sky. 
 For some time he observed a painful silence, 
 and then exclaimed — " This forebodes great 
 misfortunes to us V Moscow had been the 
 aim of all his hopes, and now it was no 
 more. Napoleon hesitated, and was unable 
 to decide what course was the best to pursue. 
 To preserve appearances he talked of march- 
 ing on to St. Petersburg ; but he well knew 
 that his troops were destitute of all the 
 requisites for so extensive an excursion. 
 
 The fire ceased on the 20th of September. 
 About two-thirds of the city had been con- 
 sumed; but the Kremlin had escaped the 
 flames, and the emperor resolved on return- 
 ing to it. " The camps which he traversed 
 on his way thither presented an extraor- 
 dinary sight. In the fields, amidst thick 
 and cold mud, large fires were kept up with 
 mahogany furniture, windows, and gilded 
 doors. Around these fires, on a litter of 
 damp straw, imperfectly sheltered by a few 
 boards, were seen the soldiers and their 
 ofl&cers, splashed all over with mud, and 
 blackened with smoke, seated in arm-chairs, 
 or reclined on silken couches. At their 
 feet were spread or heaped. Cashmere shawls, 
 the rarest furs of Siberia, the gold stuffs of 
 Persia, and silver dishes, ofl" which they had 
 nothing to eat but a black dough, baked 
 in the ashes, and half-broiled and bloody 
 horseflesh. Singular assemblage of abun- 
 dance and want, of riches and filth, of 
 luxury and wretchedness I Between the 
 camp and the city were met troops of sol- 
 diers dragging along their booty, or driving 
 446 
 
 before them, like beasts of burden, Musco- 
 vites bending under the weight of the 
 pillage of their capital ; for the fire brought 
 to view nearly 20,000 inhabitants, pre- 
 viously unobserved in that immense city. 
 Some of these Muscovites, of both sexes, 
 w£re well dressed ; they were tradespeople. 
 They came with the wreck of their property 
 to seek refuge at our fires. They lived 
 pell-mell with our soldiers, protected by 
 some, and tolerated, or rather scarcely re- 
 marked, by others.* 
 
 What remained of Moscow was aban- 
 doned to pillage ; for recent events had so 
 disorganised the French soldiers, that it was 
 found impossible to restrain them. They 
 were frequently seen seated on bales of 
 merchandise, or heaps of sugar and coff'ee ; 
 amidst wines and the most exquisite 
 liqueurs, which they were ofi'ering in ex- 
 change for a morsel of bread. Such was 
 the state of things when the emperor re- 
 entered Moscow and returned to the Krem- 
 lin. He issued strict orders with the object 
 of restoring order, but he was unable to 
 effectually accomplish so desirable a result. 
 The destruction of Moscow was publicly 
 attributed, by the Russian authorities, to 
 the French, and used as a fresh means of 
 exciting hatred against them. It is, how- 
 ever, and without doubt correctly, attri- 
 buted to Count Rostopchin, the governor of 
 the city. He was denounced in Napoleon's 
 bulletins as having kindled the conflagra- 
 tion by means of 300 incendiaries, who set 
 fire to the city in as many places simulta- 
 neously. Rostopchin never acknowledged 
 the act ; and in the year 1823, published a 
 pamphlet on the subject, altogether denying 
 that he was the author of it ; but without 
 altering the decided conviction of Europe 
 upon the subject. General Buturlin, the 
 Russian historian of the campaign, in a 
 subsequent edition of his work, remarks — 
 " It is ungenerous to disbelieve a man who 
 would thus voluntarily despoil himself of 
 the glory of a civic crown ; but, on the other 
 hand, information the most positive leaves 
 no room in the author's mind to doubt that 
 the fire of Moscow was prepared and ex- 
 ecuted by the Russian authorities;" i.e., by 
 the governor of the city. 
 
 Several days passed on, and Napoleon 
 waited in expectation of proposals of peace 
 and submission from Alexander. The latter 
 did not make any reply to the letter sent to 
 him; and the French emperor at length 
 • General Count S6gur. 
 
A.D. 1813.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE, [napoleon abandons Moscow. 
 
 became exasperated. On the 3rd of Octo- 
 ber, he summoned his marshals, and pro- 
 posed to them to burn the remainder of 
 Moscow, and then to march on to St. Peters- 
 burg ; but their expostulations induced him 
 to forego so desperate an enterprise. It is 
 probable that he did not himself seriously 
 contemplate it; for he sent his aide-de- 
 camp, Count Lauriston, to the Russian 
 camp, to propose an armistice and obtain a 
 safe-conduct to St. Petersburg. " I want 
 peace,'' said the emperor to the count ; " I 
 must have peace; I absolutely will have 
 peace ; only save my honour \" 
 
 General Kutusoff informed Lauriston, 
 that to grant him a safe-conduct to St. Pe- 
 tersburg exceeded his powers ; but he sent 
 the letter from Napoleon to Alexander, and 
 oflFered an armistice until the return of the 
 messenger. During the continuance of the 
 truce, some of the Cossack chiefs asked the 
 French officers, " If they had not, in their 
 own country, corn enough, air enough, 
 graves enough; in short, room enough to 
 live and die ? Why, then, did they come so 
 far from home to throw away their lives, 
 and to fatten a foreign soil with their 
 - blood ?" The armistice was badly observed 
 by the Russians; and Kutusoff's only object 
 in granting it was to gain time till the 
 winter set in, and the retreat of the French 
 became impossible, or utterly ruinous. 
 Some weeks elapsed before an answer came 
 from the emperor Alexander. It was ad- 
 dressed to Kutusoff, and contained an abso- 
 lute command to " admit of no negotiation 
 whatever, or relation tending toward peace 
 with the enemy." 
 
 The weather had been remarkably fine; 
 but, on the 13th of October, a fall of snow 
 gave the first indication of winter. On the 
 17th the Russians assumed offensive opera- 
 tions. The advanced guard of the French 
 army — consisting of 30,000 men, commanded 
 by Murat, and posted in the neighbourhood of 
 Winkoroo — was attacked by a Russian force 
 under General Benningsen. The French 
 were taken by surprise, and sustained a de- 
 feat. Murat was wounded; two generals 
 killed ; besides the loss of three or four thou- 
 sand men. They also lost thirty-eight pieces 
 of cannon, and all their ammunition and 
 baggage-waggons. In fact, it was with great 
 difficulty that they were able to effect their 
 retreat, which they did in much disorder. 
 This incident aroused Napoleon from his 
 apathy, and he resolved on the abandon- 
 ment of Moscow. " Let us march upon 
 
 Kaluga," said he, "and woe be to those 
 whom I meet with by the way \" 
 
 The emperor commenced his march from 
 Moscow on the 19th of October, at the head 
 of more than 100,000 soldiers : only 12,000 
 sick were left behind; for the rest, at Moscow, 
 had promoted the recovery of the remainder. 
 Yet Napoleon perceived with pain that his 
 cavalry and artillery might be said rather to 
 crawl than to march. The army was fol- 
 lowed by a train of carriages and vehicles of 
 every kind, loaded with trophies and the 
 plunder which the soldiers had accumulated. 
 Some Russian girls also voluntarily accom- 
 panied their seducers ; and many of the pea- 
 sants, who had been taken prisoners, were 
 compelled to carry or drive the booty of their 
 captors. Some of the host of camp-followers 
 were even wheeling along barrows filled with 
 whatever they could remove, unconscious, in 
 their greediness, that they must necessarily 
 abandon them in the course of the march. 
 
 General Kutusoff, on hearing of the re- 
 treat of the French from Moscow, marched 
 towards Malo-Jaroslawitz, with the hope of 
 being able to intercept their passage. On 
 the 24th, a battle took place at this town, 
 between the advanced guards of the two 
 armies. Each side desired to gain possession 
 of the town, which had been set on fire, and 
 was, while burning, taken and retaken no 
 less than seven times. The French at 
 length remained in possession of it; but 
 their victory was purchased with the loss of 
 3,000 men in killed and wounded. That 
 of the Russians amounted to about 8,000. 
 During the action, Kutusoff had established 
 himself in such a position as to preclude 
 the possibility of a farther advance towards 
 Kaluga without a general battle. 
 
 Such was the strength of the Russian 
 position, that Marshal Bessieres, who had 
 been sent by the emperor to reconnoitre, 
 pronounced it to be unassailable. No alter- 
 native, therefore, remained but to fall back 
 on the road to Smolensk — a movement which 
 so much resembled retreat in the face of an 
 enemy, that the contemplation of it plunged 
 Napoleon into a state of irritable melancholy. 
 On the morning of the 25th, he sat up him- 
 self to examine the ground, and narrowly 
 escaped being taken prisoner by a body of 
 Cossacks. The emperor agreed with Bes- 
 sieres, that an attempt to force the Russian 
 position would be too hazardous ; and, on 
 his return, he held a council as to the course 
 to be pursued. Murat recommended an 
 attack ; and said, that with the remnant of 
 
 447 
 
HE RETIRES BEFORE THE FOE."! HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1813. 
 
 his cavalry, and that of the guard, he 
 would reopen the road to Kaluga at the 
 point of the sword. Bessieres urged, that a 
 retreat had become unavoidably necessary. 
 Napoleon sadly and unwillingly acquiesced. 
 "Hardihood has had its day," said he; 
 "we have already done too much for glory; 
 nothing remains to be thought of but the 
 safety of the army." Segur relates, that this 
 decision cost the emperor so much pain, that, 
 in the inward struggle which it occasioned, 
 he lost the use of his senses. 
 
 Orders were issued for the retreat of the 
 army to Smolensk, by Borowsk and Mojaisk ; 
 and, at dawn of the 26th of October, Napo- 
 leon, for the first time in his life, retired in 
 the open field from his enemies. At the 
 same time Kutusoflf, dismayed by the first 
 movement of the French, and fearing to 
 risk a battle, abandoned Kaluga. These 
 well-matched combatants retired from each 
 other out of mutual awe. Before the entire 
 evacuation of Moscow by the French, Napo- 
 leon ordered the Kremlin to be blown up. 
 General Mortier, to whom this task was 
 committed, caused barrels of gunpowder to 
 be placed in all the halls of the palace of 
 the czars, and 183,000 pounds under the 
 vaults which supported them. The explosion 
 was tremendous, and much of that mighty 
 pile of buildings was shattered into ruinous 
 heaps. 
 
 Dejection prevailed throughout the French 
 army. After some days' marching they 
 came in sight of a devastated plain, on which 
 30,000 half-devoured corpses, and a number 
 of skeletons, were mingled with fragments 
 of helmets and cuirasses, broken drums, 
 gun-stocks, tatters of uniforms, and blood- 
 stained standards. A sense of horror ran 
 through the spectators as they murmured, 
 " It is the field of the great battle \" It was, 
 indeed, the terrible plain of Borodino ; and 
 there, furrowed by cannon-balls, stood the 
 great redoubt, looking like an extinguished 
 and destroyed volcano. The troops hurried 
 on, merely turning their faces to take a last 
 melancholy look at the hideous golgotha, 
 where so many of their companions had been 
 so uselessly sacrificed. Napoleon, harassed 
 by the number of unnecessary persons who 
 accompanied his retreating troops, caused 
 2,000 Russian prisoners to be marched on 
 before, and then massacred. His troops 
 were astonished ; and some of his generals 
 murmured at this atrocity; the rest of 
 the unfortunates were abandoned, and left 
 to perish. This barbarity resulted from the 
 448 
 
 indifference exhibited by the Russian autho- 
 rities for the lives of their soldiers, in reject- 
 ing all proposals of an exchange of prisoners. 
 General Kutusoff, on being informed of 
 the retreat of the enemy, moved in pursuit 
 on a line parallel to the road they occupied. 
 The French were at first allowed to retire 
 without molestation ; and Napoleon trusted 
 that he had got so far in advance of Ku- 
 tusoff, as to secure an uninterrupted retreat. 
 By the 2nd of November, the emperor had 
 reached Wiazma. But the rear-guard of 
 the French, under Davoust, on approaching 
 that town on the 3rd, found the road occu- 
 pied by the advanced guard of the Russians, 
 under General Milaradowitch ;* while Count 
 Platoff and a large body of Cossacks pressed 
 upon their rear. A furious engagement 
 took place, and lasted nearly the whole day. 
 It terminated with the retreat of the French 
 in disorder, after a loss of 6,000 men; 
 2,000 of whom were made prisoners. The 
 baggage of the French, and several pieces of 
 artillery, also fell into the hands of the 
 enemy. 
 
 The weather, though cold at night, had 
 been generally very favourable by day. 
 On the 6th of November, the terrible Rus- 
 sian winter set in. The army marched 
 through semi-darkness, occasioned by cold 
 and penetrating fog. Then came a snow- 
 storm, so heavy that it seemed as if the very 
 sky was falling ; and a tempest of wind, which 
 howled through the forests and over the 
 plains with resistless fury. The snow drifted 
 into every hollow and ditch ; and the deceit- 
 ful surface, yielding to the tread of the 
 straggling soldiers, engulphed those who 
 fell ; and, from their debility, generally soon 
 found a winding-sheet and a grave in this 
 snowy wilderness. " Those who followed, 
 turned aside ; but the storm driving into 
 their faces the snow that was descending 
 from the sky and that which it raised from 
 the ground, seemed bent on opposing their 
 progress. It penetrated through their gar- 
 ments, and soddened their torn shoes and 
 boots. Their wet clothes froze upon their 
 bodies ; an icy envelope encased them, and 
 stiffened all their limbs. A keen and vio- 
 lent wind interrupted respiration ; it seized 
 their breath at the moment when they ex- 
 haled it, and converted it into icicles, which 
 hung from their beards all round their 
 mouths. The uufortunate creatures still 
 
 * Milaradowitch, from his impetuosity and his 
 love of fighting, was denominated by the French, 
 the Eussian Murat. 
 
OS THE VASILJ OSTHOIT -NUAR 1!ETE31SBDB.0 . 
 
 'I':}; LONr;0f -niL. 1 ixiG 
 
 Awu i'l'!M:,IS.I!iN'G COMl'ANY^.LlMrTEb 
 
TMl SEHJlSCffl ®F VASEM ISILA(SrE??M®E - M(!3)SC(n)W, 
 
 THE LOirDO"N PlLUITiNO AFT) ' PTTHLISlt lUG COMPAN y_ .LIMJ.T£D 
 
A.D. 
 
 1812.] 
 
 EUSSIAN EMPIRE. [horrors of the retreat. 
 
 crawled on, shivering, till the snow, gather- 
 ing like balls under their feet, or the frag- 
 ment of some broken article, a branch of a 
 tree, or the body of one of their comrades, 
 caused them to stumble and to fall. There 
 they groaned in vain ; the snow soon 
 covered them ; slight hillocks marked the 
 spot where they lay : such was their only 
 grave ! The road was studded with these 
 undulations, like a cemetery. The most in- 
 trepid and the most indifferent were af- 
 fected ; they passed on quickly with averted 
 looks. But before them, around them, 
 there was nothing but snow. This immense 
 and dreary uniformity extended further 
 than the eye could reach ; the imagination 
 was astounded ; it was like a vast winding- 
 sheet, which nature had thrown over the 
 army. The only objects not enveloped by 
 it were some gloomy pines — trees of the 
 tombs, with their funereal verdure, the mo- 
 tionless aspect of their gigantic, black 
 trunks, and their dismal look, which com- 
 pleted the doleful appearance of a general 
 mourning, and of an army dying amidst a 
 nature already dead."* 
 
 Many of the soldiers dropped, or threw 
 away their arms ; while the fingers of others 
 were frozen to the muskets they still held. 
 Numbers left their ranks and wandered over 
 the country in hope of finding shelter for the 
 coming night; but they either fell into the 
 hands of the Cossacks or were massacred by 
 the peasantry, who, in some cases, stript 
 them naked, and left them to expire in the 
 snow. The night, of sixteen hours' dura- 
 tion, was passed by the army in misery 
 which baffles description. The pine-branches, 
 laden with frost, could scarcely be kindled ; 
 and the fires, when lighted, were not unfre- 
 quently extinguished by the snow. The 
 repasts of the soldiers consisted of the half- 
 cooked flesh of lean horses, killed in conse- 
 quence of exhaustion, and a few spoonfuls of 
 rye-flour mixed with water. The next 
 morning, the bivouacs were marked by cir- 
 cular ranges of soldiers lying dead on the 
 frozen ground, while around lay the bodies 
 of several thousand horses. The eff'ect of 
 these horrors on the minds of the army 
 was terrible ; a gloomy despondency fell on 
 the men, and neglect of discipline spread 
 rapidly. A dreadful selfishness entered into 
 almost every bosom, and the men snatched 
 the cloaks from their fallen comrades, to 
 warm their own shivering limbs. Those 
 who first got round the fires at night fiercely 
 * Segur. 
 3m 
 
 repelled their less fortunate comrades, who 
 strove to share in the warmth; and saw 
 them sink down and die with indiff'erence. 
 Nearly every one seemed engrossed in pro- 
 viding for his own safety ; and in this gen- 
 eral extinction of sympathy, the fate of 
 others remained unheeded. Some brave 
 and firm men there were, however, who still 
 bore up with heroic endurance, and strove 
 to preserve their customary serenity amidst 
 the fearful scenes which surrounded them. 
 
 The horrors of famine were soon added to 
 the sufferings of the retreating French. 
 Horseflesh became the sole means of sub- 
 sistence to the great body of the troops; 
 and when one of these wretched creatures 
 fell by the wayside, a group of starving men 
 seized upon it and shared its remains amongst 
 them. By degrees the army assumed the 
 appearance of a hideous mass of stragglers, 
 arrayed in fur cloaks or finery found at 
 Moscow, or stript from the dead who had 
 perished by the way. As to the emperor, 
 he, throughout the retreat, remained grave, 
 silent, and resigned, concealing his mental 
 suffering, and presenting the appearance of 
 a great mind struggling with adversity. At 
 this period it was that he received intelli- 
 gence of General Malet's conspiracy against 
 him at Paris, and his whole thoughts were 
 bent on reaching the French capital. 
 
 The army arrived at Smolensk between 
 the 9th and the 13th of November, strag- 
 gling into the town in a wretched manner. 
 Such was the rush for food, that it required 
 the most strenuous efforts of the troops who 
 had been left there, to prevent the new- 
 comers from murdering one another at the 
 doors of the magazines. Napoleon had 
 made great exertions to provide supplies of 
 provisions along his line of retreat ; but a 
 series of calamities had prevented his efforts 
 from being adequate to the immense de- 
 mand upon them. On the 14th, the empe- 
 ror and the French army quitted Smolensk, 
 marching in gloomy silence. Napoleon had 
 hastened his departure, in consequence of 
 the reverses experienced by detachments of 
 the French army, under Murat and Marshal 
 St. Cyr, in engagements with the Russians. 
 At the same time, the Russian general, 
 Kutusoff, with the object of arresting the 
 further retreat of the French, and compel- 
 ling them to surrender, directed his march 
 upon the village of Krasnoi. On the 16th, 
 17th, and 18th, engagements took place on 
 this spot and in the neighbourhood. The 
 Russians were, in all, both the assailants and 
 
 449 
 
PASSAGE OF THE BEREZINA.] 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.i>. 1812. 
 
 the victors. The result of these battles M'as 
 a loss to the French of 10,000 men killed 
 or drowned, and 26,000 taken prisoners; 
 amongst whom were 300 officers ; 116 pieces 
 of cannon were also captured. This terrible 
 blow was inflicted by the Russians with the 
 loss of only 2,000 men to themselves. Na- 
 poleon and a part of his army escaped ; but 
 the troops who followed him were reduced 
 to 10,000 weakened combatants, and twice 
 that number of stragglers. But for the 
 caution of the Russian commander, it is 
 probable that the French army might have 
 been utterly annihilated. 
 
 The latter continued their dismal retreat, 
 but in a state of terrible disorganisation. 
 Napoleon, sm- rounded by a body of officers, 
 ■who still preserved some appearance of 
 regularity, marched on foot, with a birch 
 staff in his hand, to avoid falling ou the ice- 
 bound roads. He would, doubtless, have 
 perislied amidst the appalling confusion by 
 which he was surrounded, but for the 
 incessant devotion of the officers near his 
 person. His rear divisions had to sustain 
 repeated attacks from the Russians, espe- 
 cially from the flying bodies of Cossacks; 
 but the frost and the snow, and the fierce 
 blasts of night which swept over those vast 
 open plains, killed more than either sword or 
 spear, bullets or bayonets. The wretched 
 soldiers perished like rotten sheep; and when 
 Napoleon arrived at Gresa, in Lithuania, he 
 had only 12,000 men with arms in their 
 hands, and his 40,000 horses had dwindled 
 down to 3,000 starved and miserable animals. 
 He was affected by the painful condition of 
 his troops. " These poor soldiers rend my 
 heart," said he ; " I cannot, however, give 
 them relief," 
 
 In this state the emperor and his skeleton 
 army reached the banks of the Berezina, 
 where he was joined by a corps of reserve 
 of nearly 50,000 men, under Marshals Victor 
 and Oudinot, who had been left behind in 
 his advance upon Moscow. This seasonable 
 rehef saved Napoleon from destruction, and 
 he once more found himself at the head of 
 a tolerably numerous force. But fortune 
 BO longer smiled upon him with any con- 
 stancy, and these reinforcements were soon 
 terribly thiuned by the enemy. On reach- 
 ing Borrisow, a town on the banks of the 
 Berezina, the French found every passage 
 occupied by the Russians, whose main army, 
 trader Kutusoff, was also approaching. The 
 brave Marshal Ney observed to his brother- 
 officers — " Our situation is unparalleled. If 
 450 
 
 Napoleon extricate himself to day, he must 
 have the devil in him." Murat proposed 
 to the emperor to save himself and cross 
 the river at some leagues' distance ; adding, 
 that he had some Poles who would answer 
 for his safety, and conduct him to Wilna. 
 To this proposal Napoleon would not listen ; 
 and though fully aware of his dangerous 
 position, he resolved to make an effort to 
 delude the enemy. After gazing upon the 
 thickening clouds of Russians who covered 
 the opposite bank of the river and filled the 
 neighbouring woods and marshes, he gave 
 orders to make a false attack further down 
 the stream. 
 
 This stratagem succeeded. The Russians 
 filed off in pursuit, and their columns were 
 lost in the woods. Napoleon instantly 
 ordered bridges to be constructed, and 
 defended with cannon. His orders were 
 obeyed ; but the Russians, discovering their 
 mistake, speedily returned and opened a 
 destructive cannonade, which swept the 
 French lines, and did terrible execution 
 upon them. Galled by this murderous fire, 
 the troops, in their eagerness to gain the 
 opposite shore, lost all consideration for the 
 condition of their comrades. The feeble 
 and the wounded were overthrown, and 
 ruthlessly trampled to death. There had 
 been time only to erect two narrow bridges 
 across the river ; the widest of which would 
 scarcely admit of the passage of a gun- 
 carriage. This frail structure, crowded to 
 excess with fugitives pushing madly forward 
 to escape from the fire of the Russian artil- 
 lery, and heavily laden with ordnance and 
 ammunition-waggons, at length gave way, 
 and sank with a tremendous crash. The 
 air was rent with the hideous yells of those 
 crushed by the falling cannon, with the 
 piercing shrieks of women, and the dismal 
 groans of the wounded, as they were pre- 
 cipitated into the half-frozen current, where 
 they met an untimely grave. So loud were 
 the distracted cries of these miserable 
 victims, that the thunder of the artillery 
 was almost drowned by their frantic impor- 
 tunity for that help which it was impossible 
 for them to obtain. The remaining bridge 
 presented a scene of horror scarcely less 
 terrible. In the struggle to obtain a footing 
 on this, now the only path, thousands were 
 thrust into the stream, as well as mowed 
 down by the incessant showers of grapeshot 
 directed against them by the Russians. 
 Amidst all this carnage, the divisions of 
 ]\Iarshais Ney and Victor, stationed to pro- 
 
I 
 
 
 i ^ 
 
 ? -I 
 
 © 
 
 •^ .§ 
 
 
A.D. 1812.] 
 
 "RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [result of the invasion. 
 
 tect the passage of the troops, fought bravely 
 against a much superior force, and steatlily 
 maintained their ground until late in the 
 evening. Then, after having suffered a 
 severe loss, they made good their retreat 
 over the bridge, and set it on fire in order to 
 cut off pursuit. The measure was, doubtless, 
 a necessary one, but it involved the aban- 
 donment of a great number of wounded 
 soldiers and camp attendants, who were left 
 to their fate; together with a quantity of 
 Isaggage and cannon. This fatal passage 
 had cost Napoleon about one- half of his 
 reinforced army. According to the Russian 
 accounts, when the river was cleared from 
 the ice in the following spring, not less 
 than 36,000 dead bodies were taken from 
 its bed. 
 
 Napoleon and the skeleton of the " grand 
 army," contrived to evade their Russian 
 pursuers. Continually harassed by bodies 
 of Cossacks, who hung on his rear and 
 hovered on both his flanks, the emperor ran 
 imminent hazard of capture. On the 3rd 
 of December he arrived at Malodezno, from 
 whence he issued the famous twenty-ninth 
 bulletin, which agitated or astounded the 
 whole of Europe. The emperor felt that 
 j&ction was no longer available, and he told 
 the whole truth in all its sternness ; frankly 
 confessing that, except the guards, he had 
 no longer an army. On the 5th he arrived 
 at Smorgoni, where he took leave of his 
 generals, left the command of the army, 
 such as it was, to Murat, and set off in a 
 sledge to Paris, accompanied by Marshal 
 Caulaincourt, whose name he assumed 
 during the journey. After pausing at 
 "Warsaw and at Dresden, he reached the 
 palace of the Tuileries on the night of the 
 18th of December. Notwithstanding the 
 fearful calamities of which, his ambition had 
 been the cause, he was received by the 
 people with enthusiasm. The disastrous 
 results of the campaign, and the sacrifice of 
 so many thousand Frenchmen, seemed 
 forgotten in the reflection that the emperor 
 was safe. 
 
 The army left under the command of 
 Murat after the flight of Napoleon, mustered, 
 including the garrison of Wilna and the 
 division by which it was joined after the 
 passage of the Berezina, about 80,000 men. 
 The suff'erings endured by these wretched 
 creatures were of the most harrowing 
 
 • In all, 450,000 men. Alison estimates the loss 
 of the P"rench at 550,000 men : he says, that out of 
 the 600,000 French soldiers who entered Russia, not 
 
 descrijjtion. They perished by thousands, 
 from want and the extreme severity of the 
 weather. So destitute was their condition, 
 that at Wilna, when rations were distributed 
 from the magazines there, veteran soldiers 
 were seen to shed tears of joy at the sight 
 of a loaf of bread. After eagerly devouring 
 it, many fell asleep, and died during their 
 slumbers, from the effects of cold. 
 
 The French were attacked at Wilna, and, 
 after a vain attempt at defence, compelled 
 to continue their retreat, leaving in the 
 hospitals there about 17,000 dead and dying 
 men. The miserable remains of the French 
 array, once more dragging their weary limbs 
 along the interminable roads, were literally 
 hunted by PlatofF and his Cossacks, whose 
 spears dispatched all poor wretches who 
 lagged behind from exhaustion. Many of 
 the unhappy soldiers lost their senses, from 
 the effect of the horrors of their situation. 
 At length the Russians gave up the pursuit, 
 and the ghastly fragments of the "grand 
 army" entered the Prussian territory, and 
 took up their quarters at Konigsberg, where 
 they were received with feelings of compas- 
 sion by the inhabitants. The loss of the 
 French and their auxiliaries in this awful 
 campaign, is estimated by Boutourlin at 
 125,000 killed, 132,000 dead of fatigue, 
 hunger, disease, and cold, and 193,000 
 prisoners, including 3,000 officers and 48 
 generals.* They also left behind 900 pieces 
 of cannon, and 25,000 waggons. The Rus- 
 sians state their own loss to have amounted 
 to 230,000 men ; comprising 130,000 soldiers 
 killed in battle, and 100,000 persons who 
 perished in the woods, in consequence of the 
 burning of Moscow and other places. This 
 is supposed to be below the truth. Remark- 
 able as it may appear, the Russians suffered 
 more from the cold than the French J 
 amongst the ranks of the latter, the survivors 
 were chiefly Italians, or Frenchmen of the 
 provinces to the south of the Loire. 
 
 The Austrian and Prussian contingents 
 had rendered but little assistance to Napo- 
 leon; and, during the retreat, they took the 
 first opportunity to desert him. The Prus- 
 sian general York, whose duty it was to have 
 covered the retreat of the French army, on 
 being closely pressed by his pursuers, 
 suddenly made a truce with his Russian 
 opponent. General Diebitsch ; and a few days 
 afterwards they concluded the convention of 
 
 more than 32,000 escaped from it. The remainder 
 of the survivors, amounting, in all, to 85,000 men, 
 were Austrians and Prussians. 
 
 451 
 
RETALIATION OF RUSSIA.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1813. 
 
 Posarum, by which all hostilities between 
 the Russians and the Prussians ceased ; and 
 the latter continued their retreat to their 
 own country unmolested. The Austrians, 
 
 also, were permitted to retire unassailed, 
 and immediately afterwards resumed a 
 questionable neutrality, which leant more 
 towards Russia than to France. 
 
 CHAPTER LIII. 
 
 RUSSIA AND PRUSSIA TAKE THE FIELD AGAINST NAPOLEON; PROFITLESS VICTORIES OF THE LATTER; AUS- 
 TRIA JOINS THE ALLIES; CAMPAIGN OF 1813; THE ALLIES INVADE FRANCE; REVERSES OF NAPOLEON; 
 HIS MISTAKEN MARCH TOWARDS THE RHINE ; ADVANCE OF THE ALLIES ON PARIS ; BATTLE BEFORE THE 
 CITY ; CAPITULATION OF PARIS, AND ITS OCCUPATION BY THE ALLIES ; GENEROUS BEARING OF THE EM- 
 PEROR ALEXANDER ; A PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT DECLARE NAPOLEON DETHRONED ; RESTORATION OF 
 THE BOURBONS, AND DEPARTURE OF NAPOLEON FOR ELBA ; PEACE BETWEEN FRANCE AND THE ALLIES ; 
 ALEXANDER VISITS ENGLAND, AND IS RECEIVED WITH ENTHUSIASM. 
 
 Russia now prepared to retaliate on the foe 
 who had inflicted upon her so much calamity. 
 On the 22nd of February, 1813, Alexander 
 issued a proclamation, in which he endea- 
 voured to excite the whole of Europe against 
 Napoleon. This document observed — " We 
 take advantage of our victories to extend 
 the hand of succour to the oppressed 
 nations. The moment is come : never was 
 a more glorious opportunity presented to 
 unfortunate Germany — the enemy flies, 
 without courage and without hope. He 
 astonishes, by his terror, the nations that 
 were wont to be astonished by his pride and 
 his barbarity. We speak with the frankness 
 which is suitable to strength. Russia, and 
 England her intrepid ally, who for twenty 
 years has continued shaking that colossus 
 of crime which threatens the universe, have 
 no thought of their own aggrandisement. 
 It is our benefits, and not the limits of our 
 empire, that we wish to extend to the 
 remotest nations. The destinies of Vesu- 
 vius and of Guadiana, have been determined 
 on the banks of the Borysthenes; it is 
 thence that Spain will recover the liberty 
 that she has defended with heroism and 
 energy in an age of feebleness and baseness." 
 Prussia had not only deserted Napoleon 
 in the campaign, but she had thrown off" the 
 mask — entered into an alliance with Russia, 
 and declared herself hostile towards her 
 former oppressor. The French emperor 
 prepared for the approaching contest with 
 his customary self-reliance. He appealed 
 to the senate, who voted a conscription of 
 350,000 men ; and such was the enthusiasm 
 of the principal cities of France, that in 
 addition to these immense levies, thev voted 
 452 
 
 regiments of volunteers, to be raised and 
 equipped at their own expense. 
 
 Alexander endeavoured to induce Austria 
 to enter with him into a European alliance 
 against France ; but Austria held aloof from 
 this extremity, and off'ered her mediation, 
 with a view of putting an end to the calami- 
 ties which were desolating Europe. Shortly 
 afterwards, however, the Austrian cabinet 
 made a secret convention with Russia, which 
 evinced its inclination in favour of that 
 power. 
 
 Towards the end of March, an allied army, 
 consisting of 80,000 Russians and 60,000 
 Prussians, crossed the Elbe, near Witten- 
 burg and Dresden. General Kutusoflf, worn 
 out by the fatigues of the last campaign, was 
 no more ; and the emperor Alexander himself 
 assumed the chief command of his army. 
 To oppose them. Napoleon led an army of 
 250,000 men to Saxony: of these troops, 
 however, nearly a fourth part were Germans 
 of Saxony, Westphalia, or Bavaria, whose 
 fidelity was at the least doubtful; while 
 those who came from France were young 
 and inexperienced, for the veteran soldiers 
 had mostly perished. On the 2nd of May, 
 the battle of Liitzen took place ; in which, 
 after a furious contest, the allies were de- 
 feated with a loss of 15,000 men. The 
 victory of the French was, however, by no 
 means a decisive one, and was purchased at 
 a loss equal to that of their enemies. The 
 latter retreated on the following morning to 
 Dresden, from whence they proceeded to a 
 strongly-intrenched position which had been 
 prepared at Bautzen. There they were 
 followed by Napoleon ; and a second battle 
 took place, extending over the 20th and 
 
A.D. 
 
 1813.] 
 
 BUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [EUROPE IN ARMS. 
 
 21st of May. After an obstinately-disputed 
 conflict, the allies again retreated. They 
 had now adopted the policy of not placing 
 themselves in danger of undergoing a total 
 defeat, but of retiring whenever the issue of 
 an action seemed doubtful, and taking 
 advantage of their numerous cavalry to 
 cover their retreat, trusting that, in the end, 
 the superiority of their physical resources 
 would obtain for them the advantage. In 
 consequence of the carnage occasioned by 
 the Prussian artillery, the loss of the victors 
 exceeded that of the allies : that of the 
 latter, in killed and wounded, is estimated at 
 16,000 men; that of the French at 19,000. 
 Alexander, though unfortunate in his as- 
 sumption of the duties of a general, yet 
 performed them with a courage and coolness 
 which elicited admiration. 
 
 The allies were driven again to retreat 
 before the French. Diffident of their power 
 to contend successfully with Napoleon, 
 imless assisted by Austria, they grasped at 
 the offer of an armistice which the French 
 emperor proposed, with the hope of regaining 
 his influence over Alexander. It was con- 
 cluded at Plesswitz, in Silesia, on the 4th of 
 June. This was an error on the part of 
 Napoleon, and eventually proved of more 
 advantage to Alexander than a victoiy ; for 
 during the continuance of it, Austria, pro- 
 Toked by the undiminished obstinacy and 
 haughtiness of Napoleon (who peremptorily 
 rejected the main condition of definitive 
 peace),* was prevailed on to join the alliance 
 against him; and when, on the 17th of Au- 
 gust, the armistice expired, the forces of the 
 allies, swelled also by the adhesion of Bava- 
 ria and Wirtemburg, amounted to more 
 than half a million of men. Of this enor- 
 mous host, Alexander was ambitious to take 
 the chief command ; but finding that Austria 
 was unwilling to consent, from distrust of 
 his military talents, he surrendered his claim 
 in favour of the Austrian prince, Schwart- 
 zcnberg. 
 
 Russia, Austria, Prussia, and Sweden, had 
 entered into a league against Napoleon; 
 while England was carrying on the war 
 against him in Spain, and subsidizing Rus- 
 sia, Prussia, and Sweden. In fact, Europe 
 was in arms against France ; Denmark only 
 declared in his favour. The resources of 
 France were now inadequate to the tremen- 
 dous struggle which such an accumulation of 
 power threatened. To narrate the particu- 
 
 • Namely, to give up all his conquests in Germany, 
 and to withdraw with his troops beyond the Khine. 
 
 lars of this campaign would lead us far 
 beyond our limits ; we can only refer to its 
 chief incidents and its result. On the 26th 
 and 27th of August, Napoleon gained a 
 great victory over the allies at Dresden, in 
 which the latter lost 40,000 men in killed, 
 wounded, and prisoners ; 40 pair of colours, 
 and 60 pieces of cannon. This good fortune 
 did not continue; and the French army 
 having advanced upon Bohemia, was de- 
 feated at Kulm by the Russians, and at 
 Mullendorf by the Prussian general, Kleist. 
 Upon this the hopes of Napoleon were 
 blighted by one defeat after another; and 
 in the battles of Grossbeeren, Dennewitz, 
 Katzbach, Gorde, and many others, the 
 Prussians, under the brave Blucher, restored 
 the honour of their arms, and reduced Na- j 
 poleon to a most critical position in the | 
 neighbourhood of Leipzig. Such was the | 
 activity of Blucher, that he obtained the | 
 name of "Marshal Forwards;" as he was , 
 constantly advancing, and almost as con- 
 stantly fighting. Napoleon's armies lost 
 strength and ground on every side, and his 
 German allies began to forsake him. He, 
 however, determined to make a final stand 
 at Leipzig. There he fought three succes- 
 sive battles, on the 16th, iSth, and 19th of 
 October, against an immensely superior 
 force. During the first two days of action, 
 the French fought gallantly, but lost ground 
 before their assailants. On the 18th, a body 
 of 10,000 Saxons, raising the patriotic shout 
 for Germany, deserted the French and went 
 over to the allies. This defection induced 
 Napoleon to resolve on effecting a retreat 
 towards the Rhine. He made his arrange- | 
 ments during the night. On the morning 
 of the 19th, his army filed out of Leipzig by : 
 a long narrow bridge. During this operation 
 they were attacked by the allies, who, after 
 a desperate struggle, burst into the town. 
 As the French blew up the bridge to prevent 
 the allies from pursuing, 25,000 Frenchmen, 
 who remained in the town, were compelled 
 to surrender as prisoners of war. Napoleon 
 himself narrowly escaped a similar fate. 
 The horrors of the passage of the Berezina, 
 though on a smaller scale, were renewed. 
 Multitudes, in their attempt to cross the 
 deep but rapid stream, were drowned, or 
 perished beneath the fire of the enemy. 
 The remnant of the French army fled 
 towards the Rhine, and was compelled to 
 fight its way, at Hanau, through the Bava- 
 rians, its late allies. The passage of the 
 Rhine was effected by Napoleon on the 2nd 
 
 453 
 
THE ALLIES INVADE FRANCE.] HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1814. 
 
 of November J but sugh had been the 
 disasters of the campaign and the retreat, 
 that out of an army of 350,000 men, which 
 he led into the field in the month of May, 
 only seventy or eighty thousand recrossed 
 that river. Leaving this force on the left 
 bank, the emperor hastened to Paris. About 
 80,000 men, whom he had left to hold the 
 Prussian fortresses, eventually surrendered 
 to the allies. 
 
 Frederic William advised his allies to 
 carry out their retaliation on Napoleon by 
 an invasion of France ; but, for some time, 
 a contrary opinion prevailed at head-quar- 
 ters, and nearly two months were passed 
 in inactivity. The emperor of Austria, 
 naturally solicitous that the sceptre of 
 France should remain in the hands of his 
 daughter and her descendants, was averse 
 to the adoption of extreme measures against 
 Napoleon, and desired only to humble him 
 sufficiently as to render him no longer for- 
 midable to his neighbours. At length it was 
 resolved that no lasting peace could be ex- 
 pected in Europe until the entire dethrone- 
 ment of Napoleon, and the restoration of 
 the ancient territorial limits of France and 
 its ancient race of monarchs. The Russian 
 troops were delighted at the idea of pro- 
 ceeding to Paris ; and they resolved to give 
 that city to the flames, in revenge for the 
 destruction of Moscow. Alexander, to his 
 honour, restrained this savage spirit. On 
 the eve of crossing the Rhine, he issued an 
 address to his troops, in which he said — 
 " Our enemies, by piercing to the heart of 
 our dominions, wrought us much evil; but 
 dreadful was the retribution : the Divine 
 wrath crushed them. Let us not take 
 example from them ; inhumanity and fero- 
 city cannot be pleasing in the eyes of a 
 merciful God. Let us forget what they 
 have done against us. Instead of animosity 
 and revenge, let us approach them with the 
 words of kindness, with the outstretched 
 hand of reconciliation. Such is the lesson 
 taught by our holy faith. Divine lips have 
 pronounced the command — * Love your 
 enemies ; do good to them that hate you.' 
 Warriors ! I trust that, by your modera- 
 tion in the enemy's country, you will 
 conquer as much, by generosity as by arms ; 
 and that, uniting the valour of the soldier 
 against the armed, with the charity of the 
 Christian towards the unarmed, you will 
 crown your exploits by keeping stainless 
 your well-earned reputation of a brave and 
 moral people." 
 454 
 
 On the 31st of December, 1813, the allied 
 army of Russia, Prussia, and Austria, crossed 
 the Rhine. Napoleon, with undiminished 
 spirit, instantly prepared to meet the in- 
 vaders. On the 25th of Janiiary, 1814, he 
 embraced his wife and son, whom he never 
 saw again, and left the palace of the Tuile- 
 ries for the army, the head-quarters of 
 which were established at Chalons. His 
 presence imparted both confidence and 
 enthusiasm to his troops, amounting, not- 
 withstanding his activity, to no more than 
 70,000 men, who had been dismayed at 
 the approach of the enemy, and the re- 
 treat to which they had been driven. He 
 now commenced the campaign which 
 has been considered by tacticians as that 
 in which he most strikingly displayed his 
 astonishing genius for military combina- 
 tions, fertility of resources, and quickness 
 of movement. During it, a conference of 
 the representatives of France and the allies 
 was held at Chatillon, with the object of 
 arranging a peace ; but hostilities were 
 actively carried on pending its delibera- 
 tions. The offers of the allies ^ere not 
 unreasonable j but Napoleon abated no- 
 thing of his haughty bearing, and broke up 
 the congress, rather than surrender Antwerp 
 and Mantua. 
 
 The events of the campaign were at first 
 favourable to Napoleon, and he inflicted 
 many severe checks on the allies. For 
 more than two months he held at bay the 
 various armies of the allies — now defeating 
 one, then flying to attack another, at times 
 suffering severe reverses himself, yet almost 
 instantly recovering his strength. The 
 courage and genius of the emperor appeared 
 as if capable of effecting miracles. The 
 chances of war were, however, fearfully 
 against him, and the numerical superiority 
 of his enemies overwhelming. At the battle 
 of Craone he experienced a tremendous 
 loss ; while at Laon he suffered a severe 
 defeat. Paris was in an alarming situa- 
 tion ; for, in consequence of a diversion 
 produced by Blucher, the road to it was 
 left open to Schwartzenberg. Napoleon, 
 self-possessed among the many dangers that 
 environed him, marched against the army 
 of the Austrian general, which he encoun- 
 tered at Arcis-sur-Aube. The battle was 
 an indecisive one, and Napoleon retreated 
 towards the Rhine; thus abandoning the 
 defence of Paris. His object was to threaten 
 the communications of the enemy, and to 
 draw near to the garrisons of the frontier. 
 
A.D. 1814.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [the advance on PARIS. 
 
 from which those supplies of veteran troops 
 could be obtained which were no longer to 
 be found in the heart of France. He 
 trusted, by this means, to threaten the com- 
 munications of the allies in such a manner 
 as would deter them from advancing further 
 in the direction of the capital. The French 
 troops were greatly discouraged at this 
 retrograde step : murmurs arose ; and many 
 of the officers questioned even the sanity 
 of their leader. They were plunging into 
 an endless warfare, and directing their 
 steps towards Germany ; while the capital of 
 their country, containing all that was dear 
 to them, was in danger of becoming the 
 prey of the enemy. 
 
 The allies, also, were astonished at this 
 movement ; and no sooner had it taken place, 
 than, b)' a junction of part of Blucher's army 
 with that of Schwartzenberg, no less than 
 180,000 armed men stood between Napo- 
 leon and Paris. At the same time the allied 
 generals received intelligence of the occupa- 
 tion of Bordeaux by the Britisli troops, and 
 the proclamation of Louis XVIII. with the 
 general concurrence of the inhabitants. 
 Alexander called a council of war, in which 
 the prevalent opinion leaned towards pur- 
 suing the French emperor, and attacking 
 him wherever they should find him. This 
 was, however, abandoned in favour of a 
 proposition to march on to Paris, of Avhich, 
 it was presumed, they could take possession, 
 and destroy Napoleon's power there before 
 he could get back to its relief — a decision 
 which excited an extraordinary enthusiasm 
 throughout the allied army, and elicited the 
 unbounded exultation of the Russians. 
 
 As the allies advanced, they were encoun- 
 tered by the French forces under Marshals 
 Marmont and Mortier, whom they defeated 
 at the battle of Fere-Charapenoise. In 
 this and some other combats the French 
 lost half their artillery, and nearly 11,000 
 men. Marmont and Mortier immediately 
 retreated towards Paris, the defence of 
 which now devolved on them alone. The 
 allied army continued its advance. " My 
 children," said Alexander to his soldiers, 
 "it is now but a step to Paris.'' With 
 enthusiastic cheers they responded, " We 
 will take it, father ; we remember Moscow." 
 Contrary to what might have been expected, 
 the Russian emperor exerted himself to the 
 utmost to preserve a strict discipline 
 amongst his troops ; and with so much 
 success, that the terrified French peasantry 
 were protected from outrage and plunder. 
 
 As the allied array approached Paris, the 
 greatest agitation prevailed within that city. 
 Crowds of trembling peasants beset the bar- 
 riers ; the banks were closed, business sus- 
 pended, and the inhabitants hastened to 
 bury their plate and other valuables. In 
 compliance with a conditional order from 
 Napoleon, the empress and her son left 
 the capital, and proceeded to Blois, a city 
 seated on the waters of the Loire. Maria 
 Louisa was calm, though pale ; but the 
 little king of Rome resisted violently, and 
 exclaimed, with tears, that they were be- 
 traying his papa. The hearts of the people 
 sunk at their departure ; and notwithstand- 
 ing the preparations for defence, the general 
 conviction was, that nothing remained but 
 to make the best terms that could be ob- 
 tained from the enemy. 
 
 Before the allies could enter Paris, they 
 had again to encounter the French troops 
 under Marshals Marmont and Mortier. 
 These occupied the front of the army 
 gathered for the defence of the city, and 
 were backed by such battalions of the 
 national guards as could be spared from 
 the internal defences of the city. The 
 scholars of the Polytechnic school also 
 came forward as volunteers, to serve the 
 artillery. In all, not more than 35,000 men 
 took part in the defence ; but they were 
 supported by 153 pieces of cannon. The 
 veteran soldiers, though firm, and prepared 
 to lay down their lives for their country, 
 were yet sad ; for they knew the enemy 
 they had to encounter, and felt that the 
 coming struggle would be in vain. Of the 
 allied troops, 100,000 were ready for the 
 attack ; the remainder being left behind, at 
 the Marne and at other places, to keep an 
 eye on the movements of Napoleon. The 
 battle took place on the 30th of March, 
 and the resistance of the French was an 
 intrepid one. The struggle commenced soon 
 after five in the morning; and, for a time, 
 the Russians were repulsed, and their cuiras- 
 siers routed. At eight, the emperor Alex- 
 ander arrived on the field, and ordered up 
 three divisions of the guards, who restored 
 the battle, and drove back the French. At 
 eleven the Prussian army approached, and 
 a vigorous attack was made by the allies, 
 who were received at the point of the 
 bayonet ; while the Russian guards were 
 mowed down by the French artillery. The 
 carnage was terrible; and persons unused 
 to war were seen contending with the 
 veterans of Russia. For four hours the 
 
 455 
 
rHE ALLIES ENTER PARIS.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1814. 
 
 French maintained their position against 
 the constantly-increasing masses and reite- 
 rated attacks of the Prussians. The heights 
 which command Paris were then stormed, 
 and at length taken ; when Joseph Buona- 
 parte, to save the inhabitants from the 
 horrors of a bombardment, entered into a 
 capitulation with the allies. The latter 
 assented to the demands of the French 
 marshals — that Paris should be protected^ 
 its monuments intrusted to the care of the 
 national guard, and private property re- 
 spected. It was proposed that the French 
 generals and the regular troops should 
 surrender as pi'isoners of war ; but this 
 they resolutely refused, declaring that they 
 would sooner renew the struggle, and perish 
 in the streets. It was therefore finally 
 arranged that they should evacuate Paris; 
 that the public arsenals and magazines 
 should be surrendered ; that the national 
 guard should be either disbanded or em- 
 ployed, under the direction of the allies, in 
 the service of the city ; which was recom- 
 mended to the generosity of the victors. 
 In the battle, the allies lost upwards of 
 9,000 men, of whom 7,100 were Russians. 
 The loss of the French did not exceed 
 4,500 : they had surrendered their capital, 
 it is true ; but only to the forces of banded 
 Europe. 
 
 A deputation, consisting of the mayor 
 and principal magistrates of Paris, waited 
 on the emperor Alexander, and were re- 
 ceived by him with great courtesy. " Gentle- 
 men," said he, " I am not the enemy of the 
 French nation : I am so only of a single 
 man, whom I once admired, and long loved ; 
 but who, devoured by ambition and filled 
 with bad faith, came into the heart of my 
 dominions, and left me no alternative but 
 to seek security for my future safety in the 
 liberation of Europe. The allied sovereigns 
 have come here, neither to conquer nor to 
 rule France, but to learn and support what 
 France itself deems most suitable for its 
 own welfare; and they only await, before 
 undertaking the task, to ascertain, in the 
 declared wish of Paris, the probable desire 
 of France." 
 
 The day after the battle, the allied sove- 
 reigns, preceded by a great military force, 
 entered Paris. The spectacle was a grand 
 one ; and the terror of the Parisians gave 
 way to admiration. Alexander and Fred- 
 eric William had issued a pacific proclama- 
 tion; and the former was received with a 
 gratitude which amounted to enthusiasm. 
 456 
 
 Cries of " Vive VEmpereur Alexandre !" 
 " Vive le Roi de Prusse !" burst from the 
 crowd. " We have been long expecting 
 you," said one unpatriotic sycophant to 
 the czar ; who generously answered — " We 
 should have been here sooner, but for the 
 bravery of your troops." Subsequently, 
 Alexander gave an order for the release of 
 all the French prisoners of war confined in 
 Russia. 
 
 When Napoleon heard of the attack on 
 Paris, he hurriedly fell back to its relief; 
 but it was too late. Near Fontainebleau he 
 met the columns of the garrison, which 
 were evacuating the city. He had learned 
 the news with rage and incredulity. " It is 
 too dreadful !" he exclaimed : " that comes 
 of trusting cowards and fools ! When I 
 am not there, they do nothing but heap up 
 blunder on blunder." At Paris, a provi- 
 sional government, which had been estab- 
 lished, with Talleyrand at its head, passed a 
 decree dethroning the emperor, and ab- 
 solving the army and people from their 
 oaths of allegiance to him. Then arose 
 the question. Who should rule France? 
 " Sire," said Talleyrand to the emperor 
 Alexander, " there are but two courses open 
 to us : Buonaparte, or Louis XVIII." Na- 
 poleon at first refused to abdicate ; but at 
 length consented to do so in favour of his 
 son. The generals by whom he was sur- 
 rounded at Fontainebleau, had assured him 
 that he ought to do so, having previously re- 
 fused to joi^ him in a last desperate attempt 
 upon Paris. The work of defection had com- 
 menced, and Marmont joined the allies with 
 the French troops who had so bravely de- 
 fended Paris. Other desertions followed; 
 and even the brave Marshal Ney abandoned 
 his master, and gave in his adhesion to the 
 party of Talleyrand. It did not escape 
 the observation of the autocrats who now 
 held the fate of France in their hands, that 
 the recognition of Maria Louisa as regent, 
 and the infant Napoleon as heir, would be a 
 continuation of the revolutionary regime, 
 and they therefore decided in favour of the 
 Bourbons. Indeed, so great a reaction had 
 been produced by the suff'erings to which 
 the reckless ambition of Napoleon exposed 
 the nation, that the proposed restoration of 
 the Bourbons to the throne actually became 
 popular. After a violent explosion of pas- 
 sion, the emperor signed an absolute and 
 unqualified resignation of the throne. This 
 document was signed on the 11th of April. 
 It was arranged, that Napoleon was to 
 
A.D. 1814.1 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE, [restoration of tiie bourbons. 
 
 retain the barren title of emperor. The 
 island of Elba was assigned him as a place 
 of residence ; and a sum of 2,500,000 francs 
 a-year provided for his support. Before 
 the conclusion of this treaty, he was de- 
 serted by nearly all the persons of dis- 
 tinction who had formerly thronged around 
 him, and made to feel the bitterness of 
 ingratitude, and the littleness of human 
 nature. He took an affectionate leave of 
 the few generals who remained faithful to 
 hira, and of his old guard. "I bid you 
 farewell," said he ; "I am satisfied with 
 you ; for twenty years I have always found 
 you in the path of glory. All Europe has 
 armed against me ; part of the troops have 
 betrayed their duty ; France herself has 
 deserted me, by choosing another dynasty ; 
 with my soldiers I might have maintained 
 a servile war for years ; that, however, 
 would have rendered France unhappy. Be 
 faithful to the new sovereign whom your 
 country has chosen ; do not lament my 
 fate ; I shall always be happy with the 
 knowledge that you are so. I might have 
 died — nothing was more easy — but I shall 
 always follow the path of honour ; with my 
 pen will I record the exploits we have 
 achieved together. Farewell my brave 
 companions — surround me once more — 
 adieu, my children, farewell." He then 
 departed for Elba, where he arrived on the 
 4th of May. During the voyage he re- 
 covered his spirits, and observed — "The 
 Bourbons will be turned off in six months." 
 Before the end of May, his first wife, Jose- 
 phine, breathed her last. Maria Louisa 
 had been persuaded to abandon him, and 
 place herself and her son under the protec- 
 tion of her father, the emperor of Austria. 
 
 On the 7th of April the Comte d'Artois 
 was called to the throne of France, with the 
 title of Louis XVIII. " Nothing is changed ; 
 there is only one Frenchman the more in 
 Paris," he observed, as he entered that 
 citj on the 3rd of May, where he was 
 received rather with apathy and a sense of 
 humiliation, than with any ardent demon- 
 strations of loyalty. A ti-eaty of peace was 
 signed on the 30th, by the plenipotentiaries 
 of France on one hand, and those of Russia, 
 Prussia, and England on the other. This, 
 at one blow, swept away all the conquests of 
 the Revolution, and reduced France to its 
 
 original limits as they stood on the 1st of 
 January, 1792. 
 
 The emperor Alexander and the king of 
 Prussia left Paris on the 5th of June, and 
 proceeded to England, which they had 
 been invited to visit by the prince-regent. 
 They were conveyed from Boulogne to 
 Dover in an English ship of war, com- 
 manded by the Duke of Clarence; and 
 remained for about three weeks in this 
 country, where they met with an enthu- 
 siastic reception from all classes. Amongst 
 the great number of princes and generals 
 by whom they were attended, the most 
 popular with the English people was the 
 brave old Marshal Blucher, and Count 
 Platoff, the hetman of the Cossacks. The 
 emperor and king were entertained with 
 unexampled magnificence by the citizens of 
 London, at Guildhall; and Alexander was 
 invested, at Carlton House, with the order 
 of the Garter. At Oxford^ academical 
 honours were bestowed on the allied sove- 
 reigns ; while at Portsmouth, a splendid 
 naval review was got up for their entertain- 
 ment. On visiting the arsenal at Wool- 
 wich, Alexander was so impressed by the 
 enormous amount of stores in that military 
 emporium, that he exclaimed — " Why, this 
 resembles rather the preparation of a great 
 nation for the commencement of a war, 
 than the stores still remaining to it at its 
 termination." From England Alexander 
 proceeded to Holland, where he visited the 
 cottage which Peter the Great had lived 
 in while working as a ship's carpenter at 
 Saardam. Thence, after a short stay, 
 Alexander proceeded to Carlsruhe. On the 
 25th of July he arrived at St. Petersburg, 
 where his appearance was greeted by illumi- 
 nations and other testimonies of national 
 joy. The synod and the senate decreed 
 him the title of " Blagoslovennuiy," or 
 " Blessed," which, however, he declined to 
 accept ; while to a pi'oposal for erecting a 
 monument to commemorate his exploits, he 
 replied — " I beg the public bodies of the 
 empire to abandon all such designs. May 
 a monument be erected to me in your 
 hearts, as it is to you in mine ! May my 
 people bless me in their hearts, as in mine I 
 bless them ! May Russia be happy, and 
 may the Divine blessing watch over her and 
 over me!" 
 
 3 N 
 
 457 
 
CONGRESS OF VIENNA.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1814. 
 
 CHAPTER LIV. 
 
 CONGRESS OF THE SOVEREIGNS OF EUROPE AT VIENNA; NAPOLEON LEAVES ELBA, AND THE BOURBON 
 SOVEREIGN TAKES TO FLIGHT; THE ALLIES PROSCRIBE HIM AS A GENER\L ENEMY; ENGLAND AND 
 PRUSSLi TAKE THE FIELD AGAINST HIM; "WATERLOO, AND THE FINAL OVERTHROW OF NAPOLEON; 
 PARIS AGAIN CAPITULATES, AND LOUIS XVIII. IS A SECOND TIME RESTORED ; THE SECOND TREATY OF 
 PARIS ; ALEXANDER FOUNDS THE " HOLY ALLIANCE ;" HE ESTABLISHES A CONSTITUTION FOR POLAND ; 
 HE REFUSES TO ASSIST THE GREEKS IX THEIR STRUGGLE AGAINST THE OPPRESSION OF TURKEY ; DF^- 
 POTIC CONDUCT OF ALEXANDER DURING THE LATTER YKARS OF HIS LIFE ; HIS INQUISITORLAL SEVERITY 
 "WITH RESPECT TO EDUCATION ; HIS DREAD OF CONSPIRACY AND ASSASSINATION ; HIS DEATH ; ESTIMATE 
 OF HIS CHARACTER. 
 
 A CONGRESS of the sovereigns of Europe 
 commenced its deliberations at Vienna, at 
 the close of the year 1814. The emperor 
 Alexander and the king of Prussia attended 
 in person, as did also a number of lesser 
 princes. France was represented by M. Tal- 
 leyrand, and England at first by Lord Castle- 
 reagh, and subsequently by the Duke of 
 Wellington. The principal business to be 
 transacted by the congress, was the redistri- 
 bution of the numerous provinces surren- 
 dered by France at the peace of Paris. So 
 extensive had been the conquests of France, 
 that territories inhabited by no less than 
 31,691,000 persons, were at the disposal of 
 the allies. The greatest difficulty was with 
 respect to Poland; for Alexander insisted 
 that the whole grand-duchy of Warsaw 
 should be ceded to Russia, as an indemnity 
 for the sacrifices she had made, and the 
 losses she had sustained during the war. 
 He asserted, that if he returned to St. Peters- 
 burg without obtaining some adequate com- 
 pensation for the sacrifices his nation had 
 undergone, he would jeopardise the safety 
 of his crown ; alluded to the circumstance 
 that Poland was already, in fact, occupied by 
 the Russian troops ; and hinted that he had 
 not less than 300,000 troops rea(^ to march 
 at a moment's notice. It was thus seen, 
 that his scrupulous regard to justice, existed 
 only when his own empire was threatened. 
 Now that the danger was past, he was quite 
 ready to seize the territory of his neighbours 
 "with as much greediness, though with more 
 caution, as had ever been displayed by Na- 
 poleon. 
 
 Prussia, bribed by a hope that her domin- 
 ions should be restored to her as they stood 
 at the commencement of the war of 1806, 
 together " with such additions as might be 
 deemed practicable," supported the claim of 
 Alexander, which was opposed by France, 
 Austria, and England. On behalf of the 
 latter power, Lord Castlereagh energetically 
 458 
 
 opposed the union of the crowns of Poland 
 and Russia on the same head, or the pro- 
 posed annexation of Saxony to Prussia, as 
 contrary to the principles on which the war 
 against Napoleon had been maintained. 
 The arguments of the British plenipoten- 
 tiary were strenuously supported by those of 
 Talleyrand and Metternich. Alexander 
 was iri'itated at this opposition, and dissen- 
 sions arose to such a height, that another 
 appeal to arms became probable, in which 
 France and Austria, sanctioned by England, 
 would have entered into an alliance against 
 Russia and Prussia. Alexander suspended 
 the return of his troops to Russia, and kept 
 them in Poland ready for the resumption o* 
 hostilities. His brother, the Grand-duke 
 Constantine, also issued an address to the 
 Poles, announcing the intention of the czar 
 to restore to them their lost nationality, 
 and calling upon them to rally round his 
 standard as the only means of effecting it. 
 
 The ambition of Alexander raised up a 
 counteracting influence. Austria, France, 
 and England, entered into a secret treaty ot 
 alliance, offensive and defensive, binding 
 themselves to act together, honourably to 
 carry into effect the stipulations of the 
 treaty of Paris. Alexander and Frederic 
 William did not long remain in ignorance 
 of this proceeding, which induced them to 
 lower the high tone they had assumed, and 
 consent to an abatement of their preten- 
 sions. Prussia was compelled to content 
 herself with but a portion of the territory of 
 Saxony, which she acquired in addition to a 
 part of the grand-duchy of Warsaw, and the 
 whole of her territory as it stood prior to 
 the battle of Jena. 
 
 Before the allies had settled their disputes, 
 they were startled by the inteUigence that 
 Napoleon had left Elba. The restored 
 Bourbon sovereign had disgusted the people 
 I of France ; a conspiracy was formed against 
 the impotent Louis XVIII. ; and the exiled 
 
A.D. 1815.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [return of n.-lpoleon. 
 
 emperor secretly invited to retm'n. After 
 an abseuce of about ten months, he left 
 Elba, and landed at Cannes on the 1st of 
 March, 1815, with about 1,000 men of his 
 old guard, who had followed him into 
 banishment. Wherever he appeared the 
 army declared in his favour, and his march 
 to Paris was a triumphal progress. The 
 allies immediately signed a proclamation, 
 which proscribed Napoleon as a public 
 enemy, with whom neither peace nor truce 
 could be concluded ; and expressed their 
 determination to employ the whole forces at 
 their disposal, to prevent Europe from being 
 again plunged into the abyss of revolution. 
 The alarm thus excited by the common 
 enemy, led to a settlement of the disputes 
 between the allies themselves. Alexander 
 agreed to accept of the grand-duchy of 
 Warsaw, without the fortress of Thorn and 
 its dependent territory, and with the excep- 
 tion of that portion ceded to Prussia. He 
 also consented that Poland should not be 
 incorporated with Russia, but should form a 
 separate kingdom, preserving its own laws, 
 institutions, language, and religion. 
 
 Louis XVIII. abandoned Paris at mid- 
 night on the 19th of March, and retired 
 again into exile. On the evening of the 
 20th Napoleon arrived at the Tuileries, 
 where he was received by a great number 
 of his supporters with extraordinary enthu- 
 siasm. Still the great body of the citizens 
 looked on with silent astonishment, and 
 it soon became apparent that the emperor 
 was recalled by a party and not by a nation. 
 The people, longing for repose, feared the 
 return of the hordes of Russia to ravage 
 their fields and reoccupy their capital. The 
 royalists of the south even took to arms in 
 defence of the Bourbon cause ; but this 
 attempt to light up the flames of servile war 
 happily proved abortive. The authority of the 
 emperor would soon have been re-established 
 in France, but for the overwhelming external 
 opposition which was gathering its forces 
 against him. Russia, Prussia, Austria, and 
 England, each agreed to furnish 180,000 
 men to effect his overthrow. During this 
 eventful year, Great Britain paid subsidies 
 to her almost bankrupt allies, amounting to 
 no less than £11,000,000. 
 
 Napoleon endeavoured, but in vain, to 
 open a diplomatic intercourse with the allies. 
 The emperor Alexander, who had hitherto 
 been influenced by the remains of a kindly 
 feeling towards him, was now the most 
 decided of his opponents. "We can have 
 
 no peace,'' said he to a secret agent of Na- 
 poleon ; " it is a mortal duel betwixt us ; he 
 has broken his word. I am freed from my 
 engagement; Europe requires an example." 
 Na{)oleon had probably expected this result, 
 and he taxed the resources of his almost 
 exhausted empire to the uttermost to prepare 
 for war. At a great fe.te held in the Champ 
 de Mai, he addressed to the people one of 
 his spirit-stirring orations, in which he said — 
 " Frenchmen ! in traversing, amid the public 
 joy, the different provinces of my empire 
 to arrive in my capital, I trusted I could 
 reckon on a long peace ; nations are bound 
 by treaties concluded by their governments, 
 whatever they may be. My whole thoughts 
 were then turned to the means of founding 
 our liberty on a constitution resting on the 
 wishes and interests of the people. There- 
 fore it is that I have convoked the assembly 
 of the Champ de Mai. I soon learned, 
 however, that the princes who resist all 
 popular rights, and disregard the wishes and 
 interests of so many nations, were resolved 
 on war." 
 
 On the 12th of June, Napoleon left Paris 
 to assume the command of the army, which 
 consisted of 122,000 men. Wellington with 
 80,000 men, and Blucher with 110,000, were 
 in the field against him. Napolfeon's de- 
 sign was to prevent the junction of these 
 forces, and defeat them singly. While 
 Wellington and Blucher were dreaming of 
 an offensive campaign against him, they 
 were suddenly called upon to defend them- 
 selves against the vigorous movements of 
 Napoleon. On the 15th of June, he ad- 
 vanced upon Charleroi, which the Prussian 
 troops, taken by surprise, abandoned at his 
 approach. Marshal Ney, with 50,000 men, 
 was dispatched by the emperor to Quatre 
 Bras, the possession of which by the French 
 would have probably cut off the communi- 
 cation between the British and Prussian 
 armies. Napoleon himself followed the 
 Prussian army, which was falling back to- 
 wards Ligny. On the 16th, Napoleon 
 attacked Blucher there, defeated him with 
 a loss of 12,000 men, and drove him to 
 retreat in great confusion towards Wavres. 
 On the same day a severe encounter, 
 though on a less extensive scale, took place 
 between Wellington and Ney at Quatre 
 Bras, the combatants numbering about 
 20,000 on each side. The misconduct of 
 the Belgian troops had nearly led to a 
 defeat of the allies; but the day was, to 
 some extent, retrieved bv the valour of the 
 
 459 
 
WATERLOO AND ITS BESULTS.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1815. 
 
 British troops ; and the forces, at this point, 
 under the command of Wellington, after 
 suffering a severe loss, retained possession 
 of the field. 
 
 WelUngton, however, deemed it expe- 
 dient to retreat to Waterloo, where he 
 trusted to be so near Blucher, that they 
 might be able to assist each other iu case of 
 attack. As yet, the results of the campaign 
 had been eminently favourable to Napo- 
 leon, who followed closely on the heels of 
 Wellington; while 30,000 French, under 
 Grouchy, pursued the Prussians. On the 
 18th, however, the great contest was 
 brought to a final issue on the plains of 
 Waterloo. This great battle has been 
 often and most vividly described ; its result 
 is all that concerns us here, as the troops of 
 Russia had no part in it. On witnessing 
 the final overthrow of the old guard. 
 Napoleon became pale as death, and, with 
 an exclamation of despair, retreated from 
 the field, in order to save himself from 
 capture. The day terminated with the 
 total rout of the French and their wild 
 retreat, with the Prussian cavalry thunder- 
 ing at their heels. The French army was, 
 in effect, destroyed; and few of the soldiers 
 who fled from the fatal field of Waterloo, 
 ever appeared in arms again. Thus was 
 closed a war, or rather a succession of wars, 
 which, commencing in 1792, had lasted, 
 with but little interruption, for three-and- 
 twenty years. 
 
 At the demand of the house of repre- 
 sentatives. Napoleon again signed his abdi- 
 cation, and the former trusted that they 
 would be able to restore a republic in 
 France. It was not to be; Wellington 
 and Blucher, at the head of their respective 
 armies, were advancing rapidly upon Paris, 
 which city was not in a condition to hold 
 out against them. On the 3rd of July the 
 city again capitulated, on the conditions 
 that the French army should evacuate it, 
 and that private property should be re- 
 spected. On the 7th, the English and 
 Prussian armies made their entrance into 
 the French capital. There was no exulta- 
 tion as when Alexander and his ally occu- 
 pied Paris so recently; the people looked 
 on sadly and anxiously, for they felt humilia- 
 tion for the present, and gloomy doubts as 
 to the future. In the rear of foreign bayo- 
 nets came Louis XVIII., a second time 
 restored to a sullied throne by the enemies 
 of his country. Even the royalist party 
 was downcast ; its bUud devotion to a selfish 
 460 
 
 and incompetent family was overborne by 
 its sense of national defeat and degradation. 
 Napoleon, unable to effect his escape to 
 America, resolved to throw himself on the 
 generosity of the English government, and 
 surrendered to Captain Maitland, of the 
 Bellerophon. It would have been noble in 
 England to have respected the wish of the 
 ruined emperor, now so helpless and de- 
 serted. But this country was acting in 
 concert with Russia and Prussia, the sove- 
 reigns of which had resolved no longer to 
 brook his presence in Europe; and it was 
 therefore irrevocably decided that he should 
 be removed to St. Helena, to fret out his 
 heart, and die on a sea-girt rock, twelve 
 hundred miles from any continent. He 
 reached St. Helena on the 16th of October, 
 where he remained until his death, which 
 took place during a tremendous storm on 
 the 4th of May, 1821. 
 
 Early in July, the emperors of Russia and 
 Austria, and the king of Prussia, arrived at 
 Paris, which they subjected to the just but 
 melancholy humiliation of restoring the 
 various objects of art in the museum of the 
 Louvre, which had been pillaged by Napo- 
 leon from the various states that had fallen 
 beneath his power. Then was seen the 
 force which would, doubtless, have been 
 brought against Napoleon, in the event of a 
 prolongation of the struggle; no less than 
 800,000 armed men — Russians, Prussians, 
 Austrians, English, Italians, and Spaniards 
 — occupied the French soil. The power of 
 the allies was irresistible, and their eager- 
 ness for spoil excessive. Such were the 
 territorial demands of the conquerors, that 
 the dominions of the newly-made sovereign 
 seemed on the eve of dissolution. France 
 was only saved by the mutual jealousies of 
 the allies themselves. At length conflicting 
 claims were arranged, and the second treaty 
 of Paris was concluded in November, 1815. 
 By it the French frontier was restored to 
 the state in which it stood in 1790; and it 
 was stipulated that 700,000,000 of francs 
 (£28,000,000 sterling) were to be paid to 
 the allied powers for the expenses of the 
 war. Other heavy penalties were to be 
 paid by the French; but these it is not 
 within our province to relate. A display of 
 Russian power was exhibited on the plains 
 of Vertus, on the 10th of September. This 
 was a great review of 160,000 Russian 
 troops, 28,000 of which were cavalry. The 
 Duke of Wellington did not, however, appear 
 strikingly impressed with the military effi- 
 
A.D. 1815.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [the holy alliance. 
 
 ciency of the Russians. "Well, Charles," 
 said he to Sir Charles Stewart, afterwards 
 Marquis of Londonderry, " you and I never 
 saw such a sight before, and never shall 
 again. The precision of the movements of 
 these troops was more like the arrangements 
 of a theatre than those of such an army ; 
 but still I think my little army would move 
 round them in any direction while they 
 were effecting a single charge." 
 
 The emperors of Russia and Austria, and 
 the king of Prussia, before leaving Paris, 
 signed an agreement or bond of union, to 
 which, with much presumption, if not im- 
 piety, they gave the name of the "Holy 
 Alliance." It was established at the sugges- 
 tion of Alexander, ostensibly for the pre- 
 servation of universal peace, on the prin- 
 ciples of Christianity, but, in reality, for the 
 extinction of all revolutionary principles, 
 and the government of Europe on those of 
 despotism. Alexander had carried his as- 
 sumption of piety so far, that he may have 
 succeeded in at last deceiving himself; yet 
 this alliance had really no other object 
 than to use religion as an instrument by 
 which to crush the liberties of Europe, and 
 establish the thrones of monarchs on the 
 basis of a passive superstition. On the 
 Christmas-day of 1815 Alexander issued a 
 manifesto, in the names of Russia, Prussia, 
 and Austria, solemnly declaring their " fixed 
 resolution, both in the administration of 
 their respective states, and in their political 
 relations with every other government, to 
 take for their guide the precepts of the holy 
 religion of our Saviour — the precepts of jus- 
 tice, Christian charity, and peace ; which, far 
 from being applicable only to private con- 
 cerns, must have an immediate influence on 
 the councils of princes, and guide all their 
 steps, as being the only means of con- 
 solidating human institutions, and remedy- 
 ing their imperfections." Alexander was 
 induced to form this sinister league by the 
 exhortations of the Baroness Krudener, a 
 lady whom religious excitement had brought 
 to, if not within, the verge of insanity. She 
 had assumed the character of a prophetess, 
 and contended that she had a mission to 
 establish the reign of Christ upon earth. 
 Having followed Alexander to Paris, she de- 
 clared that he was appointed regenerator of 
 the world, and succeeded iu establishing 
 some degree of influence over him ; so much 
 so, indeed, that at this period the emperor 
 passed whole days at Paris in a mystical 
 communication of sentiments with her. 
 
 The " Holy Alliance" was soon acceded 
 to by all the principal powers of Europe, 
 with the exception of England, the govern- 
 ment of which refused to debase religion 
 into a mere instrument of state-craft. Little 
 credit was, however, due to the prince-re- 
 gent or his ministers on that account ; for 
 when, on the 26th of September, 1815, 
 Mr. (since Lord) Brougham moved for a 
 copy of the terms of the alliance (which he 
 stigmatised as nothing but a convention for 
 the enslaving of mankind, under the mask 
 of piety and religion), Lord Castlereagh re- 
 plied, that a copy of the treaty had been 
 communicated to the prince-regent, who 
 entirely approved of its principles, but had 
 refrained from giving in his adhesion, be- 
 cause " the forms of the British constitution 
 prevented him from acceding to it." Hap- 
 pily the " Holy Alliance" was not of per- 
 manent duration. The congress of Aix-la- 
 Chapelle, which met in 1818, and the con- 
 gresses at Troppau and Laybach, respectively 
 held in 1820 and 1821, were conducted on 
 its principles; but it was everywhere the 
 subject of execration; and eventually ex- 
 pired amidst the hatred and scorn of 
 Europe. 
 
 On leaving Paris, Alexander proceeded to 
 Warsaw, where he established a constitution 
 for Poland ; which, with an apparent policy, 
 granted to its people more freedom than the 
 Russians themselves enjoyed. Catholicism 
 was recognised as the religion of the state ; 
 but all Dissidents were placed on an equality 
 with Romanists as to civil rights : the liberty 
 of the press was permitted; the legislative 
 authority was vested in the king and two 
 chambers ; and judges were to be elected, 
 partly by the king, and partly by the Pala- 
 tinates. On a subsequent occasion he thus 
 addressed the chambers: — "Prove to your 
 contemporaries that liberal institutions, the 
 principles of which are confounded by some 
 with those disastrous doctrines which, in our 
 days, have threatened the social system with 
 a frightful catastrophe — prove that they are 
 not delusions ; but that, put in practice with 
 good faith, and directed by pure intentions 
 towards a useful and conservative object, 
 they are perfectly in accordance with order, 
 and insure the prosperity of nations." The 
 Poles were, however, not to be lured by this 
 language into a behaviour sufiiciently sub- 
 missive for the taste of Alexander; there- 
 fore, in the year 1820, he abruptly closed 
 the chambers, and no new diet was sum- 
 moned till 1825. Indeed, it must be ad- 
 
 461 
 
DESPOTISM OP ALEXANDER.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1820—1824. 
 
 mitted, that the Poles left their ruler little 
 choice between governing despotically or 
 not governing at all. 
 
 The insurrection of the Greeks in 1820, 
 against the tyranny of the sultan, though 
 publicly condemned by Alexander, was 
 attributed by Turkey to the secret encou- 
 ragement of Russia, and threatened a re- 
 newal of hostilities between those countries. 
 Alexander was, however, indisposed for war, 
 and resolved to adhere, at least until a more 
 promising opportunity, to the principles of 
 the "Holy Alliance." "Would you have 
 believed," said he to the eccentric French 
 writer, Chateaubriand, " as our enemies are 
 so fond of asserting, that the alliance is 
 only a word, intended to cover ambition? 
 That might have received a colour of truth 
 under the old order of things ; but now all 
 private interests disappear when the civilisa- 
 tion of the world is endangered. Hence- 
 forward there can be no English, French, 
 Russian, Prussian, or Austrian policy ; there 
 can only be a general policy, involving the 
 salvation of all, admitted in common by 
 kings and people.* It is for me, the first of 
 all, to declare my appreciation of the prin- 
 ciples on which I founded the * Holy Al- 
 liance.^ An opportunity presents ; it is the 
 Greek insurrection. Certainly no event 
 appeared more adapted to my personal in- 
 terests, to those of my subjects, and to the 
 feelings and prejudices of the Russians, than 
 a religious war against Turkey ; but in the 
 troubles of the Peloponnesus / saw revolu- 
 tionary symptoms, and from that moment I 
 held aloof." 
 
 The latter years of the life of Alexander 
 were passed in an attempt at repose, after 
 the wild turmoil arising from the wars he 
 had been engaged in with Napoleon, and in 
 promoting the internal advancement of the 
 empire. Moscow rose from amidst its ashes, 
 and was built in a more commodious and 
 splendid manner. The emperor also gave 
 much attention to the promotion of a kind 
 of guarded education, in which the principles 
 of devotion to the church, and passive obe- 
 dience to the monarch, were carefully in- 
 stilled, and from which everything foreign 
 was rejected as dangerous. The emperor 
 also caused extraordinary precautions to be 
 taken against revolutionary intrigues ; and, 
 by an ukase of the 12th of August, 1822, he 
 
 • This is terrible rhodomontade. Alexander either 
 talked nonsense, out of a sinister policy, or he was 
 strangely ignorant of the opinions and principles 
 prevalent throughout the greatest part of Europe. 
 462 
 
 prohibited all secret societies, and closed all 
 the lodges of Freemasons thi-oughout the 
 empire. For the same reason, the missionary 
 societies in the German provinces of the 
 empire were abolished; and a report that 
 dangerous intrigues had taken place in some 
 of the corps of the army, was positively con- 
 tradicted by authority. Great ligour was 
 exercised by the police, especially subse- 
 quently to 1823, towards everj'thing sus- 
 pected of an irreligious or revolutionary 
 tendency. An ukase, dated November, 
 1824, even directed Admiral Schischkoflf to 
 be especially vigilant with regard to religious 
 writings ! What the state of the country 
 must have been, in which almost irresponsible 
 power in such a direction was given to a 
 naval officer, we may well conceive. The 
 censorship of the press was exercised with 
 great rigour, and the academies placed under 
 very strict superintendence. In 1821, four 
 professors of the university of St. Peters- 
 burg were called to account for the contents 
 of their lectures. Regulations for the im- 
 portation of foreign books were rendered so 
 strict and onerous as to be almost prohibitory. 
 Under the pretence of excluding incompe- 
 tent persons and adventurers from being 
 employed as teachers in families, notice was 
 given, that such persons who could not pro- 
 duce a certificate of their qualifications — in 
 other words, of their political and theological 
 orthodoxy — should be immediately dis- 
 charged ; and that any families who re- 
 tained them should be punished by the 
 infliction of a fine of a hundred roubles. 
 These oppressive measures were chiefly car- 
 ried into execution by General AraktcheieflF, 
 a Russian ofiicer, whose narrow mind and 
 arbitrary temper fitted him to become an 
 oppressive instrument of despotism. During 
 the latter years of the reign of the emperor, 
 his duties were mostly delegated to this 
 man, whose name became a word of terror 
 throughout the empire. 
 
 Alexander was, in fact, absolutely haunted 
 by the ghost of the revolution he had done 
 so much to crush in France. The entrance 
 of his army into Paris was eventually fatal 
 to his peace of mind. There the oflacers of 
 his army were inoculated with the republican 
 notions of the French, and became dissatis- 
 fied with a government the extent of whose 
 despotism they had not till then understood. 
 Alexander lived in constant dread of con- 
 spiracy, and of sharing the fate of his father. 
 Spies were set everywhere; and they were 
 frequently persons of such a rank in life, as 
 
A.D. 1825.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [death of ALEXANDER. 
 
 to disarm the suspicion that it was possible 
 they could descend to such detestable em- 
 ployment. 
 
 The health of the emperor gave way 
 under this constant excitement, and he 
 spent much of the latter part of his reign in 
 travelling. He was also much affected by 
 the death of an illegitimate daughter, to 
 whom he was most aflfectionately attached. 
 On the 13th of September, 1825, he left 
 St. Petersburg on an excursion to the south 
 of Russia, ostensibly to visit the empress, 
 who was then residing at Taganrog for the 
 benefit of her health. He was observed to 
 look frequently back at the capital with a 
 melancholy air, and to seem altogether out 
 of spirits. There existed sufficient cause 
 for this depression ; for he had received 
 information of the existence of an exten- 
 sive conspiracy for the purpose of over- 
 throwing the imperial form of government, 
 and putting him and his family to death. 
 During the journey he suffered much from 
 depression and superstitious fears. These 
 were increased by the sight of a comet. 
 " Ilga," he inquired of an old and faithful 
 servant, " have you seen the new star ? Do 
 you know that a comet always presages 
 misfortune ? But God's will be done." 
 
 Shortly after his arrival at Taganrog, 
 Alexander proceeded to the Crimea. During 
 this journey he paused at a picturesque 
 spot named Orianda ; and observed, that if 
 he retired from the affairs of government, it 
 was there he would wish to live; thus 
 seeming to derive a secret pleasure in the 
 thought of abdication. In the preceding 
 year he had been attacked with erysipelas, 
 which began in the leg, and, spreading up- 
 wards, was attended with occasional fever 
 and delirium. From this he had to some 
 extent recovered, when, while at Taganrog, 
 he was attacked with the intermittent fever 
 common to the Crimea. Trusting to the 
 natural strength of his constitution, he ob- 
 stinately refused to submit to the remedies 
 which his physicians prescribed. It is said, 
 that this conduct arose partly from a dis- 
 gust for life, induced by further particulars 
 which he received concerning the con- 
 spiracy, and the presumed design to assassi- 
 nate him. On one occasion, when Sir 
 James Wylie urged him to take some medi- 
 cine, he remarked, " My friend, it is the 
 state of my nerves to which you must attend; 
 they are in frightful disorder." — " Alas V 
 responded the physician, "that happens 
 more frequently to kings than to ordinary 
 
 men." — " Yes," assented the emperor, " but 
 with me, in particular, there are many 
 special reasons, and, at the present hour, 
 more so than ever." Some days afterwards, 
 while suffering much from pain, he gazed 
 intently on Sir James, and exclaimed, in an 
 excited manner, " Oh, my friend, what an 
 act — what a horrible act ! The monsters ! — 
 the ungrateful monsters ! I designed nothing 
 but their happiness." 
 
 When at length the emperor, overcome 
 by entreaties, yielded to the treatment of 
 his physicians, and allowed leeches to be 
 applied, it was too late. During the last 
 few days that he continued to breathe, he 
 was insensible ; and on the morning of the 
 1st of December, 1825, he expired. He 
 had almost reached his forty-eighth year, 
 and had occupied the imperial throne for a 
 quarter of a century. Eor some time, a 
 rumour prevailed in foreign countries, that 
 his death had been caused by poison ; but 
 it has been well ascertained, that there was 
 no ground whatever for this suspicion. 
 
 The character of Alexander is not an 
 easy one to trace correctly, for it was a 
 union of apparent contradictions : in it a 
 meretricious, and for the most part assumed, 
 liberalism vainly struggled for freedom of 
 action in the presence of a real and active 
 despotism. The pretensions of Alexander, 
 and his flatterers, have deceived many 
 writers, who, unaccustomed to the neces- 
 sary habit of psychological analysis, have 
 fallen into the error of representing him as 
 he seemed to be, rather than as he was. 
 That he possessed the manners of a gentle- 
 man, and was highly polished in this re- 
 spect, is undeniable. His manners were 
 graceful, courteous, and condescending, 
 without any of that frigid, palpable assump- 
 tion of superiority, which is not pleasing 
 even in princes. With the manners of a 
 gentleman, he possessed also the accom- 
 plishments of one ; but in no respect was 
 he either solid or profound. The chief 
 feature of his character was his duphcity ; 
 which is seldom a quality of an enlarged 
 mind or a noble nature. An external libe- 
 rality was mingled with a deep and ineradi- 
 cable selfishness. Even his ambition was 
 of a mean and acquisitive kind, and directed 
 always towards the extension of territory, 
 than to that glory which great men toil for. 
 His admirers have spoken much of what 
 they call his benevolence ; but it consisted 
 rather of the absence of cruelty, and of the 
 . occasional exhibition of a popularity-seeking 
 
 403 
 
CHARACTER OF ALEXANDER.] HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1825. 
 
 amiability. That he could be resolutely- 
 vindictive, is evinced by the unbending 
 temper in which he carried on the war 
 against his former friend Napoleon, and 
 the obduracy with which he refused all 
 terms of peace, and left the invading army 
 to perish in its retreat from a fearful accu- 
 mulation of horrors. He was, in fact, an 
 amiable despot; but one whose whole 
 reign was devoted to building up despotism 
 on a surer and more enduring basis. 
 
 Alexander was enthusiastic, imaginative, 
 superstitious, and, probably at times, really 
 pious ; but yet siugularly given to that in- 
 sincerity in this direction which has ob- 
 tained the obnoxious but .expressive name 
 of " cant." The institution of that solemn, if 
 not even blasphemous, mockery of real reli- 
 gion, the " Holy Alliance," was a most of- 
 fensive instance of this. There is not only 
 a wickedness, but a danger, in converting 
 religion into a mere bulwark of the state, 
 and an instrument of tyranny. A reaction 
 invariably follows, earlier or later, against 
 conventional piety, when it is used as a 
 means of oppressive coercion. The present 
 state of the educated classes in Russia, indi- 
 cates that they are proceeding to the other 
 extreme, and that a contempt for palpable 
 superstition, in connection with state-craft, 
 is leading them to trample upon and discard 
 religion altogether. The Russian peasantry 
 have a boundless credulity with respect to 
 superstition; but the gentry and nobles, 
 though they like the display of the external 
 pomp of their gaudy religion, are fast be- 
 coming freethinkers. 
 
 Alexander did something for education; 
 but it was for education as he pleased to 
 have it. He founded or reorganised seven 
 universities, and established 204 gymnasia, 
 and above 2,000 schools of an inferior order; 
 but nothing was taught in them of which 
 he did not approve, or suspected of a liberal 
 tendency. This was an attempt to dwarf 
 down the intellect of the empire to a very 
 narrow standard — to force it into an ortho- 
 dox yet questionable channel, and to check 
 its expansion. The severity of his censor- 
 ship of the press, and his inquisitorial jea- 
 lousy of foreign books, we have already 
 spoken of. This arose from a morbid dread 
 of revolutionary principles, which was per- 
 haps natural enough in an absolute monarch 
 at that time ; but was still a weakness and 
 a cause of tyranny. It is therefore highly 
 objectionable to find writers of this age 
 applaud such conduct, and bestow on it the 
 464 
 
 titles of "virtue" and " greatness." The word 
 " great" could not be applied to Alexander 
 with respect to any one quality he possessed. 
 His mind was scarcely advanced beyond 
 mediocrity; and he was utterly destitute of 
 that political prescience which great states- 
 men so frequently possess, and of which he 
 had so brilliant an example in the emperor 
 Napoleon. The Russian monarch died 
 while still in the autumn of life ; yet, as a 
 ruler, he had lived too long. He had de- 
 serted the liberal principles which he pro- 
 fessed rather than acted upon in his younger 
 days ; and the system which he laboured to 
 create, of despotism founded upon super- 
 stition and the personal abasement of his 
 subjects, gave symptoms of decay even 
 during his own life. Where no constitu- 
 tional means of remedying abuses exist, 
 revolution is the natural resort of an op- 
 pressed people. It is idle to talk of the 
 horrors which commonly accompany it; that 
 perversion of power which brought about 
 the revolution is responsible for them. Had 
 Alexander lived another ten years, or even 
 five, he would probably have shared the fate 
 of his father Paul. Yet he might have been 
 more popular, and personally loved, than 
 any sovereign who ever occupied the impe- 
 rial throne of Russia, had he but known 
 how to have trusted his subjects, and to 
 have progressed with the spirit of the times. 
 That must advance; its onward movement 
 is inevitable; and woe to the monarch who 
 blindly devotes all his energies to drive it 
 back! 
 
 Alexander had commenced this fatal and 
 foredoomed struggle. He had placed the 
 imperial will in obstinate yet trembling op- 
 position to the natural laws which regulate 
 the development of nations and the ex- 
 pansion of the human mind ! What was 
 the result? A blighted life, a constant 
 dread of assassination, shattered nerves, a 
 ceaseless gnawing at the heart, and a pre- 
 mature death. His vain attempts to crush 
 liberalism — to drill the minds of his people 
 as he did the movements of his soldiers — to 
 stifle thought — to keep Russia always a chUd, 
 when it was apparent that its growth to 
 manhood was inevitable — to surround the 
 press with multiplied and galling restric- 
 tions, enforced by bayonets and prison cells, 
 and to chain up education like some wild 
 thing, to be petted in bondage and dreaded 
 when at liberty — caused him to leave the 
 empire he desired to consolidate and render 
 more united and passively obedient than 
 
A.D. 1825.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [character of Alexander. 
 
 any other in the world, on the eve of a 
 revolution which threatened to ovisrthrow a 
 despotic government altogether. 
 
 The czar has been spoken of as the high- 
 principled, pure-minded advocate of order, 
 and the magnanimous hero who arrested 
 and crushed the devouring ambition of 
 Napoleon. No merit is due to Alexander 
 for his efforts in this direction ; for, with 
 respect to it, he was, at best, but " the acci- 
 dent of an accident." The attentive reader 
 of the foregoing narrative will recognise the 
 truth of the statement, that his motives were 
 merely those of selfishness and fear. It was 
 not until the emperor began to dread revo- 
 lution at home, that he assumed to become 
 an apostle of order abroad. Not until he 
 had unjustly seized Finland, without a 
 cause and without a blush, and failed in an 
 unjust attempt to seize a great part of 
 Turkey, that he became shocked at the 
 aggressive spirit of Napoleon. But a very 
 few years before, he had eagerly grasped at 
 the offer to unite the brute energies of 
 Russia to the military prowess of France, 
 and to share with its great soldier the spoils 
 of the world ! The names of Tilsit and 
 Erfurth cannot be erased from the pages of 
 history. Alexander, during his friendly 
 connection with Napoleon, acted with a 
 perfidy, and a grasping, dishonest acquisi- 
 tiveness utterly inconsistent with an honour- 
 able nature. He was ready to play the 
 robber's part towards all his neighbours ; and 
 he despoiled his brother-in-law, the king of 
 Sweden, of Finland with as much indif- 
 ference as he received a Polish province 
 plundered from his friend Frederic William 
 of Prussia, and with as much readiness as 
 he issued an edict prematurely annexing 
 Moldavia and Wallachia to the Russian 
 empire ! Alexander, like a repentant rob- 
 ber, who finds the law cannot be defied with 
 impunity, only turned politically honest 
 when he found that dishonesty was danger- 
 ous, and that his accomplice in guilt was 
 far his superior in dexterity, and not dis- 
 posed to spare even him. To talk sounding 
 nonsense about the honour and virtue of 
 such a potentate as this, is an insult to the 
 sacred name of truth and to the judgment 
 of mankind ! 
 
 The moderation of Alexander on the 
 occasion of the entrance of the allies into 
 Paris, has been much commended, and in 
 some respects deservedly so. He acted with 
 luimanity, and bore in mind that his quarrel 
 was not with the French people, but with 
 3o 
 
 their ruler. But this moderation, however 
 estimable and apparently generous, was 
 chiefly the result of policy. He did not 
 desire to annihilate France, or to see it 
 other than one of the great powers of 
 Europe; it was not his interest to enrich 
 Austria and Prussia with its spoils. But 
 the cupidity of the Russian emperor was 
 sufficiently active even at this period. He 
 did not exhibit any moderation towards 
 Poland, the sovereignty of which was ceded 
 to him by his allies only because they were 
 well aware that sooner than abandon his 
 claim to it, he was ready to plunge Europe 
 again into war. The political moderation 
 of Alexander was, in fact, for the most part 
 a delusion, and a mask beneath which he 
 endeavoured to hide his aggressive inten- 
 tions. "Whenever this imperial Tartuffe 
 desired to despoil his neighbours, he always 
 assumed a more than ordinary amount of 
 moderation and forbearance, and uttered 
 the fulsome language of an obtrusive and 
 pretentious piety. 
 
 Russia progressed during the reign of 
 Alexander; and it- must have been a 
 strangely obtuse nation indeed, not to have 
 progressed during five-and-tweuty years of 
 such intellectual activity and excitement as 
 then prevailed throughout Europe. But 
 this national advancement is to be attributed 
 rather to the inevitable course of events, than 
 to any exertions of the czar. It would have 
 taken place to a much larger extent had the 
 great Catherine still swayed the imperial 
 sceptre ; and to as great a one if any prince 
 not deficient in the ordinary intelligence 
 and firmness of a man, had held the place 
 of Alexander. In matters of education, 
 and political and social amelioration, his in- 
 fluence was rather that of a dragwheel than 
 a spur. Certainly, he patronised science so 
 long as it merely gathered facts, and did 
 not make any speculative application of 
 them — science, in a word, dissevered from 
 its companion, thought ; he patronised 
 painting and the arts, and promoted agri- 
 culture, commerce, and manufactures. Such 
 a course, however, is both the interest and 
 the duty of a monarch ; a small and feeble 
 return to his people for the vast distinction 
 and power he receives from them. The 
 performance of such a duty does not give 
 him a right to become a stumbling-block in 
 the path of his people towards a rational 
 civilisation and a moderate freedom, or to 
 sit like a nightmare upon the bosom of the 
 young intellect of the empire, while it 
 
 465 
 
THE GRA.XD-DUKE CONOTAOTINE.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1825. 
 
 o-asped and struggled to release itself from 
 the terrible oppression, and to develop its 
 energies unchecked by the iron hand of 
 ignorant and trembling power. Alexander 
 was a huge political pretence, a moral and 
 pious sham, and a despot all the more 
 dangerous because he always strove to hide 
 the cloven hoof of tyranny beneath the 
 gown and cowl of a pretended sanctimony. 
 For awhile this assumption deceived his 
 people; but when the excitement of the 
 great war with France had cooled down — 
 when judgment was partially dissevered from 
 passion, they found out the hoUowness of his 
 pretensions ; and Alexander, who had ever 
 sought to win the applause of his people 
 viith as much assiduity as an actor upon 
 
 the stage does that of his audience, died 
 unmourned and even unregretted. The 
 world has no sympathy with an unmasked 
 hypocrite; and the educated classes of 
 Russia had found out their emperor. Yet 
 such is the influence of pretentious and 
 hollow piety, and so difficult is it to destroy 
 the false claims to respect of insincerity of 
 this nature, that we believe the character of 
 Alexander has not been drawn with un- 
 sparing truth until the appearance of this 
 summary of it. It is a sad quality of 
 common minds, that they ever busy them- 
 selves with composing elaborate adulation 
 of those who occupy the high places of 
 society, and of meanly refraining from all 
 mention of their vices. 
 
 CHAPTER LV. 
 
 THE GEAND-DUKE CONSTANTINE ; HIS SECOND MARRIAGE, AND RENUNCIATION OF HIS RIGHT TO THE 
 THRONE; NICHOLAS VAINLY URGES HIS BROTHER TO RESUME HIS RIGHT ; CONSTANTINE IS PROCLAIMED 
 EMPEROR, BUT CONFIRMS HIS RENUNCIATION ; AFTER AN INTERREGNUM OF THREE WEEKS NICHOLAS 
 CONSENTS TO ASCEND THE THRONE ; OUTBREAK OF THE CONSPIRACY ; DECISION OF NICHOLAS ; FIERCE 
 CONFLICT IN THE PLACE OF THE SENATE ; SUPPRESSION OF THE INSURRECTION ; EXECUTION OF THE 
 PRINCIPAL CONSPIRATORS; EXPIATORY CEREMONIAL ON THE THEATRE OF THE REVOLT; NICHOLAS 
 ATTEMPTS TO PURIFY THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE ; HIS CORONATION ; HIS PERSONAL APPEARANCE. 
 
 As the emperor Alexander left no children, 
 his brother, the Grand-duke Coustantine, 
 was the legitimate heir to the throne. 
 The second son of Paul, and the grandson 
 of the illustrious Catherine, Constantino 
 was born at St. Petersburg on the 8th of 
 May, 1779. Catherine had bestowed upon 
 him the baptismal name of Constantino, 
 which was generally considered as an indi- 
 cation of her wish that in his person should 
 be fulfilled a prophecy current among the 
 Greeks, that a Coustantine should once 
 more reign at Constantinople. Every effort 
 of policy with respect to the East was 
 directed to effect a restoration of the 
 Byzantine empire, as an appendage of the 
 imperial house of Russia. Greek children 
 were placed around the grand-duke even 
 from his cradle, for the purpose of in- 
 teresting him in their native language ; but 
 he never evinced any other feeling than 
 that of dishke to it. As he grew up, his 
 favourite study was military exercises. At 
 the age of seventeen he was united to a 
 46G 
 
 lady of fifteen, the Princess Juliana of 
 Saxe-Coburg. The manners of Constan- 
 tino were savage, and his inclinations 
 fiercely despotic. He possessed scarcely 
 less excitability and eccentricity than his 
 father Paul, whom he resembled in person, 
 and almost surpassed in ugliness. His 
 features had the Tartar cast, and were 
 deeply scarred by the small-pox. Yet, 
 though occasionally brutal in his manners, 
 it is said he sometimes exhibited an air of 
 extreme polish, combined with a winning 
 and attractive manner. This, however, was 
 seldom ; for he had nothing mild or gentle 
 in his nature. A distinguished living writer 
 observes — " He rivalled Richard Coeur-de- 
 Lion in his valour in the field; but he 
 surpassed him, also, in the vehemence with 
 which he ruled the cabinet, and the acts of 
 tyranny by which both his public admin- 
 istration and private life were character- 
 ised. Violent, capricious, and irritable, he 
 could never brook contradiction ; and when 
 inflamed by passion, indulged his vehement 
 
A.D. 1825.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [memoir of constantine. 
 
 disposition by frightful and disgraceful acts 
 of cruelty. He was an untamed savage, 
 armed with the power, and animated by 
 the imperious disposition of an Eastern 
 sultan, imperfectly veiled over by the 
 chivalrous manners of modern Europe. 
 Yet was the savage not destitute of gen- 
 erous sentiments ; he could occasionally do 
 noble things ; and though the discipline he 
 maintained among his troops was extremely 
 severe, yet it was redeemed, and their 
 affections won, by frequent acts of kind- 
 ness." 
 
 The manners of Constantine disgusted 
 the lady to whom he had been united ; and, 
 four years after their union, they separated 
 by mutual consent. The grand-duke was 
 much attached to, and greatly under the 
 influence of, his brother, the emperor 
 Alexander; during whose reign he won 
 great distinction by his bravery and mili- 
 tary qualities, especially at the battle of 
 Austerlitz and on the sanguinary field of 
 Eylau ; he was also present in the cam- 
 paigns of 1812, 1813, and 1814, and accom- 
 panied the victorious march of his country- 
 men from Moscow to Paris. 
 
 In the year 1820, the charms of a Polish 
 lady led Constantine to a step which at 
 once changed both his destiny and that of 
 the Russian empire. The Countess Joanna 
 Grudzynska was a fragile beauty, in deli- 
 cate health, and apparently but little likely 
 to win the regard of a rough and boisterous 
 soldier. Yet the grand-duke became so 
 fascinated with her, that he determined to 
 overcome every obstacle that lay in the 
 way of making her his wife. After some 
 difficulty, he procured a decree of the synod 
 of the Russian church, confirmed by an 
 imperial ukase, by which he was divorced 
 from the Princess of Saxe-Coburg, with 
 liberty to marry again. He immediately 
 afterwards married . the Countess Grud- 
 zynska, though with the left hand — a cere- 
 mony by which, though she became his 
 legal wife, she did not become a grand- 
 duchess; and it was understood that her 
 children could not succeed to the throne. 
 In fact, Constantine had only obtained his 
 brother Alexander's consent to the divorce, 
 by entering into a solemn engagement with 
 him to renounce his right of succession to 
 the crown in favour of his younger brother, 
 Nicholas, as the only means of preventing 
 ultimate confusion and doubt as to the 
 right of succession. 
 
 The agreement was, however, a secret 
 
 one ; and some affirm, that even Nicholas 
 himself was ignorant of it. Certainly, 
 the general supposition was, that though 
 Constantino's children by the Polish countess 
 were set aside, the rights of the grand-duke 
 remained intact ; and he was always re- 
 garded as heir-presumptive to the czar. 
 He had, however, left a written renuncia- 
 tion of his right of succession, which had 
 been deposited by Alexander in. a sealed 
 packet, and confided to the care of the 
 president of the imperial council. Ac- 
 cording to the command of the emperor, 
 this packet was opened immediately after 
 his death, in the presence of the council. 
 Within was found a letter from Constantine 
 to his brother, dated January, 1822. It 
 contained the following strange and humi- 
 liating words : — " Conscious that I do not 
 possess either the genius, the talents, or 
 the strength necessary to fit me for the 
 dignity of sovereign, to which my birth 
 would give me a right, I entreat your im- 
 perial majesty to transfer that right to him 
 to whom it belongs after me, and thus 
 insure for ever the stability of the empire. 
 As for myself, I shall add, by this renuncia- 
 tion, a new guarantee and a new force to 
 the engagement which I spontaneously and 
 solemnly contracted on the occasion of my 
 divorce from my first wife. All the circum- 
 stances in which I find myself, strengthen 
 my determination to adhere to this resolu- 
 tion, which will prove to the empire, and to 
 the whole world, the sincerity of my senti- 
 ments." There was a reply by Alexander 
 to this communication, simply without a 
 word of comment, accepting the off'er it 
 conveyed ; and also a declaration, that, in 
 pursuance of it, the Grand-duke Nicholas 
 was to ascend the throne of Russia. 
 
 The council accordingly declared the 
 latter to be emperor, and invited him to 
 attend to receive their homage. This he 
 refused. " I am not emperor," he ob- 
 served, " and will not become so at my 
 brother's expense. If, maintaining his re- 
 nunciation, the Grand-duke Constantine 
 persists in the sacrifice of his rights, in 
 that case, but in that only, will I exercise 
 mine by accepting the throne." As the 
 entreaties of the council were unable to 
 move Nicholas from this determination, 
 they obeyed him, saying, with a very equivo- 
 cal kind of loyalty — '* You are our em- 
 peror ; we owe you an absolute obedience. 
 Since, then, you command us to recognise 
 the Grand-duke Constantine as our legiti- 
 
 467 
 
AN INTERREGNUM.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1825. 
 
 mate sovereign, we have no alternative but 
 to obey your command." Constantine was 
 therefore proclaimed emperor at St. Peters- 
 burg, and the usual oath of fidelity to him 
 administered to the guards in the space in 
 front of the Winter Palace. 
 
 The news of Alexander's death reached 
 Warsaw some time before it arrived at 
 St. Petersburg. On the receipt of it, Con- 
 stantine sent his younger brother, the 
 Grand-duke Michael, to the capital, to 
 confirm his previous renunciation of the 
 crown. Still Nicholas hesitated ; for he 
 knew himself to be less popular than his 
 elder brother; and was aware, that in the 
 event of a struggle taking place, Constan- 
 tine would be almost certain to prevail. 
 He desired, therefore, to have the most 
 convincing proofs of his brother's voluntary 
 renunciation of the imperial sceptre, before 
 he ventured to accept it. He accordingly 
 prevailed on Michael to return to Warsaw, 
 with the intelligence that Constantine had 
 already been proclaimed emperor. Michael, 
 on his journey back, was met by a courier 
 from Constantine, with the answer of the 
 latter to the despatches he had received 
 from St. Petersburg; and an intimation, 
 that the resolution of the grand-duke was 
 inflexible. 
 
 It was not, however, until the 24th of 
 December, after an interregnum of three 
 weeks' duration, that Nicholas consented to 
 ascend the throne which was the inheri- 
 tance of his elder brother. It was time he 
 did so ; for the conspiracy, the discovery of 
 which had shortened the life of Alexander, 
 was on the point of breaking out. Since 
 1817, secret political societies had existed 
 in Russia, with the object of subverting 
 the government, and establishing repre- 
 sentative institutions and a constitutional 
 monarchy in its stead. The directing com- 
 mittee of the conspirators was held at St. 
 Petersburg, and presided over by Prince 
 Trouhetzkoi. Ryleif, Prince Obolouski, 
 Colonel Pestel, and the brothers Moura- 
 vieff, were the most distinguished leaders; 
 while the ordinary members comprised a 
 great number of military oflficers. The 
 chief conspirators are admitted, by those 
 not favourable to their conduct or prin- 
 ciples, to have been amongst the most 
 liighly educated and patriotic men in 
 Russia. 
 
 The death of Alexander, at the time 
 when the enterprise was about to be put 
 into action, disconcerted the conspirators. 
 4G8 
 
 The prolongation of the interregnum re- 
 vived their hopes, and they resolved to 
 take advantage of the strange dispute be- 
 tween the two brothers. They therefore 
 resolved to advocate the cause of Constan- 
 tine, to win the common soldiers in his 
 name, and, when they had placed him on 
 the throne, to demand an entire change of 
 government, on the representative principle, 
 as their reward. The final refusal of Con- 
 stantine to accept the throne, and the 
 betrayal of their scheme to Nicholas, de- 
 cided the conspirators on an instant revolt ; 
 and Prince Troubetzkoi was named dic- 
 tator. " You see," said Ryleif, " we are 
 betrayed ; the court is partly aware of our 
 designs, but they do not know the whole. 
 Our forces are sufficient; our scabbards 
 are broken ; we can no longer hide our 
 sabres." 
 
 The 26th of December had been ap- 
 pointed as the day on which the oath of 
 allegiance to the emperor Nicholas should 
 be administered to the troops. Several 
 regiments took it with the customary 
 docility of Russian soldiers; but this was 
 not the case with the few devoted to the 
 conspirators. The troops comprising them 
 were falsely informed that Constantine 
 had not resigned, but had been placed in 
 irons ; that he was their rightful czar, and, 
 if reinstated by their means, would double 
 their pay. To these assurances they re- 
 sponded with loud shouts of " Constantine 
 for ever !" The number of these men, 
 however, was but small ; and those who 
 assembled, armed, behind the statue of 
 Peter the Great, in the Place of the Senate, 
 to assert the rights of Constantine, did 
 not exceed 1,800 men; though they were 
 surrounded by a great crowd of armed 
 civilians, who shared their enthusiasm and 
 joined in their shouts. 
 
 Nicholas, on receiving information of 
 these proceedings, acted with a courage 
 which probably saved not only his crown 
 but his life. Placing himself at the head 
 of a regiment of the guards, he proceeded 
 towards the scene of insurrection. On his 
 way, he met a column marching to join 
 the rebels. " Good-day, my children," said 
 he to them, using the parental form of 
 address customary with the czars when ad- 
 dressing their troops. "Hurrah! Constan- 
 tine !" was the answer he received. Though 
 pale as marble, Nicholas exhibited no indi- 
 cation of fear, but addressed the same salute 
 to another detachment of troops which was 
 
A.D. 1825.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [the INSURRECriOjy. 
 
 following their companions. These men 
 remained silent; and the emperor, with 
 great presence of mind, in a loud voice, 
 gave the command, " Wheel to the right — 
 march \" The instinct of discipline pre- 
 vailed ; and the men turned about, and 
 retraced their steps, as if they had not 
 deviated from their allegiance to him whose 
 voice they now obeyed. 
 
 Tl e military insurgents at length num- 
 bercx. upwards of 3,000 men, and continued 
 to fill the air with shouts of " Long live the 
 emperor Constantine \" But at this critical 
 moment the leaders were wanting, and 
 Prince Troubetzkoi had abandoned his 
 post and fled, even leaving his papers un- 
 destroyed. Ryleif was there ; but he was a 
 civilian, and could not take the command 
 of the troops, and he lost time for action in 
 seeking Troubetzkoi, The emperor had 
 with him no less than 13,000 troops; but 
 he hesitated to command them to. act 
 against the rebels. The brave General 
 Milaradovitch, "the Murat of Russia," ad- 
 vanced alone amongst them, in the hope of 
 being able by his personal influence to 
 subdue the mutiny. One of the conspira- 
 tors immediately fired at him, and he fell 
 mortally wounded from his horse. Nicho- 
 las yet hesitated to shed the blood of 
 Russian soldiers by Russian hands ; and he 
 sent forward the Archbishop of St. Peters- 
 burg, bearing the cross, and followed by a 
 great body of the clergy, to produce suh- 
 mission by working upon the religious 
 emotions of the insurgents. The attempt 
 failed; the voice of the aged prelate was 
 rendered inaudible by the rolling of drums 
 and the shouts of the soldiers. The leaders 
 now set up a cry of " Constantine and the 
 constitution \" The last word, which was 
 a foreign one in Russia, greatly perplexed 
 the ignorant soldiers, who, in fact, liad no 
 conception whatever of its real meaning. 
 "What is that?" said the men to each 
 other. "Do you not know?" said one; 
 " it is the empress !" The word has a 
 feminine termination, and was supposed, by 
 the speaker and many of his comrades, to 
 refer to Constantine's Polish wife. Others 
 among these poor men entertained a dif- 
 ferent opinion, and said, " It is the carriage 
 in which the emperor is to drive at his 
 coronation." 
 
 The short winter day was drawing to a 
 close ; and Nicholas, having exhausted all 
 pacific means of terminating the revolt, 
 ordered his troops to act against the insur- 
 
 gents. The latter were assailed both in 
 front and flank by cavahy and infantry. 
 They fought with a desperate bravery ; and 
 the struggle was prolonged for a consider- 
 able period. The cavalry were repulsed; 
 the Grand-duke Michael narrowly escaped 
 being cut down by one of the conspirators; 
 while another eagerly sought out Nicholas, 
 for the purpose of dispatching him, though 
 without effect. As time wore on, and the 
 rebels still remained in possession of their 
 strong position, the emperor ordered the 
 cannon, hitherto concealed by a body of 
 cavalry, to be unmasked. The threatening 
 mouths of the guns were pointed directly 
 against the insurgent square, who were 
 again summoned to surrender. They re- 
 fused, and the artillery was discharged over 
 their heads, for the purpose of intimidating 
 them. As none of these fearless men were 
 injured, they raised a cheer, and mocked 
 their assailants. Nicholas then ordered a 
 point-blank discharge. The cannoniers 
 hesitated to inflict this butchery upon their 
 comrades ; and it was not until the Grand- 
 duke Michael with his own hand discharged 
 the first gun, that they performed their 
 painful duty. The effect was terrible; and 
 the grapeshot did fearful execution on the 
 compact living square through which it 
 ploughed. Yet these unhappy men, with a 
 heroism which deserved success, still bore 
 up bravely, and it was not until the tenth 
 volley that they broke and fled. They 
 were pursued by the cavalry, whose sabres 
 reeked with the blood of their own country- 
 men. By six o'clock 700 were made pri- 
 soners, and the rest slain or dispersed. 
 " What a beginning of a reign !" exclaimed 
 Nicholas, as he returned sadly towards the 
 palace. On his arrival, the empress fell 
 fainting into his arms, and, from that hour, 
 she w^as afflicted with a nervous disorder 
 which medical art has been unable to 
 subdue. 
 
 The regiments implicated in the revolt 
 were politically pardoned by Nicholas, with 
 the exception of the men whom he consid- 
 ered most guilty; these being sent to the 
 Caucasus to combat with the fierce moun- 
 taineers of that locality. Towards the 
 leaders of the conspiracy he adopted a very 
 different course. The most active of them 
 were immediately arrested, and a commis- 
 sion of inquiry appointed to investigate the 
 extent and nature of the disaft'ection. It is 
 generally admitted that this investigation 
 was conducted in a vindictive and minutely 
 
 469 
 
INSURRECTION SUPPRESSED.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1826. 
 
 inquisitorial manner. In some instances, 
 persuasion was employed, and in others 
 intimidation, for the purpose of extorting 
 statements which might criminate others. 
 The proceedings of the commissioners were 
 conducted in private, and continued through 
 a period of several months. They resulted 
 in a report, that a conspiracy existed of a 
 far more dangerous and extensive kind than 
 had been supposed. 
 
 It is highly probable that such was the 
 case as regards the educated classes of 
 society in Russia, and especially amongst 
 the military. These had returned from 
 their campaigns in France and Germany, 
 for the most part enchanted with the liberal 
 ideas they heard there for the first time. 
 " They had," observes Alison, '^ stood side 
 by side with the ardent youth of the Teu- 
 tonic universities, whose feelings had been 
 warmed by the fervour of the Tugenbund,* 
 whose imaginations had been kindled by 
 the poetry of Korner: at the capture of 
 Paris they had seen the world in transports 
 at the magnanimous words of the czar in 
 praise of liberal institutions ; many of them 
 had shared in his reception iu London, and 
 witnessed the marvellous spectacle of a free 
 people emerging unscathed from a contest 
 from which they themselves had been extri- 
 cated only by committing their capital to 
 the flames. Immense was the influence 
 which these circumstances came ere long 
 to exercise on the highly educated youth of 
 Russia, speaking French and English as 
 well as natives, associating with the very 
 highest society of these nations, and con- 
 trasting the varied excitements and intellec- 
 tual pleasures at their command, with the 
 stillness and monotony, save from physical 
 sensations, of their own fettered land. 
 They saw civilisation on its bright side 
 only ; they had basked in its sunshine ; 
 they had not felt its shade. They had re- 
 turned home, as so many travellers do, to 
 the cold regions of the north, discontented 
 with their own country, and passionately 
 desirous of a change. These sentiments 
 were dangerous ; their expression might 
 consign the utterer at once to Siberia: 
 they were shrouded in silence, like a secret 
 passion in the female heart from a jealous 
 husband ; but like all other emotions, they 
 only became the more violent from the 
 necessity of being concealed, and came in 
 
 • That is, the " League of Virtue ;" a name given 
 to a secret society, or rather a number of affiliated 
 societies which spr&id thioughout Germany. 
 
 470 
 
 many noble breasts entirely to absorb the 
 mind, to the exclusion of all objects of 
 pacific interest or ambition." 
 
 Such sentiments, stifled beneath a des- 
 potic government which had emasculated 
 and neutralised the press, placed education 
 in fetters whose iron was ill-concealed by 
 the thin gilding which they bore, and 
 watched every utterance of original thought 
 with the savage glare of a tiger regarding its 
 destined prey ; — the entertainment of such 
 sentiments, under such conditions, could 
 scarcely produce any other result than in- 
 surrection or revolution. Had the Russian 
 people, or the masses which in that vast 
 empire stand for a people, been as well 
 prepared as the educated classes, the latter 
 must have taken place. But the peasantry 
 and soldiery were not awakened : it was 
 therefore but an insurrection ; and this 
 seldom, if ever, succeeds in the face of a 
 powerful government. 
 
 Immediately after the suppression of the 
 insurrection at St. Petersburg, an outbreak 
 took place iu the army of the south, and in 
 that stationed on the Polish frontier. Co- 
 lonel Pestel and the two Mouravieflfs, who 
 had adopted the principles of republicanism, 
 were the respective leaders. But the com- 
 mon soldiers, though attached to their 
 officers, had no desire for change, and no 
 idea of effecting a revolution. Sergius Mou- 
 ravieff succeeded in causing his regiment to 
 revolt, by persuading the men to take up 
 arms for Constantino ; but he and other of 
 the leaders made an attempt to introduce 
 the shout of "Long live the Slavonic re- 
 public !" The ignorant soldiery had no 
 idea of the meaning of the words. "We 
 are qui;te willing," remarked an old grena- 
 dier, " to call out * Long live the Slavonic 
 republic !' but who is to be our emperor?" 
 It was in vain that the officers spoke to 
 them of liberty, and that some priests read 
 passages from the Old Testament, to show 
 that democracy was the form of government 
 most agreeable to the Deity. The soldiers 
 only recurred to the question, " Who is to 
 be the emperor? Constantine or Nicholas 
 Paulovitch ?" 
 
 The result of an insurrection in which 
 the convictions of the mass were adverse to 
 the principles they were presumed to con- 
 tend for, could not long be doubted. It 
 was suppressed with but little bloodshed, 
 and the leading conspirators were arrested. 
 They were all placed on their trial before 
 the commissioners appointed to examine 
 
A.D. 1826.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE, [pitnishment of the conspieators. 
 
 into the details of the aifair, and thirty-six 
 of them sentenced to death, and 130 others 
 to imprisonment and lesser penalties. Of 
 these, five only were executed ; the punish- 
 ment of the rest being commuted to exile, 
 accompanied with hard labour, in Siberia. 
 The five victims were Pestel, Ryleif, Sergius 
 Mouravieflf, Bestoujif-Rumine, and Ka- 
 khofski. These unhappy persons — all men 
 of education, great talents, and benevolent, 
 though perhaps extravagant, views — were 
 condemned to the revolting death of being 
 broken on the wheel. The actual execution 
 of such a sentence was felt to be a bar- 
 barity inconsistent with the civilisation and 
 feelings of the age; and Nicholas, pru- 
 dently bowing to this general impression, 
 changed their doom into that of death by 
 hanging. Even in this, however, there was 
 a refined cruelty, as it was an unusual 
 mode of execution in Russia, and regarded 
 as peculiarly degrading; the more so by 
 men of cultivated minds, who had expected 
 to meet the fate of soldiers. Prior to their 
 execution they were examined by Nicholas 
 in person. " What had your emperor done 
 to you ?" said he to one of them. " We 
 had not an emperor," was the reply ; " we 
 have had two. One was your brother, and 
 the other AratcheiefF." Proceeding in a 
 similar strain, he was interrupted by the 
 Grand-duke Michael, who brutally ex- 
 claimed, " That man should have his mouth 
 stopped with a bayonet." " You asked 
 just now," continued the prisoner, " why we 
 wanted a constitution ? It was, that such 
 things might not be said." Nicholas then 
 questioned Bestoujif, who replied, " I re- 
 pent of nothing I have done; I die satis- 
 fied, and soon to be avenged." Struck 
 with the courage of his answers, the em- 
 peror said, " I have the power to pardon 
 you ; and if I felt assured you would be a 
 faithful subject, I would gladly do so." 
 " Why, sire," responded Bestoujif, " that is 
 precisely what we complain of; the em- 
 peror can do anything, and is bound by no 
 law. In the name of God, allow justice to 
 have free course, and let the fate of your 
 subjects no longer depend on your caprice 
 or your impressions for a momeut." 
 
 The executions took place on the 25th of 
 July, and created a great and painful sensa- 
 tion at St. Petersburg, where no capital 
 punishment had been inflicted for a period 
 of eighty years. The gallows was erected 
 on the edge of the rampart of the citadel ; 
 and it was deemed necessary to have a 
 
 large body of troops on the spot. Great 
 sympathy existed for the victims, and there 
 were few spectators besides the soldiers. 
 With a revolting cruelty, the sufferers were 
 compelled to look on for a whole hour 
 while the preparations were being com- 
 pleted for the execution. The thirty-one 
 conspirators whose sentence of death had 
 been commuted to that of exile to Siberia, 
 were marched round the scaffold, after 
 which their epaulets were torn off, their 
 uniforms taken from them, their swords 
 broken over their heads, and they were 
 dressed in the coarse garb of convicts. The 
 five who were to suffer then ascended the 
 scaffold with firm steps and an undaunted 
 air. The signal was given, and Pestel and 
 Kakhofski died almost immediately. The 
 sufferings of the other three were painfully 
 prolonged; the ropes broke, and they fell 
 into the ditch beneath. Though severely in- 
 jured, these unhappy gentlemen reascended 
 the scaffold with a calm and composed 
 air. " Nothing succeeds in this country," 
 said Ryleif; " not even death." " Woe 
 to the country," said Sergius Mouravieff, 
 "where they can neither conspire, nor jixdge, 
 nor hang !" This time the dismal ceremony 
 was effectually performed; and in a few 
 minutes the roll of drums announced that 
 the victims had ceased to exist. 
 
 The conspirators who were sent to 
 Siberia included many persons of high 
 rank, and amongst them Prince Trou- 
 betzkoi. All who were married were ac- 
 companied by their wives : these high- 
 minded women, who had moved in the first 
 circles of society, voluntarily going with 
 their husbands into exile, in spite of the 
 offered protection of the emperor if they 
 would remain at St. Petersburg. Towards 
 these noble and self-denying women, Nicho- 
 las then exhibited a resentment as unmanly 
 as it was ungenerous. Regarding the act 
 of following their husbands into exile as an 
 adoption of the principles of the latter, he 
 behaved towards them with an inexorable 
 severity ; and even after the lapse of fifteen 
 years, sternly refused a petition addressed 
 to him by the Princess Troubetzkoi, im- 
 ploring permission to remove to some place 
 where the climate was milder, and where 
 she might obtain the rudiments of educa- 
 tion for her children. 
 
 On the morning after the execution of 
 the conspirators, Nicholas caused the Place 
 of the Senate, which had been the theatre 
 of the insurrection, to be subjected to a 
 
 471 
 
EXPIATORY CEREMONIAL.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1826. 
 
 ceremony which was presumed to act as a 
 purification. " On the spot/' said he in a 
 proclamation to the people and the army, 
 " where, seven months ago, the explosion of 
 a sudden revolt revealed the existence of a 
 vast conspiracy which had been going on 
 for ten years, it is meet that a last act of 
 commemoration — an expiatory sacrifice — 
 should consecrate on the same spot the 
 memory of the Russian blood shed for re- 
 ligion, the throne, and the country. We 
 have recognised the hand of the Almighty, 
 when He tore aside the veil which concealed 
 that horrible mystery : it permitted crime to 
 arm itself in order to assure its fall. Like 
 a momentary storm, the revolt only broke 
 forth to annihilate the conspiracy of which 
 it was the consummation." The ceremony 
 was attended by the whole garrison of St. 
 Petersburg, amounting to 60,000 men. An 
 altar was erected in the great square, and a 
 service of thanksgiving performed at it by 
 the metropolitan archbishop. The priests 
 then scattered holy water over the soldiers, 
 the people, and the pavement; after which 
 the bands of all the regiments struck up a 
 hallelujah ! and the ceremony concluded 
 with the discharge of a hundred guns. 
 
 The strict investigation which had been 
 made into all the details of the conspiracy, 
 brought to light much of the shameless 
 coiTuption which impeded the course of 
 justice and impaired the service of the 
 state. Nicholas resolved on an attempt to 
 eradicate this wholesale dishonesty; but 
 his success was but slight and partial, be- 
 cause he did not adopt the plan of paying 
 the various oflScers of the state, either in 
 civil or military departments^ sums adequate 
 to the responsibilities they had to discharge, 
 and sufficient to raise them beyond those 
 temptations which beset the needy. He 
 appealed not to the interest, but to the 
 honour and sense of duty of the servants of 
 the state; and to this they were, for the 
 most part, insensible. He caused circulars 
 to be sent to all the judges and governors 
 of the empire, urging them to a faithful 
 discharge of their duties, and threatening 
 the severest penalties in the event of their 
 not doing so. To assist the judges in their 
 labours, and to make the course of the law 
 intelligible to the people, he also ordered 
 the imperial ukases to be collected, printed, 
 and codified; and also caused a uniform 
 code, forming a complete system of law, to 
 be constructed out of these enormous, and 
 frequentlv heterogeneous, materials. 
 472 
 
 By a ukase of the 5th of March, Nicholas 
 also abolished a cruel mode of torture which 
 had been long in use among the Cossacks 
 of the Don, and consisted in attaching the 
 feet of a victim to great blocks of stone in 
 a room, while his hands were fastened at 
 extreme tension to the ceiling, and leaving 
 him in that position until death released 
 him from his snflferings. Yet, though put- 
 ting down cruelty in others, he conducted 
 his own government with great severity. 
 The number of persons exiled to Siberia in 
 1826 amounted to 12,000, and exceeded, by 
 3,000, the number banished to that frozen 
 region in the preceding year; a period 
 which the gloomy suspicions of Alexander 
 had caused to be more than usually full of 
 arrests and expatriations for real or sus- 
 pected political offences. 
 
 The coronation of the emperor followed; 
 but, before we speak of this event, it is ne- 
 cessary to mention a few brief biographical 
 facts concerning bis career before he came 
 to the throne. Nicholas, the third son of 
 the emperor Paul, was bom at St. Peters- 
 burg on the 7th of July, 1796. On the 
 assassination of that eccentric tyrant, the 
 young grand-duke was left entirely to the 
 care of his mother. This lady appointed 
 General Lamsdorf to be his governor, and 
 selected the Countess Lieven, and the Ger- 
 man philologist, Adelung, as his principal 
 teachers in languages and literature, and 
 counsellor Storch as his ijistructor in 
 general politics, and in the other sciences 
 and arts regarded as suitable to his rank 
 and station. Nicholas acquired the power 
 of speaking the French and German lan- 
 guages with as much facility as the Russian, 
 and early manifested that attachment for 
 military display and the art of fortification 
 which distinguished him through life. 
 
 On the termination, in 1814, of the great 
 European war, Nicholas was sent on his 
 travels, and visited some of the principal 
 battle-fields. In 1816 he came to England, 
 and was received with much cordiality. He 
 afterwards made a tour of the chief pro- 
 vinces of the Russian empire. On the 13th 
 of July, 1817, he was united to Frederica 
 Louisa Charlotte Wilhelmina, the eldest 
 daughter of Frederic William III., the king 
 of Prussia. The lady, born on the 13th of 
 July, 1798, entered the Greek church on 
 the occasion of her marriage, and, according 
 to Russian custom, assumed the names of 
 Alexandra Feodorowua. 
 
 The coronation of the emperor and em- 
 
A.D. 1826.] 
 
 KUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [coronation of NICHOLAS. 
 
 press took place at Moscow on the 3rd of 
 September, 1826, aud was conducted with 
 extraordinary pomp ; so much so, as to elicit 
 from a lady of rank the thoughtless expres- 
 sion of " How vexatious it is that such fttes 
 are so rare \" Their imperial majesties 
 were received at Moscow with an enthu- 
 siasm which was scarcely to have been 
 expected after the recent insurrection, aud 
 its tragical and unpopular results. That 
 ancient city exhibited a splendid spectacle ; 
 for those portions of it which had been 
 destroyed by the conflagration of 1812, had 
 been rebuilt in a more elegant and durable 
 manner; noble stone structures having, in 
 many instances, taken the place of wooden 
 palaces and other buildings. One incident, 
 on this occasion, produced a great and joyful 
 sensation amongst the crowds which filled 
 the city. On the evening before the corona- 
 tion, the Grand-duke Constantine came 
 spontaneously and unexpectedly from War- 
 saw, to assist in the ceremony, and do 
 honour to his younger brother. When 
 Nicholas and Constantine appeared hand- 
 in-hand on the day of the coronation, the 
 enthusiasm of the people knew no bounds ; 
 and the tremendous shouts of " Hurrah ! 
 Constantine !" which rent the air, at first 
 startled the emperor, as they recalled a 
 painful recollection of the events of the 
 insurrection at St. Petersburg. It was but 
 for a moment ; Nicholas then saw that the 
 shouts were a tribute of admiration to the 
 generous self-denial of Constantine; and 
 the brothers publicly embraced. Constan- 
 tine, though seventeen years older than 
 Nicholas, had not only surrendered his 
 crown, but was the first to do homage to 
 the new sovereign. 
 
 • Nicholas was in some respects favoured 
 by nature, and had many qualities which 
 fitted him for the exalted position in which 
 he was placed. His stature was remarkably 
 lofty; his features handsome, though their 
 customary expression was cold and severe ; 
 and his demeanour majestic. He united 
 considerable mental powers with an in- 
 flexible will, and that subtlety of intellect 
 which is characteristic of educated Russians. 
 
 • That is to say, that the improvements and 
 triumphs of Nicholas have been accomplished by a 
 retrograde motion, in opposition to the enlighten- 
 ment and progressive spirit of the most civilised 
 nations of Europe ! This going back into the past, 
 or, at the best, standing still with barbarism, may 
 have been a triumph to the emperor Nicholas ; for 
 it certainly appears to have been one of the chief 
 aims of his rule ; but how it coulc" be an iniprove- 
 3 p 
 
 He has been praised as patriotic; but it 
 would be more correct to say that he loved 
 Russia, and laboured incessantly to exalt it, 
 because he identified its greatness with his 
 own. Like Louis XIV., he also might 
 have said what indeed he ever felt — "The 
 state? I am the state.^' Alison, the wor- 
 shipper of everything Russian, and, not 
 least, of Russian despotism, writing, during 
 the life of Nicholas, said of him: — "He 
 wishes to improve and elevate his country, 
 and he has done much to efi'ect that noble 
 object ; but he desires to do so by developing, 
 not changing, the national spirit; by making 
 it become a first Russia, not a second 
 France or England. He has adopted the 
 maxim of Montesquieu — that no nation ever 
 attained to real greatness but by institu- 
 tions in conformity with its spirit. He is 
 neither led away by the thirst for sudden 
 mechanical improvement, like Peter, nor 
 the praises of philosophers, like Catherine, 
 nor the visions of inexperienced philan- 
 thropy, like Alexander. He has not at- 
 tempted to erect a capital in a pestilential 
 marsh, and done so at the expense of a 
 hundred thousand lives ; nor has he dreamt 
 of mystical regeneration with a tisionary 
 sybil, and made sovereigns put their hands 
 to a holy alliance from her influence. He 
 neither corresponds with French atheists 
 nor English democrats; he despises the 
 praises of the first, he braves the hostility 
 of the last. His maxim is to take men as 
 they are, and neither suppose them better 
 nor worse. He is content to let Russia 
 grow up in a Russian garb, animated with a 
 Russian spirit, and moulded by Russian in- 
 stitutions, without the aid either of Parisian 
 communism or British liberalism. The im- 
 provements he has effected in the govern- 
 ment of his dominions have been vast ; the 
 triumphs with which his external policy 
 have been attended, unbounded; but they 
 have all been achieved, not in imitation of, 
 but in opposition to, the ideas of western 
 Europe.* They bespeak, not less than his 
 internal government, the national character 
 of his policy." 
 
 While speaking personally of the em- 
 
 ment we are at a loss to perceive. As we have 
 stated in a previous note (see ante, p. 348), there was 
 more freedom in Russia, and more promise of a 
 better state of society, under the sway of Catherine 
 II., than there has ever been since. Had the em- 
 pire been governed, since her time, by a succession 
 of monarchs of her intellectual power, its moral and 
 social development, and national progress towards 
 that rational freedom, personal polish, and general 
 
 473 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE EMPEROR.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1826. 
 
 peror Nicholas, it will be well to introduce 
 the following portraiture of him by the 
 French traveller, the Marquis de Custine, 
 who had frequent opportunities of observing 
 him. The description refers to a later 
 period of the Mfe of the emperor; but it 
 is probable that it applies almost equally 
 as well to the one of which we are now 
 writing : — 
 
 " The predominant expression of his 
 countenance is that of a restless severity, 
 which strikes a beholder at the first glance, 
 and, in spite of the regularity of his features, 
 conveys by no means a pleasant impression. 
 Physiognomists pretend, with much reason, 
 that the hardness of the heart injures the 
 beauty of the countenance. Nevertheless, 
 this expression in the emperor Nicholas 
 appears to be the result of experience rather 
 than the work of nature. By what long 
 and cruel sufferings must not a man have 
 been tortured, when his countenance ex- 
 cites fear, notwithstanding the voluntary 
 confidence that noble features inspire ! 
 
 " A man charged with the management 
 and direction, in its most minute details, of 
 some immense machine, incessantly fears 
 the derangement of one or other of its 
 various parts. He who obeys, sufi'ers only 
 according to the precise measure of the 
 evil inflicted; he who commands, suffers 
 first as other inen suffer, and afterwards, 
 that common measure of evil is multiplied 
 a hundred-fold for him by the workings of 
 imagination and self-love. Responsibility 
 is the punishment of absolute power. If 
 he be the primum mobile of all minds, he 
 becomes the centre also of all griefs; the 
 more he is dreaded, the more is he to be 
 pitied.* 
 
 " He to whom is accorded unlimited 
 rule, sees, even in the common occurrences 
 of life, the spectre of revolt. Persuaded 
 that his rights are sacred, he recognises no 
 bounds to them but those of his own intel- 
 ligence and will, and he is, therefore, sub- 
 ject to constant annoyance. An unlucky 
 fly, buzzing in the imperial palace during a 
 ceremony, mortifies the emperor; the inde- 
 pendence of nature appears to him a bad 
 example ; everything which he cannot sub- 
 ject to his arbitrary laws, becomes, in his 
 
 education by which serfs and mobs are converted 
 into a people, would have been far more rapid. 
 The eventual attainment of these things by Russia 
 is only a work of time: government cannot always 
 be earned on by repressive means ; for progression 
 IS a law of nature, whether applied to a tree, a man, 
 or an empire. Men cannot for ever be ruled bv a 
 474 ' 
 
 eyes, as a soldier who, in the heat of battle, 
 revolts against his officer. The emperor of 
 Russia is a military chief, and every day 
 with him is a day of battle. 
 
 " Nevertheless, at times some gleams of 
 softness temper the imperious looks of this 
 monarch ; and then, the expression of affa- 
 bility reveals all the native beauty of his 
 classic features. In the heart of the hus- 
 band and the father, humanity triumphs 
 for a moment over the policy of the prince. 
 When the sovereign rests from his task of 
 imposing the yoke upon his subjects, he 
 appears happy. This combat between the 
 primitive dignity of the man and the affected 
 gravity of the sovereign, appears to me 
 worthy the attention of an observer; it 
 occupied mine the greater part of the time 
 I passed in the chapel. 
 
 " The emperor is above the usual height 
 by half a head ; his figure is noble, although 
 a little stiff; he has practised from his 
 youth the Russian custom of girding the 
 body above the loins, to such a degree as 
 to push up the stomach into the chest, 
 which produces an unnatural swelling or 
 extension about the ribs that is as injurious 
 to health as it is ungraceful in appearance. 
 This voluntary deformity destroys all free- 
 dom of movement, impairs the elegance of 
 the shape, and imparts an air of constraint 
 to the whole person. They say that when 
 the emperor loosens his dress, the viscera, 
 suddenly giving way, are disturbed for a 
 moment in their equilibrium, which pro- 
 duces an extraordinary prostration of 
 strength. 
 
 " The emperor has a Grecian profile, the 
 forehead high, but receding; the nose 
 straight and perfectly formed; the mouth 
 very finely cut ; the face, which in shape is 
 rather a long oval, is noble ; the whole air 
 military, and rather German than Slavonic. 
 His carriage and his attitudes are naturally 
 imposing. He expects always to be gazed 
 at, and never for a moment forgets that he 
 is so. It may even be said, that he likes 
 this homage of the eyes. 
 
 " He passes the greater part of his exis- 
 tence in the open air, at reviews, or in rapid 
 journeys. During summer, the shade of 
 his military hat draws across his forehead 
 
 dread of banishment, the knout, the axe, or the 
 bayonet. 
 
 • Perhaps so : but the doctrine is a fanciful one. 
 The marquis, in the work from which we quote 
 (De Custine's Itussia), utters many very question- 
 able opinions, and some rather puerile ones. We 
 prefer his narrative to his reflections. 
 
A.D. 1826.] 
 
 BUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [war with PERSIA. 
 
 an oblique line, which marks the action of 
 the sun upon the skin. It produces a 
 singular effect, but is not disagreeable, as 
 the cause is at once perceived. 
 
 " In examining attentively the fine person 
 of this individual, on whose will hangs the 
 fate of so many others, I have remarked, 
 with involuntary pity, that he cannot smile 
 at the same time with the eyes and the 
 mouth ; a want of harmony which denotes 
 perpetual constraint, and which makes one 
 remember, with regret, that easy natural 
 grace so conspicuous in the less regular 
 but more agreeable countenance of his 
 brother, the emperor Alexander. The 
 
 latter, always pleasing, had yet, at times, 
 an assumed manner. The emperor Nicho- 
 las is more sincere ; but he has an habitual 
 expression of severity, which sometimes 
 gives the idea of harshness and inflexibility. 
 If, however, he is less fascinating, he is 
 more firm thaij his late brother ; but theu, 
 it must be added, that he has also a propor- 
 tionately greater need of firmness. Grace- 
 ful courtesy insures authority by removing 
 the desire of resistance. The judicious 
 economy in the exercise of power is a secret 
 of which the emperor Nicholas is ignorant ; 
 he is one who desires to be obeyed where 
 others desire to be loved.'* 
 
 CHAPTER LVI. 
 
 WAR WITH PERSIA ; DEFEAT AND SUBMISSION OF THAT STATE ; THE GREEK INSURRECTION AND WAR OF 
 INDEPENDENCE ; RUSSIA AT FIRST DECLINES INTERFERENCE ; SUBSEQUENT INTERVENTION OF ENGLAND, 
 FRANCE, AND RUSSIA ; DESTRUCTION OF THE TURKISH FLEET AT NAVARINO ; EMANCIPATION OF GREECE 
 FROM THE OTTOMAN YOKE; WAR WITH TURKEY; CAMPAIGNS OF 1828 AND 1829; INTERFERENCE OF 
 ENGLAND AND AUSTRIA ; PEACE OF ADRIANOPLE ; REFLECTIONS UPON THAT EVENT. 
 
 The emperor Nicholas, the very month of 
 his coronation, declared war against Persia ; 
 an imperial manifesto to that effect appear- 
 ing on the 28th of September, 1826. The 
 region of the Caucasus was the cause of the 
 quarrel. The Russian government, ever 
 pursuing its policy of intervention in the 
 affairs of weak or divided nations, had, in 
 the year 1801, taken the Georgians into 
 its protection, and annexed their country to 
 the Russian empire.^ Even long before 
 that time, the mountains of the Caucasus 
 were the scene of almost incessant contests 
 between the Russians, Turks, and Persians, 
 who contended with each other for the 
 possession of the soil. The various native 
 tribes, or petty nations, also repelled their 
 invaders with great bravery, and made it 
 extremely dangerous for any of them to 
 advance beyond the fortified posts they 
 occupied. The recent wars with Persia 
 and with Turkey had left Russia the pre- 
 dominant power in this locality. Yet her 
 mode of government was not suited to the 
 hardy and independent mountaineers, who 
 soon broke out into hostility against its 
 oppressiveness. This irritation was fomented 
 • See ante, p. 384. 
 
 by the Turkish and Persian courts ; and the 
 war which Nicholas now declared against 
 Persia was intended to decide the question, 
 as to which was to become master of the 
 Caucasus. 
 
 Persia soon felt her inability to contend 
 against the overshadowing might of Russia. 
 Her troops were utterly defeated by the 
 Russians, under General Paskiewitch, on 
 the 8th of August, at the battle of Eliza- 
 bethpol. In the campaign of the following 
 year the Persians were equally unfortunate. 
 Several towns were taken; and the shah, 
 threatened with destruction, had no re- 
 source but in. sub mission. Peace was con- 
 cluded between the two courts on the 28th 
 of February, 1828. By this treaty, that o£ 
 Turkmantchai, Russia (though she dis- 
 claimed all desire of conquest, and repelled 
 as injurious every imputation of an ambi- 
 tious desire to aggrandise her territory) 
 declared, that her anxiety to prevent any 
 future collision with Persia, compelled her 
 to establish a frontier line, so well defined 
 as to leave no room for doubt or discussion. 
 The river Araxes was therefore adopted as 
 this boundary — an arrangement by which 
 the Russian dominions in Asia were con- 
 
 475 
 
THE GREEK INSURRECTION.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1821. 
 
 siderably increased. The Khanat of Talish, 
 the province and fortress of Erivan, were 
 thus ceded to Russia; together with the 
 iraportaut harbour of Anapa, on the Black 
 Sea. The sacrifices made by Persia were 
 immense ; for, in addition to the territorial 
 concessions, she was compelled to pay the 
 whole expenses of the war. She had, how- 
 ever, no alternative, not being in a condition 
 to renew the struggle. 
 
 It is necessary to say a few words with 
 respect to the Greek insurrection against 
 the power of Sultan Mahmoud — a struggle 
 which, at this period, occupied the atten- 
 tion of nearly the whole of Europe. Four 
 centuries of national subjection beneath 
 the barbarous government of the Turks, 
 had not extinguished in the Greeks their 
 ancient love of liberty, or bowed their spirit 
 to their abject condition. 
 
 Debased as the national character was 
 by ages of a grinding political servitude, 
 although the Greeks mostly retained only 
 the vices of their brave and beauty-loving 
 ancestors, yet were there many of them 
 who remembered that they were the de- 
 scendants of a noble race — 
 
 " Whose land, from plain to mountain cave, 
 Was Freedom's home or Glory's grave !" 
 
 and, in their enthusiastic bosoms, the spark 
 of liberty, once implanted, was soon fanned 
 into a quenchless flame. 
 
 The numerous troubles in which the 
 Ottoman empire was involved, had encou- 
 raged in the Greeks a hope of throwing oflF 
 its oppressive yoke. A powerful secret 
 society was formed, with a well-organised 
 agency, which extended throughout the 
 whole of European Turkey. It was ru- 
 moured, in whispers, that some of the most 
 distinguished persons in Europe were mem- 
 bers of the society of the Hetairists. Count 
 Capo d^Istria, a Greek by birth, but a 
 Russian by adoption, who held the impor- 
 tant situation of private secretary to the 
 .emperor Alexander, was known to be one — 
 an incident which gave rise to the rumour, 
 that even the czar himself was amongst the 
 number. This circumstance, combined 
 with the fact of identity in religion, and 
 the well-known desires of the Russian gov- 
 ernment, caused all the Greeks to cast their 
 eyes towards that country, with not only 
 the hope, but the almost confident expecta- 
 tion of assistance. 
 
 In the war between the Porte and Ali 
 Pasha (the powerful ruler of Janina), the 
 476 
 
 Greeks thought they saw the long-desired 
 opportunity. A general rising was there- 
 fore proclaimed on the 6th of April, 1821, 
 by the Archbishop of Patros, and univer- 
 sally responded to. The Greeks were at 
 first successful ; but Mahmoud, having ob- 
 tained the assistance of Mehemet Ali, the 
 pasha of Egypt, and his warlike son, Ibra- 
 him, made such fierce eflforts to crush the 
 insurrection, that it seemed that submis- 
 sion must be eventually inevitable. The 
 struggle was, however, continued with 
 great heroism and endurance on the part 
 of the Greeks, and with a revolting bar- 
 barity on that of the Turks. The Greeks 
 confidently expected assistance from Russia ; 
 but, as we have shown in a preceding chapter, 
 the emperor Alexander held aloof, from a 
 morbid fear of all revolutionary proceedings. 
 Notwithstanding the brilliant opportunity 
 thus offered him of reconstituting a Greek 
 empire which should ultimately reconquer 
 Constantinople, his dread of revolutionary 
 measures and doctrines induced him to 
 proclaim a strict neutrality in the war be- 
 tween the Turks and the Greek subjects. 
 The last check to the Ottoman fury was 
 thus removed : a religious enthusiasm 
 seized the Turks, who demanded to be led 
 against the infidels, whom they declared 
 they would exterminate to the last man. 
 Such was the fury of the Turkish govern- 
 ment and people, that the whole of the 
 Greeks in Constantinople were only saved 
 from massacre in consequence of the earnest 
 remonstrance of the Russian, French, and 
 English ambassadors. The Greek patriarch 
 and many of the Christian dignitaries were, 
 however, ruthlessly murdered, and the 
 churches broken into, plundered, and pro- 
 faned. 
 
 Such were the atrocities and massacres 
 committed by the Turks, and so unyield- 
 ing was the attitude of the Greeks, that the 
 Russian government expostulated with the 
 sultan, and demanded reparation for the 
 insults oflPered to the Greek religion, and 
 the adoption of a more humane system of 
 warfare in the contest with its Christian 
 subjects. The divan deigned no answer to 
 an expostulation which was accompanied 
 with a threat of hostile proceedings in the 
 event of refusal; and the Russian ambas- 
 sador left Constantinople, having narrowly 
 escaped being sent to the Seven Towers. 
 The sultan then sent a message to St. 
 Petersburg, justifying his own conduct, and 
 stating, that the Christian churches which 
 
A.D. 1827.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE, [interference of the allies. 
 
 had been destroyed by the Turkish popu- 
 lace should be rebuilt. 
 
 In the year 1822, the Greeks proclaimed 
 their independence of the sultan, and 
 achieved several heroic successes, which 
 only drove their enemies to fresh barbari- 
 ties. The vindictive struggle was pro- 
 longed over several years. The awful mas- 
 sacre in the island of Chios, created a thrill 
 ef horror throughout Europe. The feel- 
 ing of the Christian nations was at length 
 fairly aroused; and England, France, and 
 Russia resolved to put a stop to this san- 
 guinary war of extermination. Mahmoud, 
 however, bent upon crushing all rebellion 
 within his dominions, and making himself 
 obeyed both by his Mohammedan and Chris- 
 tian subjects, declined any interference. 
 The three powers, therefore, entered into an 
 alliance on the 7th of July, 1827, for the 
 protection of the Greeks. Alexander had 
 been succeeded by his brother Nicholas, 
 who was more disposed to turn the Greek 
 revolution to political account than his 
 cautious predecessor had beeu. 
 
 In consequence of this celebrated treaty, 
 which has been aptly called "the corner- 
 stone of Greek independence/' the united 
 powers proposed to the sultan that Greece 
 should be a vassal state of Turkey, and 
 acknowledge his suzerainty by paying an 
 annual tribute. The Greeks, on their part, 
 promised to submit to these conditions ; 
 bur Mahmoud rejected them with disdain, 
 and declared his fixed determination to 
 persevere to the last in his endeavours to 
 reduce his rebellious subjects to submis- 
 sion. In a manifesto issued upon the oc- 
 casion, he said — " The Sublime Porte being 
 engaged in punishing, and, in conformity 
 with its sacred law, such of its turbulent 
 subjects as have revolted, can never admit 
 the right of any other power to interfere 
 with it. The Ottoman government must 
 consider those who address such proposals 
 to it as intending to give consequence to a 
 troop of brigands. A Greek government 
 is spoken of, which is to be recognised in 
 case the Sublime Porte does not consent to 
 some arrangement ; and it has even been 
 proposed to conclude a treaty with the 
 rebels. Has not the Sublime Porte great 
 reason to be struck with astonishment 
 at hearing such language from friendly 
 powers ? for history offers no example of 
 conduct in all respects so opposite to the 
 principles and duties of government. The 
 Sublime Pdi-te, therefore, can never listen 
 
 to such propositions, which it will neither 
 hear nor understand, so long as the coun- 
 try inhabited by Greeks forms part of the 
 Ottoman dominions; and they are tribu- 
 tary subjects to the Porte, which will never 
 renounce its rights. If, with the aid of the 
 Almighty, the Sublime Porte resumes full 
 possession of that country, it will then act, 
 as well for the present as the futurCj in 
 conformity with the ordinances which its 
 holy law prescribes with respect to its 
 subjects." 
 
 This haughty answer provoked the allied 
 powers to have recourse to menace in 
 another form than words. They sent a 
 fleet consisting of four English men-of-war, 
 together with the same number of French 
 and Russian ships of the line. A final 
 note was then addressed to the sultan, who 
 again decidedly refused to admit of any 
 foreign interference in the contest pending 
 between him and his Greek subjects. He 
 was then informed, that the allied sove- 
 reigns would take such steps as they con- 
 sidered necessary to put an end to the 
 struggle, though without interrupting the 
 amity existing between them and the Porte. 
 The persevering atrocities of Ibrahim Pasha 
 hurried on the collision which such a state 
 of afifairs threatened ; and on the 20th of 
 October, 1827, the Turko-Egyptian fleet 
 was, after a furious battle, which lasted for 
 four hours, almost annihilated at Navarino. 
 No less than fifty-two vessels, including 
 four line-of-battle ships, nineteen frigates, 
 and twenty-nine corvettes, were destroyed, 
 together with their crews, amounting to 
 about 7,000 men. Of the allies, the se- 
 verest loss was sustained by the British, 
 upon whom the brunt of the action fell ; it 
 amounted to 75 killed, and 197 wounded. 
 The loss of the French was 43 killed, and 
 117 wounded; while that of the Russians 
 was very trivial; for though that power 
 had the greatest interest in the quarrel, yet 
 it contrived to let its allies fight the battle. 
 
 Sultan Mahmoud bore this calamity with 
 more calmness than was expected. He 
 replied to a communication from the allied 
 ministers — " My positive, absolute, defini- 
 tive, unchangeable, eternal answer is, that 
 the Sublime Porte does not accept any 
 proposition regarding the Greeks, and will 
 persist in its own will regarding them, even 
 to the day of the last judgment." The 
 sultan also demanded compensation for the 
 destruction of his fleet, and declared that, 
 until he received it, he would hold no inter- 
 
 477 
 
WAR WITH TURKEY.] 
 
 HISTOEY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1828. 
 
 course with the ambassadors of the three 
 powers; who accordingly found it neces- 
 sary to withdraw from Constantinople, 
 which they did on the 8th of December, 
 1827. The withdrawal of the Ottoman 
 forces, and the emancipation of Greece 
 from the Turkish yoke, was the immediate 
 consequence of the battle of Navarino ; the 
 promotion of the designs of Russia upon 
 the territory of the sultan the remote re- 
 sult. Some grave fears were at the time 
 entertained, in this country, respecting the 
 increase which it gave to the preponder- 
 ance of Russia in the East. 
 
 It has been correctly observed, that peace 
 between Russia and Turkey is never any- 
 thing more than a truce. To the ceaseless 
 aggression of the first power must be added 
 a fierce national antipathy between the 
 Russians and the Turks, arising from dif- 
 ference of race and religion. These motives 
 produce incessant animosity of so malignant 
 a kind, that its fever is only to be cooled by 
 frequent bloodshed. Prior to the battle of 
 Navarino, Nicholas had been preparing for 
 a renewal of war with Turkey, and, in the 
 September of 1827, had ordered a military 
 levy of two males in every 500 throughout 
 the empire. At the same time an imperial 
 ukase subjected the Jews resident in Russia 
 to the military conscription. It may be 
 presumed that the angry feeling existing 
 between the Porte and the court of St. 
 Petersburg was greatly aggravated by the 
 catastrophe of Navarino; the more so, as the 
 Turks, perhaps incorrectly, attributed the 
 insurrection in Greece in a great measure 
 to the secret machinations of the czar. 
 Violent recriminations accordingly took 
 place, and it soon appeared that both na- 
 tions had resolved on war. The sultan 
 accused the Russians of secretly encouraging 
 the insurgent Greeks; with having assisted 
 in the destruction of his fleet at Navarino, 
 and violated the treaty of Bucharest. 
 Nicholas replied by a manifesto, accusing 
 the Porte of having excited the Circassiaus 
 to revolt, and invited them to adopt Mo- 
 hammedanism; with the violation of all 
 treaties made in favour of its Christian sub- 
 jects; with having arbitrarily fettered the 
 commerce of the Black Sea, violated the 
 amnesty granted to the Servians, and sup- 
 ported the Persians in their recent war with 
 Russia. 
 
 For some months each empire was occu- 
 pied with extensive military preparations. 
 Hostihties commenced in May, 1828, when 
 478 
 
 General Wittgenstein crossed the Pruth at 
 the head of 150,000 men, and in a short 
 time took possession of Jassy and Bucharest, 
 the capitals of Moldavia and Wallachia. 
 Turkey was fearfully weakened, in a military 
 point of view, by the breaking-up and de- 
 struction of the Janissaries — an act which 
 Mahmoud had considered as inevitable, 
 on account of their insolent and mutinous 
 behaviour. The energetic sultan believed 
 that his new troops, organised after the 
 European system, would at once behave as 
 well as European armies, and make up their 
 numerical loss by their superior eflSciency 
 in the field. In this, however, he was mis- 
 taken; in exterminating the Janissaries he 
 had crushed the military strength of his 
 empire : his military reforms were extremely 
 unpopular; and the fanatical Mussulman 
 held aloof from the service of the state 
 rather than adopt the costume and military 
 tactics of the hated Christians. 
 
 Still the sultan proclaimed a holy war in 
 defence of the religion of the prophet, and 
 thus succeeded in collecting a very formi- 
 dable force, amounting to scarcely less than 
 100,000 men, on the banks of the Danube, 
 and as many more in Asia Minor, where 
 General Paskiewitch was in the command of 
 a Russian army. 
 
 The Russians forced the passage of the 
 Danube in the month of June ; and, on the 
 20th of that month, took the fortress of 
 Kustendji, by which means they acquired a 
 fortified harbour on the Black Sea, from 
 which they could obtain supplies for their 
 troops. They, however, suffered great loss 
 while prosecuting the siege of Brahilov. 
 On the first assault the Russians were re- 
 pulsed with great slaughter, no less than 
 3,000 of them being killed or wounded 
 around the breach. The following day, the 
 18th of June, the Turkish governor capitu- 
 lated, and the Turks were allowed to retire 
 from the town with the honours of war. 
 The captors found 270 guns on the ramparts, 
 and 17,000 pounds of powder in the maga- 
 zines, together with immense stores of wood 
 and provisions. The Russians also ob- 
 tained further successes; and several for- 
 tresses, in the neighbourhood of the Danube, 
 surrendered to them with a rapidity which 
 engendered a suspicion of treachery on the 
 part of those entrusted with the defence of 
 them. 
 
 The sultan was, nevertheless, indefatigable 
 in his efforts to defend his empire, and occu- 
 pied himself constantly in organising troops, 
 
A.D. 1828.] 
 
 EUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [war with turket. 
 
 and sending reinforcements to the theatre 
 of war. A reserve was formed at Adrianople 
 to relieve any point that might be threatened 
 in the line of defence, and orders were issued 
 to harass the enemy in every way, and at 
 the same time to avoid general actions. Yet 
 success favoured the Russians, who, in con- 
 sequence of the result of the battle of Nava- 
 riuo, had acquired the superiority at sea. 
 To this they owed the capture, on the 11th 
 of June, of Anapa — a fortress on the Asiatic 
 shore of the Black Sea, and regarded as 
 valuable as being a safe and convenient 
 harbour on that dangerous coast. On the 
 8th of July the first engagement of the 
 campaign in the open field took place at 
 Bazardjik, where the Russians experienced 
 a defeat, and sustained a loss of 1,300 men. 
 This check induced the emperor Nicholas, 
 who had accompanied his troops, to wait 
 for reinforcements before he resumed the 
 struggle. 
 
 The Russians resumed their march on 
 the 15th of July, and their advanced guard 
 was again engaged and worsted by the 
 Turkish cavalry. In another cavalry action, 
 which took place before Shumla, the Turks, 
 after eifecting several brilliant charges, were 
 compelled to retire before the Russian ar- 
 tillery. Nicholas intended to attack Shumla, 
 which is a place of great strength, and re- 
 garded as the key to the Balkan; but a 
 nearer acquaintance with the difficulties 
 inseparable from such an attempt, induced 
 him to abandon the design. Leaving, there- 
 fore, a corps of 30,000 men to watch Shumla, 
 be directed his efforts to the reduction of 
 Varna, in which proceeding he could be 
 assisted by his fleet. It was necessary to 
 accomplish some success to sustain the 
 prestige of the Russian arms; for the result 
 of the campaign had not been very favour- 
 able to them. Its issue was doubtful ; pes- 
 tilential fevers had made their appearance 
 amongst the troops; the hospitals were 
 crowded with sick, and cases of the plague 
 had occurred. The invading army had lost 
 about half its number ; for sickness had, as 
 is always the case in campaigns conducted 
 in an enemy's country, proved far more 
 fatal than the sword. The siege of Varna 
 proceeded slowly, for the Turkish garrison 
 made constant sallies, and fought with an 
 intrepidity that cost the Russians a vast 
 number of men. A Turkish detachment 
 from the reserve at Adrianople, also at- 
 tempted to relieve the town; and though 
 they did not succeed in doing so, they yet 
 
 inflicted some severe reverses on the Rus- 
 sians. The siege was still pressed forward ; 
 and although the defence was heroically 
 maintained, the governor became at length 
 sensible that eventual surrender was inevit- 
 able. It capitulated on the II th of Octo- 
 ber, the garrison, amounting to 6,800 men, 
 becoming prisoners of war. No less than 
 162 pieces of cannon were taken by the 
 victors, besides great stores of ammunition 
 and provisions. The capitulation was con- 
 ducted by Jussuf Pasha, the second in com- 
 mand, without the consent of his superior. 
 The rumours of treachery which this man's 
 conduct occasioned, were soon confirmed by 
 the fact of his sailing away in a Russian 
 frigate to Odessa, where he shortly after- 
 wards received a grant of lands in the 
 Crimea from the emperor Nicholas, on the 
 pretence of compensating him for the loss of 
 his Turkish estates, which had been confis- 
 cated at the command of the sultan. 
 
 Varna had fallen; but the important 
 fortress of Sill stria, which had been for 
 some time blockaded by the Russians, suc- 
 cessfully defied its enemies. An attempt to 
 invest it, in the hope of compelling it to 
 surrender before the coming on of winter, 
 was frustrated by the autumnal storms. 
 The Russians then found it necessary to 
 raise the blockade, and to retreat behind 
 the Danube. This chequered campaign, in 
 fact, terminated with the capitulation of 
 Varna, and the emperor Nicholas em- 
 barked, on the 14th of October, on board 
 a vessel named the Empress-mother, for 
 Odessa. During the voyage the ship was 
 overtaken by a tempest ; and the peril was 
 so great, that all on board gave themselves 
 up for lost. Nicholas alone, it is said, 
 preserved a dignified demeanour; and on 
 the captain proposing to run the vessel 
 ashore, declared, that he would sooner die 
 than fall into the hands of the sultan. A 
 change in the wind saved him from either 
 fate ; and the vessel at length reached 
 Odessa, after the crew had sustained great 
 toil and sufferings. The retreat of the 
 main Russian army towards the Danube 
 was, in consequence of the severity of the 
 weather, the bad roads, and the harassing 
 attacks of the fierce Turkish cavalry, at- 
 tended with so many disasters, and so great 
 a loss of life, that eye-witnesses of both 
 instituted comparisons between it and the 
 terrible retreat of the French from Moscow 
 in 1812. After suffering fearful hardships, 
 the miserable Russian columns reached the 
 
 479 
 
' WAK WITH TURKEY.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1829. 
 
 Danube, which they crossed, and took up 
 their winter quarters in Wallachia. 
 
 In Asia the Russians, under the able 
 General Paskiewitch, were more successful, 
 though their force did not exceed 26,000 
 men. Paskiewitch laid siege to the strongly- 
 fortified town of Kars, and captured it, 
 despite its reputation for impregnability. 
 The garrison, numbering 7,000 men, were 
 made prisoners ; while 129 pieces of cannon, 
 22 mortars, 33 standards, and immense 
 stores of ammunition, became the spoil of 
 the victors. Akhalzikh, a strong fortress 
 between Kars and the Black Sea, next 
 succumbed to the Russians ; and during 
 the progress of the siege, a severe conflict, 
 or rather battle, took place, in which the 
 Turks suffered a decided defeat. The 
 forts Alskhur and Ardagan were also 
 reduced, and preparations made for an 
 advance ou Erzeroum, the capital of Asia 
 Minor, in the n,ext campaign ; the present 
 one terminating with some comparatively 
 unimportant though successful operations. 
 
 Before the resumption of hostilities in 
 the following year, the Russian ambassador 
 to Persia was assassinated at Tehera,n — a 
 circumstance which created great excite- 
 ment, and seemed to promise a renewal 
 of war with that country. Reports were 
 circulated, that an offensive and defensive 
 alliance had been made between Turkey 
 and Persia. The Asiatic pro^dnces, which, 
 from prudential motives, had courted the 
 alliance of the Russian general, now ex- 
 hibited signs of hostility ; and the Turks 
 were encouraged to make an attempt to 
 recover the town and fortress of Akhalzikh. 
 In the spring of 1829 the Russians were 
 besieged there by the Turks. The garrison 
 suffered severely from the fire of their 
 assailants, and was reduced to a state of 
 extreme peril. They, however, rejected 
 every summons to surrender, and were 
 saved by the arrival of a relieving force, 
 which succeeded in compelling the Turks to 
 raise the siege. This event induced the 
 Persian government to change its policy. 
 Abandoning its threatening attitude, and 
 disbanding its armaments, it sought and 
 obtained the restoration of amicable rela- 
 tions with Russia. 
 
 We must now turn from the hostilities 
 between the Turks and Russians in Asia, to 
 those which took place between them in 
 Europe, during the memorable campaign of 
 1829. Each side had made great efforts, 
 during the winter, to recruit its forces : but 
 480 
 
 a spirit of disaffection prevailed amongst the 
 Turks, who soon suffered severely for this 
 want of loyalty towards their sultan, and 
 of union among themselves. Not more 
 than 100,000 Ottomans could be collected 
 to defend the line of the Balkan, and of 
 these about half were required to garrison 
 the various fortresses on the Danube. On 
 the other hand, the Russians commenced 
 the campaign with an army which rein- 
 foi'cements had' restored to its original 
 strength of 150,000 men, who had with 
 them 540 guns, and enormous stores of 
 every requisite. The command was now 
 given to General Diebitch, who had long 
 acquired a great reputation for military 
 talent. The Russians had a far greater 
 superiority at sea ; and while with one fleet 
 they blockaded the Bosphorus, with another 
 they shut in the Dardanelles. Constanti- 
 nople itself was thus threatened with famine, 
 from the loss of great part of its supplies ; 
 and as the Turks had no maritime power of 
 sufficient strength to meet their foes, the 
 latter had the entire command of the sea 
 during the whole of the war. 
 
 The plan of the Russians was, to besiege 
 Silistria, Roudschuck, and Shumla; and, 
 after taking those places, to cross the range 
 of the Balkans, and direct their march 
 towards Constantinople. After some fierce 
 but undecisive actions had taken place 
 between detachments of the contending 
 armies, Silistria was again invested with 
 a force of 35,000 men ; while its garrison 
 consisted of less than 10,000. To relate 
 the particulars of the siege, is neither pos- 
 sible nor necessary in a work of this limit. 
 During its continuance, the battle of Kou- 
 leftscha was fought, on the 11th of June. 
 Victory, which at first favoured the Turks, 
 finally remained with the Russians, who 
 slew 5,000 of the Moslems, and captured 
 1,500, though at a great cost of life to 
 themselves. By the 30th of the same 
 month, the ramparts of Silistria were 
 breached; and, as further resistance was 
 regarded as hopeless, the pashas who com- 
 manded surrendered the town to the 
 enemy, and the garrison as prisoners of 
 war. 
 
 Possessed of Silistria, Diebitch made in- 
 stant preparations for passing the Balkan; 
 at the same time diverting the attention 
 of the Turks by apparent preparations for 
 an attack on Shumla. The Aidos Pass, 
 through the chain of the Balkans, is re- 
 garded as the easiest, as a chasm at that 
 
^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 >s 
 
 
 i^ 
 
A.D. 1829.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [treaty of adrianople. 
 
 spot renders the ascent but slight : yet the 
 Porte had been so negligent as to leave 
 this pass comparatively undefended. The 
 Turks were compelled to retire after some 
 slight encounters ; and the famous moun- 
 tain bai'rier, which defends Constantinople 
 from its European foes, was passed in 
 triumph. The grand vizier, on learning 
 what was going forward, detached 10,000 
 men from Shumla, to oppose the passage of 
 the Russians ; but they arrived too late, 
 and returned with the exaggerated intelli- 
 gence, that the Russian force which had 
 entered Rouraelia was more numerous than 
 tne leaves of the forest and the sand of the 
 sea. In point of fact, Diebitch and the 
 Russians who had penetrated so far into 
 Turkey, were in great danger; and had 
 the Turks shown the energy which they 
 occasionally displayed, they might have cut 
 their adventurous foes to pieces. Diebitch, 
 however, concealed his weakness by ad- 
 hering to offensive measures ; and, on the 
 11th of August, he attacked a body of 
 Turks at Sliwno, and put them to flight. 
 The Ottoman array retired before the in- 
 vaders, who succeeded in reaching Adri- 
 anople, the ancient capital of the empire, 
 which at once surrendered to them. 
 
 Great was the consternation, not only at 
 Constantinople, but at the capitals of all the 
 great powers of Europe, where statesmen 
 were both astonished and alarmed at the 
 progress of the Russian arras. England 
 and Austria especially interfered to bring 
 about an accommodation between the bel- 
 ligerents, and to prevent that 'destruction 
 of the balance of power which must have 
 resulted from the conquest of Turkey. 
 They even entered into a secret convention 
 to prevent such a catastrophe by the power 
 of the sword ; and the English admiral in 
 the Mediterranean was ordered, in the 
 event of the Russians proving obdurate, to 
 attack their fleet in the Greek waters, and 
 carry it as a security to Malta. The 
 efforts of European diplomatists, combined 
 with exaggerated accounts of the force of 
 Diebitch at Adrianople, together with the 
 Turkish reverses in Asia, induced Sultan 
 Mahmoud to consent to the treaty of peace, 
 which was signed on the 14th of September, 
 1829. This peace — one of the most disas- 
 trous recorded in Turkish history — is known 
 as the " Treaty of Adrianople." 
 
 The emperor Nicholas, in deference to 
 the opinion of Europe, publicly disclaimed 
 all intention to aggrandise his dominions ; 
 3q 
 
 and he restored to the sultan the principali- 
 ties of Wallachia and Moldavia, together 
 with all his conquests in Bulgaria and 
 Rouraelia, with the exception of the islands 
 at the mouth of the Danube. Many of the 
 conquests in Asia Minor were likewise 
 restored to Turkey ; but Russia retained 
 the fortresses of Anapa, Poli, Akhalzikh, 
 Alzkow, and Akhalkalski. The territorial 
 losses of Turkey were thus far smaller than 
 might have been anticipated under the cir- 
 cumstances; but Russia obtained many 
 advantages at the expense of her recent 
 foe. Amongst these, were liberty to trade 
 in all parts of the Turkish empire; a free 
 passage of the Dardanelles for all Russian 
 merchant vessels ; and the undisturbed navi- 
 gation of the Black Sea. Turkey was also 
 to pay the sum of upwards of ^65,000,000 
 for the expenses of the war ; nor were the 
 Turkish territories to be abandoned by the 
 Russian troops until the debt was fully dis- 
 charged. Arrangements were also made 
 with respect to Wallachia and Moldavia, 
 which abrogated the sovereignty of the 
 Porte with respect to these principalities, 
 and gave to Russia a protectorate power 
 over them. The hospodars were in future 
 to be elected for life, and not, as hitherto, 
 for seven years only ; and no Turkish pasha 
 or officer was to be allowed to interfere, in 
 any respect, in their affairs. '' The better 
 to secure" — so ran the terms of the treaty — 
 "the future inviolability of Moldavia and 
 Wallachia, the Sublime Porte engaged not 
 to maintain any fortified post, or any Mus- 
 sulman establishment, on the north bank of 
 the Danube ; that the towns situated on the 
 left bank, including Giurgevo, should be 
 restored to Wallachia, and their fortifica- 
 tions never restored; and all Mussulmans 
 holding possessions on the left bank, were 
 to be bound to sell them to the natives in 
 the space of eighteen months. The govern- 
 ment of the hospodars was to be entirely 
 independent of Turkey; and they were to 
 be liberated from the quota of provisions 
 they had hitherto been bound to furnish to 
 Constantinople and the fortresses on the 
 Danube. They were to be occupied by the 
 Russian troops till the indemnity was fully 
 paid up, for which ten years were allowed ; 
 and to be relieved of all tribute to the 
 Porte during their occupation, and for two 
 years after it had ceased," 
 
 This treaty, which stabbed the pride of 
 Turkey, saved Diebitch and the Russian 
 forces at Adrianople from destruction. 
 
 481 
 
DISSATISFACTION OF ENGLAND.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1829. 
 
 Eniaciated by sickness, dwindled in num- 
 bers, they miglit have been destroyed to a 
 man, and doubtless would have been so, had 
 the Turks but known their condition. By 
 the treaty of Adrianople, Greece was defi- 
 nitively separated from Turkey, and the 
 Porte 'induced to acknowledge its indepen- 
 dence. Russia, with that subtle policy 
 which ever characterises its proceedings, 
 also obtained by this treaty a right of inter- 
 ference on behalf of the Christian subjects 
 of Turkey, which was utterly inconsistent 
 with the dignity of a proud and indepen- 
 dent state. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen, then secretary of foreign 
 affairs in the British ministry, expostulated 
 on its behalf with the Russian government 
 respecting the treaty of Adrianople, which 
 was viewed in this countiy and elsewhere 
 with feelings of dissatisfaction and suspicion. 
 " His imperial majesty," said Lord Aber- 
 deen in a communication to Lord Heytes- 
 buiy, British ambassador at Russia, ''in 
 carrying into execution his threatened in- 
 vasion of the Ottoman dominions, declared 
 his adherence to that disinterested principle 
 which had characterised the protocol of St. 
 Petersburg and the treaty of London. He 
 renounced all projects of conquest and am- 
 bition. His imperial majesty frequently 
 repeated that, so far from desiring the 
 destruction of the Turkish empire, he was 
 most anxious for its preservation. He pro- 
 mised that no amount of indemnity should 
 be exacted which could affect its political 
 existence ; and he declared that this policy 
 was not the result of romantic notions of 
 generosity, or of the vain desire of glory, 
 but that it originated in the true interests 
 of the Russian empire, in which interests, 
 well understood, and in his own solemn 
 promises, would be found the best pledges 
 of his moderation. 
 
 " His imperial majesty added, that his 
 thoughts would undergo no change, even if, 
 contrary to his intentions and his endea- 
 vours, Divine Providence had decreed that 
 we should now behold the termination of 
 the Ottoman power. His imperial majesty 
 was still determined not to extend the limits 
 of his own dominions; and he only de- 
 manded from his allies the same absence of 
 all selfish and ambitious views, of which he 
 would himself give the first example. Does 
 
 •This h the language of diplomacy, not of 
 
 historic truth. The reader of the preceding pages 
 
 will have seen, that the progress pf the Russian 
 
 arms vas not only resisted, but frequently arrested 
 
 482 
 
 the treaty of Adrianople place the Porte in 
 a situation corresponding with the expec- 
 tations raised by these assurances? The 
 answer must be left to the judgment of 
 Europe : it might be left to the dispassion- 
 ate judgment of the cabinet of St. Peters- 
 burg. Undoubtedly, if we look only at the 
 relative position of the two belligerents, the 
 fortune of the war might have enabled the 
 emperor to exact still harder terms. The 
 sultan, threatened by a formidable insur- 
 rection in Constantinople, having lost his 
 army, and having ordered the remaining 
 Asiatic troops to retire to their homes, was 
 unable to offer any effectual opposition, and 
 threw himself under the mercy of the Rus- 
 sian commander. It may not be easy to 
 accuse of want of generosity the conqueror 
 who checks the unresisted progress of suc- 
 cess,* and who spares the defenceless capital 
 of his enemy. Nevertheless, the treaty in 
 question, certainly not in conformity with 
 the expectations held out by preceding 
 declarations and assurances, appears vitally 
 to affect the interests, the strength, the 
 dignity, the present safety, and future inde- 
 pendence of the Ottoman empire." 
 
 Reflecting on the chequered events which 
 led to the disastrous treaty of Adrianople, 
 the historian Alison, taking a more favour- 
 able and, we believe, more accurate view 
 of the past than had been done by Lord 
 Aberdeen, as well as a better hope for the 
 future than had been expressed by that 
 statesman, observes- — "The campaigns of 
 1828 and 1829, though they terminated to 
 the disadvantage of Turkey, are yet emi- 
 nently calculated to modify the ideas gen- 
 erally entertained as to the great power of 
 Russia in aggressive warfare, as well as to 
 evince the means of defence, in a military 
 point of view, which the Ottoman dominions 
 possess. The Turks began the war under 
 the greatest possible disadvantages. Their 
 laud forces had been exhausted by seven 
 bloody campaigns with the Greeks ; their 
 marine ruined in the battle of Navarino; 
 their enemies had the command of the 
 Euxine and the ^gean, the interior lines of 
 communication in their empire ; the Janis- 
 saries, the military strength of the state, 
 had been in part destroyed, in part alien- 
 ated ; and only 20,000 of the regular troops, 
 intended to replace them, were as yet 
 
 with a sanguinary severity whicli, had the Turks 
 conducted the war with more judgment, and a more 
 uniform and sustained energy, might, and indeed 
 must, have led to very different results. 
 
^'y2^;/!^iM^ty^i^'e^a?u:Zgc^i^?^ a/Cy7a>^^a>?Zi^^^^t^iai^^^ii?ax 
 
 TIIK LONDON J'HINTING AND PUill.ISltl NG COMJVMilV"- irMlTED 
 
e ( c c t c" t *c 
 
A.D. 1829.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [affairs of POLAND. 
 
 clustered round the standards of the pro- 
 phet. On the other hand, the Russians 
 had been making their preparations for six 
 years; they had enjoyed fourteen years of 
 European peace; and 120,000 armed men 
 awaited on the Pruth the signal to march to 
 Constantinople. Yet with all these disad- 
 vantages, the scales hung all but even 
 between the contending parties. Yarna 
 was only taken in the first campaign in 
 consequence of the Russians having the 
 command of the sea ; the Balkan passed in 
 the second, from the grand vizier having 
 been out-generaled by the superior skill of 
 Diebitch. Even as it was, it was owing to 
 treachery and disaffection that the daring 
 march to Adrianople did not terminate in a 
 disaster second only to the Moscow retreat. 
 * * * It is not to be supposed, how- 
 ever, that these startling results are to be 
 ascribed to any weakness, in a military 
 point, on the part of Russia, or any extraor- 
 dinary warlike resources which the Turks 
 possess, independent of their geographical 
 position. The strength which Russia put 
 forth in the war was immense. A hundred 
 and sixty thousand men crossed the Danube 
 in the course of the first campaign ; 140,000 
 were brought up to reinforce them in tlie 
 course of the second. Yet, with all this, 
 they could ouly produce 31,000 men at 
 
 the battle of Kouleftscha; and when their 
 victorious march was stopped, only 15,000 
 were assembled at Adrianople. At least 
 150,000 men had perished in the two cam- 
 paigns ; and that, accordingly, is the esti- 
 mate formed by the ablest military historian 
 of the war. A very small part of this 
 immense force perished by the sword; 
 fatigue, sickness, desertion, produced the 
 greatest part of the dreadful chasm. The 
 long march of 1,200 miles from Moscow to 
 Poland, the pestilential plains of Wallachia, 
 the hardships of two campaigns in the 
 inhospitable hills or valleys of Bulgaria, did 
 the rest. As Turkey is the portion of Eu- 
 rope most exposed to the incursions of the 
 Asiatics, so is it the one to which Providence 
 has given the most ample means of defence; 
 for the plains of Wallachia and Moldavia 
 present a perilous glacis, which must be 
 passed before the body of the fortress is 
 reached; the Danube is a vast and wet 
 ditch, Avhich covers the interior defences; 
 the Balkan, a rampart impassable when 
 defended by gallant and faithful soldiers. 
 Stei'ility and desolation, the work of human 
 tyranny, add to the defences of nature. Of 
 no country may it be so truly said, in the 
 words of Henry IV., ' If you make war with 
 a small army y^u are beaten, if with a large 
 one, starved.^ " 
 
 CHAPTER LVII. 
 
 NICHOLAS IS CROWNED KING OF POLAXD ; THE VICEROY CONSTANTINE ; HIS DESPOTIC AND IRRITABLE 
 TEMPER; THE OPPRESSIVE CONDUCT OF THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT PREPARES POLAND FOR REVOLT; 
 INSURRECTION AT WARSAW, AND FLIGHT OF CONSTANTINE ; APPOINTMENT OF A PROVISIONAL GOVERN- 
 MENT ; GENERAL CHLOPICKI ; DEPUTATION FROM THE POLES TO THE EMPEROR NICHOLAS ; HE REFUSES 
 CONCESSION ; CONDUCT OF AUSTRIA AND PRUSSIA ; POLISH MANIFESTO TO THE NATIONS OF EUROPE ; 
 THE POLES PASS A RESOLUTION OF DETHRONEMENT AGAINST NICHOLAS ; THE APPEAL TO THE SWORD ; 
 BATTLES OF GROCHOW AND PRAGA ; SURPRISE AND DEFEAT OF THE RUSSIANS NEAR WARSAW, AND AGAIN 
 AT IGANIE; THE CHOLERA APPEARS IN THE POLISH ARMY; TERRIBLE BATTLE OF OSTROLENKA ; 
 DEATHS OF GENERAL DIEBITCH AND OF THE GRAND-DUKE CONSTANTINE ; PASKIE^vnCH APPOINTED TO 
 THE COMMAND OF THE RUSSIAN ARMY IN POLAND ; REVERSES AND DESPERATE CONDITION OF THE 
 POLES ; SURRENDER OF WARSAW, AND SUBMISSION OF THE POLES ; IMPLACABLE SEVERITY OF NICHOLAS; 
 POLAND IS DECLARED AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE ; REFLECTIONS ON THIS SUBJECT. 
 
 The emperor Nicholas also succeeded his 
 brother Alexander as king of Poland, and was 
 crowned as such at Warsaw on the 24th of 
 May, 1829. Animated by the policy which 
 influenced his predecessor — namely, that of 
 attempting to hide the spirit of despotism 
 beneath the garb of religion — he, on that 
 
 occasion, pronounced a prayer containing 
 these words : — '' O, my Lord and my God, 
 may my heart be always in Thy hand; and 
 may I reign for the happiness of my people, 
 and to the glory of I'hy holy name, according 
 to the charter granted by my august prede- 
 cessor, and already sworn to by me ; in 
 
 483 
 
CONSTA^TINE IN POLAND.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1829. 
 
 order that I may not dread to appear 
 before Thee on the day of the last judg- 
 ment." We shall speedily see how Ni- 
 cholas endeavoured to conform to this false 
 prayer, in which he promised to govern 
 according to the constitutional charter 
 granted to Poland. 
 
 Since the settlement of Europe, in 1815, 
 Poland, though it had lost its independence, 
 had experienced a period of repose, and 
 enjoyed an approach to prosperity. The 
 emperor Alexander had endeavoured to 
 conciliate the Poles; and it would have 
 been well if the Grand-duke Constantine — 
 who, diu'ing his reign, and also since the 
 accession of Nicholas to the imperial throne 
 of Russia, had held the dignity of viceroy 
 of Poland — had followed his example. Con- 
 stantine, however, was irritable, capricious, 
 passionate, and despotic. Both in features 
 and in mind he bore a considerable resem- 
 blance to his father Paul; and even his 
 sanity has been questioned. After his 
 marriage with the beautiful Polish countess, 
 Joanna Grudzynski (afterwards known as 
 the Princess Lowicz), his savage nature ap- 
 peared to be somewhat softened ; but his 
 good temper could not be counted on for a 
 moment Often, while reviewing his troops, 
 he would fly into a fit of furious passion at 
 any trifling matter which was not exactly 
 to his mind ; and, for the venial offence of 
 an individual, inflict some annoying punish- 
 ment on a body of 40,000 men. Thoroughly 
 penetrated with the precepts of the despotic 
 school in which he had been reared, he had 
 no feelings of mercy towards those who 
 forgot what he regarded as the duty of 
 unconditional obedience to the sovereign. 
 He was sometimes deliberately cruel him- 
 self; and he suffered deliberate cruelty in 
 others, to those who had thus put them- 
 selves, as he considered, beyond the 
 bounds of pardon. The proud and spirited 
 Poles, who, in their own opinion, owed no 
 allegiance at all to the Russian emperor, 
 endured all this with far more patience 
 than might have been expected from them ; 
 but, at the same time, the whole of Poland 
 WSLS ready for some violent outbreak at the 
 first opportunity that appeared to promise 
 even a remote chance of a favourable result. 
 This feeling was the more powerful in con- 
 sequence of the romantic and passionate 
 love which the upper and educated classes 
 in Poland entertained for the principles of 
 democracy, and their thirst for national 
 independence. Secret societies, for the 
 484 
 
 promotion of the latter object, had existed 
 for several years in Poland ; and so exten- 
 sive Avas their organisation, that they em- 
 bi'aced in their numbers the most enli^ht- 
 ened and patriotic men of the country. 
 
 " If," it has been observed by a writer 
 on Polish history, "men have no oppor- 
 tunity of expressing their opinions publicly, 
 they will do so privately. When the jour- 
 nals — the legitimate outlets of popular feel- 
 ing — were thus arbitrarily and impoliticly 
 closed, secret societies began to multiply. 
 A sort of political freemasonry connected 
 the leaders of the meditated movement ; 
 and its ramifications extended as far as 
 Wilna. Their avowed object was not merely 
 to free their country and the grand-duchy 
 from the Russian yoke, but to invoke their 
 brethren of Galicia and Posen in one com- 
 mon cause, and thus openly to strike a 
 blow for their dearest rights. But, however 
 secret their meetings and purposes, neither 
 could long escape the vigilance of the 
 police, which, since the arrival of Constan- 
 tine as commander-in-chief of the Polish 
 army, had acquired alarming activity. Why 
 this personage should have interfered in a 
 branch of administi'ation beyond his pro- 
 vince — why he should have stepped out of 
 his own peculiar sphere to hire spies, to 
 collect information, and to influence the 
 proceedings of the tribunals against the 
 suspected or the accused — has been matter 
 of much conjecture. Perhaps he proposed 
 to render himself necessary to his imperial 
 brother ; perhaps he could not live without 
 some bustle ' to excite him ; perhaps his 
 mind was congenially occupied in the dis- 
 covery and punishment of treason. How- 
 ever this be, he acted with amazing im- 
 policy. His wisest course — and the Poles 
 themselves once hoped that he would adopt 
 it — was to cultivate the attachment of the 
 people among whom he resided, and thereby 
 prepare their minds for one day seconding 
 his views on the crown.* Instead of this, 
 he conducted himself towards all whom he 
 suspected of liberal opinions (and few there 
 were who did not entertain them), with 
 violence — often with brutality. At his in- 
 stigation, the secret police pursued its 
 fatal career; arbitrary arrests, hidden con- 
 demnations, the banishment of many, the 
 imprisonment of more, signalised his bane- 
 
 • Constantine does not appear to have entertained 
 any such views ; we have shown that he certainly 
 liad no ambition in the direction of the Kussian 
 sceptre. 
 
A.D. 1829.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE, [misgovernment of Poland. 
 
 ful activity. That amidst so many sen- 
 tences, some should be passed on indi- 
 viduals wholly innocent, need not surprise 
 us. Where spies are hired to mix with 
 society for the purpose of detecting the 
 disaffected, if they do not find treason, 
 they will make it ; private malignity and a 
 desire of being thought useful, if not in- 
 dispensable, to their employers, and of 
 enjoying the rewards due to success in 
 procuring information, would make them 
 vigilant enough. As this is a profession 
 which none but the basest and most un- 
 principled of men would follow, we cannot 
 expect that they would always exercise it 
 with much regard to justice. In such 
 men, revenge or avarice would be all- 
 powerful. 
 
 " The university of Wilna was visited 
 with some severity by the agents of this 
 dreaded institution. Twenty of its stu- 
 dents were seized, and sentenced to dif- 
 ferent punishments; none, however, very 
 rigorous. Those of Warsaw were not used 
 more indulgently. A state prison was 
 erected in the capital, and its dungeons 
 were soon crowded with inmates ; many, 
 no doubt, not undeserving their fate, but 
 not a few the victims of an execrable 
 system. Tiie proceedings, however, which 
 are dark, must always be suspected : of 
 the hundreds who were dragged from the 
 bosom of their families, and consigned to 
 Various fortresses, all would be thought in- 
 nocent, since none had been legally con- 
 victed. 
 
 " By Article 10 of the constitutional 
 charter, the Russian troops, when required 
 to pass through Poland, were to be at the 
 entire charge of the treasury of the czar: 
 for years, however, they were stationed at 
 Warsaw — evidently to overawe the popu- 
 lation — at the expense of the inhabitants. 
 Then the violation of individual liberty ; 
 the difficulty of procuring passports ; the 
 misapplication of the revenue to objects 
 other than those for which it was raised 
 (to the reimbursement of the secret police, 
 for instance) ; the nomination of men as 
 senators without the necessary qualifica- 
 tions, and who had no other merit than 
 that of being creatures of the govern- 
 ment — were infractions of the charter, as 
 wanton as they were intended to be humi- 
 liating. 
 
 " The army was as much dissatisfied as 
 the nation. The ungovernable temper, and 
 the consequent excesses of Constantine; 
 
 the vexatious manoeuvres which he intro- 
 duced ; his rigorous mode of exercise, fitted 
 for no other than frames of adamant ; and, 
 above all, his overbearing manner towards 
 the best and highest ofiicers in the service, 
 raised him enemies on every side. His 
 good qualities — and he had many — were 
 wholly overlooked amidst his ebullitions of 
 fury, and the unjustifiable, often cruel, acts 
 he committed while under their influence. 
 On ordinary occasions, when his temper 
 was not rufiied, no man could make himself 
 more agreeable ; no man could exhibit 
 more — not of courtesy, for he was too 
 rough for it — but of warm-heartedness ; 
 and his generosity in pecuniary matters 
 was almost boundless. 
 
 "But the worst yet remains to be told. 
 Russian money and influe. °'. were un- 
 blushingly employed in the dit .les, and to 
 procure the return to the diet of such 
 members only as were known to care less 
 for their country than for their own for- 
 tunes. Then, instead of a diet being held 
 every two years (in accordance with Art. 87), 
 none was convoked from 1820 to 1825, 
 and only one after the accession of Ni- 
 cholas. Finally, an ordinance (issued in 
 1825) abolished the publicity of the debates 
 in the two chambers ; and the most dis- 
 tinguished members of opposition were 
 forcibly removed from Warsaw the night 
 preceding the opening of the diet.^'* 
 
 The revolution which, in 1830, drove the 
 weak and despotic Charles X. from the 
 throne of France, excited the enthusiasm of 
 the Poles, and appeared, to their ardent 
 hopes, to form the desired opportunity to 
 strike the blow which they trusted would 
 free them from the yoke of Russia. Ni- 
 cholas, regarding himself as the champion 
 of legitimacy, was furious at an event so 
 subversive of its principles ; and he even 
 contemplated a war with France, which 
 was suspected of inciting the Poles to re- 
 sistance against him, when his attention 
 was arrested by insurrectionary proceedings 
 in Poland itself. Meetings were held at 
 Warsaw, and the patriots, or conspirators, 
 as they were called (according to the bias of 
 the narrator), resolved upon proceeding at 
 once to extremities. It was at first pro- 
 posed to include the whole extent of ancient 
 Poland in the insurrection ; but this scheme 
 was abandoned, because it would elicit the 
 hostility not only of Russia, but also of 
 Austria and Prussia. The outbreak, there- 
 * D\in\\SiVa^i History of Poland. 
 485 
 
OUTBRE-Uv: OF THE INSURRECTION.] HISTORY OF f HE 
 
 [a.d. 1830. 
 
 fore, was to be confined to Poland Proper, 
 with which Russia only was concerned. 
 
 A scherne for the assassination of Con- 
 stantine, and the proclamation of a provin- 
 cial government, was disconcerted in con- 
 sequence of some suspicions of the police, 
 and the consequent arrest of some of the 
 conspirators. The viceroy was incredulous, 
 and disregarded the warnings conveyed to 
 him. He relied on his supposed popularity 
 with the troops, and persisted in declaring 
 that there was no danger. 
 
 The activity of the police, and the nume- 
 rous arrests they made, precipitated the 
 outbreak of the insurrection, which took 
 place at Warsaw on the 29th of November, 
 1830, a day when the Polish guards were 
 to be on service at the palace and in the 
 city. At seven in the evening, a man made 
 his appearance at the gate of the barrack of 
 the military school, and proclaimed that 
 the " hour of liberty had struck.^^ The 
 guard instantly turned out, and, together 
 with the scholars, marched in silence to the 
 Belvidere palace, the residence of the vice- 
 roy. They experienced but little difficulty 
 in entering it ; for many of the soldiers on 
 duty there were aware of their object, and 
 favourable to it ; while those who opposed 
 them were instantly sabred. The chief of 
 the police, and the aide-de-camp on service, 
 then fell victims to the wrath of the con- 
 spirators as they pressed forward to the 
 chamber of Con«tantine, who with difficulty 
 made his escape, together with his wife, by 
 a private staircase. 
 
 A call " to arms" resounded through the 
 city, and the insurgents were speedily 
 joined by other regiments ; while the arse- 
 nal was seized, and 40,000 muskets in store 
 there, distributed among the people. All 
 the Russian troops remained faithful to 
 Constantine, and so did a portion of the 
 Polish soldiers. Several nocturnal combats 
 took place ; but morning displayed the in- 
 equality of the struggle; and Constantine 
 retired in despair with the troops who ad- 
 hered to him, amounting to about 9,000 
 men, to the village of Wirzba, about a mile 
 and a-half from Warsaw. The conspirators 
 thus remained in possession of the capital, 
 and, to check the rising disorder, appointed 
 a provisional government, which numbered 
 amongst its members Prince Adam Czar- 
 toryski. Prince Michael Radzitvil, the sena- 
 tor Kochanowski, General Lewis Pac, M. 
 Julian Niemcewicz, and General Chlopicki. 
 The high character which these patriotic 
 486 
 
 men bore amongst the people, enabled them 
 to preserve a degree of order, and to pre- 
 vent revolution from degenerating into 
 anarchy. 
 
 The provisional government appears to 
 have been undecided as to how it should 
 proceed. This might well be, as it included 
 amongst its numbers the members of a 
 council which, in the absence of the vice- 
 roy, had been intrusted with the executive 
 power; and its opinions were therefore 
 necessarily divided. Its first act was to 
 issue a proclamation, counselling order and 
 abstinence from bloodshed, and it then sent 
 messengers to Constantine, with proposals 
 for an accommodation. General Chlopicki, 
 though a man of undoubted patriotism and 
 personal courage, was in favour of this 
 course, from a fear that the attempt to cast 
 ofif the Russian yoke by force must cer- 
 tainly fail. At the outbreak of the insur- 
 rection, it is said that he took his com- 
 passes, and, measuring the extent of the 
 Russian empire, shook his head, observing, 
 " If Poland dares to resist, she is lost." 
 
 The deputation sent to arrange matters 
 with the Grand-duke Constantine, desired 
 to obtain a just observance of the constitu- 
 tion established on the settlement of Europe 
 in 1815, and the fulfilment of a promise 
 made by the emperor Alexander, that Li- 
 thuania, Volhynia, and Podolia should be 
 incorporated with the kingdom of Poland, 
 and detached from the Russian empire. 
 Constantino, though unable to conclude 
 terms with the insurgents (a matter which 
 rested vnth the emperor), received the de- 
 putation with a courtesy which, it is pre- 
 sumed, was dictated by apprehensions as to 
 his personal safety. In fact, he found the 
 Polish troops who remained with him vvere 
 rapidly catching the revolutionary enthu- 
 siasm ; and he issued a proclamation, per- 
 mitting those who desired it, to retire and 
 join their comrades in Warsaw. This act 
 was as prudent as it appeared generous; 
 for it enabled the viceroy to ascertain who 
 were really his friends, and saved him from 
 the chance of being made a prisoner by his 
 own troops. All the Poles availed them- 
 selves of this permission ; and Constantine, 
 with his Russians, was permitted to leave 
 Poland unmolested and retire towards tke 
 frontier of Volhynia. This was an error on 
 the part of the provisional government, who 
 should have retained the grand-duke as a 
 hostage. 
 
 At Wai'saw, the people were in a state of 
 
A.D. 
 
 1830.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [the polish insukrection. 
 
 the wildest enthusiasm, which was increased 
 by tlie arrival of additional Polish troops 
 from other quarters. Soldiers and citizens 
 embraced each other in the streets, ele- 
 gantly dressed women waved their hand- 
 kerchiefs from their open windows to the 
 troops, and the church bells rang forth in 
 joyous peals. Steps Avcre taken for the 
 formation of a powerful national army ; the 
 provisional government resigned, and Gen- 
 eral Chlopicki assumed the command of the 
 army, and the title of dictator, which latter 
 he promised readily to relinquish on the 
 meeting of the diet. Chlopicki was not 
 fitted by nature and education for the 
 position into which circumstances had 
 thrust him, though great reliance was 
 placed upon his military talents, which 
 were considered of a high order ; yet he was 
 deficient in that audacity and enthusiasm 
 which alone can carry men successfully 
 through great revolutions, and would pro- 
 bably have been better fitted to assist in 
 crushing than creating one. " Accustomed 
 to military rules and subordination,^^ says a 
 living Avriter, who has ably sketched his 
 character, " Chlopicki had a perfect horror 
 for conspiracies and the domination of 
 clubs. Accordingly he kept himself clear 
 of the great conspiracies of 1825 and 18.26 
 (connected with the insurrection in Russia 
 in those years), and lived in retirement 
 down to 1830. He was inspired with a 
 thorough contempt for levies en masse, and 
 all those devices by which the ardent but 
 inexperienced in all ages endeavour to 
 supply the want of regular soldiers. He 
 dreaded the clubs of Warsaw even more 
 than the Muscovite bayonets. It was his 
 great object to achieve the liberation of his 
 country, and the establishment of its rights, 
 by other means than democratic fervour, 
 which he considered as alike short-lived 
 and perilous. Thus he was the man of all 
 others least calculated to retain the suffrages 
 of the clubs of Warsaw, which early ac- 
 quired so great a weight in the revolution ; 
 and one of his first steps, after he became 
 dictator, was to close them by a general 
 military order. But he possessed an im- 
 mense military reputation, and was known 
 to have military talents of the very highest 
 order, which rendered his sway over the 
 soldiers unbounded; and as his patriotism 
 was imdoubted, and his character elevated 
 and disinterested, his rule was for some 
 time unresisted even by the burning demo- 
 crats of the capital. He despised and de- 
 
 tested them as much as Napoleon did the 
 * avocats et ideologues' of Paris ; and it was 
 his great object, without their aid, and 
 while retaining the direction of their move- 
 ments, to work out the independence of 
 Poland by negotiation with the czar, and 
 without coming to open rupture with his 
 authority. But to achieve this object, he 
 was well aware that military preparations 
 Avere indispensable; and his measures to 
 attain this end, though not of the sweeping 
 kind which the clubs demanded, were 
 energetic and successful." 
 
 From this sketch it will be seen, that 
 General Chlopicki was strangely misplaced 
 as the leader of a revolution ; for notwith- 
 standing his patriotism, it is clear that his 
 nature was aristocratic and conservative, 
 and that his lot should have been cast in 
 other places. Indeed, to his repression of 
 the republican spirit at the outset of the 
 insurrection, are attributed many of the 
 misfortunes which subsequently befel his 
 compeers. Clinging to the hope of an ac- 
 commodation, he sent a body of 800 Rus- 
 sian soldiers, who had been seized near 
 Warsaw by the Poles, back to Constantino 
 without exchange, and the grand-duke re- 
 ciprocated these civilities. But it was to 
 the emperor Nicholas that Chlopicki was 
 compelled to address himself, if he would 
 terminate the revolution by the pen instead 
 of the sword; and Nicholas possessed far 
 more decision than Constantino, who, in- 
 deed, had just shown himself very deficient 
 in that quality so essential to a ruler over a 
 turbulent or discontented people. 
 
 Chlopicki, accordingly, sent a deputation 
 to the emperor Nicholas at St. Petersburg, 
 to explain the concessions required by the 
 Poles. The envoys (Prince Lubecki and 
 Count Jezierski) were received by him with 
 great sternness. After reproaches for their 
 treasonable conduct, and what he was 
 pleased to terra their ungrateful forgetful- 
 ness of all his benefits, he warned them 
 that the first cannon-shot fired by the in- 
 surgents would be the signal of the ruin of 
 Poland. He, however, offered an uncon- 
 ditional amnesty to all except the leaders 
 of the revolt ; but he would make no fur- 
 ther concession. This, in eflFect, amounted 
 to a refusal of all accommodation ; and on 
 the return of the envoys to Warsaw, all 
 parties prepared for an appeal to the power 
 of the sword. Nicholas jnquired of the 
 courts of Austria and Prussia what part 
 they designed to take in the event of the 
 
 487 
 
EFFORTS OF NICHOLAS.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1831. 
 
 Polish revolution leading to a war; and 
 received answers from each expressive of 
 sympathy with him as a sovereign, and pro- 
 misiug to give no assistance to the insur- 
 gents ; to permit no correspondence to pass 
 from Poland through their dominions ; and 
 to keep the harbours of Dantzic and K6- 
 nigsberg closed against all convoys of am- 
 munition or provisions, even though they 
 should come from England or France. In 
 addition to this, Prussia dishonestly con- 
 sented to sequestrate the funds belonging 
 to the kingdom of Poland in the bank of 
 Berlin, and to place them at the disposal 
 of the emperor Nicholas. At the same 
 time, however, that the court of Vienna 
 was making assurances of assistance to 
 Russia, it — animated by a jealousy of that 
 power — made a secret communication to 
 the Poles, that it would not offer any im- 
 pediment to the restoration of their na- 
 tionality, providing they would accept as 
 king a prince of the house of Austria, and. 
 that the consent of England and France 
 could be obtained to this sinister transac- 
 tion. A Polish envoy was even sent to 
 Paris and to London upon the subject ; but 
 France would do nothing without England ; 
 and the English cabinet, with Lord Pal- 
 merston as minister for foreign affairs, de- 
 clined to interfere on behalf of Poland. 
 France afterwards sent M. de Mortemart 
 to St. Petersburg, to see if favourable 
 terms could not be obtained for the Poles ; 
 but that envoy found Nicholas altogether 
 inexorable. 
 
 As might have been anticipated, the 
 Russian emperor was making immense 
 efforts to crush the insurrection. On the 
 24th of December, 1830, he issued a procla- 
 mation to the Russian people, in which he 
 endeavoured to excite them against the 
 Poles, whom he described as their ancient 
 enemies, who had returned kindness with 
 treachery and treason. At the same time, 
 he collected an army of 110,000 men, 
 under the command of General Diebitch, 
 and stationed them along the road from St. 
 Petersburg to Warsaw. In reply to Nicho- 
 las, the Polish diet (which had now assem- 
 bled) addressed, on the 10th of January, 
 1831, a manifesto to the nations of Europe. 
 In it the enthusiastic Poles thus poured 
 forth their wrongs and their hopes, in the 
 hearing of the continent :— " The world 
 knows too well the infamous machinations, 
 the vile calumnies, the open violence, and 
 secret treasons, which have accompanied 
 488 
 
 the three dismemberments of ancient Po- 
 land. History, of which they have become 
 the property, has stigmatised them as 
 political crimes of the deepest dye. The 
 solemn grief which that violence has spread 
 through the whole country, has caused the 
 feelings of nationality to be preserved with- 
 out interruption. The Polish standard has 
 never ceased to wave at the head of the 
 Polish legions; and in their military emi- 
 gration, the Poles, transporting from coun- 
 try to country their household gods, have 
 never ceased to cry aloud against this vio- 
 lation ; and yielding to the noble illusion, 
 which, like every noble thought, has not 
 been deceived, they trusted that, in com- 
 bating for the cause of liberty, they were 
 combating also for their own country. 
 
 " That country has risen from its ashes ; 
 and though restrained within narrow limits, 
 Poland has received from the hero of the 
 last age, its language, its rights, its liber- 
 ties — gifts in themselves precious, but ren- 
 dered doubly so by the hope with which they 
 were accompanied. From that moment 
 his cause has become ours, our blood be- 
 come his inheritance ; and when our allies, 
 and Heaven itself, seemed to have aban- 
 doned him, the Poles shared the disasters 
 of the hero ; and the fall together of a 
 great man and an unfortunate nation, ex- 
 torted the involuntary esteem of the con- 
 querors themselves. That sentiment pro- 
 duced a deep impression ; the sovereigns of 
 Europe, in a moment of danger, promised 
 to the world a durable peace ; and the 
 congress of Vienna in some sort softened 
 the evils of our unhappy country. A 
 nationality, and entire freedom of internal 
 commerce, were guaranteed to all parts of 
 ancient Poland ; and that portion of it 
 which the strife of Europe had left inde- 
 pendent, though mutilated on three sides, 
 received the name of a kingdom, and was 
 put under the guardianship of the emperor 
 Alexander, with a constitutional charter, 
 and the hope of future extension. In per- 
 formance of these stipulations he gave a 
 liberal constitution to the kingdom, and 
 held out to the Poles under his immediate 
 government the hope of being, ere long, 
 reunited to their severed brethren. These 
 were not gratuitous promises ; he had con- 
 tracted anterior obligations to us ; and we, 
 on our side, had made corresponding sacri- 
 fices. In proclaiming himself king of Po- 
 land, the emperor of Russia was only faith- 
 ful to his promises. 
 
 - I 
 
A.D. 1831.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 MANIFESTO OF THE POLES. 
 
 "But the hopes implied by these cir- 
 cumstances proved as short-lived as they 
 were fallacious. The Poles were ere long 
 convinced, by dearly-bought experience, 
 that the vain title of Poland, given to the 
 kingdom by the emperor of Russia, was 
 nothing but a lure thrown out to their 
 brothers, and an offensive arm against the 
 other states. They saw that, under cover 
 of the sacred names of liberty and inde- 
 pendence, he was resolved to reduce the 
 nation to the lowest point of degradation 
 and servitude. The measure pursued in 
 regard to the army first revealed this in- 
 famous design. Punishments the most ex- 
 cruciating, pains the most degrading, were, 
 under pretence of keeping up military dis- 
 cipline, inflicted — not for faults of commis- 
 sion, but mere omission. The arbitrary 
 disposition of the commander-in-chief, his 
 absolute control over the courts-martial, 
 soon rendered him the absolute master of 
 the life and honour of every soldier. Num- 
 bers in every grade have sent in their 
 resignations, and committed suicide in des- 
 pair at the degrading punishments to 
 which they had been subjected. The de- 
 liberative assembly, from which so much 
 was expected, has remedied none of these 
 evils ; it has rather aggravated them ; for 
 it has brought, in a sensible form, the 
 reality of servitude home to the nation. 
 The liberty of the press, the publication of 
 debates, was tolerated only so long as they 
 resounded with strains of adulation ; but 
 the moment that the real discussion of 
 affairs commenced, the most rigid censor- 
 ship of the press was introduced ; and after 
 the sittings of the diet closed, they pro- 
 secuted the members of it for the opinions 
 they had expressed in it. 
 
 " The union, on one head, of the crown 
 of the autocrat and of the constitutional 
 king of Poland, is one of those political 
 monstrosities which could not by possibility 
 long endure. Every one foresaw that the 
 kingdom of Poland must be to Russia the 
 germ of liberal institutions, or itself perish 
 under the iron hand of its despot. That 
 question was soon resolved. If Alexander 
 ever entertained the idea of reconciling the 
 extent of his despotic power with the popu- 
 larity of liberal institutions amongst us, it 
 was but for a moment. He soon showed 
 by his acts, that the moment he discovered 
 that liberty would not become the blind 
 instrument of slavery, he was to be its 
 most violent persecutor. That system was 
 3 R 
 
 soon put in execution. Public instruction 
 was first corrupted; it was made the mere 
 instrument of despotism. An entire pala- 
 tinate was next deprived of its representa- 
 tives in the council; the chambers of the 
 power of voting on the budget ; new taxes 
 were imposed without their authority; 
 monopolies destructive of industry were 
 created ; and the treasury became a mere 
 fountain of corruption, from whence, in lieu 
 of the retrenchment which the nation had 
 so often solicited, pensions and gratuities 
 were distributed with the most scandalous 
 profusion amongst the supporters of gov- 
 ernment. Calumny and espionage soon 
 invaded the privacy, and destroyed the 
 happiness, of domestic life ; the ancient 
 hospitality of the Poles was converted into 
 a snare for innocence. Individual liberty, 
 so solemnly guaranteed, was every day vio- 
 lated; the prisons were filled; and courts- 
 martial, proceeding to take cognizance of 
 civil offences, inflicted infamous and de- 
 grading punishments on citizens whose 
 only fault was to have endeavoured to stem 
 the torrent of corruption which overspread 
 the country. 
 
 " In the ancient provinces of Poland, 
 now incorporated with Russia, matters have 
 been still worse. Not only have they not 
 been incorporated with Poland, in violation 
 of the promise to that effect made by the 
 emperor Alexander to the congress of 
 Vienna, but, on the contrary, everything 
 has been systematically done which could 
 eradicate in them any sentiment or recol- 
 lection of nationality. The youths at 
 school have been, in an especial manner, 
 the object of persecution. All who were 
 suspected of a leaning towards liberal or 
 patriotic sentiments, were torn from their 
 mothers' arms, and sent off to Siberia, or 
 compelled to enter the army as private 
 soldiers, though belonging to the first fami- 
 lies in the country. In all administrative 
 or public acts, the Polish language was 
 suppressed, as well as in the common 
 schools ; imperial ukases annihilated alike 
 the Polish rights and tribunals ; the abuses 
 of administration reduced the landed pro- 
 prietors to despair. Since the accession of 
 the emperor Nicholas, all these evils have 
 rapidly increased; and intolerance, coming 
 to the aid of despotism, has left nothing 
 undone to extirpate the catholic worship, 
 and force the Greek ritual in its stead.'' 
 
 We have quoted this manifesto thus fully, 
 in order to present tlie reader with a Polish 
 
 489 
 
NICHOLAS DECLARED DETLIRONED.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1831. 
 
 view of tiie wrongs of that country. They 
 were indeed heavy ones, and such ns were 
 highly calculated to excite desperation and 
 resistance in a spirited and liberty-loving 
 people. Unhappily, also, the character of 
 the Russian government gives but little 
 ground for the hope, that this recital of 
 oppression was darkened in coloiir by a 
 spirit of exaggeration. It is, in fact, 
 generally admitted, that the Polish insur- 
 rection was the natural and inevitable 
 result of the unjust and irritating pro- 
 ceedings of the Russian government. 
 
 Notwithstanding the issue of this mani- 
 festo. General Chlopicki still strove to 
 bring about an accommodation with the 
 czar, and sent the most earnest addresses 
 to Nicholas, in the hope of obtaining from 
 his moderation or compassion, that which 
 he feared could not be extorted from him 
 by force. When we regard the nature of 
 the Russian government, we must at once 
 perceive, that hopes of this kind were mere 
 infatuation. It is not to be supposed, that 
 it could be moved by entreaties to surrender 
 a large and valuable territory, or to modify 
 its course of action so largely, that the real, 
 if not nominal, emancipation of Poland 
 from its control would be the result. 
 When, in addition, we contemplate the 
 despotic and unbending character of the 
 emperor Nicholas, the hopes of Chlopicki 
 assume an air of baseless romance utterly 
 inconsistent Avith the sober and practical 
 views of a statesman and a soldier. Ni- 
 cholas was not only inflexible, but irri- 
 tated ; and, in this instance, he was backed 
 by the public feeling of the whole Russian 
 people, who regarded the Poles with emo- 
 tions of jealousy and enmity. The czar 
 insisted on an unconditional surrender. 
 "I am king of Poland, and I will drive 
 her,'' said he; and this galling observation 
 is an index to his entire bearing towards 
 the patriots whom, disregarding the bitter 
 provocations they had received, and the 
 peculiar position they occupied, he never 
 stooped to regard otherwise than as revolted 
 subjects. 
 
 The Polish diet would not listen to the 
 arrogant terms of Nicholas ; and they held 
 themselves in readiness for the inevitable 
 war. The irresolute Chlopicki then resigned 
 his dictatorship, which he ought never to 
 have been permitted to occupy; his delays 
 and frequent communications with the au- 
 tocrat had given the latter the requisite 
 time to assemble a force which would 
 490 
 
 eventually overwhelm the resources of the 
 Poles ; while the only chance of a favoui*- 
 able result on the part of the latter, lay in 
 some rapid and immediate success before 
 the czar could concentrate his scattered 
 forces. 
 
 Disembarrassed of the influence of Chlo- 
 picki, the diet assembled on the 19th of 
 January, 1831, to decide upon what step 
 was to be taken by the nation. "Poles," 
 said the president. Prince Adam Czar- 
 toi-yski, " our cause is sacred ; our fate 
 depends on the Most High ; but we owe it 
 to ourselves to transmit intact to posterity 
 the honour of the nation enshrined in our 
 hearts. * Concord, courage, perseverance V 
 such is the sacred motto which can alone 
 insure the glory of our country. Let us 
 put forth all our strength, in order to found 
 for ever our liberty and national indepen- 
 dence." He was responded to by a shout 
 of " There is no longer a Nicholas ;" and 
 then, amidst enthusiastic cheers and a 
 frenzy of patriotic excitement, the diet 
 voted the dethronement of the czar, and 
 absolved the Polish nation from its oath of 
 fidelity to him. A national government 
 was then organised, under the presidency 
 of Prince Czartoryski ; a vigorous defence 
 was resolved on, and General Chlopicki 
 again accepted the command of the army; 
 saying, Avith a modesty which betrayed an 
 inward sense of his incompetence for such a 
 post at such a time, "I only accept the 
 command in order to hold it till the war 
 has raised one of those great men who save 
 nations." Alas for Poland ! it had no man 
 of towering genius to help it in its ex- 
 tremity ; no Cromwell, Washington, or 
 Napoleon arose at the eleventh hour to 
 save it from the crushing despotism of its 
 oppressor; the hour, indeed, had struck; 
 but the man who should have been equal to 
 the terrible emergency was not to be found. 
 Nature is often a niggard of genius, espe- 
 cially of that genius which tits men for 
 great deeds on the battle-field, and profound 
 thoughts in the cabinets of statesmen. 
 
 The Polish army consisted altogether of 
 58,000 men, independent of the expected 
 reserve which it was presumed that national 
 enthusiasm would supply. About 14,000 
 of the regular army, however, was occupied 
 as garrisons in fortresses, and were there- 
 fore unavailable for active service in the 
 field. On the other hand, the Russian 
 army, collected on the frontiers under the 
 command of Marshal Diebitch, consisted 
 
A.D. 1831.1 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [grochow and praga. 
 
 of 110,000 men, and had with it 39G pieces 
 of artillery. 
 
 The campaign was opened, on the 5th of 
 February, by the march of Diebitch to- 
 wards Warsaw. The Polish army retreated 
 before him to the village of Grochow, within 
 a league of the capital, which it now became 
 necessary to defend. On the 19th of Feb- 
 ruary a battle took place at Grochow, which 
 lasted the whole day ; and, though it in- 
 flicted great loss on both sides, did not 
 confer victory on either. Though the 
 Poles were driven back some few hundred 
 yards from the position they held in the 
 morning, yet they felt that they had gained 
 something of reputation by sustaining so 
 desperate an engagement with the Russian 
 forces, and coming out of the struggle un- 
 vanquished. The Grand-duke Constantino 
 was present in the battle, though not in 
 command ; and it is said, that he could not 
 avoid expressing some satisfaction at the 
 conduct of the Polish army, which, under 
 liis severe training, had become one of the 
 best disciplined in Europe. 
 
 A truce of three hours, entered into by 
 the opposing forces for the purpose of bury- 
 ing their dead, was prolonged for a period 
 of three days. On the 25th, both armies 
 Avere again arrayed before each other, in 
 order of battle, and 45,000 Poles were 
 confronted by more than 100,000 Rus- 
 sians. Chlopicki betrayed his weakness 
 by shedding tears of passionate grief, in 
 despair of the salvation of his country. 
 Happily, the army had other leaders, who 
 knew the worthlessness of tears on such 
 an occasion, atid the value of resolution. 
 The Polish spirit was high; and notwith- 
 standing the great disparity of forces, the 
 patriots were resolved on braving the 
 struggle. At daybreak the battle of Praga 
 commenced, and again the conflict was 
 prolonged with great fury, and with various 
 success, throughout the whole day. The 
 object of the Russians was to take posses- 
 sion of the Alder wood, the retention of 
 which conferred immense advantages, in a 
 military point, upon the holders of it. 
 Diebitch was successful; and, after a san- 
 guinary struggle, drove out the Poles with 
 his aj'tillery; but they retired in good 
 order, and the Russian cavalry suffered 
 terribly in an attempt to throw them into 
 confusion. During the night the Poles 
 retired from Praga into Warsaw, so that 
 the advantages of this action remained with 
 the Russians ; though the latter were still 
 
 unable to claim a victory. In fact, they 
 had lost 10,000 men in these two battles — a 
 greater number than the loss experienced 
 by the Poles ; but this mattered little, as 
 they were so much better able to bear it, on 
 account of their great numerical superiority. 
 While these proceedings were taking place 
 between the main armies of the contending 
 nations, a body of Russian cavalry, amount- 
 ing to nearly 10,000 men, was defeated 
 and put to flight at Sieroczyn by a body of 
 2,800 Polish horse and foot. This circum- 
 stance, however, though it necessarily elated 
 the victors, added little or nothing to their 
 slender chance of ultimate success. Some 
 further triumphs were obtained by this 
 small division of the Polish forces ; but it is 
 needless here to chronicle petty engage- 
 ments which could not lead to decisive 
 results. 
 
 The Poles were, in fact, much alarmed at 
 the dangerous proximity of the Russian 
 army, under Diebitch, to their capital. 
 That unfortunate nation saw that it Avas 
 beset with dangers of the most menacing 
 character ; and the command of the army, 
 which had recently been entrusted to 
 Prince Radzitvil, was conferred upon Gen- 
 eral Skrzynecki, whose military talents 
 were regarded as of a higher order. As to 
 Chlopicki, he was rendered incapable of 
 active service by a severe wound, which 
 confined him to his bed. Skrzynecki Avas 
 in the prime of life — an important, if not 
 essential, qualification in one who Avould 
 lead a revolutionary army. Having been 
 personally ill-treated by the Grand-duke 
 Constantino, he had long acquired a popu- 
 larity in the army, which his energy, and 
 the courage and military capacity exhibited 
 by him at the battles of Grochow and 
 Praga, had much increased. 
 
 Skrzynecki has been described as "a 
 pertinacious negotiator ;" and his first 
 exercise of power was an endeavour to ne- 
 gotiate a peace with Marshal Diebitch; 
 but this he soon discovered to be a very 
 useless proceeding. Diebitch had no power 
 to do otherwise than execute the commands 
 of the emperor, and persevere in hostilities 
 until the Poles purchased a cessation of 
 bloodshed by the acceptance of the galling 
 terms of unconditional surrender. Pre- 
 parations were then made for a renewal of 
 active Avarfare : the Russians spread over a 
 great extent of gi'ound, in order that they 
 might procure supplies of provisions with 
 greater facility ; Avhile the Poles Avere en- 
 
 491 
 
srrccESSES of the poles.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1831. 
 
 gao-ed in throwing up fresh intrenchments 
 around Warsaw, at which the inhabitants, 
 both male and female, laboured heroically 
 both night and day. The Polish forces 
 were also reinforced by ardent recruits ; 
 and the activity of the new commander 
 kept up the spirits and enthusiasm of his 
 troops. 
 
 Hostilities were first resumed by the 
 Polish general. Having assembled his 
 troops in silence, he left "Warsaw at mid- 
 night on the 30th of March, having pre- 
 viously Had the Praga bridge over the Vis- 
 tula, and the road in the vicinity, covered 
 with straw, to prevent the enemy from 
 hearing his approach. His operations were 
 favoured by a thick fog ; and the Russians, 
 not suspecting an attack, were for the most 
 part sound asleep. So ably was the expe- 
 dition conducted, that the surprise was 
 complete, and the startled Russians were 
 roused from their slumbers by the mus- 
 ketry of the foe. Their advanced posts, 
 under Geismar, were assailed both in front 
 and flank, thrown into confusion, and 
 slaughtered in heaps. As they fled, they 
 were attacked by another body of Poles, 
 who charged the fugitives with the bayonet, 
 and killed and captured great numbers of 
 them. Those who escaped fled through 
 a wood to Dembewilkie, where General 
 Rosen was posted with 15,000 of their 
 countrymen, in a position of great advan- 
 tage, as the soft nature of the ground ren- 
 dered it impracticable for cavalry or ar- 
 tillery. 
 
 These advantages, however, did not save 
 the Russians from defeat, though they 
 fought with great perseverance, and pro- 
 longed the battle during the whole day — 
 the 31st of March. By the evening, how- 
 ever, the Poles obtained a decided victory ; 
 and the Russians fled in a state of panic, 
 leaving 2,000 men dead upon the field, 
 together with 6,000 prisoners, and nine 
 pieces of cannon, in the hands of the 
 enemy. The following day, the Russian 
 force, which resembled rather a military 
 mob than an army, was pursued by Lu- 
 bienski, with his brigade of cavalry, for the 
 space of twenty miles. AVhole battalions 
 of the terror-stricken Russians threw down 
 their arms at his approach; and during 
 the day he captured upwards of 5,000 more 
 prisoners, many of whom, being Lithua- 
 nians, gladly entered the Polish ranks. 
 
 Fortune seemed disposed to smile upon 
 the cause of the patriots ; but Skrzynecki 
 492 
 
 wanted either the skill or the audacity to 
 turn his advantages to account. He was 
 urged to advance and attack the rear of the 
 troops commanded by Diebitch in person ; 
 but he replied — " The roads are impractica-. 
 ble for artillery ; I am chained to the great 
 road of Siedlece, and I cannot profit by 
 my victory." All movements calculated 
 (in the event of their being successful) to 
 lead to decisive results, were attended with 
 great hazards, and these he feared to en- 
 counter, because he had no reserve ; and, 
 therefore, if his army was destroyed, the 
 Polish cause was lost. For some days he 
 remained in a state of inactivity, after 
 which he assumed the ofiensive, and 
 marched against Rosen, who was posted 
 with 25,000 men on the Kostrzyn, covering 
 the approaches to Siedlece. Again the 
 Poles obtained a victory, on the 10th of 
 April, at Iganie ; and the Russians, dis- 
 heartened by their previous defeats, fled 
 tumultuously, and left half their cannon in 
 the hands of the enemy. The troops de- 
 feated on this occasion were the Russian 
 veterans on whom, since the recent Turkish 
 war, the emperor Nicholas had bestowed 
 the vain-glorious title of "the Lions of 
 Varna." But a sad calamity awaited the 
 victors ; the terrible cholera had been ad- 
 vancing from India into Europe; it had 
 already infected the Russian army, and the 
 Poles took it from the prisoners whom they 
 captured on that occasion. This circum- 
 stance prevented the Poles from following 
 up their successes, and the Russian army 
 was thus saved from destruction. 
 
 Yet the Poles were not uniformly suc- 
 cessful. Their right wing, under Sierawiki 
 and Pac, amounting to 15,000 men, which 
 had advanced against the Russians at Lub- 
 lin, experienced a reverse, and were driven 
 back with the loss of 1,500 men. The 
 brave and gifted Dwernecki, after achieving 
 many triumphs, was defeated in Volhynia, 
 and compelled to take refuge within the 
 Austrian frontier, where he and his men 
 were immediately disarmed and made pri- 
 soners. But Austria was not anxious for 
 any overwhelming success on the part of 
 Russia; and the Poles were mostly per- 
 mitted to escape and return to the patriotic 
 army. A partial rising in favour of the 
 Poles, in Podolia and the Ukraine, was also 
 crushed by the Russian forces ; and, by its 
 misfortune, helped to bind the chains it 
 had striven to break. 
 
 While these operations were proceeding, 
 
A.D. 1831.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [battle of ostrolenka. 
 
 the main Polish army, under Skrzynecki, 
 remained in inaction ; while Diebitch, from 
 whose military talents the emperor Nicholas 
 had expected a speedy termination of the 
 war, was waiting for reinforcements to fill 
 the gaps which had been made in his ranks 
 by Polish sabres. He had not fulfilled the 
 expectations formed of him in consequence 
 of his previous exploits, and especially his 
 passage of the Balkan, in the recent war 
 with the Turks ; and it became evident that 
 his powers were failing. The irresolution 
 of tlie Polish general at this period has 
 been both regretted and condemned, for a 
 vigorous blow struck at this moment might 
 have annihilated the Russian army, and 
 inclined the emperor to grant the terms 
 demanded by the Poles. 
 
 This time Diebitch, having received the 
 reinforcements he had been waiting for, 
 commenced offensive operations. Towards 
 the end of April he advanced with 40,000 
 men to Jerusalem, while 15,000 more 
 marched on Kaluckzyn; but he was soon 
 compelled to retire, on account of the wasted 
 state of the country, which precluded the 
 possibility of obtaining supplies. Skrzynecki 
 then conceived the plan of attacking the 
 Russian head- quarters at Ostrolenka, and, 
 by forcing back the Russian army, open a 
 communication with Lithuania, where an 
 insurrection in favour of the Poles was 
 making considerable progress. This move- 
 ment he succeeded in effecting, at the same 
 time attacking and defeating the Russian 
 rear-guard at Tykoczyu, Skrzynecki, how- 
 ever, in accomplishing it, laid himself open 
 to attack — a circumstance of which Diebitch 
 was not slow to take advantage. The result 
 was a general battle, which took place at 
 Ostrolenka on the 26th of May. The con- 
 flict was a furious and terrible one; both 
 sides exhibited the most obstinate courage, 
 and victory appeared to hang undecided 
 between them. In many cases the com- 
 batants fought man to man and foot to foot ; 
 while Polish officers were seen, sword in 
 hand, rusliing to the front, singing the 
 Warsaw hymn. At nightfall the fury of 
 the fight slackened, and the Russians, re- 
 tiring from the field, withdrew to the oppo- 
 site side of the river Narew, leaving 10,000 
 dead or wounded men upon the ensanguined 
 field. Tiie Poles had gained an equivocal 
 victory; but it was of a kind so fatal as to 
 carry with it nearly ail the consequences of 
 defeat. They had' lost no less than 7,000 
 men, including 270 officers — a much heavier 
 
 calamity to them than the loss of 10,000 
 men was to their foes. A detachment of 
 8,000 men, also, had been separated from 
 the main army of the Poles, and left in a dan- 
 gerous position in the forests of Lithuania. 
 Skrzynecki summoned a council of war, and 
 his officers strenuously advised a retreat — 
 a decision which he unwillingly adopted. 
 The Polish army, therefore, retired leisurely 
 towards Warsaw, and gloomy forebodings 
 filled the minds of many of the patriot 
 leaders. 
 
 The sanguinary battle of Ostrolenka was 
 the last fought by Diebitch. Knowing that 
 he had incurred the serious displeasure of 
 the emperor, and mentally pained by his 
 own want of success, he sought relief from 
 the melancholy which oppressed him in an 
 immoderate use of the bottle. This probably 
 subjected him to an attack of the cholera, 
 which was then raging in the Russian army. 
 He sunk rapidly beneath the disorder, and 
 died at Pultusk, on the 10th of June. 
 Nicholas, who had resolved to dismiss the 
 living general, looked with a softened glance 
 on the dead one, and the corpse of the once 
 famous soldier was conveyed to St. Peters- 
 burg, where it was interred with much 
 pomp. On the 27th of the same mouth in 
 which Diebitch breathed his last, the Grand- 
 duke Constantine died at Witepsk, in the 
 arms of the much-loved wife for whom he 
 had sacrificed the throne of Russia. Sus- 
 picions of poison were at first entertained, 
 but it appears groundlessly, and his death is 
 now generally attributed to cholera. Dr. 
 Granville, an English physician of distinc- 
 tion, attributed the death of the grand- 
 duke to the result of mental irritability, 
 which terminated in apoplexy. " Constan- 
 tine," observed that gentleman, "eccentric 
 always, tyrannical, cruel, died at Warsaw, 
 suddenly, in July, 1831, aged fifty-two 
 years, after having caused rebellion in the 
 country by his harsh treatment of the cadet 
 officers. I saw and conversed with him on 
 the parade and in his palace at Warsaw in 
 Decemi)er, 1828. His looks and demeanour 
 sufficiently denoted to a medical man what 
 he was, and what his fate would be. It 
 has been said that he died of cholera; again, 
 that he had been dispatched like his father. 
 The physician-in-chief of the Polish military 
 hospitals assured me, some years after, that 
 he died apoplectic and in a rage."* 
 
 * For a remarkable letter by Dr. Granville, pub- 
 lished on the occasion of the death of the emperor 
 Nicholas, in which the severities and eccentricitie* 
 
 493 
 
DEPRESSED STATE OF THE POLES.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1831. 
 
 General Paslciewitcli succeeded Diebitch 
 in the command of the Russian army in 
 Poland; but the combatants on both sides 
 had suffered too much by the battle of 
 Ostrolenka^ to permit the immediate renewal 
 of hostilities. Nearly a month was suffered 
 to pass in inaction, during which the Polish 
 general busied himself in recruiting his 
 shattered ranks and preparing for a renewal 
 of the struggle. Gloom, fear, and dis- 
 content prevailed in Warsaw, and the re- 
 publicans of that city lost all their confi- 
 dence in Skrzynecki, whom they suspected 
 either of incompetence, or of treason to the 
 national cause. 
 
 The resumption of hostilities led to re- 
 sults unfavourable to the Poles. The divi- 
 sion which had been separated from their 
 army after the battle of Ostrolenka, had 
 thrown itself into Lithuania, where it met 
 with considerable success in promoting the 
 insurrection there ; so much so, that it was 
 joined by some thousand volunteers, in- 
 cluding 340 young men from the imiversity 
 of Wilna. But there was no time to or- 
 ganise these recruits, and not even arms for 
 them all ; therefore, though this division of 
 the Polish array proved successful in an 
 engagement with a small body of Russian 
 troops which endeavoared to arrest its pro- 
 gress, it suffered a defeat at the battle of 
 Wilna of so serious a kind as to prove fatal 
 to the Polish cause in Lithuania. The de- 
 feat was followed by another disaster ; for 
 most of the troops who retreated from the 
 field of battle, were compelled to take refuge 
 in the Prussian territory, where they were 
 arrested and disarmed. 
 
 As the Poles were constantly weakened, 
 the Russians were as constantly reinforced, 
 and their relative strength became more 
 disproportionate. The state of the Poles, 
 which had never been too promising, became 
 desperate; and eventual submission, with 
 its accompanying degradation and severi- 
 ties, stared them in the face. Paskiewitch 
 adopted a different plan to the one which 
 had been pursued with so little advantage 
 by his predecessor. It was to renounce the 
 idea of attacking Warsaw on the right bank 
 of the Vistula, where it was defended by 
 the fortifications of Praga, and, instead, to 
 march towards the Prussian frontier, where 
 additional succours of every description 
 
 of the various members of the imperial family of 
 Russia are attributed to the action of hereditary 
 insanity, see Tyrrell's History of the recent War 
 with Russia, vol. ii., p. 85. 
 
 494 
 
 aAvaited him, to cross the Vistula at Oziek, 
 and to return and attack Warsaw on the 
 left bank. This plan was favoured by the 
 dishonourable and mean attitude of Prussia, 
 which, sinking the dignity of an independent 
 state into the insignificance of a crinj:in<'' 
 vassal of Russia, openly assisted the latter 
 power, and permitted provisions and muni- 
 tions of war to be forwarded across its ter- 
 ritory to the Russian head-quarters. " Time 
 will show," observes a political writer, " whe- 
 ther, in so doing, Prussia has not put the 
 seal to her own ultimate subjugation." In 
 reply to repeated expostulations both from 
 Poland and France, the Prussian cabinet 
 answered, with a despicable quibble, that it 
 had never professed to be neutral, but only 
 inactive. 
 
 General Paskiewitch had 60,000 men 
 and 300 pieces of cannon with him at 
 Pultusk, and a reserve of 23,000 behind, 
 the Bug and the Wieprz. To oppose this 
 force Skrzynecki had not 25,000 men. The 
 Polish government made an eloquent appeal 
 to the people for assistance, commencing — 
 " In the name of God ; in the name of the 
 liberty of the nation, now placed between 
 life and death ; in the name of the kings 
 and heroes who have combated in former 
 days for its religion and independence; in 
 the name of justice and of the deliverance 
 of Europe ; in the name of future genera- 
 tions who will else demand a terrible ac- 
 count of your abashed shades for their 
 servitude, we call on all classes to come 
 forward to defend their country." This 
 appeal was generously responded to; but 
 the hopeful enthusiasm which animated the 
 people at the outbreak of the insurrection, 
 now scarcely existed : it had sunk into a 
 state not far removed from despair, in the 
 presence of obstacles which proved insur- 
 mountable, and of difficulties which ap- 
 peared endless. 
 
 The crossing of the Vistula by Paskie- 
 witch, and the approach of the Russian 
 army upon Warsaw, on its comparatively 
 undefended side, created both consterna- 
 tion and fury in that city. Such was the 
 outcry against Skrzynecki, that he was 
 deprived of the command of the army, 
 which was given to Dembinski, who had 
 the courage to undertake it under circum- 
 stances which held out a promise of little 
 else than martyrdom. But popular discon- 
 tent was not alleviated by the removal of 
 Skrzynecki, whose inactivity had led to 
 suspicions of his fidelity. Furious riots 
 
A.D. 1831.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [SURRENBER OP WARSAW. 
 
 broke out in Warsaw, and armed and ex- 
 cited mobs paraded the streets, rending the 
 air witli shouts of treason. Breaking into 
 the prisons, they murdered the state pri- 
 soners, together with several Russians who 
 were confined there. They also forced 
 their way into the palace ; and the following 
 day the government, finding themselves 
 unable to restrain the fury of a people by 
 whom they were not respected, resigned. 
 One of a more republican character suc- 
 ceeded, and General Krukowiecki, a man 
 of considerable energy and talent, was ap- 
 pointed dictator. 
 
 It became evident, that the termination 
 of this sad struggle could not long be 
 averted. With the hope of avoiding the 
 terrible loss of life which must necessarily 
 ensue from the assault of Warsaw, Paskie- 
 witch gave the Polish government till the 
 5th of September to surrender at discre- 
 tion, assuring it that these were the only 
 terms he was authorised to make. His 
 offer was still indignantly rejected, and the 
 Poles, in reply, dispatched 20,000 men to 
 threaten the Russian communications, and 
 to collect provisions in the surrounding 
 provinces. This was an error, which left 
 only 34,000 men to guard the intrenched 
 camp at Warsaw. The city Avas defended 
 on the left bank by three semicircular 
 lines of vallations, the most extended of 
 which did not embrace less than five leagues. 
 The principal sallies were Wola, Pariz, and 
 Marymont, connected together by lunettes. 
 This immense development, to be adequately 
 maintained, required an army three times 
 as large as that of the Poles. Certain 
 points, of necessity insufficiently manned, 
 must, as a matter of course, fall into the 
 hands of Paskiewitch; so that they had 
 built forts for the enemy; and the very 
 works whicli were intended to stop the 
 besieger, became to him an additional 
 element of success. To complete this mis- 
 fortune, the points then best fortified were 
 precisely those which the Russians could 
 not attack. 
 
 At daybreak on the 6th of September, 
 the Russians commenced their assault on 
 the intrenched camp of the Poles at 
 Warsaw, Paskiewitch having previously 
 ordered large rations of brandy to be dis- 
 tributed to his troops. The attack began 
 with a fire from 200 cannons, and the storm 
 of destructive missiles was continued all 
 day, and responded to by the Polish artil- 
 lery. The fighting also was carried on with 
 
 the most determined fury, and on each side 
 the slaughter was terrible. But the force 
 of the Russians Avas overwhelming, and 
 Krukowiecki lost courage, and informed the 
 council of government that all was lost, and 
 that nothing remained but to surrender. 
 During the night he attempted to open 
 a negotiation with Paskiewitch; but the 
 Poles could not be induced to purchase a 
 cessation of the horrors of a sanguinary and 
 hopeless struggle at the price of an uncon- 
 ditional surrender. The next day, there- 
 fore, the battle was resumed, and the Poles 
 fought with the fury of despair ; but their 
 bravery was unavailing against the crushing 
 fire of the Russian guns, which established 
 such a superiority over that of the Poles, 
 as to induce Paskiewitch to order the as- 
 sault. Again the Russians were indebted 
 to the immense superiority of their artil- 
 lery for their success. After a bloody 
 resistance, several of the intrenchments 
 were taken, and Krukowiecki agreed to a 
 surrender, on condition that the Polish 
 army was allowed to retire to Plock. This 
 was granted, and Krukowiecki addressed the 
 folloAving communication to the emperor 
 Nicholas : — " Sire, — Commissioned at this 
 moment to speak to your imperial and 
 royal majesty in the name of the Polish 
 nation, I address myself, through his excel- 
 lency Count Paskiewitch d'Erivan, to your 
 paternal heart. In submitting uncondi- 
 tionally to your majesty, our king, the 
 Polish nation knows that your majesty 
 alone is competent to make the past for- 
 gotten, and to heal the deep wouuds that 
 have rent my country." 
 
 The following day the Russian troops 
 marched triumphantly into Warsaw by the 
 northern gates, and the Polish soldiers left 
 it by the southern. They were followed 
 by the members of the diet, and by many 
 persons who had distinguished themselves 
 during the insurrectionary war, and who 
 chose a voluntary banishment rather than 
 a dependence on the hoped-for mercy of 
 the emperor. During this last struggle, in 
 a noble but most unhappy cause, in which 
 the natural rights of humanity were arrayed 
 against the overwhelming legions of a cruel 
 and unyielding despotism, 5,000 Poles had 
 perished, and 4,000 more were taken pri- 
 soners. The Russians did not purchase 
 their tarnished triumph except at a fearful 
 price of blood : their loss, during these two 
 da\s of terror, was admitted by their gen- 
 eral to have amounted to 5,378 in killed 
 
 495 
 
SEVERITY OF NICHOLAS.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1831. 
 
 and wounded ; while it is asserted by other 
 authorities to have reached the startling 
 number of 20,000 men ! 
 
 Tlie Polish army, which had retired from 
 "Warsaw, was followed by the Russians, and 
 summoned to surrender, which' it indig- 
 nantly refused to do. The struggle was 
 resumed for a few days; but the Poles were 
 almost without ammunition, and in a 
 miserable and almost destitute state. They 
 were soon compelled to cross the Prussian 
 frontier, and lay down their arms; and 
 thus the struggle terminated, after having 
 lasted nearly eight months, and cost Russia 
 the astounding loss of 180,000 men. The 
 Poles had displayed a patriotism and courage 
 which elicited the admiration of Europe; 
 and the failure of their cause produced 
 sorrow in many of the capitals of the conti- 
 nent, and passionate excitement in others. 
 In Paris the public grief was so intense, 
 that for some days the city remained in a 
 state of stupor, and the theatres were all 
 closed. 
 
 The emperor Nicholas was unmoved 
 either by the prostrate and unhappy condi- 
 tion of the Poles, or by the sympathy mani- 
 fested for them, and the execration poured 
 out against Russia in the most free and 
 enlightened states of the continent. He 
 exhibited the most implacable resentment 
 and relentless severity against the unfor- 
 tunate people whom the harshness of his 
 government had driven into insurrection. 
 Many members of the noblest families in 
 Warsaw were seized, and sent to labour for 
 life in the mines of Siberia, or drag out a 
 wretched existence in its miserable deserts. 
 More were sent to serve as common soldiers 
 
 * Ivan Golovin, a Russian exile who has written 
 much concerning his country, observes — " If the 
 Russo-Greek church was tolerant under Catherine 
 II., it has ceased to be so under Nicholas. He has 
 forced the united Greeks to separate themselves 
 from the pope, and to re-enter the bosom of the 
 Russian church. In Poland he has erected a Rus- 
 sian altar by the side of every catholic altar. The 
 Armenians of the Gregorian sect are under process 
 of conversion. The patriarch of Echmiadzin, by 
 way of paying court to the czar, has gradually 
 obliterated, one after another, the differences that 
 used to exist between the Greco-Russian form of 
 worship and the Armenian. There is not a single 
 sect, down even to the Lutheran peasants of Es- 
 thonia, that has not been tried to be converted 
 to the Greek faith by the bait of grants of land and 
 enlarged privileges. This bait has led to some ridi- 
 culous results in the Caucasus among the Osseti- 
 nians, who, receiving a shirt and a silver rouble for 
 each conversion, have managed to get the reward 
 three or four times over, by being converted over 
 and over again, in different locaJ^f'es. The conse- 
 496 
 
 in the Caucasus and other Asiatic provinces, 
 and thus became instrumental in inflicting 
 upon others that loss of liberty and na- 
 tionality, for the assertion of which they 
 themselves were paying so terrible a penalty. 
 As to the Polish soldiers, the oath of alle- 
 giance to the emperor was forced upon them 
 by threats of death beneath the agony of the 
 knout. No gleam of generosity, no touch 
 of mercy, irradiated or softened the haish 
 nature of the czar; the victim was at his 
 feet, and he resolved that it should rise no 
 more. He determined on the utter extinc- 
 tion of that feeling of nationality in the 
 Polish breast, which, fiom its intensity, 
 seems destined to survive all misfortunes. 
 To effect this purpose, the constitution 
 granted to Poland was formally abrogated, 
 and another form of government, called the 
 " Organic Statute,'' introduced. The uni- 
 versities of Wilna and Warsaw, as well as 
 many minor schools, were abolished, and 
 the public libraries and museums carried 
 away to St. Petersburg and other parts of 
 Russia. Various other measures were 
 taken to destroy the nationality of Poland, 
 to abolish its language, and to overthrow 
 its religion* — measures which have ever 
 since been steadily persisted in. A great 
 number of the patriots left their fatherland, 
 and emigrated to foreign countries. But 
 the seal was yet to be placed to the mis- 
 fortunes of Poland, the stone yet to be 
 laid on the grave of its nationality. This 
 was done in 1832, when it was declared an 
 integral part of the Russian empire. 
 
 From this state of national and political 
 death, we fear that there is no resurrection 
 for the Poles.f Sad as their fate is, they 
 
 quence is, that the official list of baptisms is greater 
 than the whole number of inhabitants, which does 
 not, however, prevent them from still belonging to 
 their old faith. Not a single Ossetinian has ever 
 been seen in the Christian church of Kasbek !" 
 
 t " Is there a Poland or is there none ?" inquires 
 Golovin ; who thus replies : — " That is the question 
 first put when one treats of that country. Finis 
 Polonise ! exclaimed Kosciusko on the field of 
 battle, throwing away his sword, on being made 
 prisoner by the Russians ; since which time those 
 words have been repeated by less distinguished 
 generals or patriots; and so it is not lost, but still 
 lives, or if politically lost, it lives in the hearts of 
 millions ; and there is indeed something very noble 
 in the feeling of those Poles who, notwithstanding all 
 their sufferings and their privations, believe in the 
 rising again of their country. 'A nation,' say 
 they, ' which has a literature and a history, does 
 not perish.' But the history of a nation closes with 
 it, and the Roman empire also has its literature, 
 and that of no mean kind. Nations die like indi- 
 viduals ; and the absorption of smaller nationalities 
 
A.D. 1831.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [reflections on POLAND. 
 
 have suffered extinction as a separate na- 
 tion in Europe in consequence of their own 
 errors. Poland had a selfish, turbulent, 
 and proud nobility; a superstitious and 
 domineering priesthood, and a serf popula- 
 tion. These were its faults, or rather its 
 crimes; and for national crimes there is, 
 in the inexorable march of events, no 
 forgiveness. Thus it fell at last to| be 
 absorbed into the gigantic territories of a 
 neighbour to whom, at one period, it was 
 an object of dread. Let us trust that the 
 other nations of Europe may profit by 
 the tragic lesson ; that nobles may remem- 
 ber, that a too selfish adherence to their 
 own interests may eventually cause the 
 destruction of their order ; that priesthoods 
 may understand, that a rigid enforcement 
 of the practices of a blind and decrepid 
 superstition crushes out the spirit of a 
 people ;* and that the latter may compre- 
 hend, that those who are content to live in 
 a state of serfdom under a native gov- 
 ernment, deserve their fate, and have no 
 security that they may not become serfs 
 under a foreign yoke. On the tomb of 
 Polish nationality might justly be inscribed 
 the words — " Slain by the vices of the 
 Polish nobles and priesthood, and by the 
 apathy of a people who knew not liberty." 
 
 Poland perished by its crimes; and the 
 western nations of Europe have been pun- 
 ished ever since, for their connivance at its 
 spoliation, by their dread of Russian pre- 
 ponderance. Had they firmly resisted the 
 first partition of Poland in 1772,-f the 
 second and the third partition would never 
 have taken place. These reduced Poland 
 to the state of weakness which eventually 
 caused her to fall prostrate and helpless 
 beneath the iron foot of Russia. In 1773, 
 England did not even utter a word of ex- 
 postulation when Catherine II. and Frederic 
 the Great bribed Austria to assist them in 
 the first partition of Poland, by which it 
 lost more than one-third of its whole ex- 
 tent. England and France stood aloof, and 
 beheld, with apparent indifference, this 
 1 inexcusable breach of those laws which 
 are presumed to regulate the intercourse 
 between civilised nations : they suffered the 
 balance of power not only to be disturbed, 
 but to be rudely overthrown. It is true 
 that the time of the imperial and royal 
 
 by larger is doubtless the goal to which mankind 
 are irremediably advancing." 
 
 • A fact of which Spain is a prominent and most 
 CJ^traordinary instance. The priesthood of Poland 
 3s 
 
 bandits had been well chosen. England 
 was tired of its long contests with France; 
 it was already engaged in that quarrel 
 with America which led to the great war 
 of independence; and the attention of the 
 English people was engaged in political 
 struggles at home, where they feared that 
 the bigotry and despotic character of an 
 ignorant and obstinate young king, assisted 
 by a tory ministry, would, if not resisted, 
 force on them that political servitude to 
 which so many of the continental nations 
 were the prey. On the other hand, France, 
 exhausted by the wars into which it had 
 been plunged by the restless ambition of 
 Louis XIV., and its people irritated and 
 nearly maddened by an accumulation of 
 misery, and by the corruption and heart- 
 lessness of the mass of the privileged order* 
 both in church and state, was hurrying 
 onward to that terrible revolution, when 
 the sins of a blind aristocracy, and the 
 selfishness of a corrupt priesthood, were,^ 
 together with the wrongs of an outraged 
 and despairing people, to be washed out in 
 a deluge of blood ! 
 
 Oh ! the time was well chosen : France 
 was half mad with her own miseries, and 
 the hands of England were filled with her 
 own immediate affairs. There never was a 
 period when our exercise of the doctrine 
 of non-intervention in the proceedings of 
 other countries, seemed to be more profit- 
 able. What, it might be urged, could 
 these two countries do, when Russia, Prus- 
 sia, and Austria, each armed to the teeth, 
 were leagued together for a deed of wrong ? 
 Assuredly the question constitutes a diflS- 
 culty : to this the western powers closed 
 their eyes; but that is not the manner in 
 which difficulties are overcome. They 
 must be met, and met with daring and 
 resolution; and it is better when they are 
 met at once. They are commonly in- 
 creased by delay, as this has been. If 
 Poland had not fallen, Turkey would not 
 be in danger from the overshadowing 
 might of Russia; nor would Prussia be her 
 vassal, Or the Baltic states look towards her 
 with furtive and uneasy glances. The diffi- 
 culties of the Eastern question, as well as 
 others in connection with the pretensions 
 of Russia, may almost be said to have 
 arisen out of the fall of Poland : the 
 
 were bitterly fanatical in their adherence to the 
 tenets and forms of Catholicism ; that of Spain 
 was superstitiously and savagely mad. 
 t See ante, pp. 288, 289. 
 
 497 
 
REFLECTIONS ON POLAND.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1833. 
 
 strength she lost, Russia gained; and the 
 acquisition of that territory opened to her 
 a highway into the heart of Europe, and 
 made her influence predominant through- 
 out a great part of Germany. Starting 
 from Warsaw, the battalions of Russia 
 could soon thunder at the gates of Berlin ; 
 and in that circumstance lies the clue to 
 the Prussian subservience to Russian 
 claims, and Prussian complicity with Rus- 
 guilt. Since Poland has been ab- 
 
 sian 
 
 sorbed by Russia, Prussia has ceased to be 
 one of the great powers of Europe, and has, 
 we repeat, become merely a vassal of the 
 czar ; a fact which time will make increas- 
 ingly evident. Austria cannot maintain 
 herself against Russia, for her vast stand- 
 ing army is required to play the part of \ our narrative to mention that, in 1833, the 
 police at home, and to force upon disaf- j liberal and gifted English statesman. Lord 
 
 Russia with the blood of their best and 
 bravest troops; and all merely with the 
 result of administering a temporary check 
 to the designs of Russia. Surely, whatever 
 the condition of England and France in 
 1772, they gained nothing by their con- 
 nivance in the first deep gash inflicted 
 upon Poland, and their silence respecting 
 it. Certainly the western nations were not 
 then what they are now, neither was Rus- 
 sia; in fact, had her internal, social, and 
 political development been progressively 
 equal to theirs, she would now be irre- 
 sistible. Happily, despotism in some mea- 
 sure disarms itself, for it emasculates its 
 subjects. 
 
 In closing this chapter, we may return to 
 
 fected nations the hateful yoke of a cruel, 
 intolerant, and despotic government. Rus- 
 sia well knows that now she has but little 
 to fear from either of her great German 
 neighbours. What power, then, remains to 
 check those aggressions which she has from 
 time to time perpetrated in the east, north, 
 and west of Europe ? That of France and 
 England, whose arms would, in such con- 
 tests, ever have been aided by the dauntless 
 battalions of Poland, had they interfered 
 to save her from partition in the hour of 
 her trial and desolation. Now the sabres 
 and bayonets of Poland follow the imperial 
 standard of the czar, and the revenues of 
 Poland assist in filling his treasury : but 
 yet it is France and England who have to 
 resist the encroachments of Russia; alone 
 they have to oppose the hydra which the 
 might of Poland would have enabled them 
 to smite. 
 
 " The gods are just, and of our pleasant vices 
 Make instruments to sceurge us." 
 
 England and France were deedless, and 
 even silent, in 1772, and passive during the 
 subsequent partitions of Poland in 1793 
 and 1795. The punishment of this apathetic 
 complicity was remote, certainly, but it was 
 inevitable. For more than half a century 
 the "Eastern difficulty'' has been the 
 spectre which disturbs the tranquillity of 
 their statesmen ; and in 1853 and 1854 both 
 countries were compelled to tax their re- 
 sources to the utmost — to pour out their 
 troops incessantly upon the shores of Rus- 
 sia — to keep mighty fleets in the Baltic and 
 the Euxine — to add millions upon millions 
 to their national debt — to bedew the soil of 
 498 
 
 Durham, was dispatched from this country 
 on a special mission to Russia, principally 
 with the object of inducing the emperor 
 to soften the severity of his proceedings 
 towards the unhappy persons who had been 
 engaged in the recent Polish insurrection. 
 The efibrt was altogether without success. 
 Nicholas was not to be moved ; and observed, 
 that all Poland was not worth the Russian 
 ofiicers killed at Warsaw. In fact, the 
 statesman found that the language which our 
 national poet has used respecting one of the 
 most haughty heroes of republican Rome, 
 was also true of the czar — that " there was 
 no more mercy in him than there is milk 
 in a male tiger." Regarding the stern, 
 pitiless haughtiness of the unforgiving au- 
 tocrat, and his domineering pride, we may 
 continue the quotation, and add — " He 
 wanted nothing of a god but eternity, and 
 a heaven to throne in.'' 
 
 The emperor Nicholas has, however, had 
 his apologists for his conduct with regard 
 to the Poles : they affirm, that his vindic- 
 tiveness arose rather from policy than from 
 cruelty of disposition. A Russian noble- 
 man, while conversing with the Marquis 
 Custine, observed — "You can have no 
 adequate idea of the intense intolerance 
 of the Russians; those whose minds are 
 cultivated, and whom business brings into 
 intercourse with western Europe, take the 
 utmost pains to conceal the predominant 
 national sentiment, which is the triumph of 
 the Greek orthodoxy *^ — with them syno- 
 
 * Ivan Golovin, while admitting the intolerance 
 of his countrymen, yet is not disposed to believe 
 them fanatical. He observes — " As regards the 
 fanaticism of the Kussian, I do not believe in iU 
 
A.D. 
 
 1831.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [turkey and EGYPT. 
 
 nymous with the policy of Russia. With- 
 out keeping this in view, nothing can be 
 explained either in our manners or our 
 politics. You must not believe, for example, 
 that the persecutions in Poland were the 
 effect of the personal resentment of the 
 emperor: they were the result of a pro- 
 found and deliberate calculation. These 
 acts of cruelty are meritorious in the eyes 
 of true believers ; it is the Holy Spirit who 
 so enlightens the sovereign, as to elevate 
 him above all human feelings ; and it is God 
 who blesses him, as the executor of his high 
 designs. By this manner of viewing things, 
 judges and executioners become so much 
 the greater saints in proportion as they 
 are greater barbarians. Your legitimate 
 journals little know what they are doing 
 when they seek for allies among schisma- 
 tics. Depend upon it, we shall see a Euro- 
 
 pean revolution before we shall see the 
 emperor of Russia acting in good faith with 
 a catholic power; the protestants are at 
 least open adversaries; besides, they will 
 more readily reunite with the pope than 
 with the chief of the Russian autocracy; 
 for the protestants, having beheld all their 
 creeds degenerate into systems, and their 
 religious faith transformed into philosophic 
 doubt, have nothing left but their sectarian 
 pride to sacrifice to Rome ; (?) whereas the 
 emperor possesses a real and positive spiri- 
 tual power, which assuredly he will never 
 voluntarily relinquish. Rome, and all that 
 can be connected with the Romish church, 
 has no more dangerous enemy than the au- 
 tocrat of Moscow, visible head of his own 
 church; and I am astonished that Italian 
 penetration has not discovered the danger 
 that threatens from that quarter.^' 
 
 CHAPTER LVIII. 
 
 WAR BETWEEN MEHEMET ALI AND THE SULTAN ; PROSTRATION OF THE POWER OF THE LATTER ; MAHMOUD 
 APPLIES TO ENGLAND FOR ASSISTANCE, AND IS REFUSED ; HE SOLICITS HELP FROM THE EMPEROR 
 NICHOLAS, WHO EAGERLY EMBRACES THE OPPORTUNITY THUS GIVEN HIM OF INTERVENTION IN THE 
 AFFAIRS OF THE PORTE ; RUSSIA SENDS A FLEET TO THE BOSPHORUS, AND LANDS AN ARMY WITHIN 
 SIGHT OF CONSTANTINOPLE; SETTLEMENT OF THE QUARREL BETWEEN MEHEMET ALI AND THE SULTAN ; 
 NICHOLAS OBTAINS FROM THE PORTE THE TREATY OF UNKIAR-SKELESSI, AS A RECOMPENSE FOR HIS 
 SERVICES ; CONSEQUENT CLOSING OF THE DARDANELLES TO ALL FOREIGN SHIPS OF WAR, EXCEPT THOSE 
 OF RUSSIA ; HOSTILITIES ARE RECOMMENCED BETWEEN THE SULTAN AND THE PASHA OF EGYPT ; DEATH 
 OF SULTAN MAHMOUD, AND INTERFERENCE OF AUSTRIA, FRANCE, AND ENGLAND ; BOMBARDMENT OF BEY- 
 ROUT, AND CAPTURE OF SIDON AND ACRE ; SUBMISSION OF MEHEMET ALI ; MODIFICATION OF THE TREATY 
 OF UNKIAR-SKELESSI ; THE CAUCASUS ; RUSSIA, BY VIRTUE OF THE TREATY OF ADRIANOPLE, ASSUMES TO 
 REGARD IT AS A PROVINCE OF THE EMPIRE ; NICHOLAS IS UNABLE TO INDUCE THE MOUNTAINEERS TO 
 SUBMIT TO HIS RULE ; BLOCKADE OF THE CIRCASSIAN COAST ; SEIZURE OF THE ENGLISH MERCHANT- 
 MAN, VIXEN ; NICHOLAS VISITS THE CAUCASUS ; FORMAL DECLARATION OF WAR BY RUSSIA ; SERIOUS 
 REVERSES OF THAT POWER, AND ITS FAILURE TO SUBDUE THE MOUNTAINEERS. 
 
 Turkey had been much weakened by the 
 war that terminated with the treaty of 
 Adrianople, and its progress towards pro- 
 bable dismemberment seemed to be greatly 
 accelerated. Sultan Mahmoud, with un- 
 abated perseverance, was actively employed 
 in endeavouring to create a new army and 
 a new navy, and in improving his ruined 
 finances. Yet powerful and distant pashas 
 speculated on the ruin of the Ottoman em- 
 He observes fast days ; he goes to church, where he 
 hears mass ; but he does not believe in the priest, 
 whose hand he finds so often in his pocket. The 
 noble himself is a Voltairian, and an unbeliever. 
 As to the Russian soldier, he dies pressinj^ the cross, 
 which is suspended from his neck, to his expiring 
 lips ; but he fights only because he has a taste for a 
 
 pire, and debated with themselves whe- 
 ther they were able to set the sultan at 
 defiance, and to make themselves indepeu' 
 dent rulers. 
 
 For some time Mehemet Ali — an extra- 
 ordinary man, who had raised himself from 
 the position of a small shopkeeper — had 
 been pasha of Egypt. Not satisfied with 
 this amount of power and distinction, he, 
 in 1831, obtained possession of the island 
 
 military life, and therefore does not much care, 
 when once in for it, how or when it ends ; and to 
 the priest who says to him, ' My children, you suffer 
 here, but in another world the nobles will burn on 
 a huge pile of fire, and you will have to throw on 
 the faggots :' he replies, ' We shall be sent a long 
 way, then, to fetch the wood.' " 
 
 499 
 
TURKEY APPLIES TO ENGLAND.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1832. 
 
 of Candia, and then aimed at acquiring 
 Syria. Pleading, as an excuse, his desire 
 to recover some Egyptians who, being dis- 
 contented with the exactions of his govern- 
 ment, had settled in that country, he sent 
 his son, Ibrahim Pasha, against it with a 
 large army. Syria, as well as Egypt, was 
 an integral part of the Ottoman empire ; a 
 firman was therefore issued by the sultan, 
 declaring IMehemet a traitor, and a con- 
 siderable Turkish force was sent against 
 him. An active campaign followed, and 
 terminated in favour of Ibrahim Pasha, 
 who obtained several victories over the 
 Turks, gained the command of the whole 
 sea-coast of Syria, captured the fortresses 
 of Acre, Tripoli, and Aleppo, and took 
 great numbers of prisoners, and many tro- 
 phies of war. So remarkable were the 
 successes of Ibrahim, who possessed great 
 military genius, and was well versed in the 
 strategy of modern Europe, that to his 
 Egyptian and Arab followers (who recog- 
 nise a fatality in all things), he appeared an 
 instrument in the hand of God, to reinstate 
 the true faith, and punish the degenerate 
 Turks who had strayed from the precepts 
 of the prophet. A similar feeling prevailed 
 among the forces of the sultan, who, in the 
 December of 1832, were utterly overthrown 
 at the decisive battle of Konieh. The 
 strength of the Porte, exhausted by pre- 
 vious eflforts, was almost annihilated. 
 Even Constantinople was in danger from 
 the ambition of Mehemet and the valour 
 of Ibrahim. Such was the fame of the 
 latter throughout the East, that all the 
 warlike tribes in Asia Minor regarded him 
 as the Man of Destiny, who was to restore 
 the faith of the prophet in its purity — were 
 prepared to join his standard, and endea- 
 
 • The apathy and perplexing policy of England 
 bas alienated Turkey from it, and caused it to lose 
 its character for integrity and impartiality with that 
 state. Miss Pardoe, in her interesting book on The 
 City of the Sultan, remarks: — "A Turk of high 
 rank and considerable abilities, who had an under- 
 standing to observe, and a heart to feel the position 
 of his countr}', was one day conversing with me on 
 her foreign political relations, when he exclaimed, 
 with a sudden burst of unaffected energy — ' France 
 has beguiled us, it is true ; but France has been at 
 least comparatively honest in her supineness. She 
 has never afifected a wish to become the foster- 
 mother of the world ; but England — England, ma- 
 dam, which has boasted of her universal philan- 
 thropy — which has knocked away the fetters of mil- 
 lions of the blacks — England, not contented while 
 among her nobles, in her House of Commons, and 
 even at the very meetings of her lower classes, she 
 was making a vaunt of her all-embracing love, and 
 500 
 
 vour to establish a new dynasty on the 
 throne of Constantinople. 
 
 In this hour of peril the Porte applied 
 for assistance to England ; but that power 
 answered, that however much inclined they 
 were to assist Turkey, they had not at that 
 moment the means of afi^ording the required 
 assistance.* The foreign policy of this 
 country is a strange enigma, or a series of 
 almost unpardonable errors. Had Ibrahim 
 Pasha crushed the might of the sultan, 
 how long would it have been before the 
 two-headed eagle of Russia had waved over 
 the palaces of the Ottoman and the mosque 
 of St. Sophia? Could the resources of 
 such a petty state as Egypt long have con- 
 tended with the countless battalions and 
 the subtle arts of the autocrat of the north? 
 The apathy of England might have proved 
 the easy triumph of Russia. " Never," 
 observes Alison, with zealous truth, " was 
 such an opportunity afforded for the estab- 
 lishment of a powerful and efficacious 
 barrier against Russia in the East ; imagi- 
 nation itself could not have conceived any- 
 thing more favourable. The British gov- 
 ernment was applied to by an ancient ally 
 for succour against a rebellious vassal, and 
 an opportunity was aflForded of rendering a 
 service to the Ottoman rulers of so essential 
 a kind as to insure future gratitude and 
 dependence, and counteract, in a great de- 
 gree, the growing influence of the Musco- 
 vites at the court of Constantinople. Incal- 
 culable would have been the effects of such 
 aid, if promptly rendered; it would pro- 
 bably have restored the balance of power in 
 the East, and averted, if not altogether 
 prevented, the terrible war of 1854 in the 
 Black Sea. Unhappily, England was not 
 at this period in a condition to take advan- 
 
 of her sympathy with the oppressed — not contented 
 with seeing Poland weep tears of blood, and only 
 cease to exist when the last nerves of her heart had 
 been wrung asunder — your own happy England, 
 secure in her prosperity and her power, is now 
 standing tamely by, while the vast Ottoman em- 
 pire — the gorgeous East, which seems to have been 
 made for glory and for greatness — is trampled by a 
 power like Russia ! She might have saved us— she 
 might save us yet. Where is her gallant navy? 
 Where are her floating fortresses ? But above all, 
 where is the heart which has so many hands to work 
 its will ? Is it the expense of a war from which she 
 shrinks ? Surely her policy is not so shallow, for 
 she cannot require to be told how deeply her com- 
 mercial interests must be compromised by the suc- 
 cess of Russia. But I will not pursue so painful a 
 subject. As individuals we respect the English; 
 but their political character is lost in the East. We 
 have no longer faith in England.' 
 
A.D. 1833.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [RUSSIA ASSISTS TURKEY. 
 
 tage of the extraordinary good fortune thus 
 thrown in her way. So great had been the 
 reduction of her land and sea forces, in 
 consequence of the growing passion for 
 economy which had prevailed ever since 
 the peace, and which the contraction of the 
 currency had now rendered a matter of 
 necessity, that Great Britain had no forces 
 at her disposal adequate for an Eastern war ; 
 and the few which she had were absorbed 
 in propping up a rickety and unpopular 
 government against the feelings of the Por- 
 tuguese at Lisbon." 
 
 The power of France, at this period, to 
 assist the sultan was scarcely greater than 
 that of England ; and had it been applied 
 to, a response of regretful denial would 
 probably have been sustained in that quar- 
 ter also. But assistance was not applied 
 for, as the conduct of Napoleon, and of the 
 French government since his fall, had been 
 such as to create in the Porte a jealousy and 
 distrust of it. 
 
 Where was Turkey to turn for help ? 
 The mediation of the European powers 
 had effected a truce; but, in spite of it, 
 Ibrahim pushed on and occupied Brousa, 
 the ancient Asiatic capital of the Ottoman 
 empire. The ruin of the sultan appeared to 
 be inevitable; and in this almost hopeless 
 condition, he resolved to appeal for assistance 
 to his natural enemy, and to throw himself I 
 into the arms of Russia. Mahmoud, there- 
 fore, addressed an autograph letter to the 
 emperor Nicholas, soliciting help against 
 his rebellious vassal, whose conduct he 
 represented as a part of the general system 
 of revolution which had recently been so 
 prominent in Europe, and which all its 
 monarchs were interested in subduing. 
 Nicholas saw the latent advantages of the 
 opportunity thus afforded him of estab- 
 lishing an exclusive protectorate over the 
 sultan and his dominions. The autocrat 
 gave an immediate and favourable response, 
 and tendered the assistance of a Russian 
 fleet under Admiral Greig, and a body of 
 25,000 men, to act on the banks of the 
 Danube. By the 20tli of January, 1833, a 
 Russian squadron of four sail-of-the-line 
 and six frigates, with 6,000 troops on board, 
 took up its station in the Bay of Bourgas, 
 near the mouth of the Bosphorus. In the 
 meantime, the interference of France had 
 produced a settlement of the quarrel, and 
 the sultan had consented to the cession of 
 Syria and Egypt, in perpetuity, to Me- 
 hemet Ali. 
 
 The sultan, who dreaded his new Russian 
 friends, hastened to inform them that their 
 assistance was no longer needed, and that 
 their force might be recalled. This was not 
 what the latter desired, and they hesitated. 
 At this point, a renewal of hostilities was 
 threatened, by the refusal of Mehemet Ali 
 to ratify the proposed treaty. The Russian 
 government no sooner received this intel- 
 ligence than they hurried a fresh squadron 
 laden with troops from Odessa, which, 
 efl'ecting a junction with the former one in 
 the Bay of Bourgas, they both immediately 
 sailed for the Bosphorus. Arriving on the 
 5th of June, they passed the Straits, and 
 landed their troops on the Asiatic shore, 
 within sight of Constantinople. 
 
 Startled at this new phase of the "Eastern 
 difficulty," the English government sent 
 Lord Durham to St. Petersburg, partly, as 
 we have already related, to induce the 
 emperor Nicholas to temper his severity 
 against the Poles, but also to bring about 
 a pacification of the quarrel between the 
 sultan and Mehemet Ali, and thus render 
 the prolonged interference of Russia un- 
 necessary. The English diplomatist was 
 received with great distinction, but he was 
 unable to affect the conduct of the czar 
 either with regard to Poland or Turkey. 
 Nicholas had no intention of withdrawing 
 his troops from the Turkish soil, or recalling 
 his armed ships from the waters of the Bos- 
 phorus, until he had obtained a contem- 
 plated advantage at the expense of the 
 sultan, which, it will be seen, could scarcely 
 have been extorted from the latter even 
 after an unsuccessful campaign. 
 
 The adherence of Russia to the cause of 
 Turkey, induced Mehemet Ali to change 
 his mind, and a treaty was therefore con- 
 cluded between him and the sultan, on the 
 6th of May, 1833, by which Ali was recog- 
 nised as an independent sovereign, and 
 received the governments of Jerusalem, 
 Tripoli, Aleppo, Damascus, and Adana, in 
 addition to that of Egypt. Delivered from 
 the danger which threatened his destruction, 
 the sultan now addressed himself to the 
 onerous task of getting rid of his officious 
 friends the Russians, whose friendship, he 
 began to fear, might be as dangerous as 
 their enmity. Before the czar consented 
 to withdraw his forces from the Turkish 
 territory, he obtained from the Porte, in 
 presumed recompense of his services, the 
 since much-talked-of treaty of Unkiar-Ske- 
 lessi, which was signed on the 8th of July, 
 
 501 
 
TREATY OF UNKIAR-SKELESSI.] HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1833—1839. 
 
 and pro\dded, that during a period of eight 
 years, there should be an offensive and de- 
 fensive alliance between the two powers, by 
 virtue of which, Russia consented to place 
 her whole fleets and armies at the disposal 
 of the Porte. For this wonderful gene- 
 rosity, the Porte was of course to make 
 some acknowledgment and return. This 
 was the insertion of a secret article in the 
 treaty, to the effect that "the Ottoman 
 Porte should be bound, in virtue of its 
 obligations towards Russia, to close the 
 Straits of the Dardanelles; that is to say, 
 not to permit any ship of war of a foreign 
 povjer, to enter those straits under any 
 pretence whatever. This separate and secret 
 article shall have the same force and effect 
 as if it had been inserted, word for word, 
 in the public and patent treaty." 
 
 An agreement of this nature could not 
 possibly long remain a secret, and must, 
 necessarily, have become known as soon as 
 it was reduced to practice. The closing of 
 the Dardanelles to all foreign vessels of 
 war, except those of Russia, Avas a measure 
 affecting every European nation possessed 
 of a naval power. A French vessel was 
 the first refused a passage. England and 
 France took the alarm, and explanations 
 were demanded. The Turkish cabinet was 
 embarrassed, and denied the existence of 
 the secret article. It produced the public 
 treaty, and added, that as an independent 
 state, it was at liberty to contract alliances 
 with any power that it might deem proper, 
 and was under no obligation to justify its 
 conduct to any foreign government. Eng- 
 land and France were neither inclined 
 nor prepared to proceed to extremities, and 
 therefore the Dardanelles remained closed 
 to all ships of war except those of Turkey 
 and Russia. This circumstance greatly 
 complicated the difficulties of the Eastern 
 question, which, it became evident, must 
 one day — and that, probably, no very distant 
 one — ^be Ijrought to a violent settlement of 
 such a kind as no one could foretel its 
 termination. The closing of the Dardanelles 
 to all European ships of war save those of 
 the czar, in fact went far to convert the 
 Black Sea into a Russian lake. The em- 
 peror Nicholas had triumphed completely 
 for the time, but, happily, the end was 
 not yet. 
 
 The peace concluded between Mehemet 
 Ali and the sultan was soon to be inter- 
 rupted. Jealousies had long existed between 
 England and France respecting Egypt. 
 
 Since the time of Napoleon, the French 
 had endeavoured to establish their influence 
 on the shores of the Nile ; while the impor- 
 tance of Egypt to England, as a rapid 
 means of communication with India, had 
 rendered it necessary that she should have 
 such a preponderance in that country, 
 as would lead at least to a secure tran- 
 sit through it. On this point a cold- 
 ness arose between the governments of 
 France and England, and led to a divergence 
 of policy. France adopted the cause of 
 Mehemet Ali, and obtained a considerable 
 ascendancy at Cairo ; while England strove 
 to regain her influence with the Porte by 
 supporting it against the Egyptians. The 
 British calainet, also, were desirous of neu- 
 tralising the preponderating influence which 
 Russia, by her offers of assistance to the 
 Porte, had acquired over it ; and success so 
 far attended its efforts, that it obtained a 
 commercial treaty from the sultan, by 
 which the Dardanelles was open to English 
 merchant ships. 
 
 Mutual recriminations passed between 
 the sultan and Mehemet Ali, who aimed 
 at the subjection of all Arabia to his autho- 
 rity, and, counting upon the support of 
 France, adopted a very haughty tone. 
 Each side again prepared for war ; and in 
 the June of 1839 hostilities were recom- 
 menced by the sultan. England and France 
 both took the alarm, and united their efforts 
 to promote peace, as they feared to give 
 the Russians a pretext for making another 
 military excursion to the neighbourhood of 
 Constantinople, and of further increasing 
 their sinister influence over tlie Porte. The 
 efforts of the French and English cabinets 
 were unable to prevent the outbreak of war ; 
 and, on the 24th of June, the power of the 
 sultan was laid prostrate by the battle of 
 Nezib. The victory of Ibrahim and his 
 Egyptians vas decisive ; and a Turkish fleet, 
 which had been sent to Alexandria to act 
 against that of IMehemet, treacherously 
 joined the foe which it was to have en- 
 gaged. Turkey was exhausted ; she had 
 not another fleet or army ready, and must 
 have fallen before the sword of the power- 
 ful Mehemet and his gifted son but for the 
 intervention of the European powers. The 
 impetuous Sultan Mahmoud was spared 
 from the pain of hearing of this defeat. 
 For some time his health had been failing, 
 and he expired a few days before the news 
 of the battle reached Constantinople, and 
 I threw both the seraglio and capital into 
 
I(^;-' 
 
 
A.D. 1840.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [eastekn difficulties. 
 
 consternation. Notwithstanding his great 
 talents and energy, the Turkisli empire de- 
 clined rapidly during the latter years of his 
 reign, partly from liaving been subjected 
 to a series of sevei'e trials, and partly in 
 consequence of fiis own irascible and im- 
 prudent conduct. Under his reforming 
 system the Turks had ceased to be exclu- 
 sively Asiatic, and had failed in becoming 
 European. He was succeeded by his son 
 Abdul-Medjid, the present sultan, then but 
 a youth of sixteen. 
 
 On the death of Mahraoud, the Porte 
 made proposals of peace to Mehemct Ali, 
 oftering him the hereditary government of 
 Egypt, and the government, during his 
 life, of that portion of Syria which extended 
 from the Red Sea to the Sea of Tiberias, 
 together with the fortress of St, Jean 
 d'Acre. Mchemet, in reply, demanded the 
 absolute and hereditary possession of all 
 these territories. Austria, Fi'ance, and 
 England again interfered ; for they all 
 dreaded that Russia should again interpose 
 alone in the affairs of Turkey, and take 
 military possession of Constantinople, under 
 pretence of defending it against the Egyp- 
 tians. 
 
 After much diplomacy, a treaty was 
 signed between Turkey, England, Russia, 
 Austria, and Prussia, with the object of 
 bringing the Eastern troubles to a termina- 
 tion. France, unfortunately, instigated by 
 a jealousy of England, stood aloof, and 
 countenanced the victorious pasha of Egypt. 
 This, however, did not prevent the other 
 powers from presenting terras for the ac- 
 ceptance of Mehemet, which, if he rejected, 
 it was arranged that ulterior measures 
 should be resorted to. The adoption of 
 this proceeding without the concurrence of 
 France, so irritated the government and 
 people of that country, that the most 
 intemperate invectives were uttered against 
 the allied powers, and more particularly 
 against England. So great, indeed, was 
 the anger exhibited towards this country, 
 that serious apprehensions were entertained 
 of the outbreak of war between it and 
 France. As Mehemet Ali remained in- 
 flexible, the allies resolved to strike a deci- 
 sive blow in the Levant, before any steps 
 could be taken by the French fleet, then 
 lying in the Bay of Besika, to prevent it. 
 An English fleet, under Admirals Stopford 
 and Napier, was sent to the coast of Syria, 
 where it was to be joined by a few Austrian 
 ships of war. The Egyptian generals were 
 
 summoned, in the name of the allied 
 powers, to evacuate Syria ; and on their dis- 
 regard of this intimation, Beyrout was 
 bombarded (August 20th, 1840) for nine 
 successive days, and, after a gallant resis- 
 tance, reduced to ashes, and abandoned by 
 the troops of Mehemet. The British fleet 
 then sailed for Acre. Sidou was first 
 stormed, and taken; and Tripoli, Tortosa, 
 and Latakia,, dissatisfied with the Egyptian 
 government, opened their gates. Then the 
 famous fortress of Acre, which had resisted 
 the arms of Napoleon, and was deemed im- 
 pregnable throughout the East, was bom- 
 i)arded and taken. This was decisive ; the 
 Syrian tribes declared in favour of the 
 sultan ; the forces of Ibrahim were deprived 
 of resources, cut oflf' from Egypt, and sur- 
 rounded by enemies. Mehemet Ali, seeing 
 that further resistance would be ruinous, if 
 not impossible, wisely submitted (Decem- 
 ber, 1840) to the terms of the allies. To 
 save Alexandria from bombardment, he 
 also restored the Turkish fleet, which had 
 been treacherously surrendered to him, and. 
 withdrew his troops from Syria and Candia, 
 remaining content with the hereditary pos- 
 session of Egypt. Thus Turkey was saVed 
 from destruction by the arms of one who 
 had been a vassal of the sultan, and deli- 
 vered from the treacherous kindness of the 
 czar. These facts, which we have run very 
 hastily over, though no part of the internal 
 history of Russia, are yet indispensable to 
 the understanding of the relative position 
 of that empire to the other great powers of 
 Europe, and especially to the comprehension 
 of the causes of the great war of 1853-^4. 
 
 Happily, the hostile feeling of France to- 
 wards the allies, and this country in parti- 
 cular, had yielded to the representations of 
 the British cabinet; and a uniformity of 
 opinion and action on the question of 
 Eastern afl^airs was restored. To compli- 
 ment France, the allies left to its govern- 
 ment the proposal of the terms of pacifica- 
 tion to be agx'eed to by them all. These 
 were — 1. That the Straits of the Bosphorus 
 and the Dardanelles should be closed against 
 ships of war of all nations, without distinc- 
 tion. 3. That the pashalic of Egypt, in 
 hereditary right, should be secured to Me- 
 hemet Ali and his descendants, 3. That 
 guarantees should be given for ameliorat- 
 ing the condition of the Christian inhabit- 
 ants of Syria. 
 
 An additional and highly important 
 treaty, regarding the vital subject of the 
 
 503 
 
THE CAUCASUS.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1837. 
 
 navigation of the Dardanelles and the Bos- 
 phorus, was entered into between Turkey 
 and the whole of the five great Euro- 
 pean powers, on the 13th of March, 1841. 
 By this convention, which regulated the 
 affairs of European nations in connection 
 •with the East, until the breaking out of 
 the war of 1853-'4, it was stipulated — 
 " 1. That the Straits of the Bosphorus and 
 the Dardanelles, in conformity with the 
 ancient usage of the Ottoman empire, shall 
 remain permanently closed against all 
 foreign vessels of war, as long as the Otto- 
 man Porte shall enjoy peace. 2. The 
 sultan declares, on his side, that he is firmly 
 resolved to maintain immovably the ancient 
 rule of the empire, in virtue of which, it is 
 forbidden to vessels of war of all nations to 
 enter the Dardanelles or the Bosphorus ; 
 and in virtue of which these Straits remain 
 for ever closed, as long as the Ottoman 
 Porte shall be at peace. 3. His majesty 
 the emperor of Austria, and their majesties 
 the king of the French, the queen of Great 
 Britain, the king of Prussia, and the emperor 
 of Russia, on their part, engage to respect 
 that resolution of the sultan, and to act in 
 conformity with the principle there ex- 
 pressed. 4. The ancient rule of the Otto- 
 man empire being thus established and re- 
 cognised, the sultan reserves to himself the 
 right to grant firmans of passage to small 
 vessels of war, which, in conformity with 
 usage, are employed in the service' of am- 
 bassadors of friendly powers. 5. The sul- 
 tan reserves to himself the right to notify 
 the terms of this treaty to all the powers 
 with which he is on terms of amity, and to 
 invite their accession to it." 
 
 We must glance backward for a few 
 years, and take a rapid glance at the 
 historical conduct of Russia with respect 
 to the Caucasus. This extensive mountain 
 chain extends between the Black and Cas- 
 pian seas, and forms part of the boundary 
 between Asia and Europe. The name 
 *' Caucasus," is said to be derived from a 
 Scythian word, signifying whitened by the 
 snow. The length of the range is about 
 700 miles ; the width varies from 60 to 150 
 miles ; and the area covered by it, is about 
 56,000 square miles, or nearly the surface 
 of England and Wales taken together. 
 Some of the mountains rise to a greater 
 height than the Alps, while the extremities 
 of the range subside into mere hills. The 
 highest summit is formed by the rocky 
 504 
 
 masses of the cloven-peaked Mount Elbruz, 
 on which a tradition says that Noah's 
 ark stopped before reaching Ararat. The 
 mountain has a mystic, or sacred character, 
 according to the various faiths of the neigh- 
 bouring inhabitants : some* tribes give it the 
 name of Dshin-Padischah ; that is, " King of 
 the Spirits." It rises to about 17,000 feet 
 above the sea, and stands quite isolated. 
 Kasbek is the mountain which ranks next 
 in height; and here again superstition has 
 stepped in, to cast around it something of a 
 mysterious character. The mountaineers 
 relate, that the cradle of Christ is found on 
 the Kasbek, standing above the tent of 
 Abraham, which is itself suspended in the 
 air. The same tradition relates, that there 
 is a treasure which has tempted several 
 persons, whose curiosity and avarice have 
 always been punished by the loss of their 
 sight. Some of the tribes regard all the 
 mountains as deities, and pay them divine 
 honours. 
 
 "The Caucasus," observes a Russian 
 writer,* "is, in general, one of the finest 
 countries in the world. It vies with Swit- 
 zerland for the imposing majesty of its 
 sites, and with Italy for the beauty of its 
 climate. It no doubt will attract as many 
 tourists as those two countries do, when 
 war has ceased to devastate it, and safety 
 has succeeded the alarm from which even 
 bathers are not free, and which imposes on 
 travellers the necessity of having an escort 
 on the most-frequented roads. 
 
 " The emperor Nicholas, on visiting that 
 country in 1837, exclaimed — 'I now un- 
 derstand better than ever the words in 
 Genesis — ' God said, Let there be light, and 
 there was light.' In fact, the sun shines 
 on the Caucasus more splendidly than it 
 does in any other part of the Russian 
 empire. If there be a country where men 
 may be seized with an enthusiastic adora- 
 tion of the Creator, it is undoubtedly the 
 Caucasus ; yet the indigenous worship 
 mountains, and do not open their minds to 
 the light of true religion. Vegetation dis- 
 plays there extraordinary richness and 
 beauty. Antediluvian woods inspire you 
 with a profound respect for the greatness of 
 that nature. There are, in Daghestan, 
 walnut-trees under the foliage of which 
 two companies of soldiers may encamp ; 
 and there stands near Erivan, a plane-tree, 
 hollow inside, offering a room, the dimen- 
 sions of which is seven feet and a-half. 
 • The Caucasus ; by Ivan Golovin. 
 
A.D. 1837.] 
 
 KUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [the CAUCASUS. 
 
 People go there to play at cards, or to take 
 tea. The most beautiful and rare flowers 
 enamel the meadows, and the most esteemed 
 plants grow along the rivers. Wines and 
 silk are the two productions of the Cau- 
 casus, which are destined to acquire the 
 greatest importance, 
 
 " Heaths, underwoods, and plains, are 
 filled with exquisite game, such as pheasants 
 and red partridges. The mountaineers, 
 who are not acquainted with small shot, 
 and make use only of balls, are necessarily 
 bad huntsmen, and often wonder at the 
 nicety with which the Russians hit the 
 game. So the vultures and eagles, that 
 find on those high mountains a dwelling 
 worthy of them, are, in consequence of the 
 mountaineers being bad shots, left with 
 ample prey. Black swans, which are erro- 
 neously believed to be found but in Aus- 
 tralia, exist also in the Caucasus. Car- 
 nivorous beasts are there likewise rather 
 plentiful, especially jackals and wolves. 
 Bears are often found eating the grapes of 
 the inhabitants, and the Cossacks cut off 
 their paws, with which they make an ex- 
 cellent dish. Hyenas are met in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Persia ; and even tigers advance 
 from India as far as that region. The Cas- 
 pian Sea is rich in fish, especially in stur- 
 geons and caviar. But the Kuban is the 
 most plentiful of all rivers. Salmon trout, 
 and ordinary trout, abound in the torrents 
 of the mountains. 
 
 " The Caucasus offers very opposite cli- 
 mates. A winter of Sweden prevails on 
 the summits, while a summer of Naples is 
 enjoyed at Bakou. The spring is» very 
 short in Georgia, and the climate of Min- 
 grelia is pernicious to the indigenous. 
 "While travelling, you meet, on the same 
 day, both the beginning of vegetation on 
 the top of the mountains, and the harvest 
 in the valleys. The Georgians manufacture 
 silk stuffs, which, under the name of Tar- 
 malama, are highly valued, and are em- 
 ployed to make morning gowns for ladies, 
 and dressing-gowns for rich men. The 
 carpets, after the Oriental taste, increase 
 also in sale in proportion as they are made 
 of a superior quality. The richest and best- 
 tempered arms are manufactured amongst 
 the Circassians, and their daggers are held 
 in high estimation." 
 
 In addition to the natural advantages 
 
 thus described, the Caucasus is rich in 
 
 mineral wealth. Traces of gold are found, 
 
 and silver and copper mines exist near 
 
 3t 
 
 Tiflis. Iron abounds in many places, and 
 is worked by the natives in a rude manner. 
 There is, probably, no country in the world, 
 of so small an extent, which contains such 
 a number of different nations, as the valleys 
 of this chain of mountains. The natives 
 speak at least seven different languages : 
 but the Tartar is understood by most of the 
 tribes, except the Lesghis. Strabo states, 
 that in his time, at least seventy languages 
 were spoken in the Caucasus. The Abha- 
 sians, who, with their numerous tribes, are 
 in possession of the southern declivity of 
 the range between the Black Sea and 
 Mount Elbruz, differ from the other tribes 
 of the Caucasus in features, and in their 
 peaceful disposition, which has made them 
 willingly submit to the Russians, with the 
 exception of two tribes — the Oubikhs and 
 the Tchigates — who form the confederation 
 of the Chapsouks. The Abhasians were 
 partially converted to Christianity in the 
 time of Justinian; they are now chiefly 
 pagans, and pay particular veneration to 
 the oak. They are the most ancient in- 
 habitants of the Caucasus. The northern 
 side of the range, with its numerous valleys, 
 is occupied by the Circassians, or Tcher- 
 kesses, among whom the tribe of Adighe 
 holds the first rank, as being the purest 
 in race. The Adighe are pagans, with 
 the exception of the chiefs, who profess 
 Islamism. Anapa is their chief town. 
 Blood-feuds are indulged in among all the 
 Circassian tribes, to an extent, and with a 
 ferocity, unknown even in Corsica ; families 
 exist who have been at feud from time 
 immemorial. The Circassians are estimated 
 at 700,000 persons, but no certainty exists 
 on this point. The centre of the range, on 
 both sides of the Pass of Dariel,^ is in 
 possession of the Ossetes, who are said to 
 be the descendants of the Alani. The 
 Lesghians, or Lesghis, the most powerful of 
 the Caucasian mountaineers, occupy the 
 greatest portion of the range east of the 
 Pass of Dariel, and approach the peninsula 
 of Apsheron. They are a warlike people, 
 the terror of all their neighbours, and the 
 most determined enemies of Russia.. Their 
 number is about 400,000. The Tchechenes 
 inhabit the country between the lower 
 Terek and the Kuma. They number only 
 about 25,000, but are in a state of almost 
 constant revolt against Russia. The ex- 
 tensive mountain tract bordering on the 
 
 * A pass or road between the mountains, which> 
 takes its name from the fortress of Dariel. 
 
 505 
 
RUSSIA AND THE CAUCASUS.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.i». 1830. 
 
 north of Mount Tersh, is inhabited by the 
 numerous tribes of the Kisti, or Misheghes. 
 The country about the sources of the Terek, 
 to the east of Mount Elbruz, is called Ka- 
 bardah, and is subject to Russia. In the 
 plains south of the Caucasus, live the Miu- 
 grelians, Imeritians, and Georgians. All 
 these nations diifer in their language. As 
 great perfection of form, and an ancient 
 origin, have been attributed to the inhab- 
 itants of this region, the highest rank in 
 ethnological classification has been termed 
 " the Caucasian race." Besides these abori- 
 ginal tribes, many others of foreign origin 
 are met with in the valleys of the range. 
 The most numerous are the Tartars. There 
 are also Cossacks and Magyars ; and on the 
 south of the Caucasus, about Tiflis, there 
 are several German colonies. 
 
 The range of the Caucasus forms the 
 natural boundary, in this direction, of the 
 vast empire of Russia. Nature herself 
 seems here to have established a barrier 
 against Russian acquisitiveness, and to have 
 forbidden its advance. The Caucasus ap- 
 pears almost designed as a wall to arrest 
 the advance of the hordes of the north 
 upon Turkey and Persia, and in like 
 manner to protect them against invasion. 
 But the policy of the Russian cabinet takes 
 no account of the presumed designs of Pro- 
 vidence. It has resolved on conquest and 
 annexation, so far as it can march its 
 battalions and enforce its edicts. The 
 Caucasus subdued and rendered obedient 
 to its iron sceptre, and then Persia would 
 lie at its feet, and Asiatic Turkey exist 
 independently only by its forbearance. It 
 is only by such a gradual extension of the 
 Russian empire, that India could — if it ever 
 could — be reached by the Russian armies; 
 and even in that case, we more than doubt 
 that the troops brought such distances over 
 tracts abounding in natural obstacles, could 
 ever be collected in such numbers as to be 
 formidable to the British power on that 
 vast peninsula. Moreover, no sooner would 
 the designs of Russia in such a direction 
 be perceived in Europe, than her trade 
 would be arrested and her coasts insulted 
 by a blockade of the Baltic by a British 
 fleet. Russia is formidable to the weak; 
 but the equivocating genius of her empire 
 stands rebuked in the presence of the 
 strong. The warlike Swede, and the gifted 
 mipenal general who threatened to control 
 Europe, dashed themselves in vain into the 
 sterile regions of Russia, and met merely 
 
 their own ruin : yet the aggressive force of 
 that empire has been overrated. She was 
 powerful against divided and distracted 
 Poland; she filched Finland from Sweden 
 in the days of its decadence; she robbed 
 Persia of provinces too remote for it to 
 protect; she annexed the vast and forlorn 
 territories of Siberia, because no one dis- 
 puted a prize considered worthless ; and she 
 planted her flag on a portion of the extreme 
 north of America without opposition; but 
 she was unable to take the Danubian pro- 
 vinces from the Porte, though she had 
 arrogantly proclaimed them to be annexed 
 to her dominions. In all aggressive mea- 
 sures against great powers, Russia has 
 shown herself to be unequal to her preten- 
 sions. 
 
 This has been the case even with respect 
 to the Caucasus, which, after many years of 
 almost incessant warfare, she has failed to 
 subdue. Even prior to the time of Peter 
 the Great, Russia had intervened in the 
 aff'airs of some of the nations of the Cau- 
 casus. That monarch marched against the 
 Lesghians, and defeated them in his un- 
 satisfactory crusade against Persia. Since 
 that period, other Russian raonarchs have 
 taken possession of portions of the isthmus ; 
 and, as we have related, Georgia, by the 
 consent of the people, was annexed to Rus- 
 sia in the early part of the reign of Alex- 
 ander. At length, the treaty of Adrianople, 
 in 1829, gave Russia a pretext for regarding 
 the whole of the Caucasus as a province of 
 its empire, as soon as it should be able to 
 take possession of it. The mountaineers, 
 animated by a passionate love of liberty, 
 and neither understanding, nor caring to 
 understand, how a piece of sealed parchment 
 could make them subject to any monarch 
 without their consent, rejected all the ad- 
 vances of Russia, and sternly repudiated 
 the clauses of the convention of Adrianople. 
 They would not surrender the political in- 
 dependence of their country, or enter into 
 any treaty in which that was not regarded 
 as a sacred and unalterable principle. On 
 the other hand, the emperor Nicholas would 
 not brook any opposition to his designs, 
 and he resolved on the settlement of the 
 question by bayonets and grapeshot. 
 
 Accordingly, in 1830, he sent General 
 Paskiewitch — who had, in 1828, so distin- 
 guished himself in the Asiatic campaign 
 against the Turks — to the Caucasus, and 
 appointed him governor-general of it. He 
 found the "pacification" of his province a 
 
A.D. 
 
 1831.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [russl\ and the Caucasus. 
 
 matter of extraordinary difficulty. A moun- 
 tainous country scarcely admits of military 
 operations, and races of hardy and well- 
 armed mountaineers are proverbially diffi- 
 cult to subdue. An expedition, which Pas- 
 kiewitch undertook to Abhasia, was sterile 
 in results, but fertile in loss of men. After 
 a rough expexience of Caucasian warfare, he 
 submitted a plan of operations to the im- 
 perial government. It revealed the only 
 way which, in his opinion, and in that of 
 his most distinguished officers, promised 
 ultimately, though at a great expense of 
 blood and treasure, to bring about the tran- 
 ' quillisation of the Caucasus. It consisted 
 in confining the refractory mountaineers 
 within an encircling and intersecting chain of 
 forts, which would require to be garrisoned 
 by not less than 80,000 men. The chief 
 points of this plan, as adopted by the mili- 
 tary council of St. Petersburg, were as fol- 
 lows : — First, premising that forts were to be 
 erected along the Black Sea line of coast to 
 complete the encircling chain of Russian 
 posts, the marshal proposed that four new 
 military routes across the mountains should 
 be constructed, and planted throughout 
 with fortresses. One road was to run from 
 Gelendshik on the Black Sea, south of 
 Anapa, through the mountains to the lower 
 Kuban; one from a still more southerly 
 point on the Black Sea shore, through and 
 over the mountain range to the Russian 
 forts on the north, in the vicinity of Elbruz ; 
 another from Nucha to the east of Georgia, 
 over the Lesghian chain, to the country of 
 the Tchetcheutzes ; and the fourth and last, 
 from a point eastward of Nucha, over the 
 same Lesghian chain, to the fortress of Der- 
 bend on the Caspian, Other details referred 
 to the securing and facilitating the inter- 
 communication of the Russian lines and 
 fortresses. 
 
 Marshal Paskiewitch did not remain to 
 carry his elaborate scheme into execution, 
 as, in 1831, he was recalled to take the 
 command in the war against the Poles, as 
 we have already related. General Wil- 
 liaminoff succeeded Paskiewitch as governor 
 in the Caucasus. In a proclamation ad- 
 dressed to the Circassians, inviting them to 
 submit, he, in order to give that people an 
 idea of the power of the czar, arrogantly 
 observed — " If heaven were to fall, it would 
 be supported by Russian bayonets." He 
 soon, however, experienced the effects of 
 the bravery and wild independence of the 
 mountaineers. In his advance with 20,000 
 
 men from the Kuban, across the mountains 
 towards Gelendshik, on the coast of the 
 Black Sea, to carry out the first of the 
 routes proposed by Paskiewitch, his troops 
 fell into an ambush of the Circassians, and 
 were subjected to such a tempest of rifle-fire 
 from every ledge of rock or other point that 
 commanded the line of march, that the 
 attempt was not only baffled, but cost him 
 between three and four thousand men in 
 killed, wounded, and prisoners. 
 
 This was but a small matter to the Rus- 
 sian government, which continually sent 
 reinforcements to the Caucasus, with the 
 hope of overawing the mountaineers into 
 submission. Three of the contemplated 
 forts were erected on the route from the 
 Kuban to Gelendshik, and others were 
 erected on the western shore of the Cau- 
 casus, with the object of increasing the 
 efficiency of a blockade established there. 
 This blockade, though but imperfectly pre- 
 served, was more oppressive to the Circas- 
 sians than the presence of large bodies of 
 Russian troops. It rendered it difficult for 
 the mountaineers to obtain supplies of gun- 
 powder, and threatened to ruin the trade 
 they carried on in their daughters by send- 
 ing them for sale to Constantinople. With 
 respect to this practice the Circassians are 
 little better than savages ; but as it is the 
 custom amongst them for fathers to sell 
 their daughters for the purposes of prostitu- 
 tion, they appear to be unconscious of the 
 shame and heartlessness of such proceed- 
 ings. Russia is indifferent on this point; 
 and perhaps she does wisely in not inter- 
 fering with the social practices, or misprac- 
 tices, of a people whom she desires to win 
 to submission to her sway. "The slave- 
 trade," observes Golovin, in allusion to the 
 poor girls who are converted into articles 
 of commerce, " was sanctioned by a treaty of 
 1847, between the Russians and the Circas- 
 sians. During part of the year it is carried 
 on openly on the Black Sea. Every year 
 more than 1,000 young girls are carried 
 from Circassia to Turkey ; and the obstacles 
 opposed to that trade have had no other 
 result than to quadruple the price of slaves. 
 Even Austrian steam-boats are employed 
 for carrying Circassian girls ; and whenever 
 the Russians capture any of these slave- 
 boats, they either give the girls in marriage 
 to the Cossacks, or they allow them to be 
 violated by the soldiers of the regiments 
 garrisoned in the neighbouring forts." 
 
 The Circassian chiefs, oppressed by the 
 
 507 
 
SEIZURE OF THE VIXEN.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 A..D. 
 
 1837. 
 
 Russian blockade of their coast, and startled 
 by the reports in circulation as to the 
 enormous forces Russia was about to pour 
 out for their subjugation, looked for assis- 
 tance to the other European states, and 
 especially to England, of whose power and 
 supposed sympathy with the oppressed, 
 they entertained rather extravagant no- 
 tions. These impressions were strength- 
 ened by the language of several enthu- 
 siastic English travellers, whom the simple 
 mountaineers regarded as ambassadors from 
 this country. A curious circumstance also 
 occurred at this time (in 1837), by which 
 the English government ran some risk of 
 taking the cause of the Circassians upon its 
 shoulders, without exactly intending to do 
 so. An impression prevailed in this country, 
 and was actively disseminated by a portion 
 of the press, that neither the treaty of 
 Adrianople, nor any other treaty, gave 
 Russia the right of establishing a blockade 
 of the Circassian coast. This view of the 
 matter was so confidently held by a Mr. 
 James Stanislaus Bell, that he resolved on 
 putting it to a public test by a deliberate 
 and ostentatious defiance of the Russian 
 blockade. He proceeded to the Caucasus 
 in the Vixen, an English merchant vessel, 
 which he had loaded with munitions of 
 war for disposal among the mountaineers. 
 Before the vessel sailed, Mr. Bell addressed 
 a letter to Viscount Palmerston, then foreign 
 secretary, to inquire whether the Russian 
 blockade in the Black Sea was recognised 
 by the English government. In reply, he 
 was informed that " no blockade was recog- 
 nised by Great Britain, a notification of 
 which had not been published in the London 
 Gazette." As no such notification had been 
 given, Mr. Bell set sail in the Vixenj and 
 trusted, that either one of two supposed 
 results must follow from the execution of 
 his daring scheme. He trusted that the 
 blockading force would seize the Vixen, and 
 thus induce the British government to send 
 a fleet to the Black Sea to avenge the out- 
 rage by destroying the Russian armament 
 and arsenals there j or that if his vessel suc- 
 cessfully set the blockade at defiance, its 
 illegality or its impotence would become 
 notorious, and the Circassians be well sup- 
 plied for the future with powder and weapons. 
 Neither of these results occurred; for, 
 though the Vixen was seized while attempt- 
 ing to land her contraband cargo, the 
 British fleet in the Mediterranean did not 
 take any notice of a proceeding concerning 
 
 which it was both ignorant and unautho- 
 rised to act in the event of its being in- 
 formed. News of the seizure first reached 
 this country through the medium of the 
 St. Petersburg Gazette, in which the narra- 
 tive was accompanied by au anxious vindi- 
 cation of the legality of the act, and a 
 statement, that in consequence of the em- 
 peror^s high respect for the flag (the privi- 
 leges of which the captain of the Vixen had 
 so grossly attempted to abuse), the officers 
 and crew, and the ship herself, had been 
 liberated, and only the war material she 
 contained confiscated. A considerable sen- 
 sation was produced in this country, and 
 warm discussions took place in parliament. 
 In answer to a question from Sir Robert 
 Peel, Lord Palmerston went so far as to 
 declare, that the question of peace or war 
 with Russia entirely depended upon the 
 opinion that might be given by the law- 
 officers of the cro'svn, to whom the whole 
 case had been formally submitted, as to the 
 right of Russia to institute the blockade. 
 Their decision was in favour of the Russian 
 government, and the affair blew over ; but 
 not without the expenditure of a great deal 
 of abuse against Lord Palmerston for what 
 was termed " base truckling" to the czar ; 
 a reproach which, in this instance at least, 
 we cannot conceive he merited. 
 
 In the course of the same year (1837), 
 the emperor Nicholas paid a visit to the 
 Caucasus ; but he quite failed in producing 
 that impression on the Circassian chiefs 
 which he trusted his presence would effect. 
 He travelled with great rapidity, but re- 
 mained at Tiflis, the capital of Georgia, 
 from the 20th to the 24th of October; 
 during which time he reviewed the Russian 
 troops, gave dinners and a grand ball, and 
 invited the chiefs of the country to various 
 conferences, to which they repaired on the 
 faith of the Russian parole. This language, 
 instead of conciliating these proud moun- 
 taineers, only had the effect of irritating 
 them. He was at that time disfigured by 
 an eruption in the face, which took much 
 from the majesty of his personal appearance; 
 and when, to give them a rude conception 
 of his power, he told them that he had 
 sufficient powder to blow up all their moun- 
 tains, they did not form a high opinion of 
 his intellect. 
 
 Hitherto a series of desultory conflicts 
 only had taken place between the Cir- 
 cassians and the Russians; but in 1839, 
 the latter made a formal declaration of war. 
 
 I 
 
A.D. 1840.] 
 
 BUS SI AN EMPIRE. 
 
 [war in the CAUCASUS. 
 
 and hostilities have continued, with but 
 little intermission, ever since. During that 
 year, three Russian armies were landed on 
 the Circassian shore, and an active cam- 
 paign followed. It was, for the most part, 
 a disastrous one for the Russians, who, 
 during it, had seventeen ships of war driven 
 on shore or foundered in the Black Sea. 
 So resolute, also, was the conduct of the 
 Circassians, and so fatal were the effects of 
 their constant ambushes and unexpected 
 attacks, that General Golovin, who had 
 succeeded to the command, attempted to 
 win by negotiation what he was unable to 
 obtain by arms. In an address to the moun- 
 taineers, he told them — " The most mighty 
 of all earthly potentates and great mon- 
 archs, the emperor, condescended to visit 
 the Caucasus ; and in his unbounded cle- 
 mency, his imperial majesty deigned per- 
 sonally to iitform himself, from the deputies 
 of the different nations, of circumstances 
 respecting the position and the wants of 
 the tribes which they represented ; and irj 
 this manner, having learned that the pre- 
 vious conditions were too onerous, the mag- 
 nanimous monarch has changed them for the 
 gracious conditions upon which, in future, 
 the submission of the mountaineers will be 
 accepted — namely, ' Cease from all hostilities 
 against us ; give the hostages we shall name ; 
 and surrender all the deserters and all the 
 prisoners you have taken.'" The address 
 also contained some bitter remarks upon 
 the English, from whom the Circassians yet 
 confidently expected assistance. The Cir- 
 cassians were not more readily ensnared by 
 Russian promises, than they were to be de- 
 feated by Russian arms ; and they replied — 
 " We know you well ; you are men without 
 faith, without honour, without religion ; 
 and we would as soon place confidence in 
 the pigs which roam our forests, and which 
 we esteem just as much as we do so many 
 Muscovites. Thank God, we know our 
 friends from our enemies, and are not to be 
 so grossly imposed upon as you imagine. 
 You will next assert, that the steamers and 
 other ships, whose wrecks bestrew our 
 coast, were not Russian. Spare us your 
 assurances ; proceed with your war, and do 
 your worst !" 
 
 The war was accordingly renewed in 
 1840; but the Russians experienced even 
 still more serious reverses. Most of the 
 new forts they had erected on the coast 
 were taken and demolished by the Cir- 
 cassians. The line of forts, from the Kuban 
 
 to Gelendshik, was swept away, and the 
 garrisons dispersed or massacred. A great 
 prophet-leader, a devout Mussulman, also 
 arose on the eastern side of the mountains; 
 and the Russians were fain to conclude a 
 truce with the Circassians, that they might 
 recover from their losses, and prepare to 
 turn their arms against this new foe. 
 
 Schamyl, the pupil and successor of Kasi 
 Mullah, was the patriot and presumed pro- 
 phet who had arisen on the eastern side of 
 the Caucasus. Brave, eloquent, devout, 
 enthusiastic, and convinced that his actions 
 were the result of direct inspirations from 
 God, Schamyl was just the chieftain re- 
 quired for so hardy and bold a race as the 
 inliabitants of this wild region. He would 
 not permit any of the neighbouring tribes 
 to submit to the Russians ; but compelled 
 those who were inclined to do so, to take up 
 their rifles in defence of their fatherland. 
 " If," said he to some who hesitated, " ye 
 continue to give more belief to the deceitful 
 words of the infidels than ye do to my 
 speech, I will do that which Kasi Mullah 
 formerly had it in his mind to do. My 
 bands will overwhelm your villages like a 
 storm-cloud, to compel that which you deny 
 to my friendly assurances. I will come 
 with bloody footsteps; desolation and fear 
 shall follow and precede my hosts ; for what 
 the might of eloquence may not do, shall be 
 effected with the edge of the sword." His 
 words produced this response : — " Moham- 
 med was Allah's first prophet ; Schamyl is 
 his second !" But the inhabitants of Ka- 
 bardah fearing Russia more than the war- 
 rior-prophet, he kept his word, and burnt 
 more than sixty of their villages. 
 
 General Grabbe was sent with 12,000 
 veteran troops against Akhoulgo, the strong- 
 hold of Schamyl— a kind of castle, shut up 
 on every side by masses of rock, and for- 
 tified with the resources of modern art ; a 
 labour in which he had been assisted by 
 foreigners. Akhoulgo was taken by Grabbe 
 at a terrible cost of life ; a murderous 
 battle, of a desultory kind, being fought, 
 which extended over five days. Schamyl 
 escaped with his life only by a stratagem ; 
 and so imminent was his danger, that the 
 mountaineers more than ever believed him 
 to be under the especial protection of 
 heaven. His fame was undiminished ; and 
 for three or four years he carried on an 
 incessant and merciless guerilla warfare 
 against the Russian forces. Such was the 
 rapidity of his movements, and so unex- 
 
 509 
 
THE CAUCASUS UNSUBDUED.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1845. 
 
 pectedly did he and his fierce followers 
 burst upon their foes, that the latter feared 
 that he possessed the power of ubiquity. 
 At length General Grabbe, at the head of a 
 body of 20,000 men, pursued him to a re- 
 treat in the mountains called Dargo, with 
 the hope of capturing or destroying so 
 dangerous a chief. The mountaineers re- 
 tired before their foes, and lured them on 
 through deserted valleys and rugged moun- 
 tain-passes, until they were completely ex- 
 hausted through fatigue and hardship. 
 Nothing was left for them but to retrace 
 their weary steps; which they no sooner 
 did, than the followers of Schamyl rushed 
 upon them with tremendous impetuosity, 
 and assailed them at every difficult spot on 
 their march. Having captured a Russian 
 drummer, the troops of Schamyl compelled 
 him to beat the drum; and many Russian 
 soldiers, attracted by the sound, fell into 
 the snare. Discipline was forgotten during 
 the retreat ; and more than half the offi- 
 cers were killed. When General Grabbe 
 regained the encampment, he had lost a 
 fom'th part of his army, several cannon, a 
 quantity of baggage, and other material of 
 war. The emperor, vexed at this result, 
 recalled him ; at the same time acknow- 
 ledging that the rout was more attributable 
 to the country and the elements than to 
 the commanding officer. He was replaced 
 by General Neidhart who, not proving 
 more fortunate than his predecessor, and 
 being unable to arrest the ravages of 
 Schamyl, was also recalled ; and, unable to 
 bear his disgrace, died of grief. 
 
 Count Woronzoff was then sent from St. 
 Petersburg to assume the chief command 
 in the Caucasus, and the troops there were 
 raised to the number of 150,000 men. 
 The emperor reserved to himself the right 
 of giving orders, and commanded every- 
 thing to be sacrificed for the purpose of 
 taking Dargo. Woronzoff undertook an 
 expedition against it; and Schamyl, un- 
 able to defend a place of no strategical 
 importance, allowed it to be taken ; but 
 while the army was retiring, he attacked it 
 80 successfully in the forest of Itcherki, 
 that the Russian force was nearly de- 
 stroyed. It would have been totally so, 
 but that tv/o Circassian prisoners, who 
 tui-ned traitors to their country, succeeded 
 in carrying to General Freytag an order to 
 
 • For' the conclusive reason, that it has shown 
 itself unable to put it into execution ; besides, the 
 Rusaians do not want a desert which they have not 
 610 
 
 come to the help of his chief. The moun- 
 taineers, perched on fragments of inacces- 
 sible rocks, shot down the Russian officers 
 almost with impunity, and every step of 
 the retreat was disputed with a ferocious 
 obstinacy. Barricades, formed of trunks 
 of trees, fragments of rock, and double 
 rows of strong stakes, had been thrown 
 across the narrow passes; and at each of 
 these positions, which were commanded by 
 SchamyFs marksmen, the carnage was ter- 
 rible. Such was the terror created by 
 these incessant assaults, that a panic arose 
 in the Russian ranks; and when the foe 
 burst upon them, they offered but little 
 resistance, but, falling into disorder, broke 
 and fled, and were pursued and cut down 
 for miles. In this terrible rout the Rus- 
 sians lost 4,000 men ; and more than 200 
 officers, including three generals, were 
 among the slain. Russia has since chiefly 
 occupied herself with retaining her position- 
 in the Caucasus, and acting on the defen- 
 sive. Schamyl has not ceased to be a 
 terror to the invaders ; and it is supposed 
 that he has recently devoted himself towards 
 bringing about a federal defensive union 
 between all the tribes of the Caucasus ; an 
 event which, if effected, would render Rus- 
 sian conquest very remote, if not altogether 
 impossible. Hitherto, it is certain that 
 Russia has sustained a defeat, or rather 
 series of defeats, though she will not 
 acknowledge that such is the fact. 
 
 The spirit of the mountaineers was re- 
 animated by the war of 1854-^5 ; and Sul- 
 tan Abdul-Medjid, perceiving the fault of 
 his predecessors (who had determined the 
 fate of the Circassians by ceding to the 
 Russians the coast of the Black Sea with- 
 out the consent of the former), concluded 
 an offensive and defensive alliance with 
 Schamyl; which, however, did not lead to 
 any important result. 
 
 " When is, then, an end to be put to the 
 wa''? The aouls (villages) just subdued 
 rebel as soon as the Russians have with- 
 drawn, or the Murids come there. Peace, 
 say the Russian military men, cannot be 
 obtained unless all the inhabitants are slaugh- 
 tered. That measure has always been re- 
 jected by the Russian government,* which 
 plumes itself on its humanity, but which 
 shows so little concern for the chronic 
 effusion of blood caused by this protracted 
 
 the means of populating : they desire to make the 
 Caucasus a Kussian province, and the Caucasians 
 Ilussiau serfs. 
 
A.D. 1840.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [expedition to KHIVA. 
 
 war. There might he colouisation, it is 
 true; hut the population of Russia is not 
 sufficiently numerous to colonise the Cau- 
 casus ; hesides, the inhabitants of the plain 
 are not willing to leave their fertile fields 
 to go and cultivate rocks in the mountains. 
 The Russian forts are too isolated to afford 
 timely assistance to one which is threatened; 
 while the Circassians, by uniting forces 
 superior to those of the garrisons, will have 
 more chance of attacking them successively 
 in detail, when they have improved in the 
 art of carrying on a siege, or have artillery 
 at their service. In the meantime, they 
 
 undertake sanguinary irruptions among the 
 Russian colonists, execute razzias, carry 
 away the cattle, and sometimes the wives, 
 of the Cossacks — a thing which does not 
 occur in the war of Algiers. Moreover, 
 the Russian forts, though very numerous, 
 have been found to be insufficient. The 
 system of forts was abandoned in Africa 
 by General Bugcau, and replaced with ad- 
 vantage by mobile columns. It is true, 
 that movements are more difficult in the 
 Caucasus than in Africa ; and the Russians 
 have still a great deal to learn from the 
 French in the art of war."* 
 
 CHAPTER LIX. 
 
 FAILURE OF A RUSSIAN EXPEDITION AGAINST KHIVA; THE EMPEROR NICHOLAS VISITS ENGLAND, AND 
 BECOMES THE GUEST OF QUEEN VICTORIA; HE TRANSMITS A MEMORANDUM ON THE AFFAIRS OF TURKEY 
 TO THE ENGLISH CABINET ; OPINION OF NICHOLAS ON THE ENGLISH FORM OF GOVERNMENT ; SUPPRES- 
 SION OF THE REPUBLIC OF CRACOW ; FUTILE EXPOSTULATIONS OF THE CABINETS OF LONDON AND PARIS ; 
 DICTATORIAL ATTITUDE OF AUSTRIA AND RUSSIA TOWARDS SWITZERLAND; THE HUNGARIAN REVOLU- 
 TION ; MILITARY INTERVENTION OF RUSSIA, AND SUPPRESSION OF THE REVOLUTION ; TRIUMPHANT 
 MANIFESTO OF THE EMPEROR NICHOLAS, WHO ASSUMES TO BE THE PROTECTOR OF THE CONTINENTAL 
 DESPOTISMS AGAINST ANY INSURRECTIONARY MOVEMENTS OF THEIR SUBJECTS. 
 
 The irritation which existed in this country 
 against Russia, on account of the seizure of 
 the British merchantman, the Vixen, on 
 the Circassian shore of the Black Sea, was 
 much increased by the march, in 1838, of a 
 Persian army, directed by Russian officers, 
 against Herat. This proceeding was re- 
 garded, both by the government and people 
 of this country, as a preliminary to the in- 
 vasion of the Anglo-Indian empire ; and a 
 rupture of amicable relations between Great 
 Britain and Russia appeared extremely pro- 
 bable. Fortunately the apprehensions of the 
 English cabinet were tranquillised by the re- 
 pulse of the Persians, and the subsequent con- 
 quest of Affghanistan by an army from India. 
 Russian acquisitiveness in this direction 
 received a further check from the failure 
 of a formidable expedition sent by the czar, 
 in 1840, against the predatory state of 
 Khiva — an Asiatic country, forming a part 
 of that natural division which goes by the 
 name of Turan, or Turkestan. The inhab- 
 itants of Khiva consist of the Uzbecks and 
 the Sartes ; the former being a branch of the 
 • The Caucasus ; by Ivan Golovin. 
 
 Turks, and the latter Persians. The au- 
 thority of the khan of Khiva is supposed 
 to extend over a country containing about 
 150,000 square miles. Russia has fre- 
 quently been accused of attempting to ex- 
 tend her frontier in this direction ; but 
 apparently insurmountable obstacles stand 
 in the way of the accomplishment of her 
 desire. Between the Russian town of 
 Orenburg and the territory of Khiva, lie 
 400 miles of salt desert. The Russian 
 general, though provided with 10,000 bag- 
 gage camels, was unable even to reach 
 Khiva. So terrible were the hardships 
 encountered by his troops, that on reaching 
 the last Russian outpost, they were com- 
 pelled to retrace their steps. The expedi- 
 tion had been undertaken during the win^ 
 ter, merely that the troops might be en- 
 abled to obtain fresh water, which is dried 
 up by the parching heats of the summer. 
 The consequence was, the men suffered 
 tei-ribly from the cold, which was 40° below 
 zero of the centigrade thermometer. Thus 
 it will be seen, that from whatever point 
 Russia endeavours to advance upon India^ 
 
 511 
 
NICHOLAS VISITS ENGLAND.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1844. 
 
 she will meet the stern, unbending oppo- 
 sition of nature. 
 
 These matters passed over without dis- 
 turbing the peaceful relations between Russia 
 and England, which it was the interest of 
 both countries to maintain. In the June of 
 the year 1844, the emperor Nicholas visited 
 England. He arrived off Woolwich on the 
 1st of June, in the Cyclops, a Dutch gov- 
 ernment steamer, attended by Count Orloff, 
 General d'Adlerberg, Prince Wassiltschikoff, 
 and Prince Radzitvil. On landing, the dis- 
 tinguished visitors at once proceeded to the 
 Russian embassy, where they took up their 
 abode. On the following day. Prince 
 Albert arrived, and escorted the emperor 
 and the principal persons of his suite to 
 Buckingham Palace. The emperor was 
 received by her majesty in the grand hall, 
 where a splendid dejeuner was served. 
 Nicholas afterwards visited the Queen- 
 dowager, the Duke and Duchess of Cam- 
 bridge, the Duchess of Gloucester, the 
 Princess Sophia, and the Duke of Welling- 
 ton. The second day of his stay he visited 
 Sir Robert Peel, and purchased £5,000 
 worth of jewellery at Messrs. Mortimer's 
 and Hunt's. Her majesty and her dis- 
 tinguished visitors, including the king of 
 Saxony, then proceeded to Windsor by the 
 Great Western railway. For eight days 
 Nicholas was entertained by her majesty, 
 during which period he went to Ascot races; 
 was present at a grand review in the Great 
 Park at Windsor ; inspected Prince Albert's 
 farm ; went to see the Virginia Water ; re- 
 turned to town, and paid an almost innu- 
 merable amount of visits to distinguished 
 people ; besides inspecting the United Ser- 
 vice Club, the new houses of parliament, 
 and attending a fete given by the Duke of 
 Devonshire at Chiswick, at which seven or 
 eight hundred distinguished noblemen and 
 gentlemen were present. On returning to 
 Woolwich, he visited the dockyard and the 
 works, and then embarked on board the 
 Black Eagle steamer on his return home. 
 
 During the stay of the czar, he had some 
 interviews with the ministers of her ma- 
 jesty on the vexed subject of the Eastern 
 question. The observations of Nicholas on 
 this topic were embodied, by his direction, 
 in a memorandum, which was forwarded to 
 the English cabinet by Count Nesselrode, 
 and confided to Lord Aberdeen, then minis- 
 ter for foreign affairs. That memorandum 
 throws some light upon the events which 
 led to the great war of 1854-'5. and shows 
 512 
 
 both how the mind of the emperor dwelt 
 constantly on the enfeebled state of Turkey, 
 and the profound duplicity with which he 
 masked his views. Read by the light 
 afforded by later events, it will be seen 
 that Nicholas desired to establish a close 
 relationship with England, and then to use 
 her naval power to assist in his sinister 
 designs on the Ottoman territory. As he 
 observed upon another occasion — " All I 
 want is a good understanding with Eng- 
 land. This point arrived at, the English 
 government and I — I and the English gov- 
 ernment — having entire confidence in one 
 another's views, I care nothing about the 
 rest." We append the imperial memoran- 
 dum, as a valuable historical document. 
 
 " Russia and England are mutually pene- 
 trated with the conviction that it is for 
 their common interest that the Ottoman 
 Porte should maintain itself in the state of 
 independence and of territorial possession 
 which at present constitute that empire, as 
 that political combination is the one which 
 is most compatible with the general in- 
 terest of the maintenance of peace. Being 
 agreed on this principle, Russia and Eng- 
 land have an equal interest in uniting their 
 efforts in order to keep up the existence of 
 the Ottoman empire, and to avert all the 
 dangers which can place in jeopardy its 
 safety. With this object, the essential 
 point is to suffer the Porte to live in re- 
 pose, vrithout needlessly disturbing it by 
 diplomatic bickerings, and without inter- 
 fering, unless with absolute necessity, in its 
 internal affairs. In order to carry out 
 skilfully this system of forbearance, with a 
 view to the well-understood interest of the 
 Porte, two things must not be lost sight of. 
 They are these : — 
 
 " In the first place, the Porte has a con- 
 stant tendency to extricate itself from the en- 
 gagements imposed upon it by the treaties 
 which it has concluded with other powers. 
 It hopes to do so with impunity, because it 
 reckons on the mutual jealousy of the cabi- 
 nets. It thinks that if it fails in its en- 
 gagements towards one of them, the rest 
 will espouse its quarrel, and will screen it 
 from all responsibility. It is essential not 
 to confirm the Porte in this delusion. 
 Every time that it fails in its obligations 
 towards one of the great powers, it is the 
 interest of all the rest to make it sensible 
 of its error, and seriously to exhort it to 
 act rightly towards the cabinet which de- 
 mands just reparation. As soon as the 
 
A.D. 1S44.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE, [memorandum Concerning turkeY. 
 
 Porte shall perceive that it is not supported 
 by the other cabinets, it will give way, and 
 the differences which have arisen will be 
 arranged in a conciliatory manner, without 
 any conflict resulting from them. 
 
 " There is a second cause of complication 
 which is inherent in the situation of the 
 Porte; it is the difiiculty which exists in 
 reconciling the respect due to the sovereign 
 authority of the sultan, founded on the 
 Mussulman law, with the forbearance re- 
 quired by the interests of the Christian 
 population of that empire. This difficulty 
 is real. In the present state of feeling in 
 Europe, the cabinets cannot see with in- 
 difference the Christian populations in Tur- 
 key exposed to flagrant acts of oppression 
 and intolerance. It is necessary constantly 
 to make the Ottoman ministers sensible of 
 this truth, and to persuade them that they 
 can only reckon on the friendship and on 
 the support of the great powers on the con- 
 dition that they treat the Christian subjects 
 of the Porte with toleration and with mild- 
 ness. While insisting on this truth, it will 
 be the duty of the foreign representatives, 
 on the other hand, to exert all their influ- 
 ence to maintain the Christian subjects of 
 the Porte in submission to the sovereign 
 authority. It will be the duty of the 
 foreign representatives, guided by these 
 principles, to act among themselves in a 
 perfect spirit of agreement. If they ad- 
 dress remonstrances to the Porte, those 
 remonstrances must bear a real character 
 of unanimity, though divested of one of 
 exclusive dictation. By persevering in this 
 system with calmness and moderation, the 
 representatives of the great cabinets of 
 Europe will have the best chance of suc- 
 ceeding in the steps which they may take, 
 without giving occasion for complications 
 which might affect the tranquillity of the 
 Ottoman empire. If all the great powers 
 frankly adopt this line of conduct, they will 
 have a well-founded expectation of pre- 
 serving the existence of Turkey. How- 
 ever, they must not conceal from them- 
 selves how many elements of dissolution 
 that empire contains within itself. Un- 
 foreseen circumstances may hasten its fall, 
 without its being in the power of the 
 friendly cabinets to prevent it. As it is 
 not given to human foresight to settle be- 
 forehand a plan of action for such or such 
 unlooked-for case, it would be premature 
 to discuss eventualities which may never be 
 realised. In the uncertainty which hovers 
 3u 
 
 over the future, a single fundamental idea 
 seems to admit of a really practical applica- 
 tion ; it is that the danger which may 
 result from a catastrophe in Turkey, will be 
 much diminished if, in the event of its 
 occurring, Russia and England have conae 
 to an understanding as to the course to be 
 taken by them in common. 
 
 " That understanding will be the more 
 beneficial, inasmuch as it will have the full 
 assent of Austria. Between her and Rus- 
 sia there exists already an entire conformity 
 of principles in regard to the affairs of 
 Turkey, in a common interest of conserva- 
 tism and of peace. In order to render 
 their union more efficacious, there would 
 remain nothing to be desired but that 
 England should be seen to associate herself 
 thereto with the same view. The reason 
 which recommends the establishment of 
 this agreement is very simple. On land 
 Russia exercises in regard to Turkey a pre- 
 ponderant action. On sea England occu- 
 pies the same position. Isolated, the action 
 of these two powers might do much mis- 
 chief. United, it can produce a real bene- 
 fit; thence the advantage of coming to a 
 previous understanding before having re- 
 course to action. 
 
 •' This notion was in principle agreed 
 upon during the emperor's last residence in 
 London. The result was the eventual 
 engagement, that if anything unforeseen 
 occurred in Turkey, Russia and England 
 should previously concert together as to 
 the course which they should pursue in 
 common. The object for which Russia and 
 England will have to come to an underr 
 standing may be expressed in the following 
 manner : — 
 
 " 1. To seek to maintain the existence of 
 the Ottoman empire in its present state so 
 long as that political combination shall be 
 possible. 
 
 "2. If we foresee that it must crumble 
 to pieces, to enter into previous concert as 
 to everything relating to the establishment 
 of a new order of things, intended to re- 
 place that which now exists, and, in con- 
 junction with each other, to see that the 
 change which may have occurred in the 
 internal situation of that empire shall not 
 injuriously affect either the security of 
 their own states and the rights which the 
 treaties assure to them respectively, or the 
 maintenance of the balance of power in 
 Europe. 
 
 " Eor the purpose thus s.tated, the pojicy 
 
 513 
 
OPINIONS OF NICHOLAS.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [aj). 1844. 
 
 of Russia and of Austria, as we have already 
 said, is closely united by the principle of 
 perfect identity. If England, as the prin- 
 cipal maritime power, acts in concert with 
 them, it is to be supposed that France will 
 find herself obliged to act in conformity 
 with the course agreed upon between St. 
 Petersburg, London, and Vienna. Con- 
 flict between the great powers being thus 
 obviated, it is to be hoped that the peace of 
 Europe will be maintained even in the midst 
 of such serious circumstances. It is to 
 secure this object of common interest, if 
 the case occurs, that, as the emperor 
 agreed with her Britannic majesty's minis- 
 ters during his residence in England, the 
 previous understanding which Russia and 
 England shall establish between themselves 
 must be directed." 
 
 However amicable might be th* feelings 
 of the emperor Nicholas towards England 
 and its fair sovereign, it is certain that he 
 viewed the form of government existing in 
 this country with extreme aversion. The 
 Marquis Custine records an interesting 
 conversation he had with the emperor, in 
 which the latter expressed his opinion con- 
 cerning the English and other forms of 
 government. We quote it as throwing 
 some light on the intellectual character of 
 Nicholas. 
 
 " * I can truly say, sire, that one of the 
 chief motives of my curiosity in visiting 
 Russia, was the desire of approaching a 
 prince who exercises such power over men.^ 
 — * The Russians are amiable, but he must 
 render himself worthy who would govern 
 such a people.' — ' Your majesty has better 
 appreciated the wants and the position of 
 this country than any of your predeces- 
 sors.' — 'Despotism still exists in Russia: 
 it is the essence of my government ; but it 
 accords with the genius of the nation.' — 
 I Sire, by stopping Russia on the road of 
 imitation, you are restoring her to herself.' 
 — ' 1 love my country, and I believe I un- 
 derstand it. I assure you, that when I 
 feel heartily weary of all the miseries of the 
 times, I endeavour to forget the rest of 
 Europe by retiring towards the interior of 
 Russia.' — ' In order to refresh yourself at 
 your fountain-head.' — 'Precisely so. No 
 one is more from his heart a Russian than 
 I am. I am going to say to you what I 
 would not say to another; but I feel that 
 you will comprehend me.' 
 
 " Here the emperor interrupted himself, 
 and looked at me attentively. I continued 
 514 
 
 to listen without replying, and he pro- 
 ceeded — ' I can understand republicanism ; 
 it is a plain and straightforward form of 
 government, or, at least, it might be so ; I 
 can understand absolute monarchy, for I 
 am myself the head of such an order of 
 things ; but I cannot understand a represen- 
 tative monarchy : it is the government of lies, 
 fraud, and corruption; and I would rather 
 fall back even upon China than ever adopt 
 it.' — ' Sire, I have always regarded repre- 
 sentative government as a compact inev- 
 itable in certain communities at certain 
 epochs; but, like all other compacts, it 
 does not solve questions — it only adjourns 
 difficulties.' 
 
 " The emperor seemed to say, * Go on.' I 
 continued — 'It is a truce signed between 
 democracy and monarchy, under the aus- 
 pices of two very mean tyrants, fear and 
 interest ; and it is prolonged by that pride 
 of intellect which takes pleasure in talking, 
 and that popular vanity which satisfies 
 itself on words. In short, it is the aris- 
 tocracy of oratory, substituted for the aris- 
 tocracy of birth ; it is the government of the 
 lawyer.' — ' Sir, you speak the truth,' said the 
 emperor, pressing my hand ; ' I have been 
 a representative sovereign,* and the world 
 knows what it has cost me to have been 
 unnilHng to submit to the exigencies of this 
 infamous government. To buy votes, to 
 corrupt consciences, to seduce some in 
 order to deceive others ; all these means I 
 disdained, as degrading those who obey as 
 much as those who command, and I have 
 dearly paid the penalty of my straightfor- 
 wardness ; but, God be praised, I have done 
 for ever with this detestable political ma- 
 chine. I shall never more be a constitu- 
 tional king. I have too much need of 
 saying all that I think ever to consent to 
 reign over any people by means of strata- 
 gem and intrigue.' " 
 
 Russia never lost sight of her policy 
 to extend her influence both throughout 
 Europe and Asia. At this period she was 
 actively but secretly employed in consoli- 
 dating her power, fortifying her ports, and 
 strengthening her frontier fortresses. She 
 also assumed to be the protectress of the 
 continental monarchies against any effort 
 for constitutional government made by their 
 subjects. Alexander had dreaded revolu- 
 tionary principles; but Nicholas made it 
 the labour of his life to crush and utterly 
 extirpate them. He converted St. Peters- 
 • In Poland. 
 
A.D. 1846—1847.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [revolution at cracow. 
 
 burg into the head-quai-ters of despotism, 
 and endeavoured to propagandise iii its 
 behalf by means of intimidation. 
 
 The little state of Cracow had been formed, 
 by the treaties of 1815, into a free repnblic, 
 nnder the sanction of all the allied powers. 
 In the February of 1846, a feeble and foolish 
 attempt at revolution, for the purpose of 
 establishing a kind of socialistic communism 
 in conjunction with Polish independence, 
 broke out at Cracow. A provisional gov- 
 ernment was formed, and a manifesto of its 
 principles published. " Let us endeavour," 
 said this document, "to establish a com- 
 munity in which every man will enjoy the 
 fruits of the earth according to his deserts 
 and capacity; let all privileges cease; let 
 those who are inferior in birth, intelligence, 
 or physical strength, obtain, without humi- 
 liation, the unfailing assistance of commu- 
 nism, which will divide among all the 
 absolute proprietorship of the soil, now 
 enjoyed by a small minority. Let all im- 
 posts, whether paid in labour or in money, 
 cease ; and let all who have fought for their 
 country have an indemnity in land taken 
 from the national property." 
 
 This imprudent language was not unna- 
 turally regarded as a proclamation of war 
 against property, and the peasants of Ga- 
 licia proceeded to outrages against the 
 neighbouring nobility, whom they had long 
 detested. The troops of Austria, Russia, 
 and Prussia successively entered Cracow, 
 and the revolutionary movement was spee- 
 dily suppressed. In the following Novem- 
 ber, a joint decree of Russia, Austria, and 
 Prussia revoked and annulled the arti- 
 cles of the treaty, and CracoAv was made 
 over to Austria ! This arbitrary conduct 
 elicited expostulations from the cabinets of 
 London and Paris, both of which, as parties 
 to the treaty of 1815, had guaranteed the 
 independence of the little republic. Lord 
 Palmerston observed — " I have too high an 
 opinion of the sentiments which must 
 animate the three powers, to doubt of their 
 acting towards Cracow in any other spirit 
 than that of the treaty of Vienna. Those 
 governments are too intelligent not to per- 
 ceive that the treaty of Vienna must be 
 considered in its integrity, and that no 
 government is permitted to make a choice 
 of those articles which it may wish to pre- 
 serve or violate. I must add, that if there 
 are any powers who have signed the treaty 
 of Vienna who are specially interested in 
 its faithful execution, they are the German 
 
 powers ; and I am sure that it cannot have 
 escaped the perspicacity of those powers, 
 that if the treaty of Vienna is not good on 
 the Vistula, it must be equally bad on the 
 Rhine and the Po." M. Guizot also, in 
 the name of France, forwarded his protest 
 to Vienna against the incorporation of 
 Cracow with the Austrian empire. " No- 
 thing," he observed, " more compromises a 
 government than an avowal of its inability 
 to fulfil, even slowly, its own promises, and 
 the hopes which it has excited. The 
 destruction of the small state of Cracow 
 may deprive Polish conspirators and insur- 
 gents of some means of action, but it must 
 also foster and irritate the feelings in which 
 these deplorable enterprises have so fre- 
 quently and so obstinately originated, and, 
 moreover, weaken the influences by which 
 they might be prevented. It enfeebles, 
 throughout Europe, the principles of order 
 and conservatism, and strengthens blind 
 passions and violent designs." These ex- 
 postulations were unavailing, for Austria 
 defended its seizure of Cracow by the asser- 
 tion that that state had, by its conduct 
 since 1815, and especially in the recent 
 outbreak, itself violated the conditions on 
 which its independence was promised. The 
 formal annexation of Cracow to Austria 
 extinguished the last spark of Polish inde- 
 pendence. 
 
 In the following year (1847), another in- 
 stance occurred of the dictatorial attitude 
 which Russia had assumed with regard to 
 the lesser powers of Europe. Russia, iu 
 conjunction with the governments of Austria 
 and Prussia, addressed a note to Switzer- 
 land, stating that they abstained from in- 
 tervention only on condition of the Swiss 
 adhering to the compact of 1815 (which the 
 three despotic powers had themselves just 
 violated with respect to Cracow), and not 
 altering, or in any way liberalising, their 
 domestic institutions. The Swiss govern- 
 ment, animated by a noble spirit of inde- 
 pendence, protested against any foreign 
 interference, and proceeded in its own 
 course. The three repressive governments 
 appear to have thought better of the matter ; 
 for the only measures taken were by Austria, 
 which imposed some vexatious restrictions 
 on the commerce and intercourse of the 
 Swiss. 
 
 The year 1848 was a memorable one in 
 Europe; it was a year of fierce political 
 excitement — a year of revolutions ; and the 
 ancient despotisms of the continent seemed 
 
 615 
 
AUSTRIA AND HUNGARY.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1848. 
 
 about to cramble into niin. The Russian 
 government, however, stood firm ; for, not- 
 withstanding the severe despotism which 
 constitutes its vital principle, its people, or 
 rather subjects, remained passive from their 
 ignorance and apathetic habits of submis- 
 sion. The flight of Louis Philippe, the 
 overturning of the throne of France, and 
 the establishment of a republic in that 
 country, led other nations to an attempt to 
 shake off their political servitude, and in- 
 augurated a series of insurrections. 
 
 Austria was the most severely shaken of 
 the continental powers, and brought, in- 
 deed, almost to the verge of dissolution as 
 an empire. Soon after the expulsion of 
 Louis Philippe from Paris, revolutionary 
 movements hroke out in Lombardy and 
 Venice, in Hungary, and even in Austria 
 Proper. In the March of 1848, Vienna, 
 excited by a few students and Poles, had 
 risen in insurrection ; Prince Metternich 
 fled, and a free constitution was prepared 
 and accepted by the emperor Ferdinand, 
 who shortly afterwards withdrew from the 
 capital, and retired to Innspriick. 
 
 But the most formidable movement 
 against the Austrian government was that 
 which took place in Hungary. To escape 
 the tyranny of the Turks, the Hungarians 
 submitted to the domination of Austria, the 
 emperor of which (Ferdinand I.) became 
 their king, his claim to that dignity being 
 based on the fact of his having married, in 
 1521, Anna, daughter of Ladislaus VI., 
 king of ^ijhemia and Hungary, and sister 
 of Louis, , who, having succeeded his father 
 in the crown of those realms, was killed in 
 the disastrous battle of Mohaz by the 
 Turks, in 1526, and left no issue. A 
 native historian of the Hungarian " War of 
 Liberation"* (as the revolution of 1848 was 
 called), observes — " Ferdinand I. was most 
 unmindful of his promises. So uncon- 
 scientiously did he neglect the administra- 
 tion of Hungary, that nine years after his 
 coronation, the estates of the nation, as- 
 sembled in parliament at Presburg, found 
 it necessary to draw up a long list of their 
 grievances. This remonstrance sets forth 
 that the king's absence from the country is 
 the prime cause of all the evils they complain 
 of. Hence the irruptions of the Turks; 
 hence the atrocious cruelties practised by 
 petty tyrants within the confines of the 
 country. Hence, too, the insufl'erable ex- 
 
 • Memoirs of the War of Independence in Hun- 
 gary : by General Klapka. 
 516 
 
 tortions of all the king's foreign captains, 
 who, instead of protecting the country, 
 drained it to ruin, and betrayed it to the 
 hands of its enemies. 
 
 " For three hundred years this Austrian 
 system remained faithful to its original evil 
 principles. And though at intervals — for 
 such there were, though few and far be- 
 tween — a more legal and enlightened ad- 
 ministration seemed to prevail, still the 
 cabinet of Vienna returned to its fatal en- 
 deavours to oppress and colonise Hungary. 
 
 ''The kings of the time, before the ad- 
 vent of the Hapsburg race, had for two 
 centuries battled against the Turks, gal- 
 lantly and often victoriously ; and though 
 under the reign of the last two kings of this 
 period the power of Hungary seemed to 
 decline, and though various provinces se- 
 ceded from the kingdom, still the great 
 territories of Hungary, Croatia, and Tran- 
 sylvania remained intact ; and the house of 
 Hapsburg, upon its advent, obtained a free 
 and uncurtailed possession of a great and 
 beautiful empire. 
 
 " But scarcely had Ferdinand I. received 
 the crown of Hungary for himself and his 
 family, when he, and his descendants after 
 him, neglected the country and the sacred 
 duties of their ofiice. They all pledged 
 their words to reside in Hungary for a part 
 of the year; but not one of them remained 
 true to his word. Whenever the Hun- 
 garian nation expressed their wishes in this 
 respect, they received evasive answers, based 
 on the most futile pretences. The com- 
 mand of the Hungarian troops was given to 
 foreigners, to the signal detriment of the 
 native generals, who were better versed in 
 the ways and means of warfare against the 
 Turks than the Austrian officers could be. 
 When the house of Austria was a suitor for 
 the Hungarian crown, great stress was laid 
 on its hereditary power and the imperial 
 dignity of its members, as giving a promise 
 of an efficient protection against the Turks. 
 But their reign in Hungary was a direct 
 contradiction of their promises. Large 
 provinces were left to the Turks, For one 
 hundred and forty-five years did the Cres- 
 cent rule over more than one-half of the 
 country. The chiefs of the malcontents, in 
 1667, were fully justified in protesting, that 
 ' It was an open question : which was worse 
 — Turkish or Austrian sovereignty? The 
 Black Sea and the Adriatic were at one 
 time the confines of the kingdom of Hun- 
 gary. Ever since the advent of the first 
 
A.D. 1848.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE, [the Hungarian revolution. 
 
 Hapsburg our power has decreased, and 
 our frontiers receded; one hundred and 
 forty years have sufficed to make Hungary 
 a narrow strip of land, near the Carpathian 
 and the Styrian mountains. The Danube, 
 the Theiss, the Drave, and the Save, flow 
 for the benefit of the Turks; three-fourths 
 of Hungary, viz., the provinces of Tran- 
 sylvania, Croatia, Slavonia, Dalmatia, Servia, 
 and Bosnia, are tributaries to them, if not 
 subjects. It is better to make a voluntary 
 surrender to the Porte, and to have liberty 
 of conscience, such as Transylvania enjoys/ 
 
 "The successful encroachments of the 
 Turks were chiefly owing to the want of 
 skill of the foreign generals, to the venality 
 of the foreign commanders in our fortresses, 
 to the cowardice of foreign hirelings, to 
 the dilator}' measures of the Vienna Hof 
 Kriegsrath, and to treaties of peace which 
 were concluded without the advice and con- 
 sent of the Hungarian parliaments. When 
 the country was reconquered, the Hun- 
 garians took the post of danger in all battles 
 and assaults. They monopolised the danger 
 and the victory. The estates of the country 
 were lavish in their votes of money (large 
 though the king's income was) ; and no less 
 than 100,000,000 of florins were granted as 
 'special subsidies' in the period from 1683 
 to 1706. Still, when in 1699 the peace of 
 Karlowitz was concluded, no reference was 
 made to the palatine or the estates of the 
 country. In that treaty of peace. King 
 Leopold is spoken of as 'his imperial ma- 
 jesty,' and any allusion to his royal dignity 
 carefully avoided. This is but one trait 
 among a hundred." 
 
 This extract will tend to show the feel- 
 ing existing among the Hungarians towards 
 their Austrian rulers : but the great source 
 of irritation lay in the fact, that the Aus- 
 trian government endeavoured to extin- 
 guish the Hungarian nationality; to make 
 that country merely an Austrian province ; 
 to rule it as though it had been a con- 
 quered territory ; and gradually to supplant 
 and extirpate the ancient Magyar race. 
 Such a mode of government, or rather mis- 
 government, almost invariably leads to in- 
 surrectionary reaction, and may be termed 
 the nurse of revolution. With so spirited 
 and intensely national a people as the 
 Hungarians, such a result was inevitable. 
 For some years, a powerful national party 
 had been organised, and an active opposi- 
 tion maintained in the Diet; while patriotic 
 feelings had, by every possible means, been 
 
 excited throughout the country. The Aus- 
 trian government had in vain endeavoured 
 to repress the movement; and the Diet of 
 18i7-'8 opened with more than the usual 
 hope and energy. Louis Kossuth, the re- 
 cognised leader of the more advanced 
 liberals, had been returned as representa- 
 tive of the county of Pesth. On the 3rd 
 of March, 1848, the Diet adopted a pro- 
 position made by him to send a deputation 
 to their king (the emperor), for the purpose 
 of requiring the formation of a new min- 
 istry, essentially Hungarian, as well as 
 certain constitutional reforms. On the 
 15th of the same month, Kossuth entered 
 Vienna — then in a state of insurrection — 
 with the deputation, and was welcomed by 
 the people with the most enthusiastic de- 
 monstrations of applause and sympathy. 
 The deputation was received by the em- 
 peror, who yielded to most of its require- 
 ments. An Hungarian ministry was formed, 
 of which Count Louis Batthyany became 
 the president, and Kossuth the minister of 
 finance. Various liberal measures passed 
 the Diet, and received the royal assent. 
 They formed Hungary and Transylvania 
 into one kingdom ; established an annual 
 Diet, indissoluble by the king ; largely ex- 
 tended the suff'rage ; created a national 
 guard ; abolished all feudal privileges ; and 
 made other concessions to the popular 
 feeling. 
 
 The Hungarian Diet soon thought pro- 
 per to extend these benefits to the Servians 
 and Croatians ; and though they at first 
 rejoiced, in common with the Hungarians, 
 in consequence of their having been raised 
 to the rank of freemen, they were in a 
 short time persuaded by Austrian agents — 
 amongst whom was their own archbishop — 
 that the Hungarians intended to subjugate 
 them, and to destroy their religion and 
 nationality. An insurrectionary movement 
 against Hungary was soon organised, and 
 the first outbreak occurred in June, 1848. 
 Arms, ammunition, and stores were secretly 
 furnished by Austria ; and Austrian officers, 
 in disguise, led the Servians to battle. 
 Thousands were slain on both sides ; towns 
 and villages were burnt, and the frontier 
 districts laid waste. Most of the Hun- 
 garian troops were at this period fighting 
 the battles of Austria in Italy; and Kos- 
 suth displayed extraordinary energy in 
 raising means and recruits, and in a short 
 time enabled the Hungarian ministry to 
 organise ten battalions of volunteers, who 
 
 517 
 
ITS SUPPRESSION BY RUSSIA.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1849. 
 
 were called Honveds, or "Defenders of 
 Home." 
 
 la the September of 1848, the Croatians 
 crossed the Drave, and invaded Hungary 
 with a force of 30,000 men. The emperor 
 of Austria issued a proclamation, ordering 
 them to retire to their own country ; but 
 their leader had good reason to question 
 the sincerity of the command, and did not 
 hesitate to disobey it. In fact, the policy 
 of the emperor was to play off tlie races 
 against each other ; and, dreading their 
 strength, he wished to weaken both. As 
 soon as he felt himself strong enough, he 
 threw off the mask. With this object he 
 sent Count Lemburg, as royal commis- 
 sioner, with orders to dissolve the Hun- 
 garian Diet, and assume the direction of 
 affairs. As the count was entering Pesth 
 for this purpose, he was set upon by the 
 populace, dragged from his carriage, and 
 assassinated. From this period all hope of 
 reconciliation was at an end. The Hun- 
 garian ministry resigned its functions; and 
 a committee of defence was established to 
 carry on the government, with Kossuth as 
 its president. 
 
 Success for a while attended the military 
 efforts of the Hungarians against their op- 
 pressors; and it is more than probable 
 that they would have thrown off the Aus- 
 trian yoke, but for the intervention of 
 Russia. The incapable Ferdinand had ab- 
 dicated in favour of his nephew Francis 
 Joseph (the present emperor), Avho applied 
 for assistance to the czar Nicholas. This 
 the latter readily granted ; for not only do 
 the continental despotisms seem to regard 
 it as a sacred obligation to assist each 
 other in repressing ail popular and revo- 
 lutionary excitement, but Nicholas well 
 knew, that by helping Austria in the time 
 of her trial, he prevented her from acting 
 against him in the event of his getting in- 
 volved in a quarrel with the great powers 
 of Europe concerning Constantinople, or 
 any other Turkish possession. Nicholas, 
 in fact, was amply repaid for the assistance 
 he now extended to the emperor of Aus- 
 tria; for in the war of 1854-'5, Francis 
 Joseph trimmed between the beUigerent 
 parties; and while calling himself an ally 
 of France and England, protected, as far 
 as he was able, the interests of Russia.' 
 But Nicholas had yet another motive for 
 assisting the shaken despotism of Austria : 
 the Poles had flocked eagerly to serve 
 beneath the Hungarian banners, and he 
 518 
 
 dreaded that, if their arms were successful, 
 he would have another revolution in Po- 
 land to suppress. '' The insurrection," he 
 observed, in one of those manifestoes which 
 he availed himself of every opportunity to 
 pubHsh, " supported by the influence of our 
 traitors in Poland, of the year 1831, and 
 by reinforcements of refugees and vaga- 
 bonds from other countries, has given this 
 revolt a most menacing character. In the 
 midst of these disastrous events, his majesty 
 the emperor of Austria has invited us to 
 assist him against the common enemy. 
 We cannot refuse that service. After 
 having invoked the God of battles and the 
 Master of victories to protect the just cause, 
 we have ordered our army to march to 
 stifle revolt, and annihilate audacious anar« 
 chists who threaten the tranquillity of 
 our provinces. Let God be with us, and 
 none can resist us ; of which we are con- 
 vinced. Such are the sentiments of all our 
 subjects. Every Russian shares in this hope, 
 and Russia will fulfil her holy mission." 
 
 Early in 1849, a Russian army of 90,000 
 men was marched into Hungary, and 
 another of 60,000 into Transylvania ; and 
 these, added to the Austrian and Croatian 
 armies, made a force of upwards of 300,000 
 armed men to crush the revolutionists, 
 The Hungarians made a brilliant resis- 
 tance ; but their resources were insufficient 
 to contend with so vast a power. They 
 were defeated in several battles by the 
 Russians ; and the government, in despair, 
 sought to open separate negotiations with 
 the Russian commander. These proved 
 unavailing ; and they then offered to invest 
 General Gorgei, the commander of their 
 forces, with full powers to treat for peace. 
 These he refused to accept; and they 
 eventually resolved to appoint him dictator. 
 On this, Kossuth issued a proclamation 
 (August 11th, 1849), announcing his resig- 
 nation of power into the hands of Gorgei, 
 and the investiture of the latter with dic- 
 tatorial authority. Having solemnly, " be- 
 fore God and the people," charged Gorgei 
 to do his best to save the national exis- 
 tence, Kossuth fled into Turkey. Gorgei, 
 against whom heavy suspicions of treachery 
 are entertained, immediately concluded a 
 negotiation he had commenced with the 
 Russian general, by agreeing, as governor 
 and dictatoi', to surrender unconditionally. 
 Accordingly, on the 17th of August, his 
 army of 24,000 men, with 150 guns, laid 
 down their arms to the Russians. At the 
 
A.D. 
 
 1849.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [RUSSIAN DOMINATION. 
 
 same time, Gorgei directed the officers of 
 the various garrisons and detachments scat- 
 tered throughout the country, to follow his 
 example. A few only refused ; the resis- 
 tance of the rest was unavailing ; and the 
 war was virtually at an end. A large 
 number of the officers and soldiers, as well 
 as civilians, succeeded in escaping into 
 Turkey, where they were hospitably re- 
 ceived. Austria and Russia made a united 
 demand that the refugees should be given 
 up to the former power, or at least expelled 
 from Turkey. The Porte nobly refused to 
 do either, notwithstanding threats of force 
 were made use of to intidimate it into com- 
 pliance. Russia would possibly have put 
 these threats into execution ; but as Eng- 
 land and France announced their deter- 
 mination of supporting the sultan's deci- 
 sion by the presence of their fleets, if 
 necessary, the refugees were permitted to 
 remain without further molestation. 
 
 In Hungary, the suppression of the revo- 
 lution was followed by a series of trials and 
 executions, attended by circumstances of 
 extreme cruelty. The fate of Count Louis 
 Batthyany, the president of the revolu- 
 tionary ministry, elicited great sympathy. 
 He was condemned by a council of war to 
 be hanged, an ignominy which he en- 
 deavoured to escape by unsuccessfully at- 
 tempting suicide. He was afterwards shot, 
 his estates confiscated, and his wife and 
 children exiled. The country has since, 
 until quite recently, been subjected to mili- 
 tary rule. All the national privileges have 
 been abrogated, and the people subjected 
 to a succession of severe coercive measures. 
 Almost the only permanent benefit which 
 has been secured by the revolution, appears 
 to be tlie abolition of the feudal privi- 
 leges and distinctions, which have not been 
 reimposed, and are not likely to be, as it 
 is not the policy of the government to re- 
 store the power of the nobles. 
 
 Shortly after the surrender of the Hun- 
 garian army, and the consequent annihila- 
 tion of the revolutionary cause, the emperor 
 Nicholas published the subjoined mani- 
 festo : — " ' Russia will fulfil her holy mis- 
 sion.' Such were the words that we ad- 
 dressed to our well-beloved subjects when 
 we announced to them, according to the 
 desire of our ally the emperor of Austria, 
 that wc had commanded our armies to 
 stifle the war in Hungary, and there estab- 
 hsh the legitimate authority of the emperor. 
 Under the protection of God, that object is 
 
 accomplished. In less than two months, 
 our brave troops, after numerous and bril- 
 liant victories in Transylvania and under 
 the walls of Debrecziu, have marched from 
 victory to victory — from Galicia to Pesth, 
 from Pesth to Arad, from the Buckovina 
 and Moldavia to the Banat. Finally, the 
 bands of insurgents, hurled back in every 
 direction — from north to east by ourselves, 
 from the west and soutii by the Austrian 
 army — have laid down their arms before 
 the Russian army, appealing to our media- 
 tion to solicit a magnanimous pardon from 
 their legitimate sovereign. After having 
 holily performed our promise, we have 
 ordered our victorious troops to return 
 within the limits of the empire. With a 
 heart penetrated with gratitude to the Dis- 
 penser of all blessings, we cry out, from the 
 innermost recesses of our soul, * Nobiscum 
 Deus ! audite populi et vincemini, quia no- 
 biscum DeusI' " 
 
 Such language, on such an occasion, is 
 both startling and painful. It is an im- 
 pious arrogance for a despotic ruler, or 
 indeed for any sovereign whatever, to 
 assume that his cause is that of heaven ; his 
 will identical with that of the Deity ! But 
 what must we think of such efi'usions, 
 when employed in vain self-glorifications 
 over successful butchery ? It might be a 
 painful necessity on the part of Austria — 
 a necessity arising out of her own misdeeds 
 and evil government — to shed the blood of 
 Hungarian patriots. But the intervention 
 of Russia was not called for by any state 
 necessity on her part. The emperor Nicho- 
 las poured out his battalions against the 
 unhappy Hungarians from sinister motives 
 towards the sovereign whom he interposed 
 to protect ; from a morbid and bitter hatred 
 of liberty; from a hope that he would 
 make absolutism universal and supreme 
 over Europe ; and a desire to extinguish in 
 blood, on the battle-field and the scaffold, 
 every effort of the oppressed nations to 
 relieve themselves from the dread incubus 
 of military tyranny that oppressed them. 
 In the execution of such work, the emperor 
 Nicholas certainly performed the mission 
 which he and his predecessor, Alexander, 
 had forced upon Russia; but to applv the 
 term " holy" to the work of tyranny, to the 
 making nations obey the arbitrary Avhims 
 of one man intoxicated with excess of 
 power, is at once a falsehood and a pro- 
 fanity. It is difficult to say whether these 
 high-placed despots are secretly atheists, 
 
 511) 
 
RETROSPECTIVE REFLECTIONS.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1850. 
 
 who use religion as an instrument of co- 
 ercive goveruraeut — a state property to work 
 out their own selfish ends — or whether, 
 from a long use of insincere language with 
 
 respect to the will of the Deity, they have 
 really come to believe that their own blind 
 and evil actions are the result of divine 
 inspiration ! 
 
 CHAPTER LX. 
 
 DISPUTE RESPECTING THE HOLY PLACES AT JERUSALEM; INTERFERENCE OF FRANCE AND OF RUSSIA; 
 NICHOLAS DEMANDS A PROTECTIVE POWER OVER ALL THE GREEK CHRISTIANS IN THE OTTOMAN DOMI- 
 NIONS ; REJECTION OF HIS DEMANDS, AND RUSSIAN OCCUPATION OF THE DANUBIAN PROVINCES; THE 
 VIENNA NOTE ; THE PORTE DECLARES WAR AGAINST RUSSIA ; DESTRUCTION OF A TURKISH FLEET AT 
 SINOPE ; ENGLAND AND FRANCE, AFTER THE INSOLENT RECEPTION OF A FINAL ULTIMATUM BY THE CZAR, 
 DECLARE WAR AGAINST RUSSIA. 
 
 Empires and nations grow old, decay, and 
 perish, even as do men. The analogy may 
 be carried further : as some men, by misuse 
 of their strength grow prematurely old and 
 feeble, so some states, by an abuse of their 
 power, become the prey of powerful neigh- 
 bours, as did Poland ; or, in the case of 
 empires, are broken up by the mutiny and 
 separation of dependent provinces. 
 
 The Ottoman empire is a remarkable 
 instance of this axiomatic truth. At one 
 period the terror of Europe (which she 
 threatened to subjugate, and which only 
 preserved its independence and its religious 
 faith by many sanguinary battles), Turkey 
 has come to be an object of compassion to 
 those states of Europe who do not desire 
 its destruction that they may swell their 
 possessions by its spoils. The accident of 
 being necessary to the maintenance of the 
 balance of power in Europe, has given to 
 every great European state, except Russia, 
 a motive to keep it in such a degree of 
 power as is necessary to ensure it from dis- 
 memberment and subjugation. Unfortu- 
 nately, the downward progress of Turkey, 
 during the reign of the sultan Mahmoud, 
 was remarkably rapid. Internal excitement 
 and revolutions ; the opposition of powerful 
 pashas ; savage wars with dependent states ; 
 the intrigues at Constantinople of the am- 
 bassadors of contending nations ; a suc- 
 cession of wars with Russia; seven severe 
 campaigns with the insurgent Greeks, end- 
 ing in the destruction of the Turkish fleet at 
 Navarino, and the emancipation of Greece 
 from the power of the Ottoman ; the maim- 
 ing of its military strength by the destruc- 
 tiou of the Janissaries, regarded as the bul- 
 530 
 
 wark of Turkey during a period of five 
 centuries ; the exhausting campaigns of 
 1828 and 1829; the disastrous treaty of 
 Adrianople ; the prostration of the sultan's 
 forces before those of his vassal, Mehemet 
 Ali ; the loss of Egypt ; and the treaty of 
 Unkiar-Skelessi — formed a dark list of na- 
 tional calamities for Turkey, which seemed 
 the presage of her dissolution as an em- 
 pire, and the extinction of her power in 
 Europe. 
 
 The emperor Nicholas, who constantly 
 reflected upon these incidents, appears to 
 have thought that Turkey was ready for the 
 sickle ; and it is evident that he stood pre- 
 pared to interfere on the first opportunity 
 that promised to reward his aggressive 
 attempts by the possession of the long- 
 coveted city of Constantinople. Indeed, 
 such was the inflexible perseverance of the 
 Russian cabinet in its design upon Turkish 
 territory, that the " Eastern difficulty'^ had 
 become a matter which occasionally per- 
 plexed every statesman in Europe. In the 
 year 1836, Lord Dudley Stuart, in a debate 
 on Eastern aff'airs in the British House of 
 Commons, thus sounded the alarm on this 
 subject : — " Russia has 50,000,000 subjects 
 in Europe alone, exclusive of Asia; an army 
 of 700,000 men, and a navy of eighty sail of 
 line-of-battle ships and frigates, guided by 
 the energy of a government of unmitigated 
 despotism, at whose absolute and unlimited 
 disposal stand persons and property of every 
 description. These formidable means are 
 constantly applied to purposes of territorial 
 aggrandisement ; atid every neio acquisition 
 becomes the means of gaining others. Who 
 can tell that the Hellespont may not be 
 
A.D. 
 
 185L] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [the holy places. 
 
 seized by Russia at any moment? She has 
 a large fleet in the Black Sea, full command 
 of tlie mouths of the Danube, and of the 
 commercial marine of Odessa and Trebi- 
 zond ; in three days she may be at Constan- 
 tinople from Sebastopol ; and if once there, 
 the Dardanelles will be so fortified by Rus- 
 sian engineers, that she can never be ex- 
 pelled except by a general war. She could be 
 in entire possession of these important Straits 
 before any expedition could be sent from 
 this country — even if such a thing could be 
 thought of — against the enormous military 
 force at the command of Russia. That 
 Russia is determined to have the Darda- 
 nelles, is evident from the treaty of Unkiar- 
 Skelessi, by which she began by excluding 
 the ships of all other nations. The effect 
 of this treaty was to exclude any ship of 
 war from these Straits, except with the per- 
 mission of Russia. Russia might at any 
 moment insist on the exclusion of our ships 
 of war from the Dardanelles. Nay, she has 
 already done so> for when Lord Durham, 
 going on liis late embassy to the court of 
 St. Petersburg, arrived at the Dardanelles 
 in a frigate, he was obliged to go on board 
 the Pluto, an armed vessel without her 
 guns, before he could pass the Straits ; and 
 when he arrived at Sebastopol no salute 
 was fired ; and the excuse given was, that 
 they did not know the Pluto from a mer- 
 chant vessel. But both before and since Lord 
 Durham went, Russian ships of war, with 
 their guns out and their streamers flying, 
 passed through the Black Sea to the Dar- 
 danelles, and again through the Dardanelles 
 to the Black Sea. Russia has now fifteen 
 ships of the line and seven frigates in the 
 
 • " A protestant, familiar with the Holy Scriptures, 
 but ignorant of tradition and the geography of 
 modern Jerusalem, finds himself a good deal ' mazed' 
 •when he first looks for the saored sites. The Holy 
 Sepulchre is not in a field without the walls, but in 
 the midst, and in the best part of the town, under 
 the roof of the great church which I have been 
 talking about. It is a handsome tomb, of oblong 
 form, partly subterranean, and partly above ground, 
 and closed in on all sides, except the one by which 
 it is entered. You descend into the interior by a 
 few steps, and there find an altar with burning 
 tapers. This is the spot held in greater sanctity 
 than any other in Jerusalem. When you have seen 
 enough of it, you feel perhaps weary of the busy 
 crowd, and inclined for a gallop ; you ask your 
 dragoman whether there will be time before sunset 
 to send for horses and take a ride to Mount Calvary. 
 ' Mount Calvary, Signor ? — eccolo ! it is upstairs— on 
 thejirstjloor' In effect, you ascend, if I remember 
 rightly, just thirteen steps, and then you are shown 
 the now golden sockets in which the crosses of our 
 Lord and the two thieves were fixed. All this is 
 3 X 
 
 Black Sea. Sebastopol is only three days' 
 sail from the Hellespont. Turkey has no 
 force capable of resisting such an arma- 
 ment; the forts of the Hellespont are in- 
 capable of defence against a land force, for 
 they are open in tlie rear. Russia might 
 any day have 100,000 men in Constanti- 
 nople, before England or France could fit 
 out expeditions to defend it." These state- 
 ments were not denied by ministers; but 
 both Lord Palmerston and the house were 
 disinclined to enter upon the consideration 
 of a perplexing and disagreeable subject, 
 through which they could not see their 
 way. A motion, therefore, for the produc- 
 tion of the correspondence in relation to 
 the treaty of Unkiar-Skelessi, was nega- 
 tived. 
 
 This was the unsatisfactory state of affairs, 
 when an apparently trivial dispute was to 
 bring the whole question into violent discus- 
 sion, and to lead to the greatest war which 
 had taken place in Europe since the fall 
 of Napoleon. The possession of the holy 
 places at Jerusalem, which were the Temple, 
 the supposed sepulchre of the Saviour,* and 
 some others, had long been matters of con- | 
 tention between the monks of the Latin | 
 and Greek churches. A recent dispute, 
 also, had sprung up relative to the right of 
 repairing the Temple. This the Turkish 
 government had endeavoured to settle by 
 repairing the Temple themselves — a course 
 which did not give satisfaction to either 
 party. Louis Napoleon, anxious to obtain 
 the approbation of the pope, undertook the 
 patronage and defence of the Latin monks. 
 In 1851 he sent M. Lavalette to Constan- 
 tinople, with an imperious demand that 
 
 startling; but "the truth is, that the city having 
 gathered round the Sepulchre (the main point of 
 interest), has gradually crept northward ; and thus 
 in great measure are occasioned the many geo- 
 graphical surprises that puzzle the ' Bible Cliristian.' 
 The church of the Holy Sepulchre comprises very 
 compendiously almost all the spots associated with 
 the closing career of our Lord. Just there, on your 
 right, he stood and wept; by the pillar, on your 
 left, he was scourged ; on the spot just before you 
 he was crowned with the crown of thorns ; up there 
 he was crucified, and down here he was buried. A ' 
 locality is assigned to even the minutest event con- 
 nected with the recorded history of our Saviour ,• 
 even the spot where the cock crew, when Peter 
 denied his Master, is ascertained, and surrounded 
 by the walls of an Arminian convent. Many pro- 
 testants are wont to treat these traditions con- 
 temptuously ; and those who distinguish themselves 
 from their brethren by the appellation of 'Bible 
 Christians,' are almost fierce in their denunciation of 
 these supposed errors." — JEothen. 
 
 521 
 
THE MENTSCHIKOFF NOTE.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1853. 
 
 certain privileges should be granted to the 
 Latin Christians, and thi-eatened that a 
 French fleet should be sent to the Dar- 
 danelles in tlie event of the demand not 
 being complied with. The sultan assented ; 
 and the emperor Nicholas, "who regards 
 himself as the representative of the Greek 
 Christians, immediately interposed, on the 
 assumption that the privileges recently 
 granted by the sultan to the Latin Chris- 
 tians, derogated from the rights of the 
 Greek ones. The dispute between Prance 
 and Russia grew warm, and the perplexed 
 sultan in vain attempted to settle the ques- 
 tion in a manner which should be satisfac- 
 tory to them both. Nicholas had found 
 his opportunity, and he expressed a deter- 
 mination to have an equivalent for the pri- 
 vileges of which the Greek church had been 
 deprived, and a security that they should 
 remain undisturbed for the future. Lord 
 John Russell, then foreign secretary in the 
 English cabinet, interfered as a pacificator, 
 deprecated the employment of any means 
 calculated to display the weakness of the 
 Ottoman empire, and especially urged the 
 contending parties " to refrain from putting 
 armies and fleets in motion, for the purpose 
 of making the tomb of Christ a cause of 
 quarrel among Christians." 
 
 Such was the aspect of affairs, when, 
 on the 28th of February, 1853, Prince 
 Mentschikofi" arrived at Constantinople as 
 a special ambassador from St. Petersburg. 
 In an interview which he had with the 
 sultan, he expressed the dissatisfaction of 
 the emperor Nicholas, and demanded the 
 execution of a secret treaty, which, besides 
 settling the dispute concerning the Holy 
 Places, was also to define certain general 
 relations between Russia and the Porte. 
 The sultan was alarmed, and communicated 
 his apprehensions to the ambassadors of 
 England and France. The government of 
 the latter power, desirous of averting an 
 aspect of things which might disturb the 
 peace of Europe, withdrew its demands, 
 and the dispute appeared to die away. 
 Towards the end of April it was announced 
 that the misunderstanding respecting the 
 Holy Places was virtually adjusted. 
 
 Unhappily this was not the case. On 
 the 5th of May, Prince Mentschikofi" pre- 
 sented a note to the Ottoman minister, in 
 which he demanded that a protective power 
 over all the Greek Christians, who were the 
 subjects of the sultan (amounting to about 
 12,000,000 persons), should be conceded to 
 522 
 
 the emperor of Russia. The off'ensiveness 
 of this arrogant demand was increased by 
 an imperious notice that a reply was ex- 
 pected within five days, and if delayed 
 longer than that period, the omission would 
 be regarded as a want of respect towards 
 his government "which would impose upon 
 him the most painful duty." 
 
 To yield to the demand of Russia would 
 have deprived the sultan of his authority 
 over about one-half of his subjects, and 
 brought into his empire a divided sove- 
 reignty, which must necessarily have intro- 
 duced such confusion as would have been 
 eventually fatal to his rule. The Turkish 
 minister correctly described the result of 
 such a compliance as " a virtual partition of 
 the empire." Abdul-Medjid replied, that 
 the privileges granted by the Porte to its 
 Christian subjects were its own act, and not 
 dictated or regulated by treaties Avith any 
 foreign power. It therefore rejected the 
 demands made by Russia, as incompatible 
 with the preservation of Turkish indepen- 
 dence. 
 
 The Porte also laid the case before the 
 French and English ambassadors, who in- 
 stantly communicated with their respective 
 governments, who regarded the demands 
 of Russia as inadmissible, but were anxious 
 to prevent any misunderstanding which 
 might give rise to hostilities. The Prussian 
 minister, on being consulted, sparingly ad- 
 mitted the validity of the objections taken 
 by the Porte to the demand of Prince 
 Mentschikofi^; and the Austrian minister, 
 equally cautious, considered the proceeding 
 of the Russian ambassador as dangerous. 
 
 Mentschikofi", on receiving the reply of 
 the sultan, abruptly withdrew from Con- 
 stantinople j and the emperor Nicholas 
 caused the aged Count Nesselrode to ad- 
 dress a final ultimatum of a hostile chai-acter 
 to the Turkish minister. It contained the 
 following passage, which necessarily tended 
 to produce that outbreak the emperor de- 
 sired, or an intimidation of the sultan into 
 a compliance Avith his demands: — "The 
 emperor, my master, has informed me that 
 Prince Mentschikofi" was obliged to quit 
 Constantinople, after a stay there of three 
 months, without having been able to obtain 
 the guarantees which he demanded for the 
 rights and privileges of the Greek church. 
 The emperor considers the refusal of the 
 Porte as a complete want of consideration 
 — as an affront offered to his person. He 
 approves completely of the conduct of his 
 
A.D. 
 
 1853.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [passage of the pruth. 
 
 ambassador. In his solicitude for the pre- 
 servation of the Ottoman empire, he recom- 
 mends the Porte to reflect once more on 
 the disastrous consequences of its refusal, 
 the whole responsibility of which must rest 
 upon it ; and he accords, for the purpose, a 
 final delay of eight days. At the expiration 
 of that period the Russian troops will cross 
 the frontiers, not to wage war, but to ob- 
 tain from the sultan the concessions which 
 he refused to accord by the way of a friendly 
 arrangement. Count de Nesselrode hopes, 
 however, that the Porte, better advised, 
 will yield before the emperor shall need to 
 have recourse to means which are repugnant 
 to his sentiments for the sultan, Abdul- 
 Medjid, but the employment of which is 
 imperatively imposed on him by his con- 
 science, and by that of his people." 
 
 The Porte was not intimidated by this 
 insulting proceeding: the eight days ex- 
 pired without an answer being returned to 
 the Russian ultimatum; the imperial order 
 was given; and on the 3rd of July, 1853, a 
 Russian army crossed the river Pruth (the 
 boundary which divides Russia from the 
 Danubian provinces), and entered upon the 
 military occupation of Moldavia and Wal- 
 lachia ! 
 
 This outrage was equivalent to a declara- 
 tion of war against Turkey, which Nicholas 
 knew was in no condition singly to with- 
 stand the enormous pressure he could bring 
 to bear upon it. The question with him 
 was — would France or England feel so great 
 an interest in the cause of the sultan as to 
 draw the sword in his behalf? The em- 
 peror appears to have thought not; and 
 with regard to Austria and Prussia, he had 
 no fear: he knevir the weakness of the 
 first, and the cringing submissiveness of 
 the last. England, he trusted, he could 
 bribe ; and France, if inaccessible to bri- 
 bery, he could defy. 
 
 The views of the emperor Nicholas are 
 vividly portrayed in some conversations 
 which he had, a few months before the 
 passage of the Pruth by his troops, with 
 Sir G. H. Seymour, the British ambassador 
 at St. Petersburg. In a conversation re- 
 specting the affairs of the East (on the 14th 
 of January), the emperor observed — " You 
 know the dreams and plans iu which the 
 empress Catherine was in the habit of 
 indulging : these were handed down to our 
 time ; but while I inherited immense terri- 
 torial possessions, I did not inherit those 
 visions — those intentions, if you like to call 
 
 them so. On the contrary, my country is 
 so vast, so happily circumstanced in every 
 way, that it would be uni'easonable in me 
 to desire more territory or more power than 
 I possess. On the contrary, I am the first 
 to tell you that our great, perhaps our only 
 danger, is that which could arise from an 
 extension given to an empire already too 
 large. Close to us lies Turkey, and, in our 
 present condition, nothing better for our 
 interest can be desired. The times have 
 gone by when we had anything to fear 
 from the fanatical spirit or the military 
 enterprise of tlie Turks. Yet the coun- 
 try is strong enough, or has hitherto been 
 strong enough, to preserve its indepen- 
 dence, and to ensure respectful treatment 
 from other countries. "Well, in that empire 
 there are several millions of Christians, 
 whose interests I am called upon to watch 
 over, while the right of doing so is secured 
 to me by treaty. I may truly say, that I 
 make a moderate and sparing use of my 
 right, and I will freely confess that it is 
 one which is attended with obligations 
 occasionally very inconvenient ; but I can- 
 not recede from the discharge of a dis- 
 tinct duty. Our religion, as established in 
 this country, came to us from the East ; and 
 there are feelings as well as obligations, 
 which never must be lost sight of. Now, 
 Turkey, in the condition which I have 
 described, has, by degrees, fallen into such 
 a state of decrepitude, • that, eager as we all 
 are for the prolonged existence of the man* 
 (and that I am as desirous as you can be 
 for the continuance of his life, I beg you to 
 believe), he may suddenly die upon our 
 hands. AVe cannot resuscitate what is 
 dead; and if the Turkish empire falls, it 
 falls to rise no more. I put it to you, 
 therefore, whether it is not better to be 
 provided beforehand for a contingency, 
 than to incur the chaos, confusion, and the 
 certainty of a European war, all of which 
 must attend the catastrophe if it should 
 occur unexpectedly, and before some ulte- 
 rior system has been sketched? Tliis is 
 the point to whicli I am desirous you 
 should call the attention of your govern- 
 ment." 
 
 Lord John Russell, on behalf of the 
 English government, replied at length to 
 this conversation, observing, that it would 
 
 * " The sick man" was the phrase usually adopted 
 by the emperor in reference to Turkey, when en- 
 gaged in familiar conversation concerning the affairs 
 of that empire. 
 
 523 
 
THE SULTAJT DECLARES WAR.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1853. 
 
 hardly be consistent with the friendly feel- 
 ings towards the sultan, which animate the 
 emperor of Russia no less than the queen 
 of Great Britain, to dispose beforehand of 
 the provinces under his dominion. He 
 added, that an agreement made in such a 
 case tends very surely to hasten the contin- 
 gency for which it is intended to provide ; 
 and recommended that the utmost forbear- 
 ance should be manifested towards Turkey. 
 On the 21st of February, Nicholas re- 
 vealed himself far more explicitly to Sir 
 G. H. Seymour. "The emperor went on to 
 say,^' reports the ambassador, " that in the 
 event of the dissolution of the Ottoman 
 empire, he thought it might he less difficult 
 to arrive at a satisfactory territorial arrange- 
 ment than was commonly believed. * The 
 principalities are,' he said, ' an independent 
 state under my protection; this might so 
 continue. Servia might receive the same 
 form of government; so again with Bul- 
 garia. There seems to be no reason why 
 this province should not form an indepen- 
 dent state. As to Egypt, I quite understand 
 the importance to England of that territory. 
 I can only say, then, that if in the event of a 
 distribution of the Ottoman succession upon 
 the fall of the empire, you should take pos- 
 session of Egypt, I shall have no objections 
 to offer. I would say the same thing of 
 CANDiA. That island might suit you; and 
 I do not know why it should not become an 
 English possession. ' " 
 
 The bribe was rejected. The Earl of 
 Clarendon, who had succeeded Lord John 
 Russell at the Foreign- office, replied — 
 " England desires no territorial aggrandise- 
 ment, and could be no party to a previous 
 arrangement from which she was to derive 
 any such benefit." Having failed with 
 respect to England, Nicholas made similar 
 overtures to France, and received from the 
 emperor. Napoleon III., a similar refusal. 
 
 When, a few months after the conver- 
 sations above spoken of, the czar poured 
 his troops into the Danubian provinces, he 
 issued a manifesto, in which he observed — 
 " Having exhausted all the means of per- 
 suasion, and all the means of obtaining, in 
 a friendly manner, the satisfaction due to 
 our just reclamations, we have deemed it 
 indispensable to order our troops to enter 
 the Danubian principalities, to show the 
 Porte how far its obstinacy may lead it. 
 Nevertheless, even now it is not our inten- 
 tion to commence war. By the occupa- 
 tion of the principalities, we wish to have 
 524 
 
 in our hand a pledge which will guarantee 
 to us, in every respect, the re-establishment 
 of our rights." 
 
 England and France hesitated, and, at 
 first, stood aloof from the assistance of 
 Turkey; and fears were entertained that 
 the latter power must submit to the de- 
 mands of Russia, or enter singly upon a 
 ruinous contest with it. France was the 
 first to speak in favour of the Porte, and 
 declared that it was ready to co-operate 
 with England in upholding the Turkish 
 government. The example of the emperor 
 Napoleon was shortly followed by the Bri- 
 tish ministry. To add weight to the ex- 
 pression of their views, the western powers 
 gave directions to a combined fleet to 
 anchor in Besika Bay, near the Straits of 
 the Dardanelles. 
 
 Austria, anxious to avert hostilities, called 
 upon the representatives of the great powers 
 at Vienna, to consult together, with the 
 view of arriving at the adoption of some 
 proposal which could be submitted to the 
 Porte, with the sanction of all their gov- 
 ernments. The ambassadors of England, 
 France, Austria, and Prussia, framed a docu- 
 ment, which is known as "The Vienna 
 Note." It was readily accepted by the 
 emperor Nicholas, but rejected by the 
 sultan, unless modified in a manner ex- 
 pressed by his ministers. These modifica- 
 tions were rejected by Nicholas, whose 
 reasons for so doing were explained in a 
 despatch by Count Nesselrode. This docu- 
 ment was considered as betraying the real 
 intentions of the czar, and as justifying the 
 conduct of Turkey ; for it showed that the 
 Vienna note could be so construed as to 
 leave the same scope as before for the pre- 
 tensions of the Russian cabinet. 
 
 The passions of the Turks were aroused 
 by the occupation of the Danubian pro- 
 vinces, and their religious fanaticism excited 
 by the claims of the emperor. The sultan, 
 therefore, at the desire of the grand council, 
 declared war against Russia on the 26th of 
 September, 1853. Prince GortschakofF was 
 summoned by Omar Pasha (a converted 
 Austrian, to whom the command of the 
 Turkish army was entrusted) to evacuate 
 the principalities. As this was declined, 
 preparations were pressed forward for the 
 purpose of ejecting him. Some further 
 unsatisfactory mediation on the part of the 
 representatives of the four powers took 
 place, but it led to no result. The emperor 
 Nicholas arrogantly desired that a Turkish 
 
A.D. 1853-1854.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [declarations of war. 
 
 plenipotentiary should proceed to the head- 
 quarters of his army, or wait upon him at 
 St. Petersburg, for the purpose of nego- 
 tiation — a proposition necessarily regarded 
 as inadmissible. In a similar spirit, he re- 
 quired of the emperor of Austria and the 
 king of Prussia an absolute and uncondi- 
 tional armed neutrality, assuring them of 
 his protection in the event of such a course 
 exposing them to the hostility of the 
 western powers. Such, in fact, was the 
 unbending attitude of the czar, that an ap- 
 peal to arms, on the part of France and Eng- 
 land, became inevitable; and early in the 
 February of 1854, the diplomatic relations 
 between them and Russia were suspended. 
 
 The Russian array prepared to winter 
 on the banks of the Danube, where they 
 conducted themselves in a very arbitrary 
 manner, and treated the inhabitants of 
 Wallachia as a conquered people, Omar 
 Pasha, who had an army of 120,000 men 
 between the Danube and the Balkan, had 
 commenced hostilities towards the end of 
 October, 1853, and a number of skirmishes 
 and engagements took place, mostly termi- 
 nating in favour of the Turks. Of these 
 early trials of strength, the most important 
 was the battle of Oltenitza, in which a 
 Russian detachment was compelled to re- 
 tire with great loss. 
 
 While these events were taking place on 
 the banks of the Danube, a Turkish squad- 
 ron, consisting of seven frigates, three cor- 
 vettes, and two steamers, left the Bosphorus, 
 to cruise in the Black Sea. As war had 
 not been declared by Russia, and the 
 emperor had affirmed that he should stand 
 merely on the defensive, the Turkish vessels 
 neither expected nor were prepared for an 
 attack — an imprudence of a dangerous 
 kind. Being discerned by the Russian 
 admiral, Nachimofif, he sent to Sebastopol 
 for reinforcements, and, on their arrival, 
 approached, on the 30th of November, 
 under cover of a dense fog, to within half 
 a mile of the Turkish squadron, as it lay in 
 the harbour of Sinope. The Turks were 
 taken by surprise, and their force was very 
 inferior to that of their foes. Yet they 
 fought with a desperate bravery, and the 
 engagement lasted for about two hours and 
 
 a-half, when all the Turkish vessels, with 
 the exception of one which escaped and 
 carried the fatal news to Constantinople, 
 were burnt, blown up, or driven, shattered 
 wrecks, upon the shore. About 2,000 of 
 the Turks perished ; and such was the vin- 
 dictive spirit of the Russians, that they 
 poured an incessant shower of shot upon 
 the poor wounded wretches who were 
 struggling in the water and striving to 
 reach the shore. In commemoration of 
 this proceeding, the emperor Nicholas ap- 
 pointed a Te Deum to be sung in all the 
 churches of St. Petersburg, and the city to 
 be illuminated. 
 
 The French and English fleets, which had 
 hitherto been lying in the Bosphorus, now 
 entered the Black Sea ; but that of Russia 
 was safe within the fortifications of the 
 famous harbour of Sebastopol. Neither 
 England nor France had yet declared war 
 against Russia; and late in February, 1854, 
 they sent a final ultimatum to Nicholas, 
 requiring that Russia should pledge herself, 
 within six days, to evacuate the princi- 
 palities before the end of April. At the 
 same time they signified, that they should 
 consider the non-compliance of the czar as 
 equivalent to a declaration of war. He 
 haughtily returned, that to the summons 
 of the allied powers, no answer would be 
 given by the imperial court ! 
 
 War was accordingly declared against 
 Russia, by France and England, on the 27th 
 of March. The London Gazette declared, 
 that " her majesty is compelled, by the 
 sense of what is due to the honour of her 
 crown, to the interests of her people, and 
 to the independence of the states of Eu- 
 rope, to come forward in defence of an 
 ally whose territory is invaded, and whose 
 dignity and independence are assailed." 
 Nicholas, with that conventional use of 
 religion which ever characterised him, en- 
 deavoured to convert the war into a crusade 
 by enlisting the fanaticism of his people 
 against his enemies. " Russia," said he, 
 " has not forgotten God ! It is not for 
 worldly interests that she has taken up 
 arms. She combats for the Christian faith 
 — for the defence of her co-religionists, op- 
 pressed by implacable enemies." 
 
COMMENCEMENT OF HOSTILITIES.] HISTOllY OF THE 
 
 Ta.]). 1854. 
 
 CHAPTER LXI. 
 
 THE WAR ON THE DANUBE AND IN ASIA ; THE ALLIED TROOPS PROCEED TO THE EAST, AND AN ALLIED 
 FLEET TO THE BALTIC ; BOMBARDMENT OF ODESSA IN CONSEQUENCE OF THE AUTHORITIES HAVING OUT- 
 RAGED A FLAG OF TRUCE ; LORD RAGLAN : THE ALLIED TROOPS ARE REMOVED TO VARNA, WHERE THEY 
 SUFFER TERRIBLY FROM THE CHOLERA ; THE EXPEDITION TO THE CRIMEA ; SIEGE OF SILISTRIA ; PRO- 
 CEEDINGS OF THE ALLIED FLEETS IN THE BALTIC, AND DESTRUCTION OF BOMARSUND ; AFFAIR OF PETRO- 
 PAULOVSKI ; EXPEDITION TO THE WHITE SEA ; THE RUSSIANS RETIRE FROM THE DANUBIAN PROVINCES ; 
 FAILURE OF A RENEWED ATTEMPT AT NEGOTIATION. 
 
 The desultory war on the banks of the 
 Danube proceeded, and the Russians suffered 
 a defeat at the village of Citate, on the 6th 
 of January, 1854. They fought with great 
 courage, but were massacred in heaps by 
 the furious Turks. It is said that 1,500 
 Russians were killed, and about 2,000 
 wounded. The conflict was renewed upon 
 the 7th and 8th, when the Russians were 
 again driven back with considerable loss. 
 This victory created so much confidence in 
 the Turkish troops, that they somewhat 
 prematurely expressed a belief that one 
 Turk was a match for three Russians. 
 
 Omar Pasha had caused some formidable 
 fortifications to be erected at Kalafat, and 
 garrisoned them with 30,000 men. This 
 place, it is said. General Gortschakoff had 
 resolved on taking at any cost whatever. 
 But the affair of Citate had made the Rus- 
 sians prudent, and the taking of Kalafat 
 was postponed until the arrival of reinforce- 
 ments; although, after experiencing heavy 
 losses from sickness, they had still about 
 94,000 men on the banks of the Danube. 
 Several efforts were ultimately made to 
 take Kalafat ; but the design was eventually 
 abandoned. Of the frequent skirmishes in 
 this locality, often attended with serious 
 loss to the Russians, and terminating 
 mostly in favour of the Turks, it is need- 
 less to speak fully. 
 
 In Asia the fortune of war had been in 
 the other direction. During the November 
 of 1853, the Turks had sustained a serious 
 defeat at Akhaltzik, and another at Basch- 
 kady-Lar, though they had been successful 
 in an attempt to capture St. Nicholas — a 
 fort on the coast of the Black Sea. This 
 momentary success, however, was immea- 
 surably outweighed by a defeat which the 
 Russians inflicted upon them near Gumri, 
 and another in the neighbourhood of the 
 fortress of Akiska. 
 
 In the month of February, the departure 
 of British troops to the East commenced ; 
 526 
 
 and on the 11th of March, the first division 
 of the British fleet proceeded to the Baltic, 
 under the command of Sir Charles Napier, 
 of whom rather extravagant expectations 
 had been formed. He was soon joined by 
 the French fleet, under Vice-admiral Par- 
 seval-Deschenes. The first divisions of 
 French trooops also, under Generals Can- 
 robert and Bosquet, proceeded to the East, 
 and, together with the English, landed at 
 Gallipoli. A convention had already been 
 concluded between France and England, 
 binding both nations not to make peace 
 with Russia without each other's consent, 
 and pledging the contracting parties "to 
 secure Europe against the return of the 
 deplorable complications which have dis- 
 turbed the general peace.'^ The govern- 
 ments of Austria and Prussia were no 
 parties to this convention ; but on the 20th 
 of April, they entered into a quadruple 
 treaty with France and England, by which 
 they gave a sanction to the war carried on 
 against Russia. 
 
 The first act of active hostilities against 
 the latter power, was the bombardment, by 
 Admirals Dundas and Hamelin, of the com- 
 mercial but fortified town of Odessa, on 
 the shores of the Black Sea. It arose out 
 of a singular outrage on the part of the 
 Russian authorities. On the declaration of 
 war, the allied fleet in the Black Sea sent 
 the English steam-frigate Furious to Odessa, 
 to take on board the consuls, and such 
 British or French subjects as might be 
 anxious to leave the town. The vessel 
 carried a flag of truce at her mast-head, 
 and sent forward a boat, also bearing a 
 white flag, to demand the consuls. Not- 
 withstanding this, seven cannon-shots were 
 fired from the batteries of the town at the 
 boat, and in the direction of the ship, 
 though happily without doing any mischief. 
 The allied admirals demanded an expla- 
 nation of this treacherous conduct, and 
 received a reply at once false and unsatis- 
 
A.D. 
 
 1854.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [rAGLAN and ST. ARNAUD. 
 
 factory. They tlien insisted that all British, 
 French, and Russian vessels at anchor at 
 Odessa, should be given up, as a reparation 
 of the insult offered to the allied fleet. As 
 the Russian governor returned no answer, 
 the town was bombarded on the 22nd of 
 April — the imperial magazine and a Russian 
 frigate blown up, the dockyard burnt, 
 together with about twenty or thirty mer- 
 chantmen, and a part of the town. During 
 the same month, the Russian batteries at 
 the mouths of the Danube were bombarded 
 by part of the allied fleet, and declared in a 
 state of blockade, in order to cut off all 
 supplies intended for the Russian army. 
 
 Why the French and English troops 
 were sent to Gallipoli — a town utterly un- 
 fitted for the reception of large masses of 
 troops, and where they could be of no ser- 
 vice whatever — is a question that has been 
 frequently asked, and never satisfactorily 
 answered. The invading Russians were in 
 Wallachia ; and the object of the war was 
 to drive them out of it as rapidly as pos- 
 sible. The banks of the Danube, then, 
 was clearly the place for the French and 
 English troops, if it was intended that they 
 should render speedy and effective assis- 
 tance to the Turks. It has been urged, 
 that they were sent to Gallipoli for the 
 purpose of protecting Constantinople. But 
 that city was not threatened ; and if it had 
 been, the allied troops at Gallipoli were 
 not at all likely to be of any service to it. 
 Even in such a case, the British and French 
 had better have been stationed on the 
 Danube, at the passes of the Balkans, or at 
 Adrianople; points which the Russians must 
 have passed before they could approach to 
 Constantinople. If the reader will glance 
 at a map of Turkey in Europe, he will see 
 that Gallipoli was altogether out of the 
 way, and divided from Constantinople by 
 the whole extent of the Sea of Marmora. 
 England and France, though they had de- 
 clared war, were suspected of an unmanly 
 disinclination to enter upon it; and they 
 seem to have trusted to intimidating the 
 emperor Nicholas by a mere military de- 
 monstration. This is probably the reason 
 why they sent their troops to Gallipoli; 
 and if such is the fact, they paid dearly 
 enough for this boyish and procrastinating 
 conduct before the conclusion of the war. 
 
 Lord Raglan (previously Lord Fitzroy 
 Somerset) had been appointed to the chief 
 command of the British array in tiie East; 
 and he landed, not at Gallipoli, Avhere his 
 
 troops were, but at Constantinople, on the 
 28th of April. He had been in the army 
 sitjce his sixteenth year; served as aide-de- 
 camp, and afterwards secretary, to the 
 Duke of AVellington ; been present in 
 every engagement throughout the Penin- 
 sular campaign ; and he had lost his right 
 arm at Waterloo. That he Avas a brave 
 and steady routine soldier may be readily 
 allowed; but that he was utterly destitute 
 of those qualities which make an able 
 general, was soon lamentably apparent. 
 But England had not been engaged in any 
 great war for nearly forty years, and such 
 generals as she possessed were mostly past 
 service. Perhaps, considering the conven- 
 tional rules of the service. Lord Raglan 
 was the best that could be had ; but if 
 such was the case, our army must have 
 been in a peculiarly inefiicient state. Hap- 
 pily it is not upon her armies that Great 
 Britain depends for the maintenance of her 
 high pretensions. 
 
 The French army destined for the East 
 was entrusted to the command of Marshal 
 St. Arnaud, a soldier who had seen much 
 service, and experienced many vicissitudes ; 
 having in early life adopted the stage as a 
 profession, but leaving it for the army in 
 consequence of the disappointment of his 
 expectations. 
 
 Some time was permitted to elapse, ap- 
 parently to give the emperor Nicholas an 
 opportunity of retracing the step he had 
 taken. No such result followed; and in 
 the month of June, the English and French 
 troops were removed to Varna, a town on 
 the coast of the Black Sea, and much 
 nearer to the theatre of war. The follow- 
 ing month, the cholera, accompanied by 
 typhus fever, broke out in the allied camps 
 at Varna, and committed terrible ravages. 
 A correspondent from that place, writing 
 on the 9th of August, said — " Our troops 
 are, at present, losing thirty men a-day. 
 The French losses from cholera are fright- 
 ful. The disease is not much on the wane 
 among them ; and there are divisions in 
 which they die at the rate of seventy and 
 eighty a-day." So severe were their suffer- 
 ings, and so depressed were they from thus 
 perishing in inactivity, that the emperor 
 Napoleon addressed to them a sympathetic 
 proclamation, in which he observed — •'* You 
 have not yet fought ; but already you have 
 struggled courageously against death. A 
 scourge, fatal though transitory, has not ar- 
 rested your ardour. France, and the sove- 
 
 527 
 
SIEGE OF SILISTRIA.] 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 rei^n whom she has chosen, cannot witness 
 without deep emotion, or without making 
 every effort to give assistance to such 
 energy and such sacrifices. The First 
 Consul said, in 1797, in a proclamation to 
 his army, ' The first quality required in a 
 soldier, is the power of supporting fatigues 
 and privations. Courage is only a secon- 
 dary one.' Tiie first you are now displaying. 
 Who can deny you the possession of the 
 second ?" As soon as the cholera declined 
 at Varna, a tremendous fire broke out 
 there, and destroyed more than a quarter 
 of the town. 
 
 The cholera did not confine its ravages 
 to the troops at Varna; it broke out in 
 the allied fleets in the Black Sea, and 
 spread death and consternation among the 
 sailors. 
 
 Action was required to dispel the gloom 
 which was occasioned in both fleets and 
 armies by this terrible visitation. For 
 some time, an expedition to the Crimea, 
 the Italy of Russia, had been contemplated. 
 Many councils of war were held, and many 
 delays took place : at length, on the 5th 
 and 7th of September, the French and 
 English . fleets and armies left Varna, and 
 sailed for the Crimea. The combined fleets 
 amounted to nearly 400 vessels of various 
 kinds, and presented a grand and imposing 
 sight. At night, when all the ships had 
 lights hung out, the fleets looked like some 
 enormous city upon the waters. Though 
 the Black Sea is subject to sudden storms 
 during this period of the year, yet the 
 voyage was effected in safety ; and at day- 
 break on the 14th the allies arrived at the 
 Crimea, off a place called the Old Fort, or 
 Staroe Ukriplenie, about thirty miles to the 
 north of Sebastopol. No Russian troops 
 appeared to oppose the landing, which 
 occupied altogether no less than three days. 
 The allied army at this period consisted of 
 60,000 men; being composed of 27,000 
 English, 25,000 French, and 8,000 Turks. 
 
 Here we will leave them, while we 
 briefly record the events of the war which, 
 up to this period, had occurred in other 
 localities. As the spring returned, hostili- 
 ties proceeded on the banks of the Danube 
 with great energy. On the 23rd of March, 
 an army of 35,000 Russians, under General 
 Liiders, crossed the Danube, and succeeded 
 in establishing themselves in a part of Bul- 
 garia called the Dobrudscha. They also took 
 several forts by which the Bulgarian bank of 
 the Dauube was defended in this direction. 
 628 
 
 On the 30th of the same month, and on 
 the 1st of April, the Turks made excursions 
 from Kalafat, and, on each occasion, in- 
 flicted a defeat upon the Russians. The 
 well-known city and fortress of Silistria 
 was surrounded by an army of 35,000 Rus- 
 sians, and bombarded without effect in the 
 month of April. Siege operations were 
 commenced ou the 11th of May. On that 
 occasion, the cannonade began at daybreak, 
 and was prolonged till about seven in the 
 evening. Day after day passed on, and 
 the attack and the defence were carried 
 forward with equal vigour. Repeated 
 storming parties were directed against the 
 intrenchments ; mines and countermines 
 overthrew the works and convulsed the 
 soil ; and both within and without the for- 
 tifications, blood sank into the earth in 
 horrible profusion. The Turks looked 
 anxiously for the assistance of the allies; 
 but none was afforded. Captain Butler 
 and Lieutenant Nasmyth, two British offi- 
 cers who served as volunteers, alone fought 
 for the Turks ; and the former especially, 
 by his knowledge of fortification, and his 
 successful efforts in keeping up the spirits 
 of the Moslems, was of great service. Un- 
 happily, he fell a victim to his devotion to 
 their cause, and sunk from the effects of a 
 wound he received on the forehead from a 
 half-spent ball. Though but in his twenty- 
 seventh year, it is admitted that the de- 
 fence of Silistria, during the last half of the 
 period over which the struggle extended, 
 was due to his excessive exertions. Only 
 two hours after his death, ;it was known 
 that the Russians had raised the siege and 
 retired. They had kept up the bombard- 
 ment until about half-past three of the 
 night of the 22nd of June ; and on the 
 morning of the 23rd, it was discovered that 
 they had retreated. 
 
 By the time the siege of Silistria was 
 raised, it is estimated that the Russians 
 had lost 50,000 men since their entry into 
 the principalities. What was of more con- 
 sequence, the confidence of the Russian 
 troops in this locality was shaken, and 
 they could no longer feel that they were em- 
 ployed in a successful cause. Prior to this 
 event, the Austrian government appeared 
 disposed to take part in the Avar, and it 
 entered into an alliance with Turkey, for the 
 purpose of assisting that power to reclaim 
 the Dauubian provinces from the grasp of 
 the czar. In addition to this, the Austrian 
 government requested the St. Petersburg 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [capture of bomarsund. 
 
 cabinet to specify exactly the time when 
 the imperial troops would have returned to 
 their own country, and trusted that the 
 time named would not be a very distant 
 one. The reply of Nicholas to this request, 
 sent on the 24th of June — that is, im- 
 mediately on his receiving news of the 
 raising of the siege of Silistria — was, " that 
 as a mark of high consideration for Austria, 
 Russia consents to evacuate the Turkish 
 territories \" The pretence was too trans- 
 parent to deceive any one. Austria knew 
 very well, and all Europe knew, that the 
 czar had been baffled by Turkish valour — 
 that he had given orders to retreat from 
 Silistria, to abandon Little Wallachia, and 
 to retire towards the Pruth, because his 
 troops were scarcely able to maintain their 
 position, and because he feared the co- 
 operation of Austria with England and 
 France, and wished, by his late and ill- 
 affected complaisance, to prevent it. A 
 further reply of the czar was not so com- 
 pliant. "The emperor," it said, "will 
 willingly resign the exclusive protectorate 
 over the Greek Christians, if Turkey will 
 accede to a common protectorate of the five 
 powers. He will evacuate the principalities 
 when the western powers evacuate Turkey; 
 but will hold a strong military position in 
 Moldavia as a provisional security." 
 
 The British fleet, which had proceeded 
 to the Baltic under the command of Sir 
 Charles Napier, reached the Gulf of Finland 
 on the 16th of April, and by its presence 
 established a blockade there. The expec- 
 tations formed respecting the efficiency of 
 this fleet, and the energy of its commanders, 
 were seriously disappointed. It was antici- 
 pated that it would certainly attack, if not 
 take, the fortifications of Cronstadt, which 
 defend the approach to the city of St. 
 Petersburg. Admiral Napier considered 
 that the danger of attacking Cronstadt was 
 so great, that he would not be justified in 
 attempting it — an opinion for which he was 
 much censured in this country, though it 
 was shared by the officer in command of 
 the French fleet. For some time a power- 
 ful English fleet cruised about, and did little 
 more than take a small fort or so, burn a 
 few villages, together with a number of 
 small trading-vessels, and quantities of pitch, 
 tar, timber, and other stores. Even in these 
 petty proceedings they were not uniformly 
 successful; for on the 7th of June, two 
 British war-steamers were actually repulsed 
 in an attack on Gamba-Karleby — a petty 
 3 Y 
 
 town, with a population not exceeding 1,800 
 persons. The loss sustained in this affair, 
 so beneath the dignity of the British flag, 
 amounted in killed, wounded, and missing, 
 to fifty-four men. 
 
 When Admiral Napier was joined by 
 Admiral Parseval-Deschenes, the united 
 French and English fleets in the Baltic 
 amounted to fifty-four sail, armed with 
 2,726 guns, and supplied with 29,150 sea- 
 men and marines. Yet with this enor- 
 mous force at their disposal, the two 
 admirals thought it necessary to send to 
 Prance for an expeditionary land corps, to 
 enable them to take the fortress of Bomar- 
 sund, which mounted no more than ninety- 
 two guns. Bomarsund was first bombarded 
 by the allied fleets on the 21st of June, but 
 from so cautious a distance that they did very 
 little harm. It was again bombarded on the 
 25th and 26th of June, but without sus- 
 taining any serious injury. The reason is 
 plain enough : the allied fleets did very little 
 harm, because they kept so far from the 
 fortress, that their casualties, if they sus- 
 tained any, were not deemed worth re- 
 cording. 
 
 The French expeditionary corps, num- 
 bering 11,000 men, arrived on the 5th of 
 August, and on the 8th they landed on the 
 island of Lumpar, near Bomarsund. The 
 bombardment began on the 13th. Behind 
 the main fortress were two towers, called 
 Port Tzee and Fort Nottich, each of which 
 contained a garrison of 120 men. The first 
 was attacked by the French, and the last by 
 the English; the allies, however, not only 
 acting in concert, but as parts of the same 
 army. The attack on Fort Tzee by the 
 French commenced at daybreak, and was 
 continued, with very little intermission, until 
 nine o'clock on the following morning, 
 when it was surrendered. It was afterwards 
 accidentally set fire to by a shell, and blew 
 up with a tremendous explosion. On the 
 morning of the 15th, the English battery 
 commenced its fire upon Fort Nottich, 
 which surrendered at six in the evening. 
 The principal fortress, properly called Bo- 
 marsund, was not capable of much resis- 
 tance after its supporting towers had fallen. 
 The attack upon it commenced on the 
 afternoon of the 14th, and was conducted 
 by the land forces, assisted by the Edin- 
 burgh and one of the French liners ; while 
 the Amphion, Ajax, and Driver, fired shot 
 and shell at long range. The bombardment 
 continued during the 15th, and on the 16th 
 
 529 
 
PETROPAULOVSKI.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 General Bodisco, the governor, hung out 
 a white flag in token of surrender. The 
 Russian soldiers piled their arms in heaps, 
 and were then, to the number of 2,300 
 men, marched from the fortress to the ships 
 as prisoners. They looked careworn, and 
 exhausted with fatigue; having taken no 
 rest for five days, except at the side of their 
 guns. No less than 139 pieces of artillery 
 were also taken in the different forts, 
 together with provisions for 3,000 men for 
 two years, and magazines containing nearly 
 200 tons of powder. Some military men 
 have expressed an opinion that, in a short 
 time, the place would have been as strong 
 as Cronstadt ; a conclusion from which we 
 dissent, as it had not the natural capa- 
 bilities of being made into so powerful a 
 fortress. It was the intention of the em- 
 peror to build eleven more round forts, and 
 another like Bomarsund. The foundations 
 of some were begun, and the large fort 
 already stood fifteen or twenty feet high. 
 It has been conjectured that Bomarsund 
 was intended to assist in the execution of 
 some further design of an aggressive kind 
 on Sweden. As a permanent occupation of 
 the Aland Islands was regarded as un- 
 desirable by either the French or English, 
 Bomarsund was blown up, and left heaps of 
 blackened rafters and masses of masonry. 
 The troops then re-embarked, and the allied 
 fleets proceeded to Hango, the fortifications 
 of which, the Russians, to escape the morti- 
 fication of defeat and surrender, themselves 
 blew up in the sight of the enemy, and 
 then retreated to Abo. The allied fleet 
 followed to Abo; but finding it strongly 
 guarded, and protected by numerous gun- 
 boats, they valiantly retired ! 
 
 This exploit, and reconnaissances of Cron- 
 stadt, formed all that was done by the 
 allied fleets of France and England during 
 this expedition. As the winter approached 
 they gradually retired, and left the Russian 
 coasts to be blockaded by the closing-in of 
 t^eice. 
 
 While in the Baltic the cannon of France 
 apd England were thundering against 
 Bomarsund, the allies experienced some- 
 thing of the nature of a reverse, in a very 
 diff'ereut and far distant part of the globe. 
 This was the partial repulse of a French 
 and English squadron from the Russian set- 
 tlement of Petropaulovski,* on the penin- 
 sula of Kamtschatka. Petropaulovski is a 
 station foi' whalers, and for the Russian fur 
 • That is, settlement of St. Peter and St. Paul. 
 
 530 
 
 I 
 
 trade on the confines of Asia and America. 
 Its remoteness from Europe, and its natural 
 obscurity,would have protected it sufficiently 
 from the cannon of the allied fleets, but 
 that it had attracted notice as a place of 
 refuge for the Russian squadron in the 
 Pacific. It was known that, at the com- 
 mencement of hostilities, the Russians had 
 three or four ships of war in the Eastern 
 seas, which, if not closely watched, might 
 do considerable injury to our commerce in 
 the Chinese and Australian trade. On this 
 account the British squadron in the Pacific 
 was reinforced by the Pique, and Admiral 
 David Price took the command on that 
 station. It was known that two of the 
 Russian ships, the Aurora and the Dwina, 
 were vessels of war, well-found and manned ; 
 and it was the duty of the French and 
 English ships to co-operate in pursuit of 
 them; capture them if possible, or render 
 them unfit for service. 
 
 On the 29th of August, the allied fleets 
 arrived off Petropaulovski, and were imme- 
 diately fired upon from four Russian batte- 
 ries. Nothing was done that night; but, 
 the next morning, decks were cleared for 
 action. The bombardment had just com- 
 menced, under the direction of Admiral 
 Price, when, a little after one o'clock, he 
 went into his cabin, and shot himself 
 through the heart ! His mind appears to 
 have given way under too acute a sense 
 of responsibility. In. consequence of this 
 startling incident, the preparations for the 
 engagement were suspended. Captain Sir 
 F. Nicholson succeeded to the command of 
 the British moiety of the squadron, and the 
 engagement was recommenced the following 
 morning. A vigorous fire was as vigorously 
 replied to ; but in the course of the day the 
 Russian batteries were temporarily silenced. 
 The aUies having picked up three American 
 sailors, and received from them what was 
 supposed to be valuable information, landed 
 a body of 700 seamen of both nations, who 
 were led into an ambush, and subjected to 
 a furious fire from Russian sharpshooters. 
 The allies were compelled to retire and 
 re-embark, but not before the English had 
 lost about 120 in killed and wounded, and 
 the French a similar number. On the 7th 
 of September, the allied fleet sailed away 
 from Petropaulovski, and the Aurora and 
 the Dwina remained safe within its harbour. 
 On the 21st of May, the Miranda, a 
 screw steam-ship of 250 horse-power, to- 
 gether with the Brisk steam-sloop, com- 
 
A.D. 
 
 1854.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 RUSSIAN REVERSES. 
 
 manded by Captains Lyons and Seymour, 
 sailed from the Downs for the White Sea, 
 where, on the 1st of August, they estab- 
 lished a blockade of the Russian ports. 
 This expedition was more successful than 
 the one we have just spoken of. Several 
 Russian merchantmen were captured ; the 
 fortified monastery of Solovetskoi, and the 
 little town and fort of Kola, were destroyed ; 
 no attempt being made by the Russian 
 government to protect its shores from insult, 
 and its people from injury. 
 
 On the banks of the Danube the Rus- 
 sians still maintained their positions only 
 at the price of heavy losses. They were a 
 second time defeated at Oltenitza, and ex- 
 perienced other reverses in skirmishes and 
 petty engagements. . They were also re- 
 pulsed in an attack on the Turkish camp 
 near Giurgevo, and lost 2,000 men in killed 
 and wounded, besides a great number who 
 were taken prisoners. These actions led to 
 a retreat of the Russians from Wallachia, 
 and their retirement, by forced marches, 
 into Moldavia. It was conjectured, how- 
 ever, that this movement was partly for the 
 purpose of withdrawing the Russian troops 
 from the neighbourhood of Austria, and 
 also that the czar might concentrate his 
 forces so as to use them on any point 
 attacked by the troops of France and Eng- 
 land. When Nicholas read the confidential 
 report sent him by Prince Gortschakoff^',he is 
 said to have observed — "I can comprehend 
 that my army was repulsed from Silistria, 
 though I had expected another account 
 from the Prince of Warsaw ; but what I 
 cannot understand is, that a wild horde of 
 half-naked Turks, after an engagement on 
 the water, and having taken our fortified 
 islands by storm, should have dislodged my 
 troops, with such a heavy loss, from a 
 position which they had been a whole year 
 fortifying." On the 2nd of August the 
 Russians commenced their retrograde pas- 
 sage of the Pruth, and on the 13th of the 
 same month, an imperial order of the day 
 was read to the Russian soldiers assembled 
 at Odessa, stating that the czar had ordered 
 his troops to retire from the Danubian 
 provinces, and to march where the danger 
 was more imminent. At the same time 
 Austria marched her troops into Moldavia 
 and Wallachia, having obtained the per- 
 mission of the Porte to do so, under the 
 
 pretence of shielding them from the return 
 of Russian invasion. Her real motive, 
 which it is now supposed was secretly 
 understood by the cabinet of St. Peters- 
 burg, was to protect the retiring Russians 
 from the advance of Omar Pasha and his 
 successful Turks. 
 
 Some attempts were made at this time to 
 renew diplomatic efforts to settle the dispute 
 between Russia and the other great powers 
 of Europe; but it necessarily failed; for 
 England and France had not yet humbled 
 the czar; the checks he had received had 
 come from the swarthy hands of the Turks. 
 Count Nesselrode, in forwarding the re- 
 jection by Nicholas of the terms offered 
 him, observed, that their acceptance would 
 lead it to be supposed that Russia was 
 reduced by war to the last degree of ex- 
 haustion. He added — " The emperor Jias 
 directed his general-in-chief to repass the 
 Pruth with his troops, from strategic 
 motives; and Russia will keep herself upon 
 the defensive, within her frontiers, until 
 more equitable conditions are offered to her. 
 The emperor, on his side, will avoid in- 
 creasing the complications of the war ; but 
 he will repel, with the greatest energy, all 
 attacks against him, from whatever quarter 
 they may proceed." 
 
 An insurrection, which had taken place 
 amongst the Greek subjects of the sultan, 
 and fostered by the emperor Nicholas and 
 king Otho, terminated during September, 
 in consequence of the decided measures 
 tak en by the western powers. 
 
 The campaign in Asia had been ex- 
 tremely adverse to the Turks, whose array, 
 in that direction, had been reduced to a 
 mere military rabble. The indolent pashas 
 deceived the sultan, plundered the troops, 
 and left the result to fate. An English 
 observer remarked — "The profligacy of all 
 ranks of officers is such, that even men of 
 the world, who make no pretences to mo-^ 
 rality, are disgusted and repelled." The 
 Turks were defeated near Gurari; and 
 suffered other reverses so severe, that it is a 
 wonder their army did not break up in con- 
 fusion. The campaign terminated with 
 the descent of Schamyl and a body of 
 horsemen on Georgia, where they destroyed 
 200 villages, und, penetrating to Tifiis, car- 
 ried off some Russian ladies of rank as 
 hostajies. 
 
THE ALLIES IN THE CRIMEA.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 CHAPTER LXII. 
 
 FIRST NIGKT IN THE CRIMEA ; ADVANCE OF THE ALLIED ARMIES ; BATTLE OF THE ALMA ; DEATH OF MAR- 
 SHAL ST. ARNAUD ; THE BRITISH TAKE BALAKLAVA AS A BASE OF OPERATIONS ; FIRST GREAT BOMBARD- 
 MENT OF SEBASTOPOL ; ITS FAILURE ; RUSSIAN ATTACK ON BALAKLAVA, AND CAVALRY ENGAGEMENT 
 THERE; THE LIGHT CAVALRY CHARGE; THE SIEGE DOES NOT PROGRESS; BATTLE OF INKERMANN ; 
 ITS RESULTS; A TERRIBLE STORM PASSES OVER THE FLEETS AND CAMPS, AND PRODUCES GREAT 
 DEVASTATION. 
 
 We left the allied army, composed of 
 English, French, and Turks, and consisting 
 of 60,000 men, on the spot where they 
 landed on the Crimea on the 14th of Sep- 
 tember, and the two days following. 
 
 The first night passed on the Crimea was 
 one of trial to the allied troops, for the rain 
 fell incessantly, and the wind blew in cold 
 gusts, increasing in violence as the night 
 proceeded. No tents had been landed ; no 
 fires could be lit; and the soldiers had to 
 wrap themselves in their blankets, and sleep 
 on the soddened earth as best they might. 
 Sir George Brown passed the night under a 
 cart tilted over, and the Duke of Cambridge 
 had a similar slender accommodation. The 
 next day brought a great increase of sick- 
 ness amongst the English troops; several 
 cases of cholera occurred ; and one officer 
 died after a few hours' illness. The French 
 and the Turks had managed better, having 
 contrived to land their tents on the first 
 day of disembarkation. 
 
 The landing extended over the 14th, 
 15th, and 16th of September; and on the 
 18th, Lord E-aglan issued orders that the 
 troops should be ready to march at day- 
 break. During the first day's march no 
 opposition was encountered ; but towards 
 the evening, regiments of Russian cavalry 
 were discerned in the distance ; and before 
 nightfall, a brief skirmish took place between 
 a part of the Earl of Cardigan's brigade of 
 light cavalry, and a body of Cossacks and 
 • Russian dragoons. 
 
 On the memorable 20th of September, 
 the allies advanced upon the little river 
 Alma, The banks of this stream are steep, 
 and completely commanded by a mass of 
 surrounding heights. Upon them the Rus- 
 sian army, consisting of from 45,000 to 
 50,000 men, was posted, under the command 
 of Prince MentschikoflF, who is understood 
 to have considered this to be the strongest 
 position afforded by the country on the 
 line of march. He had added to its 
 natural capabilities, by erecting batteries 
 532 
 
 upon all the heights. The battle com- 
 menced about half-past one. The plan of 
 operations decided on was, that the French 
 should commence the assault on the right 
 of the Russians, and turn their flank, 
 capturing the battery and a strong stone 
 breastwork, which defended the enemy on 
 that side. They were then to push forward, 
 and, if possible, cut off the retreat from 
 Sebastopol. The English were to force the 
 position on the hills in front, at the point 
 of the bayonet. 
 
 The French, led by General Bosquet, 
 crossed the river, and carried the heights on 
 the right with a wonderful rapidity, to the 
 crj; of " Five I'Empereur !" On gaining 
 the crest of the height, they formed and 
 advanced steadily amidst the storm of fire 
 to which they were subjected, and in the 
 teeth of the cavalry and infantry of the 
 enemy. About three o'clock the Russian 
 flank was turned, and the Zouaves had 
 erected their flag on the most conspicuous 
 position in the field. 
 
 In the meantime the English advanced 
 towards the valley of the Alma, rising above 
 which were the lines and redoubts of the 
 enemy. On their approach, the Russians 
 set fire to the village of Bouliouk, and to 
 heaps of dried dung, which they had col- 
 lected to add to the conflagration. Almost 
 instantly there was a continuous blaze for 
 300 yards, and the valley was enveloped in 
 smoke, which blew right in the faces of our 
 men. Under the cover of this, the Rus- 
 sians opened a tremendous fire from their 
 earthwork batteries, which committed a 
 terrible havoc among our men. It was re- 
 plied to by the English artillery, with a 
 fierce fire of shot, shell, and rockets; and 
 the command was given to advance. The 
 men rushed across the stream amidst a 
 storm of bullets, and then dashed through 
 the smoking village, and some vineyards 
 beyond it. Here they formed a line, ad- 
 vanced resolutely up the hills, and stormed 
 the heaviest battery. Once they were driven 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [battle of the ai.ma. 
 
 back ; but they were rallied by Sir George 
 Brown and the Duke of Cambridge, and 
 again pressed forward. An enormous mass 
 of Russian infantry, who approached to de- 
 fend the battery, was broken and put to 
 flight by the well-directed fire of a couple 
 of pieces of artillery which were brought 
 to bear upon them. The final possession of 
 the redoubt was secured by a brilliant ad- 
 vance of the brigade of foot- guards. 
 
 At four o'clock, the English charged in 
 three divisions up the heights. The guards 
 and highlanders — the latter led by the brave 
 Sir Colin Campbell — advanced with fixed 
 bayonets against the charging Russians. 
 The latter hesitated; and the guards and 
 highlanders, uttering a loud English cheer 
 and a fierce yell, dashed forward. The 
 startled Russians dared not meet the shock, 
 but turned and fled. Successive deadly 
 volleys pursued them, and our artillery 
 literally mowed them down as they dashed 
 madly up the hill. The French having 
 defeated the Russian left wing, were turning 
 them on their right ; the second British 
 division were advancing to our left ; when 
 the Russian artillery, utterly routed, aban- 
 doned their position and galloped off. 
 Such of the Russians as resisted perished, 
 but the greater part fled in disorder. By 
 five o'clock, the allied armies were in pos- 
 session of the strong position which the 
 Russians had occupied in the morning, and 
 the latter were scattered in every direction. 
 If the allies had possessed a sufficient 
 amount of cavalry to pursue and cut down 
 the fugitives, it is conjectured that the 
 army of Prince Mentschikofl* would have 
 been annihilated. Thus was won the bril- 
 liant victory of the Alma; and in three 
 hours and a-half, a position was wrested 
 from the Russian troops which their general 
 boasted that he could hold for at least three 
 weeks. The Russians left three guns, 700 
 prisoners, and 4,000 wounded behind them ; 
 their loss was estimated at between five and 
 six thousand. That of the English amounted 
 to 2,196 killed and wounded; that of our 
 gallant allies, the French, to about 1,400. 
 The Turks, though eager to join in the 
 battle, were not engaged. 
 
 Lord Raglan, in his despatch to the 
 Duke of Newcastle (the English minister 
 of war), thus alluded to the efl'orts of the 
 French during the day : — " I will not at- 
 tempt to describe the movements of the 
 French army — that will be done by an able 
 hand; but it is due to them to say, that 
 
 their operations were eminently successful ; 
 and that, under the guidance of their dis- 
 tinguished commander. Marshal St. Arnaud, 
 they manifested the utmost gallantry, the 
 greatest ardour for the attack, and the 
 high military qualities for which they are 
 so famed." The French general, on his 
 part, thus spoke of his allies : — " On our 
 left, the English met with large masses of 
 the enemy, and with great difficulties ; but 
 everything was surmounted. The English 
 attacked the Russian positions in admirable 
 order, under the fire of their cannon — car- 
 ried them, and drove ofl" the enemy. The 
 bravery of Lord Raglan rivals that of an- 
 tiquity. In the midst of cannon and musket- 
 shot, he displayed a calmness which never 
 left him." 
 
 In another despatch by Marshal St. 
 Arnaud, he alluded to his severe suff'ering 
 from ill-health, and then observed — " All 
 this does not prevent my remaining twelve 
 hours on horseback on the day of the 
 battle : but will not my strength betray 
 me?" His words were prophetic: he had 
 long suffered from an affection of the heart ; 
 and he had accepted the command of the 
 army in the East with a wish to devote the 
 brief remainder of his life in the service of 
 his country. On the 25th of September, 
 feeling the approach of death, he resigned 
 the command of the army to General Can- 
 robert, and expired on the 29th, in the 
 fifty-third year of his age. His body was 
 conveyed to France, and buried with great 
 military pomp in Paris, in the chapel of the 
 Invalides. 
 
 The news of the victory at Alma was 
 received with enthusiastic joy in England. 
 It was speedily followed by a false report 
 that Sebastopol had fallen into the hands 
 of the allies ; the general belief of which 
 added to the painful disappointment which 
 was felt in consequence of its long and ob- 
 stinate defence. 
 
 On the 21st and 22nd of September, 
 the allies were engaged in collecting their 
 wounded and burying their dead. On the 
 morning of the 23rd they left the heights 
 of Alma, and commenced their march to- 
 Avards the river Katcha, in the direction of 
 Sebastopol. On the 26th, the English took 
 possession of the town and harbour of 
 Balaklava, as a base of operations. The 
 harbour of Balaklava is about three-quarters 
 of a mile long, and from 350 to 400 yards 
 wide. It is completely land-locked; for, 
 towards the sea, the cliffs close up and 
 
 533 
 
J50MBARDMENT OF SEBASTOPOL.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 Fa.d. 1854 
 
 overlop the narrow channel which leads to 
 the haven, so tliat the latter is quite in- 
 visible. The French took possession of 
 Strelitzka Bay as their base, of operations, 
 and occupied the left of the English position. 
 Preparations were made for the siege of 
 Sebastopol, across the mouth of the harbour 
 of which the Russians had themselves sunk 
 seven of their ships of war; a mean ex- 
 pedient, further to obstruct the allies in any 
 attempt they might make to enter. Ou 
 the 28th of September, the second, third, 
 and fourth divisions of the British army 
 moved up to the heights above Sebastopol, 
 and encamped there. The first division 
 remained behind the port of Balaklava, for 
 the protection of that important post. 
 
 If, after the battle of the Alma, the allies 
 "had at once pushed forward and commenced 
 their operations against Sebastopol, it is 
 conjectured that the place might have been 
 taken by a sudden and daring assault. The 
 Russians themselves expected such a move- 
 ment, and were very imperfectly prepared 
 to resist it. But the movements of the 
 allies were sIoav, and much valuable time 
 was lost. They did not commence digging 
 their trenches until the evening of the 10th 
 of October. This, as perhaps most of our 
 readers are aware, is an operation necessary 
 before any body of troops can be established 
 iu a protected position within a certain 
 distance of the place to be attacked. In 
 tlie meantime, the Russians, under the 
 direction of the afterwards famous General 
 Todtleben, worked with an almost incredible 
 industry at their defences, and threw up 
 formidable works around Sebastopol with 
 remarkable rapidity. v 
 
 It Avas at length definitively arranged by 
 the allies, that the siege of Sebastopol 
 should commence on the 1 7th of October ; 
 and minute directions were issued the night 
 before, as to the manner in which it should 
 be conducted. Ordei\s were also Commu- 
 nicated to the fleet to be ready for action 
 at eight in the morning. Tuesday (the 
 17th) dawned heavily, a thick mist or fog 
 resting over the valley. Towards six it 
 began to disperse, and shortly afterwards 
 the sunbeams glittered through the gloom, 
 and the mist rolled off in the direction 
 of the sea. At half-past six, the French 
 and English batteries roared forth simul- 
 taneously, and shot and shell whistled and 
 screamed through the air until the earth 
 seemed to tremble with the reverberation. 
 The Russians received the fire with a calm 
 534 
 
 resolution, and returned it with a terrible 
 promptitude. A spectator of the scene 
 observed — " The first volley showed us what 
 no soul in either army had hitherto been 
 certain about — namely, the precise nature 
 both of our Morks and the enemy's ; and I 
 am sorry to say, it also showed ns that, 
 even in earthwork batteries, thrown up since 
 we came here, the Russians immensely out- 
 numbered the allied lines. Not only were 
 there extensive intrenchments, mounting 
 twenty and thirty heavy cannon, but on 
 every height and ridge, guns of heavy 
 calibre were placed in battery. I have been 
 informed, that the extensive nature of their 
 works completely astonished our generals.'' 
 In the course of the morning the Russian 
 fire caused the explosion of a French maga- 
 zine, containing some tons of powder — an 
 accidejit which killed or wounded about 
 fifty men. About half-past one a second 
 and more serious accident of the same kind 
 took place. A Russian shell fell and ex- 
 ploded full upon the reserve magazine of 
 the principal French battery, which in- 
 stantly blew up with an awful shock. About 
 twenty tons of powder, with shells and 
 rockets in proportion, were ignited. The 
 greatest part of the battery, together with 
 sixteen guns, and nearly all the unfortunate 
 artillerymen, were hurled into the air. This 
 circumstance paralysed the efforts of the 
 French for the day. The EngHsh and the 
 allied vessels carried on the cannonade 
 with unmitigated fury until night, when it 
 ceased. The French had lost about 200 
 men, chiefly by the explosions ; the English 
 about 100. The loss to the allied fleets, 
 which had contributed to the cannonade, 
 was IG killed and 200 wounded in the 
 French ships, and 46 killed and 250 wounded 
 in the English. "At dark all the ships 
 returned to their anchorage. The change 
 was magical — from a hot sun, mist, smoke, 
 explosions, shot, shell, rockets, and the roar 
 of 10,000 guns, to a still, cool, brilliant 
 starlight sky, looking down upon a glassy 
 sea, reflecting in long tremulous lines the 
 lights at the mast-heads of the ships re- 
 turning amid profound silence."* 
 
 What was the result of this terrible bom- 
 bardment of Sebastopol ? It was, in fact, so 
 trivial as to be unappreciable ; and a strong 
 conviction prevailed in the ranks of the 
 allied armies, that the fame of that great 
 fortress for adamantine strength, and almost 
 
 * Letter of Mr. "William Russell, the Times* cor- 
 respondent 
 
TIU: LONBON I'B; 
 
 FUB h I -dill N G COW PAN Y LI M \^V 1: 'h , 
 
y^'V lllHViON ''HINrrKln AV'l v;v, 
 
 vjjyii D , 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE, [the Russians assximb the offensive. 
 
 fabulous resources, had not been unjustly 
 acquired. The forts by the sea, against 
 which the fleets of the allies had poured 
 such fierce storms of shot, exhibited a spotted 
 appearance; but there they stood intact, 
 while many of the ships were seriously in- 
 jured. In a word, this first great can- 
 nonade was an entire failure ! 
 
 On the 18th the Russian and English 
 batteries recommenced their fire; but the 
 French were unable to resume until the 
 following day. The cannonade then was car- 
 ried on day after day, though by no means 
 in so vigorous or sustained a manner as on 
 the first day of the siege. The Russians 
 always returned the fire with great readiness, 
 and seemed sometimes as if they would 
 establish a superiority over that of the allies. 
 In fact, the operations of this remarkable 
 enterprise resembled those of field-service 
 generally, rather than those of ordinary 
 sieges. The place, so far from being com- 
 pletely invested, was perfectly open on the 
 north side ; and the garrison, therefore, had 
 free communication with the surrounding 
 country. There was, moreover, a relieving 
 army at hand, in addition to the garrison ; 
 and it was evident that the forces of both, 
 owing to the incompleteness of the invest- 
 ment, might be combined for any operation 
 either of attack or defence. 
 
 The Russians, in fact, soon assumed an 
 offensive attitude. On the 25th of October, 
 a body of Russian infantry, consisting of 
 20,000 men, and supported by masses of 
 cavalry, cautiously approached the English 
 position in front of Balaklava ; which, it will 
 be remembered, was at some distance from 
 the lines of the besiegers. The object of 
 the Russians was to seize Balaklava, burn 
 the shipping in the port, cut off our com- 
 munication with the sea, and establish 
 themselves in our rear. 
 
 To defend Balaklava, a body of marines 
 and sailors, with some heavy guns, had been 
 placed on the heights above the town and 
 landing-place, the road to which was occu- 
 pied by the 93rd highlanders, under Sir 
 Colin Campbell. .Beyond these were four 
 redoubts, the care of which was confided to 
 the Turks, 250 of whom were placed in 
 each. They appear to have been stationed 
 in this post of danger in consequence of 
 the reputation their countrymen had ob- 
 tained for the obstinate and heroic defence 
 of Silistria, and on account of the general 
 belief that Turks would fight behind stone 
 walls or earthworks to the last gasp. Early 
 
 on the morning of the 25th, the Russian 
 force of which we have spoken, under the 
 command of General Liprandi, approached 
 Balaklava. The handful of Turks iu the 
 four redoubts were seized with panic ; their 
 artillery was fired so hurriedly, that the 
 shots all struck the earth before the Rus- 
 sians. No attempt was made to improve 
 the range : a few rounds were fired without 
 effect ; and the Turks, finding the Russians 
 close upon them, deserted the redoubts one 
 after the other, and fled for protection be- 
 hind the highlanders. The four redoubts 
 were soon in the hands of the assailants. 
 
 Sir Colin Campbell formed his high- 
 landers in order, and drew them back be- 
 hind the crest of the hill. The British 
 cavalry lay to the left of the highlanders; 
 and, on hearing the roar of cannon, the two 
 brigades, light and heavy, got into order in 
 columns of squadrons, under the directions 
 of the Earl of Lucan and Lord Cardigan. 
 The sailors on the heights fired on the 
 Russian cavalry ; but the distance was too 
 great for shot to tell upon them. On came 
 the Russian cavalry, and made a dashing 
 charge against the highlanders. At the 
 distance of 600 yards the latter fired, but 
 without effect. The Russian horse dashed 
 onward, and were within 150 yards of the 
 steady line of Scots. Then the highlanders 
 discharged another volley, which, from its 
 nearness and steadiness, carried death and 
 terror amongst their foes. The Russian 
 cavalry wheeled about, opened its files right 
 and left, and fled back faster than it had 
 advanced. 
 
 Another body of Russian horse advanced 
 at this moment against our own cavalry, or 
 rather against the heavy brigade under 
 Brigadier- general Scarlett. The first line 
 of the Russians was double the length of 
 ours, and three times as deep : confident of 
 victory, they looked proudly, as if they 
 despised the enemy with whom they were 
 so speedily to be engaged in mortal strife. 
 The trumpets gave the signal, and the Scots 
 Greys and Enniskilleners dashed at the 
 centre of the Russian cavalry. They dis- 
 appeared in the midst of the shaken and 
 quivering columns of Russians through 
 which they cut their way, and were soon 
 seen dashing onward against the second 
 line. It was a terrible moment ; but another 
 body of our cavalry rushed at the remnants 
 of the first line of the enemy, and, dashing 
 through it, put it to utter rout. In less 
 than five minutes the Russian horse was 
 
 535 
 
ENGAGEMENT AT BALAKLAVA.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 flying with all its speed before a force not 
 half its strength. The loss of the British, 
 in this gallant engagement, was very slight. 
 
 This affair was followed by another, in 
 which the gallantry of our men was more 
 apparent than the discretion of their lead- 
 ing officers. Some guns, taken in the 
 redoubts, remained in the possession of the 
 Russians ; and Lord Raglan sent an order 
 to Lord Lucan, to prevent the enemy from 
 carrying them off if practicable. This order 
 was indistinctly expressed, and not under- 
 stood. Lord Lucan inquired of Captain 
 Nolan (who brought it) its precise mean- 
 ing. " There is the enemy," replied that 
 officer, " and there are the guns, sir, before 
 them ; it is your duty to take them." He 
 pointed into the centre of the Russian 
 position, where stood solid divisions of cav- 
 alry and infantry, defended by thirty can- 
 non drawn up along their line. To attack 
 an army in such a position with a single 
 regiment, was an act of madness. Lord 
 Lucan reluctantly transmitted the order to 
 Lord Cardigan, who, after remonstrating 
 against its imprudence, prepared to obey it. 
 The light cavalry brigade numbered 607 
 sabres ; and these charged direct in the 
 mouths of the thirty guns which defended 
 the Russian position. In addition to this, 
 our poor fellows were exposed to an 
 oblique fire from the batteries on the hills 
 on both sides, as well as to a direct fire 
 of musketry. Still they rode up to the 
 guns, dashed between them, cutting down 
 the gunners as they stood, and then re- 
 turned (their retreat covered by the heavy 
 dragoons and the chasseurs d'Afrique), with 
 a loss of more than 300 men in killed and 
 wounded, as well as the loss of 335 horses. 
 They were totally unsupported ; the charge 
 was useless ; and the only wonder is, that a 
 single man returned. Captain Nolan, to 
 whose impetuosity the misfortune was 
 attributed, joined in the charge, and was 
 killed by the fragment of a shell, which 
 struck him on the chest. The redoubts in 
 advance of Balaklava were eventually re- 
 taken, but not the guns by which they 
 were defended. A Russian officer after- 
 wards expressed an opinion to an English 
 one, that our cavalry attack on the 25th 
 was a "charge desfous." 
 
 The Russians, encouraged by the fact of 
 having captured some English cannon, 
 made a sortie the next day (October 26th) 
 from Sebastopol, with a body of troops 
 variously reported as consisting of from 
 536 
 
 4,000 to 9,000 men, attended by a nu- 
 merous artillery, and attacked the left of 
 the British second division, under the com- 
 mand of Sir De Lacy Evans. They were 
 received by a fire of artillery, which did 
 great execution, and threw them into con- 
 fusion. Speedily put to flight, they were 
 chased almost to the walls of Sebastopol. 
 Their loss, in killed and wounded, was esti 
 mated at between five and six hundred. 
 
 The little town of Eupatoria, on the 
 Crimean coast, had been taken posses- 
 sion of and garrisoned by the English 
 at the time when the allies first landed. 
 Earthworks were thrown up around the 
 town ; and subsequently, one English, one 
 French, and two Turkish men-of-war were 
 sent to assist in its defence. It was not to 
 be supposed that the Russians would suffer 
 the allies to hold Eupatoria without a 
 struggle, and an attack upon it was con- 
 stantly expected. This took place on the 
 11th of October, by a body of 600 cavalry, 
 attended by four guns, with which they 
 commenced a fire of shot and shell upon 
 the town. Finding that the latter was not 
 as unprepared as they seem to have an- 
 ticipated, the Russians retired after some 
 desultory fighting. Other attacks, on the 
 15th and on the 19th of the same month, 
 ended in a similar way. 
 
 The siege of Sebastopol went on without 
 advancing, and it seemed as if the stores of 
 warlike material within its fortresses were 
 inexhaustible. The allies were disheartened, 
 or, at the least, seriously disappointed ; and 
 their firing, though continued, was rather 
 feeble. It was reckoned that, at this 
 period, the Russians fired two shots to 
 every one fired by their assailants, in which 
 case the relative positions of the contending 
 armies might be said to be reversed; for 
 the allies were rather besieged in their 
 intrenched camps, than the Russians within 
 Sebastopol. Moreover, winter was rapidly 
 setting in; the nights were bitterly cold; 
 and the troops, who still lived under canvas, 
 suffered severely from the damp and the 
 piercing winds. jNIuch sickness prevailed 
 in the English army ; and the poor Turks, 
 who were cruelly neglected, died in swarms 
 from cold, want, and fever. As to the 
 harassed French and English, they were 
 almost worn-out with exertions that did 
 not appear to promise any corresponding 
 results. 
 
 The Russians were well informed as ta 
 the state gf their foes. Not only did they 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [battle of INKERM.iNN. 
 
 receive intelligence from deserters, but the 
 audacity of their spies was remarkable. 
 One of them, disguised as a French officer, 
 sauntered into the English lines, entered 
 into conversation with those whom he met, 
 smoked, talked, and laughed, and eventually 
 got into a discussion as to the strength 
 or weakness of our position in the rear 
 towards Balaklava. An English officer, at 
 length, struck by the strange accent and 
 curious idiom of the supposed Frenchman, 
 suspected his real nationality and avocation. 
 Not liking to seize the man, lest he might 
 be insulting a brave ally, he sent a mes- 
 senger to convey his suspicions to Sir 
 Colin Campbell. The stranger observed 
 the movement, and gradually drew off from 
 our lines towards the valley, but in so 
 unembarrassed and natural a way, as to 
 perplex those to whom the officer had com- 
 municated his misgivings. Shortly after- 
 wards he quickened his pace into a run, 
 and actually got away into the Russian 
 lines, leaving his late companions staring 
 after him in astonishment. 
 
 This circumstance ought still further to 
 have sharpened the vigilance of the allies. 
 The enemy were, in fact, making prepara- 
 tions for a tremendous and decisive blow, 
 which they trusted would have the effect 
 of crushing the invaders on their soil, or 
 sweeping them back into the sea. On the 
 4th of November, the Russian army to the 
 rear of the allies received enormous rein- 
 forcements from Bessarabia. These rein- 
 forcements, under the command of General 
 Dannenberg and the Grand-dukes Michael 
 and Nicholas, are said to have amounted to 
 45,000 men. They were brought to the 
 Crimea in carts and waggons, with singular 
 rapidity; and their arrival increased the 
 number of the Russian army in our rear to 
 about 70,000 men. On the evening of the 
 4th an,- imposing religious celebration took 
 place in the Russian camp. A mass was 
 chanted, and the troops were addressed by 
 a bishop, who had arrived with the grand- 
 dukes. In the name of the emperor he 
 promised great rewards to the soldiers, in 
 the event of their being successful in the 
 effort in which they were about to be en- 
 gaged, and called upon the God of armies 
 to bless them. A quantity of spirits was 
 then given to each man ; and thus intoxi- 
 cated both in mind and body, the Russians 
 were kept ready for the attack. 
 
 It rained incessantly during the night, 
 and towards morning a heavy fog settled 
 3z 
 
 upon the heights and valley of the Inker- 
 mann. About five in the morning of the 
 5th, the pickets of the light division were 
 driven in by the advancing Russians, who 
 were stealthily approaching the English 
 camp. The struggle began about seven, 
 when our troops were subjected to a tre- 
 mendous fire from a near yet unseen enemy. 
 The battle of Inkermann was one that 
 almost defies, or rather eludes, description. 
 The darkness which prevailed, and the 
 woody nature of the ground on which it 
 was fought, rendered it almost impossible, 
 even for those who were spectators, to 
 render a clear account of it. For three 
 hours 8,000 British infantry contended 
 against the masses of Russians which were 
 hurled against them, the rest being engaged 
 in the siege-works. Lord Raglan was soon 
 on the spot ; and, together with his staff, 
 took his position on a knoll of ground, in 
 the hope of getting a glimpse of the battle 
 which was raging beneath them. It was 
 not one which admitted of the exercise of 
 much generalship, and has been emphati- 
 cally ealled " the soldiers' battle ;" it being 
 one in which the issue was left to the 
 courage and muscular strength of the men. 
 " Our generals could not see where to go 
 to. They could not tell where the enemy 
 were; from what side they were coming, 
 nor where they were coming to. In dark- 
 ness, gloom, and rain, they had to lead our 
 lines through thick scrubby bushes and 
 thorny brakes, which broke our ranks and 
 irritated the men ; while every pace was 
 marked by a corpse or man wounded by an 
 enemy, whose position was only indicated 
 by the rattle of musketry and the rush of 
 ball and shell."* 
 
 It soon became evident that the Russians 
 had received orders to fire at all mounted 
 officers. Sir George Cathcart, while cheer- 
 ing on his men, received a bullet in the 
 forehead, and fell dead. Three other gen- 
 erals — Strangways, Goldie, and Torrens — 
 were killed ; and four others — Brown, 
 Bentinck, Buller, and Adams — wounded. 
 The English were several times driven 
 back, and were in imminent danger of 
 being overwhelmed and crushed beneath 
 the number and weight of their assailants. 
 The guards were broken; they had lost 
 fourteen officers, and left half their number 
 on the ground. Mr. Russell, in his ani- 
 mated word-picture of this imequal strife, 
 observes — " The Russians advanced mass 
 
 Kussell. 
 
 537 
 
REPULSE OF THE RUSSIANS.] HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1854. 
 
 after mass of infantry. As fast as one 
 column was broken and repulsed, another 
 took its place. For three long hours about 
 8,500 British infantry contended against at 
 least four times their number. No wonder 
 that, at times, they were compelled to re- 
 tire. But they came to the charge again. 
 The adrairable'devotion of the officers, who 
 knew that they were special objects of 
 attack, can never be too highly praised. 
 Nor can the courage and steadiness of the 
 few men who were left to follow them in 
 this sanguinary assault on the enemy, be 
 sufficiently admired. At one time the 
 Russians succeeded in getting up close to 
 the guns of Captain Wodehouse's and of 
 Captain Turner's batteries in the gloom of 
 the morning. Uncertain whether they 
 were friends or foes, our artillerymen hesi- 
 tated to fire. The Russians charged them 
 suddenly, bore all resistance down before 
 them, drove a^i'ay or bayoneted the gun- 
 ners, and succeeded in spiking some of the 
 guns. Their columns gained the hill, and 
 for a few moments the fate of the day 
 trembled in the balanfce ; but Adams's bri- 
 gade, Pennefather's brigade, and the light 
 division, made another desperate charge; 
 while Dickson's guns swept their columns ; 
 and the guards, with undiminished valour 
 and steadiness, though with a sadly de- 
 creased front, pushed on again to meet 
 their bitter enemies. The rolling of mus- 
 ketry, the crash of steel, the pounding of 
 the guns, were deafening ; and the Russians, 
 as they charged up the heights, yelled like 
 demons. They advanced, halted, advanced 
 again, received and returned a close and 
 deadly fire ; but the Minie is the king of 
 weapons — Inkermann proved it. The regi- 
 mients of the fourth dinsion and the ma- 
 rines, armed with the old and much-be- 
 lauded Brown Bess, could do nothing, with 
 their thin line of fire, against the massive 
 multitudes of the Muscovite infantry ; but 
 the volleys of the Minie cleft them like 
 the hand of the destroying angel, and they 
 fell like leaves in autumn before them." 
 
 About ten o'clock, the hard-pressed Eng- 
 lish were relieved by the arrival of a body 
 of 6,000 French. They consisted of Zouaves 
 and a battalion of chasseurs indigenes — the 
 Arab sepoys of Algiers. Their trumpets 
 sounded above the din of battle, and the 
 Zouaves were described as rushing to the 
 charge with "the light of battle on their 
 faces." Cheered by this assistance, the 
 English fought with fresh vigour, and the 
 538 
 
 Russians soon began to yield to the attacks 
 of the French and to the artillery, which 
 now played with deadly effect upon them. 
 By twelve o'clock the Russians were driven 
 down the hill towards the valley, and sul- 
 lenly retired, protected by their artillery. 
 As they were not pursued, they again ad- 
 vanced their guns, and opened a tremen- 
 dous fire ; but the renewed assault was 
 admirably repulsed by the French, and 
 again the Russians retired. 
 
 The enemy was bafHed, and we may 
 fairly say, defeated. They had entirely 
 failed in their attempt to crush the English 
 troops in this direction, and thus greatly 
 accelerate the termination of the struggle- 
 Yet the battle of Inkermann, though a 
 glorious contest both to English and 
 French, was scarcely a victory. The Rus- 
 sians were rather repulsed with heavy 
 losses than defeated ; they failed, but re- 
 tired in good order. Had they renewed 
 the battle of Inkermann a second or a 
 third time, it is difficult to say that they 
 would not have accomplished their object 
 of annihilating the small number of troops, 
 enfeebled as they were by sickness, who 
 could be spared fi'om the defence of the 
 trenches and the work of the siege, to 
 oppose them. Our troops were lamentably 
 insufficient in number to execute the 
 amount of labour which the indiscretion of 
 Lord Raglan permitted to be heaped upon 
 them. He had undertaken too much ; and 
 incessant labour in the trenches was send- 
 ing our men by hundreds to the hospital or 
 the grave. 
 
 It was a proud thing to say, that an 
 array of not more than 8,000 English and 
 6,000 French, arrested the progress of the 
 massive Russian columns, hewed them 
 down by sheer strength of muscle and 
 adamantine resolution, and finally swept 
 them back disappointed of their prey. 
 But to the allies the result was glory, and 
 not gain. It inflicted on each — but espe- 
 cially on the English — losses they were 
 not in a condition to sustain m ithout serious 
 apprehensions as to the future. The total 
 loss of the English, on this day. amounted 
 to 2,612 men; consisting of 462 killed, 
 1,952 wounded, and 198 missing. The 
 heavy proportion of generals and officers 
 was also severely felt ; 43 being killed, and 
 102 wounded. The loss of the French, 
 notwithstanding the comparatively brief 
 time they were engaged in the battle, 
 reached, in killed and wounded, the number 
 
A.D. 1854.] 
 
 EUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [a disastrous storm. 
 
 of 1,726. That of the Russians was far 
 heavier, being varioxisly estitnated at from 
 10,000 to 15,000 men; of whom nearly 
 5,000 were left dead on the field. 
 
 The news of the battle of Inkermann was 
 received in England with mingled emotions 
 of sorrow and of pride; sorrow for the heavy 
 loss the natioti had sustained, and pride for 
 the heroism of its troops. A sense of un- 
 certainty and uneasiness began to prevail 
 throughout the country. It was evident 
 that the English government had fallen 
 into the common error of underrating the 
 strength and military resources of the 
 enemy ; and the result was, that our position 
 was rather one of defence than of aggres- 
 sion. For a time the siege was at a stand- 
 still, and neither the allies nor the Russians 
 were in a condition to continue the struggle 
 with activity. The cry from the seat of war 
 was — " Help us, or we are overwhelmed !" 
 and both England and France responded to 
 the demand for more men. In the British 
 army at Sebastopol, it was felt that one or 
 two more such victories as that of the 
 Inkermann would be their ruin ; and it is 
 said,* that General Sir De Lacy Evans ad- 
 vised Lord Raglan to embai'k the English 
 army on board their ships, and abandon 
 the cannon and trenches to the enemy. 
 The general himself subsequently denied 
 (in his place in the House of Commons) that 
 this statement was correct; but admitted 
 that he had said, " My lord, will you pardon 
 me if I say that I tliink that, after the great 
 loss we have sustained to-day, arrangements 
 ought to be made for taking up some other 
 position, rather than remaining exposed to 
 the risk of greater reinforcements coming 
 in to carry our present position?" 
 
 Her majesty the Queen sent, through 
 the Duke of Newcastle, her warm thanks 
 and earnest encouragement to the troops 
 before Sebastopol, who had fought so bravely, 
 and who suffered so patiently. The despatch 
 observed — " Proud of the victory won by lier 
 brave army, grateful to those who wear 
 the laurels of this great conflict, the queen 
 is painfully affected by the heavy loss which 
 has been incurred, and deeply sensible of 
 what is owing to the dead. Those illustrious 
 men cannot, indeed, receive the thanks of 
 their sovereign, which have so often cheered 
 the soldier in his severest trials ; but their 
 blood has not been shed in vain. Laid low 
 in their grave of victor}', their names will 
 be cherished for ever by a grateful country ; 
 * On the authority of Lord Claud Hamilton. 
 
 and posterity will look upon the list of 
 officers who have fallen, as a proof of the 
 ardent courage and zeal with which they 
 pointed out the path of honour to no less 
 willing followers." The emperor of the 
 French, also, sent a similar congratulatory 
 and sympathetic address to his array in the 
 East. 
 
 It seemed as if the allies were to expe- 
 rience almost every variety of disaster during 
 their siege of the terrible fortress of Sebas- 
 topol. Sickness, pestilence, battle, sur- 
 prises, want of the necessaries and decencies 
 of life; continual exposure to the bitterness 
 of the weather, including cold, wet, and 
 slush ; and, though last not least, the spirits 
 of the men often broken by deferred hopes 
 ending continually in disappointment. 
 
 Nine days after the battle of the Inker- 
 mann, a tremendous storm passed over the 
 fleets and camps of the allies in the Crimea. 
 The tempest first swept over Constantinople, 
 where it caused much damage to the loftier 
 buildings. It then roared over the surging 
 sea, and drove our vessels n,pon the rocky 
 shore of the Crimea. Strong ships were 
 torn from their anchorage, and men were 
 disabled and blinded by the furious wind. 
 Thirty British and French vessels were 
 wrecked, and half as many dismasted at 
 Balaklava; and eighteen were wrecked or 
 dismasted at the mouth of the Katcha. 
 Some of the ships were literally dashed to 
 pieces ou the rocks. Amongst the wrecks 
 was the Prince, a new wssel of 2,700 tons, 
 which carried a cargo valued at j£185,000, 
 consisting of winter clothing for the troops, 
 military stores, and medicines and comforts 
 for the sick. All were lost : the Prince was 
 beaten to pieces on the rocks; and of her 
 unhappy crew of 150 men, only six were 
 saved. At Eupatoria, the results of the 
 storm were extremely disastrous : when the 
 hurricane subsided, sixteen wrecks lay upon 
 its sandy beach. Amongst these was the 
 Henri IV., a noble three-decker French 
 line-of-battle ship. On land, the storm pro- 
 duced great destruction and some loss of 
 life. At Balaldava, houses were unroofed, 
 and, in the camps, tents were blown down. 
 "The air was fllled with blankets, hats, 
 great-coats, little coats, and even tables and 
 chairs ! Macintoshes, quilts, Indian-rubber 
 tubs, bed-clothes, sheets of tent canvas, went 
 whirling, like leaves in a gale, towards 
 Sebastopol. Tlie shingle roofs of the out- 
 houses were torn away and scattered over 
 the camp, and a portion of the roof of Lord 
 
 539 
 
STATE OF OUR TROOPS.] 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 Ta.d. 1854. 
 
 Raglan's house was carried off to join them. 
 The barns and commissariat sheds were laid 
 bare at once. As instances of the force of 
 the wind, I may mention, that large arabas, 
 or waggons, which stood close to us, were 
 overturned; that men and horses were 
 knocked down and rolled over and over; 
 that the ambulance waggons were turned 
 topsy-turvy; and that a large and heavy 
 table in Captain Chetwode's tent was lifted 
 
 off the ground, whirled round and round, 
 till the leaf flew off, and then came to 
 mother earth deprived Of a leg and seriously 
 injured. The marines and rifles on the 
 cliffs over Balaklava lost tents, clothes, 
 everything; the storm tore them away over 
 the face of the rock, and hurled them across 
 the bay, and the men had to cling to the 
 earth with all their might to avoid the same 
 fate.''* 
 
 CHAPTER LXIIl. 
 
 MISERABLE STATE OF OXTR TROOPS BEFORE SEBASTOPOL ; EQUIVOCATING CONDUCT OF AUSTRIA ; INCESSANT 
 EXERTIONS OF TKE EMPEROR NICHOLAS ; VICTOR EMMANUEL JOINS IN THE WAR AGAINST RUSSIA ; BATTLE 
 OF EUPATORIA ; DEATH OF THE EMPEROR NICHOLAS ; ESTIMATE OF HIS CHARACTER. 
 
 For some time after the battle of Inker- 
 mann, the allies before Sebastcpol rather 
 sneered and endured, than made any pro- 
 gress in the work of the siege. Skirmishes 
 were of frequent occurrence ; but they 
 were attended with results which, in so vast 
 a struggle, could not be called important. 
 The privations to which the English army 
 especially was subjected, were of a painful 
 and most heartrending character. Winter 
 brought with it the miseries that must have 
 been foreseen^ but were not provided 
 against. The trenches were often turned 
 into dykes ; the tents were frequently 
 flooded ; the promised wooden huts for the 
 men were not provided ; and the warm 
 clothing necessary for their preservation in 
 health, was equally neglected. To these 
 miseries the frequent pangs of hunger 
 were added. The filthy state of the track 
 from Balaklava to the camp, sometimes 
 nearly a foot deep in mud, rendered the 
 passage of carts almost an impossibility. 
 The storm of the 14th of November had 
 also caused a deficiency of supplies, and 
 the rations delivered to the soldiers were 
 miserably reduced. Such little comforts as 
 tea, coffee, or sugar, were frequently not 
 issued at all for more than a week together. 
 So far as the coffee was concerned, this 
 mattered little, for the berry was actually 
 given out in a raw state; and the poor 
 soldiers, who had no means of roasting it, 
 threw it away. The result of this state of 
 * KusselL 
 540 
 
 things may be imagined. The pinched and 
 starving soldiers fell victims to sickness, 
 and the dreaded cholera again broke out in 
 their diminished ranks. It was a painful 
 task to read the letters that arrived in 
 England from the camp, and were published 
 in the daily papers. One ofiicer said of the 
 men — " Their feet are never dry ; some of 
 them have no soles to their shoes, and no 
 socks ; others no shirts. I would defy any 
 one who saw the regiments leave England, to 
 recognise the careworn, half-starved skele- 
 tons of which they now consist. We are en- 
 camped on a clayey piece of ground, which 
 is now mud up to the knees ; and the tents 
 are as wet within as on the outside.'' 
 
 While the soldiers of the allied armies 
 were perishing before Sebastopol like rotten 
 sheep, Austria entered (on the 2nd of De^ 
 cember) into an equivocating treaty with 
 France and England. It provided that, in 
 case of war breaking out between Austria 
 and Russia, the former country should be 
 assisted by France and England ; but Aus- 
 tria promised, that in the event of a general 
 peace not being made within the year, she 
 would deliberate upon the means necessary 
 for obtaining it. The Prussian monarch, 
 who Avas desired to join in this treaty, 
 would not even bind himself to deliberate, 
 as he had quite made up his mind to keep 
 out of the war, under any circumstances 
 whatever. He, however, endeavoured to 
 open a negotiation for the settlement of the 
 quarrel, but without any useful result. 
 
A.D. 1854—1855.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. [Sardinia joins the allies. 
 
 Just prior to the Christmas of 1854, the 
 English nation felt that its affairs were in a 
 critical condition, and misgivings of a serious 
 character were experienced as to the state of 
 our army in the Crimea, and the final result 
 of the expedition. Still it was deemed 
 better not to place difficulties in the way of 
 the government, but to give it every chance 
 of providing better for the army in future, 
 and of winning, through that army, the suc- 
 cess which England not only desired, but 
 demanded. The imperfections of ministers 
 at home, or of generals abroad, were over- 
 looked in the more immediate desire of 
 every one to bring the struggle to a suc- 
 cessful termination. 
 
 During this period the emperor Nicholas 
 was indefatigable in his exertions, A cor- 
 respondent from St. Petersburg related, 
 that "he (the emperor) devotes sixteen 
 hours a-day to the transaction of business ; 
 the lists of those who have distinguished 
 themselves by bravery, he goes through 
 with the greatest care, and leaves no de- 
 serving case unrewarded. Count Nessel- 
 rode, who continues to enjoy his confidence, 
 confers with him daily. On the 8th of De- 
 cember, the conclusion of the triple alliance 
 had transpired in the upper circles of St. 
 Petersburg, and caused not a little sensation 
 there : but still the conviction was general, 
 that Austria would never draw the sword 
 against Russia. The emperor has made up 
 his mind to a European war ; he is con- 
 scious of his power, and omits nothing to 
 secure and increase it. Though not disin- 
 clined to an honourable peace, he is ready 
 to take up the gauntlet that Europe throws 
 at his feet." This persevering and spasmo- 
 dic energy on the part of Nicholas was the 
 result of disease, of restless excitement, and 
 of that nervous irritability ever produced 
 by incessant agitation. The spirit of eternal 
 retribution which permeates throughout 
 nature, and visits the wrongdoer with the 
 penalties of wrong, was slowly performing 
 its inexorable task. The flashing of dis- 
 eased energy gave a false and delusive 
 strength to the man who was hurrying 
 towards his sudden, dark, and irrevocable 
 doom. 
 
 It is both painful and needless to dwell 
 upon the harrowing sufl^erings of our troops 
 before Sebastopol, during the winter of 
 1854-^5. The men were a mass of dirt, 
 rags, and misery, and appeared sunk in 
 despondency. The work to which they 
 were subjected was terrible; they had to 
 
 stand digging for twelve hours together in 
 the trenches, over their ankles in mud and 
 slush. Many died there from cramps in 
 the stomach, or from the combined eff'ects 
 of wet, cold, want, and exhaustion. " Our 
 encampment," observed an officer writing 
 to England, "is one mass of graves and 
 dead bodies of horses and cattle." At home, 
 the most profound feeling of sympathy ex- 
 isted, and many eiforts were made by the 
 nation to alleviate the miseries of our 
 suff'ering soldiers. The queen also wrote a 
 womanly letter of commiseration, declaring 
 that she thought, day and night, of her 
 beloved troops. 
 
 Early in the January of 1855, the allies 
 were joined by Victor Emmanuel, king of 
 Sardinia, who expressed his intention of 
 sending 15,000 men to the theatre of war, 
 to share in the fatigues and honours of the 
 struggle. As a return, France and England 
 guaranteed the integrity of the Sardinian 
 states, and engaged to defend them against 
 any attack during the war. On the 5th of the 
 same month, 10,000 Turks were landed at 
 Eupatoria, being the first detachment of a 
 numerous Ottoman army which shortly 
 afterwards assembled at this spot. This 
 was in consequence of a report that General 
 Osten-Sacken would speedily commence 
 hostilities against that place, with a force 
 consisting of 40,000 troops and eighty guns. 
 
 At home, the Aberdeen ministry resigned, 
 in consequence of the almost universal dis- 
 satisfaction of the country with the manner 
 in which the war had been conducted ; and 
 Lord Palmerston became premier. 
 
 In the Crimea, military operations were, 
 during the depth of winter, almost of 
 necessity suspended. When the winter was 
 half over, the authorities commenced the 
 erection of wooden huts for the men, who 
 had previously slept in sodden filth, and, 
 consequently, perished like rotten sheep. 
 The condition of the array was much alle- 
 viated ; and the requisite clothing and com- 
 forts were supplied to the men, by persons 
 who were sent out to distribute the subscrip- 
 tions which a sympathetic people readily 
 contributed. Our military hospitals at 
 Scutari were reformed through a similar 
 instrumentality. Amongst the schemes for 
 benefiting our soldiers, was one which 
 originated with Messrs. Peto and Betts, the 
 eminent builders, who obtained the per- 
 mission of government to construct a rail- 
 way from Balaklava to the camp before 
 Sebastopol, for the convevance of stpres, 
 
 541 
 
DEATH OF NICHOLAS.] 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1855. 
 
 shot, and ammunition; an expedient by 
 which an enormous amount of labour was 
 taken from the overworked soldiers. 
 
 On the 25th of January, 1855, the em- 
 peror Nicholas issued his last manifesto. 
 In this document, he still asserted that his 
 only object in the war was *' that of de- 
 fending the rights of our co-religionists, 
 and, in general, of all the Christians in the 
 East." It ordained the formation of a 
 general militia of the empire; and with 
 that assumed sanctity which has ever cha- 
 racterised its author, concluded — " May the 
 Almighty, who reads every heart, wlio 
 blesses pure intentions, grant us his assis- 
 tance." 
 
 Shortly after the issue of this mani- 
 festo, a Russian force, consisting of 40,000 
 men, attacked the Turkish army at Eupa- 
 toria, under the command of Omar Pasha, 
 and, after four hours' fighting, was re- 
 pulsed with considerable loss. The attack 
 took place at daybreak on the 17th of 
 February; and after a cannonade of two 
 hours' duration, the Russians made pre- 
 parations for an assault on the north-east 
 side of the town. The Turkish infantry 
 appeared resolved on retrieving the mili- 
 tary reputation their countrymen had in 
 some degree tarnished at Balaklava. They 
 stood like adamant, and repulsed the ad- 
 vancing Russians by a steady and deadly 
 fire, directed right into their faces, A 
 sortie of the Turks, made shortly after- 
 wards, compelled the foe to retreat, though 
 they did so in good order ; a circumstance 
 partially attributable to the fact, that the 
 Turks were deficient in cavalry. The Rus- 
 sians left 453 men dead on the field. 
 
 Slight as was the defeat of the Russians 
 at Eupatoria that is, in comparison with the 
 great battles of Alma and of Inkermann — 
 yet it has been conjectured, that, in some 
 measure, it caused an event which startled 
 Europe, and produced astonishment through- 
 out Russia. We have referred to the fail- 
 ing health and the spasmodic industry of 
 the emperor Nicholas. Calm and dignified 
 as the great autocrat seemed to those 
 around him — stern and unbending as was 
 the front he bore towards his enemies — yet 
 the terrible struggle on which he had en- 
 tered, had secretly undermined his health, 
 and was bearing him downward to the 
 grave. Baffled ambition, and a humbled 
 pride, gnawed like serpents at his heart; 
 and beneath their venomed bites he writhed 
 in secret, while he smothered the bitterness 
 542 
 
 that reigned within him, and presented 
 outwardly the unrufiled calm of aristocratic 
 hauteur and majestic repose. On the 
 evening of Friday, the 2nd of March, 
 it was known in the great capitals of 
 Europe that the emperor Nicholas was no 
 more ! A telegraphic despatch had scarcely 
 informed the people of this country that he 
 was seriously ill, when another arrived, 
 bringing news of his death. At first the 
 information was received with incredulity ; 
 but it was speedily confirmed. Anxiety 
 and sickness had done their work ; and the 
 troubler of the peace of the world was a 
 powerless, breathless thing, soon to return 
 to the obscure dust from which he rose. 
 
 A suspicion at first arose that the em- 
 peror Nicholas had met the fate which had 
 overtaken so many of his predecessors — 
 namelj% assassination. The surmise was 
 natural ; but it proved to be unfounded. 
 Though his death was unexpected, he 
 had been more than commonly ill for 
 twelve days. The illness which caused, or 
 rather immediately preceded, his death, 
 was brought on by a cold. Notwithstand- 
 ing the severity of a St. Petersburg winter, 
 the emperor insisted on attending to his 
 usual occupation. His anxiety for the suc- 
 cess of the war into which he had rushed, 
 induced him to inspect everything for him- 
 self, even to the most minute details. He 
 visited the soldiers in their barracks; he 
 frequently attended long reviews, forgetful 
 of the precautions which his age required 
 in such a climate and in such a season. 
 To all the observations made to him by his 
 family, and by his most devoted servants, 
 he replied, that he had something else to 
 do besides taking care of his health. He 
 had, moreover, treated himself according to 
 his own ideas, and had insisted on his phy- 
 sicians putting him on a regimen which 
 would prevent his getting corpulent ; a con- 
 dition of which he had considerable dread. 
 
 But little was made public concerning 
 the last illness, and the last hours, of the 
 man who had played so important a part in 
 the ajQTairs of Europe. He appears not to 
 have felt any compunctions with respect to 
 the war into which he had plunged his 
 country, but to have regarded his career 
 with satisfaction ; while, to the last, he 
 spoke of religion as if he felt himself a 
 saint, and his hopes of a happy future 
 seemed to rest upon the vestibule of cer- 
 tainty. 
 
 On the 18th of February, the emperor 
 
A.D. 1855.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [death of NICHOLAS. 
 
 was so far ill, that his physician, Dr. 
 Mandt, begged for permission to call in 
 other assistance. Nicholas treated the 
 matter lightly, but consented that the 
 body-physician, Dr. Karell, should be con- 
 sulted. By degrees the emperor became 
 Worse, from constant cough and want of 
 sleep; and on the 22nd, his physicians 
 begged him to keep his room. To this he 
 would not consent ; on which one of them 
 said to him — " No medical man in the 
 whole army would allow any soldier so 
 unwell as your majesty is to leave the hos- 
 pital ; for he Avould be sure that his patient 
 would soon come in again worse." The 
 emperor answered — " You have done your 
 duty, gentlemen, and I thank you ; and 
 now I will do mine :" and on this, he got 
 into his sledge, and drove to the exercising- 
 house to inspect the troops. 
 
 As might be expected, he returned home 
 much worse, coughed violently, and expec- 
 torated incessantly. From that time he 
 kept his room, or only went into his study. 
 During this period, he lay merely on his 
 camp bed, made of a casing of Russian 
 leather filled with hay, and covered with a 
 blanket and his cloak. Influenza was 
 rapidly succeeded by fever and inflamma- 
 tion of the lungs ; and paralysis of that 
 organ was anticipated. On the evening of 
 the 1st of March, the emperor's physicians 
 despaired of his recovery; and at their 
 request, the empress and the crown-prince 
 begged him to take the sacrament. Not 
 until this did he seem to recognise the 
 danger of his state ; but he received the 
 suggestion with calmness. Shortly after- 
 Wards he took the sacrament, bade an 
 eternal farewell to the empress, their chil- 
 dren and grandchildren, and kissed and 
 blessed each one with a firm voice. They 
 then retired; only the empress and the 
 Grand-duke Alexander remaining with him. 
 Eor a time he lost his speech, and appeared 
 engaged in silent prayer. Subsequently he 
 regained his voice, and spoke occasionally 
 up to the time of his death, which took 
 place on the morning of the 2nd of March, 
 in the fifty-ninth year of his age, after he 
 had filled the imperial throne for nearly 
 thirty years. 
 
 Whatever might have been the emotions 
 with which the news of the death of Ni- 
 cholas was regarded within his own empire, 
 it created a scarcely concealed gladness 
 throughout the rest of Europe. He had 
 Ixcn the great — indeed the sole — cause of 
 
 a needless war, that had brought mourning 
 to the hearths of thousands, and which 
 many trusted would now be brought to 
 a conclusion. The feeling manifested in 
 this country may perhaps be correctly esti- 
 mated by a perusal of the following extract 
 from a discourse delivered on the occasion 
 by a celebrated and eloquent nonconformist 
 preacher :* — " For one, he rejoiced Avith a 
 joy unspeakable; with a sad, chastened, 
 and a grim joy. With those who held the 
 strange faith, that the death of Nicholas 
 was one of God's judgments, he should not 
 be able to go. The doctrine was a very dan- 
 gerous one. What would we say, supposing 
 death, instead of touching the St. Peters- 
 burg palace, had touched that of our sove- 
 reign, and the news came from St. Peters- 
 burg, that it Avas regarded as a judgment 
 from God, because we had gone to war with 
 Russia? Shoiild not we have said, that 
 they were interpreting an ordinaxy occur- 
 rence as a judgment? But though we 
 cannot accept the death of Nicholas as a 
 mere judicial stroke, according to the 
 vulgar notion, there is a sense in which it 
 is a judgment of God. If that man died 
 worn out by passion, brought down by 
 pride — if, upon his broad Atlantean shoul- 
 ders, he would offer to bear a world — if he 
 did raise civilisation against him — if he 
 would bid all Russia rise in arras — if 
 thereby he brought upon a mortal head 
 cares too many, and filled the human heart 
 with passions all too stout and strong — if, 
 by lust, he inflamed his blood beyond en- 
 durance — if he took into his hand a sceptre 
 too heavy, a sword too mighty — then his 
 death was one of God's judgments; then 
 was his doom the old one written on the 
 wall by the fiery finger of God — ' The wages 
 of sin is death.' The nations might meet 
 in solemn inquest : laying out that proud 
 tyrant, and asking why he fell, they might 
 say for once, ' Died by the visitation of God.' 
 Queen Mary said, that if she were opened, on 
 her heart would be found Avritten that word 
 of shame, ' Calais.' Who knoAvs, if Nicholas 
 Avere opened, there would not be found 
 Avritten on his heart the name of that great 
 Sebastopol, which Avas founded as part 
 of the gigantic conspiracy of which his 
 ancestor was the arch-conspirator — that 
 fortress whose very existence is iniquity, 
 to connive at whose continuance is a 
 wickedness — that cursed fortress, built for 
 no other end than a place of vantage, from 
 * Mr. George Dawson, M.A. 
 
KEFLECTIONS.] 
 
 HISTORY OP THE 
 
 [a.d. 1855. 
 
 which to stride, Colossus-like, over lands 
 that never called for it — put there, as it 
 had been, not to defend Russia, but as a 
 robber^s nest, from which to go forth to 
 filch from nations that great gift of God 
 which St. Paul so greatly gloried in — his 
 liberty, freedom, Romanship, and rights. 
 
 * Died by the visitation of God,^ indeed ! 
 Died because it is written, if men will 
 tower so gigantically above their fellows, 
 and take upon themselves duties so vast, 
 responsibilities so awful, they do then but 
 serve to teach one more lesson of how 
 man's short span was never intended for 
 such work. Why, to be such a man as 
 this, they ought to have had the strength of 
 Goliah, the intellect of all the great men of 
 the world, the years of Methuselah, the 
 stature of the sons of Anak. But here was 
 a man like ourselves ; a man who ate, 
 and drank, and slept ; a man who knew 
 sorrow and suffering; a man with but 
 threescore years and ten before him, and 
 they, thanks to God, not granted to him; 
 who undertook a work that was super- 
 human, who laid upon himself a burden 
 that might have beggared Atlas to sustain. 
 
 * Died by the visitation of God,' indeed ! 
 Died because, being a mortal, he tried to 
 make himself a god — died because, in shak- 
 ing kingdoms, he shook himself into de- 
 struction. * * * Had he used his 
 gigantic power for the world's good — had 
 he tried to be a modern Cadmus, opening 
 to his Russia the ways of civilisation — had 
 we heard, that day and night he strove to 
 make his people a wise people — England 
 would have had a tear for his fall ; would 
 have worn the true sackcloth, would have 
 moiirned in spiritual ashes, when it heard 
 that a wise, good king had gone out. For 
 this was the man in all history who had 
 perhaps the most awful place in the world. 
 Owner absolute of sixty millions of man- 
 kind — owning them body, soul, purse, 
 house, lands, creed, conscience, in this 
 world, and (as he arrogantly pretended) in 
 the world that was to come. Think what 
 had gone out ! Pope, priest, ruler, soldier, 
 and lawgiver. Think that there has fallen 
 into nothingness a man whose dominions 
 stretch from the North Pole far down into 
 Asia — a man whose kingdom outweighs the 
 globe. But now six feet of mother earth is 
 all that he can call his own ! He, before 
 whose will sixty millions of craven slaves 
 bowed but yesterday, is nought to-day. 
 For in Russia it was as in England; the 
 
 544 
 
 rapid march of life says in one breath, 
 'The king is dead; God save the king!' 
 One might say with Shakspere — 
 
 " ' But yesterday, the word of Caesar might 
 
 Have stood against the world ; now lies he there, 
 And none so poor to do him reverence.' 
 
 Though they would surround his bier with 
 pomp, though heralds would ring out his 
 titles — titles covered with shame and blood 
 — they were merely doing so over one more 
 corrupting mortal going to seek the worm 
 which was already preparing to seek its 
 new friend. There was something very 
 awful in the thought, that one man's death 
 should, as it were, rid the world of an 
 incubus. It was sad beyond expression, 
 that in that age it was possible for one 
 man so to have weighed upon the whole 
 world, that when he died the world should 
 lift itself up, as if it could now breathe 
 freely." 
 
 Leaving the florid language of oratory, 
 which necessarily has more license than the 
 stricter decisions of sober history, let us 
 estimate the character of the emperor 
 Nicholas in the way in which we think that 
 work will be done by posterity ; destitute 
 alike of prejudice, excitement, or favour. 
 Unhappily, with respect to him, truth 
 sounds like censure, and every impartial 
 opinion seems touched with bitterness. Of 
 his personal appearance we have already 
 spoken :* it may be added, that few men 
 ever more thoroughly looked the emperor. 
 With a stature little short of gigantic, he 
 combined a deportment military, dignified, 
 and majestic. Proud of his personal gifts, 
 he strove to display them to the utmost ; 
 and, by little arts almost rivalling those of 
 the actor, to impress his subjects with a 
 profound feeling of respect, or rather awe, 
 when in his presence. Cold, reserved, and 
 restrained, he did not add to his majestic 
 appearance the fascination of alluring man- 
 ners which his brother Alexander not un- 
 frequently exercised. Nicholas practised 
 austerity as an imperial adjunct. The 
 Marquis Custine observed of him, when 
 living — " It is easy to perceive that the em- 
 peror cannot for a single instant forget 
 what he is, nor the constant attention which 
 he excites : he studies attitude incessantly ; 
 from whence it results that he is never 
 natural, not even when he is sincere. He 
 has three expressions, not one of which is 
 that of simple benevolence. The most 
 habitual appears to be that of severity. 
 * See ante, p. 474. 
 
A.D. 1855.] 
 
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE. 
 
 [character of NICHOLAS. 
 
 Another, though rarer expression, perhaps 
 better suits his fine face; it is that of 
 solemnity : a third is that of politeness, in 
 which are mixed some shades of gentleness 
 and grace, that serve to temper the chill 
 produced by the two former. But notwith- 
 standing this grace, there is still something 
 which injures the moral influence of the 
 man ; it is, that each expression is assumed 
 and cast off at will, without the least trace 
 of one remaining to modify the one next 
 adopted. For such change we are not pre- 
 pared, and it therefore appears like a mask, 
 that can be put on or off at pleasure." 
 
 This absence of natural manners, thus 
 spoken of in the emperor, appears to us to 
 have arisen from his hardness of character 
 and want of heart. All the events of his 
 reign show him to have been devoid of soft 
 and tender feelings. Wrapped up in a chil- 
 ling egotism, he was always acting history, 
 and talking for posterity. His habits of 
 deception were profound and constant ; and 
 though by blood more than half a German, 
 by craft he was all a Russian. In fact, he 
 prided himself on his nationality, and en- 
 deavoured to conform to the Russian cha- 
 racter, rather than to improve that character. 
 Taught that Russia was the first empire of 
 the world, he aimed at being the most dis- 
 tinguished of Russian princes. Regarding 
 himself as the rival of Peter the Great, he 
 yet sought to reverse the labours of that 
 illustrious reformer, who endeavoured to 
 make Russia European, civilised, and liberal; 
 while Nicholas strove to keep it Asiatic, 
 semi-barbarous, despotic, and blind to all 
 around it. 
 
 Nicholas was not without talents ; but in 
 this respect he has, we conceive, been 
 greatly overrated. He legislated for the 
 moment, and had not the power of glancing, 
 as it were, into the political future. He 
 saw the step he was taking, and he trod 
 firmly ; but he was blind to the one next to 
 it. In the last and greatest event of his 
 reign — the war with France, England, and 
 Turkey — he had entirely miscalculated, and 
 was 80 utterly mistaken, that the profound 
 mortification resulting from his mistakes 
 and his reverses accelerated his death, if 
 indeed they did not cause it. The em- 
 peror was talented, but not original; and 
 possessed of a strong will rather than of *a 
 powerful intellect. To compare him with 
 Peter the Great is an insult to the memory 
 of that illustrious man, without whom Russia 
 would have been but as the China of Europe. 
 4 a 
 
 That it is the fashion with certain modern 
 Russian and French writers to traduce him, 
 does not take from his actual merits as a 
 reformer. He produced a policy ; Nicholas 
 was merely the product of one : Peter pos- 
 sessed genius ; Nicholas cleverness and in- 
 dustry : the first strove to advance, and to 
 raise the brutal nobles and dull serfs of his 
 time into a European people ; the last de- 
 sired Russia to stand still, to remain Rus- 
 sian, to continue Asiatic, docile, and slavish. 
 Peter was tolerant of diversity of opinion, 
 both in religious and other matters ; Nicho- 
 las was bitterly intolerant of all dissent 
 from orthodoxy in religion, and of all 
 opinions whatever with respect to politics 
 or social science. He recognised obedience 
 — absolute, unquestioning, unrepining obe- 
 dience — as the duty of every subject to his 
 sovereign. His whole reign was a succes- 
 sion of repressive measures. Could he 
 have carried his desires rigidly into exe- 
 cution, Russia must have remained sta- 
 tionary among the nations. In despotic 
 states, even thought appears to have in it a 
 democratic tendency ; and Nicholas conse- 
 quently strove to confine the thoughts of 
 his people to mechanical matters, and to 
 the discharge of the common duties of life. 
 Nicholas, though bitterly intolerant of di- 
 versity of opinion with regard to religion, 
 appears himself to have regarded it merely 
 as an instrument of state-craft ; as a sort of 
 property to be used by princes to control 
 their subjects and to deceive their neigh- 
 bours. He had none of the romantic de- 
 votion or mystical religion which character- 
 ised Alexander. His was too cold a nature 
 for that : the God he worshipped (or it 
 would be more correct to say, acknowledged) 
 was the God of Russia, whom he appeared 
 to think, or at least affected to say, was 
 especially devoted to his interests, and to 
 those of his empire. This hard man never 
 seems to have recognised any impiety or 
 arrogant familiarity with Deity, in these 
 coarsely pagan and materialistic ideas. He 
 ever used religion as a cloak for aggres- 
 sion; and though his motives in the war of 
 1854-'5 were too transparent to be mistaken 
 — though his hypocrisy was again and again 
 unveiled, he still protested with a sancti- 
 monious solemnity, that his object was 
 merely the promotion of Christianity, and 
 that he had no design whatever upon Con- 
 stantinople, or any oiher of the dominions 
 of the sultan. Yet, though thns using 
 religion himself, he was cruel in his iutole- 
 
 545 
 
OONCLUSION.j 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 [a.d. 1855—1856. 
 
 ranee towards all dissent from the national 
 creed and formula. Many incidents which 
 are related of the emperor's cruelty and 
 intolerance with respect to religion we 
 have omitted, as they appear to be told 
 with an evident animus against him, and 
 are not sanctioned by any perfectly satis- 
 factory authority. 
 
 Regarding himself as the embodiment of 
 the aristocratic principle, and the champion 
 of legitimacy — or, in plain language, of 
 despotism — Nicholas was naturally the ally 
 of all tyrants, and the enemy of all op- 
 pressed nations who panted for freedom. 
 All liberal principles lie regarded as revolu- 
 tionary, and, as such, to be trampled into 
 the dust, or overthrown by forests of bayo- 
 nets and storms of grapeshot. Indus- 
 trious in all things, in this direction he 
 exhibited a fearful activity. The nobility 
 of Russia cowered before him ; its emascu- 
 late press lay prostrate at his feet. The 
 people of Russia dared not to possess 
 opinions, or at least to utter them. The 
 spy-system was universal; and those who 
 most felt injustice, were frequently the last 
 who presumed to complain. To do so, 
 would have been to arraign the providence 
 of Russia ; or, in other words, the assumed 
 justice of the czar. Surrounding nations 
 looked towards Russia with suspicion and 
 detestation; for they knew that the em- 
 peror was ready with his battalions to sup- 
 port the despotism of their rulers. The 
 people of Prussia had feared this ; those of 
 Italy and Hungary had bitterly felt it. 
 Distracted Poland, also, maddened by op- 
 pression, had been beaten prostrate by the 
 relentless cruelty of this man, who, bitterly 
 intolerant of all opposition to his will, felt 
 no pity for the fallen, extended no mercy 
 to those who pleaded for forgiveness. The 
 
 character of Nicholas is gilded by some 
 natural powers, but not irradiated by one 
 single virtue. Deeply and darkly selfish, 
 he pondered so much on the fact of his 
 greatness as an imperial prince, that he 
 forgot the welfare of the numerous peoples 
 whom he had been called to govern. In a 
 word, he was the true type of a despot : he 
 knew no limit to his lust for power; no 
 mercy in his pursuit of it ; no remorse for 
 the crimes he had perpetrated to obtain it. 
 
 The death of the emperor Nicholas forms 
 a natural termination of a history of the 
 empire over which he ruled. We have 
 therefore merely a few supplemental facts 
 to mention. His eldest son succeeded him 
 without opposition, and was crowned at 
 Moscow, as Alexander II., on the 7th of 
 September, 1856. Before that event oc- 
 curred, the war had been brought to a ter- 
 mination. The Russians experienced seve- 
 ral reverses ; and, amongst them, sustained 
 a thorough defeat on the 16th of August, 
 1855, at the hands of the French and Sar- 
 dinians, at the river Tchernaya. The city 
 and south side of Sebastopol were taken by 
 the allies on the 8th of September ; and the 
 brilliancy of the retreat of the Russians 
 from the blazing ruins, retrieved the honour 
 of their military name from the disgrace 
 which defeat might otherwise have inflicted 
 upon it. Peace thus rendered practicable, 
 was signed at Paris by the plenipotentiaries 
 of the several powers concerned, on the 30th 
 of March, 1856. These events, including 
 the terms of peace, we have recorded at 
 full in our History of the War loith Russia, 
 to which work we refer such of our readers 
 as desire to become acquainted with details 
 which do not properly come within the 
 limits of the present volume. 
 
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INDEX. 
 
 Alexander, Prince of Novgorod, defeats the in- 
 vaders of his territory, and receives the name of 
 Nevski, in honour of a great victory which he 
 obtains on the banks of the Neva, 39; retires 
 from Novgorod, because his designs are opposed 
 by his subjects, ib. ; is recalled, and becomes 
 again victorious over the enemies of the city, ib. ; 
 is summoned to appear at the Golden Horde, 
 which confers on him the dignity of the grand- 
 princedom, ib. ; undertakes an expedition into 
 Sweden, ib. ; goes again to the Golden Horde, 
 with the object of diverting the anger of the khan 
 from the Russians, 40 ; expires suddenly on his 
 return, ib. ; his character and canonisation, 41. 
 
 Alexander I. is proclaimed emperor, 379 ; pacific 
 and popular character of the early acts of his 
 reign, ib. ; concludes a treaty with England, by 
 which the right of search, claimed by the latter, is 
 
 . admitted in a modified form, 380 ; his sentimental 
 and doubtful liberalism, 381 ; slightly modifies 
 the censorship of the press, 384 ; abolishes the 
 court of the secret department, ib. ; annexes 
 Georgia to the Russian empire, ib. ; expostulates 
 with Nanoleon concerning the execution of the 
 Duke d'Enghien, 387 ; refuses to acknowledge 
 Napoleon as emperor of France, ib. ; enters with 
 England, Austria, and Sweden, into a coalition 
 against France, 388 ; endeavours to draw Prussia 
 into the league against France, 389 ; his conduct 
 after the battle of Austerlitz, 392 ; signs a sepa- 
 rate treaty of peace with France, but afterwards 
 refuses to ratify it, 394 ; issues an arrogant pro- 
 clamation against Napoleon, 396 ; his troops en- 
 counter the French at Pultusk, 397 ; and at 
 Eylau, 398 ; applies to the English government 
 for a loan, and meets a refusal, 400; his troops 
 are defeated by Napoleon at Friedland, 403 ; 
 desires peace with France, 405 ; meets the emperor 
 Napoleon on the Niemen, 406 ; concludes the 
 peace of Tilsit, 408 ; is fascinated by the manners 
 of the French emperor, 412; sends an army into 
 the principalities of the Danube, to avenge an 
 affront oflFered to him by the Turkish government, 
 413 ; applies to England to make a naval demon- 
 stration against Constantinople for the purpose of 
 intimidating the Porte into an abandonment of 
 hostilities with Russia, 414 ; his fleet gains a vic- 
 tory over that of the Turks near the Isle of 
 Tenedos, 415; concludes an armistice with the 
 Porte, ib. ; his conduct with regard to the 
 French alliance, 417; offers his mediation to 
 restore peace between France and England, 418; 
 professes his willingness to declare war against 
 England, if Napoleon insisted on it, 420 ; his 
 admiration of Napoleon, ib. ; breaks off all rela- 
 tions with England, and proclaims anew the prin- 
 ciples of the armed neutrality, 421 ; summons 
 Sweden to join in a league against England, 
 and on receiving a refusal, declares war against 
 that country, ib. ; seizes on Finland, ib. ; meets 
 a 
 
 Napoleon at Erfurth, 423; writes a joint letter 
 with Napoleon to George HI., inviting him to 
 conclude a peace on the basis of sacrificing his 
 Spanish allies, 425 ; is hurt at Napoleon's marriage 
 with an Austrian archduchess, after having made 
 proposals for one of his sisters, 427 ; issues an 
 ukase, announcing that Moldavia and Wallachia 
 were annexed to the Russian empire, 428 ; con- 
 cludes a peace with Turkey, by which, though he 
 gains Bessarabia, he loses Moldavia and Wal- 
 lachia, 430 ; disputes arise between him and Na- 
 poleon, 431 ; makes proposals of accommodation 
 to the French emperor, who leaves them un- 
 answered, 433 ; his energetic conduct when the 
 French army enters Russia, 436 — 438 ; concludes 
 a treaty of alliance with England and with Sweden, 
 439 ; his troops fight the great battle of Borodino^ 
 441 ; his address to the empire on the entrance of 
 the French into Moscow, 444; refuses to enter 
 into negotiations with Napoleon, 447 ; endeavours 
 to excite the whole of Europe against Napoleon, 
 452; takes offensive measures against France, ib, 
 marches with the allied troops upon Paris, 454 
 he enters Paris, and is received with ardour, 456 
 visits England, 457 ; returns to St. Petersburg, 
 and is received with enthusiasm, ib. ; attends a 
 congress of the sovereigns of Europe at Vienna, 
 458 ; insists on the cession to Russia of the whole 
 grand-duchy of Warsaw, ib. ; is induced by the 
 attitude of England, Austria, and France, to abate 
 nis pretensions, ib. ; takes to arms on the return 
 of Napoleon from Elba, 459 ; enters Paris with 
 the allied armies after the final overthrow of Na- 
 poleon, 460; establishes the union of despots 
 known as the " Holy Alliance," 461 ; proceeds to 
 Warsaw, and establishes a constitution for Poland, 
 ib. ; declines to assist the Greeks in their struggle 
 against the sultan, 462 ; his dread of revolutionary 
 doctrines, and the severity of his repressive mea- 
 sures, ib. ; his last days embittered by a dread of 
 conspiracy and assassination, 463; his death, ib.; 
 estimate of his character, ib. 
 
 Alexander II. succeeds to the throne, 546 ; is crowned 
 at Moscow, ib. 
 
 Alexis, Michaelowitz, becomes czar, 115; during 
 the early years of his reign, the country ruled by 
 a council of regency, ib. ; intercedes with the in- 
 furiated people for the life of his corrupt minister, 
 116 ; a new pretender, assuming to be the son of 
 the czar Dmitri, lays claim to his throne, ib. ; 
 becomes a candidate for the throne of Poland, 
 but is rejected, 117; assists the Cossacks of the 
 Ukraine against the Poles, 120; invades Sweden, 
 but is glad to conclude a truce, which is after- 
 wards converted into a treaty of peace, ib. ; ob- 
 tains possession of all the Ukraine to the left 
 bank of the Dnieper, ib. ; he depreciates the cur- 
 rency, and thus provokes a rebellion at Moscow, 
 121 ; courts foreign alliances, ib. ; the first Russian 
 vessels are built under his superintendence, 16.;, 
 
is threatened by the sultan, and returns a defiant 
 answer, 123 ; his death and character, ih. 
 Alexis, Petrowitz, his character and marriage, 168; 
 is a source of anxiety to his father, the czar Peter, 
 177 ; consents never to claim the succession, 178; 
 is summoned to meet his father at Copenhagen, 
 but proceeds to Vienna, and throws himself on 
 the protection of the emperor Charles VI., 179; 
 is induced to return by a promise of pardon, and 
 instantly arrested, ih. ; signs his renunciation of 
 the crown, 180 ; is placed in confinement, and 
 subjected to inquisitorial examinations, 181 ; 
 makes imprudent confessions, ib. ; is placed on 
 his trial for high treason, 184 ; and condemned 
 to death, 186 ; his mysterious death, ib. ; futile 
 attempt to place his son upon the throne on the 
 death of Peter the Great, 204. 
 Alma, battle of the, 532. 
 
 Andrew of Suzdal discerns the cause of the pros- 
 tration of Russia, and resolves to attempt its 
 consolidation, 31 ; undertakes an expedition 
 against Novgorod, and though defeated by the 
 citizens, induces them to acknowledge his su- 
 premacy, 32 ; various principalities revolt against 
 him, ib. ; decline of his authority, ib. ; he is mur- 
 dered, ib. 
 Anna, Duchess of Courland, and second daughter of 
 Ivan, the half-brother of Peter the Great, ascends 
 the throne, after certain conditions have been 
 exacted from her by the council, 211 ; at the 
 desire of the nation, she cancels the conditions, 
 ib. ; she confides the chief power of the state to 
 her favourite Biren, 212 ; desires to follow the 
 example of Peter the Great, ib. ; forces an ob- 
 noxious sovereign on Poland, ib- ; surrenders the 
 Persian territories acquired by Peter the Great, 
 213; sends a Russian army into the Crimea, ib- ; 
 her troops take AzofF from the Turks, 214 ; con- 
 cludes a peace with the Porte, 215 ; finishes the 
 great canal from the Lake Ladoga to St. Peters- 
 burg, ib. ; her aversion to the vulgar habits of 
 her nobles, 216 ; her cruel eccentricities, ib. ; 
 tyranny of Biren during the latter part of her 
 reign, 217; her death, 218. 
 Austria joins Russia in a war against Turkey, 214 ; 
 backs out of the war, and makes a separate and 
 most dishonourable peace with the sultan, 215 ; 
 agrees with the empress Catherine to unite in an 
 attack on the Ottoman empire, share its spoils be- 
 tween them, drive the Turks out of Europe, and 
 re-establish the ancient republic of Greece, 306 ; 
 sends an army to Moldavia, to act against the 
 Turks, 315 ; concludes peace with the Porte, 325; 
 assists in the third division of Poland, 329 ; enters 
 into an alliance with Russia and England, for the 
 purpose of acting against the republican govern- 
 ment of France, 351 ; remonstrates with Napoleon 
 against his encroachments in Italy, 388; is de- 
 feated at Austerlitz, 390 ; sues to Napoleon for 
 peace, 392—394 ; renews the war with the French 
 emperor, and after a brief but disastrous campaign, 
 purchases peace by large territorial concessions, 
 426 ; joins Russia and Prussia against Napoleon, 
 453 ; expresses its sympathy with the emperor 
 Nicholas on his eiforts to crush the insurrection 
 in Poland, yet secretly corresponds with the 
 Poles, 488; annexes to itself the republic of 
 Cracow, and thus extinguishes the last spark of 
 Polish nationality, 515; is shaken by the com- 
 motions of 1848, 516; Hungarian insurrection 
 against, 517 ; obtains the assistance of Russia, and 
 
 defeats the revolutionists, 518 ; endeavours to 
 avert hostilities between Russia and the Western 
 Powers, 524 ; enters into a convention with France 
 and England, by which it sanctions the war against 
 Russia, 526 ; desires the czar to specify the exact 
 time when his troops would evacuate the Danubian 
 provinces, 529 ; enters into a selfish and equivo- 
 cating treaty with France and England, 540. 
 Balaklava, the English troops take possession of the 
 town and harbour of, as a base of operations, 533 ; 
 the Russians attempt to seize the town and burn 
 the English shipping in the port, 535 ; cavalry 
 engagement at, ib. 
 Baltic, George I. sends an English fleet there for 
 the protection of the Swedes against Russia, 190 ; 
 is blockaded by the fleets of England and France, 
 526 ; proceedings of the allied fleets in, and taking 
 of Bomarsund, 529. 
 Baton invades Russia with an immense host of 
 Tartars, who commit shocking atrocities, 35 ; 
 retires from Russia, 36 : again ravages it, and 
 then enters Poland, 37 ; returns to Russia, settles 
 on the banks of the Volga, and there establishes 
 the Golden Horde, ib. ; settles all disputes among 
 the Russian princes who submit to his autho- 
 rity, 38. 
 Biren, Ernest Von, is, by a stipulation of the council 
 with the empress Anna, excluded from Russia, 
 211; he yet arrives with her at Moscow, ib.; 
 he acquires an unbounded influence over the 
 empress, 212; his tyrannical and ferocious 
 conduct, 217; assumes the regency during the 
 minority of Ivan, 218; is arrested and sent to 
 Siberia, 219. 
 Bomarsund is captured by the French and English, 
 
 529 ; and demolished, 530. 
 Boris Godunof, his early life, 81 ; rules the emjHre 
 in the name of Feodor, and aims at the crown, 
 82 ; causes the infant Dmitri to be murdered, 83 ; 
 defeats the Tartars, 84; deprives the Russian 
 peasantry of their right to leave the estates on 
 which they were born, and thus institutes serf- 
 dom, 85 ; is elected czar on the extinction of the 
 Ruric dynasty, 87 ; his determined attitude awes 
 the Tartars, 88 ; prosperity of the early part of 
 his reign, ib.; his efl'orts to civilise Russia, 89; 
 the opposition of the boyards drive him into 
 tyrannical measures, ib. ; three years' famine in 
 Russia during his reign, ih. ; he denounces the 
 false Dmitri as an adventurer, 92 ; his exertions 
 against Dmitri, 94; sinks into a depressed state 
 of mind, 95; his df»ath and character, 96. 
 Catherine I., her origin, 149 ; is publicly married to 
 the czar Peter, 168; the order of St. Catherine 
 instituted in her honour, 170 ; is crowned empress 
 at the command of Peter, as a recognition of her 
 services, 195; rumours respecting her supposed 
 amour with Moens de la Croix, 196; succeeds her 
 husband on the imperial throne, 205 ; popularity 
 of the early acts of her reign, 206; her licentious 
 and intemperate habits, ib. ; her death, 207. 
 Catherine II., her marriage with the Grand-duke 
 Peter, 228 ; her dislike of her husband, and early 
 amour with Soltikofl", 229; and with Count 
 Poniatowski, 230 ; Peter talks of repudiating her 
 when he comes to the throne, a circumstance 
 which induces her to lend herself to a conspiracy 
 against him, ih.; her duplicity, 239; her appre- 
 hension of being placed in confinement by her 
 husband, 240; arrives at St. Petersburg, and 
 engages the guards in her cause, 244; is pro» 
 
INDEX. 
 
 m 
 
 claimed empress, and crowned by the Archbishop 
 of Novgorod, 245 ; Peter writes her a submissive 
 letter, which she leaves unanswered, 247 ; extorts 
 an act of abdication from him, 248 ; her efforts to 
 acquire popularity, 249; strong feeling against 
 her at Moscow, and general reaction in favour of 
 Peter, 250 ; her conduct on hearing of his murder, 
 252 ; she confirms the peace with Prussia, 254 ; 
 she is crowned at Moscow, but is unable to win 
 the regard of the people there, ib. ; she evades 
 the request of the clergy to restore the posses- 
 sions taken from them by Peter III., 255; they 
 excite insurrection against her, ib, ; her occa- 
 sional playfulness, 256 ; publishes a manifesto 
 inviting foreigners to settle in her dominions, 
 and promising them free gifts of land, 257 ; de- 
 clines marrying Gregory Orloff, 259; places Count 
 Poniatowski on the throne of Poland, 261 ; her 
 supposed connection with the murder of the de- 
 
 f)osed emperor Ivan, 263 ; her liberality to the 
 iterary men of France, 267 ; her influence over 
 Poland, ib. ; she promotes the dissensions within 
 it, 269 ; resolves to remodel the laws of Russia, 
 270; commands all the provinces of Russia to 
 send deputies to Moscow to assist in that object, 
 ib.; her famous book of "Instructions" to them, 
 271 ; narrowly escapes assassination, 273 ; orders 
 the Academy of Sciences to select a number of 
 learned men to travel over the empire, and report 
 concerning the capacities of the land and the 
 wants of the people, 274 ; is the first person in 
 Russia who submits to inoculation, 275 ; carries 
 on a war against Turkey, 277 ; is visited by Prince 
 Henry of Prussia respecting the conspiracy against 
 Poland, ib, ; sends a fleet into the Mediterranean 
 to excite and support an insurrection of the 
 Greek Christians against the Porte, 278 ; her fleet 
 destroys that of the Turks at Tschesme, 280 ; her 
 cruel conduct towards the Princess Tarrakanoff", 
 282 ; adopts measures for the suppression of the 
 plague at Moscow, 284 ; is disposed to contract a 
 clandestine marriage with Gregory Orloff, 286; 
 discards him as her lover, 287 ; takes part with 
 Prussia and Austria in the first division of Poland, 
 288 ; her hospitality to Diderot, 291 ; makes 
 peace with Turkey, ib. ; is disturbed by the in- 
 surrection of Pugatschef, 294 ; receives Potemkin 
 into her favour, 297 ; visits Moscow, 298 ; transfers 
 her smiles to Zavodofski, but retains Potemkin 
 as minister, 299 ; her jealousy of the Grand-duke 
 Paul, 300; is again visited by Prince Henry of 
 Prussia, who, on the part of his brother, recom- 
 mends the division of the remainder of Poland, 
 ib. ; enters into a new treaty with Turkey, 302 ; 
 exhibits a coldness towards England, 303 ; splen- 
 dour of her court, ib. ; jealous of the maritime 
 power of England, she institutes a combination 
 of the northern powers to resist its pretensions, 
 305 ; fixes her affections on Lanskoi, ib. ; resolves 
 on the subjection of the Crimea, ib. ; agrees with 
 the emperor Joseph II. to drive the Turks out of 
 Europe and re-establish the ancient republic of 
 Greece, 306 ; erects a colossal statue to Peter the 
 Great, ib, ; appoints the Princess Daschkaw 
 directress of the Academy of Arts and Sciences, 
 307 ; annexes the Crimea to the Russian empire, 
 30b; her grief at the death of Lanskoi, 310; her 
 toleration and liberality, 310; makes a magnifi- 
 cent progress to Kherson and the Crimea, 31 1 ; 
 visits the battle-field of Pultowa, 314 ; engages in 
 another war with Turkey, 315; scornfully rejects 
 the proffered mediation of Sweden, 316; her firm- 
 
 ness on St. Petersburg being threatened by the 
 Swedes, ib.; concludes peace with Sweden, 319; 
 is startled at the excesses of the French revolu- 
 tion, and abandons liberal opinions, 325 ; con- 
 cludes peace with the Turks at Jassy, ib. ; declares 
 war against Poland, 327 ; effects the second parti- 
 tion of Poland, ib. ; is insulted by the young 
 king of Sweden, 330 ; annexes Courland to the 
 Russian empire, ib. ; sends an expedition into 
 Persia, 331; she dies, ib,; estimate of her cha- 
 racter, 332. 
 
 Caucasus, description of the, 504 ; policy of Russia 
 towards the, 506: failure of Russian hostilities 
 against, 508 ; prospects of the, for the future, 510. 
 
 Charles XII. ascends the throne of Sweden, 146 ; a 
 hostile league is formed against him by the kings 
 of Denmark and Poland, and the czar of Russia, 
 ib. ; he turns his arms against the king of Den- 
 mark, and compels him to sue for peace, 147 ; 
 defeats the Russians at the battle of Narva, ib, ; 
 proceeds to Poland to punish Augustus, 148 ; his 
 interview with Augustus, king of Poland, 156; 
 his brutal execution of General Patkul, ib, ; he 
 deprives Augustus of the Polish throne, and places 
 Stanislaus upon it, ib. ; is visited by the Duke of 
 Marlborough, 157; drives the czar Peter out of 
 Grodno, 158 ; pursues Peter into Russia, ib. ; 
 gains an equivocal victory at Miholo, ib. ; ad- 
 vances on Moscow, 159 ; turns aside into the steppes 
 of the Ukraine, ib. ; lays siege to Pultowa, 161 ; 
 is utterly defeated at Pultowa by Peter, 162 ; 
 takes refuge among the Turks, 163 ; induces the 
 Porte to take hostile steps against Russia, 165; 
 his anger on hearing of the escape of Peter from 
 the banks of the Pruth, 168 ; arrives at Stralsund, 
 171; he undertakes its defence against the Prus- 
 sians, Danes, and Saxons, 172 ; his death, 190. 
 
 Christianity embraced by Olga, who attempts to intro- 
 duce it into Russia, 13; is adopted by Vladimir, who 
 commands the Russians to follow his example, 21. 
 
 Church of Russia, extravagant schism in, 68; aboli- 
 tion of the patriarch of, by Peter the Great, 192; 
 the possessions of much curtailed by the violent 
 reforms of Peter III., 239; Catherine refuses to 
 restore them, 255. 
 
 Code of laws promulgated by Yaroslaf, 23 ; ordi- 
 nances and customs of Russia collected into a, by 
 Ivan III., 63 ; instructions for a, by the empress 
 Catherine II., 272; a uniform code is constructed 
 out of existing materials, at the orders of the em- 
 peror Nicholas, 472. 
 
 Constantine, the Grand-duke, memoir of, 466 ; re- 
 nounces his right of accession to the throne, 467 ; 
 is proclaimed emperor, but confirms his renun- 
 ciation, 468 ; insurrection in favour of, ib. ; 
 attends the coronation of Nicholas, and is the 
 first to offer homage, 473 ; his behaviour as vice- 
 roy of Poland, 484 ; abandons Warsaw on the 
 outbreak of the insurrection there, 486 ; recipro- 
 cates the civilities of General Chlopicki, 487; 
 death of, 493. 
 
 Constantinople invaded by the Russians under Oleg> 
 9; again invaded by them under Igor, 10; ex- 
 travagant design of the empress Catherine con- 
 cerning it, 305 ; Napoleon refuses his consent to 
 Alexander to take possession of it, 410 ; is threat- 
 ened by an English fleet, which it repulses, 414; 
 alarm at in consequence of the progress of a Rus- 
 sian army to Adrianople, 481 ; Lord Raglan and 
 Marshal St. Amaud land at, 527. 
 
 Cossacks, origin of, 117; insurrection of, under 
 Bogdan Chmielnicki, against the Poles, 118 ; they 
 
INDEX. 
 
 apply for assistance to Russia, and offer, in return 
 for it, to become the vassals of the czar, 119 ; they 
 acknowledge the sovereignty of the czar, 120 ; 
 insurrection of those of the Don, under Stenka 
 Radzin, 121. 
 Crimea, the Tartars of, ravage Russia, 65 ; Russia 
 again invaded by the Tartars of, 84 ; is annexed 
 to the Russian dominions by the empress Cathe- 
 rine, 308 ; a grand progress to is made by Cathe- 
 rine, 311 ; the allied army of England, France, 
 and Turkey land on the, 528 ; great storm in, 
 539 ; wretched state of our troops in, 540, 541. 
 Cronstadt, the fortifications of, designed by Peter 
 
 the Great, 152. 
 Czar, the title of, first adopted by Ivan III., 58 ; its 
 
 signification, ib. 
 Daschkaw, Princess, her bias against Peter III., 236 ; 
 her activity in the conspiracy against him, 241 ; 
 report respecting her mode of winning Count 
 Panin over to the cause of Catherine, 243 ; incurs 
 the displeasure of the empress, 256; receives a 
 letter from Catherine, and returns a haughty 
 reply, 260 ; returns to St. Petersburg after her 
 travels on the continent, and is again received into 
 the favour of the empress, who appoints her di- 
 rectress of the Academy of Arts and Sciences, 307 ; 
 is commanded by the emperor Paul to retire to 
 Novgorod, 337. 
 Dmitri Donskoi acquires the grand-princedom, 44 ; 
 he convenes a meeting of the subordinate princes 
 of Russia, and induces them to sign a treaty 
 restoring the ancient order of succession, ib. ; the 
 ■wisdom of his policy, 45 ; he obtains a great vic- 
 tory over the Tartars on the banks of the Don, 
 46 ; in honour of it he receives his surname of 
 Donskoi, 47 ; he is compelled again to submit to 
 the Tartar yoke, 48 ; his death, ib. 
 Dmitri, infant son of Ivan IV., is slandered by Boris 
 Godunof, 82 ; is mysteriously murdered, 83 ; is re- 
 ported tobe alive, 91 ; his body is exhumed, removed 
 to Moscow, and canonised by the patriarch, 105. 
 Dmitri, the impostor, asserts himself to be the son 
 of Ivan IV., 91 ; is patronised by the king of 
 Poland, 92 ; mystery concerning him, ib- ; enters 
 Russia with a few Polish troops, and is believed 
 in by the people, 93 ; gains a victory over the 
 troops of the czar, 94 ; is defeated in a second 
 battle, ib. ; takes refuge at Putivle, a fortified 
 town near the frontiers, 95 ; Basmanof, the com- 
 mander of the army, declares for him, 97 ; he 
 enters Moscow in state, and is received with 
 enthusiasm, ib. ; is acknowledged by the mother 
 of the murdered Dmitri as her son, 98 ; is crowned 
 czar, 99 ; excites Russian jealousy by his pre- 
 ference of the Poles, ib. i and by his marriage 
 •with the Polish princess, Marina Mniszek, 100 ; 
 he becomes embroiled with the clergy, who get up 
 a conspiracy against him, ib. ; insurrection against 
 him, 102 ; is murdered, 103 ; his corpse is treated 
 ■with brutal indignity, 104 ; he is reported to be 
 still living, 105. 
 Dmitri, the second false, surnamed the " Robber of 
 Tushino," claims the crown, .107 ; Marina acknow- 
 ledges him to be her husband, 108; he is baffled 
 in an attempt to take the fortified monastery of 
 the Trinity, near Moscow, H. ; is assisted by the 
 king of Poland, 109 ; losing all hope of obtaining 
 the throne, he supports himself and followers by 
 plundering the country, and is at length murdered 
 by a Tartar chieftain, ib. 
 Elizabeth, daughter of Peter the Great, a conspi- 
 racy is undertaken to depose the infant Ivan, and 
 
 to place her on the throne, 220 ; she consents to 
 become a party to it, 221 ; she addresses the 
 guards, who seize Ivan and his parents, and pro- 
 claim her as empress, ib. ; she refuses to sanction 
 the death of any criminal — a circumstance which 
 gives rise to a number of cruel punishments, 223 ; 
 she continues the war with Sweden, 224 ; the 
 Swedes, to conciliate her, offer the crown of Sweden 
 to her relative, the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, 
 afterwards Peter III., ib. ; summons the Duke of 
 Holstein-Gottorp to St. Petersburg, and announces 
 her intention of making him her successor, ib. ; 
 concludes peace with Sweden, ib. ; engages in 
 the famous seven years' war against Frederic II. 
 of Pa-ussia, 225 ; her motives for doing so, 226 ; 
 her troops invade Prussia, and are guilty of great 
 cruelties, 227; again invades Prussia, 231; her 
 troops inflict a terrible blow on Frederic, 232; 
 her death, 233 ; and character, 234. 
 England enters into an alliance with Russia and 
 Austria for the purpose of acting against the 
 republican government of France, 351 ; acts in 
 conjunction with a Russian force against the 
 French in Holland, 364 ; the emperor Paul enters 
 into a maritime convention with Sweden, Den- 
 mark, and Prussia, by which the claims of Eng- 
 land on the ocean are to be resisted, 366 ; acts 
 with vigour against the northern powers, 367 ; 
 defeats the Danes in a naval engagement at 
 Copenhagen, ib. ; dissolution of the coalition of 
 the northern powers against, 375 ; signs the peace 
 of Amiens, 381 ; again declares war against 
 France, 386 ; declares war against Prussia, 394 ; 
 refuses a loan to the emperor Alexander to enable 
 him to carry on the war against France, 400 ; at 
 the request of Alexander, makes a naval demon- 
 stration against Constantinople, and is repulsed, 
 414 ; causes the bombardment of Copenhagen and 
 the seizure of the Danish fleet, 419 ; Russia de- 
 clares war, against, 421 ; seizes a Russian fleet at 
 Lisbon, 422 ; declines the pacific overtures of 
 France and Russia, 427 ; concludes an alliance 
 with Russia on the invasion of that country by 
 Napoleon, 439 ; opposes the union of the crowns 
 of Poland and Russia on the same head, 458 ; 
 enters into a secret treaty with Austria and 
 France, binding them to act together to carry 
 into effect the stipulations of the treaty of Paris, 
 ib- ; is instrumental in bringing about the final 
 overthrow of Napoleon, 459 ; declines to partici- 
 pate in the " Holy Alliance," 461 ; enters into an 
 alliance with France and Russia for the protection 
 of the Greeks, during the struggle of the latter for 
 independence, 477 ; assists in the destruction ol 
 the Turkish fleet at Navarino, ib- ; expostulates 
 with the Russian government respecting the 
 treaty of Adrianople, 482 ; the sultan, defeated by 
 Mehemet Ali, applies to for assistance, but in 
 vain, 500 ; demands from the sultan an explana- 
 tion concerning the treaty of Unkiar-Skelessi, 502 ; 
 in conjunction with Russia, Austria, and Prussia, 
 saves Turkey from dissolution before the vic- 
 torious forces of Mehemet Ali, and obtains a 
 modification of the treaty of Unkiar-Skelessi, 503 ; 
 excitement in, in consequence of the seizure of a 
 British merchantman by Russia, while attempting 
 to evade the blockade of the Circassian coast, 508 ; 
 is visited for the second time by the emperor Ni- 
 cholas, who becomes the guest of Queen Victoria, 
 512 ; receives from the emperor of Russia a 
 memorandum of his supposed views respecting 
 Turkey,, ib. ; rejects the proffered bribe of Egypt 
 
INDEX. 
 
 and Candia from the emperor Nicholas, 524 ; de- 
 clares in favour of the Porte against the claims of 
 Kussia, lb. ; in conjunction with France, declares 
 war against Russia, 525 ; sends troops to the 
 East, and a fleet to the Baltic, 526 ; is victorious 
 at the Alma, 532 ; defeats the Russians at Inker- 
 mann, 537. 
 
 Eupatoria taken possession of and garrisoned by the 
 English, 536 ; is vainly attacked by the Russians, 
 tb. ; battle of, 542. 
 
 Feodor succeeds as czar, 81 ; his feebleness of intel- 
 lect, 81 ; his helpless apathy on Russia being 
 invaded by the Tartars of the Crimea, 84; the 
 ecclesiastical dignity of patriarch first used in 
 Russia during his reign, 85 ; his death, and conse- 
 quent extinction of the dynasty of Ruric, 86. 
 
 Feodor, son of Alexis, succeeds to the throne, 124: 
 promotes the civilisation of the empire, ib- ; his 
 benevolence and reforms, 125 ; he marries a Polish 
 princess, 126; his death, 127. 
 
 France promotes the conspiracy which places the 
 empress Elizabeth on the throne, 220; endeavours 
 to involve Russia in a war with Turkey, 269; 
 outbreak of the great revolution in, 318; the 
 National Convention of, threatens the aristocratic 
 governments of Europe with a democratic propa- 
 ganda, 350 ; makes peace (at Amiens) with Eng- 
 land, 381 ; renews the war with England, 386 ; 
 coalition against, 388 ; enthusiasm in, at the pro- 
 jected invasion of Russia, 434 ; Napoleon leads 
 the troops of across the Niemen, 435 ; they enter 
 Moscow, 443 ; horrors of their retreat from, 448 ; 
 its capital is occupied by the emperor Alexander 
 and the allied armies, 456 ; its capital again 
 capitulates to the allies, 460 ; its frontier is re- 
 duced to the state in which it stood in 1790, ib. ; 
 enters into an alliance with England and Russia 
 for the protection of the Greeks during the struggle 
 of the latter for independence, 477 ; aids in the 
 destruction of the Turkish fleet at Navarino, ib. ; 
 demands of the Porte an explanation of the treaty 
 of Unkiar-Skelessi, 502 ; entertains a jealousy of 
 England with respect to Eastern aflairs, ib. ; un- 
 dertakes the patronage of the Latin monks at 
 Jerusalem, 521 ; declares in favour of Turkey 
 against the demands of the emperor Nicholas, 
 524 ; in conjunction with England, declares war 
 against Russia, 525 ; sends troops to the East, 
 526 ; is victorious at the Alma, 532 ; the troops 
 of, rescue the English at Inkermann, 537. 
 
 Frederic 11. of Prussia (the Great), his aggressive 
 conduct gives rise to the seven years' war, 225 ; 
 league of Austria, France, Russia, Saxony, and 
 Sweden against him, ib. ; his great reverses, 226 ; 
 is reduced to the verge of ruin, 232 ; he is de- 
 serted by England, 233 ; Peter III. concludes 
 peace with him, and sends him military aid, 237 , 
 recommends moderation to Peter III., 239 ; sends 
 his brother to St. Petersburg to confer with the 
 empress Catherine respecting their sinister views 
 on Poland, 277 ; suggests to Catherine to parti- 
 tion the remainder of Poland, 300. 
 
 Ghengis, or Zengis Khan, account of, 33. 
 
 Golden Horde, establishment of the on the banks of 
 the Volga, 37 ; is divided into two rival parts, 41 ; 
 causes several Russian princes to be tried and 
 executed, 42 ; decline of the, 45 ; is attacked and 
 punished by Tamerlane, 49 ; is attacked and 
 plundered by the Russians, and broken lip, 56. 
 
 Holy Places at Jerusalem, disputes concerning the, 
 622. 
 
 Hungary, its connection with Austria, 516; out- 
 
 break of the revolution in, 517 ; is for a time suc- 
 cessful against the Austrian forces, 518 ; interven- 
 tion of Russia, and extinction of the insurrection, 
 ib. ; abrogation of the national privileges, and 
 subjection of the country to military rule, 519. 
 
 Igor succeeds his father Ruric, 7 ; acquires the 
 regal power on the death of his uncle Oleg, 10 ; 
 sails with an immense force to Constantinople, ib.; 
 is repulsed by the Greeks, and returns with scarcely 
 a third of his army, 11 ; persecutes the Drevlians, 
 and is murdered by them, 12. 
 
 Igor of Suzdal seizes the throne of Kief, 31. 
 
 Inkermann, battle of, 537. 
 
 Isiaslaf becomes grand-prince of Kief, 25 ; is driven 
 from his throne, but restored to it by Boleslas II,, 
 Duke of Poland, 26 ; contends, for a period of 
 severi years, with his brothers for supremacy, and 
 is again expelled from Kief, ib. ; he obtains the 
 aid of Pope Gregory VIII., who engages Boleslas 
 again to restore him ; he regains his throne, ih. ; 
 his death, 27. 
 
 Ivan I., surnamed Kalita, becomes grand-prince, 42 ; 
 makes Moscow the capital of the empire, 43 ; his 
 cunning and extortions, ib. ; he propitiates the 
 Golden Horde by presents and flattery, ib. ; 
 crushes his rival the Prince of Twer, and binds up 
 the power of Russia, ib. ; he promotes commerce, 
 ib. ; his death, 44. 
 
 Ivan II., his eventless reign, 44. 
 
 Ivan III., known as the Great, ascends the throne 
 of Moscow, 51 ; his crafty policy, 52 ; he takes 
 the Tartar city of Kasan, ib. ; he subdues Novgo- 
 rod, 53 ; and annexes it to his dominions, 54 ; his 
 extreme terror at the approach of the Tartars, 55 ; 
 his troops fall on the Golden Horde, and defeat 
 the Tartars, 56 ; his despotic conduct towards 
 Novgorod, ib. ; he annexes the principality of 
 Twer to his dominions, 57 ; subdues other princes, 
 and makes himself an absolute monarch, 58; 
 terrifies the Prince of Lithuania into submission, 
 ib. ; adopts the title of czar, ib. ; reflections on 
 his career, 59 ; he marries a Greek princess, ib. ; 
 he erects the Kremlin, 60 ; he disgraces his wife, 
 but afterwards restores her to favour, 62 ; extin- 
 guishes an extravagant schism in the church, 63; 
 collects the ordinances and customs of Russia into 
 a code, ib- ; his death and character, 64. 
 
 Ivan IV., surnamed " The Terrible," misery of his 
 early life, and depraved conduct of his mother 
 during her regency, 66 ; insolent bearing of Prince 
 Schnisky towards him, 67 ; he causes Schnisky to 
 be torn to pieces by his hounds, 68 ; in his seven- 
 teenth year he is crowned czar of Russia, ib. ; re- 
 markable change in his coiltiuct, 69 ; he institutes 
 the Strelitz, ib. ; subdues the Tartars of Kasan, 
 ib. ; death of his amiable wife Anastatia, and 
 breaking-out of his ferocity, 70 ; he puts his vir- 
 tuous advisers to death, 71 ; he abandons Moscow 
 and retires to the fortress of Alexandrosky, ib. ; 
 is persuaded by the people to return and resume 
 the government, 72 ; his burlesque of the forms of 
 religion, 73 ; his morbid love of murders and 
 executions, ib. ; his march of devastation to Nov- 
 gorod, 74 ; he returns to Moscow, bringing with 
 him a number of prisoners, 76; he causes 200 
 persons to be executed in various revolting ways, 
 ib.; he is challenged to single combat by the king 
 of Poland, ib.; the latter makes war against him, 
 77 ; though married to seven wives, he proposes 
 for the hand of Queen Elizabeth of England, ib.; 
 his cruel caprices, 78 ; in a fit of passion he kills 
 his eldest son, ib. ; his remorse and death, 79. 
 
VI 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Ivan, half-brother of Peter the Great, his personal 
 afflictions, 127 ; he is declared czar, and desires 
 that Peter may be associated with him in the 
 government, 128; they are crowned conjointly, 
 ib. ; his sister induces him to marry, ib. ; resigns 
 all power into the hands of Peter, and leads a re- 
 tired life, 132. 
 Ivan, son of the Princess Anne and the Duke of 
 Brunswick, is proclaimed emperor when but two 
 months old, 218; is deposed in favour of Eliza- 
 beth, 221 ; he is placed in rigid confinement in 
 the fortress of Schliisselburg, 222 ; is visited in 
 his prison by the emperor Peter III., 240 ; is 
 cruelly murdered, 264. 
 Jews, savage outbreak in Kief against the, 28 ; they 
 
 are banished, ib. 
 Kief, city of, 4 ; the inhabitants appeal to Ruric, who 
 sends his step-son Oskold to their assistance, 7 ; 
 is plundered, and nearly destroyed by the Poles, 
 23 ; is besieged by the Poles under Boleslas II., 
 26 ; massacre and banishment of the Jews there, 
 28 ; falls into a state of anarchy, 30 ; is invaded 
 and burnt by the Tartars, 37. 
 Lefort, account of, 130 ; he instructs the young 
 czar Peter, 131 ; raises and drills a body of 
 foreign troops for the czar, 133 ; his death and 
 character, 143. 
 MentschikofF attracts the favour of the czar, 150; 
 his dishonesty, 191 ; his great power during the 
 reign of Catherine, 206 ; engages the young czar, 
 Peter Alexiewitch, to his daughter Maria, 209 ; 
 his disgrace and banishment, ib. 
 Michael, Prince of Twer, is tried and beheaded by 
 the Tartars on a charge of poisoning a Tartar 
 princess, 41. 
 Moguls — see Tartars. 
 
 Moscow made the capital of the empire by Ivan 
 Kalita, 43 ; is twice besieged by Olguerd, Prince 
 of Lithuania, 45 ; is taken and set on fire by the 
 Tartars, 47 ; strong display of feeling there against 
 the empress Catherine II., 250 ; is ravaged by the 
 plague, 283 ; is at the mercy of mobs of fanatical 
 rioters, 285 ; is entered by Napoleon and the 
 " grand army" of France, 444 ; destruction of by 
 fire, 455 ; the French retreat from the ruins of, 
 447 ; is rebuilt by the emperor Alexander, 462. 
 Munich is appointed generalissimo of the Russian 
 army, 212 ; conducts an expedition against the 
 Tartars of the Crimea, 213 ; conducts a war 
 against Turkey, 214 ; takes the lead in a move- 
 ment to depose the regent Biren, 218 ; is made 
 first minister of Russia, 219 ; is exiled by the em- 
 press Elizabeth to Siberia, 222 ; recalled from 
 exile by Peter III., 238 ; makes great efforts to 
 save the czar, 246, 247 ; enters the service of 
 Catherine, 249. 
 Napoleon becomes first consul of France, 365 ; he 
 attributes the murder of Paul to the influence of 
 England, 375 ; his plan for the invasion, in con- 
 junction with Russia, of British India, 376 ; is 
 irritated with Alexander for his concessions to 
 England, 380 ; signs the peace of Amiens, 381 ; 
 orders the arrest and execution of the Duke 
 d'Enghien, 386 ; is crowned emperor of France, 
 387 ; converts the Italian republic into a kingdom, 
 and is crowned king of Italy, 388 ; defeats the 
 Russians and Austrians at Austerlitz, 390 ; es- 
 tablishes the confederation of the Rhine, 394; 
 prostrates Russia on the field of Jena, 395 ; talks 
 of the reconstruction of Poland, 397 ; fights the 
 indecisive battle of Pultusk, ib.; and of Eylau, 
 398; opens secret negotiations for peace with 
 
 Russia, 401 ; defeats the Russians in the battle of 
 Friedland, 403 ; has an interview with the em- 
 peror Alexander on the Niemen, 406 ; concludes 
 the peace of Tilsit, 408 ; sends Sebastiani as am- 
 bassador to Constantinople, 412 ; treacherously 
 sanctions the partition of Turkey, 415 ; entertains 
 the Russian emperor at Erfurth, 423 ; in conjunc- 
 tion with Alexander, makes pacific proposals to 
 England, 425 ; again humiliates Austria, and 
 drives her to purchase a peace, 426 ; marries the 
 archduchess, Maria Louisa, 427 ; annexes the 
 dominions of Alexander's brother-in-law, the 
 Duke of Oldenburg, to the French empire, 431 ; 
 makes preparations for a war with Russia, 432 ; 
 drives Sweden into an alliance with that power, 
 433 ; prepares for his great expedition to Russia, 
 ib. ; Talleyrand, Fouche, and others, endeavour 
 to dissuade him from it, 434 ; proceeds to Dresden, 
 435 ; he crosses the Niemen with his invading 
 army, 436 ; delays at Wilna, 437 ; sufferings of 
 his troops, 440 ; fights the great battle of Boro- 
 dino, 441 ; enters Moscow, 444 ; is driven from 
 the city by fire, 445 ; returns to it on the extinc- 
 tion of the flames, 446; vainly endeavours to 
 bring about negotiations for peace, 447 ; com- 
 mences the retreat from Moscow, ib. ; is over- 
 taken by the Russian winter, 448 ; dreadful 
 sufferings of his troops, 449 ; he crosses the 
 bridge of the Berezina, 450 ; leaves the army, and 
 hastens on to Paris, 451 ; Europe in arms against 
 him, 453 ; his wonderful activity and military 
 skill, 454 ; signs his abdication of the throne of 
 France, 456 ; departs for Elba, 457 ; leaves Elba, 
 and returns to Paris, 459 ; is finally defeated at 
 Waterloo, and again signs his abdication, 460 ; is 
 exiled to St. Helena, ib. 
 Napoleon III. demands from the Porte the conces- 
 sion of certain privileges to the Latin monks of 
 Jerusalem, 522 ; eventually withdraws his de- 
 mands, rather than disturb the peace of Europe, 
 ib. ; declares that he is ready to co-operate with 
 England in upholding the Turkish government, 
 524 ; declares war against Russia, 525 ; sends 
 troops to the East, and a fleet to the Baltic, 527; 
 addresses a sympathetic proclamation to his 
 troops on the occasion of their suffering severely 
 from cholera, ib. 
 Nicholas hesitates to accept the throne at the ex- 
 pense of his brother Constantine, 467 ; consents 
 to do so on the reiterated refusal of Constantine, 
 468 ; crushes the insurrection which breaks out 
 on his accession, ib. ; appoints a commission to 
 investigate the nature of the disaffection, 469 ; 
 his severity towards the conspirators, 471 ; causes 
 an expiatory ceremony to be performed in the 
 Place of the Senate, the scene of the outbreak, 
 472 ; endeavours to eradicate the prevailing cor- 
 ruption in the state, and orders the imperial ukases 
 to be collected, printed, and codified, ib. ; his 
 coronation, ib. ; short account of his early life, ib.; 
 his policy, 473 ; his appearance and manners, 474 ; 
 makes war on Persia, 475 ; enters into an alliance 
 with the sovereigns of England and France to 
 put a stop to the Turkish war of extermination 
 against the Greeks in the struggle of the latter 
 for independence, 477 ; aids in the destruction of 
 the Turkish fleet at Navarino, ib. ; renews war 
 with Turkey, 478; narrowly escapes shipwreck, 
 479 ; concludes the treaty of Adrianople with the 
 Porte, 481 ; is crowned khig of Poland, 483 ; his 
 unbending reception of the leaders of the Polish 
 insurrection, 487 ; insists on an unconditional sur- 
 
render of the Poles, 490 ; the Diet prorwunce a 
 sentence of dethronement against him as king of 
 Poland, i6. ; appoints Paskiewitch to the com- 
 mand of the Russian army in Poland, 494 ; the 
 insurgents submit to him, 495 ; his implacable 
 resentment against the patriots, 496 ; declares 
 Poland an integral part of the Russian empire, 
 ib. ; the sultan solicits help from, against his 
 rebellious vassal, Mehemet AH, and receives a 
 favourable reply, 501 ; extorts the treaty of 
 Unkiar-Skelessi from the Porte, ib. ; consents to 
 a modification of the last-named treaty, 504 ; his 
 policy with respect to the Caucasus, 506 ; bloc- 
 kades the coast of the Caucasus, 508 ; his vessels 
 seize an English merchantman, which attempts to 
 evade the blockade, ib. ; visits the Caucasus, but 
 fails to produce an impression on the Circassian 
 chiefs, whom he had invited to a conference, ib. ; 
 makes a formal declaration of war against the 
 Circassians, ib. ; failure of his military efforts in 
 the Caucasus, ib. ; sends an expedition against 
 Khiva, 511 ; visits England, and becomes the 
 guest of Queen Victoria, 612 ; sends to the English 
 cabinet a memorandum of his views concerning 
 the affairs of Turkey, ib. ; his opinions concern- 
 ing representative monarchy, 514 ; aids in the 
 suppression of the little republic of Cracow, 515; 
 assumes a dictatorial attitude towards Switzer- 
 land, ib. ; extends assistance to Austria, and 
 crushes the Hungarian revolution, 518; interferes 
 on behalf of the Greek monks at Jerusalem, 522 ; 
 demands a protective power over all the Greek 
 Christians in the Ottoman empire, ib. ; on his 
 claims being refused, withdraws his ambassador 
 from Constantinople, ib. ; directs a Russian army 
 to cross the Pruth, 523 ; attempts to bribe Eng- 
 land, 524 ; requires of Austria and Prussia an 
 absolute and unconditional armed neutrality in 
 the coming war, 525 ; orders a Te Deum to be 
 sung in all the churches of St. Petersburg, in 
 consequence of the destruction of the Turkish 
 fleet at Sinope, ib. ; refuses to return an answer 
 to the final ultimatum of France and England, 
 who consequently declare war against him, ib. ; 
 his troops experience reverses on the banks of the 
 Danube, and are compelled to raise the siege of 
 Silistria, 528 ; recalls his forces from the Danubian 
 provinces, 531 ; his troops are defeated at the 
 battle of the Alma, 532 ; and at Inkermann, 537 ; 
 his excitement and incessant exertions, 541 ; his 
 last manifesto, 542 ; his death, ib. ; estimate of his 
 character, 544. 
 
 Novgorod, city of, 4 ; the inhabitants of, solicit the 
 assistance of Ruric the pirate, 5 ; who compels 
 them to submit to his government, 6 ; becomes 
 prosperous as Kief declines, 32 ; expedition against, 
 by Andrew of Suzdal, ib. • though he is twice 
 repulsed, the city eventually submits to his rule, 
 ib. ; the citizens resist the collection of a tax 
 made by the Tartars, 40 ; is subdued by Ivan III., 
 53 ; and annexed to the grand-princedom, 54 ; 
 awful massacres there by Ivan the Terrible, 74. 
 
 Odessa, bombardment of, by an allied English and 
 French fleet, in consequence of the outrage of a 
 flag of truce, 526. 
 
 Oleg governs in the name of the infant Igor, 7 ; 
 turns his arms against Kief, and unites it to the 
 government of Novgorod, 8 ; proceeds to Con- 
 stantinople, which submits to him, 9; retires 
 after having extorted extravagant terms from the 
 emperor Leo, ib- ; his deatli, ib. 
 
 Oiga assumes the government during the minority 
 h 
 
 of her son Sviatoslaf, 12 ; avenges the murder of 
 her husband Isor, ib. ; embraces Christianity, 
 and enters the Greek church under the name of 
 Helena, 13; resigns the thron& to her son, 14; 
 dies, and is canonised, 15. 
 Orloff, Gregory, his origin, 240 > attracts the notice 
 of the empress Catherine, who receives him into 
 her favour, 241 ; enters into a conspiracy against 
 the emperor, ib. ; his arrogance, 257 ; seeks to 
 marry the empress, 259 ; attempts to seize him by 
 the discontented nobles, 260 ; takes active mea- 
 sures for the suppression of the plague at Moscow, 
 284 ; a triumphal arch erected to his honour in 
 consequence, 286 ; rejects the offer of a clandes- 
 tine marriage made him by the empress, ib. ; his 
 melancholy and death, 309. 
 Orloff, Alexis, brings Catherine from Peterhoff the 
 night before the revolution, 244 ; is nominally in 
 command during the destruction of the Turkish 
 fleet at Tschesm^, 280 ; his extravagance, 281 ; 
 his treacherous conduct towards the unfortunate 
 Princess Tarrakanoff, 282 ; his brutal manners, 
 283 ; is compelled to assist at the second funeral 
 of the murdered emperor, Peter III., 337. 
 Oskold assumes the sovereignty of Kief, 7 ; is mur- 
 dered, 8. 
 Paul I., his first marriage, 291 ; Catherine's jealousy 
 of, 300 ; death of his first wife, ib. ; his visit to 
 Berlin, and second marriage, 301 ; ascends the 
 throne, 335 ; speculations as to his parentage, 
 ib,; he endeavours to cast odium upon the me- 
 mory of Catherine, 336; visits Kosciusko, 338; 
 subjects the guards to severe restrictions, ti. ; 
 prohibits the wearing of round hats, 340; com- 
 mands that horses are to be harnessed in the 
 German style, 341 ; institutes an oppressive and 
 offensive duty in approaching him, ib. ; makes 
 absurd and irritating regulations for the army, 
 342 ; establishes a severe censorship of the press, 
 344 ; commands that all strangers in Russia 
 should attend regularly at their respective places 
 of worship, ib.\ prohibits the wearing of panta- 
 loons or lapelled waistcoats, 345 ; makes experi- 
 ments on the currency, 346 ; his intolerable des- 
 potism and suspicion, 348; recalls the Russian 
 expedition from Persia, 350 ; forms an alliance 
 with England and Austria for the purpose of 
 acting against the republican government of 
 France, 351 ; announces that h'^ is ready, with all 
 the resources of his empire, to assist in restoring 
 the old relations among the European states, and 
 . to arrest the progress of democratic principles, 
 352 ; causes himself to be elected grand-master of 
 the Knights of St. John of Malta, ih. ; restores 
 Suwarrow to his command, 353 ; sends the Rus- 
 sian troops into Italy to act against the French, 
 ib.; his troops gain successes in Italy, but are 
 defeated by the French in Switzerland, 360 ; is 
 incensed against England, 364; withdraws from 
 the coalition against France, 365 ; writes a friendly 
 letter to Napoleon, 366 ; quarrels with England 
 respecting the island of Malta, and seizes all the 
 British vessels in the Russian harbours, ib.; re- 
 stores the maritime convention against England, 
 ib. ; the extravagan-^e of his behaviour leads to a 
 supposition that he is mad, 368; conspiracy against 
 him, 369 ; his assassination, 371 ; his character, 
 373 ; his plan of invading British India with an 
 allied French and Russian army, 376. 
 Persia, an expedition to, undertaken by Peter the 
 Great, 194 ; cedes certain provinces to Peter, 195; 
 the latter are restored by the empress Anna, who 
 
▼m 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 enters into a defensive treaty with the shah, 213 ; | 
 Catherine II. sends an expedition against, 331 ; 
 engages in a long and unsuccessful war with j 
 Russia, 416 ; the emperor Nicholas wages a sue- | 
 cessful war against. 475 ; the Russian ambassador 
 to, assassinated at Teheran, 480. 
 Petchenegans, the, besiege Eief, 14 ; are driven by 
 a stratagem to retire, 15; defeated by Sviatoslaf, 
 ib.; make incursions into Russia, 21. 
 Peter the Great, remarkable escape from being mur- 
 dered by the Strelitz during his infancy, 128; is 
 crowned conjointly with his half-brother Ivan, ib.; 
 his education is purposely neglected, 129 ; unsuc- 
 cessful war, during his minority, with the Tartars 
 of the Crimea, 130; his half-sister Sophia- endea- 
 vours to deprave his mind by surrounding him 
 with profligate companions, ib. ; his military taste 
 in boyhood, ib.; his profitable association with 
 Lefort, ib.; his early marriage, 131 ; the Princess 
 Sophia engages a body of Strelitz to seize or 
 murder him, ib. ; he compels her to enter a con- 
 vent, 132 ; his half-brother Ivan resigns all power 
 into his hands, ib. ; undertakes to reform the 
 government of the country, and the manners of 
 the people, 133 ; resolves to create a navy and 
 seaports for Russia, ib. ; rebuilds an English sail- 
 ing-boat which he finds rotting in the grounds of 
 his summer palace, 134; visits Archangel, and 
 causes vessels to be built there, ib. ; declares war 
 against the Turks, ib.; he takes the fortress of 
 Azoff, 135; he makes a triumphal entry into 
 Moscow, after the manner of the ancient Romang, 
 ib.; conspiracy of the Strelitz to murder him, 
 which is defeated by his courage and self-posses- 
 sion, 137 ; his ferocious revenge on the traitors, 
 138 : travels, that he may learn the arts of other 
 countries, ib.; works at Amsterdam as a ship's 
 carpenter, 139; proceeds to England, where he is 
 hospitably received by William III., and inspects 
 . the dockyards at Deptford, Woolwich, and Chat- 
 ham, 140; returns to Holland, and visits Vienna, 
 141 ; receives information that the Strelitz were 
 again in rebellion, and returns to Russia, ib. ; he 
 punishes the rebels with a terrible ferocity, dis- 
 bands the order, and raises new regiments on the 
 European model, 142 ; he forces on Russia the 
 civilisation she strives to reject, 143 ; compels the 
 Russians to shave, and to abandon wearing the 
 long Asiatic robe, ib. ; establishes a perfect tole- 
 ration for all denominations of Christians, Jesuits 
 excepted, 144; assimilates the calendar to that 
 of modern Europe, 145; introduces new social 
 customs among the people, ib. ; establishes an 
 observatory, a theatre, almshouses, and hospitals 
 at Moscow, 146 ; enters into an unprovoked 
 league with the king of Denmark and Poland to 
 dismember Sweden, ib.; he leads an army into 
 Ingria, and lays siege to Narva, before which his 
 troops are defeated with disgrace by Charles XII., 
 147 ; he returns to Moscow to raise and drill 
 fresh troops, 148 ; defeats the Swedes near Dorpt, 
 149; becomes attached to a Livonian peasant- 
 girl, named Martha, to whom he gives the name 
 of Catherine, and makes his mistress, 150; takes 
 the town of Rotteburg, and changes its name to 
 Schliisselburg, i6. ; resolves to build a new capital 
 of his empire on the banks of the Neva, and com- 
 mence the erection of St. Petersburg, 151; terrible 
 loss of life in laying the foundations of the new 
 city, 152; captures Narva, 153; is defeated by 
 the Swedes in Courland, and also at Frauenstadt, 
 166 J he interposes on behalf of General Patkul, 
 
 156; is driven out of Grodno by Charles XII., 
 and pursued into Russia, 158; encounters the 
 Swedish general Lewenhaupt, 160; defeats Charles 
 at the decisive battle of Pultowa, 162 ; by a new 
 treaty with Poland, Denmark, and Prussia, he 
 obtains a title to Livonia, Ingria, and a part of 
 Finland, 164; makes a triumphal entry into 
 Moscow, ib. ; insists on satisfaction from England 
 in consequence of the arrest of his ambassador at 
 London for debt, ib. ; publicly acknowledges his 
 marriage with Catherine, 165 ; proceeds on an 
 expedition to Turkey, 166; is hemmed-in by the 
 Turks and the Tartars on the banks of the Pruth, 
 ib.; despairs of his escape, but is persuaded by 
 Catherine to try the efi'ect of negotiation, 167 ; is 
 allowed by the Turks to retire on certain condi- 
 tions, 168 ; his uneasiness on account of his son 
 Alexis, ib. ; publicly marries the czarina Cathe- 
 rine, ib. ; enters into a new league against Sweden, 
 169; his conquests in the Gulf of Finland, 170; 
 institutes the order of St. Catherine in honour of 
 the czarina, ib. ; undertakes a second journey 
 through the principal cities of Europe, 172 ; visits 
 Copenhagen, Amsterdam, and Paris, 173; the 
 doctors of the Sorbonne endeavour to induce him 
 to recognise the spiritual authority of the pope, 
 174; proceeds to Berlin, 176; addresses a letter 
 of warning to his son Alexis, 178; commands his 
 son to meet him at Copenhagen, when the latter 
 proceeds to Vienna and throws himself on the 
 protection of the emperor, 179; induces Alexis, 
 by a promise of pardon, to return to Moscow, 
 where he causes him to be arrested, ib. ; pro- 
 nounces a sentence of deposition against his son, 
 180; causes Alexis to be placed on his trial for 
 high treason, 184 ; is supposed to have caused his 
 son fo be privately put to death, 186 ; his improve- 
 ments of the empire, 189 ; enters into a conspiracy 
 with Charles XII. and Cardinal Alberoni to 
 establish the sway of absolutism in Europe, 
 ib.; his grief at the death of C-harles XII., 190; 
 the senate confer on him the titles of Great, Em- 
 peror, and Father of his country, 191 ; abolishes 
 the oflBce of patriarch, and compels numbers of 
 monks and nuns to employ themselves in secular 
 labours, 192 ; undertakes an expedition to Persia, 
 194; takes Derbend, but is compelled to return 
 to Moscow, 195 ; acquires several Persian pro- 
 vinces by treaty, ib. ; causes Catherine to be 
 crowned empress, 196 ; his supposed suspicions of 
 her infidelity, ib. ; his severe sufferings from 
 strangury, 197; he takes cold while rescuing a 
 small vessel which was stranded on a shoal, 198; 
 his death, ib.; his supposed will, 199; estimate 
 of his character, 200. 
 
 Peter Alexiewitch succeeds to the throne on the 
 death of Catherine I., 208 ; is placed under guar- 
 dianship during his minoritj', ib. ; he is lured into 
 an engagement with the daughter of Mentschikoff, 
 but takes a dislike to the ladv, 209 ; his prema- 
 ture death, 210. 
 
 Peter, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, afterwards the 
 emperor Peter III,, is summoned to Russia by the 
 empress Elizabeth, who announces her intention 
 of making him her successor, 224 ; his dissipated 
 habits, 227 ; is married to the Princess Sophia 
 Augusta Von Anhalt, who takes the name of 
 Catherine, 228 ; his neglect of her, ib. ; in conse- 
 quence of her misconduct he talks of repudiating 
 her when he comes to the throne, 230 ; becomes 
 emperor, 235 ; concludes an armistice and subse- 
 quent peace with Prussia, 236; sends Russian 
 
INDEX. 
 
 IX 
 
 troops to his assistance, 237 ; his reforms, 238 ; 
 recalls Marshal Munich from Siberia, ib. ; his ill- 
 treatment of the empress Catherine, ib.; he attacks 
 the clergy, and introduces violent reforms into 
 the church, 239; promises to marry his mistress 
 the Countess Vorontzoff, and place her on the 
 throne instead of Catherine, 240; visits the de- 
 throned Ivan at Schliisselburg, ib. ; a conspiracy 
 is formed to depose him in favour of his wife 
 Catherine, 241 ; on the breaking out of the con- 
 spiracy he proceeds to Cronstadt, 246 ; is refused 
 admission, returns, and writes a submissive letter 
 to Catherine, 247 ; is insulted and imprisoned, 
 248 ; signs his abdication, ib. ; is removed to the 
 castle of Ropscha, 249; reaction in his favour, 
 250 ; he is murdered, 251 ; his funeral and cha- 
 racter, 252 ; his body is exhumed and buried 
 with that of the empress Catherine, 336. 
 
 Petropaulovski, unsuccessful attack upon, by an 
 allied English and French squadron, 530. 
 
 Poland, Russia places Frederic Augustus on the 
 throne of, against the wishes of the people, 213; 
 the empress Catherine gives the throne of to her 
 discarded lover Count Poniatowski, 261 ; ag- 
 gressive interference of the empress Catherine 
 with the affairs of, 267 ; fierce dissensions in, 
 between the catholics and the dissidents, 268 ; 
 First partition of, 288 ; reflections on this event, 
 289 ; Catherine declares war against, 327 ; second 
 partition of, ib. ; revolution in under Kosciusko, 
 328 ; third division of, 329 ; the emperor Alex- 
 ander establishes a constitution for, 461 ; Nicholas 
 crowned king of, 483 ; oppressive government of 
 the Grand-duke Constantine in, 484; outbreak of 
 the insurrection of, 486; issues a manifesto to 
 Europe, 448 ; the Diet of, pronounce a sentence of 
 dethronement against Nicholas as king of Poland, 
 490 ; organisation of a national government for, 
 ib. ; fights the battles of Grochow and of Praga, 
 491; submits unconditionally to Nicholas, 495; 
 is declared an integral part of the Russian em- 
 pire, 496 ; reflections on this event, 497. 
 
 Poles, the, endeavour to place a prince of their 
 nation on the throne of Russia, 110; invade 
 Russia, but consent to an armistice, and withdraw 
 their troops, 113; again invade Russia, and sell a 
 peace to the czar, 114. 
 
 Potemkin becomes the "favourite" of the empress, 
 297 ; his ability and waywardness, 298 ; Cathe- 
 rine discards him as her lover, but retains him as 
 a minister, 299 ; proposes to the empress to sub- 
 due the Crimea, 305 ; receives honours at St. 
 Petersburg after the taking of Ismail by Suwar- 
 row, 321 ; his extravagance and eccentricities, 322 ; 
 gives an extraordinary entertainment to the em- 
 press, 323 ; his death and character, 326. 
 
 Prussia takes part with Russia and Austria in the 
 first division of Poland, 288 ; Frederic of, recom- 
 mends to Catherine II. to divide the rest of 
 Poland, 300 ; assists in the second partition of 
 Poland, 327; also in the third, 329; duplicity of, 
 388; accepts the electorate of Hanover from Na- 
 poleon, 394; demands that the French troops 
 should evacuate the German territory, 395 ; the 
 power of, is crushed by Napoleon on the battle- 
 fields of Auerstadt and Jena, lb- ; is dismembered 
 and curtailed by the peace of Tilsit, 409; deserts 
 Napoleon, and enters into an alliance with Russia, 
 452 ; its troops enter Paris, 456 ; her former terri- 
 tories are restored to her at the congress of 
 Vienna, 458; favours the emperor Nicholas in his 
 efforts to crush the Polish insurrection, 488 ; aids 
 
 in the suppression of the little republic of Cracow, 
 616; enters into a convention with France and 
 England, by which it sanctions the war against 
 Russia, 526. 
 
 Pugatschef assumes to be Peter III., and becomes 
 the leader of a serious insurrection, 293 ; his suc- 
 cesses, 294 ; is ruined, betrayed, and seized, 295 ; 
 is executed, 296. 
 
 Pultowa, the decisive battle of, between Charles XII. 
 and the czar Peter, 162 ; the field of, is visited by 
 Catherine II., 314. 
 
 Raglan, Lord, appointed to the command of the 
 British army in the East, 527. 
 
 Romanoff, Michael, account of. Ill ; is elected czar, 
 112; he takes an oath limiting the royal authority, 
 ib. ; conducts an unsuccessful war against Gus- 
 tavus Adolphus of Sweden, ib. ; the Poles invade 
 Russia, but consent to an armistice, and withdraw, 
 113; associates his father in the government, ib.; 
 buys a peace from the Poles, 114 ; his character 
 and death, ib. 
 
 Ruric assists the citizens of Novgorod against their 
 enemies, 5 ; builds the town of Ladoga, ib. ; sub- 
 dues Novgorod, assumes the title of grand-prince, 
 and establishes the foundation of the Russian em- 
 pire, 6 ; the inhabitants of Kief desire him to 
 name a member of his family as their prince, 7 j 
 his death, ib. ; extinction of the dynasty of, 86. 
 
 Russalki, description of, 4. 
 
 Russia divided among the three sons of Sviatoslaf, 
 17 ; miserable condition in consequence of the 
 dissensions and weakness of its princes, 27 ; falls 
 into anarchy, and ceases to exist as an empire, 33; 
 is invaded by the Tartars and Moguls, 34 ; is 
 made subject to the Golden Horde, 37 ; opens a 
 trade with England from the port of Archangel, 
 70 ; three years' terrible famine in, 89 ; a prey to 
 anarchy and servile war, 109 ; an interregnum 
 exists in, ib. ; a national council elects Michael 
 Romanoff as czar, 111 ; her want of outlets to the 
 sea, 133 ; struggles against the civilisation forced 
 on her by Peter the Great, 143 ; enters into a 
 league against, and invades Sweden, 147 ; invades 
 Turkey, but is repulsed with disaster, 166 ; enters 
 into a new league against Sweden, 169 ; under- 
 takes an unsuccessful expedition against Persia, 
 194 ; takes part in the seven years' war against 
 Frederic II. of Prussia, 225 ; again invades Prus- 
 sia, but receives a severe check from Frederic, 
 231 ; in conjunction with Austria, she inflicts a 
 great blow on Frederic, 232 ; makes peace with 
 Prussia, 236 ; interferes aggressively in the affairs 
 of Poland, 261 — 267 ; effects the first division of 
 Poland, 288 ; enjoys internal repose, 301 ; again 
 engages in war with Turkey, 315 ; and with 
 Sweden, 316 ; makes peace with Sweden at 
 Varela, 319; makes peace with Turkey at Jassy, 
 325 ; declares war against Poland, 327 ; enters 
 into an alliance with England and Austria, with 
 the object of acting against the republican govern- 
 ment of France, 351 ; pours its troops into Italy, 
 to act against the French, 353 ; is defeated by 
 Napoleon at Austerlitz, 391 ; checks Napoleon at 
 Pultusk, 397 ; and at Eylau, 398 ; suffers a severe 
 defeat at Friedland, 403 ; makes peace with 
 France at Tilsit, 408 ; engages in a war with 
 Turkey, 413 ; concludes an armistice with that 
 power, 415 ; entertains an aversion to the alliance 
 with France, 417; renews the war with Turkey, 
 but concludes peace at Bucharest, 430; national 
 and loyal feeling of the people of, on hearing of 
 the projected invasion of their country by Napo- 
 
r 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 leon, 434 ; is entered by the French army, 436 ; 
 the troops of, retreat before the French, 438; 
 enters into an alliance with England, 439 ; fights 
 the great battle of Borodino, 441 ; the French 
 commence their retreat from, 447 ; recommences 
 war with Turkey, 479; the troops of, pass the 
 Balkans, 480 ; concludes the treaty of Adrianople, 
 481 ; assists the sultan against his rebellious 
 vassal, Mehemet All, 501 ; induces the sultan to 
 sign the treaty of Unkiar-Skelessi, ib. ; her policy 
 with respect to the Caucasus, 508 ; seizes an 
 English merchantman, which endeavours to evade 
 the blockade of the Circassian coast, ib. ; declares 
 war against the Circassians, ib. ; failure of its 
 military proceedings against, 509; aids in the 
 suppression of the little republic of Cracow, 515; 
 assumes a dictatorial attitude towards Switzer- 
 land, ib. ; rescues Austria in the war of liberation 
 with Hungary, 518 ; demands a protective power 
 over all the Greek Christians in the Ottoman 
 empire, 522 ; its troops enter the Danubian prin- 
 cipalities, 523; are withdrawn from them, 531; 
 are defeated at the Alma, 532 ; repulsed at Inker- 
 mann, 537. 
 Russians, conjectural origin of the name, 4 ; their 
 offensive manners at table during the time of 
 Peter the Great, 202 ; their intolerance, 498. 
 Sardinia joins England and France in the war 
 
 against Russia, 541. 
 Schamyl, account of, 509 ; his energetic guerilla 
 
 warfare against the Russians in the Caucasus, ib 
 Schnisky conspires against the czar Dmitri, 100; is 
 condemned to death, but pardoned, ib. ; renews 
 his treachery, 101 ; conducts the insurrection, 
 during which Dmitri is murdered, 102 ; is pro- 
 claimed czar, 104 ; rebellion against him, 106 ; is 
 deposed, and dies in prison, 109. 
 Scythians, obscurity of, 1. 
 
 Sebastopol, commencement of the siege of, 534 ; 
 failure of the first bombardment of, ib. ; suffer- 
 ings of the allied troops before, 536. 
 Serfdom, institution of, by Boris Godunof, 85. 
 Seven Years' War, its cause, 225 ; its conclusion, 261. 
 Siberia, its discovery and annexation to Russia, 69. 
 Simeon, eventless reign of, 44. 
 Sinope, destruction of a Turkish fleet in the harbour 
 
 of, 525. 
 Slave, or Slavi, signification of the name, 2. 
 Slavonians, their ancient character, 2 ; their reli- 
 gion, 3. 
 Sophia, the Princess, excites the Strelitz to insur- 
 rection, 127 ; is appointed regent during the 
 minority of Ivan and Peter, 128 ; the Strelitz 
 turn their arms against her, 129 ; attempts to 
 deprave the character of the young czar Peter, 
 130 ; she engages a body of Strelitz to seize or 
 murder him, 131 ; she loses her influence, and is 
 compelled to enter a convent, 132; the czar 
 causes several of the rebel Strelitz to be hanged 
 before her window, 142 ; she becomes a nun, and 
 dies, ib. 
 Stenka Radzin, insurrection of the Cossacks under, 
 121 ; he seizes Astracan, 122 ; is decoyed to Mos- 
 cow, and put to death, ib. 
 St Petersburg, the erection of, commenced by Peter 
 the Great, 151 ; great loss of life in fornning its 
 foundations, 152; threatened by a Swedi h fleet. 
 154. ' 
 
 Strelitz, or Janizaries of Russia, instituted by Ivan 
 the Terrible, 69 ; insurrection of, 127 ; their atro- 
 cities, 128 ; they turn their arms against the Prin- 
 cess Sophia, 129 ; conspire against the czar Peter, 
 
 137 ; who punishes them with terrible severity, 
 138; they revolt during his absence from Russia, 
 141 ; 7,000 of them are executed, and the rest 
 disbanded, 142. 
 Suwarrow is engaged at Kinburn against the Turks, 
 315; and at Otchakotf, 318; his eccentricities, 
 320 ; gains the battle of the Rymnik, ib. ; takes 
 Ismail by assault, 321 ; takes Prague, and enters 
 Warsaw, 329 ; is dismissed from his command by 
 the emperor Paul for a sarcasm on the military 
 meddling of the latter, 342 ; is recalled, and ap- 
 pointed to the command of the allied Russian 
 and Austrian troops in Italy, 353 ; his successes 
 in Italy. 354 ; national honours are bestowed upon 
 him, 357 ; experiences reverses in Switzerland, 
 362 ; is disgraced by the emperor, and dies, 363. 
 Sviatopolk murders three of his brothers, 22 ; is 
 driven into Poland, ib. ; is reseated on his throne 
 by Boleslas. Duke of Poland, 23 ; is defeated, and 
 dies miserably, ib. 
 Sviatopolk, son of Isiaslaf, becomes grand-prince, 
 28 ; weakness of his character, and barrenness of 
 his reign, ib. ; he dies, leaving the Russian empire 
 in a state of great disorder, ib. 
 Sviatoslaf ascends the throne of Kief, 14 ; makes 
 war against the Kozans, the Bulgarians, and the 
 Petchenegans, iO. ; transfers his residence from 
 Kief to Yamboly, and divides his Russian terri- 
 tories between his three sons, 15; he subdues the 
 Bulgarians, ib. ; advances into the Greek empire, 
 where he is defeated, 16 ; is slain by the Petchene- 
 gans, ib. 
 Sweden contemplates an alliance with Russia for the 
 promotion of absolutism in Europe, 189 ; on the 
 death of Charles XII., enters into a friendly 
 alliance with England, 190 ; makes peace with 
 Russia, 191 ; declares war against Russia, 219; 
 is driven to conclude a capitulation, and endea- 
 vours to conciliate the empress Elizabeth by 
 offering the crown to her relative the Duke of 
 Holstein-Gottorp, 224; renews hostilities with 
 Russia, but concludes peace in 1743, at Abo, 
 224 ; makes peace with Prussia, 237 ; offers its 
 mediation between Russia and Turkey, 316 ; as- 
 sumes a hostile attitude towards Russia, ib. ; 
 threatens St. Petersburg, ib. ; its fleet engages 
 that of Russia, 317; defeats the Russian fleet, 
 319 ; concludes peace with Russia at Varela, ib. ; 
 refuses to submit to the domination of Napoleon, 
 419 ; refuses to join in a league against England, 
 421 ; Russia takes Finland from, ib. ; is driven, by 
 the violence of Napoleon, into an alliance with 
 Russia, 433. 
 Tamerlane, the Tartar conqueror, account of, 48 ; 
 he invades Russia, 49 ; he inflicts a heavy blow 
 on the Golden Horde, which had disregaraed his 
 authority, ib. ; he crushes an army of Lithuanians, 
 and then directs his steps towards India, ib. 
 Tartars, their first descent on Russia, 34 ; their 
 subtlety, ib. ; their ambassadors are murdered by 
 the Russian princes, ib. ; revenge of the, 35 ; 
 they again ravage Russia, and commit frightful 
 atrocities, »6.; they despise the Russians as cowards, 
 36 ; policy of the, 38 ; impose a tax on the Rus- 
 sian people, who resist the collection, 40 ; division 
 among the, 41 ; they cause several Russian princes 
 to bs put to death, 42 ; decline of their power, 
 45 ; they sustain a severe defeat from the Russians 
 under the grand-prince Dmitri, on the banks of the 
 Don, 46 ; they ravage Russia up to the walls of 
 Moscow, which they set on fire, 47 ; Russia in- 
 vaded by them under Tamerlane, 49 ; those of 
 
Kasan and the Crimea ravage Russia as far as 
 Moscow, 65 ; those of the Crimea again invade 
 Russia, but are repulsed by Boris Godunof, 84. 
 Turkey, the sultan of. threatens the czar Alexis, but 
 is defied, 123; concludes an armistice with the 
 czar Ffodor, 124; loses Azoff. 135; is invaded 
 by the czar Peter, who is hemmed in on the banks 
 of the Pruth, and purchases his escape by the 
 surrender of Azoff. 168; Russia and Austria make 
 war on, 214 ; makes representations to the em- 
 press Catherine on behalf of Poland, 269 ; de- 
 clares M-ar against Catherine, 276; after a series 
 of reverses concludes peace, 291 ; enters into a 
 new treaty with Russia, 303 ; demands from the 
 empress Catherine the restitution of the Crimea, 
 314; declares war against Ru«sia, 315; makes 
 peace with Russia at Jassy, 325 ; congratulates 
 the emperor Napoleon on his assumption of the 
 imperial dignity, 412; becomes engaged in a 
 quarrel witli Russ.ia, the troops of which overrun 
 Moldavia and Wallachia, 412; its fleet is de- 
 feated by that of Russia near Tenedos, 415; con- 
 cludes an armistice with Russia, ifc. ; Russia re- 
 news the war with, 428 ; concludes peace with 
 Russia at Bucharest, 430 ; rejects the interposi- 
 tion of England, France, and Russia on behalf of 
 the Greeks, 477 ; destruction of its fleet at Nava- 
 rino, ib. ; enters on a war with Russia, 478 ; con- 
 cludes the treaty of Adrianople, 481 ; its struggle 
 with Mehemet AH, 500 ; signs the treaty of 
 Unkiar-Skelessi, 501 ; exhaustion of before the 
 forces of Ibrahim Pasha. 502 ; Abdul-Medjid suc- 
 ceeds to the throne of, 503 ; is saved from disso- 
 lution by the armed intervention of England, 
 Russia, Austria, and Prussia, ih. ; modifies the 
 treaty of Unkiar-Skelessi, 504 ; rejects a demand 
 of the emperor Nicholas, that he should exercise 
 a protective power over all the Greek Christians 
 in the Ottoman empire, 522 ; declares war against 
 Russia, 524. 
 Varangians, account of the, 5. 
 
 Vassili, son of Dmitri, succeeds to the grand- 
 princedom, 48 ; purchases from the Golden Horde 
 permission to assume his title, ib. ; during his 
 reign Russia is invaded by Tamerlane, the Tartar 
 conqueror, 49 ; having ofl'ended the Golden Horde, 
 he sues for pardon, ib. ; his death, ib. 
 "Vassili the Blind ascends the throne of the grand- 
 
 princedom, 50 ; is driven from it by his uncle 
 Yury, but restored by the people, ib. ; his caprice 
 and wilfulness, ib. ; vicissitudes to which he is 
 subject, ib. ; his death, 61. 
 
 Va^ssili Ivanovitch ascends the throne, 64 ; silence 
 of history concerning him, ib. ; after severe re- 
 verses, he subdues the Tartars of Kasan, 65 ; his 
 death, 66. 
 
 Vladimir drives his brother Yaropolk from the 
 throne, 18 ; his crafty wisdom, ib. ; he erects a 
 new statue to the pagan god Perune, 19; his 
 licentiousness, ib. ; he appoints a commission to 
 inquire into the religion of surrounding nations, 
 ih. ; besieges the city of Kherson, 20 ; becomes a 
 Christian, and is received into the Greek church, 
 under the name of Basil, ih. ; commands his sub- 
 jects to adopt Christianity, 21 ; bacomes an altered 
 man, ib. ; divides his dominions amongst his sons, 
 ib. ; he dies, 22. 
 
 Vladimir Monomachus declines to accept the throne 
 bequeathed him by his father in contravention of 
 the law of succession, 28; is called to the throne 
 by the people, but again refuses it, ib. ; eventually 
 accepts it to save his country from confusion, ih. ; 
 greatness of his character, ib. ; his farewell pre- 
 cepts to his subjects, 29 ; his death, 30. 
 
 Vladimir, the city of, burnt by the Tartars, 36. 
 
 Vsevolod ascends the throne and reigns fifteen years, 
 26; silence of history res|)ecting him, 27. 
 
 While Sea, expedition to, and blockade of, 530. 
 
 Yaropolk seizes the dominions of his brother, 17 ; is 
 assassinated, 18. 
 
 Yaroslaf drives Sviatopolk out of Kief, 22 ; is de- 
 feated by the Poles, but, on the death of Sviato- 
 polk, ascends the throne a^ grand-prince, 23 ; en- 
 gages in many foreign wars, governs with justice, 
 and constructs a code of laws for the Russians, 
 ib- ; gives the city of Novgorod to his son Vladi- 
 mir, 24 ; partitions the whole of Russia amongst 
 his sons, on condition that the younger ones should 
 be subordinate to the eldest, 25 ; he dies, ih- 
 
 Yaroslaf becomes grand-prince on condition of ac- 
 knowledging the Tartar khan as his superior sove- 
 reign, 38 ; his death, 39. 
 
 Yury, Prince of Moscow, marries a Tartar princess, 
 41 ; he accuses his rival Michael, Prince of Twer, 
 of having poisoned her, ib. ; is assassinated, 42. 
 
 Zingis Khan, see Ghengis. 
 
DIRECTIONS TO THE BINDER. 
 PORTRAIT OF THE EMPEROR ALEXANDER II. (Frontispiece.) 
 VIGNETrE. 
 MAP OF RUSSIA {Introduction) --..-. 
 
 RUSSIA IN ASIA 
 
 . PART OF RUSSIA IN ASIA AND INDEPENDENT TARTARY 
 
 PETER THE GREAT BEHEADING THE STRELITZ -— - 
 
 BATTLE OF PULTOWA 
 
 PORTRAIT OF VISCOUNT WHITWORTH— * - - - 
 
 NAPOLEON I. 
 
 SIR GORE OUSELEY 
 
 I I 
 
 i I 
 
 BATTLE OF EYLAU 
 
 THE CASTLE OF EUROPE— ROUMELI HISSAR 
 
 ENTRANCE TO THE BOSPHORUS FROM THE BLACK SEA . . . - 
 
 BATTLE OF MOSCOW, OR BORODINO 
 
 VIEW OF THE KREMLIN, MOSCOW 
 
 CHURCH OF BLAGENNOI, MOSCOW 
 
 SMOLENSKO CHURCH, ON THE VASILI OSTROFF, NEAR ST. 
 
 PETERSBURG - - - - - 
 
 PASSAGE OF THE BEREZYNA— RETREAT OF THE FRENCH ARMY FROM MOSCOW 
 THE REMNANT OF THE FRENCH " GRAND ARMY" ENTERING PARIS 
 ENTRY OF THE ALLIES INTO PARIS ....-.- 
 
 PASS IN THE BALKAN MOUNTAINS— BULGARIAN SIDE .... 
 
 DITTO DITTO BY HAIDHOS 
 
 VIEW OF ADRIANOPLE - - 
 
 PORTRAIT OF LORD ABERDEEN - - 
 
 VIEW OF UNKIAR-SKELESSI, WITH ENCAMPMENT OF RUSSIANS - 
 BOMBARDMENT OF ST. JEAN D'ACRE - - - . - 
 
 ATTACK ON SIDON 
 
 PORTRAIT OF THE GRAND-DUKE CONSTANTENE 
 
 ^ GENERAL TODTLEBEN - 
 
 CORONATION OF ALEXANDER II. - 
 
 PORTRAIT OF THE EARL OF DURHAM 
 
 ■ COUNT ORLOFF 
 
 GENERAL MOURAVIEFF 
 
 PAGE 
 
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 460 
 
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 482 
 
 501 
 
 503 
 
 503 
 
 534 
 
 534 
 
 546 
 
 54fr 
 
 550 
 
 550 
 
 I 
 

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