THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 GIFT OF 
 
 PROFESSOR 
 GOERGE A. STARR 
 

 
THE 
 
 LIFE 
 
 PETER THE GREAT, 
 
 EMPEROR OF RUSSIA. 
 
 NEW EDITION* 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR OF THE CRITICAL REVIEW OF THE 
 POLITICAL LIFE OF OLIVER CROMWELL. 
 
 TRENTON : 
 
 PRINTED FOR MOORE & LAKE* 
 1813. 
 
LOAN STACK 
 
D 
 PREFACE. 
 
 TF ever there was a man whose actions deserved a 
 particular history, it was PETER!, emperor of Rus- 
 sia. The historian of the late king of Sweden, when 
 lie says that Charles XII. and Peter Alexiowitz were 
 the most extraordinary persons that have been known 
 for many ages, allows the latter to be far the greater 
 man of the two. The one had indeed much to he ad- 
 mired, little to he imitated \ the other will he a subject 
 of wonder to all mankind, and a pattern of imitation 
 to every prince who aims to be truly great. 
 
 But neither does the business of human life permit, 
 or our natural curiosity require, to read over all the 
 circumstances of the most illustrious life, in order to 
 form an idea of the person. Contemporaries may be 
 pleased to view these particulars as they rise, but must 
 wish, when the actions are over, to take a retrospect of 
 them in a narrower compass, and not forever to have 
 recourse to a journal. Tills will hold good at least in 
 general ; and for those who are of a contrary opinion, 
 there were histories of the czar Peter already in print 
 in their own taste, when we ventured to publish one 
 more adapted to ours. If the merit of compiling gave 
 a sanction to transcriptions in one particular, we 
 thought that of abridging might do it to extracts in 
 another. 
 
 The public itself, we venture to say, will be no loser 
 by what has been don?. It has now in reality a new 
 history, in a great measure- written from new mateii- 
 
 < 
 
iv PREFACE. ' <. 
 
 . * * >' 
 
 als, and containing ma^y % pjtt'ticular which were not in* 
 
 our former, nor ftfr any life of th$ <jza^Ifeter, $iat B 
 
 *vfe 
 
 yet come to our hands. 
 
 M. de Fontenelle's admirable oration, pronounced 
 in the academy of sciencics at Paris, in memory of his 
 imperial colleague, is undoubtedly the best summary 
 of his life that has ever appeared. We have translated 
 this almost entirely, made it the text or ground-work 
 of our history, and done little more in many places, 
 than build upon it those circumstances for which it 
 gave us a foundation. Bat the business of war was 
 thought foreign to his subject by our eloquent acad- 
 emician, who considered the legislator more than the 
 conqueror. This obliged us to have recourse to other 
 helps for the czar's military history, which are usually 
 referred to at the bottom of the page. We have even 
 quoted a monthly journal in some of the longest des- 
 criptions* as in the battles of Lezno and Pultowa, and 
 a few other particulars ; not so much for the reputation 
 of the book referred to, as to shew that we and our 
 opposers are but equally copyists. Where indeed can 
 there be more authentic accounts of such actions, than 
 in the relations of those concerned in them, to the use 
 of which every one has an equal right ? 
 
 The first part is only an introduction to the rest ; 
 but such an introduction as we presume the whole will 
 be the better for. After running through that, the 
 reader will be acquainted with the country he travels 
 in, and the people he converses with ; which he could 
 otherwise know only in part, and from accidental cir- 
 cumstances. The brief recapitulation of the czar's 
 establishments, and the short view of his character, 
 which we have drawn together at the end from several 
 authors, and a little reflection on the lu'gtory, is at least 
 
PREFACE. r 
 
 so far a necessary part of this work, that we have the 
 example of most other writers of lives to bear us out, 
 and we do not remember above one that lias quite omit* 
 ted every tiling of that nature. 
 
 The following terms not being explained in the body of the 
 book, I shall give the sense of them here. 
 
 Batagos. A sort of punishment in which the crimi- 
 nal is laid flat on his face, with his back all bare, and 
 his legs and arms extended, when two persons whip 
 him with battocks, which are sticks as thick as a man's 
 little finger, keeping time like smiths, till the party 
 who inflicts the sentence says it is enough. 
 
 Knovt. A punishment never inflicted but in conse- 
 quence of a former trial, or by command of some 
 great man. The knout is a hard leather thong about 
 three feet and a half in length, fastened to the end of 
 a stick two feet and a half, with which the hangman, 
 or knoutavoit master, strikes the offender upon his 
 hare back, as often as the judge commands. The 
 criminal is horsed like one of our school-boys. 
 
 Pine. A severe way of giving the knout, when a 
 man's hands are tied together behind his body, and 
 he is drawn up by a rope fixed to them, a weight at 
 the same time hanging on his feet, till Ms shoulders 
 turn out of joint : and in this position the executioner 
 scourges him according: to his sentence* After this, in 
 
 O * ' 
 
 capital cases, the person's raw back is sometimes 
 roasted over slow fires. 
 
 Rubel. This was formerly an imaginary coin, con- 
 sisting of one hundred copecks, or about nine shillings 
 English. The czar Peter had rubles coined, whose, 
 value cannot be certainly fixed, because of their fre- 
 
vi PREFACE, 
 
 qiient variations. In captain Perry's time, a rubel 
 was worth 8s. 4cl. English, or 100 English pence. 
 
 Werst. A measure of longitude, containing 3504 
 English feet, or ahout two thirds of an English mile* 
 They reckon eighty of these wersts to a geographical 
 degree* and four to a league. 
 
INTRODUCTION, 
 
 extensive empire of RUSSIA is situate partly 
 in Asia and partly in Europe ; bounded on the 
 north hy the Frozen Ocean ; on the south by Great 
 Tartary, the Caspian Sea and Persia ; on the east by 
 the Sea of Japan ; and on the west by Sweden, Poland 
 and the Black Sea. There were three countries that 
 had the name of Russia ; namely. Red Russia, White 
 Russia, which comprehends Lithuania, and Black Rus- 
 sia, which comprehends the governments of Kaluga, 
 Moscow, Tula, Rezan, Volodimir and Yaroslaf ; and 
 hence his imperial majesty takes the title of emperor 
 of all the Russias. This empire, exclusive of the late 
 acquisitions from the Turks and from Poland, forms a 
 square, whose sides are two thousand miles each.. The 
 seas of Russia are the Baltic, the white Sea, the Fro- 
 zen Ocean, the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. There 
 are also five large rivers ; namely, the Dnieper, Vol- 
 ga, Don, Dwina and Oby. A country of such vast 
 extent must lie in different climates, and the soil and 
 products must be as different. The most fertile partis 
 near the frontiers of Poland ; insomuch that the inhab- 
 itants are able to supply their neighbors with corn : 
 the north part is not only more cold, but very marshy, 
 and overrun with forests, inhabited chiefly by wild 
 beasts. Beside domestic animals, there are wild 
 beeves, reindeer, martens, white and black foxes, v, ea- 
 sels, ermines, and sables, whose skins make the best 
 furs in the world* Those that hunt these creatures 
 for their skins, use no fire-arms, for fear of spoiling 
 them. They had very few vines before Peter the 
 Great caused them to be planted in different places. 
 In Russia are large quantities of cotton and silk, (with 
 
8 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 which they make all sorts of stuffs) skins, furs, Russia 
 leather, talc, tallow, hemp, Russia-cloth, honey, \, ax, 
 and almost all the merchandize of China, India, 
 Persia, Turkey and some European countries. Tliis- 
 vast empire was divided hy the late Empress into 41 
 governments ; namely, Petersburg!!, Olonetz, Wiburg, 
 Revel, Riga, Pskoff, Novogorod, Tver, Smolensko, Po- 
 lotsk, Monilef, Orel, Kaluga, Moscow, Tula, Rezan, 
 Volodimir, Yaroslaf, Vologdo, Archangel, Kostroma, 
 Nislinei-Novogorod, Kasan, Simbirsk, Penza, Tambof, 
 Voronetz, Kursk, Novogorod-Severskoi, Tchernigof, 
 Ki^f, Kharkof, Cathariuenslaf, Caucasus, Saratof, Ufa, 
 Viatka, Perm, Tobolsk, Kolyvan and Irkutzk. The 
 inhabitants in general are robust, well shaped and of 
 pretty good complexion. They are great eaters and 
 very fond of brandy. They use bathings, but smoke 
 no tobacco, lest the smoke should dishonor the images 
 of the saints, which they have in great veneration : 
 however they take a great deal of snuff, made of the 
 tobacco brought from Ukraine. They were formerly 
 the most ignorant, brutish people in the world, and 
 many of them now are little better. Formerly no 
 Russians were seen in other countries, and they sel- 
 dom or never sent ambassadors to foreign courts ; but 
 now the gentlemen are more polite, and study the in- 
 terests of different nations. Their armies are always 
 very numerous. They had no men of war nor mer- 
 chant ships before 'the reign of Peter the Great; but 
 in the late reign, powerful Russian squadrons appear- 
 ed, not only in the Baltic, but in the Black Sea, and in 
 the Mediterranean. They have images in their church- 
 es ; and the priests give a passport, to those that 
 are dying, addressed to St. Nicholas, who is desired 
 to entreat St. Peter to open the gates of heaven, as 
 they have certified that the bearer is a good Christian. 
 Tiie church is governed by a patriarch, under whom 
 are the archbishops and bishops. Every priest is call- 
 ed a papa, or pope, and of these there wore iOOO in 
 only. Formerly he was thought a learned 
 
INTRODUCTION. 9 
 
 man who could read and write ; but Peter the Great 
 undertook to introduce the arts and sciences; and, in 
 172-i, the first university was founded that ever was in 
 Russia ; there is also an academy of sciences at Pe- 
 tersburg]), supplied with some of the best professors 
 in Europe. With respect to dress, a long beard is 
 in high estimation among the people of Russia. 
 The commonalty have still a great veneration for tliis 
 fringe of human hair, notwithstanding the efforts of 
 
 *_5 
 
 their mpnarchs to root it out ; and it is only those de- 
 pending upon government, in the army and navy, who 
 have yet complied with the custom and wishes of the 
 court. Those who retain their beards, retain likewise 
 the ancient dress ; the long swaddling coat, either of 
 skins, or of coarse cloth lined with skins, in winter ; 
 and in summer, of cloth only. About their middle 
 they have a sash of any color ; but what they mostly 
 prefer is green or yellow. They wear trousers instead 
 of breeches and stockings ; their limbs are, besides, 
 wrapped in many folds of woollen stuffs to keep them 
 warm, and above all they wear boots. Their shirts are 
 fashioned as womens ; their necks exposed to the cold, 
 are rendered hard and impenetrable from this practice. 
 Government continues to exert every nerve to compell 
 the subjects to adopt the German dress. The clergy 
 alone exccpted, none can procure any place or favor 
 from court, upon other condition than banishing the 
 Asiatic sheepskin robes. The worn-out veteran retires 
 with a pension, upon the express terms of never again 
 assuming the habit of his fathers. But so zealously 
 attached are the multitude to former manners, and so 
 honorable do they esteem them, that a Russian dress- 
 ed in his beard and gown, tells you by his looks that 
 he has not prostituted the memory of his ancestors. 
 The dress of the women is the reverse of the men, 
 both in fashion and color; every part of it being as 
 short and tight as decency will allow, and very gaudy. 
 It is exactly the same with that of the highland women 
 hi Scotland ; both have the short jacket, the striped 
 
10 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 petticoat and the tartan plaid ; and botli too, in general 
 have a napkin rolled ahout their head. The Russian 
 women are, however, far more elegant and rich in their 
 attire ; nor is gold lace and paint wanting to set off' 
 their charms. The young generation are modernizing 
 these ancient vestments ; the stiff emhroidered napkin 
 is supplanted by one of flowing silk ; the jacket and 
 petticoat are of muslin, or other fine stuffs $ and the 
 plaid is exchanged for a silk or satin cloak, in the cold 
 season, lined with fur. The dress of the higher ranks 
 is after the French and English fashion ; but all wear 
 a covering of fur six months of the year. The sove- 
 reign of Russia is absolute. He was formerly called 
 grand duke, which is now the title of the heir appa- 
 rent ; he afterwards assumed the title of czar, which 
 the natives pronounce tzar, or zaar, a corruption of 
 Cesar, emperor; from some fancied relation to the 
 Roman emperors, on account of which they also bear 
 the eagle as a symbol of their empire. The first who 
 bore the title of czar, was Basil, son of Basilides, who 
 freed his country from its subjection to the Tartars, about 
 the year 1470. Perhaps no country ever exhibited, in 
 so short a time, the wonders that may be effected by 
 the genius and exertions of one man. Peter the Great 
 at his accession to the throne, found his subjects of all 
 ranks involved in the grossest ignorance and barba- 
 rism ; his numerous armies ferocious and undisciplined ; 
 and he had neither merchant ships nor men of \viir ; 
 which, added to the remoteness of her situation, ren- 
 dered the influence of Russia in the politics of Europe 
 of little consideration^ Peter civilized his barbarous 
 subjects, disciplined his armies, built cities and fortres- 
 ses, and created a navy. Those national improve- 
 ments have been continued since his time, and Russia 
 now holds a rank among the nations of Europe, of which 
 human foresight, at the commencement of the cight- 
 teenth century, could bavo formed no conception** 
 h is tbe capital of the whole empire, 
 
LIFE 
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 
 
 I. 
 
 History of the Czar Peter Jllexionvifa, from his accession 
 to the throne 9 till the taking ofrfsophfrom the Turks. 
 
 "OETER, the son of Alexis Micliaelowitz, and Na- 
 talia Kirilowna Naraskin, was born the llth of 
 June, 1672. He was but ten years old when proclaimed 
 czar, upon the death of his brother Theodore, to the 
 prejudice of prince John, who, as well for the weak- 
 ness of his mind as the imbecility of his body, was 
 judged incapable of the government. The strelitzes, 
 excited by the princess Sophia, an artful and ambitious 
 woman, revolted against him in favor of John, the prin- 
 cess- s own brother. She, who in czar Theodore's time, 
 had made her way from a monastery to the court, con- 
 trary to an ancient custom then in being, and towards 
 the end of his reign had far insinuated herself into the 
 management of affairs, was too well acquainted with 
 the character of Peter, and those who were like to be 
 about him, to expect any great share in the adminis- 
 tration under the young monarch. This, and the re- 
 gret she conceived at seeing her own brother excluded 
 from the crown, engaged all her address to prevail on 
 some great men of the court, and in particular gen- 
 eral Couvanski, president of the strelitzes, and the 
 palatine Odoyerski, to bring over the troops to John's 
 interest. 
 
12 THE LIFE OF 
 
 The more effectually to acc,^v{ ish 'his, they secured 
 the officers who were to attend the, c; ic dore's 
 
 funeral. These declare u to their respective compa- 
 nies, that, Theodore had ber loned by his physi- 
 cians ; and t-i.it the Narass.:ii.s, the maternal uncles of 
 Peter, hud smothered Pi r;ic? John with a cushion. 
 " And there is now ft ;-.iracy, gentlemen, said they, 
 against yourselves ; (or certain boyars have been tam- 
 pering with us ? to mix poison in the liquor, which ac- 
 cording to custom is to be distributed to you at this 
 solemnity." Their insinuation had all the effect they 
 could wish for : the alarm-bell rung, and the whole 
 city cried out, The Naraskins have murdered prince 
 John." The guards drew up in order of battle before 
 the palace, on the 15th of May early in the morning, 
 and demanded to have the Naraskins delivered to them : 
 but prince Odewski, for whom they had some respect, 
 came and told them they were imposed on $ for both 
 the princes were alive, and if they would have but a 
 little patience, lie would bring them into their presence. 
 
 This might have suppressed the whole conspiracy, 
 had not the princess sent down some casks of brandy 
 among the rioters, under pretence of quieting, but with 
 intent to inflame them afresh, as it effectually did ; for 
 though the two princes appeared immediately after, 
 and in their own persons exhorted the soldiers to re- 
 tire, they again demanded the persons whom they sus- 
 pected to be the authors of the late czar's death : and, 
 upon receiving a denial, they forced the gates, entered 
 the apartments, and threw out of the windows all the 
 officers they met with, others below catching them on 
 their pikes. They came at last into the chamber of 
 the young czar, and massacred in his presence all who 
 
 5*e fled thither for refuge : nor was their fury ap- 
 peased with all this destruction ; for they entered the 
 apartments of the czarina dowager Natalia, mother 
 of Peter, and robbed it of all the riches they could 
 find there. They murdered her elder brother; drag- 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 13 
 
 ged out her father by force, and thrust him into a con- 
 vent. Theodore Soltikow, who resembled another of 
 the Naraskins ; Romadanowski, who had been gener- 
 alissimo of the czar's army ; general Czeremetow, 
 who lost the battle against the Poles in 1661, and had 
 been redeemed but two years before ; general Dolho- 
 rouki, with his brother and two sons ; Landnow, sec- 
 retary of state, the chancellor, who had been recalled 
 from banishment, and restored to his office ; Tapkin, 
 who concluded the last treaty of Peace with the Turks ; 
 Boutarkin, the physician in ordinary, and many other 
 officers, were all put to the sword in this military exe- 
 cution. Their bodies were dragged into the market- 
 place, and there exposed for three days successively. 
 Their houses were pillaged and burned. In a word, 
 the massacre continued till prince John was proclaimed 
 czar, in conjunction with Peter. They were both 
 crowned, and the princess Sophia declared regent, 
 which put an end to the rebellion. 
 
 During these disturbances, Anastasius Naraskin 
 having hid himself in a church, the czarina was induced 
 by threats to discover him, princess Sophia premising 
 her own interposition with the populace in his favor. 
 But all her entreaties were in vain, (and pr- l ; i bly 
 she, who was author of the whole mischief, desired 
 they should be so ;) the mob tore him from her, car- 
 ried him into the chancery, before the president Ccu- 
 vanski, where, under pretence of many accusations, 
 he was severely tortured, and afterwards brought into 
 the market and hewn to pieces. 
 
 The czarina Natalia, soon after this, retired, under 
 pretence of devotion, with the czar John to the Troit- 
 ski, or trinity monastery, whither prince Boris Gallic- 
 Em had already conveyed Peter. She summoned 
 hither the nobility and most of the senators ; who be- 
 ing together, sent to the rebels at Moscow, to demand 
 the authors of this insurrection. Accordingly, and 
 without hesitation, all who were known to be guilty 
 
 B 
 
14 THE LIFE OF 
 
 were delivered up, together with the tenth man in ev- 
 ery regiment of strelitzes, amounting in all to above 
 2000. These unhappy wretches* looking on them- 
 selves as just victims to insulted authority, having re- 
 ceived the sacrament, and taken leave of their fami- 
 lies, came to the convent full of the most affecting 
 penitence. They brought with them the instruments 
 for their own execution, the ringleaders having halters 
 about their necks, and every three of the others bear- 
 ing two of them a block, and the third a hatchet. 
 When they came into the court of the convent, under 
 the window where the two czars were, they laid down 
 their necks on the blocks, crying out, " We are all 
 guilty, and it depends on the pleasure of the czars to 
 punish not only us but all our families : let them pro- 
 nounce our sentence." In this posture they lay above 
 three hours, before any resolution was taken. Mean 
 while the president Couvanski was sent for, and taken 
 into custody, together with his son, before they could 
 reach the convent. The senators would have examin- 
 ed the case, according to the ordinary form of process ; 
 but Miloskiuski addressing himself to the czars, per- 
 suaded them to wave all trial, which could now be 
 only a matter of form, since the prisoners had pleaded 
 guilty. The rest of the council came into his senti- 
 ment, and the result of the affair was, that Couvan- 
 ski and his son, with about thirty of the chief rebels, 
 were beheaded, and all the rest dismissed. ^/Iilouslau- 
 ski had a private reason for proceeding in this silent 
 manner, which was never known till after his death. 
 
 Both the brothers now reigned, in conjunction with 
 the princess, who had her image stamped on the coin, 
 together with the ire, and signed all writings, not only 
 in the empire, but to foreign courts. She frequented 
 the senate diligently, exhorted the members of it to 
 their duty, governed with great prudence, and shewed 
 a zeal for the welfare of the empire. Her love to 
 lier brother John, and hatred to Peter, made her zeal- 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 
 
 ous to procure a wife for the former, notwithstanding 
 his ill state of health. The lady pitched upon was 
 daughter of Alexander Soltikow, who had before been 
 designed for czar Theodore, and was counted the hand- 
 somest woman in the whole Russian empire, She was 
 brought to court in a disguised manner, that the match 
 might not be prevented. From Siberia, of which her 
 father was then governor, she was conveyed to Mos- 
 cow, without any one's knowledge but the contracting 
 parties ; and in three days after her arrival she was 
 declared czarina, and the nuptials consummated. 
 
 While the interest of John, and the means of con- 
 tinuing the succession in his family, were thus pro- 
 moted, the very education of young Peter was neglected. 
 The Muscovite education was in general very bad, 
 and that of princes, exposed as they are to flattery, 
 more than truth, is seldom good in the most polite 
 countries. But there was yet more in the case of Pe- 
 ter, whom all premeditated means were taken to spoil. 
 The ambitions Sophia plainly foresaw, that if he one 
 day proved the great prince he seemed capable of 
 making, her own authority must fall of course. She 
 placed about him every object that might fix his atten- 
 tion, stifle his natural light, corrupt his heart and de- 
 bauch his manners. But neither can a good education 
 create a great character, nor a bad one spoil it. Heroes 
 of all kinds come finished out of the hands of nature, 
 and the qualities she gives them are insurmountable. 
 An inclination for military exercises appeared in the 
 very infancy of the czar Peter : he was then delighted 
 with beating a drum, not as a mere childish diversion., 
 but that he might learn the business of a soldier. By 
 this means he became so expert, that he would fre- 
 quently give lessons to those of the profession, the best 
 of whom he excelled. 
 
 But nothing was more remarkable in the youth of 
 this monarch, than the strong antipathy he then had 
 to water, which, had it not been removed, must have 
 rendered ineffectual most of his great qualities. V A 
 
16 THE LIFE OF 
 
 Swedish officer, who lived thirteen years in the coun- 
 try, assures us, that " from the sixth to the fourteenth 
 year of his age, Peter was so fearful of this element, 
 that he could not look upon standing, much less run- 
 ning; water, especially if attended with any noise ; and 
 that for this reason lie never walked in the garden of 
 his palace, which is watered by the river Moscua, nor 
 would he cross over the smallest hrook, though on a 
 bridge, unless the windows of his coach were shut 
 close." It may be worth while to relate the cause of 
 this strange aversion, and how it was removed. 
 
 * When he was about five years old, his mother had 
 him one day asleep in her lap, in a coach, and passing 
 over a dam where there was a cataract, the violent 
 fall of water awakened him in such a fright as threw 
 him into a fever, which, though he happily got rid of 
 it, it left such a terror on his spirits, as produced the 
 abovementioned effect. 
 
 This aversion continuing, was matter of great con- 
 cern to all about him, as it necessarily checked his en- 
 terprising genius. But one fine day, prince Boris 
 Galliczin, his governor and chief favorite, persuaded 
 him to ride into the country, and partake in a hunting 
 match, without informing him that there was any 
 hrook near the place. After a little diversion, Gallic- 
 zin cried out, What hot weather ! that there was 
 a river at band, that I might jump in and bathe '" 
 How ! (said the young czar) would you kill yourself?" 
 The prince answered, " I have frequently bathed with 
 your father, and yet your majesty sees me alive. No- 
 thing can be more w r holesome in sultry weather." The 
 czar was surprised, and coldly replied I have heard 
 that people are frequently drowned." "Aye, (said Gal- 
 lic/.in, but not in water scarce so high as one's knees. 
 If you please, sir, I will send somebody to look for a 
 stream, that you may see it is p ssible to bathe without 
 drowning." The brook was easily found ; the czar 
 
 * Struhlenberg's description of tUc north and east parts of Europe 
 
 stici Asia. 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 17 
 
 rode towards it trembling, and stopped his horse a 
 good way off. Galiiezin ordered some men to cross it 
 on horseback, forwards and backwards ; upon which 
 the czar ventured to ride nearer. The prince seeing 
 this, rode through himself, and ordered some of his 
 people to cross it on foot. They did : the czar ad- 
 mired at what he saw ; but at last had the courage to 
 ride his OW T II horse over. Pleased with what lie had 
 performed, he from that time used himself to the water, 
 till by degrees he got quite rid of this troublesome an- 
 tipathy. 
 
 This Galiiezin was nephew to the prime minister of 
 that name, who made so great a figure during the ad- 
 ministration of the princess Sophia ; to whom he was 
 entirely attached, as his kinsman was to Peter. The 
 characters of these two men, and the history of their 
 respective fortunes, will take in most of the affairs 
 during the czar's minority. 
 
 The elder Galiiezin, prince Basil Basiliowitz, was 
 descended from the Jagellons, grand dukes of Lithua- 
 nia ; which made him no less considerable for his illus- 
 trious extraction, than for the high station he was ad- 
 vanced to. He was the ablest politician at that time 
 in Muscovy ; the most learned and accomplished of 
 ah 1 the boyars; a friend to foreigners and an encoura- 
 ger of industry : he would, indeed, have been without 
 exception, had not his affection for his mistress led 
 him beyond the bounds of his duty, and involved hou 
 in the ruin of that ambitious woman. It was cliieily 
 owing to his advice and dexterity, that she w r as able so 
 long to maintain her vast authority which she, in re- 
 turn exerted to the utmost in his support, against those 
 of the boyars, who were in the interest of the czar 
 Peter. But at last, resolving no longer to be imposed 
 upon by this overgrown favorite, (whose great credit 
 with the princess did not escape some malicious inter- 
 pretations) the nobility found means to remove him 
 from Ids employments, after several unsuccessful at- 
 tempts. 
 
THE LIFE OF 
 
 Once he narrowly escaped assassination, as lie was 
 going in his sled to wait on the czar. An obscure 
 person, who had watched the opportunity, seized him 
 suddenly hy the heard, in order to stab him ; but whilst 
 lie was drawing out his dagger, which according to 
 the Muscovite fashion, stuck in his girdle, the prince's 
 servant had the good fortune to stop his hand. The 
 man, far from being dispirited, openly avowed his in- 
 tention, and told the prince that three hundred citi- 
 zens, out of pity to their country, had conspired his 
 destruction, which some of them, he did not question, 
 would take more certain measures to effect." He was 
 going on with his reproaches, had he not instantly 
 been dragged away to prison, where, after suffering 
 the rack, he was privately executed, to prevent any 
 disturbance from the people. 
 
 This outrage was soon, followed by another, less dan- 
 gerous indeed in its contrivance, but equally convinc- 
 ing to Galliczin of the sentiments the populace had of 
 his ministry. 
 
 A war breaking out between the Russians and Grim 
 Tartars, a proper person was debated on to command 
 the army of the former. Prince Galliczin would glad- 
 ly have been excused, as well for fear of the enemies 
 lie must leave behind him at court, as because he 
 knew how much his credit must depend on the success 
 of the expedition : but the reason of his refusal being 
 sufficiently obvious, he was universally complimented 
 into the acceptance of this charge, which he executed 
 in two campaigns, in the years 1687 and 1689, with 
 much more parade than real advantage. It was just 
 upon his departure to the last of these, that a covered 
 coffin was found at his palace gate, with a note enclosed, 
 containing these words : Galliczin, unless the cam- 
 paign thou art now going to open, prove more success- 
 ful than the former, we are resolved to make sure work 
 Irith thee." 
 
 It is needless to outer into the particulars of a war, 
 ty&ch consisted more of gompous preparations* . 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 19 
 
 tedious marches, than any actions worthy of notice. 
 Galliczin, though unexperienced in military affairs, 
 had, however the address in the first expedition, to 
 throw off the odium that threatened himst If, upon John 
 Samuelerrick, prince or hettman of the Cossacks, who 
 was instantly deposed, and Mazeppa, a man we shall 
 have occasion to mention hereafter, elected in his room ; 
 while Galliczin was received by the princess regent 
 with all the honors of a conqueror, and very magnifi- 
 cent presents. The next year he had penetrated far- 
 ther than before, and with a more powerful army, when 
 he surprised the world with a treaty of peace, just 
 when it was expected he would have pushed the enemy 
 to the last extremity. He was tempted, it seems, to 
 act thus, by the promise of a very large sum of ducats.; 
 but when the barrels came to be opened, in which the 
 purchase money was sent, a great part of their con- 
 tents appeared to be only counters. 
 
 As these Crim Tartars will frequently be mentioned 
 in this history, I shall here give some account of them. 
 Their chief seat is a fine fertile peninsula, called an- 
 ciently Taurica Chersonesus, surrounded partly by the 
 Pal; is M&otis, and partly by the Black Sea. Besides 
 which, their chain or prince reigns over a large tract 
 of land to the northward, and extending far east and 
 west, including Nogai, Bongaiae, and part of Cireas- 
 sia. They have lived many centuries in strict alliance 
 with, or rather in heavy vassalage tinder, the Porte ; 
 and in case of a failure in the Ottoman male line, the 
 cham of Tartary is to succeed to the Turkish empire.. 
 This prince is called emperor by his own subjects, and 
 has great outward respect shewn him by the Porte ; 
 yet a little matter serves to depose him, and occasions 
 of this nature are so frequently found, that few r chains 
 have died upon the throne in an old age. The Tar- 
 tars are the greatest thieves upon earth, and continu- 
 ally make inroads on their neighbors only to rob them : 
 but at the same time, in imitation of their ancestors 
 the Scythians, they are the most hospitable to strain 
 
20 THE LIFE OF 
 
 gers, when they pass through their country. When 
 they go to war with the Ottoman army, they are main- 
 tained by the Porte ; but receive no other pay except 
 their booty. They were formerly victorious against 
 the Russians, and have often penetrated into the very 
 heart of their country. They once burnt the city of 
 Moscow, and made the czars submit to those scandal- 
 ous terms, which were shook off by John Basiliowitz. 
 
 Galliczin's expeditions against these people, were 
 but a prelude to those of his master against the Turks, 
 which soon after followed. The young monarch, now 
 in the eighteenth year of Ids age, was married during 
 the minister's absence, to Ottokesa Federona, daughter 
 of the boyar Fedor Abrahamowitz. This affair, man- 
 aged by Galliczin's enemies, and entirely against the 
 inclinations of the princess, increased the party of 
 czar Peter, which had hitherto been weakest. So that 
 when Galliczin came home, he found all his measures 
 disconcerted; a young czarina big with child ; a strong 
 party of enemies, well informed of all the particulars 
 of his dishonorable campaign ; and a master, who now 
 began to be so in fact, denying him audience at first, 
 and hardly prevailed on to grant it at the intercession 
 of the princess : in a word, he underwent the most se- 
 vere reproaches, and had nothing to plead in his own 
 justification. 
 
 These presages of his approaching ruin, which be- 
 gan to draw on a-pace, engaged the unhappy minister 
 to run every length, that the enterprising genius of 
 his mistress could find out. Unwilling to bear any 
 control, she, in an arbitrary manner, according to the 
 custom of the Russians after a victory, would distri- 
 bute the imperial favors to the general officers, as if 
 they indeed had been victorious. But whereas it was 
 before usual to give only a royal vest as the highest 
 mark of honor, she bestowed on her favorite no less 
 than 1500 peasants* houses, and on the other com- 
 manders in proportion. Peter opposed this extrava- 
 gant beneficence, and was for enquiring into the merit 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 21 
 
 of tlieir respective services ; but the regent's authority 
 for this time carried it against the czar's. 
 
 The princess, having thus tried her strength, brought 
 Galliczin once more into full power ; and, willing to 
 prevent her own disgrace, which must terminate in the 
 being thrust again into a convent, she formed a design 
 against the life of her brother. Galliczin, though nat- 
 urally a friend to moderate councils, perceived he had 
 embarked too far in her interest to think of receding, 
 and came easily into her scheme. But a number of 
 men, entirely devoted to her service, was necessarily 
 in the capital. The hettman Mazeppa owed Ids whole 
 fortune to Gallic zin ? s policy, and was therefore judged 
 a proper instrument on this occasion. He was intro- 
 duced, with 500 of his principal officers, under pre- 
 tence of doing homage to the czars, who woidd never 
 admit him into their presence 5 for John, in spite of 
 natural affection, was now so fully convinced of his sis- 
 ter's ambitious views, that he usually came wholly into 
 Peter's interest, which was indeed his own. 
 
 One Theodore Thekelavitau, who had been presi- 
 dent of the strelitzes since the death of Kouvanski, 
 was pitched upon as the leading man in this bloody 
 enterprise. Peter was at one of his country houses, 
 upon the river Yarns, a short league from Moscow, 
 which was to be the scene of this horrid assassination. 
 Among the 600 select strelitzes, who were to attend 
 Thekelavitau to this place, there were two however 
 more faithful than the rest. These men, shocked at 
 what they had undertaken, escaped privately to czar 
 Peter, and warned him of his danger. The czar jump- 
 ed immediately out of bed, sent for the Naraskins, his 
 maternal uncles, and after consultation, despatched one 
 of them, with Boris Galliczin the favorite, t<- enquire 
 into the truth of this intelligence. They met Thekela- 
 vitau on the road, hid themselves while he passed by 
 with his troops, and then posted back to secure the 
 czar; who had just time en," ' to escape with his 
 mother, his wife and his wile's sister, to the Troitsk! 
 monastery. 
 
THE LIFE OF 
 
 When the traitor came to Obrogensko, the name of 
 the seat, and found the czar was missing, he could not 
 guess the cause, nor learn it from any there present. 
 But, in the evening, letters came to the princess, re- 
 proaching her with her treacherous intent. She ab- 
 solately denied the matter, pretending these guards 
 came only to relieve the others then on duty ; but this 
 excuse was thought very insufficient, because soldiers 
 are always relieved in the day. The czar published 
 the attempt, ordered the militia to be raised, and sum- 
 moned together the boyars, who in a week's time were 
 with him in great numbers. 
 
 Galliczin was ordered to appear, but pretended he 
 was restrained by czar John, who indeed acted at this 
 time just as directed by his sister. In order to secure 
 the strelitzes, he harrangued them from the top of the 
 palace stairs, insinuating that Peter had some design 
 against the peace of the state, and enjoining them not 
 to obey his orders. The princess repeated the same 
 thing ; but spite of this and all her other artifices, 
 they deserted her interest, and soon obliged her to 
 make application for her own security. Two of Pe- 
 ter's aunts, who knew nothing of the conspiracy, were 
 employed for her mediators. The young czar con- 
 vinced them of his sister's horrid designs, and engaged 
 them firmly to himself. He did the like by the patri- 
 arch, who was sent next on the same message, upon 
 shewing the old prelate that he was to have been 
 taken off himself, if the plot had succeeded, and the 
 abbot Sylvester, a conspirator, advanced in his place. 
 
 Finding her interest, as well as authority, now at 
 an end, the princess, having secured Thekelavitau, set 
 out in person, accompanied by Galliczin, for the Tro- 
 itski monastery, in hopes to appease her brother, who 
 had sent an order to the strelitzes, to bring the trai- 
 tors to him. The czar Peter, resolving not to see his 
 sister, had her stopped on the road and ordered back 
 to Moscow; whence she was soon after conducted to 
 Dewitz. a little distance from town, and shut up in a 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 23 
 
 monastery of her own building. Here she was kept 
 die remainder of her life, which was fifteen years, 
 from 1689 till 170i ; but not without several efforts 
 of herself and party for restoring her to liberty and 
 power, notwithstanding that none were permitted ever 
 to see her, but by the express leave of the vice-czar 
 Theodore Rodomanofski. 
 
 Galliezin, with his son and several of his friends, 
 were banished to Karga, a town in the north of Sibe- 
 ria, there to remain as long as he lived, with the poor 
 allowance of three pence a day for his subsistence. 
 His palace was seized, and an inventory taken of all 
 his goods and riches, for the use of the government. 
 There was found an almost incredible number of costly 
 moveables, and in one trunk, hid in a cellar, no less 
 than 100,000 ducats in specie. As for Thekelavitau, 
 after undergoing a severe examination, and the pun- 
 ishment of the knout, lie was beheaded with two of his 
 strelitzes, who were to have been assassins. Others 
 of that body were whipped, or had their tongues cut 
 out, and then were sent to end their days in Siberia. 
 
 When the executions were over, the czar Peter re- 
 turned to Moscow, and made his public entry, under a 
 guard of 18,000 strelitzes. The czar John received 
 liini at the entrance of the palace, where they were 
 reconciled in form. Thus ended this dangerous affair, 
 which had well nigh cost the life of our hero, before 
 he discovered any of those great qualities which hith 
 since made him so deservedly famous. lat 
 
 During the minority of Peter, Prince Boris Gai.ir, 
 zin, cousin of the former, had been his chief favor he 
 He was of a character very different from his great ,ve 
 lation, and always in the opposite interest :'but, tlioi to 
 a ID an of fine understanding, as his abilities for 1>uen 
 ness were far inferior to the other's, and his persons, 
 vices much greater, especially in his youth, he lug 
 never been looked upon as any formidable rival. Toi- 
 !N araskins had been the chief cause of his advancemeips 
 and the introducing him so far into the good graces v - 
 
2* THE LIFE OF 
 
 his master. But now, upon the disgrace of the prin- 
 cess Sophia and her minister, they began to aspire at 
 the chief employments in the state ; which made them 
 envy their own creature, whose great interest in their 
 nephew they esteemed the only obstacle to their ambi- 
 tious views. The having three times rescued him from 
 destruction, since the death of the late czar, could not 
 but leave a grateful impression on the mind of young 
 Peter ; and as he had been his governor, his most con- 
 stant companion, and a party in all his pleasures, that 
 first esteem was improved into a partial fondness for 
 his person 
 
 Bent upon the ruin of this new minister, the Naras- 
 kins insinuated all they could think of to his disadvan- 
 tage. " He must, said they, have been concerned in 
 the late conspiracy, because he was so zealous to pre- 
 vent his cousin's execution ; and his majesty might as 
 well recall this latter from exile, as favour one so near- 
 ly his relation, who would undoubtedly pursue the 
 same maxims, and might one day attempt to restore 
 the princess Sophia." It does not appear wiiat ground 
 they had for such intimations, or how they could hope to 
 make them effectual. But an artful courtier, who has 
 the ear x>f his master, can throw what colors he pleases 
 on his adversary. Peter was long unwilling to he 
 wrought upon, but consented at last to give his word, 
 that his favorite should be confined to his own estate. 
 
 w*. 
 
 shev 3 prince heard of it. and, without waiting for his 
 tak<1 os ty' s order, retired thither. The czar, reflecting 
 abb wua * ne ua( l done, se nt courier after courier to bring 
 jn back, lie was with the greatest difficulty pre- 
 an .iled on, and for some time continued in as high credit 
 out -ever. But by bestowing his favors in a scandalous 
 j^anncr, without regard to true merit, he at last ren- 
 ] ia( fred himself really obnoxious, and justly suffered the 
 tor> me disgrace as his cousin and predecessor, to the 
 sisfeat joy of the Naraskins. 
 
 | These men now succeeded to the power they had 
 TOO long panted after, but made no better use of it than 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 25 
 
 prince Boris had done. So far was either of these ad- 
 ministrations from being equal to that of the great 
 Galliczin, (who had in the main his country's interest 
 at heart, was a lover of learning and arts, and a man 
 of great sobriety) that people of the best understand- 
 ing began to wish for his restoration, and might per- 
 haps have attempted it, as believing his former treach- 
 ery was entirely owing to his mistress, had not the in- 
 troduction of a new favorite, one Le Fort, made him 
 no longer necessary. M. De la Motraye has given us 
 the history and character of this extraordinary man, 
 the substance of which here follows : 
 
 M. Le Fort was of a reputable family at Geneva, 
 some of whom were in the magistracy of that city. 
 After having passed through his studies at college, his 
 father gave him his choice of either the counting-house 
 or long robe, for a profession to settle in. As his in- 
 clination was wholly for the army, the others were 
 equally indifferent. But the father not encouraging 
 his military taste, he desired to be sent to Amsterdam, 
 as the best school for trade. M. Franconis, one of the 
 most considerable merchants in the place, was chosen 
 for his master ; who, charmed with his genius and ap- 
 plication, conceived a great esteem for him. Having 
 a ship laden for Copenhagen, M. Franconis complied 
 with his man's desire, and gave him charge of the 
 cargo. 
 
 Young Le Fort discharged his commission with 
 great advantage to his master, even beyond what 
 could be expected. In the mean time, his good air, 
 and personal merit, gained him access to persons of the 
 best distinction. His military taste began to revive 
 at sight of the Danish troops, and prompted him to 
 get acquainted with some of the officers. He even 
 put himself under arms, exercised among the soldiers, 
 and was master of all their discipline. But learning 
 that the court of Denmark was going to send an am- 
 bassador to Moscow, who was looking out for pages 
 that were tall and well made, he got himself recom- 
 
 C 
 
26 THE LIFE OF 
 
 mended in that character. The minister, charmed 
 with his person and address, told him it entirely de- 
 pended upon liimself, whether he would accompany 
 him or not. As his excellency was not to depart for 
 two months, Le Fort desired leave to write to his mas- 
 ter and father, for their consent. In his letter to M. 
 Franconis, he expressed his strong inclination to travel, 
 and heg'ged that he would join another letter that lie 
 had sent his father, to obtain his leave. M. Franconis 
 did so, and he said the kindest things possible of his 
 servant ; giving it as his own opinion, from what had 
 hitherto appeared, that the young man could not bat 
 succeed in whatever he undertook. Old M. Le Fort's 
 answer was agreeable to his son's wishes, and brought 
 with it a remittance for his particular occasions. 
 
 The ambassador, in his way to Moscow, staid some 
 time at Mittaw in Cpurland, to execute a commission 
 from the king his master. Here Le "Fort applied him- 
 self to learn the language of the country, which is a 
 sort of Sclavonian, and got sisch a mastery of it, as to 
 serve the ambassador for an interpreter all the rest of 
 the journey ; and afterwards at the Russian court, 
 where they speak another dialect of the Sclavonian, 
 which he likewise instantly learned. In the mean time 
 
 * 
 
 he perfected himself in the German, which he knew 
 little of before, and came to understand the Danish. 
 
 As the ambassador's magnificence recommended 
 him to czar John, his personal merit did the same to 
 Peter, who often visited him for the sake of his conver- 
 sation. One day dining with his excellency, he took 
 notice of Lc Fort, who was waiting behind his master's 
 chair, in his office of interpreter. His majesty asked 
 
 JL 9 9 V 
 
 him what countryman he was ? where he had learned 
 the Russian tongue ? with other questions. Le Fort's 
 answers were so satisfactory and respectful, that the 
 czar demanded if he would cuter into his service ? 
 " Whatever ambition, (says Le Fort) I might have to 
 serve so great a monarch, I depend on a lord who gives 
 me so many marks of his bounty, that neither duty nor 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 27 
 
 gratitude will allow me to promise." " But (said the 
 czar) if I hav" your master's consent, will you then be 
 
 willing ?" Yes, (replied our adventurer) but I beg 
 your majesty would ask by some other interpreter than 
 myself." The czar, by his own interpreter, said to the 
 ambassador, " this young man speaks very good Rus- 
 sian." The other answered, "he lias a genius to learn 
 any thing," and related the surprising progress he had 
 made in several other languages, ail within the com- 
 pass of four months. Le Fort withdrew to some dis- 
 tance, while his master was speaking his praises $ and 
 then the czar turning his lie ad, ordered him to bring 
 him a glass of wine. Iiis majesty used him for an in- 
 terpreter in the rest of that day's conversation $ but 
 nothing more passed concerning himself. 
 
 The next time the ambassador went to court, his 
 majesty declared he should be glad to have that young 
 man about him. " Ask him, sir, (said he) if he is wil- 
 ling to serve me ; if so, you shall have one of my in- 
 terpreters while you have occasion." Consent being 
 given, his majesty added, " well, let him come to me 
 tomorrow morning, at my levee." Le Fort according- 
 ly went, was immediately made first interpreter, and 
 soon after became so much a favorite, that his majesty 
 carried him with him wherever he went, continually 
 asked him questions about the courts he had seen, as 
 Savoy, France, and Denmark, and other foreign mat- 
 ters ; and was always charmed with his answers. 
 
 Talking one day of the king of Denmark's life- 
 guards, the czar asked him what he thought of his. 
 " Your guards, and all your majesty's soldiers, (said 
 Le Fort) are fine well made men, who want nothing 
 but to be well disciplined and clothed in a proper man- 
 ner." He then objected against their long coats, as 
 inconvenient and unbeoming a soldier. " Coulsdt thou 
 let me see (said the czar) some clothes that are more 
 convenient ? 5S Le Fort answered he would endeavor ; 
 went immediately to the Danish ambassador's tailor, 
 was measured lor a captain cf the guard's suit, and a 
 
38 THE LIFE OF 
 
 private man's. Two days after he appeared in the 
 first at the czar's levee, who did not know 1dm till lie 
 spoke 5 but then commended his diligence, and much 
 approved the dress. In two days more he appeared 
 in the other, which was equally pleasing $ and the czar 
 declared he would have such for a whole company, who 
 should be disciplined after the foreign manner. 
 
 Le Fort sent to all the foreign merchants at Mos- 
 cow, and went to some himself, for things necessary to 
 clothe this company. All the tailors lie could find in 
 the houses of ambassadors and merchants, he took into 
 pay, and obtained an order from the czar for measur- 
 ing some of the tallest and handsomest strelitzes. He 
 got together besides a number of foreigners, that had 
 some military knowledge, and were already entered, 
 or willing to enter into the czar's service ; had them 
 clothed according to their respective posts, and at 
 length completed a company of fifty men. At the 
 head of these, with beat of drum, he appeared before 
 the palace gate one morning, a little before the stre- 
 litzes mounted guard. The czar, coming to the win- 
 dow, was as much surprised as pleased at this specta- 
 cle. Their captain then gave them their first lesson 
 of military exercise ; which was no sooner over, but 
 the czar came down, and said he would enter into the 
 company, ordering a suit of clothes to be made for 
 him as a private centinel, (or, as M. Fontenelle says, 
 a drummer.) His majesty, capable of every thing, 
 soon excelled in his exercise, and was thus acting the 
 part of a life-guard man, while his brother John, more 
 agreeably to his natural weakness, maintained the post 
 of a czar. Peter, willing to have all his troops disci- 
 plined in the same manner, commanded captain Le 
 Fort to procure him all the foreigners lie was able, and 
 ordered him what money should be necessary. The 
 captain made large remittances on this account, with 
 great success, to Amsterdam, Geneva and other pi aces ; 
 not forgetting M. Franconis, who was no loser by the 
 bargain. 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 29 
 
 Thus was the czar furnished, at one and the same 
 time, with a new species of soldiers, and another sort 
 of minister than Russia had ever yet seen. The rank 
 his majesty took in this company, and the discipline he 
 underwent, was not a vain representation which served 
 only to divert himself and his court. He absolutely 
 forbid his captain to remember he was czar, and per- 
 formed his duty with all the regularity and submission 
 that his place required. He lived upon his pay, and 
 lodged in no better tent than another man of the 
 same rank. At last he was made a scrjeant, after hav- 
 ing merited it in his officer's opinion, whom he would 
 have punished for a partial judgment in his favor. 
 Thus his elevation was like that of a soldier of fortune, 
 "whose very competitors must own it his due. By this 
 he gave a lesson to his nobility, that birth alone was 
 not a sufficient title to the attainment of military dig- 
 nities, and informed his other subjects, that merit in 
 the least of them was a valid qualification. The mean 
 employs he passed through, the hardships and fatigues 
 he underwent, gave him a stronger right, than even 
 his despotic authority, for requiring the same tilings of 
 his people. 
 
 To this first company of fifty men, lie soon added 
 others, and formed at last a considerable corps, all 
 commanded by foreigners, and disciplined after the 
 German manner. As he was then at peace with his 
 neighbors, he exercised them in mock battles and 
 sieges ; teaching them experience without loss of blood, 
 and keeping in action that agility and courage which 
 were the prelude of future victories. The strelitzes, 
 all this while, looked upon it only as the amusement of 
 a young prince, and took part themselves in the diver- 
 sion of this new sight. But the czar perceiving them 
 too powerful, and wholly devoted to his sister's inter- 
 est, conceived from the first a design to humble their 
 pride, which he would effect by securing a body of bet- 
 ter disciplined, and more faithful troops. 
 
36 THE LIFE OF 
 
 The czar Theodore, as we before took notice, had 
 been a great lover of horses, magnificent dresses, and 
 equipages. Peter, though for his own part he despised 
 this pompous outside, as useless and burthensome, was 
 yet pleased to see that his subjects, who had hitherto 
 been too averse to every thing politely great, began 
 by little and little to come into a better taste. 
 
 About the same time that he began this reformation 
 in his army, an accident started that put his majesty 
 on a new pursuit, still more difficult than the former. 
 A small English vessel, which he saw floating on a 
 lake at Ismaeloff, one of his pleasure-houses, where it 
 had long lain abandoned and useless, revived in him 
 the spirit of his father Alexis Michaelowitz, and gave 
 Mm tiie notion of a fleet, though he had at that time no 
 place where to use it, except the white sea. He found 
 a ship-carpenter, a Dutchman, who, for want of other 
 employ had been obliged to turn joiner ; got the vessel 
 repaired, had it worked in his presence, and resolved 
 to have more of them as soon as possible. Accord- 
 ingly, procuring a number of foreign workmen, he 
 had first several little boats built at Moscow, and then 
 four frigates, of four guns each, upon the Pereslauski 
 lake. These were often engaged against one another, 
 the czar himself being present ; and in 169*, his maj- 
 esty visited Archangel* went on board the English and 
 Butch ships, and got all possible information concern- 
 ing (marine affairs. He did the same again the next 
 year ; and m 1696, after some search for a convenient 
 place, workmen were sent to Veronitz, where an un- 
 dertaking was begun quite new in Russia ; he build- 
 ing of ships, gallies, and other vessels, which were to 
 fall down into the Don, and through that to the Black 
 Sea, after the taking of Asoph, winch his majesty this 
 summer first attempted. 
 
 Czar John dying in the beginning of this year, 1696, 
 Peter, now sole monarch, was in a condition to exe- 
 cute what he could not before, during their divided au- 
 thority $ and from this period of his life, we may date 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 31 
 
 the commencement of all his great actions. John left 
 behind him three daughters, one of whom, Anne Joan- 
 nowa, is the present empress of Russia. A late writer 
 tells us, * it was observable in this prince, that though 
 his understanding w T as but weak, yet he was very 
 haughty and severe. However, he had great regard 
 for the welfare of the empire ; and though he loved 
 his sister very much, yet her reigning jointly with 
 him and his brother, did so little please him, that, upon 
 all occasions, he rather sided with his brother than 
 with her. He also often declared, that when once his 
 brother was of age, he would reign no longer. His 
 own widow has said, that when she once told him the 
 czar Peter slighted the princess Sophia too much, his 
 answer was, " she is my own sister, but has used Pe- 
 ter so ill, she does not deserve we should look upon her, 
 and if you speak ill of him, I shall esteem you his 
 second enemy. The welfare of the whole empire de- 
 pends on him, which I am bound to set a greater value 
 upon, than even upon you, my dearest w r ife." He be- 
 haved thus to his last moments. 
 
 The deatli of czar John, added to the birth of prince 
 Alexis Petrowitz, about six years before, entirely cut 
 off* all hopes from the princess Sophia and her party. 
 This prince Alexis was the unhappy czarewitz, whose 
 conspiracy, trial and death, made so much noise in 
 Europe many years since. His mother was almost 
 equally unfortunate ; for about a year after his birth, 
 she was repudiated upon a pretence of disloyalty ; 
 though the true cause of her disgrace was ascribed to 
 the resentment of a new favorite, Alexander Menzi- 
 koff, who had a little before been raised from among 
 the dregs of the people. Nay, the enemies of Men- 
 zikoff did not stick to affirm, that he not only caused 
 the czar to divorce and imprison this lady, whose virtue 
 was never suspected, upon some reproaches, (violent 
 indeed, but not without cause, and which her jealousy 
 
 * Strahleaberg's histovy, &cc. 
 
33 THE LIFE OF 
 
 extorted from her) that he carried her husband among 
 lewd women, formerly his customers for cakes ; but 
 that, not satisfied with revenging these affronts on her 
 own person, he carried his resentment even to the son, 
 whom he caused the czar to disinherit, and afterwards 
 to condemn to death, to make way for another suc- 
 cessor. 
 
 But to return to M. Le Fort, which wiE lead us to 
 the advancement of Menzikoff. Never was there a 
 minister in Russia, of whom the j>eop!c to this day 
 speak with the same respect as of that foreigner.* 
 He never, say they, gave any ill advice to the czar ; 
 but, on the contrary, saved the lives, liberties and for- 
 tunes of a great number of his richest and most illus- 
 trious subjects, by putting himself between them and 
 death, when his majesty, naturally violent, and in his 
 youth inclined to cruelty, was ready to pronounce the 
 severest sentence, and perhaps to execute it with his 
 own hands. This generous behavior not only disarm- 
 ed his majesty's ferocity, but sometimes made him af- 
 fectionately kiss both the victim and the mediator. The 
 foreigners Le Fort had brought into his service, among 
 whom were many artificers, were so agreeable to the 
 czar, that he resolved to introduce arts and sciences in- 
 to his dominions. But Le Fort told him, his finances 
 wanted to be reformed, as much as his troops ; for 
 that otherwise his revenues would not answer the ex- 
 penses of his great designs, and the support of such a 
 number of foreigners, who could be allured into lus 
 dominions only by a view of great advantage. The 
 czar consented to follow his advice ; and this worthy 
 minister having represented that the reason why his 
 revenues were so inconsiderable in ready money, w as 
 the height of the taxes on all commodities, which proved 
 a great encouragement to smuggling ; he put him up- 
 on reducing the duties from ten to four or five per e/*nt. 
 with severe penalties on those who attempted to defraud 
 
 * M.<le laMotraj-e. 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 33 
 
 his majesty of them. By this means the people were 
 brought to pay more equally, and with greater cheer- 
 fulness; so that near two millions of rubles extraor- 
 dinary were produced to the treasury the first year. 
 And Le Fort having thus put it in his master's power 
 to pay the foreigners generously and regularly, a great 
 number of all nations came over, especially Germans, 
 Scots and French ; not only officers and soldiers for the 
 army, but able men of all professions, some of whom 
 acquired immense fortunes. 
 
 But to take away all cause of jealousy from the Rus- 
 sian subjects against foreigners, M. Le Fort recom- 
 mended to the czar, for preferment, all those natives 
 whom he and the others had made capable of filling 
 the most lucrative posts. Of this, Alexander Menzi- 
 koff was an instance, who was crying his piragi podo- 
 vi, or puff-cakes, about the streets of Moscow, when 
 M. Le Fort arrived there : but that minister both 
 made him capable of holding the several employments 
 he had in the army, before he was made a prince by 
 the czar's favor, and recommended him to them. In 
 a word, Le Fort was disinterested to that degree, that 
 he never would accept of any presents from those he 
 had advanced ; yet, being in this high situation, he 
 got riches enough by his merit, his services and other 
 just and honorable means, which he possessed without 
 envy from the Russians, who looked upon him as their 
 father. 
 
 Menzikoff was tall and well made, and had a nat- 
 ural spriglitlmess of temper. All this was taken no- 
 tice of by the czar, who saw him one day crying his 
 puffs, and singing songs about the streets. Being call- 
 ed by his majesty, and asked some trifling questions, 
 as, whether he would sell his puffs and his basket ? he 
 gave such pleasing answers, that the czar then declar- 
 ed, according to Motraye, lie would make his fortune, 
 and immediately put him into a small place at court. 
 However that might be, it is certain he was taken no 
 farther notice of at present ; and we find Mm after- 
 
TEE LIFE OF 
 
 wards a soldier in the second regiment of Le Fort's 
 establishment, which perhaps might be the only pre- 
 ferment the czar then gave him. 
 
 * He was 21 years of age, when he first entered 
 among the soldiery, where he continued about two or 
 three years. As the guard of the czar's person, and 
 the charge of the city were then committed to the 
 troops of the foreign discipline, it was young Mcnzi- 
 koff's great good fortune to stand centinel at the Bash- 
 na, (the office where the muster-rolls, and the drums 
 and colors of the regiment were kept) one evening 
 when the czar passed by, to see with what exactnc ss 
 the soldiers upon guard observed their orders. There 
 had that evening been directions given, that the centi- 
 nels should interrogate each passenger thrice, who he 
 was, and if no answer was given, to fire directly. 
 His majesty coming about ten o'clock, and giving no 
 answer to the question, Menzikoff fired his piece at 
 him, but happily without damage. The commanding 
 officer, with the rest in the guard room, were alarm- 
 ed, and searched about for the person shot at, either 
 dead or alive. No one being discovered, an officer 
 guessed it must be the czar, (who had been used to 
 make such visits) and upon this conjecture they seiz- 
 ed Menzikoff, and made him prisoner. Next morn- 
 ing the czar sent to enquire who had kept the guard 
 at such a post last night at 10 o'clock. Every one was 
 ready to tell of Menzikoff, in order to clear him- 
 self. Immediately Menzikoff was ordered away un- 
 der a file of musqueteers, and brought into the czar's 
 presence. Tills incident, which was thought to pre- 
 sage the utmost ruin to the young fellow, proved the 
 rise of the greatest and wealthiest favorite that has 
 been known for many years in any court of Europe. 
 
 Terrified with the thoughts of last night's action, 
 and chilled with the dread of what he apprehended 
 would be his certain destiny, Menzikoff came trcmb- 
 
 * Coiisett's preface to the state of the Russian church. 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 35 
 
 ling into the sun-shine of majesty. 'Hje czar was ex- 
 ceedingly pleased with his conduct, I/ , dissembled his 
 satisfaction while he examined into the reasons of it. 
 Menzikoff falling down at his majesty's feet, alledgcd 
 in his defence the orders of the superior officers* amV 
 protested he did not conceive the person he shot at to 
 be liis sovereign. The czar then pardoned him, or- 
 dered him to stay in the room, and at dinner time placed 
 him at table with himself and his nobles. His sheep- 
 ish looks and auk. ward behavior made a great deal of 
 mirth for the company, and the czar himself broke 
 several jests on that subject. But Le Foil soon dis- 
 covered, under that disguise, a genius capable of great 
 things. He nursed and cultivated the generous seed, 
 and brought the young Russian forward in his master's 
 favor, by such surprising steps, that he soon became 
 the envy of all the great men of the empire. Happy 
 had it been for his country, if this minister had pursu- 
 ed the steps of his predecessor ; but, notwithstanding 
 his great abilities, the many exactions he laid on the 
 people, the numerous executions he occasioned, his 
 haughtiness to the old nobility, his boundless ambition 
 and avarice, made him the object of general hatred, 
 and at last brought on his ruin, though not till after 
 the death of his master. The czar Peter himself was 
 not insensible of these faults in him, and more than 
 once severely punished them : but could not part with 
 a servant, whom, upon the whole, he found so very 
 faithful. 
 
 The many great things the czar had in view, for the 
 good of his subjects, made him nr gleet for some time 
 the war against the Tartars, which he had resolved to 
 pursue after the disgrace of Gallicziu, in spite of the 
 dishonorable treaty made by that guieral. As a war 
 with these people would in all likelihood bring on one 
 with the Turks, and as his majesty was much invited 
 to break with these latter by the emperor, the Poles 
 and the Venetians, who were already jointly engaged 
 against them, he declared war with the Porte in 169-i, 
 
36 THE LIFE OF 
 
 and pursued j^with a success that first raised the rep- 
 utation of Iiis c^is. 
 
 The first tiling done was to clear the eastern banks 
 of tiie Wolga from the Tartars, who made freq.^nt 
 incursions into the Muscovite dominions, ravaging far 
 and near, according to their usual method. They 
 were soon effectually drove hack by the troops his maj- 
 esty sent ; and at the same time the Cossacks, who 
 were his subjects, fell upon a great body of Grim Tar- 
 tars on the side of Gircassia, gave them a total defeat, 
 and left 15,000 dead on the field. General Gordon, 
 a Scotch gentleman., and an officer of great experi- 
 ence, entered Gircassia itself, and after giving the Tar- 
 tars several more overthrows, reduced the whole coun- 
 try to the czar's obedience. 
 
 His majesty seeing his army so successful on this 
 vSide, immediately perceived a way open for making 
 himself powerful by sea ; a project he had long con- 
 ceived, but never found practicable till now. Though 
 the Wolga be a great river, and runs above 2,500 
 miles, yet has it no depth of water at its influx into 
 the Caspian Sea, being every where choaked up with 
 flats and sands : nor is the sea itself, for many leagues 
 on the Russian side, capable of any considerable navi- 
 gation ; for winch reason it has never yet borne any 
 ships of burthen. Besides, had this sea been ever so 
 navigable, as it respects only Armenia, Georgia, Per- 
 sia, and part of Tartary, it could not suffice for any of 
 the czars glorious projects, either of conquest or trade. 
 But the Black Sea lay convenient for both, opened a 
 way into Lesser Asia, and to the gates of Constanti- 
 nople itself: so that being once master of that, he 
 might either by force or treaty, obtain a passage through 
 the. Hellespont, into the Mediterranean Sea, and es- 
 tablish a free commerce between his country and the 
 ports of Italy, France, Spain, and the whole Turkish 
 empire, which would give him a share in all the trade 
 of the universe. Here as * one observes, was a field 
 
 * Life of the czar l>y a British officer. 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 37 
 
 of action large enough to gratify the ambition of a sove- 
 reign, born for great things, and who, possessing an 
 empire superior to any of his neighbours, wanted noth- 
 ing but an entrance upon the stage of greatness, that 
 he might act like himself. 
 
 In pursuance of this design, he pushed on his war 
 with the Turks, which was to give him footing on 
 the coast, and hastened the marine preparations at Ve- 
 ronita", which were to secure him the possession when 
 once obtained. Having concerted measures with his 
 allies at the beginning of the year 1695, he appeared 
 with two armies in the field. The first, consisting of 
 90,000 foot and 20,000 horse, led by his majesty in 
 person, marched into Circassia, and entering the Tur- 
 kish dominions, sat down before Asoph, an important 
 fortress upon the bank of the Tanais, near where it 
 empties itself into the Pains Maeotis. The other army, 
 containing 2i,000 foot and 36,000 Cossack horse, com- 
 manded by lieutenant general Czeremetcff, marched 
 by the way of the Ukrain, and keeping the course of 
 the great river Boristhenes, sat down before Kasiker- 
 ineen, a Tartarian city of great strength, within two 
 leagues of the Black Sea. These places were equally 
 considerable, as they were situated at the two great 
 entrances into the Pontus Euxinus, that were nearest 
 his czarish majesty's dominions. 
 
 It was an agreeable surprise to the Christian world, 
 when they saw the czar break with the Turk, in a 
 juncture so very seasonable to the confederates; to find 
 a prince, of whose genius they had yet formed no no- 
 tions, begin a war with such apparent proofs of stii ex- 
 quisite foresight, and a perfect understanding of the 
 consequence of what he had undertaken. The Turks, 
 on the other hand, having lately received several terri- 
 ble overthrows, and already lost the Morea, great part 
 of Hungary, and some considerable places in Df-ima- 
 tia, were in the utmost consternation at an attack so 
 very sensible, from such a formidable power. They 
 wow saw their mistake, in that, having had Asoph 
 
 D 
 
38 THE LIFE OF 
 
 many years in their possession, they never considered 
 it as one of the most important barriers of their whole 
 empire. The situation of the place, in a low marshy 
 ground, made it capable of so good fortifications, that 
 it could be taken only by a vigorous bombardment : 
 but the best they could now do, was to supply the 
 weakness of the fortifications by the strength of the 
 garrison : they sent thither 10,000 of the most reso- 
 lute Janissaries, besides Tartars, under their most 
 experienced officers, and with all manner of provisions 
 for a vigorous defence. 
 
 The Muscovites, as yet, had but little experience in 
 carrying on a siege ; and the garrison so well did their 
 duty, that though the czar attacked it in form, bat- 
 tered it with 100 pieces of cannon, and 40 mortars, 
 he was so harrassed by the desperate sallies of the 
 Turks and a continual fire from the walls, that the win- 
 ter coming on, and provisions growing scarce, he was 
 obliged to turn the siege into a blockade, and retire 
 with considerable loss. * One Jacob, a foreign engi- 
 neer, was partly the occasion of this ill success ; who 
 having been kept out of his pay by the boyar he serv- 
 ed under, nailed up the cannon he was entrusted with, 
 deserted to the enemy in the night, and advised them 
 to a final sally, which put the Muscovites into con- 
 fusion. 
 
 Kasikermeen, though better fortified than Asoph, 
 was not so well defended. The Cossacks, under prince 
 Czeremetoff, pushed on their attacks with such fury, 
 that they carried the place sword in hand, the garrison 
 having but just time to retreat into two large forts, 
 where they obtained articles of capitulation. The 
 prince was censured in regard to this action, for suffer- 
 ing the Cossacks to plunder the place after articles 
 were signed ; and his disgrace, which followed soon 
 after, was ascribed to the complaints against him on 
 that head. However, as he was again restored to Ms 
 
 * Perry's Present State of Russia. 
 

 PETER THE GREAT. 39 
 
 master's favour, we may presume he cleared himself 
 of that accusation. 
 
 The czar was not idle during the winter. The pro- 
 digious preparations made in his vast dominions, for 
 re-uniting his army, remounting his cavalry, and sup- 
 plying his magazines, intimated plainly that the de- 
 sign upon Asopli was not laid aside. But the expedi- 
 tious manner in which he furnished himself with a 
 fleet, by having vessels built on the river Occa, carried 
 over land to the Don, and conveyed down that river 
 together witli those from Veronitz, surprised all the 
 world. 
 
 If the Turks committed an oversight in not fortify- 
 ing Asoph before, they were guilty of the most in- 
 excusable neglect in not securing it now : but such 
 was their contempt of the Russian skill in war, after 
 what had happened the last year, that they thought 
 them incapable of giving much molestation. Mean 
 time the garrison was daily weakened in their sallies 
 on the Muscovite blockaders, and their magazines con- 
 tinually exhausted. The Porte neglected to supply 
 them by sea, and the Muscovites prevented the bring- 
 ing in any thing by land : so that with a much less 
 number, and worse provided than last summer, they 
 were this year to withstand double the strength, joined 
 to more experience. The czar had now prepared no 
 less than 400 pieces of cannon, and 150 mortars. 
 
 The body of the army arrived before Asoph at the 
 end of April ; but the rivers being not yet open for 
 bringing down the vessels laden with artillery and 
 provisions, till the middle of May, the siege was not 
 actually formed till the beginning of June. Yet the 
 Turks omitted to relieve the place till the middle of 
 July, when their fleet began to appear on the Black 
 Sea, and found by sad experience they were come 
 too late. 
 
 The czar was arrived in person when the siege 
 began, and met with a resolute defence from the gar- 
 rison. General Gorden, who commanded, sent sum- 
 
40 THE LIFE OF 
 
 mons after summons, threatening them with no quar- 
 ter if the place was taken by storm. The ground did 
 not admit of carrying on trenches, and 300 pieces of 
 cannon upon the works continually demolished the 
 Muscovite batteries. Upon this, the general contrived 
 a rolling parapet, which, with a multitude of hands, 
 and about three weeks labor, he brought to perfection. 
 It was begun at a good distance from the place, and 
 by the continual application of 30,000 men, who were 
 relieved every four hours, it came gradually forwards, 
 the men behind throwing up the sandy earth from the 
 bottom, and others tossing it to one another upon 
 stages, till the uppermost threw it quite over the top. 
 They brought it at last within half a musket shot of 
 the walls, which it every where overlooked, to the 
 
 */ 
 
 astonishment and terror of the besieged. Mean while 
 the mortars, now effectually secured from all damage, 
 played incessantly upon the town, till all the houses 
 were reduced to ashes ; nor durst the Janissaries appear 
 on their works, but they were immediately knocked 
 down with small shot from the rolling bank, which 
 living over them like a mountain. 
 
 "While this was doing by land, the czar, who took 
 upon him in particular the direction of the navy, 
 brought his gallies down by a channel of the river 
 Don that was out of the reach of the cannon of Asoph, 
 and judged impassable. The besieged were aston- 
 ished when they saw him with a fleet below the town, 
 having thought it impossible for him to get out, but 
 under the mouth of their guns. His majesty then 
 caused several batteries of cannon to be planted in a 
 small island, on the other side of the river Don ; and 
 drawing up all his shallops and hrigantines behind the 
 island, waited the arrival of the Turkish fleet. At 
 length it appeared in the Pal us Mreotis, standing in 
 among the islands in the mouth of the Don ; so that 
 the first thing it w had to encounter was the czars gal- 
 lies, which drawing much loss water than those of the 
 Turks, could go further upon the shalbws. The Otto- 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 
 
 man fleet consisted of 12 large gallics, 30 armed 
 brigantines, and about 60 transport slaps ; having on 
 board 8.000 soldiers, a vast quantity of ammunition 
 and provisions, and 50,000 ducats in money, to pay 
 the garrison. 
 
 The Turkish saicks and brigantines, endeavouring 
 to shun the Russian gallics, kept among the islands in 
 shoal water : which the czar perceiving, he took a 
 sufficient number of troops into his shallops and bri- 
 gantines, and bringing them out from their ambuscade, 
 fell upon the enemy with such bravery and success, 
 that they were entirely defeated, and the whole con- 
 voy taken in sight of the garrison, not one vessel being 
 able to reach the town. This overthrow of the fleet 
 was followed by the surrender of the town, the garri- 
 son capitulating on the 28th of July. His majesty 
 gave them very honorable terms, in consideration of 
 their bravery. It was said that out of 12,000, which 
 were at the beginning of the siege, not above 1,300 
 men marched out of the town. The Russians found 
 there 300 pieces of cannon, besides a great quantity 
 of ammunition 
 
 This glorious victory of the czar's was the more 
 talked of, and his personal bravery and conduct the 
 more magnified, (though indeed too much could hardly 
 be said of either) because it was a new tiling to hear 
 of any great and regular action from a Muscovite 
 army, and much less of a warlike emperor at their 
 hi ad. It was thought a happy presage to all Christen- 
 dom, and a fatal omen to the Ottomon power, that a 
 people hitherto despised, led by a prince hardly yet 
 known, could perform so much in the most difficult 
 parts of war ; especially as they had all the advanta- 
 ges of number, extent of territory, and plenty of sup- 
 plies, to make them a match for any power on earth. 
 
 D 2 
 
BOOK II. 
 
 l 
 
 From the taking of Jlsoph, till the reformation of the Rus- 
 sian year, and the beginning of the war with Sweden. 
 
 czar having made himself master of Asoph, 
 was far from leaving it in the condition he found 
 it. He not only repaired the old works, hut ordered 
 it to he strengthened with new fortifications ; added 
 two new hastions ; caused a counterscarp, with a cov- 
 ered way, to be drawn round the whole* and the ditch 
 to be secured with all such necessary outworks, as 
 might render it inaccessible ; letting in the river 
 Don likewise almost round the town. In the marshy 
 grounds, which the river usually overflowed, he laid 
 a solid foundation, raised the surface to a considerable 
 height, and built a royal fort upon it, containing six 
 regular bastions, with proper outworks ; joining the 
 whole to the main land, with a stone bridge of 36 
 arches* reaching all over the morass. The ground 
 round it could be laid under water, by sluices ap- 
 pointed for that purpose. In this posture, stored with 
 military provisions, having 400 pieces of cannon 
 mounted, and a garrison of 15,000 men, he left Asoph 
 in the year 1697. 
 
 His success in the reduction of this place, by the 
 help of his vessels, made him more than ever sensible 
 of the importance of a maritime force. Gallic s and 
 brigantines w r ere not sufficient ; he resolved to have 
 capital men of war, from 60 to SO guns, and declared 
 his intention to the boyars : but he perceived also 
 the great disadvantage of buying them from other 
 powers, or having them built by foreign workmen, as 
 all his vessels had hitherto been. He resolved to 
 deliver himself from this inconvenience-: but as the 
 means he concerted for doing it were too extraordi- 
 nary to be put in deliberation, and as the execution of 
 
THE LIFE OF 
 
 his project, trusted to any other but himself, would 
 be very uncertain, or at least slower than he desired, 
 he engaged his own person in a bold undertaking, so 
 extravagant in appearance, that had it failed of suc- 
 cess, all the world would have censured his rashness, 
 except those few who can distinguish true grandeur 
 wherever it appears. It was no less than travelling 
 himself to acquire that knowledge he wanted his sub- 
 jects to learn. In the mean time his foreign workmen 
 were all employed, and every thing done that was yet 
 in his power. 
 
 But before he set out, in order to give his people 
 an idea of this great undertaking, he made a trium- 
 phant entry into Moscow, for his late naval victory, 
 with all the pomp and splendor that could be devised. 
 Here was none of that vain ostentation so remarkable 
 among the ancient Romans, but an attempt to shew 
 the value of what he had chiefly at heart, and to stir 
 up an emulation in the nobility to support it. The 
 traitor Jacob, who had rendered ineffectual the first 
 siege of Asoph, and was delivered up by the Turks 
 in the second, was carried naked and chained to a 
 stake iii an open waggon, with a gibbet over his head ; 
 on which, after he had been three times tortured, he 
 was publicly hanged, for a terror to others. All the 
 boyars appeared on this occasion, to compliment his 
 majesty, and kiss his hand. After which there was an 
 assembly, in which he repeated to them the nature and 
 advantages of his conquests on the Black Sea, declar- 
 ed his resolution of endeavoring to maintain them, 
 and if possible to open a channel for commerce into 
 the Levant. Hence it was easy to argue the necessity 
 of a fleet, such an one as might be a match for the 
 grand seignior's. Lastly, he published his intention 
 of travelling, in order to gain experience in the art of 
 ship-building, which they wanted no materials, nor 
 any other advantages, to bring to as much perfection-, 
 as any of their neighbors. 
 
PETER THE GREAT. *5 
 
 The business of the day being over, lie began to 
 think of a proper fund for carrying on his designs, 
 and for providing such men of war as were imme- 
 diately necessary. The great lords, who had vast 
 estates, and a proportionable number of slaves, were 
 obliged, eaeh of them, to build a ship at his own cost, 
 which he might call, too, by his own name. The mon- 
 asteries, the cities and towns, the merchants and gen- 
 llemcn, were all to contribute towards this new under- 
 taking: and if the ships were not ready in three years, 
 every man's proportion was to be doubled. 
 
 Another instance of Ids great penetration, before he 
 set out, was no less remarkable than any we have 
 related. He sent the principal young Muscovites, sons 
 of the boyars and gentlemen, into different parts of 
 Europe, hinting to every one, according to the differ- 
 ent dispositions he perceived in them, the science they 
 ought peculiarly to study. What he chiefly directed 
 them to, were the mathematics, navigation, engi- 
 neering, and such other parts of knowledge as might 
 contribute to his grand design. And, to prevent any 
 uneasiness at this injunction, he ordered them stipends 
 at the public charge. Yet some of them obeyed with 
 great reluctance, and one in particular, who retired to 
 Venice, shut himself up there four years, to have the 
 satisfaction of coming home as ignorant as he went 
 thence. But the expedient in general had the desired 
 success, as well by keeping them out of the way 
 during his own absence, and so preventing any cabals 
 against him, as in opening to them new sciences, in 
 the different nations of Europe, which engaged their 
 curiosity, and were turned by many of them to real 
 advantage. 
 
 While the czar was thus busied in laying the foun- 
 dations of glory and greatness for his subjects, they, 
 resisting their own advantage, were conspiring against 
 his life. The building of ships, which had never been 
 known in Russia before, and the obliging the boyars 
 aud gentlemen to travel, were looked upon as terrible 
 
- 
 
 THE LIFE OF 
 
 grievances : the first would entail a charge upon them 
 beyond the common tax, besides bringing in foreigners 
 to build and navigate their vessels ; and as to the lat- 
 ter, it was insinuated by the priests, that the sending 
 their children abroad, would be a means of corrupting 
 their religious principles. Those tenets of scripture 
 were effectually urged, which forbade the Israelites 
 to have any communication with the nations round 
 about them, that they might not partake of their idol- 
 atry : for which reason the Russian envoys, who had 
 formerly been sent to foreign courts, were prohibited 
 taking their sons with them ; and it was death for any 
 Muscovite to go out of his country without leave from 
 the patriarch. The czar, they said, adhered wholly 
 to strangers, went daily to their houses, and admitted 
 them freely to his conversation. This was judged in 
 him very criminal, and made use of by the princess 
 Sophia's friends, who wanted to be again at the head 
 of the government. 
 
 His majesty, who always interested himself in what- 
 ever concerned his subject's welfare, was wont to ap- 
 pear in person at the fires, w T hich frequently happen in 
 Moscow, where most of the houses are entirely wood. 
 After many debates, concerning the manner of effect- 
 ing their design, it was resolved by the conspirators 
 to set some houses on fire in the night, and while the 
 czar came to help extinguish the flames, to assassinate 
 him amidst the confusion. Unnatural project, to en- 
 gage their sovereign in an act of the greatest tender- 
 ness to his people, in order at that instant to effect their 
 parricide ! The next things to be done, were, to join 
 the Don Cossacks with their party ; to release the 
 princess Sophia from her confinement, and set the 
 crown on her head ; to recall the prince Basil Gallic- 
 zin from Siberia, and surrender to him the administra- 
 tion of the government under the princess ; who was, 
 in return, to restore the strelitzes to their ancient 
 station. Three great boyars, a chief colonel of the 
 Don Cossacks, and four captains of the strelitzes, were 
 to put this design in execution. 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 47 
 
 On the first of February, 1697, the day before the 
 catastrophe was agreed on, two of the captains, Lar- 
 gou Gilisaroski and Gregory Siseri, were touched with 
 compunction at what they had undertaken. Hearing 
 that the czar was then at supper at M. Le Fort's, they 
 went and threw themselves at his feet, confessed their 
 own ciimes, and discovered all the persons concerned 
 in the conspiracy. The czar beared it without any 
 great emotion; and rising from table, went directly, 
 followed by a few of his most faithful friends, to the 
 house of John Sicklcr, a chief conspirator, and the 
 more wicked for being so, as he had lately been ad- 
 vanced by the czar to the dignity of counsellor of 
 state. His majesty entered with only three gentlemen, 
 and pretending he had occasion to ask Bidder's advice 
 on some important affair, brought him to the door, 
 where he was seized by those who waited without, and 
 carried to prison. The other two boyars, Alexis Se- 
 kounin and Feodore Puskin, the two captains, and the 
 Donski colonel, were all taken without any noise. They 
 confessed their crimes and received their sentence 
 from the whole body . the boyars, which was exe- 
 cuted on the 5th of March, in the great market place, 
 before the castle. Their legs and arms were first cut 
 off. and then their heads. These were fixed on iron 
 spikes, upon a tall stone column erected for that pur- 
 pose ; and the other limbs were hung round about it. 
 The trunks were left exposed until the frost broke, and 
 the scent became nauseous, when they were thrown 
 ir.to a pit among common thieves. Several others 
 were accused ; but it not appearing they had any de- 
 .sign against his majesty's Life, they were pardoned and 
 acquitted. 
 
 It now appeared in some of their confessions, that 
 Miloslauski, who had been so urgent for a sudden exe- 
 cution of the conspirators in 1682, was himself at the 
 head of that conspiracy : upon which his body was dis- 
 interred, though it had lain near twelve years, and the 
 quarters of it hung on gibbets, where they were torn 
 in pieces by the enraged multitude. 
 
48 THE LIFE OF 
 
 During these transactions, expresses frequently came 
 from general Schcin, who commanded the army at 
 Asophj with news of advantages gained over the Tar- 
 tars and rebel Cossacks, great numbers of whom were 
 cut off, and their country stripped of every thing val- 
 uable. As to the Turks, they had their hands full in 
 Hungary, with the Imperialists, who had given them 
 several great overthrows, and made them tremble for 
 Constantinople itself: they were in no condition there- 
 fore to attempt the recovery of Asopli ; so that his 
 majesty was quite easy on the side of the Black Sea, 
 This made him renew the preparations for his travels, 
 and publicly consult in what character he should ap- 
 pear. His real one, that of emperor, would by no 
 means do. because it would prevent his inspecting per- 
 sonally into minute things, would burden him too much 
 with ceremony, and besides would be very expensive : 
 all which objections were made by his majesty. 
 
 Some proposed that, in imitation of several boyars 
 the preceding year, he should travel as a Greek priest; 
 others were for the disguise of an Armenian merchant, 
 and others for that of a private gentleman. But at 
 last M. Le Fort thought of a method which the czar 
 immediately approved, as it was consistent with the 
 honor and safety of his person, and would yet give 
 him all the opportunity of concealment he could desire. 
 It was, that his majesty should send a solemn embassy 
 to all the courts he intended to visit, with compli- 
 ments, and proposals of friendship and commerce \. and 
 that lie should travel incognito in the retinue ^f the am- 
 bassadors, under the protection of the said embassy, 
 whereby it would be known that he was personally 
 present, at the same time that he was at liberty to re- 
 ceive just as much ceremony as he saw convenient. 
 
 The persons pitched upon for ambassadors were Lc 
 Fort himself, lieutenant general of the army and ad- 
 miral of the fleet ; Theodore Alexis Gollowin, since 
 great chancellor of the empire ; Procofet Bodgnano- 
 witz Wolwitzin, who had been employed in several 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 49 
 
 embassies to the grand seignior. Alexander Menzi- 
 koff, the favorite, who had then no character, was in 
 their retinue. Le Fort was put first in the commission, 
 as he was acquainted with the manners and customs 
 of foreign countries, and master of several languages. 
 The route of the embassy was to be through Prussia 
 to the court of Berlin ; thence to Holland ; from Hol- 
 land to England, and back again ; then to Vienna, and 
 last of all to Venice. It is said his majesty set apart 
 above two millions of rubles, or near 800,000]. sterl- 
 ing, for the expenses of this journey ; most of which 
 was laid out in buying ships, arms and ammunition, 
 with materials for forwarding several sciences in Mus- 
 covy. He took with him also a large quantity of furs ; 
 several bales of rich cloth of gold, the manufacture of 
 Georgia and Persia ; a number of very valuable jew- 
 els, and some fine Turkish and Tartarian horses ; all 
 for presents at these courts where the embassy was to 
 appear in ceremony. About forty of the prime noble- 
 men, or their sons, were obliged to make up part of 
 the train ; which was called an honor done them, but 
 designed in reality to secure them from plotting during 
 his absence. Others of the boyars were ordered to 
 retire to their country seats, and not come to Moscow 
 upon pain of death. 
 
 The administration of the civil government was left 
 in the hands of three great lords ; prince Leof Coiilich 
 Naraskin, his majesty's maternal uncle, and esteemed 
 the prime minister ; prince Boris Galliczin, now again 
 in favor, and lord high treasurer ; and the lord Peter 
 Procorofski ; all faithful servants, entirely devoted to 
 his m aj esty "s inter e s 1 . The military tru st was com mit- 
 ted to the generals Scliein and Gordon. The first Lad 
 the command of the army against the Turks, in which 
 were all the suspected strelitzes. About 12,000 other 
 soldiers, chiefly with foreign officers, were quartered 
 in the suburbs of Moscow, under general Gordon, who, 
 by his bravery and success, had acquired both the love, 
 of the army, and the esteem of the whole empire. His 
 
 E 
 
50 THE LIFE OF 
 
 command extended all over the northern and western 
 provinces, as the other's did over the southern and 
 eastern. 
 
 The czar set out in May, 1697. The first great city 
 he came to was Riga, a very strong place, regularly 
 fortified after the modern way, and then in the hands 
 of the Swedes. His majesty not having seen the like 
 before? was led hy his curiosity farther than the gov- 
 ernment of the town was willing to permit, and re- 
 ceived a repulse when he desired to view the fortifi- 
 cations. The magistrates, fearing they should be call- 
 ed to an account by the court of Stockholm, pretend- 
 ed they did not know who he was, nor whence he came : 
 which so disgusted him, that he made this treatment 
 of his ambassadors (for he did not mention himself) one 
 of the motives for entering into a war with Sweden. 
 
 While the czar was on his way from this city, he 
 received advice, by an express, that the elector of Sax- 
 ony was chosen king of Poland ; but that the cardinal 
 primate had protested against his election, in favor of 
 the prince of Conti, who lay with a squadron of French 
 men of war before Dantzick. His majesty hereupon 
 immediately despatched orders to his ambassador in 
 Poland, to maintain the right of the election ; to assure 
 king Augustus, that he had 60,000 men ready for his 
 service, in order to maintain his pretensions ; and that 
 he had despatched orders to his troops about Sniolensko 
 and the Ukrain, to advance towards the frontiers 
 of Lithuania, and secure that great dutchy in his in- 
 terest. This declaration of so powerful a neighbor 
 had a good effect on the Poles, and determined them to 
 support king Augustus. On the contrary, the French, 
 who were baulked of their expectations, were very an- 
 gry with the czar for this interposition. 
 
 His majesty found himself better treated at the next 
 place he came to, which was Koningsberg, the capital 
 of ducal Prussia. Hither the elector of Brandenburgh, 
 afterwards king of Prussia, camp with his whole court 
 to receive and entertain him ; and here the czar re- 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 51 
 
 solved to show the world the first specimen of his mag- 
 nificence. Accordingly his ambassadors made a most 
 splendid public entry, with their retinue of 300 per- 
 sons, several little troops of guards armed, and abun- 
 dance of young nobility, who were afterwards dis- 
 persed into other parts. They were introduced to an 
 audience by M. Dankleman, and M. Besser, master of 
 the ceremonies to his electoral highness. 
 
 While the embassy staid at Koningsbcrg,the elector 
 did all in his power, as well to show his own magnifi- 
 cence, as to honor the ministers of so great a mon- 
 arch, which was indeed doing honor to the sovereign 
 himself in person. His czarish majesty had several oc- 
 casions to converse freely with his highness, in which 
 he communicated to him the reasons of his thus leav- 
 ing his dominions. The elector, a wise and polite 
 prince, exceedingly applauded his intentions, and wil- 
 lingly entered into a defensive treaty with the ambassa- 
 dors. He likewise defrayed their expenses at bis own 
 charge, not only at Koningsberg, but all the way 
 through his dominions. The czar was little attentive 
 to the pleasure and splendor of a court, though he 
 could not but be pleased with receiving so many marks 
 of his highness's affection. Instead of wasting his time 
 in the ceremonial of greatness, he employed it among 
 common artificers, who were masters of such arts as he 
 wanted to establish in Russia ; especially those that re- 
 spected the improvement of shipping and trade, and 
 the arts and discipline of war. Frequently he trav- 
 elled in the same clothes with his attendants, and some- 
 times in the habit of a gentleman: but usually, when 
 he came to a seaport, he went about in the dress of a 
 Dutch skipper, that he might go into the yards with 
 more freedom. 
 
 His majesty went from Koningsberg, through the 
 Pillau of Friesch Haft, (an inland water, separated 
 from the sea by a tract of land not above three leagues 
 over) to Dantzick. He took great delight in sailing 
 upon this lake, and observing the dexterity of the mar- 
 
THE LIFE OF 
 
 incrs; but did not make any public entry at Dantzick, 
 nor stay longer than just to view the forts, lines, mag- 
 azines, and haven, which far exceeded those of Riga. 
 In this short time he gave several testimonies of favor 
 to the citizens, and assured them of his protection on 
 all occasions ; and as his ambassadors had received 
 from them considerable presents of wines and other 
 provisions, lie ordered them in return a present of sa- 
 bles, and other rich goods, to a pretty large amount. 
 From Dantzick, the embassy went through the ducal 
 Pomerania to Berlin, the court of the elector of Bran- 
 denburgh, and one of the politest in all Europe. Here, 
 as they were to wait upon the same prince who had re- 
 ceived them with such splendor at Koningsberg, they 
 made no public entry : they were however nobly en- 
 tertained ; and his ryijesty was so charmed with the 
 gallantry of what he saw, that he resolved to send the 
 prince royal to reside here for some time, in order to 
 
 A > 
 
 polish his manners. W hy lie took other measures, with 
 regard to that prince, will appear in due place. 
 
 As the chief b \ \ si ness of the embassy was in the low 
 countries, his majesty staid but little time in his way 
 from Berlin thither ; not even at Hamburgh, though 
 that city is as beautiful and agreeable as most in Eu- 
 rope ; and though the inhabitants, who had a consid- 
 erable trade to Arc!) angel, did their utmost to detain 
 him by their good offices. The Dutch merchants at 
 Moscow, before his majesty's departure from thence, 
 had, by the means of Mi Le Fort, given him such an 
 inviting idea of their own maritime skill, that he hard- 
 ly thought his time frugally bestowed among any oth- 
 er people 5 and the states, jealous of any impression 
 he might receive from their rivals in trade, did all in 
 their power to hasten his passage, by making prepa- 
 rations for his reception in some measure equal to the 
 dignity of his character. 
 
 It was not (ill the mouth of August that the ambas- 
 sadors arrived in the lorritories of the republic. A 
 solo mn depul i.Uon immediately met them at a Nirne- 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 
 
 gtien, from the whole body of the states, to bid them 
 welcome into their country, and defray the whole 
 
 V s > 
 
 charges of their entertainment. They were conducted 
 thro' all the towns with the noise of cannon and small 
 arms on the one hand, and with the shouts and accla- 
 mations of the people on the other. But the czar 
 hiiiis it, after he had travelled some leagues in the 
 United Provinces, left the embassy, that he might be 
 less incommoded with this formality, and reach Am- 
 sterdam as soon as possible, in order to begin those 
 observations which were the only motive of his jour- 
 ney. He was met on the way by some considerable 
 merchants, who having resided at Moscow, received 
 private intimation of his coming. They attended him 
 in disguise into the city, with only two or three of his 
 own people. The magistrates, who had notice also of 
 his arrival, prepared a magnificent house for his re- 
 ception, and deputed some of their chief members to 
 offer him all necessary accommodations. 
 
 The embassy was received with much more splen- 
 dor, and indeed with the utmost the city could pos- 
 sibly exhibit. All the young gentlemen mounted on 
 horseback, with equipages, and the chief persons in 
 the republic, rode out to meet them. The ladies, with 
 whom the windows and balconies were crowded, ad- 
 ded not a little to the show : and the night concluded 
 with a grand fire-work upon the water, before the 
 house that was prepared for the ambassadors. But an 
 unlucky accident that happened during the procession, 
 took off some of the face of pleasure. The rails of the 
 bridge giving way, above one hundred people fell into 
 the river, thirteen or fourteen of whom were drowned. 
 
 All things were got ready at the Hague, with great 
 expedition, for admitting the ambassadors to a public 
 audience. His majesty attended them thither, and had 
 the satisfaction to see their high mightinesses do him 
 the utmost honor, in the persons of his ministers, the 
 manner of whose reception exceeded all that had ever 
 been known in that country. It would take up too 
 
THE LIFE OF 
 
 much of our room to describe fully matters of this na- 
 ture ; but I must observe that the czar, informed of 
 tli - preparations that were making', resolved on his 
 part to have every thing suitable thereto. He caused 
 his ambassadors to procure three magnificent coaches, 
 a great n amber of jewels, and the richest clothes that 
 could be had ; to increase their retinue with about 
 forty more servants, and give new liveries, unlike 
 what they before had, to their whole train. In a 
 word, every thing was made so very splendid, that 
 the extraordinary expense of this audience cost above 
 200,000 dollars. The entry itself far surpassed that 
 of Amsterdam, which was only a reception of them 
 by the citizens and magistrates : whereas this was 
 by the appointment, and at the expense of the state* 
 general. 
 
 M. Le Fort, the first ambassador, had a dress the 
 finest that could be conceived. He was clad after the 
 Muscovite fashion, in a long robe of cloth of gold, lin- 
 ed with the most precious sables. This robe, as well 
 as the vest under it, was covered before with diamonds 
 in shape of a heron's feather. He harangued their 
 high mightinesses in the Russian tongue, with an air 
 altogether majestic, suitable to the character he bore 
 on this solemn occasion. The two other ambassadors, 
 who appeared likewise in very rich apparel, made also 
 their compliments to the states with a becoming grav- 
 ity. But, what added the greatest lustre to the au- 
 dience, was, that all the ambassadors of most of the 
 powers in Europe, honored it with their presence. His 
 czarish majesty rode disguised in the train, wearing a 
 plain blue coat, a large white perriwig, and a white 
 feather. He had the satisfaction not to be discovered, 
 and afterwards to hear all that passed in the audience 
 room from a closet window. The next day lie rode 
 privately back to Amsterdam, exceedingly pleased 
 with what he had seen $ and the ambassadors returned 
 tliither soon after- 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 55 
 
 His majesty now applied closely to the work he came 
 about. He entered himself, at the admiralty of the 
 Indies, as a common ship carpenter, under the name 
 of Peter Michaeloff*. The termination off in the Rus- 
 sian language, added to the father's name, signifies a 
 person of mean extraction ; whereas that of tvitz im- 
 plies the direct contrary. The czar would not he 
 called Peter Michaelowitz, because he chose to pre- 
 serve no trace of his supreme dignity. He had now 
 entirely forgot lie was a sovereign, or rather remem- 
 bered it better than ever, if, as it certainly does, true 
 sovereignty consists more in doing offices for the good 
 of a people, than in the pomp and splendor that attend 
 it. He worked in the dock-yard with greater assiduity 
 and more ardor, than any of his comrades, who had no 
 motives comparable to his. Every body knew the czar, 
 and the people shewed him to one another with a sort 
 of veneration, that arose less from what he was, than 
 from the business he came about. King William III. 
 a competent judge of personal merit, who was then in 
 Holland, had all that real respect for him which his 
 character deserved. What the incognito deprived him 
 c, was only the shadow and outside of grandeur. 
 
 The czar lived now in a little house, upon the India 
 wharf, and no importunities could prevail on him to 
 accept of a better lodging. People were strictly pro- 
 hibited from coming about him or standing to gaze 
 at him ; things which gave him the greatest uneasiness. 
 Two or three of bis favorites, whom he called his part- 
 ners in the art of ship-building, both lived and worked 
 with him. When he had not the axe in his hand, lie 
 was usually diverting himself on the water, or rather 
 making new improvements in his knowledge of navi- 
 gation. He admitted of some private visits, from 
 persons considerable either for rank or ingenuity, and 
 received from them various curiosities both of art and 
 nature. The person he chiefly frequented, was burgo- 
 master Whitsen, a gentleman of great merit ; with 
 whom, and some few others, he would be very free 
 and merry at private entertainments. 
 
THE LIFE OF 
 
 The king of England had just now put an end, by 
 the treaty of Ryswick, to a long and bloody war. This 
 made him at leisure to observe more closely the actions 
 and views of this wonderful prince, He invited him 
 to an interview at Utrecht, at which were present, 
 besides their majesties, only general Le Fort, who 
 served for interpreter, and prince Menzikoff. The 
 satisfaction on both sides was mutual, as the two mon- 
 ai'chs afterwards testified : and it was at this meeting' 
 that the king gave the czar an invitation over to Lon- 
 don, which his Russian majesty accepted. The truth 
 was, indeed, that the czar discovered, notwithstanding 
 what he had been told, that the Dutch were not near 
 such artists in ship-building as the English : for where- 
 as the latter worked upon a regular plan, in winch all 
 the proportions were exactly observed, the other fol- 
 lowed only experience and the traditions of cider work- 
 men ; and so good a judge as the czar could not be at 
 a loss which of these to prefer. This invitation of the 
 king's, therefore, happily fell in with his wishes, and 
 perhaps he had hinted as much to his majesty. 
 
 Most of the persons of distinction, who came over 
 with the czar, had been sent away by him into differ- 
 ent parts, as soon as the ceremony of public audience 
 was over. They had their particular routes prescribed 
 them, and the arts they were to apply to, like those 
 who were sent over from Moscow a year or two before. 
 But his majesty would not wait till his own people 
 were able to plant the sciences in their country. He 
 took all opportunities to hire artists in Holland, upon 
 very good conditions, and sent them away by land for 
 M >scow. Others lie employed at Amsterdam, and 
 elsewhere, in making draughts and models, till the 
 season of the year would permit them to go round by 
 Archangel. The very attendants and servants who 
 staid with him were not suffered to be idle : some were 
 put to school, to learn navigation, and Euclid's ele- 
 ments ; others v x e bound to artificers, for certain 
 terms of years : and indeed it required that the fund 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 57 
 
 ef knowledge should be great and extensive, which 
 was to instruct a whole nation. 
 
 While his majesty was at Amsterdam, after he had 
 been at the Hague, he received three expresses from 
 the lords regents at Moscow, bringing him the wel- 
 come news of a great victory obtained by his army, 
 under the command of general Schein, over the Turks 
 and Tartars : the particulars of which were as follow : 
 
 The chain of the C/rim Tartars, at the beginning of 
 the spring, had caused numbers of his troops, in small 
 bodies, and at different times, to pass through Caff a, in 
 order to join the Tartars of Circassia. The Muscovite 
 army, he knew, was divided into several parties, in 
 order to cover the workmen employed in the fortifica- 
 tions. This, he imagined, would give him a favorable 
 opportunity to attack them at unawares; and with 
 that view he ordered the sultan Galga, or prince 
 royal, to advance with his army towards their camp. 
 But general Schein, having intelligence of their ap- 
 proach, had just time to draw together his troops in aa 
 advantageous place, where he resolved to engage the 
 enemy. The Tartars, seeing themselves superior in 
 number to the Muscovites, and thinking these latter 
 afraid to stir from their post, fell on them with great 
 fury. The Muscovites received them very bravely, and 
 keeping only on the defensive till the heat of the ene- 
 my's fire was over, then attacked them with all imag- 
 inable briskness, put them into confusion, and at hist 
 entirely to the rout. They pursued them with great 
 slaughter, to the river Hagalinc, where many of them 
 were drowned. 
 
 The Muscovite ambassadors made public rejoicings 
 on this occasion, and invited the magistrates of Am- 
 sterdam, and other persons of quality, to a magnificent 
 entertainment, which the ezar was pleased to honor 
 with his presence, and to heighten the good humor of 
 it by his own pleasantry. 
 
 Towards the end of the winter, came the news of 
 another victory, obtained near the river Boristhenes, 
 
58 THE LIFE OF 
 
 The Crim Tartars, in conjunction with those of Bud- 
 ziack and Oczakow, had besieged Kasikermeen, car- 
 ried on their trenches to the very counterscarp, and at 
 the same time made shemselves masters of Toman, a 
 small island adjacent : but a body of Muscovites, united 
 with the Cossacks inhabiting those frontiers, came 
 opportunely to the relief of the place, forcing the Tar- 
 tars to abandon the siege with considerable loss. The 
 czar, upon this intelligence, gave orders that the island 
 should be regularly fortified. 
 
 These advices were followed by others, relating the 
 progress of his engineers, who had thoroughly secured 
 Asoph, Tuba, and Kasikcrmeen. The first of these 
 places especially, was put in such a posture of defence, 
 that it might well be esteemed one of the strongest 
 fortresses in the world. This was the more agreeable 
 to his majesty, as Asoph was the centre of all his great 
 designs, which terminated in no less than the ruin of 
 the Ottoman empire ; and these successes, in general, 
 added the more to his glory, as they were a testimo- 
 ny that he had left the government in good and able 
 hands. 
 
 Several yachts, with a man of war or two for their 
 convoy, were sent from England to bring his majesty 
 thither, where he arrived in October, 1697. He was 
 conducted to a house in York-buildings, and spent 
 some days in London ; having several interviews with 
 the king, the princess of Denmark, and many of the 
 nobility. The king of Great-Britain offered him all 
 the honors that were due to his character, and in par- 
 ticular Somerset-house for the place of his residence ; 
 a detachment of the household troops for his guard, and 
 some of his own coaches to attend him : but the czar, 
 after returning a most obliging answer, declined all 
 these favors, and let the king know he did not come 
 abroad to spend his time in ceremony ; desiring only 
 leave to inspect the affairs of his navy, and be other- 
 wise as much concealed as possible. The king was so 
 pleased with this, that he gave immediate orders for 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 59 
 
 all assistance to be given his czarish majesty, and tliat 
 not! ting should be denied him wideh he had a mind to 
 see or know. 
 
 Among all the celebrated places which the czar 
 wont to sec in England, as Oxford, Windsor, Hamp- 
 ton-Court, and others, he was particularly pleased with 
 the tower of L:>; : uon, the armory there, and the man- 
 ner of coining money : and ani'rng the English nobility, 
 he took great delight to converse with the marquis 
 of Carmarthen, afterwards d'.ikc of Leeds, who com- 
 plied \\ith iiis hurnor, assisted hi 7 n all he could in his 
 pursuit of the knowledge of shipping (of which his 
 lordship was a great master) and would frequently 
 row with him on the water. The czar was so taken 
 with this kindness of the marquis, that he gave him a 
 duty of 5s. per hogshead upon tobacco, wliich he con- 
 tracted to have sent over by the East! and company of 
 English merchants, (of which Mr. Heathcote, after- 
 wards sir Gilbert, was then master) and would fre- 
 quently speak the most affectionate things of his lord- 
 ship, after his return into Russia. 
 
 A house in London did not agree with his taste, nor 
 answer the intention of his travels, and therefore, some 
 days after his arrival, that of Mr. Evelyn, at Deptfcrd, 
 an agreeable scat, was prepared for him. A back- 
 door was opened from it into the king's yard, through 
 wliich he could go among the ship-builders* who shew- 
 ed him their draughts, and the measure of laying down 
 any vessel by the rules of proportion. This made him 
 repent that lie had spent so much time in Holland, 
 where the method was much more inartificial ; and 
 from this time he resolved to have nothing but English 
 built ships in his country ; for which purpose he con- 
 tracted vwith several artificers ; the chief of whom was 
 Mr. Dean, whose father, sir Anthony, was suid to have 
 first taught the French the art of ship building. 
 
 His majesty was shewn both houses of parliament, 
 while sitting, and was once or twice carried to the 
 play. He visited the archbishop of Canterbury, and 
 
60 THE LIFE OF 
 
 was waited upon by bishop Burnet, (as that prelate 
 tells us in Itis history) who was deputed by his breth- 
 ren to converse with him about the doctrines of the 
 church of England. He often took up the carpenters' 
 tools, and worked in the king's yard at Deptford. 
 Sometimes he went to the smiths, sometimes to the 
 gun-founders ; and there was scarce any mechanic 
 trade, from the watch-maker to the coffin-maker, which 
 he did not more or less inspect. His dress was in the 
 English fashion, sometimes as a gentleman and some- 
 times as a sailor. He went abroad with very little at- 
 tendance, and if a at any time the mob began to gaze 
 at him, he would immediately retire out of the way. 
 Prince Menzikoff, his favorite, count Gollowin, and 
 several other persons were with him here, and con- 
 tracted for such tilings as his majesty wanted : in par- 
 ticular, having seen the printing-house at Oxford, he 
 ordered them to purchase all materials for setting up 
 one like it. His stay in England was about three 
 months, all which time he was attended by the king's 
 cooks and servants, and had his expenses defrayed, as 
 also forwards and backwards. 
 
 Among other things that were here shewn the czar, 
 the king ordered admiral Mitchel to go down with him 
 to Portsmouth, where a squadron of men of war then 
 lay. His majesty was highly delighted to see them go 
 out to sea, form into two fleets, and engage with pow- 
 der. He was told the reason of every thing he saw 
 done, and expressed an infinite deal more satisfaction 
 than at a shew of the same kind in Holland, which did 
 not give him half the instruction. 
 
 Before his departure, the king made him a present 
 of the Royal Transport, the finest and best yacht then 
 in England, built frigate fashion, and carrying twen- 
 ty-four guns. It was contrived by the marquis of 
 Carmarthen, for the king's own use in his passages to 
 and from Holland. He had also leave to hire such of 
 liis majesty's subjects as he had occasion for, and who 
 were willing to serve him ; and his agents contracted 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 61 
 
 with several mathematicians, officers, engineers, and 
 others ; among* whom were Mr. Fcrgh arson, two 
 young men from Christ's Hospital, and the ingenious 
 captain Perry, from whose State of Russia I have ex- 
 tracted some of the foregoing particulars. The cap- 
 tain was twelve years in his service, and had the di- 
 rection of several jrrcat works : but met with discour- 
 
 j s 
 
 agement from the Russian ministry, and at last was 
 obliged to put himself under the protection of the Eng- 
 lish ambassador, Mr. \Vhitworth, in order to get back 
 to his country. 
 
 From England the czar went back to Holland, where 
 two of his ambassadors had waited all the while, except 
 that M. Le Fort had been once privately over. From 
 Holland he set out for Vienna, carrying with him the 
 whole science of ship-build ing, acquired in less than 
 two years : but the reason was, that he had acquired 
 it himself, by a sort of abdication of the imperial dig- 
 nity, a price that would have seemed exorbitant to any 
 other sovereign. 
 
 I shall not detain the reader with an account of what 
 passed in his way through Germany, nor the particu- 
 lars of his reception at the imperial court. Though 
 every part of this latter was suitable to the dignity of 
 the two monarchs, yet as it consisted only of magnifi- 
 cent ceremony, and what might be expected on such 
 an occasion, it can add little to a history that regards 
 onlv the real sreat man. After his ambassadors had 
 
 ^ 
 
 had their audience, and himself had conversed several 
 times with the emperor Leopold, and the chief persons 
 of his court, his majesty was just upon his departure to 
 Venice, whither he had sent eight of his retinue be- 
 fore, when an express came from Moscow that called 
 him suddenly thither, and put an end for the present 
 to this tinparallelled progress. A revolt of the whole 
 body of the strelitzes, to the number of 49,000, threat- 
 ened entire ruin to his government. He arrived among 
 them before they knew he was upon the road, put an 
 end to their establishment and name, and exacted that 
 
 F 
 
62 THE LIFE OF 
 
 respect to his personal courage, which they refused to 
 shew to his orders. His infantry of the new discipline, 
 which he had before the precaution to form, and im- 
 mediately augmented to 30,000 men, were of the ut- 
 most service to him on this occasion. The rise and 
 progress of this revolt, and the manner of its suppres- 
 sion, is in substance thus related by captain Perry : 
 
 While the czar was making his observations in for- 
 eign parts, and collecting whatever he thought worthy 
 of regard for his grand design, repeated advices came 
 to Moscow that his majesty was extremely pleased with 
 what he had observed in his travels, and in particular 
 had met with the greatest satisfaction in England : and 
 that as a proof of this, he was sending great numbers 
 of officers and mechanics from that country, Holland, 
 and other parts, into his service. Upon these advices, 
 the male-contents, and adherents to the princess So- 
 phia, put the most malicious construction on all his ma- 
 jesty's designs, and insinuated jealousies into the minds 
 of the people, which were fomented by the priests, as 
 if his majesty's proceeding tended to the subversion of 
 their holy religion, by bringing such a number of for- 
 eigners among them, who would certainly be his fa- 
 vorites and counsellors. These strangers, it was ad- 
 ded, would insult and domineer over the natives at plea- 
 sure, extirpate the ancient establishment of the stre- 
 litzes, and entirely subvert and alter their beloved cus- 
 toms and manners. 
 
 There needed nothing more to excite the jealousy of 
 a people, superstitiously tenacious of all their old hab- 
 its. Many of the heads of the clergy, several of the 
 nobility and great men, who had been looked upon as 
 in the czar's interest, conspired together to cut the 
 throats of the foreigners, and all who stood in their 
 way; to declare the throne vacant by his majesty's 
 absence, and to place his sister upon it, who was al- 
 ways thought of on such occasions. 
 
 About 10,000 strclitzes were then in winter quar- 
 ters, on llic borders of Lithuania, 500 miles ft-oin Mot*- 
 
PETER THE GREAT. C3 
 
 cow. The general of these, and most of their officers, 
 were made sure of by the conspirators. They were 
 to begin the rebellion under some pretence concern- 
 ing their pay ; to break up their quarters, and march 
 directly to Moscow, where other malceontents were to 
 join them, in order to put the design in execution. 
 
 The regency, upon advice of this mutinous march, 
 apprehended the wicked design of these men, who had 
 more than once been in open rebellion before. They 
 deputed several persons of distinction, with full power, 
 and money to pay them not only the arrears demand- 
 ed, but to give them six months' advance, and to use 
 all the soothing arguments to pursuade them to retire, 
 and join the other forces, who were just ready to open 
 the campaign against the Turks. But all this would 
 not do. They wanted, they said, to see their friends 
 at Moscow, and to know whether the czar was living 
 or dead, and therefore were resolved to continue their 
 march. The people were struck whh consternation at 
 hearing this, and many of them left their habitations, 
 dreading the insolencic s of these mutineers, from whom 
 they had lately suffered so much. 
 
 To prevent the rising of any others, and stop the 
 mischief that threatened the city, the army command- 
 ed by general Gordon, consisting chiefly of old scldins 
 and foreign officers,, was ordered to make head against 
 the rebels. They came up with them about 4.0 miles 
 from Moscow, near the Jerusalem monastery, freni 
 whence the general sent to them several officers, and 
 some considerable lords who came out volunteers, to 
 assure them of honorable satisfaction in whatever they 
 desired, provided they would return to their dufy. But 
 they persisted in their resolution to see Moscow, and 
 know what was become of the czar ; declaring that if 
 their brothers (meaning general Gordon's troops) of- 
 fered to oppose them, they wo-ild resist the ugh against 
 double their number. 
 
 Gordon, upon hearing this obstinate answer, ordered 
 gome cannon to be fired over their heads, in order to 
 
THE LIFE OF 
 
 terrify them : but this had just the contrary effect ; 
 for the priests, always at hand, or among them, im- 
 mediately cried out, " A miracle ! the shot have no 
 power to hurt you, who are asserting your ancient 
 rights. The rebels gave a shout, and fell upon the 
 general's army ; whereupon a sharp engagement be- 
 gan, which lasted near two hours ; till at lasf the stre- 
 litzes, finding the battle was in earnest, and that they 
 had between two and three thousand men dead on the 
 spot, surrendered themselves prisoners, very few es- 
 caping. The general, after the Roman manner of de- 
 cimation, hung up every tenth man, and carried the 
 rest to Moscow, where several of the ringleaders be- 
 ing examined on the pine, they confessed their crimes, 
 named the chief persons concerned with them, and all 
 the particulars of the plot. 
 
 It was this insurrection that the czar was informed 
 of at Vienna, and which brought him home with such 
 expedition and secrecy. His arrival gave no small joy 
 to his loyal subjects and friends, nor less confusion to 
 Iiis enemies. The first thing he did, the very day he 
 came to Moscow, was to reward those soldiers who 
 fought faithfully for him. The next day he had all the 
 conspirators brought before him, and after having ex- 
 amined them himself, delivered them to the lords, who 
 condemned them in a full hearing. Prince Colorin, 
 general Romanodoskowski, several friars and priests of 
 the first rank, and some ladies of quality, were involv- 
 ed in this sentence. Some of them were beheaded, 
 others broke on the wheel, and others buried alive. 
 
 The strclitzes, who had actually fought against their 
 sovereign, and ever since his accession been in all the 
 intrigues of his enemies, were most severely punished. 
 Upwards of 2000 of them were executed, some on 
 blocks, others on gallows erected for that purpose at all 
 the gates of the three walls of the city, with their crimes 
 written over their heads. As this execution was in 
 the depth of winter, the bodies were immediately frozen, 
 and ordered to remain in the same posture they had 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 5 
 
 suffered, till the warm weather rendered them obnox- 
 ious. There were also gallows placed on all the puh- 
 lie ways leading to Moscow, at about two miles dis- 
 tance, upon which numbers of them were hanged, and 
 monuments of stone erected by them, with a declara- 
 tion of their crimes deeply engraven, and ordered to 
 be kept forever in repair. The very houses of these 
 criminals were razed to the ground, and the name of 
 strelitzes utterly abolished ; that of soldatec, or sol- 
 diers, being substituted in its room. Such of them as 
 were judged the most innocent, having their lives 
 spared, were banished to Siberia, Astracan, Asopli and 
 other frontier places, with their wives, children and 
 near relations. 
 
 The vast project which his majesty had long con- 
 ceived, began now to appear in its full extent. There 
 was nothing in Muscovy that wanted perfecting only, 
 for every thing was to be entirely done. A new na- 
 tion was to be created, and that by the sovereign alone, 
 without help, without instruments ; which made it a 
 faint shadow of the original creation. The blind pol- 
 icy of his predecessors had disunited their country from 
 the rest of the world, and quite neglected commerce,, 
 the source of genius as \vell as riches The czar laid 
 open his vast estates, hitherto shut from mankind ; sent 
 his principal subjects among strangers, in quest of 
 knowledge ; drew to himself all the foreigners he could, 
 who brought that knowledge with them : in a word, 
 officers for land or sea service, mariners, engineers, 
 mathematicians, architects, miners, workmen in met- 
 als, physicians, surgeons, artificers of every kind, all 
 were welcome, all were caressed in Muscovy. 
 
 But the very name of novelties, artfuDy made use 
 of, was sufficient to debase the merit of all these per- 
 formances. We shall often see it make such obstinate 
 malecontents, that the despotic authority of the czar, 
 great as it was, had hardly weight enough to suppress 
 them. His majesty had to do with a stubborn, indo- 
 cile people, grown indolent from the little advantage 
 
66 THE LIFE OF 
 
 they could hope to reap from their labors, accustomed 
 to the most rigorous and frequently unjust punish- 
 ments, inured by misery to a contempt of life, per- 
 suaded by long experience that felicity was out of their 
 reach, insensible of that happiness they knew nothing' 
 of. The most indifferent and trivial alterations, such 
 as retrenching their ancient habits, or shaving their 
 long beards, met with the strongest opposition, and 
 was sometimes sufficient to cause an insurrection. To 
 reconcile this people to the most useful innovations, a 
 rigor that elsewhere would have been unjustifiable, was 
 found absolutely necessary : and the czar was by so 
 much the more obliged to use it, as the Muscovites had 
 no idea of greatness or superiority, but from the pow- 
 er of doing hurt. A kind master with them, was no 
 master at all, nor could an indulgent prince ever pass 
 for a great one. We must not wonder then at the 
 severities of the czar, who knew the necessity of them, 
 but grieve that such a necessity should exist. 
 
 His czarisii majesty, in his return to Moscow, at the 
 end of the year 1699, had a short interview with Au- 
 gustus, king of Poland, in which that terrible war 
 against Sweden, is thought to have been concerted, 
 which broke out the next year, and for twenty years 
 after kept all the north in a flame. But the czar did 
 not appear in it at the beginning, having first the 
 temper of his subjects to reform, which took up some 
 months, after his arrival. The principal reformations 
 he made, or begun to make this winter, were, 1. In 
 his revenue ; 2. In the habits and beards of his sub- 
 jects ; 3. In ecclesiastical affairs ; and 4. in several 
 customs regarding civil society. 
 
 The assessment of all duties laid upon the people, 
 the collecting the czar's revenues, and the sole decision 
 of civil causes, had hitherto been committed to some 
 favorite lords, who acted as sovereigns under the czar, 
 in their several provinces, and made use of his name 
 in issuing their orders. Each of them had an office or 
 court of justice at Moscow, where they usually resided, 
 
PETER THE GREAT. G7 
 
 to which there was an appeal from the lesser districts. 
 In each of these offices was a bench of Diacks, who 
 determined causes, (as well relating to the treasury 
 and the militia, as to civil affairs) and reported them 
 to their respective lords, who seldom sat themselves 
 in person ; and there was no higher court of appeal. 
 Each of these lords appointed governors of the sev- 
 eral cities and towns in his province, and every gov- 
 ernor had a Diack and court of justice, which deter- 
 mined matters absolutely ; only in matters of life and 
 death, they were obliged to send the lord a represen- 
 tation of the ease, before any man was executed ; 
 which they always did according to their own incli- 
 nation. 
 
 These governors held their places but fer three years 
 at most, and instead of having salaries appointed them, 
 usually gave the lord three or four thousand rubles 
 for the purchase of their commission, besides a great deal 
 more to the Diacks of the head office in Moscow : .yet 
 these viawodes, or governors, seldom failed of making 
 their fortune in the three years ; by which their equity 
 may be conjectured, both to prince and people. In 
 all disputes between man and man, the first thing done 
 was bribing the judge, and he who gave most carried 
 the cause. Through the hands of these governors pas- 
 sed all the taxes in their respective districts, and they 
 gave such account of them as they thought proper to 
 the grand preeause at Moscow. 
 
 The czar, believing a more faithful return might be 
 made of his revenue, and with less oppression on his 
 subjects, proposed in a council of his lords, that there 
 should be one general office erected at Moscow, and 
 called the rate-house, for the better collection arid im- 
 provement of the public income : that a number of 
 reputable men should be chosen out of the merchants, 
 and entitled burgo-masters, to sit daily five or more 
 of them, to appoint clerks and officers for their own 
 district of Moscow, and burgo-masters fbr all the other 
 divisions, to collect and receive the customs and tolls, 
 
63 THE LIFE OF 
 
 and the excise on beer, brandy and mead, which are 
 not to be made without license, nor sold but for the par- 
 ticular profit of the czar. The common people durst 
 not brew or distil, for their own use, but only a cer- 
 tain quantity against some holiday, and that too by 
 permission : the rest they must buy at the cobacks, or 
 places of sale : and this restraint hath since been carried 
 yet farther. Now the czar would have all the money 
 thus collected, returned to the general rate-house, 
 where the accompts were to be adjusted, and from 
 thence transmitted to the treasury, or whither the 
 emergency of the state should require : and only the 
 land-tax and poll-tax to be levied by the governors* 
 as before. 
 
 But this useful proposition, as it lopped off a consid- 
 erable branch of the power of the lords, was far from 
 meeting with their approbation. They remonstrated, 
 that the office of collecting the revenue, had always 
 been vested in the nobility, who, they hoped, had dis- 
 charged it faithfully ; and therefore implored that his 
 majesty would not so far disgrace them as to take away 
 this public trust, and lodge it in the hands of boors and 
 slaves. Finding this ineffectual, they proposed several 
 schemes for the czar's satisfaction, whereby some part 
 of this trust might still be preserved to themselves. 
 But the czar was inflexible, and began to grow warm ; 
 upon which, fearing that some of their heads might 
 pay for their obstinacy, they acquiesced : his majesty's 
 proposals were put in execution, and continued some 
 years to very great advantage. The czar also laid a 
 tax upon all the monasteries, and ordered that no per- 
 son who was not turned of fifty, should be admitted a 
 monk. This he did to prevent such multitudes of his 
 subjects from being rendered useless ; and by lessen- 
 ing the number of religious pensioners, he could the 
 more easily take a part of their pension. 
 
 The general habit of the Russians was a long vest- 
 ment, hanging down almost to their ancles, and gath- 
 ered up in plaits at the hips, like a woman's petticoat. 
 The czar resolved to have this changed, and gave 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 69 
 
 ordes first to his boyars, and all who came to court, 
 that they should furnish themselves, according to their 
 several abilities, with handsome clothes, after the Eng- 
 lish mode, the wealthiest of them with gold or silver 
 trimming. He also commanded that suits of clothes, 
 in the English fashion, should be hung up at all the 
 gates of the city of Moscow, and that all 'persons, ex- 
 cept the peasants who brought in provisions, should 
 dress themselves after those patterns. Whoever dis- 
 obeyed this order, was obliged to pay two grevens, 
 (abont 20 pence of our money) at passing the gates, or 
 submit to kneel down and have their skirts cropt, so 
 as just to touch the ground in that posture. Many 
 hundreds of garments were to be seen thus curtailed ; 
 and as the whole was done in good humor, it soon re- 
 conciled people to the new fashion, which was found 
 the most commodious. 
 
 The women too, especially the ladies about the court, 
 were ordered to reform their dress according to the 
 English manner, and instead of their long shift sleeves, 
 which they twirled out across a room when any one 
 came to visit them, to have such as were short and de- 
 cent. To make this go down the better with the fair, 
 he abrogated the custom of keeping them in apart- 
 ments by themselves, and admitting them only once 
 to come into any company, present a dram of brandy 
 round, and retire ; ordering, that for the future they 
 should be present at all public entertainments, and 
 converse freely with the men, especially at weddings. 
 The czar himself would frequently honor these with 
 his presence, and give something to the bride equiva- 
 lent to the extraordinary expense. This indulgence 
 in the ladies' favor, soon reconciled them to the dress. 
 
 I before took notice of the retrenchment of beards, 
 as well as of habits. The Russians wore long ones, 
 hanging down on their bosoms, and nicely combed out. 
 Even the hair on the upper lip was so long, that they 
 were obliged to wipe it after drinking ; at the same 
 time that that on the head was worn quite short, except 
 only by the priests. To reform this foolish custom, the 
 
70 TIIE LIFE OF 
 
 czar laid a heavy tax on all his subjects, exclusive of 
 the priests and peasants, for the wearing of beards. 
 The very common people were obliged to pay a co- 
 peck, for entering any city or town with a beard, and 
 an officer waited at the gate to receive it. But such 
 was their veneration for this jiece of natural ornament, 
 as they esteemed it, that they looked upon the czar as 
 guilty of a grievous sin, and this injunction passed for 
 a terrible persecution. Indeed it was rigorously put 
 in force on some of the most obstinate, who had their 
 beards plucked up by the roots for non-compliance. 
 Some were so superstitious as to save the hair when 
 taken off, in order to have it put in their coffin, that 
 they might give an account of it to St. Nicholas. Li- 
 bels were written on this occasion, and dropped about 
 the streets, charging his majesty with heathenism and 
 tyranny. But the women liking their husbands and 
 sweethearts the better, most of the men by degrees 
 were reconciled to this depilation of their chins. 
 
 The czar had been in England, and seen what ad- 
 vantage accrued to the sovereign from being the chief 
 in ecclesiastical affairs. He resolved to be so himself 
 in Muscovy, but would not attempt to depose the pre- 
 late in possession, though lie sometimes took the lib- 
 erty to curb the excess of his priestly power. One 
 day the reverend sire took upon him to expostulate 
 with his majesty (who was come to visit his mother, 
 -then on her death-bed) concerning Iris altering the 
 ancient customs, and in particular the dress of his 
 subjects, against then* consent. " Father," said the 
 czar, are not you the head of the Russian church ?*' 
 The prelate answered, " Yes, sir, by your favor." To 
 which his majesty replied, " And why do you turn the 
 head and advocate of the tailors ? I intend to give my 
 subjects more substantial proofs of the care I take for 
 their welfare, than what depends on the imaginary 
 difference of dress." 
 
 This prelate, who was a very old man, dying about 
 the time we are upon, the czar refused to have any 
 ether elected, and took upon himself to be head of the 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 71 
 
 church : only he appointed the metropolitan of Resan, 
 a native of Poland, and the most learned of all his 
 clergy, to take upon him the administration of ecclesi- 
 astical affairs ; hut with this restriction, that he should 
 represent all matters of moment to his majesty, and 
 receive his directions thereupon. Tills surprising turn 
 caused a great uneasiness among the chief of the cler- 
 gy, and one of them spoke a little too freely of the 
 matter : which coming to his majesty's ear, he ordered 
 him to be degraded : and when the other bishops ex- 
 cused themselves from doing it, alledging, that as 
 they had no patriarch, and were themselves all of 
 equal authority, they could not proceed thus against a 
 brother, the czar created a new bishop on purpose, 
 who deprived the other of his mitre. Upon this bold 
 proceeding, several virulent writings were dropped 
 about the streets of Moscow, reflecting on the czar : 
 but no bad consequence followed, nor were the authors 
 of the libels ever detected, though great rewards were 
 offered for that purpose. 
 
 The other reformations he made were of different 
 kinds, but none of them more remarkable than those 
 which related to matrimony. Matches, till HOW, were 
 always made up by the parents, without any previous 
 meeting of the young couple, who frequently were not 
 
 above 13 or 1* years old. The bridegroom never 
 
 o 
 
 spoke to his bride till the day before the nuptials, and 
 then the \ ; isit was very short, and in presence of all the 
 friends on both sides. But the czar, observing that 
 marriages in Russia were often remarkably unhappy, 
 
 very justly attributed it to this cause. He therefore 
 
 ' *i 
 
 ordered, that no young couple should be married with- 
 nit their own free consent, nor till after a correspon- 
 t pence of at least six weeks. This new regulation had 
 'i very good effect. Husbands before would beat their 
 wives so inhumanly, that they often died of the blows, 
 ind the man never suffered for the murder, which 
 A as interpreted as done by way of correction. But 
 hese barbarities, in a great measure, were now pre- 
 
 
72 THE LIFE OF 
 
 vented, and fewer women suffered for the murder of 
 their husbands than before. 
 
 It had been a pompous custom among the great boy- 
 ars, as a piece of state and grandeur, to retain a great 
 number of useless servants, who attended them bare- 
 headed, some before, and some behind, along the 
 streets of Moscow : and in the coldest weather, these 
 lords, and even the ladies, would almost freeze with 
 riding slow, that the servants might keep pace with 
 them on foot. But the czar, who always rode swift, 
 and with a very few servants uniformly clothed, com- 
 manded the boyars and persons of distinction, to follow 
 his example ; and that his order might be the more 
 effectual, he had lists taken of all the superfluous at- 
 tendants in every family, whom he sent away into the 
 army. Great intercessions were made for many, espe- 
 cially such of these hangers-on as were gentlemen 
 born, and only waited for preferment; but his majes- 
 ty's commands were peremptory, and allowed of no 
 respect of persons. 
 
 There had been a printing-house erected in Moscow, 
 by the approbation of one of the former czars $ but 
 not long after, it was set on fire in the night, and the 
 press and types burnt, as was thought by the pro- 
 curement of the priests, who looked upon all books, 
 but the legends of their saints, the history of their own 
 country, and the exploits of their czars, to be as bad as 
 witchcraft. As they had no university, nor any school 
 worthy of notice, it was unlikely they should have any 
 taste for literature. No longer ago than the beginning 
 of the last century, the secretary of a Persian ambas- 
 sador coming through Russia with his master, in the 
 way to Denmark, calculated the hour and duration of 
 an eclipse that was just ready to happen. It was hard- 
 ly believed at first that any man could know so much ; 
 but when the proof of it came, and the sun appeared 
 actually dark, the people thronged about the ambassa- 
 dor's house, and demanded liis secretary, that they 
 might burr* him as a sorcerer, and it was with some 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 75 
 
 difficulty that he was rescued by the guards. But 
 things began now to put on a new facs in Russia ; 
 books were printed, schools were erected, the mathe- 
 matics were studied, even astronomy itself. 
 
 Captain Perry relates another story of a surgeon, 
 who was condemned to death as a sorcerer, and had 
 certainly been executed, but for the intercession of the 
 boyar who was his patron, because a skeleton that hung 
 up in his room, near the window, was seen to move by 
 the wind, while the master played on a lute. Some 
 strelitzes, who came by, and observed the motion, went 
 and gave evidence that they had seen the dead bones 
 dance to the surgeon's music ; which was confirmed by 
 others, who were sent on purpose to examine into the 
 truth of the matter. It was with some difficulty that 
 the lord made the use of the skeleton understood, and 
 the poor surgeon was glad to save his life at the ex- 
 pense of his flying the country. The passive skele- 
 ton, which had thus been wrought on by the power of 
 magic, could not however escape the resentment of the 
 populace, but was dragged about the streets and burnt. 
 
 I before mentioned that the Russians began their 
 year upon the first of September, because the world, 
 they imagined, was created in autumn, when the fruits 
 of the earth were in perfection ; and very fond they 
 were of an argument, which they thought unanswer- 
 able. But the czar Peter had often shewn his boyars 
 a map of the globe, and merrily gave them to under- 
 stand that Russia was not all the world, for that it was 
 summer in the southern hemisphere at the same time- 
 it was winter with them ; and moreover, that in all 
 appearance the seasons had been considerably chang- 
 ed since the creation, for want of exactness in c^mput- 
 ing the length of a true solar year. He had so far 
 inculcated these ideas, that at the beginning of the 
 present century, a period the most happy for begin- 
 ning a new succession of time, he resolved to make 
 his subjects conform to what the wisest of them could 
 not but be convinced was verv rational. With this 
 
 V 
 
 view he proclaimed a jubilee on the first of January, 
 
 G 
 
74 THE LIFE OP 
 
 1700, and commanded it to be solemnized a whole week 
 together, with firing of guns, ringing of hells, illumi- 
 nations, and other acts of public festivity ; and then or- 
 dered that no person, from that time forward, should 
 make use of any other date, under a severe penalty, 
 than what was followed by the other nations of Eu- 
 rope. Many looked upon this as striking at the very 
 ground of religion, and though every body conformed 
 to it through fear, yet some of the old Russians would 
 afterwards get together on the first of September, and 
 privately solemnize that day with great zeal and su- 
 perstition, as the first of the new year ; asserting that 
 the world was just as old as they reckoned it, that is 
 about five hundred years older than in any other mod- 
 ern computation. 
 
 His majesty also abolished the old custom of writing 
 themselves slaves, and reciting all his titles at large, 
 in any address from the Russians to their sovereign ; 
 ordering that the word raab, or subject, should be sub- 
 stituted instead of golup, or slave, and that To his most 
 highly gracious majesty, should be the superscription of 
 every thing directed to the throne. 
 
 While these civil regulations were on foot, the army 
 and navy had not been neglected. All the troops were 
 disciplined and regularly clothed, according to what 
 was practised in other nations ; for till now, every sol- 
 dier, except those on Le Fort's establishment, was 
 dressed according to his own fancy. And that no man 
 in his dominions might want employment, the czar or- 
 dered lists to be taken of such gentlemen as had none, 
 and commanded some of them to enter as volunteers, 
 giving the rest appointments in different stations, ei- 
 ther about the navy or in the garrisons. 
 
 His majesty then went to Veronitz, in order to view 
 those ships and gallics that were built there by the 
 Dutch in his absence. But as the English buiHt ships 
 had so highly pleased him in his travels, he now order- 
 ed that none should be laid down in any other fashion, 
 and made the English he brought over with him his 
 chief master-builders. One man of war, of fifty guns, 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 75 
 
 he had put immediately upon the stocks, according to 
 a draught of his own making, in which he had so con- 
 trived it, that the vessel should remain tight though 
 her keel were knocked off. When the work was a lit- 
 tle advanced, he left it to be carried on hy two young 
 Russian gentlemen, who had attended him in his trav- 
 els ; hut they were to advise, upon occasion, with the 
 English builders : and then ordering vice-admiral Cruss 
 and rear-admiral Raes, to fit out all the vessels that 
 were ready for that purpose, which were to he con- 
 veyed down to Asoph the next year, he returned back 
 to Moscow. 
 
 This city of Veronitz, the naval magazine for Rus- 
 sia at the time we are speaking of, stands on the top of 
 a hill, west of the river Veronitz, and is surrounded 
 with a wooden wall. It contains about 10,000 inhab- 
 itants. On the descent of the hill near the river, are 
 several handsome buildings, and the docks, yards and 
 store-houses, make a good figure. Captain Perry was 
 employed here, by the czar's command, to dam out the 
 water which incommoded the workmen at the annual 
 inundations, and did it in such a manner, that, as he 
 expresses it himself, his works are in no danger of 
 giving way so long as the world endures." But nei- 
 ther for this, nor any thing else he undertook, could the 
 captain get paid according to contract ; of which he 
 complains severely in his State of Russia ; though with- 
 out charging his ill usage on the czar, but only on ad- 
 miral Apraxin. It seems indeed to have been a max- 
 im at that time in Russia, either of his majesty or his 
 minister, (how justifiable I will not take upon me to 
 say) to withhold the wages of those ingenious men 
 whom they had invited over, in order to prevent their 
 ever returning to their native countries. 
 
 But to return : in the midst of these labours for the 
 good of his people, the czar was sensibly touched with 
 the loss of that wise and good man, who had first gui- 
 ded him into the paths of true greatness.. The reader 
 will know, from what lias already been said, that this 
 can mean only M Le Fort* who from the time of his 
 
76 THE LIFE OF 
 
 advancement had deservedly lived in the highest hon- 
 or and reputation, and was now, at his death, chief 
 general of his majesty's armies, admiral of all his 
 fleets, and prime minister. The czar, willing to tes- 
 tify his regard for such extraordinary merit, buried 
 him with such funeral pomp as had never been seen in 
 Russia before, nor scarcely surpassed in any other 
 country. All the great officers of state and the army, 
 the foreign ministers, and the chief of the nobility at- 
 tended it. His majesty himself led the guards in mourn- 
 ing, and assisted at the funeral sermon, which was 
 preached by a divine of the reformed religion. 
 
 The czar's ministers, some time before this, had 
 made a truce with the Turks for two years, at the con- 
 gress of Carlowitz ; but as the Germans, Poles, and 
 Venetians, had entered into preliminaries for a gener- 
 al peace, his majesty applied to the late king William, 
 who was mediator in these negotiations, to get the truce 
 prolonged into a lasting treaty. This being done, and 
 M. Le Fort's obsequies over, the czar, willing to hon- 
 or those who had served him faithfully during the wars, 
 instituted a new order of knighthood, the first that ev- 
 er was known in Russia, under the patronage of St. 
 Andrew, for whom the Muscovites have a great vene- 
 ration. The collar of the order is a blue ribbon, to 
 which hangs a cross with St. Andrew's image, the two 
 letters S. A. surmounted by an eagle, and the words 
 " Peter the first, emperor of Russia, preserver of the 
 country." Prince Menzikoff was the first on whom 
 his majesty conferred this mark of distinction. 
 
 And now began that tedious and bloody war, which 
 was first concerted at the czar's return from Vienna, 
 and continued for twenty years, with various fortune 
 to the contending parties. But Peter the Great, who 
 for some years of it was rather unsuccessful than pros- 
 perous, had the glory at last to triumph over an obsti- 
 nate enemy, and to secure to himself by treaty a large 
 addition of territory. Peace with the Turks and war 
 with Sweden, were proclaimed at Moscow the same 
 day. 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 77 
 
 BOOK III. 
 
 From the beginning of the war with Sweden, till tJie re- 
 duction of Ingria and Livonia, and the building of Pe- 
 tersburg and Cronslot. 
 
 TT was in the year 1700, that his czarish majesty, 
 *- supported by the alliance of Augustus king of Po- 
 land, and Frederick king of Denmark, engaged in a 
 war with Charles XII. king of Sweden, the most for- 
 midable rival he could possibly have in the pursuit of 
 glory. Though but eighteen years of age, this prince 
 was not only an enemy to all softness and effeminacy, 
 but even fond of the most violent fatigues, and all the 
 severities of a military life. Invincibly obstinate in 
 those excesses to which his courage transported him, 
 he run into dangers with the highest relish and delight, 
 and wanted nothing of being a very Alexander, but the 
 addition of a few vices. Both he and the czar, it is 
 pretended, believed in absolute predestination, and ow- 
 ed much of their intrepidity to this speculative notion. 
 But though there might seem to be some equality 
 between the two sovereigns at war, it was far other- 
 wise with respect to the nations they commanded. > 
 Muscovites, who in general had not yet the slightest 
 tincture of discipline, were never inured to the prac- 
 tice of valor, nor possessed of a reputation they could 
 either fear to lose, or make use of to inspire them with 
 new courage ; these Muscovites marched against veter- 
 an Swedes, used to a discipline the most exact, accus- 
 tomed to the field under a long succession of warlike 
 kings, animated to brave actions by the very remem- 
 brance of their own history. The czar was so sensi* 
 
 / 
 
 ble of this, that he frankly said at the beginning of the 
 war, when news were brought him of the defeat before 
 
 G 2 
 
78 THE LIFE OF 
 
 Narva, " I know very well that my troops will be beau 
 for some time \ but this will teach them to conquer at 
 last." He armed himself with a patience more heroic 
 than even valor itself, and sacrificed the interest of his 
 own giory to that of making his people brave and war- 
 like. 
 
 It were to be wished that the czar's motives for en- 
 tering into this war, had been as justifiable in them- 
 selves, as they were well concerted for carrying on his 
 grant! project. Livonia, though formerly disputed with 
 Sweden, by both the Muscovites and Poles, had been 
 in quiet possession of the former near an hundred years. 
 Cardia and Ingria had indeed belonged to Russia, but 
 were ceded to Sweden by Michael Federowitz, the 
 czar's grandfather, and remained to that crown ever 
 since. A long deduction of the czar's pretensions to 
 these several provinces was however published, by 
 which it was easy to see that all the other causes alledged 
 for this rupture were only subservient to these. His 
 majesty's project of becoming powerful by sea, excited 
 him to revive those pretensions, which pursued with 
 success, would put him in possession of Narva, Revel, 
 Riga, and other considerable ports on the Baltic, and 
 the Gulf of Finland. To give the better idea of these 
 several particulars, it is proper here to insert an ab- 
 stract of the geography and history of these provinces. 
 
 The province of Livonia is bounded on the west by 
 the gulf of that name j on the north by the Gulf of 
 Finland ; on the east by Ingria and the dutcliy of 
 Pleskow in Muscovy ; and on the south by Lithuania 
 and Samogitia. Its antient inhabitants were barbari- 
 ans, who had no commerce with their neighbors. Cer- 
 tain German pirates, who cruised in the Baltic in the 
 reign of the emperor Frederic Barbarossa, landing 
 there, found the country so fine and fertile, that they 
 resolved to make it the place of their residence. Their 
 first care was to settle a traffic with the natives, by 
 which they proposed to themselves large profit, espe- 
 cially upon corn* honey, and wax. This view to in- 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 79 
 
 tercst changing afterwards into a zeal for religion, 
 they formed a military society for establishing the Chris- 
 tian faith among these infidels ; and after several bat- 
 tles, in which they murdered many thousands under 
 this pretence, they became masters of the province, 
 their society being confirmed by the Pope, they took 
 the name of knights of Livonia, and chose William of 
 Vienna for their grand master. The country was di- 
 vided into several governments, and the archbishop of 
 Riga, had a part in the sovereignty. This concession 
 to the prelate, which they looked on as their greatest 
 security, was the cause of their ruin ; for having some 
 misunderstanding with him, the grand master Volquin 
 implored the help of the Teutonic knights, under the 
 heavy condition of receiving them for masters. The 
 knights of Livonia got rid of this servitude, for a large 
 sum of money, under Albert of Brandenburg, who 
 sometime after renounced his order, and turned Lu- 
 theran. The Livonians followed his example, embra- 
 ced the doctrines of Luther, seized the estates of the 
 order, and made them hereditary. Gottard de Keller, 
 their grand master, put himself under tbe protection 
 of Sigisrnund Augustus, king of Poland, and preserv- 
 ed to himself Couiiand and Semigallia. 
 
 During these religious disorders, the Muscovites got 
 possession of the greatest part of Livonia. They were 
 drove out of it by Stephen Bathori, who succeeded 
 Henry of Valois,king of Poland, and retook it again in 
 the reign of Sigismund, with whom they were at war 
 on account of the false Demetrius. Having broke with 
 Gustavus I. king of Sweden, that prince invaded and 
 reduced Livonia : but his successor lost it again to the 
 Muscovites in 1590, who were now no more able to 
 retain it than they had been before. The constable 
 de la Gardie not only took from them what they had 
 recovered from Sweden, but obliged the czar Michael 
 entirely to renounce it by the treaty of Stockholm in 
 1618. The Poles opposed this cession, pretending that 
 the czar had no right to make it, in prejudice to their 
 claim from the grand master of the order* and a prior 
 
SO THE LIFE OF 
 
 cession from the Muscovites to them in 1582. They 
 were answered by the Swedes, and the contention came 
 to the point of a rupture, when Lewis XIII. king of 
 France, adjusted it by Ms mediation in 1629, leaving 
 the Swedes in possession of all they had got, except 
 Courland, which he obliged them to restore. The 
 treaty of Oliva, in 1660, confirmed all that had been 
 before done, and allowed the kings both of Poland and 
 Sweden, to call themselves dukes of Livonia, to the 
 utter exclusion of the Muscovites. But the czar Al- 
 exis Michaelowitz revived the claim which his father 
 had renounced, and Peter was now resolved to make 
 the most of it. 
 
 Livonia is a country of great importance, on account 
 of its advantageous situation, and prodigious fertility in 
 corn and pasturage. The Livonian nobility are very 
 numerous, and were possessed of great power and many 
 privileges, before the reign of Charles XI. king df 
 Sweden, who oppressed them equally with the rest of 
 his subjects. Patkul, since unhappily famous for his 
 tragical death, was deputed by the rest of the Livo- 
 nian nobility, to bear their united complaints to his maj- 
 esty ; whom he addressed in a manner very respect- 
 ful, and with that manly eloquence, which calamity, 
 joined with courage, inspires. Charles, who knew 
 how to dissemble, when he did not give himself up to 
 the transports of Ms passion, gently struck Patkid on 
 the shoulder : " You have spoke for your country, (says 
 he,) like a gallant man, and I esteem you for it : pro- 
 ceed." But a few days after, lie got him declared 
 guilty of high treason, and condemned. Patkul, who 
 had hid himself, made his escape, and carried his re- 
 sentment with him to Poland, where we leave him for 
 a moment. 
 
 The river Duna divides Livonia into two parts : 
 south of the river lie Courland and Semigallia, both 
 fiefs of the crown of Poland. The other Livonia com- 
 prehends Estonia and Litland. In the former arc con- 
 tained Estonia Proper, Wikezland, Alentakcn, Harn- 
 land, Jervenland, Oldenpo, and \Virland. 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 81 
 
 Estonia Proper lies between Litland, Oldenpo, Jer- 
 venland, and \Vikezland. The only remarkable eitv 
 
 * * 
 
 in it is Pernaw, at the mouth of a river of the same 
 name, which falls into the gulph of Livonia. It is a 
 place of good trade, though small, on account of the 
 great quantity of corn there loaded for the Low Coun- 
 tries. It has a strong citadel, and was formerly the 
 capital of a Polish Palatinate. 
 
 Wikezland extends along the Baltic Sea, between 
 Estonia Proper and Harnland. Hapsel, formerly a 
 bishoprick on a small gulph of the same name, and 
 Lehal, are its principal towns. 
 
 Alentaken lies between the gulph of Finland and 
 the lake Peybus or Czudzko. The city of Narva 
 here, upon a river of the same name, which divides 
 Livonia from the dutchy of Pleskow, and two miles 
 lower falls into the gulph of Finland, is one of the 
 strongest places in the whole province, defended by a 
 large castle on the banks of the river. 
 
 Revel, upon tlte gulph of Finland, is the capital of 
 Harnland. It is one of the richest and most mercan- 
 tile places in the north, a hanse town, and possessed of 
 several privileges, that were confirmed to it by divers 
 treaties between the kings of Sweden and the grand 
 dukes of Muscovy. Waldemar II. built it in 1228. 
 The Muscovites besieged it in 1557, with a numerous 
 army, but were obliged to retire without success. 
 
 Wittenstein, Lais and Overpolen, are towns of Jer- 
 venland, which lies between Harnland, Estonia Prop- 
 er, and Wiiiand. 
 
 OMenpo, or Kikeland, is surrounded by Alentaken, 
 Muscovy, Litland, and Estonia Proper. Borpt, or 
 Junigorod, upon the river Embeck, is the principal 
 city of this district. It is very ancient, and run much 
 to decay. The knights of the Teutonic order, drove 
 the Muscovites out of it in 1280, and were expelled 
 again themselves in 1558, by the grand duke Basil. 
 The Poles took it in 1582. ' Charles, duke of Suder- 
 mania, took it from the Poles, in his wars with king 
 
82 THE LIFE OF 
 
 Sigismimd. The Muscovites retook it, but lost it again 
 to the constable de la Gardie,,m 1635. Gustavus Adol- 
 phus erected an university there in 1632, and it re- 
 mained to the Swedes till the end of that century. 
 The other towns in this province, are, Vernebec, Hel- 
 mede and Ringen. 
 
 Wirland is contiguous to Estonia and Haraland. 
 The most remarkable towns in it, are, Wesenberg, 
 taken by John, king of Sweden, and Tolsberg, upon 
 the mouth of the river Seraschebuek. 
 
 Litland lies between Estonia, Muscovy, the river 
 .Duna and the gulph of Riga. It is divided into east 
 and west, the latter of which is largest. In the for- 
 mer are Duneburg, a fortified city on the Duna, Rosi- 
 ten, Lutzen, and Marienhusen. The capital of West 
 Litland, is Riga, upon the borders of Courland, a 
 large, handsome place, well fortified, and considerable 
 for trade. It w^as formerly, (and may be still reck- 
 oned) the capital of all Livonia, the usual residence 
 of the grand master of the knights of that denomina- 
 tion, and the seat of an archbishop. Charles IX. 
 king of Sweden, besieged this town ineffectually ; but 
 his son, Gustavus Adolphus, became master of it in 
 1621. The Muscovites attempted to surprise it some 
 years after, and were obliged to retire with very great 
 loss. The other cities of this division, are, Teydar, 
 \Volmar, Wenden and Kokenhauss $ the latter built 
 upon an eminence, the bottom of which is watered by 
 the river Duna, a place much stronger by nature than 
 by art. The Muscovites took it in 1654, and restored 
 it by the treaty which put an end to that war. 
 
 There are some islands upon the coast of Livonia, 
 which we may have occasion hereafter to mention. 
 
 Ingria is bounded on the north by the lake Ladoga, 
 by Muscovy on the east, by Livonia on the south, and 
 on the west by the gulph of Finland. It belonged for- 
 merly to the Muscovites ; but the Swedes having got 
 possession, the czar Michael Federowitz, gave it up 
 entirely to Gustavus Adolphus by the treaty of Stock- 
 
PETER THE GREAT. S3 
 
 holm, which was confirmed in 1661, between king 
 Charles XI. and the czar Alexis MJchadowitz. Its 
 situation, between Finland and Livonia, maile it al- 
 ways considerable. Notteburg, the capital, r. strong 
 place, lay at the head of the river Neva, where it rises 
 out of the lake Ladoga. It was taken by the consta- 
 ble de la Gardie, in 16ii. The other cities of Ingria 
 are, Caporia, Imagorod and Ivanagorod. 
 
 Carelia lies between the gulph of Finland, the prov- 
 ince of that name, and the lake Ladoga. Birger, king 
 of Sweden, subdued it in 1293, and it remained in the 
 hands of his successors till 1338, when they divided it 
 with the Muscovites. The czar Suiski, promised to 
 give up his part to Charles IX. upon condition of be- 
 ing assisted against the impostor Demetrius. Charles 
 sent him troops under the command of Pont de la Gar- 
 die ; but the Muscovites, after the war was over, not 
 readily keeping to the proposal, the Swedes seized on 
 Kexholm, and afterwards on all Carelia Proper, which 
 from that time was entirely united to the crown of 
 Sweden. 
 
 The capital of Carelia Proper is Wibnrg, a strong 
 place, with a good citadel, which the Muscovites had 
 often attempted to surprise. The capital of Kexholm 
 is of the same name, and stands upon the lake Lado- 
 ga/ 5 at the mouth of the river Voxen. It is defended 
 by a strong castle, which was took by the constable de 
 la Gardie. Some authors make Kexholm a province 
 by itself: but we shall not dispute about names. 
 
 These were the provinces claimed by the czar Peter, 
 in his declaration against Charles XII. The reader 
 will guess, from this short account, on what he found- 
 ed his pretensions, and how justly. We shall only re- 
 mark, that wars have often been entered into on more 
 slight foundations. And probably any other prince, 
 capable of the same great designs, would have thought 
 these at least very sufficient. But the czar added 
 others to them, which he called new motives for which 
 the war was begun. These new motives, some writers 
 
THE LIFE OF 
 
 tell us, he had hetter have suppressed ; and every one 
 has a right to give his opinion of what even monarchs 
 think fit to publish. 
 
 The first of these new motives, and what was chiefly 
 enlarged on, was the affront given to his czarish maj- 
 esty's ambassadors at Riga, of which we took notice 
 in a former book. Another was, that his majesty was 
 warned by the English court, while he resided in Lon- 
 don, not to go back through the Swedish territories, 
 with intimation of some danger that might attend Ins 
 person. The declaration also accused the Swedish 
 court with having spirited up the Porte to a rupture 
 with his majesty, and affirmed that general Leczinski, 
 father of the famous Stanislaus, and ambassador of Po- 
 land at the Ottoman court, was made use of for this 
 purpose. These reasons, and an absolute refusal of 
 the king of Sweden to give him satisfaction on the af- 
 fair of Riga, added to the claims above recited, inclined 
 his czarish majesty to listen to the instances of the 
 kings of Poland and Denmark, who had both their sev- 
 eral reasons for breaking with Sweden at this time. 
 If any one should affirm, that the fair prospect they had 
 of making acquisitions on their respective borders, 
 thiring the minority of a young prince whose character 
 was yet unknown, was the secret motive that prevailed 
 with all the three powers, I shall not take upon me to 
 contradict it. 
 
 The eldest sister of Charles XII. was married to 
 the duke of Holstein, a brave and good naturcd young 
 prince, but unhappy in an odd partition of territory 
 with the king of Denmark. The king, as is usual in 
 cases of sovereignty, made use of his superior strength 
 to oppress the duke, who fled to Stockholm with his 
 princess, to throw himself under his brother-in-law's 
 protection. 
 
 Christiern III. king of Denmark, of the ancient 
 house of Holstein, had such an uncommon affection 
 for his brother Adolphus, that he divided witli him 
 the dutchics of Holstein Gottorp and Slcswick. The 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 80 
 
 descendants of Adolphus were to govern ever after in 
 conjunction with the kings ; so that the two dutchies 
 would be in common between them both, and neither 
 should do any thhig without the other. This union, 
 fur near SO years, was the cause of continual disputes 
 between the two branches ; the one aiming to engross 
 all, the other to be independent. In these struggles, 
 the last duke lost his liberty as well as his sovereientv, 
 
 fj ' 
 
 till he recovered both at the conferences of Altena, by 
 the interposition of Sweden, England, and Holland, 
 who guaranteed the treaty. But as this treaty, on the 
 part of Frederick IV. then king of Denmark, was no 
 more than a submission to necessity, he began now to 
 revive the dispute with more virulence than ever, com- 
 mitted some acts of hostility in the dutcliies, and was 
 ready to fall upon Sweden itself. 
 
 Frederick Augustus, elector of Saxony, whom nei- 
 ther the- eloquence of the abbe de Pclignac, nor the 
 great qualities of the prince of Conti, his competitor 
 for the crown, could set aside from being elected king 
 of Poland, was a prince less famous for Ids incredible 
 strength of body, than for the gallantry of his mind. 
 Next to that of Louis XIV. his court made the greatest 
 figure of any in Europe. No prince bestowed favors 
 more liberally, nor with a better grace ; and thus lie 
 had bought one half of the Polish nobility. The rest 
 he awed into submission by the approach of a Saxon 
 army, which he wanted some pretence to retain still 
 in Poland. Patkul, willing to take vengeance on the 
 Swedes, had represented to him how easy it would be 
 to conquer Livonia ; tiie people ready to shake off the 
 Swedish yoke, and their king a child. The Saxon 
 troops then were to march into Livonia, on the other 
 side Poland from their own country, which would still 
 keep them a cheek upon the Polish lords, and might 
 add to the kingdom a valuable acquisition. 
 
 Among the pretensions of these princes for failing 
 on Sweden, those of Peter were at least as valid as 
 either of the others. He invaded Ingria, at the latter 
 
 H 
 
86 THE LIFE OF 
 
 end of autumn, with an hundred thousand men, and 
 sat down before Narva, within 30 degrees of the Pole, 
 on the first of October, when the cold is as severe in 
 that climate as with us in the depth of winter. The 
 czar, says M. de Voltaire, who in such weather would 
 sometime ride post 400 miles to see a mine or a canal, 
 spared his troops no more than he spared himself. He 
 knew that the Swedes, ever since the time of Gustavus 
 Adolphus, had been used to make war in tbe depth of 
 winter ; and he wanted to make his Muscovites at least 
 equal to them, by losing- all distinction of seasons. He 
 marked out himself the lines of his camp, had it forti- 
 fied on all sides, and with his own hands opened the 
 trench. The duke de Croy, a German general of 
 great abilities, had the command of the army, while 
 the czar himself, to continue the example of military 
 discipline, was only a lieutenant in his own troops. 
 
 The Muscovite army, except about 30,000 men, who 
 had been disciplined on the new plan, and succeeded 
 the strelitzes, consisted of raw young fellows, just ta- 
 ken from the forests or fields, covered with the skins 
 of beasts, and armed with arrows or clubs. Not one 
 of these had ever seen a siege, and there was scarce a 
 good cannoneer in the whole body. But the duke of 
 Croy brought with him about 50 German officers, who 
 had all served in Hungary ; and these, added to the 
 foreign officers already in the army, soon brought tbem 
 into better order. Yet this mighty army of 100,000 
 men, with 150 pieces of cannon, lay ten whole weeks 
 before the little town of Narva, defended by count 
 Hoorn, with scarce 1000 regular troops, and were at 
 last obliged to raise the siege with disgrace. 
 
 Charles XII. alarmed by these preparations against 
 him, renounced at once all the amusements of youth, 
 and, full of the idea of Alexander, set out from Stock- 
 holm at eighteen years of age, at the head of an ai my, 
 and never returned thither again, though he lived eigh- 
 teen years more. He began first with the Dane, to re- 
 venge his brother-in-law's quarrel : landed an army in 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 87 
 
 Zealand, and invested Copenhagen itself, while the 
 king of Denmark was besieging Tonningen, in Hoi- 
 stein. In less than six weeks lie brought the Dane to 
 reason, and concluded a treaty to the duke's advantage, 
 who was indemnified from all the expenses of the war. 
 And the king of Poland having raised the siege of 
 Riga, after two months lying before it, upon the rep- 
 resentation of the Dutch, who had vast effects there, 
 (an occasion the king was very ready to embrace) 
 Charles had now only the czar, his rival in glory* to 
 march against, " with whom he was the more enraged, 
 savs his historian Voltaire, as there was still three 
 
 V 7 
 
 Muscovite ambassadors at Stockholm, who had lately 
 sworn to renew an inviolable peace." But however 
 that was, it is certain the czar's intentions were notifi- 
 ed to the Swedish court, before lie actually committed 
 any hostilities. 
 
 * Ttie king of Sweden, with about 20,000 men, 
 crossed the sea from Garelseroon to Pernaw : and the 
 czar received advice of his being landed on the 15th 
 of November. His majesty foresaw that this king, 
 young and enterprizing as he was, would play the des- 
 perate game ; and therefore, far from despising his 
 inferiority of number, having disposed his army before 
 Narva in the best manner, (placing three advanced 
 guards, the first of five, the second of twenty, the third 
 of thirty thousand men, before the main body) he posted 
 awav to Pleskow, to hasten the march of 40,000 re- 
 
 * 
 
 emits who were by this time got thither. The king in 
 the mean time made a flying march from Pcrnaw to 
 Revel, and thence to Narva, with only his 4000 horse, 
 and about the same number of foot. With these he 
 attacked the first post, and easily dislodged and put 
 them to flight, before they could know what strength 
 he had. The five thousand fled to the twenty, with 
 Charles at their heels, who immediately attacked and 
 routed them also. They carried their consternation 
 
 * Histoire de Charles XII. aiul history of the Czar by a British officer. 
 
<S8 THE LIFE OF 
 
 among the thirty thousand, who were posted within a 
 league of the camp ; and the panic seizing' on these 
 too, they retired to the main body without striking a 
 blow. All tins was done within two days and a half, 
 and the king of Sweden then appeared, with his 8000 
 men, fatigued with a long march, before an army of 
 100,000 Muscovites, defended by 150 pieces of brass 
 cannon. 
 
 The duke de Croy made the best disposition lie 
 could at so short a warning ; for the king, after three 
 victories, would hardly give his men time to breathe, 
 before they were ordered again to fall on. The Mus- 
 covite infantry were posted in an entrenchment, where 
 they fired as in a covered way, with a second line to 
 support them, and the cavahy behind to support all. 
 But this numerous army wanted the presence of their 
 master, which would have been better than the forty 
 thousand recruits ; and he did not doubt, when he 
 left them, but that lie should come back again in 
 time. 
 
 On the 30th of November, 1700, about noon, the 
 8000 Swedes, headed by their king, began the attack. 
 The Muscovites stood it bravely for some time, and re- 
 turned a terrible fire. But a violent snow falling, was 
 driven by the wind full in their faces, which proved 
 of great advantage to the enemy. General Rebinder, 
 
 * f 
 
 ut the haul of eight batallions, pressed on with such 
 intrepidity, that though tae general himself fell in the 
 charge, there was r,o resisting the fury of the attack. 
 The fh at line wr.s forced, and after that the second, 
 which being driven upon the cavalry, put them in 
 such disorder, that they could not draw up to charge. 
 Thus in three hours time all the entrenchments were 
 forced, and the whole riffht wins: routed. The kins: 
 
 O O O 
 
 pursued near fifty thousand, the number of that wing, 
 with his own left wing of about four thousand, as far 
 as the liver of Narva, which was instantly covered 
 with dead bodies, the bridge breaking under the Mus- 
 covites' feet. The rest, after defending their barracks 
 
PETER THE GREAT. S9 
 
 a short time, surrendered themselves prisoners of war. 
 The generals Dolhorucki, Gollowin, Fedorowitz, and 
 the duke de Croy himself, were in the number of the 
 latter. 
 
 Charles, before the battle, did not doubt of success ; 
 and, during the action, behaved as if no danger could 
 approach him. He attacked the czar's quarters in 
 person, not knowing him to be absent; and as lie was 
 mounting a third horse, two having been killed under 
 him, " These fellows, says he, make me exercise." 
 He received the prisoners of distinction, after the 
 slaughter was over* with an air of politeness ; detained 
 only the general officers, and sent the subalterns and 
 common soldiers, being first disarmed, over the river 
 to return home. Then he took possession of the ene- 
 my's cannon, and wrapping himself up in his cloak, 
 slept some hours on the ground. 
 
 But all had not yet been over, if the terror of what 
 they saw had not affected the rest of the Muscovite 
 army. Though their right wing was thus destroyed, 
 the left continued fighting till night, and was stiU suf- 
 ficient to have cut all the Swedes to pieces. The king 
 intended, at day-break, to fall upon them with his 
 whole force. But general \Veid, who commanded 
 that wing, hearing how well the king used the other 
 general officers, and that he had dismissed all the rest, 
 sent about two o'clock in the morning to demand the 
 same favor. This was granted, and the general ap- 
 peared soon after, with 30,000 Muscovites, before less 
 than 7000 Swedes, to whom they surrendered their 
 arms and colors. The king then entered victorious 
 into Narva, amid the acclamations of the people. 
 
 The Muscovite horse had retreated in pretty good 
 order, and made off towards Pleskow. They met the 
 czar by the way, who received their account of this 
 defeat without the least disorder, or expressing any re- 
 sentment at the conduct of his officers- He was too 
 good a judge of the great difference between such vet- 
 eran troops as the Swedes, and those that lie was able 
 
90 THE LIFE OF 
 
 to send against them, either to wonder at what had 
 happened, or to attack the remainder of the victor's 
 little army with his iO,000 recruits, assisted hy the 
 horse. Instead of this, lie returned from whence he 
 came, and took all possible measures to draw together 
 the shattered remains of his own army, in order to he 
 readv for future action. 
 
 m 
 
 But the king of Sweden, having relieved Narva, 
 and gained a complete victory, put his troops into win- 
 ter quarters for the season, without attempting any 
 thing farther. This was contrary to what every one 
 expected, and just as the czar himself would have wish- 
 ed. Charles had defeated two enemies, and without 
 remembering how soon these might recover the shock, 
 from this time thought only of the third. He sent 
 over for all the regular troops in Sweden, and order- 
 ed the raising of new levies for the guard of his coun- 
 try. The czar expected him again next spring, at the 
 head of 4-0,000 old soldiers, one half of whom were 
 already victorious ; and accordingly prepared for the 
 reception of such an enemy. He did not command 
 out a certain number of men, as had been usual in 
 Muscovy, only to serve for one campaign, and then 
 to return to their habitations ; but sent drums to beat 
 up for volunteers all over his empire, who, with the 
 promise of new clothes, regular pay, and preferment 
 according to their merit, got together a, prodigious 
 number of able bodied vouna: fellows. To these he 
 
 v O 
 
 made such additions from among the servants of the 
 nobility, (who were all obliged to send one, two, or 
 more, according to the number they kept) that before 
 the spring he had near 120,000 new enlisted men, all 
 formed into regiments of four, two or one battalion, 
 as in other countries, and regularly disciplined. 
 
 In the mean time the league between Poland and 
 Muscovy was more firmly cemented than ever. The 
 two princes, in order the better to contrive their mea- 
 sures, agreed ii]>on an interview at Birsen, a small 
 town, in Lithuania, where they met without any of 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 
 
 those formalities which serve only to retard business.. 
 They spent fifteen days together, in the enjoyment of 
 several extravagant pleasures, especially drinking 1 , the 
 great vice of the north. Augustus engaged to furnish 
 the czar with 50,000 German troops, to be hired of 
 several princes, which the czar was to pay for ; and 
 50,000 Russians were to be sent into Poland to be train- 
 ed up to war, for which the czar was also to pay three 
 millions of rix-dollars. within two years. 
 
 At this interview, Charles, upon count Piper's per- 
 suasion, made use of that policy which lie had hitherto 
 disregarded. A young Scotch gentleman, who spoke 
 German, passed himself upon the colonel of horse that 
 guarded the czar, for a native of Brandenburgh, was 
 made a lieutenant, and so insinuated himself into the 
 favor of the secretaries, that he got from them all the 
 secrets of their masters. No sooner had the king of 
 Sweden this information, but he appeared with his ar- 
 my in Livonia, on the north of the river Buna, the 
 Saxons being; extended alone; the other side, readv to 
 
 v 
 
 dispute his passage. The king himself projected the 
 manner of it, which he performed with boats of a pe- 
 culiar invention. At the same time setting fire to some 
 wet straw, he raised a great smoke, which the north 
 wind blew over in the face of the Saxons, and hinder- 
 ed them from seeing what he was about. He was 
 over himself in a quarter of an hour, vexed to see 
 that three men had leaped ashore before him ; and no 
 sooner had hd^ landed his cannon, but the mist was 
 dissipated. 
 
 Marsha] Stenan, who commanded the Saxons in con- 
 junction with the duke of Courlaml, (king Augustus 
 being sick of a fever, occasioned by his intemperance 
 at Birsen) fell furiously upon the Swedes, with the left 
 of his cavalry, as soon as he saw them landed : put 
 them into disorder, and even drove them back into the 
 rnvr. The king rallied them in a moment in the midst 
 of the water, and leading them on in a body more 
 
 f * * * 
 
 compact than before, repulsed the marshal from fhe 
 
THE LIFE OF 
 
 shore, and followed him into the plain. A sharp en- 
 gagement immediately ensued, in which the duke of 
 Courland had two horses shot under him, and was 
 himself at last carried off for dead : upon which the 
 Saxons fell into confusion, and no longer disputed the 
 field. 
 
 Charles, after this victory, marched directly to Mit- 
 taw, the capital of Courland, and took it. The other 
 towns of the dutchy surrendered at discretion, without 
 giving him the least trouble ; and when he came to 
 Birsen, where the czar and the king of Poland had 
 contrived hik destruction, he first conceived the thoughts 
 of dethroning the latter, which he immediately pro- 
 ceeded to put "hi execution. The intestine divisions of 
 the nobility, for which the Poles (the only people that 
 preserve the old Gothick form of government) have 
 ever been so remarkable, and which at this time run 
 very high, partly through dissatisfaction with their king, 
 and partly through private factions, not only encour- 
 aged him to this attempt but contributed not a little to 
 the making it successful. 
 
 The czar, having had leisure to raise and discipline 
 a large body of troops, posted them in great n limbers 
 on the frontiers of Livonia. Here they had continual 
 skirmishes with the Swedes, in which though they were 
 often worsted, they had the pleasure too of -conquering 
 in their turns, and finding their enemies were not 
 invulnerable. As they were continually recruited, they 
 overpowered them with numbers; an by frequent 
 fighting with these redoubted warriors, they learned 
 to be less afraid. The king of Sweden, all this while, 
 was so intent on his scheme of deposing Augustus, that 
 he neglected his own subjects in Livonia ; persisting in 
 his contempt of the Muscovite troops, till he found 
 them equal to his own. He did not enough consider 
 what the genius of a prince, indefatigable as the 
 czar Peter, might effect on the most barbarous people 
 in a few years : nor would a thing so unparalleled be 
 quite credible to us, w r erc not the fact so recent. 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 93 
 
 The troubles of Lithuania, began from a private 
 quarrel between the two houses of Sapieha and Ogin- 
 ski, and now enframed into an open war, gave both 
 Muscovites and Swedes an entrance into that country. 
 Charles espoused the party of the Sapiehas, and Ogin- 
 ski, being but badly assisted by the Saxons, ibiaid him- 
 self necessitated to call on the czar for support ; who 
 sent him, at two or three times, no less than 30,000 
 men. But these were insufficient to make head against 
 the victorious Swedes, who had usually the advantage 
 in all rencountres. The lands of the Poles and Lithu- 
 anians were all the time ravaged by both parties, and 
 the Muscovites carried oif a very considerable booty. 
 
 The nobility of Poland, who make the laws of the 
 republic, likewise constitute its strength. They ap- 
 pear in arms upon great occasions, and can form a body 
 of more than 150,000 men. This great army, called 
 the pospolite, moves heavily, and is ill governed. 
 They want discipline, subordination and experience ; 
 and the scarcity of provisions makes it impossible for 
 them ever to subsist long together. The love of lib- 
 erty only, which animates them, is what renders them 
 formidable. As they look upon themselves to be the 
 only bulwark of the republic, they never suffer their 
 king to build any fort, lest he should employ it for their 
 oppression, rather than their defence. When they 
 mount on horseback, it is by order of the diet, and 
 sometimes, in great extremity, by the king's order 
 alone. The usual guard of Poland, which subsists at 
 the expense of the state, is made up of two different 
 Wiics, independent of each other, and commanded by 
 their respective grand generals, who, though nominated 
 by the king, are accountable only to the rc-ps;b]c. The 
 polish general has 38,000 men, and the Lithuanian 
 12,000, under the most absolute command. The very 
 colonels, in their several regiments, are a soi s t of pet- 
 ty sovereigns. 
 
 Agustiis, lutt'rassed a.iu! threiiknrd by tlr- -j. .,:] ca- 
 ble Swede, flattered himself that the porpolitc would 
 
THE LIFE OF 
 
 arm at his orders, and that the two crown armies would 
 fight for him; which, with the Saxons his subjects, 
 and the Muscovites his allies, would make up a body 
 that must quite overpower the enemy. But the begin- 
 ning of his reign had too much provoked the party 
 who opposed his election, and almost alienated his 
 friends. The Saxon troops of Augustus, which might 
 he made use of to oppress them, were, in the opinion 
 of the Poles, more dreadful than the Swedish army, 
 whose quarrel was not with the nation, but with the 
 king only. They did not even wish success to a war* 
 which, by making their sovereign master of Livonia, 
 woidd put their liberty more in his power. The Li- 
 thuanian army had been wasted in the contention be- 
 tween the two parties, and the remains of it were dis- 
 persed by the conqueror : the army in Poland, instead 
 of the 36,000 men prescribed by law, consisted hardly 
 of 18,000 5 and the generals were undetermined what 
 course they should take. The pospolite he did not 
 dare to summon, for fear of being mortified by a re- 
 fusal. In this distress the palatinates obliged him to 
 call a diet, in which Charles had as much interest as 
 himself. The cardinal primate in particular, who was 
 president, had been at first an enemy to the election of 
 Augustus, and now secretly intrigued with the king of 
 Sweden, to get his sovereign deposed, to whom he at 
 the same time paid all the outward respect that his 
 duty required. 
 
 The history of Poland is no farther a part of this 
 work, than as it serves to illustrate the eztv^'s proceed- 
 ings ; and therefore I shall be as short upon it as I 
 possibly can. Every one knows what followed in that 
 kingdom. The diet obliged the king to ask peace of 
 the Swede, and then, upon being repulsed, to throw 
 himself into the arms of the senate. The senate too 
 gave him up to the conqueror, who entirely defeated 
 him near Clissau, between Warsaw and Cracow. His 
 throne was declared vacant, and Stanislaus Lcczinski 
 elected in his place, whom the king of Sweden obliged 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 95 
 
 Augustus to congratulate, under his own hand, upon 
 his accession. 
 
 The czar too well understood his own interest, not 
 to take advantage of this obstinate wrath of the king 
 of Sweden, who w r as now pursuing Augustus to his 
 ruin. He had before 20,000 men in Lithuania, to 
 keep the Swedes on that side employed ; and having 
 caused another army to inarch towards Great Poland, 
 to succor Augustus, he sent 60,000 of his most regular 
 and best disciplined foot, with 20,000 horse, into Li- 
 vonia, and at the same time led 30,000 foot and 10,000 
 horse into Ingria. It was the beginning of May, 1702, 
 that these armies began to be in motion : 70,000 men 
 were already assembled about Pleskow, and numbers 
 came up with them every day. Had not the king of 
 Sweden, at that juncture, been infatuated with his con- 
 temptuous opinion of the Russian forces, he would cer- 
 tainly have taken the alarm, and endeavored to pre- 
 serve so fine a province as Livonia, the flow r er of all 
 his dominions. But the Muscovites entered it without 
 opposition, under marshal Czercmetoff, about the be- 
 ginning of July. 
 
 Schlippenbach, the Swedish general, lay then en- 
 camped between Dorp and Revel. Czeremetoff knew 
 this well ; but, being quite ignorant of his strength, 
 durst not venture to attack any place. As the ports 
 were open behind him, the enemy might receive fresh 
 forces every day from Sweden : and Meyefeldt, who 
 commanded in Lithuania, was near enough to succor 
 him upon occasion. This made the marshal resolve to 
 seek out the Swedes, and fight them in the open field, 
 that the same game might not be played again, which 
 had been unluckily played before Narva. 
 
 On the 16th of July, the field marshal prince Czere- 
 metoff having advice that the Swedes were marching 
 to meet him, advanced directly forwards. The Swe- 
 dish general, hearing what disparity of number he had 
 to deal with, halted at a village called Stagnitz, on the 
 river Embeck, as if he would there expect the Rtis- 
 
96 THE LIFE OF 
 
 sians ; but so far was lie in fact from seeming to dread 
 then), that lie did not so much as offer to intrench. At 
 length the Russians appeared in such admirable order 
 of battle, that the Swede was not a little astonished. 
 He then thought it safest, after taking a view of their 
 number and order, to repass the river, breaking the 
 bridges behind Mm ; notwithstanding that 300 of his 
 horse, whom he had sent before to reconnoitre the foes, 
 bad drove 1000 of them back to the body of their army. 
 But the river being low, the prince, by the help of pon- 
 toons, wafted over his artillery, and after that the rest 
 of his forces. Schlippenback seeing it impossible to 
 avoid an engagement, began it with such bravery, that 
 the advantage at first seemed to be on the Swedish 
 side. The Muscovites retired a German mile, lost six 
 pieces of cannon, with part of their baggage and col- 
 ors ; and some of them leaped into the river. But 
 the rest of their army, ashamed to fiy before a num- 
 ber so inferior, faced about on a sudden, and put the 
 Finland cavalry into such confusion, that they fell foul 
 on the infantry? and fled without any possibility of be- 
 ing rallied. The Swedish artillery, as well their own 
 as what they had taken, fell into the Muscovites' hands, 
 and almost all their infantry were cut to pieces. 
 
 This action began about six in the morning, and 
 lasted ten hours. The Swedes lost 7 captains, 30 lieu- 
 tenants, 11 ensigns, 25 subalterns, 37 drums, and 1916 
 common soldiers. About 1200 more were taken pris- 
 oners. The loss of the Muscovites, though much great- 
 er, was hardly perceptible on account of their num- 
 bers. Schlippenback would fain have rallied again, 
 but finding it impossible to stop his cavalry, he fied with 
 them to Perimw $ after which the Muscovites ravaged 
 the country, putting all before them to fire and sword, 
 in order to terrify the Livonians into submission : 
 tilings not agreeable to his czarish majesty's temper, 
 but thought necessary at this time. 
 
 The state of .the war now took anew turn, and the 
 Swedes were every where defeated, not only in Livo- 
 
1'ETER THE GREAT. 97 
 
 ma, but in Lithuania also. Oginski and his party, 
 supported by the Russian troops, routed them twice in 
 a week's time. In the first action they killed 400, and 
 took 800 prisoners : in the second, they killed 1000, 
 and took 700. Czeremetoff in the mean time sat down 
 before Dorp, sending out detachments to scour the 
 country to the gates of Pernaw and Riga, to prevent 
 11) e Swedes gathering together any troops to relieve 
 the place. 
 
 The czar's affairs went on no less prosperously in 
 Ingria, where he commanded himself. The fortress 
 of Skans-ternie or Nie-skans, after a vigorous attack, 
 was surrendered to his troops ; as was also Nottcburg, 
 a town higher up the river Neva. And 24,000 of his 
 men being sent over into Finland, in 400 transport ves- 
 sels, gave battle in the open field to the Swedes under 
 major-general Crooniort, and entirely defeated them, 
 a very few only escaping, with their general, into \Vy- 
 burg. In this incursion, the Muscovites carried off 3 
 colonels, 2 majors, 18 captains, 25 lieutenants, 17 en- 
 signs, o cornets, 1000 soldiers, and many other per- 
 sons. 
 
 His czarish majesty was now master of all the open 
 country in these provinces, though most of the great 
 towns still remained in the hands of the Sw r edes. Re- 
 flecting therefore on the havoc which war had here 
 made, grieved at the misfortunes of the unhappy peo- 
 ple, and willing at the same time to make an acquisi- 
 tion of valuable subjects, lie published a proclamation, 
 inviting all the natives of these, and any other coun- 
 tries, to come and settle in his dominions ; promising, 
 that immediately at their arrival upon his frontiers, they 
 should be conducted where they would please to inhab- 
 it, have the free exercise of their religion, and follow 
 what employment they thought most to their advantage, 
 without being liable to any duty or impost : that those 
 who were capable to undertake any trade, and bad not 
 wherewithal to manage it, should be supplied w 1th mo- 
 ney out of his treasury : and lastly, that when they 
 
 I 
 
98 THE LIFE OF 
 
 were desirous to leave his dominions, they should have 
 free liberty so to do, and their expenses home to the 
 frontiers. 
 
 In December 1702, the citv of Narva had like to 
 
 V 
 
 have been surprised ; but the project for that time fail- 
 ed of success. The Muscovites seized the advanced 
 guards, came under the very cannon of the city, and 
 pillaged and burnt all the neighboring villages. The 
 cavalry of the garrison sallied out upon them, but were 
 beaten back to their counterscarp ; and the Swedes, 
 in a word, went every where to wreck. 
 
 The city of Dorp being now closely besieged by 
 the Russians, the czar came before it in person. He 
 found a resolute garrison, who defended the place inch 
 by inch ; but they too in their turn, saw another sort 
 of Muscovites than they had encountered two years be- 
 fore ; men who made their approaches as regularly, 
 and attacked as boldly, as the soldiers of any other 
 nation. The outworks were carried by degrees, and 
 about 27 days after the trenches were opened, the gar- 
 rison finding they could not hold out, and that no re- 
 lief was to be expected, beat a parley to surrender, 
 and had very honorable conditions. They marched 
 out on the 26th of July, and were conducted to Riga. 
 The czar appeared on horseback as they passed by, at 
 the head of his body guards, with his sword drawn in 
 his hand ; returned the salute of the governor, and 
 gave him leave, at his request, to retire to Narva, 
 though that city was then blocked up by his majesty's 
 forces, under general Schein. 
 
 The taking of Marienburg by general Baur, in 
 1702, soon after the czar himself was become master 
 of Notteburg, obliges us to make a digression concern-, 
 ing that illustrious prisoner, who then fell into the hands 
 of the Muscovites, and a few years after became their 
 empress. The baptismal name of this extraordinary 
 woman was Martha, which she afterwards changed to 
 Catharine, upon conforming to the Greek religion. 
 Her mother was a poor country woman, named Erb- 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 99 
 
 Magdcn, of the village of Ringen in Estonia, near the 
 lake \Vortlisy. AVho her father was is not so certain, 
 some making; him only a ditcher, while others advance 
 
 *j t 
 
 him to a colonel. If the latter he true, it seems the 
 more probable that she was not born in wedlock ; and 
 accordingly we are assured, she was registered among 
 the bastard children. She was left an orphan very 
 young, by both lather and mother, and the vicar of the 
 parish, (others say the clerk) out of pure charity, 
 brought her up till she was fourteen years of age, as 
 if siie had been his own. 
 
 Doctor Gluck, a Lutheran minister of Marienburg, 
 coining to tills village, took a fancy to Martha, and 
 willing to ease his reverend brother, whose circum- 
 stances were low, had her home with him. Being en- 
 dued with virtuous inclinations, she won the affection 
 both of the doctor and his wife, who loved her very 
 tenderly. She was naturally an enemy to idleness, and 
 spent her time in spinning, sewing, and other works, 
 suitable to her sex and age ; all which she performed 
 exceedingly well. When she came to Marienburg she 
 spoke only the Livonian dialect ; but having learned 
 to read at Ringen, she soon became mistress of the 
 German tongue, and spent all her vacant hours at her 
 book. Her amiable character recommended her at 18 
 years of age, to a Livonian sergeant in the Swedish ser- 
 vice, (Voltaire calls him only a dragoon) a man of good 
 family, who having a small estate, of his own, and be- 
 ing in a fail- way to preferment, soon obtained her pat- 
 ron's consent to marry her, and the doctor himself per- 
 formed the ceremony. 
 
 The next day the Muscovites, under the command 
 of lieutenant-general Baur, made themselves masters 
 of Marienburg, a weak place, and but poorly defend- 
 ed. Martha, or Catharine, was among the prisoners $ 
 and the general observing, notwithstanding the tears 
 that fell from her eyes, something in her face that 
 struck him very much, he asked her several questions 
 concerning her coBflttk^M to hich she returned an- 
 
100 THE LIFE OF 
 
 swcrs with more good sense than is usual to persons of 
 moan education. He spoke to her tenderly, ordered 
 her to he treated with regard, and soon after gave her 
 the inspection over his family affairs. Her behavior 
 to the general's domestics recommended her to their 
 esteem; and the general himself owned, that he never 
 was so well served as at this time. But she had not 
 been long in his service, before prince Menzikoff, her 
 master's patron, saw and liked her, inquired her con- 
 dition and character, and expressed his desire of hav- 
 ing such a woman, as the general described her to be, 
 to manage his own family. The general had too many 
 obligations to the prince, to deny him any thing. Ac- 
 cordingly he called Catharine, told her that was prince 
 MenzikofF, and related what had passed ; adding, that 
 the prince could be a much better friend to her than 
 himself. She answered only with a low courtesy, 
 which expressed, if not her consent, that it was out of 
 her power to refuse the offer. The prince took her 
 home with him the same hour, and she continued in 
 his service till 1703 or 1 70 i, when the czar saw her 
 one day as he was at dinner with his highness, spoke 
 to her, and received a stronger impression from her 
 charms than either of his servants had felt before. In 
 short, his majesty took her to himself, and was so far 
 from being satiated with the enjoyment of her per- 
 son, that in 1707 he married her privately, and some 
 years after in public. What was most to Catharine's 
 honor in this advancement, was, that she used no"arti- 
 fice to delude the monarch, which on a prince of his 
 penetration would hardly have taken effect; but he 
 found in her an astonishing capacity, a greatness of 
 soul capable of forwarding his designs, and even of 
 continuing them after him ; for this reason he scorned 
 the weak prejudices, by which only little souls are in- 
 fluenced, caused her to be crowned empress, and left 
 her 'm the possession of his throne. 
 
 What became of Catharine's husband is as uncer- 
 tain, as what was tlic character ov post he had in the 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 101 
 
 Swedish army. One account tells us, that lie behaved 
 with such bravery* in the .defence of Marienburgh, that 
 he was made a lieutenant-colonel ; and if every Swede,, 
 say they, had fought with equal courage, the Musco- 
 vites had not taken the town. Perhaps the liberty of 
 a new wife, whom lie entirely loved, and some say had 
 never enjoyed (being culled to action from his wedding 
 dinner) might inspire him on this occasion. But we 
 hear nothing of what became of this lieutenant-colonel 
 afterwards, nor that ever he made any attempts to re- 
 cover his wife. Others affirm that he was out on a 
 paily when the town was taken ; and ethers again, that 
 he was one of the body who retired to Riga, when they 
 were no longer able to defend the place. This made 
 him inconsolable for the loss of his dear Catharine, 
 whom he despaired of ever seeing again. " He would 
 never, he said, go to that place, where for a few days 
 lie had been the happiest of men, as lie was now the 
 most unfortunate ; but would seek death in Poland, 
 where his master would give him opportunities enough 
 of meeting it* Perhaps the husband of Catharine 
 might have the less hopes of seeing her again, as he 
 had heard that the Muscovites had sent many families 
 prisoners into Russia, and sold several young girls for 
 slaves to the Turks. From one of these girls, whom 
 cle la Motraye bought of the Janissaries, and who knew 
 Catharine, that author assures he had several of the 
 foregoing particulars. 
 
 The taking of Marienburg, which was so great a 
 misfortune to the- husband, proved to the wife an epoch 
 of the greatest honor that mortal could aspire to. 
 By her complaisance and engaging behavior, she made 
 herself mistress of all the czar's passions and affections, 
 and saved the lives of many more persons than Lc Fort 
 had been able to do. A word from her mouth, says 
 our author, in favor of a wretch just going to be sac- 
 rificed to his anger, would disarm him : but if he was 
 fully resolved to satisfy that passion, he would give or- 
 ders for the execution to be done in her absence. SLe 
 
 T c > 
 
 .'. -> 
 
102 THE LIFE OF 
 
 acquired the love and esteem of soldiers, sailors, and 
 every one else. As she accompanied the czar in ail 
 his dangers and fatigues, she would often go herself, 
 before or after an engagement, followed by some of 
 her servants, with bottles of strong liquor, and with her 
 own hands fill out glasses to give them. 
 
 The order of St. Catharine, instituted in 1713, af- 
 ter his public marriage, and the motto of it, Through 
 Love and Fidelity, are a standing instance of the czar's 
 love and affection for this ladv. Persons who had been 
 
 v 
 
 continually about his majesty, from the time of his 
 knowing her, assured M. de la Motraye, that lie had 
 a perfect indifference for all other women, and never 
 shewed the least jealousy but once, which was a few 
 weeks before he died. He unluckily saw his cham- 
 berlain, who was one of the handsomest men in Russia, 
 kiss her hand one day, as lie gave her his arm to help 
 her out of her chaise. This made the czar suspect he 
 had some presumptions designs on her virtue, and that 
 his sister, who was one of her maids of honor, might 
 i'avor the bold attempt. In this opinion he went out 
 alone one morning to the monastery of St. Alexander 
 Newski, and left orders to hang the chamberlain, and 
 then cut off his head and expose it on a post ; and to 
 give his sister the knout under the gallows, and banish 
 her : all which was executed in less than half an hour 
 after his departure. The next day he went with the 
 empress to take the air, and ordered the chaise, both 
 in going and coining, to pass by the post. But un- 
 doubtedly he was convinced, before his death, that this 
 suspicion was ill -grounded, because he left her sove- 
 reign of Russia, and had the oath for that purpose re- 
 newed. As soon as the czar died, the empress recall- 
 ed the chamberlain's sister from banishment ; and, in 
 the midst of her grandeur, she did not forget her ben- 
 efactors, but gave a pension to M. Gluck and his fam- 
 ily. 1 thought it best to throw together these par- 
 ticulars, mo.st of which are found in de la Motraye, 
 though some of them are very distant in order of time. 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 103 
 
 The same author assures us, that count d" Albert, 
 who commanded for the king of Sweden in Livonia, 
 represented to that prince all that his long experience 
 in war could dictate, to divert him, after the battle of 
 Narva, from carrying the war into Poland, and leav- 
 ing his own provinces exposed. And when that gen- 
 eral saw the progress of the Muscovites, under good 
 foreign officers, lie could not help saying, " The king, 
 mv master, has left me here with a handful of men 
 
 if 
 
 only to exercise his enemies, that they may be able to 
 beat us :" adding, that he wished the king had lost the 
 day at Narva, which might have prevented the loss of 
 Livonia. The event soon proved, that the count was 
 no bad politician. 
 
 When the czar had taken Notteburg, now called 
 Sleutelburg, 1702, and the year after Nieshantz, or 
 Shantz-ter-nic, a trading town in Ingria, he observed 
 several islands at the mouth of the river Neva, about 
 a German mile lower, which he thought would be a 
 convenient situation for a new city, that might open a 
 communication with the Baltic. He ordered a fort to 
 be built on one of these islands, and sent a detach- 
 ment of troops to make themselves masters of Retusari, 
 another island in the gulph of Finland, which com- 
 mands the passage to the mouth of the Neva. This 
 they accomplished after a smart engagement, in which 
 the Swedes were driven on board their ships that lay 
 under the is] and. The czar then examined and sound- 
 ed the coasts, and finding every tiling answer his wish- 
 es, immediately set upon his new project, which was 
 no less than building an imperial city, for the seat of 
 his own residence. Such a city here, would not only 
 be a cheek upon the Swedes, but might he the centre 
 of a far greater trade than Archangel could ever be. 
 He drew himself the plan of the town, the fortress, 
 the port, the keys, and the castle which defended the 
 entrance. 
 
 These desart and uncultivated ilancls, which were 
 Botliiug but a heap of mud in the short summer of that 
 
THE LIFE OF 
 
 climate, and in winter a frozen pool ; which were not 
 to be approached by land, but by passing over wild 
 forests, and deep morasses, and had till then been the 
 habitation of bears and wolves, were in 1703 filled 
 with above 300,000 men, whom the czar had called to- 
 g-ether from the farthest parts of his dominions. The 
 peasants of Astracan, and those who inhabit the fron- 
 tiers of China, were transported to Petersburg!!. lie 
 was obliged to break through forests, to open ways, to 
 dry up moors, to raise banks, before he could lay the 
 foundations of the town. The whole was a force put 
 upon nature: but the czar was resolved to people a 
 country, which did not seem designed for the habita- 
 tion of human creatures. Not the inundations which 
 ruined his works, not the barrenness of the soil, not 
 the ignorance of the workmen, nor a mortality winch 
 carried off above a hundred thousand men, could shake 
 his fixed resolution. Posterity will stand amazed at 
 its being founded amidst so many obstacles, as nature, 
 the genius of the people, and an unfortunate war, had 
 raised against it. Petersburg)! was become a city in 
 1705, and its port was filled with vessels. The em- 
 peror drew strangers thither in great numbers, by the 
 rewards he gave them ; bestowing lands upon some, 
 houses upon others, and encouraging all the artists, 
 who came to civilize the savage climate. Above all, 
 he made it inaccessible to the efforts of the enemy. 
 Th . Swedish generals, who frequently beat his troops 
 in other quarters, were not able to-do the least damage 
 to this growing colony, which enjoyed a perfect calm 
 amidst the war that surrounded it. 
 
 Whether his ministers were averse to this design, or 
 by whatever other accident it happened, there were at 
 first ! ither provisions to subsist the workmen, nor 
 wheelbarrows, shovels and other tools, to work with. 
 This did but little retard the project ; the czar over- 
 looked it himself, and the dirt was carried in bags, or 
 the. skirts of men's clothes, till they were furnished 
 with better conveniences. The nobility, merchants* 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 105 
 
 and tradesmen were ordered to transplant themselves 
 from several parts of the empire, to erect houses lor 
 themselves, and strengthen the new colony. Finland, 
 Carelia, Iiigria, and Livonia, having lately suffered 
 so much hy military executions, saw themselves half 
 depopulated in favor of Petersburg!!. Those who had 
 knowledge or interest in trade, made great advantages 
 hy furnishing the rest with the necessaries of life, which 
 in time became tolerably plenty, though they still con- 
 tinue dear. In a few years arose 60.000 houses, where 
 in 1702 were only a few miserable lints. As the whole 
 stands partly upon islands, and partly upon the conti- 
 nent, it appeal's at a distance rather like several distant 
 towns than a single city. The lowness of the country 
 makes it subject to frequent inundations, by which great 
 losses have been often sustained. The breadth of the 
 river Neva at Petersburg!}, is about half a mile, and 
 the current is very deep and rapid ; but where it opens 
 into the bay, the sands render it shallow, which obli- 
 ges large ships to unload short of the town. It was 
 proposed to the czar to build a bridge of pontoons over 
 this river (any other bridge being judged impractica- 
 ble on account of the rapidity of the stream :) but he 
 would not consent to it, because it was his intention 
 to train up as many sailors as possible. A great many 
 passengers at first were drowned, before the Russians 
 became dexterous at managing their sails ; and oars 
 were -then prohibited ; but they are since allowed to 
 people of fashion, who keep their own watermen, gen- 
 erally four in number. 
 
 Th(*re are some handsome stone buildings, palaces, 
 and churches in Petersburg ; but most of the houses 
 are of wood. The sides consist of square pieces of fir 
 timber, laid one upon another. Turnips, cabbages, 
 and cucumbers, are almost the only plants that grow 
 near this city, which is supplied with provisions fiwii 
 Novogrod, Plcskow, Moscow, and even from Casan, 
 1200 miles distant. Thousands of sleds are perpetual- 
 
106 THE LIFE OF 
 
 ly travelling in winter for this end, loaded with 
 flour, fruits, and the several products of the respective 
 countries ; which in the summer are brought by the 
 lakes and rivers. When the boats happen to meet 
 with any accident, every thing grows excessively 
 dear on a sudden, not in Petersburg; only, but in the 
 
 * O " 
 
 country round it, which is all furnished by the same 
 channels. 
 
 Retusari lies about twelve miles to the westward of 
 Petersburg, at the mouth of the gulph of Finland, and 
 the only passage for ships is on the south of this island, 
 where the channel is about two thousand paces broad, 
 and very deep. Though the soil of the island is barren, 
 the czar Peter, observing the advantage of its situa- 
 tion, built in it first a castle, which he called Cronslot, 
 and then a pretty large town by the name of Cron- 
 stadt, making a commodious harbor for the reception 
 of his fleet. The coast of Ingria, from Cronslot up to 
 Petersburg, is full of pleasure houses; among which 
 are the imperial ones of Oranjenbaum, Petershoff, and 
 Stelna-Muise, all elegantly built in the modern taste, 
 the first by Prince Menzikoff, and the two latter by 
 the czar. 
 
 While these new colonies were thus growing under 
 his hands, the czar resolved on the attack of Narva, 
 and the fort of Ivanogrod, that lay over against it. 
 The trenches were opened on the beginning of August, 
 170*, and after a regular siege of thirteen days, in 
 which forty pieces of cannon and twelve mortars were 
 employed, he took the place by assault, though the gar- 
 rison consisted of 1600 men. As soon as the soldiers 
 were masters of the town, they fell to plunder, and 
 gave themselves up to the most horrid barbarities.^ 
 The czar ran himself from place to place, to put a stop 
 to the Muscovites ; snatched the women out of the 
 hands of the soldiers, who were going to cut their 
 tin-oats, after having abused their bodies; and even 
 killed several Muscovites with his own hands, who did 
 
1'ETER THE GREAT. 107 
 
 not obey his orders. They yet shew the table, says 
 M. de Voltaire, in the town-house at Narva, upon 
 which he laid his sword as he entered, and tell the 
 words which he spoke to tiie citizens, who thronged 
 thither after him. " It is not with the blood of the 
 inhabitants that my sword is stained, but with that of 
 the Muscovites, which I have shed in your defence." 
 The czar's disgrace before Narva, about four years 
 before, was entirely cancelled by this action. The 
 castle of Ivanogrod held out for some days after the 
 town ; but fearing at last to share the same fate, the 
 governor surrendered it upon honorable conditions. 
 
 The Swedes were not a little uneasy at this progress 
 of liis majesty's arms, as well as at the success with 
 which his works went on at Petersburg}! and Cronslot. 
 Their king alone, who, on this occasion, one might 
 have expected to find chiefly concerned, seemed utter- 
 ly insensible of what he was losing, as well in glory as 
 in dominion. When he was told of the buildings car- 
 rying on by the czar, " Let him amuse himself, says 
 Charles, if he thinks proper, in raising of cities : I 
 shall soon take them from him, and either keep them, 
 or burn them, if they are not worth keeping." But 
 major-general Meydcl, who commanded in Carelia, 
 and admiral Ankcrsteirn, with the whole Swedisli fleet, 
 were soon convinced by experience that it was no such 
 easy thing, as their master had imagined, to wrest his 
 new possessions out of the hands of the czar. The for- 
 mer landed a detachment on the island of Retufari, 
 which returned without being able to effect any thing 
 against the fortress ; and the other was repulsed before 
 Cronslot, by a fleet much inferior to his own, com- 
 manded by general Bruce. 
 
 Thus, after some ill success at the beginning, the 
 czar gained daily very considerable advantages, which 
 were ah 1 of such a nature as to do honor to his genius. 
 With such surprising rapidity did his subjects form 
 themselves for great actions, that there were now hopes 
 
108 THE LIFE OF 
 
 oC soon seeing them an equal match for the Swedes. 
 At the end of only four years we behold the czar in a 
 great measure master of Ingria, Livonia, and Carelia; 
 and building an imperial city upon his new acquisi- 
 tions, that was already proof against all the efforts of 
 his enemies. 
 
PETER THE GREAT. $09 
 
 BOOK IV. 
 
 From the deposition of Augustus by the king of Sweden, 
 to the victory of Fultowa, icon by the czar, upon which 
 Augustus remounts tlie throne of Poland. 
 
 \WIHLE all this was transacted, the affairs of Po- 
 land were brought to that crisis I before men- 
 tioned ; which obliged his majesty, in regard to his 
 ally king Augustus, to concern himself with them more 
 immediately than hitherto he had done. He sent a 
 letter to the assembly, held by the cardinal primate at 
 Warsaw, just when it was upon the point of declaring 
 the throne vacant ; wherein he mentioned the " hav- 
 ing heard that some of their republic, led by the mo- 
 tives of an inveterate hatred, had made use of all pos- 
 sible means to drive his Polish majesty from the throne ; 
 but that the good opinion he had of their equity and 
 justice, long hindered his giving credit to these reports ; 
 that as the evil was now however manifest, his majesty 
 interposed to prevent its spreading, and support the 
 king in his right ; declaring himself an enemy to all 
 those who were enemies to their sovereign, and the 
 friend and protector of all who should continue loyal."' 
 In consequence of this letter, and at the request of 
 kisig Augustus, the czar ordered a body of 15,000 
 men to march to the frontiers of Poland, on the side 
 of Sendomir, and there to receive orders from his Po- 
 lish majesty. These forces came very opportunely for 
 the unfortunate prince, who was closely pursued by 
 the Swedish general Rcnchild. For some little time 
 they gave a new face to his affairs : for whereas he It ad 
 bee*n obliged, with great precipitation, to pass the Vis- 
 tula at Petrowin, near Sendomir, and break down the 
 bridge behind him, he was now enabled to halt under 
 protection of this powerful army, and summon his 
 
 K 
 
110 THE LIFE OF 
 
 friends about him. Their number seemed greater than 
 he had imagined, and not only those who had hitherto 
 been faithful, but all the other palatinates on that side, 
 awed at the sight of so many forces, sent in their dep- 
 uties ; who took a new oath to their king, and entered 
 into a confederacy in opposition to that of Warsaw. 
 They declared, " any prince who should take upon him 
 the title of king of Poland, an enemy to the country ; 
 pronounced the primate and the bishop of Posnania, 
 who were esteemed the chief promoters of the defec- 
 tion, rebels and traitors ; and forbid the governors and 
 commanders of the fortresses to obey the marshal of 
 the crown, and respect only the orders of the marshal 
 of the royal confederacy.*' In the mean time the pri- 
 mate and his party, who thought themselves safe under 
 the victorious Swedes, disregarded the czar's letter, 
 and proceeded to the degradation of Augustus, and 
 the election of a new king. But the choice at last not 
 pleasing the primate, he was from that time a friend 
 to neither of the kings. This revolution was in the 
 month of February, 170*. 
 
 Augustus made some efforts to restore his affairs, 
 and even surprised the city of Warsaw so suddenly, 
 that the cardinal primate, the new queen, with several 
 palatines and grandees, were obliged to escape with 
 the utmost precipitation. He took the castle after- 
 wards by capitulation, and in it a great number of 
 prisoners, Swedes and Poles. Among the latter was 
 the bishop of Pcsnania, who proclaimed the new king, 
 and died a prisoner not long after in Saxony ; the cas- 
 tellan Kimpski, and two sens of the castellan of Cra- 
 cow, lloorn, the Swedish general, obtained leave 
 upon his parole, to go to the camp of his master, upon 
 condition that he should surrender himself two months 
 after in Saxony. 
 
 The czar, after the taking of Narva, had divided 
 his army into three bodies : the first was to block up 
 Revel, the second Riga, and the third to cover their 
 camp, and guard the passes into the country. But the 
 
PETER THE GREAT. Ill 
 
 desperate situation of his ally, whom he was resolved 
 not to desert, prevented for the present his opening 
 these sieges in form. The forces he had already sent 
 into Poland, though pretty numerous, were not able to 
 make head against the king of Sweden, who had hith- 
 erto carried victory wherever he went in person. 
 Count Shulleinburg, to whom Augustus had given the 
 care of his army in this last extremity* had made a 
 
 / * ' 
 
 glorious stand against king Charles, and a more glori- 
 ous retreat when his loss was judged inevitable ; but all 
 this (lid little service to his master, who was once more 
 obliged to abandon Poland, and withdraw into Saxony, 
 trembling for the capital of his hereditary estates, 
 which lie now fortified with .all possible expedition. It 
 was at this juncture that the czar entered Poland in per- 
 son, with an army of 100,000 men, resolving to give 
 battle to the Swedes; and as lie had never before made 
 war there in his own name, he thought it proper to 
 publish a manifesto to the Polish nation, in order to 
 convince them of the justice of his undertaking. This 
 paper is dated from his head-quarters at Potosk, Jane 
 the 23d, 1705, and contains in substance as follows : 
 
 " That, pursuant to his alliances witli the republic 
 and king Augustus, his majesty had used his utmost 
 endeavors to oblige the king of Sweden to retire out 
 of Poland, and, in his letter sent to the republic, de- 
 clared his utmost abhorrence of the faction who for two 
 years had sought to depose their lawful king : that 
 Lesczinski* waywode of Posnania, liad nevertheless 
 been elected king, by an inconsiderable party, in oppo- 
 sition to the cardinal primate, and other persons of the 
 first rank ; the Swede persisting obstinately to maintain 
 liis election, and exercising an absolute power over the 
 republic : that by reason of the distance of his czarish 
 majesty's troops, and the animosities between those of 
 the republic, king Augustus had been obliged to march 
 into Saxony, to secure his electorate from an intended 
 invasion, and was obstructed by the Swedes in his re- 
 turn to Poland, who had shut up all the passages, pub- 
 
112 THE LIFE OF 
 
 lishcd circular letters to confirm the unlawful election, 
 and summoned a diet in consequence thereof: that the 
 enemy had endeavored to get it believed, that the par- 
 ty of the new king was espoused by ti|<e primate and 
 the king' of Prussia, which his czarish majesty could 
 not imagine it would be by any except such subjects of 
 the republic as were blinded by bribes : that these 
 tilings considered, his majesty resolved to defend his 
 brother and ally king Augustus ; and with that view 7 , 
 upon a petition delivered to him from the republic, he 
 advanced in person, with an army into Poland, in or- 
 der to expel the enemy who had disturbed its peace, 
 without any pretensions himself upon the rights of the 
 republic." 
 
 Field-Marshal Czeremetoff was sent before in this 
 expedition, with 18 or 20,000 men, to haxrass the en- 
 emy, and make the way clear to Riga. In the mean 
 time general Eaur, with 20,000 horse, penetrated as 
 far as Mittaw, the capital of Courland ; which he took 
 by surprise, cut to pieces a regiment of Swedes com- 
 manded by colonel Knoring, and carried off prisoners 
 all whom lie found, with a great booty. The Swedish 
 general Leuwenhaupt, who lay in the heart of Cour- 
 land with about 8000 men, might probably have pre- 
 vented this design, had intelligence of it been brought 
 him in time. But it was so suddenly executed, that 
 he had nothing to do, upon receipt of the news, but to 
 prepare for an engagement with the field marshal. 
 For this purpose he chose a very narrow spot of ground, 
 where his little army might make head without ex- 
 tending themselves, and without danger of being at- 
 tacked on al! sides at once. The place he pitched tip- 
 on was called Gemaurthoff, and the consequence of this 
 disposition was a considerable victory, which he did 
 not however obtain without the loss of two general of- 
 ficers, a colonel, two lieutenant colonels, many cap- 
 tains and inferior officers, and near 2000 men. The 
 Russian field-marshal lost five or six thousand men, 
 and was himself wounded, though the advantage for 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 113 
 
 some time seemed to be on his side. The Swedes them- 
 selves, in their account of this action, gave the Rus- 
 sians the character of behaving like brave soldiers. 
 Lewenbaupt gained so little by his victory, that he was 
 in no condition to pursue the field-marshal ; but, leav- 
 ing the dutchy exposed, was obliged to retire into Ri- 
 ga, which was some time after invested by the troops 
 he had beaten. The czar declared himself the protec- 
 tor of Courland, and ordered the inhabitants to send 
 all the arms and effects of the enemy to his commis- 
 sary, prince Menzikoff, who rigorously ex acted the ex- 
 ecution of his master's ordinance. 
 
 All this while the king of Sweden continued inac- 
 tive in his camp, having summoned a general diet at 
 Warsaw, for the coronation of his new monarch. The 
 interest his czarish majesty had to prevent the meet- 
 ing of this assembly, which lie knew the conqueror would 
 awe to a compliance, made him for the present desist 
 from other designs, in order the better to look after 
 that great affair. In the mean time he wrote to the 
 citizens of Dantzic, as did also count Piper on the part 
 of the king of Sweden, to complain of their shewing 
 protection to those in the opposite interest ; the con- 
 duct of the Dantzieers being at this time so equivo- 
 cal, as to give satisfaction neither to Swedes nor Rus- 
 sians. 
 
 Count Patkul, the Livonian. first a subject of Swe- 
 den, then servant to king Augustus, and now ambas- 
 sador from the czar to that prince, had, by the orders 
 of his master, persuaded the deposed monarch to ven- 
 ture across Poland to Grodno, to confer with his czar- 
 ish majesty upon their common interest, The king set 
 out from Dresden incognito, attended by only three per- 
 sons, and arrived at Grodno with general Shullem- 
 burg, and a few troops. The czar there presented 
 him with six standards, a moiety of what the Russians- 
 had taken at the bridge of Praag, upon the Vistula, 
 where they had surprised and beaten the Swedish 
 guard. As the dethroned king was no longer afraid 
 
11 i THE LIFE OF 
 
 of exasperating tlie Poles, he made no scruple, in these 
 conferences, to give up their country to the Musco- 
 vites, and came into a resolution that the czar's army 
 should be divided into several bodies, to oppose every 
 motion of the Swedes. 
 
 It was at this interview that king Augustus institu- 
 ted the order of the White-Eagle ; a poor expedient, 
 in his condition, to draw over to his interest several Po- 
 lish lords, who were in fact more desirous of real ad- 
 vantages, than a mere nominal honor ; which became 
 ridiculous when held from one who had nothing left of 
 a king hut the title. But the spirits of Augustus seem- 
 ed to be quite depressed by his misfortunes $ and this, 
 which could have no other ill effect than to show how 
 little he reigned in Poland, was not the only instance 
 he gave of his weakness, during the triumphs of the 
 king of Sweden. Another farce that was here per- 
 formed, had in it something truly instructive, and de- 
 serves, says M. Fontenelle, to he acted before all the 
 monarchs of the universe. 
 
 According to the lav/ which the czar had prescribed 
 to himself, never to advance in military dignities but 
 in proportion to his merit, his majesty, hitherto but a 
 lieutenant-colonel, was now worthy of some higher 
 preferment. There were two vacant regiments to he 
 disposed of, and Peter entreated the king of Poland to 
 take upon him the sovereign command of his army, in 
 order to confer them on the most deserving. The pro- 
 position of filling up these posts was made in public by 
 general Ogilvi. King Augustus said, lie was not yet 
 sufficiently acquainted with the Muscovite officers, and 
 begged him to nominate the men whom he thought 
 most worthy of this dignity. Ogilvi mentioned prince 
 Alexander Menzikoff, and lieutenant-colonel Peter Al- 
 exiowitz. The king said he knew the merit of Men- 
 zikoff, and would immediately order his commission to 
 be got ready ; but as for the other, he must be better 
 informed of his services. The affair hung in suspense 
 five or six days, and much solicitation was used for 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 115 
 
 Peter Alexiowitz, who at last had the regiment given 
 him. 
 
 The conference of these two monarchs ended in a 
 manner pretty extraordinary. The czar gave the com- 
 mand of his troops to his ally, and under him to prince 
 MenzikofF, departing suddenly himself for Moscow. 
 An insurrection in the kingdom of Astracan, where 
 the rebels for two years had ravaged the country, and 
 even murdered the governor, was now grown to such 
 a head, that his majesty judged his presence might be 
 necessary at that juncture. But the danger soon blew 
 over, and Peter Apraxin, whom his majesty had sent 
 with an army for that purpose, not only retook Astra- 
 can, but sent the chiefs of the malecontents to Mos- 
 cow, where they received the punishment due to their 
 crimes. 
 
 It was not more to the surprise of his czarish maj- 
 esty, than of all the other powers in Europe, that king 
 Augustus, contrary to the law of nations, and in ap- 
 pearance to his own interest, ordered count Patkul, 
 the ambassador of the only prince who protected him, 
 to be seized and imprisoned, almost as soon as his mas- 
 ter was gone out of Poland. The reason M. dc Vol- 
 taire gives for this unprecedented step, was his attempt 
 to thwart the measures of count Fleming, the king's 
 prime minister, whose haughty spirit had before driv- 
 en him from the court of Dresden. Fleming, and the 
 chancellor of Saxony, had proposed to offer peace at 
 any rate to the king of Sweden ; which Patkul discov- 
 ering, he formed a design to prevent them by an ac- 
 commodation between Charles and the czar. Thus, 
 by serving his new master too well, he incurred the 
 indignation of the master he had left, and at last was 
 given up to the vengeance of one prior to them both, 
 who claimed him as a natural subject. 
 
 In the mean time the Muscovites, on the one hand, 
 divided into several bodies, burnt and ravaged the es- 
 tates of the Stanislaus party ; and on the other, Shul- 
 lemburg was advancing with fresh troops. But tjie 
 
116 THE LIFE OF 
 
 king of Sweden putting himself in motion, at a time 
 when both armies expected to have gone into quarters, 
 neither the Saxons nor Russians could make head against 
 him. He decamped from Blonic in the month of Dc- 
 cember, passed the Vistula on a bridge of boats, and 
 inarched with all expedition to attack Tyckoczin. 
 Though the Muscovites had secured the bridges over 
 the Bog, lie crossed that river on the ice, with his whole 
 army and train of artillery. Finding Tyckoczin too 
 well defended, with a garrison of 3000 men, he bent 
 his march towards Grodno, where the king of Poland 
 then lay. He came within a mile of the city, but turn- 
 ed away again upon sight of the fortifications, passed 
 the river Niemen, and extended his army between 
 Vilna and Grodno. Augustus held a council of war, 
 in whiph it was agreed his army should lie still where 
 it was, to harrass the Swedes, while the king himself 
 went towards the south of Poland, to re-establish his 
 credit, and provide for the entrance of 20,000 troops 
 from Saxony, under general Shullemburg. 
 
 Marshal Renchild, the Parmenio of king Charles, 
 and the best of all his generals, was ready in Poland 
 to oppose this famous Shullemburg, who with 400a 
 men had once eluded the fortune of the king of Swe- 
 den. The two generals met at a place called Fraven- 
 stad, on the 12th of February, 1706, and an engage- 
 ment ensued, which lasted not a quarter of an hour. 
 The Saxons resisted scarcely a moment, and 6 or 7000 
 Muscovites, who were with them, behaved but little 
 better ,* such was their terror at tin's time, though the 
 Swedish troops were not above half their united num- 
 ber. No defeat was ever quicker or more complete ; 
 and yet never did a general make a finer disposition, 
 than Shullemburgh had that day done, by confession of 
 all the Swedish officers. The Muscovites begged their 
 lives upon their knees, but were inhumanly massacred 
 in cold blood, six hours after the battle. Some ascribe 
 this cruelty to king Claries' own order, who was jeal- 
 ous of the reputation his general had won in this ac- 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 117 
 
 tion ; but others lay the blame on Renchild himself, 
 who was burthened with more prisoners than he well 
 knew what to do with. 
 
 Augustus, who was advanced as far as Cracow with 
 3000 horse, had now nothing' left but that city. The 
 loss of the battle at Fravenstad quite disheartened his 
 party, and enabled the king of Sweden to drive the 
 Russians out of Lithuania. Then immediately turn- 
 ing south, and joining marshal Renchild, he entered 
 Saxony with his army, encamped at Alt-Ranstadt, and 
 began to raise contributions on the electorate. This 
 was the crisis of the king of Poland's fate, who now 
 sent a letter with his own hand to beg peace, and re- 
 ceive the conditions imposed by the victor ; that he 
 should renounce for ever the crown of Poland, even 
 after the death of Stanislaus ; that he should send back 
 the prisoners he had taken to the Swedish camp ; that 
 he should deliver up all deserters, and in particular count 
 Patkul. Charles wrote at the head of the paper, " It 
 must not be expected I shall make the least alteration 
 in these conditions. Nor could all the art of the Sax- 
 on plenipotentiaries soften him in any one particular. 
 
 Augustus received these mortifying terms, and sign- 
 ed them after some pause, at a time when it was in his 
 power to have demanded better. Fortune had thrown 
 success in his way, quite against his consent, while he 
 was making the most abject submission that a prince 
 could submit to : in short, he was just returned, for the 
 first time, from a victory over the Swedes, while his 
 plenipotentiaries were asking a peace of their king. 
 
 Prince Mcnzikoff, generalissimo of the Russian ar- 
 my, brought into Poland a body of 30,000 men, at a 
 time when Augustus no longer desired their assist- 
 ance. The king had with him some Polish and Saxon 
 troops, in all about six thousand. Surrounded amidst 
 this small body by prince Menzikoff s army, he trem- 
 bled lest these auxiliaries should discover his negotia- 
 tion. At this nice juncture 10,000 Swedes, command- 
 ed by general Meyderfield, appeared in sight, at a 
 
118 THE LIFE OF 
 
 place called Calish, on the borders of Posnania. As 
 Menzikofi* pressed the king to give them battle, the king 
 sent privately a trusty person to inform the Swedish 
 general of the treaty that was on foot, desiring him to 
 retreat. Meyderfseld took this for a snare only, and 
 immediately in that imagination hazarded a battle, in 
 which about 3000 of his men were killed, and four or 
 5000, together with himself, taken prisoners. The 
 king had just entered Warsaw, and sung Te Dcum 
 for his victory, when he signed the treaty that depriv- 
 ed him of his crown, and then set out for Saxony, in 
 hopes to soften his implacable master. 
 
 Charles, far from relaxing in any one article, was 
 the more severe upon account of the battle of Calisb. 
 He continued in Saxony near five months longer, and 
 governed there with as high a hand as he had before 
 done in Poland. Though he often saw and dined with 
 Augustus, if the conversation ever went beyond com- 
 mon civilities, the latter was sure to get nothing by it. 
 Not the least thing he could request, if contrary to the 
 humor of the conqueror, was ever granted him in re- 
 turn for the loss of his crown. His royal title was 
 erased out of the prayers of the church, and omitted 
 in all public instruments. 
 
 But the most grievous thing exacted of him, was the 
 delivery of count Patkul, who was then shut up in the 
 castle of Konisting in Saxony. The czar loudly de- 
 manded back his ambassador, and the king of Sweden 
 made terrible threats if he was not surrendered. Au- 
 gustus thought of an expedient, in this dilemma, that 
 might both satisfy the king of Sweden, and preserve 
 the unhappy count. He sent an order in public to de- 
 liver up the prisoner to the Swedish troops, and anoth- 
 er in private to let him escape. The governor knew 
 Patkul to be very rich, and would willinsrlv have made 
 
 O 
 
 him pay for that liberty he was commanded to give ; 
 which the count, informed of the king's intentions, and 
 relying on the law of nations, refused to comply with : 
 so the riegociation went on till the Swedes arrived, and 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 119 
 
 it was too late to think of his preservation. They car- 
 ried him to Alt-Ranstadt, where lie was three months 
 bound to a stake with an iron chain, and then removed 
 to Casimir. A council of war was called at this last 
 place, and Charles, forgetting he was the czar's am- 
 bassador, ordered sentence to pass on him, that he 
 should be broken alive and quartered. A chaplain 
 came to let him know he must die, without informing 
 him of the manner how; and this gallant man, who 
 had braved death in so many battles, now gave way 
 to human weakness, and poured out a flood of tears. 
 He desired the chaplain to visit a Saxon lady, who 
 had every advantage of birth, merit and beauty, and 
 to whom he had thoughts of being married about this 
 time ; to offer her all the consolation in his power, and 
 assure her of the tenderness of his passion. 
 
 When he was led to the place of execution, and saw 
 the instruments of torture prepared, he fell into con- 
 vulsions, and threw himself into the arms of the min- 
 ister. And upon hearing the sentence read by a Swe- 
 dish officer, " This is the express order of his majesty, 
 our mott merciful lord, that this man, who is a traitor to 
 his country, be broken upon the wheel and quartered, 
 for the reparation of his crime, and for an example to 
 others;'' lie cried out, "What mercy? I have served 
 mv country too well." He received sixteen blows, and 
 
 *' 
 
 endured the longest and most dreadful tortures that 
 an be imagined. Thus died the unfortunate John 
 Jlenold Patkul, who had been a subject to three prin- 
 ces, and was now ambassador extraordinary from the 
 czar of Mu scow. 
 
 %i 
 
 His members were quartered, and remained expos- 
 ed upon gibbets till the year 1713. when king Augus- 
 tus, having regained the throne, ordered those testimo- 
 nies of the necessity he was reduced to at Alt-Ran- 
 stadt to be collected together. They were brought to 
 him in a box to Warsaw, in presence of the French 
 ambassador ; to whom the king shewing the box, only 
 said, " Sec the members of Patkul f and no one prcs- 
 
120 THE LIFE OF 
 
 ent ventured to speak farther on so tender a subject. 
 
 The Swedes accuse Patkul of forming the plan of 
 that triple alliance, between Muscovy, Poland and 
 Denmark, for bringing these powers at once upon 
 Charles XII. which was the reason, say they, that 
 Charles confirmed the sentence which his father had 
 procured against him, and continued so implacable in 
 his resentment. De la Motraye, upon this supposition, 
 endeavors to vindicate the king of Sweden from the 
 charge of barbarity and injustice, which all the world 
 has brought against him. But Voltaire, who would 
 doubtless have been glad to bring off his hero, with 
 his usual free good sense, confesses, That though 
 those who looked upon him only as a subject, who had 
 rebelled against his king, said that he deserved his 
 death : those who considered him as a Livonian, born 
 in a province which had privileges to defend, and who 
 recollected that he was driven from Livonia, only for 
 having supported those rights, called him a martyr to 
 the liberties of his country : that all agreed, that the 
 character of ambassador to the czar ought to have ren- 
 dered his person sacred ; only that the king of Swe- 
 den, brought up in the principles of arbitrary power, 
 thought he had done no more than an act of justice, 
 whilst all Europe condemned his cruelty. 5 ' 
 
 When the czar heard of the treaty of Alt-Ranstadt, 
 and that his ambassador was delivered up in conse- 
 quence of it, he spread his complaints over all Europe. 
 He wrote to the emperor, the queen of Great-Britain, 
 and the states general, accusing king Augustus of 
 treachery and cowardice, conjuring those powers to 
 mediate for the sending back his ambassador, and net 
 to became guarantees for the treaty of Alt-Ranstadt. 
 But these letters had no other effect, than to shew how 
 much the king of Sweden was at that time regarded. 
 The allies guaranteed the treatv, and did not think fit 
 
 t,,7 * 
 
 to provoke a prince of Charles* character at ;. time 
 when it was so much in his power to be revenged on 
 the empire. The czar, who was then at Smolensk* 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 121 
 
 with 20,000 of his best troops, and 30 or 40,000 Cos- 
 sacks under the hettmau Mazeppa, found all his mea- 
 sures thwarted by tlie weakness of his ally, and was 
 obliged to retire into Ingria and Livonia, to secure his 
 conquests in those parts. 
 
 When the news came of Patkul's execution, it was 
 proposed in the czar's council to retaliate on the king 
 of Sweden, by treating the Swedish officers, who were 
 prisoners at Moscow, in the same manner that the 
 king of Sweden had treated the minister of his czarish 
 majesty. But the czar would not consent to a proceed- 
 ing so barbarous, which besides would have been at- 
 tended with very fatal consequences, as there were 
 more Muscovite prisoners in Sweden than there were 
 Swedes in Muscovy. He resolved on a revenge more 
 advantageous, as well as more honorable, by support- 
 ing the party in Poland who stood up for their liberty 
 against the Swedes. Having received a formal notifi- 
 cation of the treaty concluded at Alt-Ranstadt, his maj- 
 esty was requested to take the republic under his pro- 
 tection. This he had now a good opportunity of doing, 
 while Charles and Stanislaus, with the main body of 
 the Swedish army, lay idle in Saxony ; and general 
 Leuwenhaupt, who was left in Poland with about 20,000 
 men, was unable to guard the passes. Accordingly the 
 czar re-enters Poland, with about 60,000 men, whom 
 he divided into several bodies, and marches forwards, 
 with a flying camp, till he came to Zolkiew. 
 
 His majesty then wrote to the general of the crown, 
 the primate chosen by Augustus, (for there was at this 
 time another elected by Stanislaus) and the rest of the 
 grandees, to represent to them, " that he concluded 
 tin alliance with the republic, and not in particular with 
 Augustus ; and that he was obliged to perform all the 
 articles thereof, and assist the republic with all his force 
 against the Swede, who not being satisfied with having 
 obliged Augustus, to abdicate his throne, would impose 
 upon them &king of his own election : that his majes- 
 ty would shoi'tlv repair to Leopold, to concert measures 
 
 L 
 
21 THE LIFE OF 
 
 with the republic ; and in the mean time would assist 
 it with such an army, as should enable the Poles to 
 vindicate their independency." 
 
 The primate, upon this, held a council with the offi- 
 cers of the crown, in which an assembly was appoint- 
 ed to meet at Leopold, in this assembly the throne 
 was declared vacant ; and the Poles were admonished 
 to acknowledge Stanislaus only as palatine of Posnania. 
 The primate also wrote to the emperor, the queen of 
 Great-Britain, the kings of Denmark and Prussia, the 
 states-general, the pope, and other potentates, to ac- 
 quaint them with the vacancy of the throne. The 
 general of the crown published his Universalia, for-- 
 bidding the forces of the republic to receive any orders 
 cither from Augustus or Stanislaus ; and promising a, 
 reward to the person who should deliver up, dead or 
 alive, M. Smigieski, a gentleman who had till lately 
 been the chief partisan of Augustus, but had now de- 
 clared for Stanislaus. Several pathetic speeches were 
 made in this assembly, to explain the occasion of their 
 meeting, and represent the state of their country ; and 
 the confederacy of Seridomir was renewed, as the most 
 effectual means to put them in a condition of asserting 
 their liberties. 
 
 Prince Bolhorucki, the czar's ambassador, had a 
 public audience of the grand council, to which he was 
 conducted with the utmost ceremony, and placed be- 
 tween the two chief ministers of the republic. There 
 he delivered a letter from his czarish majesty, import- 
 ing, " That notwithstanding the republic seemed to be 
 reduced to the last extremity, bv the retreat of kinjr 
 
 * 7 v O 
 
 Augustus, yet they were still in a condition to retrieve 
 their affairs, if they would Concur in the measures that 
 should be proposed to them by the czar, whom no pri- 
 vate advantage should separate from their interest 
 concluded with an exhortation to take vigorous mea- 
 sures against their common enemy, and an assurance 
 that the czar would restore to the republic such places 
 in the Ukrain as formerly belonged to it." The pri- 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 12& 
 
 mate, in the name of the republic, returned tlie czar 
 thanks for his affection and friendship, and assured his 
 minister that the council would not separate till they 
 had taken such resolutions as the distressed condition 
 of their country required." 
 
 Poland was now in a fair way of having three kings, 
 without knowing which she must obey at last. In the 
 interim of these consultations, the czar, with his son, 
 prince Menzikoff, and other persons of distinction, ar- 
 rived at Leopold. He was complimented upon his 
 arrival, and entertained suitably to his dignity. He 
 assisted at their debates, and at the consecration of a 
 new bishop of Cujavia, whom he presented with a cru- 
 cifix worth 15,000 rix-dollars. After several conferen- 
 ces between his ministers and those of the republic, his 
 majesty returned to Zolkiew, leaving prince Dolho- 
 rucki behind as his plenipotentiary. And as a report 
 w^as now spread, that the czar intended, at the diet of 
 Lublin, which was to be held soon after, to propose 
 his son, the czarewitz, then seventeen years of age, to 
 be king of Poland, his majesty sent away that prince 
 to Moscow, to prevent any suspicions of that kind, and 
 ordered 50,0000 florins to be paid to the Polish troops, 
 and 300,000 to those of Lithuania. 
 
 The following letter, written by his czarish majesty 
 to the great general of the crown, and dated from 
 Zolkiew, February 7, 1707, will fully explain his sen- 
 timents in regard to the kingdom of Poland, and the 
 present war : 
 
 " r jThe king of Sweden having by force and manage- 
 ment, compassed his designs against king Augustus, 
 seeks with no less cunning to gain his ends of i-s and 
 the republic, and to render fruitless our good disposi- 
 tions to maintain the common interest : with this view, 
 his ministers in all foreign courts insinuate, that he is 
 treating of a peace separately with us. AVe do not 
 deny that formerly, at Strolitza, when several foreign 
 ministers sounded our inclinations towards peace, we 
 intimated, that out of Christian duty, and to spare the 
 
THE LIFE OF 
 
 effusion of blood, we should be always ready to hearken 
 to all propositions of peace which the king of Sweden 
 should offer '5 but, on condition that such peace should 
 be negociated openly, and with the consent and partici- 
 pation of the republic ; and concluded by commission- 
 ers appointed by all the nations concerned. We never 
 did, or shall, entertain any thoughts of treating of peace 
 secretly, by the intervention of any foreign courts : 
 preferring to all interest and advantage, the reputation, 
 honor, and inviolable good faith of a monarch, in the 
 strict observance of all his alliances. We therefore 
 ass tire your lordships, that we have not yet entered into 
 any manner of negociation of peace with Sweden, nor 
 for the future, will enter into any, otherwise than we 
 have already declared, with the consent and participa- 
 tion of the estates of the republic : being absolutely 
 determined to keep inviolably the alliance and guaran- 
 tee we are engaged in with the republic." 
 
 While these things were transacting in Poland, Nar- 
 va was strongly fortified ; the works went on incessant- 
 ly at Petersburg, and a fleet was getting ready in the 
 gulph of Finland. The Swedish admiral had already 
 made another attempt, with as little success as before, 
 on the czar's new city ; upon which his majesty, in 
 order to divert the enemy from molesting his young 
 colony, made a diversion in their own country, before 
 he set out for Poland, and in the depth of winter laid 
 siege to Wyburg, the capital of Carelia, with 18,000 
 foot and 6000 horse. The siege lasted three weeks, 
 with great vigor, and 1500 bombs were thrown infc> the 
 town ; but the place being strongly garrisoned, and 
 the sea open behind it, there w r as no possibility of ta- 
 king it at this time. These motives, however, gave the 
 Swedes to understand, that he was not only in a con- 
 dition to repulse their attacks, but to annoy them when 
 he thought proper : which kept them quiet, and made 
 his majesty easy with regard to the conquered provin- 
 ces during his expedition into Poland, whither he now 
 drew the greatest part of Us troops. 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 125 
 
 While the conferences were held at Leopold, the 
 czar privately drew from the emperor, who was now 
 terribly alarmed at the king of Sweden's neighbor- 
 hood, a new acquisition of German officers, to whom he 
 gave great encouragement. Also, in memory of the 
 battle of Kalish, he gave his own picture, set round 
 with diamonds, to all the Muscovite generals and colo- 
 nels, who were concerned in it. The inferior officers 
 had medals of gold, and every common soldier a medal 
 of silver, all struck in his new city of Petersburg!^ 
 where arts and sciences now advanced in the same 
 proportion as military skill in his army. 
 
 The assembly being transferred, at the czar's desire, 
 from Leopold to Lublin, the throne was again declar- 
 ed vacant, and a diet called for a third election. But 
 the change of place did not lessen the disorders and 
 uncertainty that had before reigned among them at 
 Leopold : so that while they owned neither Augustus 
 nor Stanislaus, they could not resolve upon a new elec- 
 tion. Mean time the partizans of the two kings made 
 war upon one another ; the Swedes destroyed all that 
 opposed Stanislaus, and the Muscovites all that ac- 
 knowledged him. The Poles in general, ruined by 
 their own troops, by Swedes, and by Muscovites, equal- 
 ly hated their two kings, Charles XII. and the czar. 
 
 When the assembly first met at Lublin, his czarish 
 majesty made an excursion thither with a guard of 3000 
 dragoons, and exhorted them to unanimity in their pro- 
 ceedings: but because his presence should be no ob- 
 struction to their freedom of debate, he immediately 
 returned to his army., and from thence wrote again his 
 resolution never to make peace without them, and that 
 in conjunction with them, he would give the king of 
 Sweden battle the first opportunity. All this had no 
 effect on that divided people, who, while they courted 
 his assistance, let his majesty see that he had nothing 
 but his own power to depend upon. The assembly 
 continued some time sitting, without coming to any 
 resolution : which the czar observing, he A * 
 
126 THE LIFE OF 
 
 into Lithuania with the body of his army, leaving only 
 4bO,000 horse in Poland, which the king of Sweden was 
 ROW ready to re-enter. King Stanislaus immediately 
 set out from Alt-Ranstndt, with general Renchild, six- 
 teen Swedish regiments, and a great sum of money. 
 The assembly dispersed at his approach, and as the 
 towns in Poland are all open to the first comer, he was 
 acknowledged wherever he passed along. Count Sini- 
 auski, grand general of the crown, of the nomination 
 of Augustus, a man of great abilities and much ambi- 
 tion, was the only one who disturbed his government. 
 The troops of the crown, who continued under his com- 
 mand, had scarce any other pay but the liberty of 
 plundering with impunity ; and as he could not get to 
 be elected king, which he had much labored at, he 
 was content to be the head of a third party. 
 
 The king of Sweden took leave of his camp at Alt- 
 Ranstadt, in September, 1707, followed by an army of 
 43,000 men, shining with gold and silver, the spoils of 
 Poland and Saxony. Count Leuwenhaupt, one of the 
 best of his generals, was ready to meet him with 20,000 
 more. Thus the abdication of Augustus, far from re- 
 storing peace in Poland, did but render the condition 
 of that unfortunate people worse than ever. As the 
 Muscovites had lorded it over them ail the summer, 
 the Swedes now did the same in their turn. 
 
 The czar had left Poland, and returned thither again 
 about twenty times during the course of the war. The 
 country lying open on all sides, left him at liberty to 
 appear there as often as he thought proper, and even 
 to advance as far as the king of Sweden. But now, 
 upon that king's appearance with such- extraordinary 
 force, the czar thought fit to withdraw to the frontiers 
 of Russia, and from thence to take a journey to Mos- 
 cow, where he had not been for two years before. His 
 stay there was short : for having caused the ling-lead- 
 ers of the rebels, who had been in arms at Astracan 
 and Asoph, to be exemplarily punished, he returned 
 to Minsk! at the latter end of January, 1708, and gave 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 127 
 
 orders for a large body of men to march into Lith- 
 uania. Prince Menzikoff, who commanded there, had 
 sent his majesty frequent intelligence of the progress 
 of the Swedes : and indeed king Charles, though he 
 continued in Great Poland, longer than he expected, 
 on account of the heavy rains that made the roads im- 
 passable, had at last taken the advantage of the first 
 hard frost, and passed the Vistula on the 9th of Janu- 
 ary over the ice. He was followed by his baggage arid 
 artillery : but the ice breaking in some places, several 
 horses and waggons were lost. Thence he continued 
 his march into Lithuania, and expecting every day to 
 be joined by general Leuwenhaupt. The badness of 
 the weather no more retarded his march : he obliged 
 the Muscovites to abandon Grodno, Tycockzin, \Vilna, 
 and several other places, and to retire behind the lines 
 they had made about Minski, where a general rendez- 
 vous was appointed. 
 
 Notwithstanding the strength of the king of Swe- 
 den at this time, the czar was so much his superior, 
 and had such a number of good officers, that people 
 rightly imagined he did not retreat thus hastily through 
 fear, but only to draw the enemy into his own territo- 
 ries, where they must cither fight him with great dis- 
 advantage, or retire through a desolate country, which 
 could not afford them any subsistence. The king of 
 Sweden, however, was not of this opinion, or did not 
 apprehend those fatal consequences from the stratagem 
 which he soon after experienced. It was enough for 
 Charles that he drove all before him, and that his own 
 troops had the advantage in most of the rencountres 
 that happened. 
 
 Twice, however, during this victorious march, the 
 Swedish hero was in danger of his life, or at least his 
 liberty. The first time was in a forest, whither he had 
 advanced with but a handful of men, amidst whom 
 he was attacked and almost surrounded by a large bo- 
 dv of Muscovites : but another detachment of his 
 
 f 
 
 troops opportunely came up, and prevented the loss of 
 
128 THE LIFE OF 
 
 their king'. A second time was in Grodno, whither, 
 notwithstanding his danger, he advanced in the same 
 rash manner before the body of his army, with only 
 600 of his guards. At the head of these he entered 
 the town, where the czar then lay with 2000 men, who, 
 ignorant of the enemy's strength, mistaking that small 
 number for the vanguard of his army, thought prop- 
 er to retire before him ; but the czar learning the 
 same day, from a Polish deserter, to what an inconsid- 
 erable body he had abandoned the town, and that the 
 rest of the Swedish army was five leagues behind, his 
 majesty sent back a detachment of 1500 horse, to sur- 
 prise king Charles in the night. The Muscovites ad- 
 vanced to the first guard without being known, and 
 there met with a gallant reception for several minutes, 
 from only thirty men. Charles, who lay at the other 
 end of the town, was instantly there with the rest of 
 his 600, and being soon after joined by general Ren- 
 child's regiment, he repulsed the Muscovites, and pur- 
 sued them. Thus, by mere dint of his good fortune, 
 he came off a victor, where every one expected he 
 must have been a captive. 
 
 The czar considering that he had neither magazines 
 nor retreat in the palatinate of Minski, thought prop- 
 er to draw off his whole force to the Nieper, where 
 he might wait for the enemy behind good lines. "Where 
 ever the Swedes came, they found the country their own. 
 All seasons had long been equal to both armies, and 
 they both made excessive marches every day, though 
 it was now the midst of winter. The design of the 
 Swedes was to intercept the Muscovites ; but the Mus- 
 covites were equally expeditious with themselves, who 
 had now no other advantage than the terror of their 
 kind's name : and the conduct of Peter was ever more 
 
 o 
 
 than an equivalent to that : for he not only marched 
 off his own army, but prevented the Swedes from fol- 
 lowing it, and obliged them, for want of forage and 
 other necessaries, to stay and encamp about Wilna till 
 the following May. General Baur, who was sent be- 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 129 
 
 s 
 
 fore for that purpose, had laid waste all Livonia, and 
 by posting his men along the Buna, remained master 
 of tiiat river : and as the czar suspected the king of 
 Sweden might then turn towards Volhiuia, he order- 
 ed the inhabitants of that province to destroy the coun- 
 try for thirty miles round, and to retreat beyond the 
 
 f V 
 
 Nieper, where his majesty would give them other lands 
 to cultivate. Besides this, general Goltz, with 15,000 
 Russians, and 12,000 Volosques, was ordered to attend 
 the motions of the enemy, and gall them in the flank. 
 
 "While the Muscovite army lay hctween Poloczko 
 and Smolensko, and the Swedes were pent up in the 
 midst of Lithuania, king Charles breathed nothing but 
 vengeance against the czar ; declaring, " He would 
 never give him peace, till he had obliged him to resign 
 his crown to his son." It was believed that the czar, 
 at this time, seeing his people discontented with the 
 long war, especially as it now threatened their own 
 country, would have been pleased to find his enemy 
 less implacable ; and some assert, that he was even 
 prevailed on to write a letter to the king of Sweden, 
 to offer him terms ; but that the latter sent it back un- 
 opened, and told the person who brought it, " that as 
 he hoped shortly to be at Moscow, he would there 
 treat with the czar by word of mouth." This prince 
 should have considered, that the success he had in Po- 
 land was no argument that he could as easily succeed 
 in Muscovy, where the people have very different 
 notions of the power of sovereign princes. 
 
 From Grodno to the Borysthenes eastward, lies no- 
 thing but morasses, desarts, mountains, and vast for- 
 ests. The king of Sweden provided himself with bis- 
 cuit for this toilsome march, and after he had passed 
 the forest of Minski, through which his men were 
 obliged to hew their way, he found himself on the 
 2.5th of June, 1708, before the river Berczine, over 
 against Borislow. General Goltz. with about twelve, 
 or 15,000 of the best Russian troops, was encamped 
 in that place, in order to dispute the passage : but the 
 
130 THE LIFE OF 
 
 king, getting some regiments on the bank in sight, as 
 if he proposed to attempt it there instantly, amused 
 the Muscovites while lie marched his army up three 
 leagues higher, where he threw a bridge over, and 
 then cat away through a hody of 3000 Muscovites, 
 who defended that post. General Goltz, hearing 
 the Swedes were coming up, did not stay to receive 
 them, but marched towards the Borysthenes, laying all 
 the country waste as he went along. 
 
 A hody of horse was detached from the Muscovite 
 army, to stop the enemy at the pass of Holowzin, 
 which was rendered strong hy the adjacent morasses 
 and woods, and a lit'le river named \Tabitz. Soon 
 after the Muscovites arrived there, the king of Swe- 
 den approached, with his. whole army, to attack them. 
 Hereupon four parties, one of field-marshal Czereme- 
 toil's division of infantry, another of prince Mcnzi- 
 koff ? s horse, a third and fourth of prince Rebnin and 
 general Goltz's division, were commanded to post them- 
 selves within half a mile of Holowin. General Allart, 
 with another division of foot, and a brigade of horse 
 under lieutenant-general Pflug, were ordered to pass 
 three miles 'distant, which it was thought the enemy 
 would attack. 
 
 At three o'clock in the morning, July 14th, 1708, 
 the Swedes, by favor of the darkness and a hard rain, 
 began to advance against the division of general Rep- 
 nin, who commanded divers posts, and had begun to 
 make an entrenchment, and a communication by bridg- 
 es, with the other divisions. He had but 5000 troops, 
 upon whom the Swedes fired briskly with their cannon, 
 and endeavored to break in between them and mar- 
 shal Czercmetoff. As this attempt was not expected, 
 there were only some centinels placed in the passage, 
 to give notice of what happened ; and prince Repniu, 
 finding himself unable to stand the attack of the whole 
 Swedisli army, retired over pontoons to CzcrcmetofFs 
 division, in pretty good order. General Golt'z joined 
 the field-marshal-general about the same time. The 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 13J 
 
 Swedish cavalry charged these three united divisions, 
 who sustained their shock ahout four hours, and did 
 considerable execution. 13 ut the ground was so nar- 
 row, that the Muscovite cavalry could not second each 
 other, and push the enemy with .sufficient vigor ; so that 
 the victory fell to the Swedes. The king pursued the 
 Muscovites into the adjacent woods, and there halted, 
 and cast up an entrenchment. The Muscovites lost a 
 major-general, about 2000 inferior officers and soldiers, 
 and ten pieces of cannon. The Swedes also lost a ma- 
 jor-general, and almost an equal number of soldiers. 
 Of all the battles the king of Sweden ever fought, 
 he was in this exposed to the most danger, and shewed 
 the greatest abilities. The lire was so terrible for an 
 hour and an half, that some officers, who had been in 
 several battles, confessed they never saw the like. The 
 king was on horseback at the beginning of the action ; 
 but captain Gullensteirn, a young Swedish officer 
 whom he respected, being wounded, his majesty gave 
 him his horse, and {ought during the rest ef the ac- 
 tion, at the head of his foot guards, exposing his per- 
 son to the greatest danger. After the battle, the Mus- 
 covites repassed the Borysthenes, and joined their main 
 army in the entrenched camp. Here the czar arrived 
 in about two days more, having been detained at Smo- 
 lensko for some time past, by a fit of sickness ; and 
 from this hour he never kft his army again, unless in 
 one short excursion to Vcronitz, till he entirely defeat- 
 ed the Swedes at Pultowa. 
 
 Mohilow. Bycliow, Copitz, and some other posts 
 along ths JS'ieper, being abandoned by the Muscovites, 
 fell into the hands of the king of Sweden, who found 
 a plenty of every thing in tiiis country. The czar re- 
 treated towards the province of Smolcr.sko, in which 
 t lies the great road from Poland to Moscow ; and the 
 king of Sweden inarched so close after him, that fre- 
 quent skirmishes happened between the rear guard of 
 the Muscovites and the van-guard of the Swedes. 
 Though the latter had generally the advantage, they 
 
132 THE LIFE OF 
 
 did but weaken themselves even by conquering; for 
 those actions were never decisive, and the Swedes could 
 receive no reinforcements, as the Muscovites frequent- 
 ly did. 
 
 Among the exploits in this march, the king of Swe- 
 den, with only six regiments of horse, and 4000 foot, 
 attacked 10,000 horse and 6000 Kalmucks near Smo- 
 leusko ; broke their ranks on the first onset, at the lie ad 
 of his Os\;ros;othic regiment, and advanced upon them 
 so far through rough, hollow ways, that he found 
 himself in the utmost danger. The Kalmucks, who 
 had lain concealed, broke in between the king's regi- 
 ment and the rest of the Swedish army. In a moment 
 the regiment was surrounded, and the king's horse be- 
 ing shot, he was obliged to fight on foot, encircled by 
 a few of his officers. So many of these were instantly 
 taken and slain, that at last only five were left near 
 his person. It is said lie killed above a dozen of the 
 enemy with his own hand : but, quite spent with fatigue, 
 must have surrendered or fallen, had not colonel Dar- 
 dof,with inexpressible bravery, forced his way through 
 the Kalmucks with a single company, and brought his 
 majesty off. The rest of the Tartars were cut in pie- 
 ces by the Swedes, and Charles, whose good fortune 
 had never yet left him, mounted a fresh horse, and 
 pursued the Muscovite cavalry two leagues. 
 
 Never was more action in any one campaign than 
 in this ; not a week passing without some considerable 
 skirmish. Within a few days of that now related, there 
 happened another, in which the Muscovites had the 
 advantage. The army of the czar being encamped 
 near the rivulet Bela-napata, and the Swedish army 
 at the distance of but one league, near a place called 
 Malaticze, and covered by the advantage of marshy 
 ground on the side of the rivulet Czar-napta, the 
 Swedes resolved to take post on this rivulet, the pas- 
 biigo of which they expected to have disputed with 
 them. For this purpose the king of Sweden detached 
 four regiments of foot, and one of cuirassiers, COIISK:- 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 
 
 ing in all of 5000 -men, the best in his whole army, 
 under the command of general Rosen. Those regi- 
 ments advancing to the rivulet, to facilitate the pas- 
 sage of the whole army, the czar ordered prince Gal- 
 liczin to inarch against them with eight battalions and 
 thirteen squadrons of prince Menzikoff's horse. As 
 the way was full of difficult morasses, the cavalry were 
 
 ml 
 
 obliged to dismount ; and though they threw a geat 
 number of fascines into the most boggy places, some 
 of the soldiers sunk in up to the breast. The prince, 
 notwithstanding, continued his march, and at five in 
 the morning, on the 9th of September, passed the riv- 
 ulet at tiie lie ad of his troops, and by favor of a thick 
 mist, approached the enemy. Having viewed their sit- 
 uation, he ordered them to be instantly attacked, which 
 they accordingly were, with a terrible discharge. The 
 Swedes received the fire with great firmness, and the 
 action was very obstinate on botli sides. At last, as- 
 tonished at the intrepidity of the Muscovites, whom 
 they found to be their equals in the art of war, the 
 Swedes began to give way, and were exposed to a con- 
 tinual slaughter for two hours together, in which all 
 the five regiments were entirely ruined. Prince Gal- 
 liczin signalized himself in this engagement, and by 
 appearing every where among the thickest of the foes, 
 contributed not a little to the victory. The Musco- 
 vites lost about 600 men, and had 1000 wounded. 
 They took five colors, two standards, and a very con- 
 siderable booty. After the action was over, the czar, 
 
 / 
 
 to testify his satisfaction with the prince's conduct, 
 conferred on him the order of St. Andrew. 
 
 Charles, after this action, made a review of his 
 whole army, and taking an account of their provisions, 
 found he had not a sufficiency for five days. There was 
 no possibility of getting more in the country where he 
 was, and the Muscovites had besides made all the roods 
 impassible. Tins obliged him to turn to the right 
 from the high road of Smolensko towards the Ukrain, 
 or country of the Cossacks, which the Muscovites also 
 
 w 
 
 M 
 
13i THE LIFE OF 
 
 took care to lay dessolatc. He met with another blow 
 near Lodzin, by major-general Mikush, on the 17th 
 of September. Then, after a counter-march for two 
 days, he passed the river Soza at Czarnikow, and ad- 
 vanced towards the Ukrain as far as Pcczop. 
 
 His army being by this means fatigued, in greater 
 want than ever of all things necessary for the support 
 of life, and at a great distance from the body under 
 Lieuwenhaupt, (who was to bring them 7000 waggons 
 loaded with all sorts of provisions and ammunition, 
 which he had collected in Livonia and Courland,) he 
 was obliged to wait for the succours with which they 
 had so long flattered themselves. Leuwenhaupt, that he 
 might obey the orders, and supply the pressing neces- 
 sities of his master, hastened his march as much as 
 possible, and passed the Borysthencs at Sklow. 
 
 His czarish majesty, who had made all imaginable 
 dispositions to break the enemy's measures, gave orders 
 to the field-marshal Czercmetoff, and to the lieutenant 
 field-marshal Goltz, to harrass, the most they could, 
 the king of Sweden ; while he himself would endeav- 
 or to engage Leuwenhaupt, with a body of ten regi- 
 ments of horse and six battalions of foot. His majesty 
 had sight of the enemy the 8th of October, on the banks 
 of the little river Pronia ; and the enemy made as if 
 they would oppose his passage ; but no sooner were 
 seven field-pieces brought up to cannonade them, than 
 they struck off towards the village of Lezno. 
 
 Towards the evening his czarish majesty gave orders 
 to his generals to hold themselves ready to march the 
 next day, in order to attack the enemy. About four 
 in the morning the army began to march, and about 
 nine, at some distance from Lezno, met the enemy, 
 who had sent before some parties for intelligence. 
 
 Leuwenhaupt was no sooner informed of the Musco- 
 vites march and approach, than he drew up his army 
 in order of battle, and made all possible dispositions to 
 give them a good reception. To that end he caused 
 two battalions to advance 1000 paces before his camp, 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 135 
 
 to dispute their passage through a small morass, by 
 which they \vcrc obliged to come at him. 
 
 9f O 
 
 Upon this, his majesty ordered prince Menzikoff to 
 command colonel Campbell, who had the vanguard, 
 to cause his regiment of dragoons to dismount and at- 
 tack the enemy's two battalions; who made so quick 
 a fire upon the Muscovites, that they had hardly time to 
 form themselves in order of battle. Colonel Campbell, 
 observing how active the enemy were, caused five 
 squadrons, who had dismounted, to advance, that he 
 might give opportunity to the rest of his troops to put 
 themselves into a posture to follow them; and these 
 dismounted dragoons having stood the enemy's fire for 
 some time, his czarish majesty caused them to be sup- 
 ported by four battalions of his guards, and two of In- 
 gcrmanland. The Muscovites, pouring in their shot 
 upon the two battalions, killed above half of them, 
 gained the passage, and so facilitated their drawing 
 up in batalia before the enemy's front. 
 
 General Leuwcnhaupt, perceiving his vanguard was 
 beaten, resolved to prevent the Muscovites, and caused 
 his army to move up and meet them in batalia. Then 
 his czarish majesty observing that the enemy's line 
 extended wider than his, ordered prince Menzikoff to 
 cause four regiments of dragoons to alight ; and they 
 were immediately placed on the left wing, with two 
 regiments of horse to cover their flank, under the com- 
 mand of General Pflug. The right was commanded 
 by the princes of Galliczin and Darmstadt, whose 
 flank was covered by two regiments of dragoons of 
 prince MenzikofTs guards. All these dispositions be- 
 ing made by about eleven o'clock, the signal lor at- 
 tacking the Swedes was given by a general discharge 
 of all the artillery. The Swedes began to advance 
 with' great fierceness and resolution, and the tight be- 
 ing hot and obstinate on both sides for above an hour 
 and an half, the victory hung in suspense. During the 
 terrible lire which was made every where, his czarish 
 majesty appeared in the places of most danger, to ani- 
 
136 THE LIFE OF 
 
 mat?, by his valor and presence, all the officers and 
 soldiers ; and observing that the left wing suffered 
 much, lie caused it to be reinforced by prince Menzi- 
 koirs regiment of guards. 
 
 The Swedes, observing how well the Muscovites 
 acquitted themselves under the eye of their august 
 monarch, began to give ground, yet drew off in order 
 of battle. Then the Muscovites redoubled their efforts 
 TO improve that advantage : and the enemy being driv- 
 en back to their waggons and baggage, action was for 
 some time forborne on both sides. About three o'clock 
 the czar's cannon coming up, began to play again : 
 and his majesty being informed that general Baur was 
 within half a league of him, with 4000 men, thought 
 lit to wait a little for his arrival. 
 
 About four o'clock general Baur came up with his 
 body, and was obliged to endure the fire of the enemy's 
 artillery before he could join the right wing, where he 
 was to post himself. From this junction his czarish 
 majesty began to entertain hopes that all would end 
 well ; and ordered that neither the right nor the left 
 should renew the fight one without the other : but the 
 left wing having stood a good while without attacking, 
 the impatience of all the officers and soldiers super- 
 seded that order. The right wing renewed the attack 
 likewise with the utmost vigor. 
 
 The Swedes seeing themselves repulsed, caused two 
 battalions and ten squadrons of their reserve to ad- 
 vance, and charge the Muscovites right in flank ; but 
 they were so well received, and afterwards so closely 
 pursued, that of the two battalions, not above fifty 
 men escaped. Upon this advantage, the left and cen- 
 tre of the czar's army pushed forwards among the en- 
 emy's waggons, breaking all their left wing. On their 
 right Leuwenhaupt rallying his troops, faced the 'Rus- 
 sians who were among the waggons, and caused such 
 a fire to-be made on the battalions and squadrons, as 
 obliged them to retire. But the centre and left wing 
 advanced at the same time against the Swedes, who 
 
-> -r 
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 137 
 
 were obliged to face to the right about to make head 
 against them. The charge was renewed with greater 
 fury than before, both by the horse and foot ; and their 
 lire, which the Swedes answered duly, did not cease 
 till it was dark night, when neither party could any 
 longer distinguish their own men from their enemies. 
 In the night, his czarish majesty considering the dif- 
 ficulty of dislodging the enemy from behind their wag- 
 gons, forbade the officers, on pain of being cashiered, 
 and the soldiers of being hanged, to quit their ranks 
 to rifle the dead : so the army kept all night under 
 arms, watching the enemy. In the mean time the 
 trophies of the day were presented to his majesty, con- 
 sisting of forty -seven colors and standards, and sixteen 
 cannon, which they had gained, were added to their 
 train of artillery. 
 
 V 
 
 Thus the Russians passed the night, which was very 
 cold ; and towards the morning they saw the enemy 
 kindle fires about their waggons. His czarish majesty 
 ordered that fires should be also made in the front of 
 his right line, and that his men should hold themselves 
 in a readiness against day-break : which being come, 
 they marched towards their enemies' waggons, expect- 
 ing to meet no less resistance than before : but they 
 found that Licuw enhaupt had made use of that strata- 
 gem to cover his flight, abandoning to their discretion 
 all his wounded, and 7000 waggons, designed to sup- 
 ply the want under which the army of the king his 
 master labored. 
 
 General Pflug was immediately ordered with 100Q 
 grenadiers, on horseback, and 2000 dragoons, to pur- 
 sue and harrass the flying enemy. He had not march- 
 ed above half a league, when he found the remains of 
 the enemy in a wood ; and falling upon them, he made 
 a slaughter among them for the space of a league and 
 a halfj to Propoisk, where the rest of them, to the num- 
 ber of 3000, retired into the church-yard. 
 
 General Pflug advancing to force them, they made 
 a signal that they were desirous to capitulate ; and he 
 
 M 2 
 
138 THE LIFE OF 
 
 scut a lieutenant-colonel, with six grenadiers, to re- 
 ceive their offers of capitulation : but most of the Swe- 
 dish soldiers being drunk with brancry, would not agree 
 to their officers' propositions, and many of them firing, 
 killed two of the Muscovite grenadiers. The lieuten- 
 ant-colonel seeing their heartiness, retired, and general 
 Pliug resolved not to spare them. 'His grenadiers and 
 dragoons entered the church-yard, and sword in hand, 
 killed all that resisted. During this execution, part of 
 them fled towards the river Soze. General Mikusch 
 pursued that party two hours, and saw count Leuwen- 
 haupt swimming through that river among his men ; 
 whereupon he swam it with his detachment, and com- 
 ing to the other side, most of the Swedish officers 
 begged mercy. The general gave them quarter, but 
 caused the soldiers to be put to the sword. He then 
 rejoined general Pilug with all the officers and booty. 
 
 The next day his majesty caused thanks to be sol- 
 emnly returned to the Almighty for this signal victory, 
 which cost the enemy almost twenty regiments amount- 
 ing in all to 10,000 men, and among them major-gen- 
 eral Stackelbergh, who was kDled in the field of bat- 
 lie, with most of the officers who were not taken. 
 His majesty had 2073 prisoners, 103 officers, 47 colors, 
 10 standards, 16 cannon, 7000 waggons, and all the 
 arms and baggage, the victory being complete. On 
 his side were lost 70 officers, killed or dangerously 
 wounded, 1277 soldiers killed, 2734 wounded, and 
 among them his highness the prince of Darmstadt, 
 general Batir, colonel \\eiden, and two Muscovite 
 colonels. 
 
 In the beginning of this battle, his czarish majesty, 
 seeing himself in some danger of being defeated, ran 
 to the rear-guard, where the Cossacks and Kalmucks 
 were posted, and commanded them to fire, upon every 
 man that ran away, even upon himself, if lie should 
 prove so cowardly. And this victory was the more 
 glorious to his majesty, because, as he declares him- 
 self in his circular letter, not 10,000 of his men were 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 139 
 
 engaged in the action : which entirely destroys M. de 
 Voltaire's assertion, in his history of Charles XII. that 
 tiic czar lost above 20,000 soldiers. As for general 
 Leuwenhaupt, lie did indeed escape to his masters 
 camp, but without cither provisions or an army, which 
 did but heighten the distress of that now unfortunate 
 monarch. 
 
 But though fortune had begun to thwart the mea- 
 sures, she had not yet broke the spirit of the king of 
 Sweden. He expected to be reinforced from two other 
 quarters, from Poland by king Stanislaus, and the pal- 
 atine of Kiow, and from the Ukrain by general Ma- 
 zeppa, who had revolted from his allegiance to the 
 czar. I promised before some farther account of this 
 commander, which I shall here introduce. 
 
 Ukrania, one of the most fertile countries in the 
 universe, (though the southern part of it be unculti- 
 vated and dcsart, through its calamitous situation) 
 has always aspired to be free ; but being surrounded 
 by the dominions of the grand seignior and Poland, 
 it has ever been at a loss for a protector in one of those 
 two estates. It has been successively under the Poles 
 and Muscovites, the latter of whom at last assumed the 
 right of nominating their general, or hctiiian, which 
 is the name they give their prince. Upon the deposi- 
 tion of Samuelerriek, Mazeppa, a Polish gentleman, 
 born in the palatinate of Podolia, was elected. He 
 had received some tincture of polite learning at the 
 court of John Casimir, to whom he had been page. 
 But an intrigue being discovered between him and the 
 lady of a Polish nobleman, the husband caused him to 
 be whipped, and then sent to seek his fortune, tied 
 upon the back of a wild horse. As the beast had been 
 brought out of Ukrania, he fled thither with Mazeppa, 
 who was half dead with hunger and fatigue. He was 
 relieved by some of the country people, among whom 
 he continued a long time, and signalized himself in 
 several excursions against the Tartars, their southern 
 enemies. But the superiority of his understanding 
 
liO THE LIFE OF 
 
 made him soon become considerable, and bis increas- 
 ing reputation induced tbe court of Russia to chuse 
 him hetman. 
 
 Mazeppa, while a prince, did not lose the reputa- 
 tion he had before acquired. He signalized himself 
 on many occasions in his master's service, especially in. 
 the present war against the Swedes : but upon some 
 disgust, the occasion of which is variously related, he 
 thought that by embracing the part of the enemy, he 
 had an opportunity of rendering himself independent ; 
 and did not doubt but he should bring the greatest part 
 of the Cossacks into his sentiments. He was to meet 
 the king of Sweden near the river Desna, with 30,000 
 men, all properly accoutred and provided. It was 
 chiefly for this reason that Charles directed his march 
 towards the Ukrain, and ordered Leuwenhaupt to join 
 him there, to the astonishment of all his officers, who 
 were not in the secret. 
 
 General Leuwenhaupt had with him, before his de- 
 feat, 600,000 rix-dollars in money, 6000 barrels of 
 powder, 5000 tons of musket-bullets, and 20,000 small 
 arms ; which latter were to arm such of the revolting 
 Cossacks, as might not be able to furnish themselves. 
 The disaster of that general deprived the king of Swe- 
 den of all these supplies, and the timely discovery of 
 Mazeppa's plot prevented him from keeping his prom- 
 ise, and kept the Cossacks to their allegiance, notwith- 
 standing the defection of their commander ; who ap- 
 peared at last rather as a fugitive than an ally, fol- 
 lowed by only 6000 men. 
 
 The hetman, finding his subjects not so complying 
 as he expected, had endeavored all in his power to in- 
 tercept any provisions from being brought to the czar, 
 and to harrass the country. To punish this treachery, 
 prince MenzikofF was sent with 2i ? 000 foot and 6GOO 
 horse, to the cast side of the Ukrain ; where having 
 received the submission of the greatest part of the 
 Cossacks, he advanced to Batturin, Mazeppa's capital, 
 which the hetman had fortified, foreseeing what would 
 
TETER THE GREAT. 1*1 
 
 happen, and garrisoned with 6GCO resolute soldiers, 
 furnished with every thing necessary for a defence. 
 There was only the river Desna, which had no Image, 
 between this town and the Swedish army : yet the 
 prince came fairly tip, ar.d attacked it in form, while 
 the Swedes in a manner looked on. In two daj s time 
 he raised three batteries, and fired so furiously, that 
 in one night and a day, he made a tolerable breach, 
 which he ordered to he immediately stormed. The 
 garrison defended themselves with much obstinacy, 
 and killed the besiegers by heaps in the ditch. But 
 the Russians, animated by their general, fell on again 
 with such fury, that they entered the town sword in 
 hand, and cut all the Cossacks in pieces. This exe- 
 cution effectually awed the rest of the nation, and 
 obliged their chief to iiy in the manner we have 
 related. 
 
 After the reduction of Batturin, his Swedish maj- 
 esty retired between Starodub and Czernikow, to a 
 very advantageous camp, which he caused to be en- 
 trenched, that his troops might not be surprised by the 
 detachments from the Muscovite army, which gave 
 them continual alarms. Of the few Cossacks who re- 
 volted with Mazeppa, several came back to their alle- 
 giance on the encouragement of a general pardon, 
 which his czarish majesty cra.sed to be published for 
 all those who within four weeks should quit the Swe- 
 dish service, and a promise that they should be restored 
 to their honors and offices. His majesty also caused 
 a proclamation to be issued, promising a reward to 
 those who should bring in general Mazeppa, dead or 
 alive. 
 
 On his majesty's arrival at the head-quarters of the 
 Cossacks, he caused the sentence pronounced by a 
 it council of war against Mazeppa, to be executed in the 
 presence of prince Menzikoff and count Golofkin. both 
 knights of the order of St. Andrew. A herald tore 
 the traitor's patent of knighthood, and threw the pieces 
 on the ground ; took off a wooden statue, made for 
 
Ii2 THE LIFE OF 
 
 the occasion, the blue ribbon and medal of the order, 
 and then threw down the statue. The hangman came 
 next, tied a halter about the neck of the statue, and 
 dragged it to the place of execution ; where the sen- 
 tence against him was read aloud, and he thereby de- 
 clared to be fallen from his honors, titles and dignities, 
 and to be condemned to be hanged. The hangman 
 tore in pieces the arms of his family, broke his scyiui- 
 tar, and hung the statue on the gibbet ; a great mul- 
 titude of people attending. This done, the, principal 
 men of the Cossacks repaired to the great church ; and 
 after divine service, they assembled in the church- 
 yard, and proceeded to the election of a new gene nil ; 
 which fell upon M. Skoropaeky, who was declared 
 with the acclamations of the assembly ; and a triple 
 discharge of artillery and muskets, was made by the 
 Cossacks, who were drawn up in order. The r.ew 
 general, accompanied by a great number of officers, 
 went immediately and prostrated himself at the feet of 
 his czarish majesty, who confirmed his election. 
 
 All this while there continued to be frequent ren- 
 countres between parties of the two armies, with vari- 
 ous successes ; though the Swedes in fact were always 
 sufferers, as they could not repair any of their losses. 
 Neither king Stanislaus, nor the palatinate of Riow, 
 with all their art, was able to bring them the least suc- 
 cour ; such effectual means did the czar take to pre- 
 vent the junction of the enemy's forces, as well by the 
 army in Poland, under general Goltz, as by the de- 
 tachments perpetually sent from his main army at 
 Smolensko. But what more than all gave the Rus- 
 sians the advantage, was, they had plenty of every 
 thing in their camp ; whereas, on the contrary, the 
 Swedes suffered by want of provisions, which, with 
 the extreme cold, induced many of them to desert to 
 the Muscovite army. In one of these actions, about 
 this time, between Prilack and Haydicks, six thousand 
 Swedes were defeated, and a great number of them 
 taken prisoners. 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 1*3 
 
 The Muscovites so well secured the passes, that no 
 letters could now come from the Swedish camp, not 
 even to king Stanislaus, who was very impatient to 
 have a true account of their condition. 
 
 It is impossible to describe the wretched state of the 
 Swedish hero at this time, more sensibly than his own 
 historian, M. de Voltaire, has done it. 
 
 The memorable winter of 1708-9, which was still 
 more terrible in those frontiers of Europe than with 
 us, carried off part of his army. Charles resolved to 
 brave the seasons, as he had done his enemies, and 
 A entured to make long marches with his troops, during 
 the excessive severity of the weather. In one of these 
 inarches 2000 of his men were frozen to death almost 
 before his eyes. The horsemen had no boots, and the 
 toot were without shoes, and almost without clothes. 
 They were forced to make stockings of the skins of 
 beasts, in the best manner they could. They often 
 wanted bread. They were obliged to throw the great- 
 est part of their cannon into quagmires and rivers, fop 
 want of horses to draw them along. So that this once 
 flourishing army was reduced to 24,000 men, ready to 
 perish for hunger. They neither received any news 
 from Sweden, nor could send any thither. In this con- 
 dition, only one officer complained. How, says the 
 king, are you uneasy that you arc so far from your 
 wife ? If vou arc a true soldier, I will carry you to 
 
 V / 
 
 that distance, that you shall scarce hear from Sweden 
 in three years." 
 
 
 
 " A soldier, in presence of the whole army, ventured 
 with a murmur to present him with a piece of bread, 
 that was black and mouldy, made of barley and oats, 
 the only food they then had, and of that not a suffi- 
 ciency. The king received the piece of bread without 
 the least emotion, eat it entirely up, and then said 
 coldly to the soldier, " it is not good, but it may be 
 eaten." This little turn, if any thing may be called 
 little winch serves to increase respect and confidence, 
 contributed more than all the rest to support the Swe- 
 
iii. THE LIFE OF 
 
 dish army under extremities, which would have been 
 
 / 
 
 , intolerable under any other general*? 9 
 
 Yet, resolute as the king- of Sweden was, the cold 
 at last obliged him to a suspension of arms. In the 
 month of February, he renewed hostilities, and soon 
 found his little army yet more reduced. The 18,000 
 Swedes that were left, must even now have perished* 
 had not Mazeppa, notwithstanding some conditions 
 said to be offered him by the czar, continued faithful 
 to his new ally, and procured a subsistence for him and 
 his troops. Charles did not yet despair, with his 18,000 
 Swedes, and as many Cossacks, of penetrating as far 
 as Moscow ; and with that view, towards the end of 
 May, went and laid siege to Pultowa, upon the river 
 Vorslat, on the east of Ukrania ; which, if he could 
 take, a passage would be open at least into a land of 
 plenty. 
 
 Mazeppa, who had correspondence in the town, was 
 confident the king would soon be master of it : but 
 Charles perceived, from the first, that he had taught 
 his enemies the art of war. Prince Menzikoff, not- 
 withstanding his precaution, threw fresh troops into 
 the town, which increased the garrison to almost 10,000 
 men. The advanced works were however carried, and 
 two attacks had been given to the body of the place, 
 when the king, having rode a little too near, received 
 a shot from a carbine, which shattered the bone of his 
 heel. He continued afterwards on horseback for near 
 six hours, and gave his orders with such composure, 
 that no man suspected lie was wounded. At lt;st one 
 of his domestics perceived tSiat his boot was bloody, and 
 the king's pain at the same time grew so violent, tin at 
 they were farced to carry him into his tent, where he 
 
 . * 
 
 held his own leg while the surgeon made his incisions. 
 As they were laying on the dressings, he gave orders 
 for an assault the next morning; but was immediately 
 obliged to alter that resolution, upon the news being 
 brought him that the czar appeared with an army of 
 70,000 men. In tlus situation, and incapable as he 
 
PETER THE GREAT. lid 
 
 was of acting himself, he sent for marshal Renchild 
 into his tent", on the 26th of June, 0. S. at night, and 
 without calling any council, commanded him to attack 
 the czar the next morning. Renchild knew his mas- 
 ter's temper, and did not dispute his AY ill. 
 
 It was on the 27th of June, 1709, that the decisive 
 victory of Pultowa was fought, hetween the two most 
 famous monarchs then in the world : Charles XII. il- 
 lustrious hy a course of nine years victories, flattered 
 with the title of Invincible, which one unhappy mo- 
 ment might deprive him of ; and Peter Alexiovvitz, 
 no less illustrious hy nine years fatigue, honored hy the 
 nations round him with the surname of Great, of which 
 no defeat could deprive him, as no victory bestowed it 
 on him. An action of this importance deserves pecu- 
 liar regard, even in a work where brevity is studied ; 
 and therefore I shall give all the circumstances of it, 
 as they were published by authority. 
 
 The Muscovites having passed the river Vorslat with 
 their whole army, the 20th of June, they encamped 
 within a league of the enemy till the 2ith. That day 
 they advanced within a quarter of a league of the en- 
 emy's army, and encamping, caused an entrenchment 
 to be thrown up before their camp, to prevent all sur- 
 prise. Their cavalry was posted in the woods, cov- 
 ered by redoubts furnished with cannon ; and though 
 the czar gave out orders for preparing to attack the 
 enemy, they prevented them, according to their usual 
 temerity. On the 27th, early in the morning, while 
 it was yet dark, the Swedes came out of the defiles, 
 where they had lain all night on their arms, and at- 
 tacked the Russian cavalry with their horse and foot 
 so vigorously, that notwithstanding they were repulsed 
 several times, and beaten off with great loss from the 
 redoubts which they assaulted, the cavalry, who could 
 not be assisted in time by their infantry, w^re obliged 
 to retire towards their entrenchment ; but soon return- 
 ed to the charge, entirely defeated the enemy's right 
 
 N 
 
146 THE LIFE OF 
 
 wing, and took prisoner general Schlippenbaeh, who 
 commanded it. 
 
 While this was doing, the czar detached prince 
 Menzikoff, general in chief, and lieutenant-general 
 Rentzel, with some horse and loot, towards Pultowa ; 
 as well to cut off the troops who were advancing to 
 the assistance of the enemy, as to attack those left in 
 the trenches, under general Rosen, and so to relieve 
 the town from the blockade. The prince marching ac- 
 cordingly, met in his way the enemy's body of reserve 
 of 3000 men, whose right wing was flanked by a wood : 
 after some resistance, he broke them, put some to the 
 sword, gave quarter to the rest, and returned to the 
 main army, leaving lieutenant-general Rentzel to pro- 
 ceed on to Pultowa ; at whose approach, general Ro- 
 sen retired with his regiments into the works they had 
 made. However, Rentzel attacked him, and forced 
 him, after some resistance, to surrender with all his 
 men at discretion. 
 
 On the other hand, the Swedish horse having in 
 retiring joined their foot, all their army drew up in 
 order of battle against the Russian front, at the dis- 
 tance of about a quarter of a league. The czar, at the 
 same time, caused two lines to move out of the en- 
 trenchment, leaving the third to guard the camp ; and 
 drew up his army in such a manner, that his infantry 
 made the main body, and the cavalry the two wings. 
 The right wing was commanded by lieutenant-general 
 Baur, in the room of lieutenant-general Renue, who 
 was wounded in the first engagement. The left was 
 led by prince Menzikoff, and the main body by the 
 czar in person ; the field-marshal Czcremetoff, the 
 generals of foot, prince Repnin and M. Hallard, as 
 also lieutenant-general Belling, attending each at his 
 post. Lieutenant-general Brous had the direction of 
 the artillery. 
 
 The Russian army being in this posture, no sooner 
 began to move towards the enemy, than, contrary to 
 expectation, the latter had the courage, after the re- 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 147 
 
 pulse they had received, to advance to meet them. 
 Ahout seven in the morning the fight began, and the 
 fire grew thick on both sides ; which the Russians con- 
 tinued \yith such bravery that they defeated and broke 
 the enemy after a battle of half an hour, and put both 
 their horse and foot to the route. The latter, not dar- 
 ing to halt, or make farther opposition, were driven, 
 like a herd of cattle, with sword, bayonet and pike, 
 quite to the woods. Major-general Stackelbergh was 
 the first prisoner taken ; then general Hamilton, field- 
 marshal Rencliilcl, the prince of Wirtemberg, cousin 
 to the kins: of Sweden, manv colonels and subaltern 
 
 o 
 
 officers, and some thousands of horse and foot, a great 
 number of which yielded themselves voluntarily with 
 their horses and arms. 
 
 The Russian cavalry pursued the enemy full speed, 
 about half a league : so that the plains and woods, for 
 three leagues round Pultowa, were strewed with the 
 enemies' bodies $ the number of then* killed being 8 or 
 10,000. It is worthy of remark in this action, that it 
 was only a line of foot of ten thousand men who de- 
 feated the enemy, the other line not being engaged. 
 And when the Swedish foot advanced, the Muscovites 
 gave them but one fire, after which they charged sword 
 in hand, and broke in upon the Swedes line of battle 
 with such fury, that they were immediately disorder- 
 ed, and began to retire. The czar was very active 
 during the whole dispute, and rode down four horses 
 while it lasted. His majesty received a shot in his 
 hat. The engagement was wholly ended about eight 
 in the morning. 
 
 The generals who were prisoners, dined with his 
 majesty, and were used with great generosity. His 
 majesty discoursed upon the change of affairs, addres- 
 sing himself particularly to general Rencliild, and en- 
 quired into the real number of the Swedish troops. 
 He was answered, That his majesty of Sweden had 
 only an exact knowledge of his forces, and never com- 
 municated further to his officers than was exactlv ne- 
 
148 THE LIFE OF 
 
 cessary for their obedience, and the execution of his 
 orders ; but he believed the array consisted, at the 
 beginning 1 of the engagement, of 30,000 men, 19,000 
 of whom were regular troops, and the rest Cossacks/' 
 The czar observed to him, < That he 1 1 Knight that a 
 small force to march so far into an enemy's country.'* 
 The general said, His duty was only to obey." , 
 Upon which his majesty took off his own sword, and 
 gave it to the general, desiring him to wear it as a 
 testimony of the esteem he had for so good a servant 
 to his prince. 
 
 It was not at first known what was become of the 
 king of Sweden. The litter he made use of, on ac- 
 count of the wound in his foot, was found broken to 
 pieces, and general Renchild was full of apprehension 
 for his majesty. That prince had endeavored to sit 
 on his horse at the head of his troops, but found it im- 
 possible ; and when he was taken out of his shattered 
 litter, all covered with blood, and carried upon pikes 
 by four grenadiers, he cried out, Swedes! Swedes! 
 in hopes to rally some of his regiments. His majesty 
 escaped almost to a miracle, in count Piper's coach, 
 having none of his own since he left Stockholm, and 
 got into Turkey, where we shall have frequent occa- 
 sion to visit him. 
 
 Prince Galliczin, with the regiments of Ingermcr- 
 land and Astraean, and foot soldiers mounted behind 
 each trooper, and lieutenant-general Baur, with ten 
 regiments of horse, were immediately despatched in 
 pursuit of the flying enemy. Count Piper seeing no 
 way to escape, as also some secretaries of the chan- 
 cery? came voluntarily to Pultowa, and yielded them- 
 selves prisoners. The next day prince Men zikoff went 
 after the Swedes, and was followed by some regiments 
 of foot. Those who were detached to bury the dead, 
 reported, that they counted above 8000 bodies of the 
 enemy on the field of battle ; besides those who fell in 
 the pursuit, whom they buried in several places. The 
 Swedes abandoned above 3000 waggons, which fell in- 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 
 
 to the hands of the Russians. The prisoners taken, in 
 the fight and pursuit, were in all 2978. The trophies 
 were, li standards of horse, 29 of dragoons, 93 col- 
 ors, of which six were of the regiment of guards, in 
 all 137 standards and colors : cannon only four pieces, 
 because the enemy brought no more into the action : 
 one pair of kettle-drums of silver, belonging to the 
 regiment of guards, and three pair of copper. 
 
 Prince Menzikoff, who inarched the 28th, could not 
 overtake the Swedes till the 30th, notwithstanding all 
 the expedition he made ; for they retired precipitately, 
 leaving behind them the greatest part of their baggage. 
 That day his highness discovered them, posted very 
 advantageously near the small town of Percwoloczna, 
 at the foot of a mountain on the bank of the Borvst- 
 
 V 
 
 henes ; and was informed by the quarter-master of a 
 regiment, and some Walachians, who were taken pris- 
 oners, that the king of Sweden had passed the Boryst- 
 henes by swimming, with major-general Spar and Lag- 
 ercroon, and 300 of the best mounted troopers, about 
 three hours before; ami had left on this side the re- 
 mains of his army, under the command of general Leu- 
 wenhaupt. Whereupon, without loss of time, his high- 
 ness caused his body of men, which did not exceed 
 9000, to advance against the enemy. And the prison- 
 ers having added, that they believed they might be 
 disposed to surrender themselves on terms of capitula- 
 tion, his highness summoned them to yield, intimating 
 to them that they were deprived of all means of escap- 
 ing by a retreat, and that if they rejected his offeiy 
 they were not to hope for quarter, but should all be 
 put to the sword. 
 
 Hereupon the enemy sent major-general Crcutzy 
 colonel Duckep, lieutenant-colonel Trautfettcr, and 
 adjutant-general count Douglass, to capitulate ; and an 
 agreement was presently made, signed afterwards by 
 prince Mcnzikoff and general Leuwenhaupt, pursuant 
 to which, the enemy, who, contrary to all expectation^ 
 were yet 16,287 men strong, well armed, and mostly 
 
150 THE LIFE OF 
 
 horse, yielded themselves prisoners of war, and laid 
 down their arms ; surrendering that day to lieutenant- 
 general Baur, together with the camp chest or treasure, 
 the military chancery, all the colors, standards, kettle 
 drums, and drums. Thus all the enemy's army were 
 subdued by, or submitted to, the victorious arms of his 
 czarish majesty, some few hundreds excepted, who es- 
 caped with their king ; in pursuit of whom several 
 thousand horse were also sent, who overtook, and cut 
 to pieces 200 of his chosen hand, and sent hack about 
 100 prisoners. His czarish majesty came up in per- 
 son and joined prince Menzikoff, just at the time when 
 the Swedes laid down their arms. 
 
 By the capitulation, I. All the Swedish troops, with- 
 out exception, commanded by count Leuwenhaupt, as 
 well generals and officers as soldiers, were, with their 
 servants, to yield themselves prisoners of war to his 
 czarisli majesty. II. All private soldiers, troopers, 
 dragoons, and musketeers, were to lay down their arms 
 and to remain prisoners of war till their exchange or 
 ransom ; hut to keep their mounting, and all that they 
 had, except their arms and ammunition : and all their 
 horses, except those belonging to the officers, were 
 delivered to his czarish majesty. III. All the generals, 
 and other officers, were to keep their baggage and 
 equipages, and their persons were to be released with- 
 out ransom or exchange, as soon as peace was made 
 between Ids czarish majesty and the king of Sweden. 
 In the mean time, they should be honorably used, and 
 permitted to go, for a while, to their own country, on 
 their parole. IV. The Swedish artillery, all the am- 
 munition, colors, standards, and instruments of music, 
 should be delivered to his czarish majesty ; as like- 
 wise the military chest of the king of Sweden. V. 
 The Zaporogians, and other rebels, now among the 
 troops of Sweden, were to be immediately surrender- 
 ed to his czarish majesty. 
 
 The total of prisoners taken by this capitulation, were 
 16,287 persons, besides Charles Guntscr, chamber- 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 151 
 
 lain, Sirchigel, apothecary to the household and army. 
 Schimbers, quarter-master, Asil, Bier, and Brampt, 
 commissaries, five purveyors, and other servants of 
 the king's household. The trophies were, colors and 
 standards, 142 ; brass cannon, four five pounders, one 
 of five pound and a half, twelve of three pound, three 
 Russian pieces of three pound, taken by the enemy 
 at Wesprick ; two howitzers of sixteen ; two or three 
 mortars of six, and four of three, with two iron cannon 
 of three pound. The killed and wounded on the part 
 of the Russians, in tin's great action, according to the 
 printed list, were only 4636. 
 
 The first care of the czar was to acquaint the empe- 
 ror, the king of Prussia, king Augustus, and the 
 states, with the great success of his arms ; and he dis- 
 patched likewise a captain of his guards to the duke of 
 Marlborougli. The sieur Matueof, his ambassador at 
 the Hague, having received the orders of his master, 
 notified the defeat of the Swedes to the states gener- 
 al, by way of memorial, which he delivered to the 
 president of the -assembly, August 28. That minister 
 also made a most magnificent entertainment on the oc- 
 casion, which lasted three days, as the victory had done, 
 from the beginning to general Leuwenhaupt's surren- 
 der. 
 
 The king of Sweden having passed the Borysthenes, 
 continued his retreat, with all imaginable speed, to- 
 wards Tartary, and made no stay till he came to Oc- 
 zakow the chief city of the Tartar's of that name, not 
 far from the Black Sea. He was very well received 
 by the Bashaw, and thought fit to continue there till 
 he was cured of the wound he had received at the siege 
 of Pultowa. He wrote from thence to his mother, the 
 regency of Sweden, and some of his ministers abroad, 
 that he hoped to be well in a few days, and to join by 
 the way Hodolia, his forces under general Crassau. 
 
 King Augustus, having received advice of the de- 
 feat of the Swedish army, did not think fit to defer 
 his departure for Poland, which he had before concert- 
 
THE LIFE OF 
 
 ed; and on the Uh of June passed the Oder, direct- 
 ing his march towards Cracow. Several senators, 
 and other persons of note, immediately declared for 
 that prince, and ahandoned king Stanislaus, who knew 
 not which way to retire. 
 
 Thus did Providence baffle, in an instant, the great 
 designs of the king of Sweden, and shew, by this ter- 
 rible instance, That moderation is a virtue no less 
 necessary in princes than in their subjects." As long 
 as that prince pursued a just satisfaction for the inva- 
 sion of his territories, providence led him by the hand, 
 and blessed all his enterprises ; but when he carried 
 his resentment beyond natural bounds, his affairs had 
 immediately another aspect, and he soon stood reduced 
 to the lowest ebb of fortune. 
 
TETER THE GREAT. 153 
 
 BOOK Y. 
 
 From the king of Sweden 9 s retreat into Turkey, to the 
 czar's triumph Jbr his naval ridory over admiral 
 Ehrcnschild. 
 
 EFORE we proceed in our history, let us reflect a 
 little more particularly on that extraordinary event 
 
 ' 
 
 which has been related at the end of the foregoing 
 book. The two monarehs of Russia and Sweden had 
 been nine years at war, and every thing seemed to 
 promise a happy conclusion to the latter. Fortune 
 looked as if she had entered into a covenant with that 
 hero, and abandoned her character of inconstancy in 
 his favor. By the authority of his arms, he had con- 
 strained a free people, under the form of an election, 
 to receive a new sovereign from his hands : he had 
 obliged the lawful prince to descend his throne, and fly 
 to the succor of his hereditary estates, already exposed 
 to pillage and desolation. He was now marching 
 against enemies whom his people despised, and with- 
 out regarding their number, thought only of sacrifi- 
 cing to the resentment of their prince. In these cir- 
 cumstances the king of Sweden undertook to advance 
 to Moscow, and there dethrone the reigning emperor. 
 "What shall we think of such an ambition, so seem- 
 ingly disinterested ? The most celebrated conquerors, 
 before Charles, far from content with immortalising 
 their names, joined advantage to glory, and were not 
 so fond of an historical life, as to neglect the increase 
 of their own power. But the king of Sweden pretend- 
 ed to a system more refined. Does he think himself 
 imiustly attacked bv his enemies ? his resentment in- 
 
 o ' 
 
 stantly becomes personal, and lie declares an irrecon- 
 cilable enmity, till he has deposed the aggressors. To 
 dethrone monarehs, to give them successors, to dispose 
 
THE LIFE OF 
 
 of crowns at his pleasure, this was the whde of the 
 king of Sweden's heroism. Without examining such 
 a conduct by the precepts of religion, or the laws of 
 nations, let us only ask of his Swedish majesty, sup- 
 posing* he had infringed a treaty, would he have allow- 
 ed himself liable to be dethroned with justice? would 
 he not have said, It belongs only to God to chastise 
 princes, and deprive them of their dignity ?" Let us 
 apply this maxim to himself, and add to it, that to lay 
 waste a nation in order to oblige them to change their 
 master, is neither less nor better than to destroy a mil- 
 lion of innocent men, because one among the n has 
 been judged culpable. Thus if we allow the king of 
 Sweden ah" he could pretend to plead, that he was un- 
 justly attacked at the beginning of the war, we shall 
 find him inexcusable in the prosecution of it. 
 
 Big with the sentiments of his own intrepidity and 
 good fortune, and the bravery and fidelity of his troops, 
 nothing appears impossible to this second Alexander. 
 He almost forgets his mortality, despises every obstacle, 
 every danger, and braves even death itself. The Mus- 
 covites fly before him, and secure themselves in their 
 
 ij ' 
 
 own country, behind strong entrenchments. The in- 
 vader attempts to break through them, and succeeds. 
 But the czar, in the mean time, opposes other barriers, 
 which the Swedes are unable to force, and Ids troops 
 are convinced, in several rencountres that the enemy 
 is not invincible. His majesty wishes however for an 
 accommodation, and sends his proposals. The king 
 of Sweden, inflexible to the last, will give no peace un- 
 less the czar be deposed, and the charge of the war 
 re-imbursed. Muscovy must resign at once her mon- 
 arch and all her riches, A very unreasonable price, 
 to buy off a precarious action ! 
 
 The fatal hour comes: the Muscovites approach, 
 and the Swedes attack with their usual confidence. 
 But scarce is the battle begun, before these dethroners 
 fly, are pursued, and the remainder of their army 
 taken captive by a party weaker than themselves. The 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 
 
 king of Sweden would now submit to a peace, but oi- 
 lers are too late. That thunderbolt of war, who spread 
 terrors wherever he came, is obliged to traverse a 
 large river in a little boat, and become an exile among 
 infidels. In proportion as king Charles is depressed, 
 the czar Peter is advanced, and the Muscovites have 
 now reason in their turn to contemn the Swedes. 
 
 But who can help being charmed with this conquer- 
 ing czar, when they see him after the victory enter- 
 taining at his table the Swedish officers, and drinking 
 " a health to his masters in the art of war?" Count 
 Renchild's repartee, (upon the czar's telling him that 
 by his masters he meant themselves, the Swedish gen- 
 erals) Your majesty is very ungrateful then, to use 
 your masters so ill.'* was not half so pleasant as the 
 monarch's behavior was grand. "Was there ever a 
 hero more moderate, more humane* more the master 
 of his fortune ? never had a prince greater provocation 
 to be most sensibly provoked. His proposals had been 
 rejected, his ruin contrived, and the utmost efforts 
 made to effect it. How must the cruel tortures, the 
 unprecedented murder of count Patkul wound his maj- 
 esty's heart ? could a great emperor be treated with 
 more indignity, than by putting his ambassador upon 
 the rack, by executing as a criminal the man who rep- 
 resented his sacred person ? Even admit that Patkul 
 was a rebel subject, the king of Sweden ought at least 
 to have waited till the czar had degraded and given him 
 up, and not have thus violated the law of nations. 
 But the czar, in the midst of victory, forgets all inju- 
 ry to himself, and seems to remember only the misfor- 
 tune of the vanquished. He treats them as their own 
 king would have done, if they had once again made 
 him victorious. 
 
 The offer of peace which king Charles had made, 
 was while the Muscovites were yet in pursuit of his 
 army, before the surrender at Perewoloczna. If the 
 czar had then agreed to it, he had been prevented of 
 half his triumph, and must have lost the last great fruit 
 
156 THE LIFE OF 
 
 of his victory. But no sooner was the action complete, 
 and the fugitive king got into Turkey, than the Russian 
 monarch appeared as much as ever desirous of an ac- 
 commodation. Without taking so much advantage of 
 the success of his arms, as to insist upon hard and un- 
 reasonable terms, he permitted general Meyderfield to 
 go to his master, and sent to Stockholm the Swedish 
 secretary Cederheisin, with very moderate proposals 
 for beginning a treaty; insisting only on Ingria and 
 part of Carelia, which he had already in his hands, with 
 the town of Wyburg for a barrier; and Revel was also 
 mentioned, but with the intention to ho given up by 
 way of abatement, during the negocintion. The king of 
 Sweden received these proposals as if he had been 
 yet a conqueror, called them " the impudent preten- 
 sions of a forsworn enemy," and wrote to count Piper, 
 then a prisoner, ordering him to take proper measures 
 with the czar for setting all his prisoners at liberty. 
 This was the first time he ever consented to a cartel, 
 though the czar had often took pains to procure one by 
 the interposition of several other powers. 
 
 A neutral prince, of Charles's character/would have 
 blamed the czar for making these concessions. But 
 that monarch, who had himself seen most of the courts 
 in Europe, wanted to put in practice the knowledge he 
 had acquired in his travels, and apply it all to the good 
 of his subjects. His troops were already formidable 
 by land, and his fleet was growing so by sea. "What 
 remained then but to open the source of riches to his sub- 
 jects, to cultivate the arts, encourage industry, provoke 
 emulation, and set a pattern of politeness ? This could 
 not be ail effectually done in a time of war, though 
 carried on with advantage. Besides, the justice his 
 majesty so much loved, was no longer a motive for con- 
 tinuing this public calamity. But the obstinacy of the 
 enemy obliged him to alter his measures, and to send 
 fresh orders to his ministers at the courts of Saxony 
 and Denmark for concluding a new alliance against 
 the king of Sweden. In the mean time he hastened 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 157 
 
 towards Poland, in person, with a design to join gen- 
 eral Goltz, and the great General Siniauski. But tail- 
 ing ill at Kiow, through a fermentation of blood occa- 
 sioned by his late fatigues, lie was obliged to stop there 
 for some time, and content himself with only sending 
 some regiments before, by way of reinforcement. 
 
 The restoration of Augustus to his throne, and the 
 re-establishment of peace in Poland, were some of the 
 happy consequences of the battle of Pultowa. Stan- 
 islaus, raised tumultuously and in haste to be a king, 
 falls from his grandeur like a fine edifice erected against 
 the rides of proportion, with hardly the hopes of re- 
 covering his former condition as a subject. His rival 
 published a long manifesto, the reasons in which were 
 thought strong and persuasive by all Europe. No one 
 could doubt what he there alledged, that a superior 
 force had obliged him to renounce his royalty. If he 
 had not taken that resolution, his hereditary estates had 
 
 v 
 
 been ruined, and his natural subjects had felt all the 
 fury of a victorious army. Forgetting therefore that 
 lie was king of Poland, he preferred the safety of a 
 people given him by God, to that of a nation which 
 had thrown themselves into his hands, and a great part 
 of which was disloyal. After the victory of Kalish. he 
 
 V v 
 
 Lad nothing to do but to fall upon the rebel Poles, who, 
 by the absence of their protector, must have become 
 an easy conquest : but his majesty, intent only upon 
 rescuing his Saxons from the danger that threatened 
 them, sacrificed his own interest, and no longer re- 
 garded his crown. 
 
 If any one should demand whether king Augustus, 
 though he might abdicate a throne out of tenderness 
 and compassion, could with a safe conscience break his 
 engagements with the king of Sweden? the answer was 
 deducible from his manifesto. That when a prince, 
 no longer able to defend himself, desires to treat of 
 peace, and accepts the condition prescribed by the en- 
 emy, he then submits to the law of the strongest, and 
 is obliged to keep to the engagement, till a lawful and 
 
 6 
 
158 THE LIFE OF 
 
 favorable opportunity presents for recovering* what he 
 has lost. This was the situation of the king of Poland. 
 He was assured that Saxony should not he brought in- 
 to the quarrel, and yet, while he relied on this assur- 
 ance, the king of Sweden enters that electorate, and 
 acts there as sovereign. Unwilling therefore to hazard 
 his few faithful Poles, and finding himself too weak 
 with his Saxons alone, he endeavors to disentangle 
 himself with as much honor, or rather as little disgrace 
 as possible. On this principle he proposes an accom- 
 modation, nominates two ambassadors, and invests them 
 with full power. They, far from acting up to the no- 
 ble generosity of his majesty's proceedure, betray the 
 prince who delegates them, and give up all his inter- 
 ests. As he regards his subjects more than his own 
 rights, he ratifies this shameful agreement : but as all 
 this was extorted by actual violence, he holds it no 
 longer obligatory, than the necessity of his affairs re- 
 mained. 
 
 It was farther urged that the king of Sweden had 
 no right to attempt the deposition of a prince, who had 
 been elected by the laws of his kingdom. He could 
 be legally dethroned only by the nation, upon full con- 
 viction of his infringing their constitution. Nor could 
 Augustus himself, according to equity, surrender up 
 his sceptre, without the consent of his electors. Was 
 there any wonder then that he resumed a post, from 
 which he had been driven by oppression, and with the 
 sword, as it were, held to his throat ? 
 
 Besides, let the treaty of Alt-Ranstadt be ever so 
 valid, did not the Swedes violate it first ? these guests, 
 according to the manifesto, had acted like a very cruel 
 sort of friends. They did not observe their engage- 
 ments, either according to the letter or the spirit of 
 them. The winter quarters that were to be granted 
 them, which lasted above a year ; their immoderate 
 -contributions, which amounted to several millions \ the 
 letter of congratulation to Stanislaus, with many other 
 -grievances, were in no sense stipulated by the treaty. 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 
 
 Whence it was inferred, that his Polish majesty was 
 sufficiently disengaged hy the conduct of the Swedes, 
 allowing the treaty itself to have heen ever so sacred 
 These were the principal arguments in that king's 
 declaration. 
 
 At the same time Augustus imprisoned Pfmgsten 
 and Imlioff, the plenipotentiaries who had signed his 
 abdication, for having exceeded their orders, and be- 
 trayed their master. His Saxon troops, which had 
 so irritated the Poles as to become the pretence of his 
 deposition, brought him hack to Warsaw, attended by 
 those very palatinates who had already sworn allegi- 
 ance both to him and Stanislaus, and were now come to 
 renew their oath to him. Even Siniauski, finding he 
 could not be king, was willing to remain great general 
 under his old master. The pope absolved the people 
 from their oath to Stanislaus, which had no little weight 
 in such a nation as Poland. 
 
 As the king of Poland forgot the treaty of Alt-Ran- 
 stadt, agreed to when Charles lay in his hereditary do- 
 minions, the king of Denmark likewise forgot the trea- 
 ty of Travendal, concluded when the same prince in- 
 vested Copenhagen. He renewed his pretensions to 
 the dutchies of Holstein and Bremen, and resolved if 
 passible to get possession of tUcni. Augustus and he 
 had an interview at Dresden, where they settled the 
 division of their intended conquests. From thence 
 they went to Potsdam, in hopes to bring the king of 
 Prussia into their measures, who had formerly some 
 pretensions on Swedish Pomerania. But that monarch, 
 unwilling to engage in these new commotions, enter- 
 tained them splendidly, desired them to stand godfath- 
 ers to a child of the prince-royal's, and let them de- 
 part without any promise on his side. The duke of 
 Mecklenburg was provoked to see the Swedes in pos- 
 session of "Wismar, the finest city in his dutchy ; and 
 as he was to marry the czar's niece, he could v. ith the 
 greater security join in the alliance. The elector of 
 Hanover, afterwards king of Great-Britain, had also 
 
160 THE LIFE OF 
 
 a prospect of enriching himself with some of Charles's 
 dismembered provinces ; as the dutchies of Bremen 
 and Ferden, now in possession of his present majesty, 
 actually are. 
 
 The czar, more powerful than all his allies put to- 
 gether, became at this conjuncture, what Charles had 
 been before, the arbiter of the north. He sent an ar- 
 my into Poland, to assist Augustus in the recovery of 
 his throne; but whereas the king of Sweden had acted 
 only for revenge or glory, his czarish majesty had the 
 wisdom to consult his own interest. The Swedish he- 
 ro had succored his allies, and defeated his enemies, 
 without insisting on the least advantage, as the fruit of 
 liis victories : but the Russian monarch acted more like 
 a sovereign than a hero, and assisted the king of Po- 
 land only upon the condition that Livonia should be de- 
 livered up to him. That province, for the sake of which 
 Augustus had kindled the war, was now to remain to 
 the Muscovites forever. 
 
 On the 5th of September, 1709, the czar of Mus- 
 covy, with the hereditary prince, and several persons 
 of note, arrived at Lublin. The same day in the 
 evening, the prince MenzikofF, Golofskin, and Dolgo- 
 rucki, the sicur Oginski, and several other generals, 
 Arrived, there also j as did the next day field-marshal 
 Goltz, having left the army under his command at a 
 little distance on the other side of the river. That gen- 
 eral was favorably received by the czar, who the next 
 day viewed his army. His majesty held a council, 
 when 1000 dragoons were detached towards Warsaw, 
 lp secure some posts upon the road, and another de- 
 tachment of 4000 was sent to take a post on the Vis- 
 tula. From this place his majesty published a decla- 
 ration, inviting all the Poles to return to their allegi- 
 ance. 
 
 An interview having been appointed at Thorn, be- 
 tween the Russian and Polish monarchs, the latter, 
 upon advice that the cza* intended to come by water, 
 took boat on the 8th of October, attended by the whole 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 161 
 
 court, and went up the Vistula ; where he met his czar- 
 ish majesty, who immediately ici't his own hoat, and 
 came into that of king- Augustus. They embraced 
 one another very tenderly, and both expressed their 
 joy and satisfaction to meet again. The czar congrat- 
 ulated king Augustus on his happy return into his do- 
 minions, and king Augustus congratulated the czar on 
 the signal victory obtained over their common enemy : 
 after which the Polish senators, and Saxon ministers, 
 that were present, paid tljcir respects to his czaiish 
 majesty, complimenting him on the same subject. Some 
 of them expressed themselves in the following words, 
 " That they had prayed to God for a victory, but had 
 not expected it so complete and entire." To which 
 the czar was pleased to answer, That they had put 
 up their prayers for it according to human frailty, but 
 that God had given it according to his infinite mercies. 5 ' 
 
 Their majesties being landed near Thorn, the czar 
 received the compliments of the magistrates in a body, 
 and after having returned them an answer by the great 
 Chancellor count Golofskin, the monarchs got on horse- 
 back, and went to a house upon the market place, pre- 
 pared for the czar, who rode on the right hand. King 
 Augustus, after a short stay, went from this house to 
 his own palace. The czar dined with his majesty, 
 and had again the right hand at table. During that 
 entertainment, which lasted till late at night, the trum- 
 pets, kettle-drums, and other music, were playing, and 
 the people assembled in great numbers under the win- 
 dows, to see both the monarchs ; with -which the czar 
 was so well pleased, that lie desired his Polish majesty 
 to distribute some hogsheads of wine amongst them. 
 TSiis being done, nothing but Long live the c^ar and the 
 Jring was heard through all the streets. The Polish 
 senators were extraordinarily well satisfied with the 
 good intentions his czarish majesty expressed towards 
 the republic. 
 
 Augustus and Peter having taken such measures 
 here as were thought requisite, the former departed 
 
 02 
 
162 THE LIFE OF 
 
 for Saxony, and the latter to Marie nwerdcr, where lie 
 was to meet the king of Prussia, who arrived there on 
 the 25th of October. M. Graben, governor of the 
 place, caused the castle to be fitted up for the recep- 
 tion of his master and the czar ; but the little time he 
 had to make these preparations, would not allow to re- 
 ceive them with as much magnificence as he intended. 
 The king being informed that the czar was coming 
 down thither by the Vistula, went above half a mile 
 out of the town, and received him at his landing, giv- 
 ing him the upper hand ; and they expressed all ima- 
 ginable respect towards each other. They got into the 
 same coach, in which sat likewise the sieur Keyserliug, 
 envoy of the king of Prussia, and proceeded to the cas- 
 tle ; the garrison and burghers being on their arms, 
 and saluting them with three salvos. Prince Menzi- 
 koff and count Wertembergh came together in the 
 same coach, and afterwards the chief officers of both 
 princes. In this interview, besides confirming former 
 alliances, it was concluded that the duke of Courland, 
 nephew of the king, should have his dutchy restored 
 to him. 
 
 Prince Menzikoff received here a letter from briga- 
 dier Kropotock, who was left on the frontiers of Podo- 
 Ha with a body of troops, giving an account that 
 having received intelligence by his spies, that the 
 Swedes, who made their escape over the Nieper after 
 the defeat near Pultowa, were on their march for Mol- 
 davia or Transylvania, to retire by the way of Hun- 
 gary, that general marched with the forces under his 
 command, with all possible speed, to cut off their re- 
 treat ; and that arriving not far from Tsernjatoka, a 
 little town on the frontiers, he received intelligence 
 that the enemy were but a short distance from him. 
 His foot being fatigued by the long marches they had 
 made, he detached colonel Traskcy, with the horse, 
 and gave him orders to attack the enemy and amuse 
 them with skirmishes, to give time to the foot to come 
 up ; which orders he executed with a great deal of con- 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 163 
 
 duct, charged them several times, and took a captain, 
 a lieutenant, two ensigns, and six private men, prison- 
 ers. The enemy being thus overtaken, retired into a 
 wood, which, as soon as the commander came up with 
 his infantry, he caused to be surrounded, and attacked 
 
 V * 
 
 them therein. They made at first a brave defence, 
 but not being able to resist such a body of troops, they 
 surrendered prisoners of war, to the number of 250 
 men, including officers. The Swedes had 500 Cos- 
 sacks witli them, who fearing to be punished as rebels 
 to their prince, fought desperately ; but were all kill- 
 ed on the spot, except some few who threw themselves 
 into the river Prutli, to make their escape ; and most 
 of them were drowned. Thus was destroyed a great 
 part of Charles' remaining little army, who had retir- 
 ed with him into Turkey, and were now sent to recon- 
 noitre the state of affairs in that quarter. 
 
 From Maricnwerdcr the czar went to Mittaw, where 
 he gave audience to the Courlanders, and to mitigate 
 their complaints, released them from part of the con- 
 tributions which his general had levied on them. His 
 majesty then went to Riga, and set fire to the first 
 bomb thrown into that place. From thence, leaving 
 the siege to be carried on by his generals, he made the 
 best of his way through Petersburg!!, to the neighbor- 
 hood of Moscow. 
 
 On the first of January, 1710, the czar made his 
 entry into Ids ancient capital, with an unheard-of mag- 
 nificence. All the Swedish prisoners, generals, officers 
 and soldiers, taken in the battles of Lcsno, Pultowa, 
 and the surrender at Perewoloczna, were led therein 
 in a triumphant manner. Amongst the former, were 
 count Piper, first minister of state, and great master 
 of the household of the king of Sweden ; the general 
 field-marshal Renchild, general Leuwenhaupt, govern- 
 or of Riga, and major-general Schlippenbach, Krcutz, 
 Kreuse, Rose, Stackelbergh, Hamilton, and several 
 others. The cannon, standards, colors, kettle-drums, 
 and other trophies taken in those battles, were carried 
 
164 THE LIFE OF 
 
 in this solemnity by the persons who took them, 
 was certainly one of the finest spectacles that ever was 
 seen in those parts of the world, and perhaps in any 
 other since the declension of the Roman empire. The 
 streets and public places through which the czar went, 
 were adorned with seven triumphal arches, and croud- 
 ed with an incredible number of spectators* both Mus- 
 covites and foreigners. 
 
 The czar having used the Swedish prisoners, after 
 the battle of Pultowa, with so much humanity and ci- 
 vility, the usage they met with in this entry, seemed 
 surprising to many people, as the Christians had long 
 ago abolished the custom of leading prisoners of war 
 as captives, and exposing them to the view and con- 
 tempt of the mob. Men of honor, whom a cross for- 
 tune throws prisoners into the hands of a generous 
 enemy, ought to be pitied, and their condition should 
 be made as easy as is consistent with the use and cus- 
 tom of war. This is the practice of all civilized nations, 
 at least in Europe, which made the conduct of the czar 
 appear somewhat unjust : but if we consider that that 
 prince had received many intolerable provocations from 
 the Swedes in their prosperity, and that it was his in- 
 terest to persuade his subjects both of his own great 
 capacity in war, and that the Swedes, of whom they 
 were so much afraid, were not invincible; the reasons 
 arising from these considerations, are sufficient to ex- 
 cuse, if not altogether justify, what the czar did in this 
 entry ; and rather the more, because his majesty's tem- 
 per was known to be averse to pride and ostentation. 
 
 On the same day his ezarish majesty treated all the 
 chief persons of quality, and the foreign ministers, to 
 a public dinner. In the evening a sumptuous fire-work, 
 in which were several representations and inscriptions, 
 was prepared, and went off with great exactness. 
 The chief machines were a phaeton struck with a thun- 
 derbolt, and another figure in allusion to a late medal 
 struck in Sweden. Two pillars were first lighted, 
 which supported imperial crowns, and were adorned 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 
 
 with a great variety of blue, green and pale flames. 
 When thev had burnt some time/ a lion moved for- 
 
 v 
 
 ward, on whose approach the first pillar broke short 
 at the pedestal ; but as he advanced near the second, a 
 spread-eagle, representing his majesty's arms, launch- 
 ed a rocket, which blew up the lion's head and neck, 
 and the pillar remained firm to the last. 
 
 In order to introduce a very particular affair, which 
 happened during the czars residence at Moscow, it 
 is necessary to turn back to some particulars, which 
 we did not before mention, for fear of breaking the 
 thread of history that regards the king of Sweden's 
 expedition. 
 
 While the czar was defending his own dominions 
 against the invader, an accident happened in England, 
 that had like to have broken off the good understanding 
 between the courts of London and Petersburg!!. M. 
 Andrew de Matueof, his czarish majesty's ambassador 
 to the queen of Great-Britain, was arrested by one 
 Moreton, a lace man, in Covent-Garden, and other 
 tradesmen ; who finding his excellency had audience 
 of leave of her majesty, and imagining, or pretending 
 to imagine, that he would leave the kingdom incognito, 
 employed some bailiffs to secure their debts. The am- 
 bassador, justly surprised at this treatment, so contrary 
 to the law of nations, and perhaps not readily submit- 
 ting to the authority of these officers, was very rough- 
 ly handled by them. Upon tMs, he made application 
 for redress, to her majesty, *id her council, who im- 
 mediately took care to confine the parties concerned, 
 for having thus, in contempt of the supreme authority, 
 put this affront upon him. Various stories flew about, 
 in regard to the particular reparation insisted on by 
 the ambassador ; but this is certain, that his excellen- 
 cy at last retired into Holland, after several letters had 
 passed between him and Mr. Secretary Boyle ; and 
 the queen ordered her attorney-general, a little before 
 Michaelmas term, 1708, to prosecute those who had 
 been guilty, in the Queen's-Bcnch. In the mean time 
 
166 THE LIFE OF 
 
 the czar wrote a letter to the queen, which we shall 
 here insert, because it contains several circumstances 
 of the affair, as they were represented by the ambas- 
 sador. 
 
 " We cannot forbear notifying to your majesty, with 
 how great trouble of mind and horror, by the humble 
 remonstrance of Andrew de Matucof, our ambassador 
 at your court, charged with several important commis- 
 sions, we have received an unexpected piece of news, 
 viz : That the said ambassador, after haying obtained 
 an audience of leave of your majesty, at London, the 
 place of your residence ; out of premeditated malice, 
 and of set purpose, (as it appears) was set upon, in 
 the open street, by several bailiffs, who received their 
 commissions from a certain viscount or sheriff, and 
 acted like robbers, against the public laws of nations, 
 with an unheard-of and unparalleled barbarity : for by 
 dispersing his servants, violently breaking his coach, 
 taking away his sword, cane and hat, and tearing his 
 clothes, they put upon him such a notorious affront, as 
 no civilized person would presume to offer to a foreign 
 minister of his character, nor even to a commoner, un- 
 less he would run the risk of being most severely pun- 
 ished : and what most of all enhances the heinousness 
 of the fact, while our said ambassador, cry i Kg out fcr 
 help against the outrage and robbery, had got together 
 some persons, who intended to rescue him out of the 
 hands of the pillagers f. and when they, for that pur- 
 pose, had stopped thetcoach, and being desirous to 
 know the cause, brought him into the next victualling- 
 house ; the audacious miscreants produced a warrant 
 from the magistrate to detain the said ambassador, for 
 the sum of fifty pounds sterling, due from him to cer- 
 tain merchants ; and when the people, who ran to- 
 gether, began to separate again upon the discovery of 
 the matter, they forthwith hurried him into a hackney 
 coach, taken by force, and delivered him up to be con- 
 fined in a certain infamous house, called The Black 
 Raven. And although our said ambassador had noti- 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 167 
 
 ficd this unheard-of and flagitious outrage to the sec- 
 retary of state, nevertheless he could not be found ; 
 and secretary Walpole only came to the said house, 
 not to set him at liberty, (as it most evidently appears) 
 hut to be an eye-witness of this barbarous usage, the 
 like to which was never yet seen under the sun. 
 Neither did he offer any assistance to our ambassador, 
 as a person skilled in the public law of nations, which 
 protects the character of an ambassador from all man- 
 ner of insults, but went away : so that our said ambas- 
 sador being destitute of all help, and forsaken, was 
 forced to redeem himself from the house of bondage, 
 and, after a long space of time, to procure his liberty. 
 " Forasmuch, then, as our majesty is apparently as- 
 saulted by this wicked attempt, and indignity put upon 
 the person of our ambassador, such as was never prac- 
 tised, nor even heard of, in the whole world, much less 
 among civilized people ; not only profaning, but quite 
 subverting the law of nations : therefore, we hope that 
 your royal majesty will have a due regard to the 
 grievous affront offered to us in the person of our am- 
 bassador, together with the infringement of the law of 
 nations ; occasioned primarily by the sheriff, as the 
 author of the whole mischief, inasmuch as the said sher- 
 iff countenanced so audacious an attempt, and looked 
 upon the detaining of our ambassador as a trifle ; and 
 secondarily by the bailiffs, who presumed to abuse our 
 said ambassador, in the open street, after tbc above 
 mentioned manner ; and lastly by the merchants, who 
 occasioned his confinement, (as is evident from their 
 malevolent instigation, in order to overtlirow the an- 
 cient friendship established with us and our empire :) 
 "Wherefore, we being persuaded that your majesty will 
 esteem those persons no otherwise than as the most- 
 profligate of pillagers, and violate rs of the laws of na- 
 tions, proportionally to their guilt, we entreat your 
 majesty to consent, that, for an example to others, a 
 diligent search be made after the rest of the accom- 
 plices of the crime, and that a capital punishment, ac- 
 
168 THE LIFE OF 
 
 cording to the rigor of the law, be inflicted on them 
 all, at least such an one as is adequate to the nature 
 of the affront which every particular person put upon 
 the ambassador. 
 
 The same ambassador, by virtue of the instructions 
 given him on this subject, will more largely explain our 
 request to your majesty ; which has been already de- 
 clared by our ministers to your majesty's resident in 
 our court. On these considerations, we have reason to 
 hope from your majesty's justice such a satisfaction for 
 tills intolerable outrage $ and the rather, in regard that 
 your majesty's honor, and the reputation of all your 
 subjects of Great-Britain, will, by this means, become 
 famous throughout the whole world ; and we shall be 
 certainly assured of the continuance of your royal 
 friendship, and all effects of a contrary opinion will be 
 entirely removed ; .and lest, upon failure of a satisfac- 
 tion worthy of, and equivalent to, the injured honor, 
 we be compelled to obtain it by way of reprisal, which 
 indeed would be very irksome to us, upon account of 
 that particular esteem we have for your majesty's 
 friendship. Finally, we wish your majesty health and 
 a prosperous reign/' 
 
 In pursuance of the queen of Great-Britain's com- 
 mand, an information was tried at the Queen's-Bench, 
 Westminster, the 14th of February, before the right 
 honorable the lord chief justice Holt, for, the queen, 
 against Thomas Moreton, Isaac Spiltcumb, Andrew 
 Slan, Edward Young, and ten others, for meeting, 
 consulting, and conspiring to arrest and imprison the 
 Muscovite ambassador : for which they were ah" found 
 guilty, excepting Young, saving the special matter of 
 the privilege of ambassadors, to be argued before the 
 judges the next term. There were present in court, 
 the right honorable the earl of Sunderland, the right 
 honorable Mr. Boyle, the lord Halifax, and several 
 .other persons of quality. 
 
 The proceedings in England were not sufficient to 
 satisfy either the czar or his minister ; and something 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 169 
 
 farther being insisted on. Mr. Whitworth, lier majes- 
 ty's envoy at the court of Russia, was invested with 
 the character of ambassador extraordinary, for the 
 paticular occasion, to make reparation by a public 
 excuse ; which the czar received during his abode 
 now at Moscow, in presence of the nobility and for- 
 eign ministers. 
 
 The eighth of February being appointed for the 
 solemnity, the chief carver of his czarish majesty, ac- 
 companied by the cup-bearer, who officiated as master 
 of the ceremonies, went from the court in one of his 
 majesty's coaches, to tSic house of the British ambas- 
 sador, being followed by twenty other coaches of the 
 grandees, some to make up a train, and others for the 
 ambassador's secretary and gentlemen, who were all 
 richly clothed. Being come to the ambassador's house, 
 the carver and cup-bearer went up to his apartment, 
 where they declared the business they were come 
 about ; and after some moments conversation, they 
 went into the coach with the ambassador, who took the 
 place of honor : the secretary and gentlemen of the 
 embassy went in the coaches appointed for them, each 
 according to his rank. 
 
 Arriving at the court, the two regiments of guards, 
 who were there drawn up, made the salutes of honor 
 to the ambassador, and remained standing in parade 
 during the whole audience, making a very fine show. 
 Monsieur de Nar ask in, gentleman of the bed-chamber 
 to his czarish majesty, received the ambassador at the 
 foot of the stair-case. Prince George de Scherbaty, 
 counsellor of state, performed the like honors to him 
 at the top of the stair-case, and monsieur de Mussin 
 Puschkin, privy-counsellor, complimented him in the 
 ante-chamber. The ambassador was conducted to the 
 hall of audience, where his czarish majesty was stand- 
 ing uncovered under a canopy. leaning against a table, 
 having an armed chair behind him ; the grandees and 
 ministers of the court, with the generals of his army, 
 standing on each hand of him. 
 
 P 
 
170 THE LIFE OF 
 
 As soon as the ambassador came in sight of him, he 
 made his first obeisance, in the middle of the hall his 
 second, and the third when he had ascended the estrade 
 on which his czarish majesty stood ; where standing, 
 and with his hat off, his excellency made a speech in 
 English, of which the secretary of the embassy read 
 aloud a translation in the German tongue, signed with 
 the ambassador's hand, to the end the foreign ministers, 
 who had been invited to assist at this solemnity, mi&'ht 
 
 ' O 
 
 understand the contents of it ; and then one of his czar- 
 ish majesty's secretaries read it out in the Russian lan- 
 guage, for the information of the lords and gentlemen 
 of the empire. After the speech was ended, the am- 
 bassador delivered to his czarish majesty the queen of 
 Great-Britain's letter, to the following effect : 
 
 " We have already written to your imperial majesty, 
 to declare to you the great grief we conceived, for the 
 unhappy affront which was offered to your ambassa- 
 dor, before he left our court. We have since received 
 the letter which your imperial majesty wrote to us 
 upon that subject ; and we can assure your imperial 
 majesty, that we were touched with true sorrow, when 
 we saw how highly you resented the violence which 
 had been offered to your imperial majesty's own person, 
 in the character of your imperial majesty's ambassa- 
 dor ; and we were the more grieved on this occasion, 
 when we reflected on the insufficiency of our laws, to give 
 as ample a satisfaction as we desired to make, as well 
 for the just sense we ourself had of the indignity which 
 had been offered, as to convince your imperial majesty 
 how much we were inclined to make a suitable rep- 
 aration of the injury done so good a friend and ally. 
 But we must confess, that at the same time we had a 
 singular pleasure, in observing your imperial majesty's 
 desire to prevent the misunderstanding which might 
 arise thcreirom ; and the great esteem you shewed for 
 our friendship, as w r ell as the care you expressed to 
 preserve and cultivate it, by reciprocal marks of 
 friendship and affection* 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 171 
 
 <' Wherefore we promise onrself from your goodness, 
 that upon the representations which from time to time 
 have heen made to you in our name, by our envoy extra- 
 ordinary at your imperial court, your imperial majes- 
 ty will he pleased to examine into the nature of tins 
 affair 5 whereby your imperial majesty will see, that 
 we have not the least inclination to favor the criminals, 
 nor to screen them from justice : but that there are in- 
 superable difficulties, with respect to the ancient and 
 fundamental laws of the government of our people, 
 which, we fear, do not permit so severe and rigorous 
 a sentence to be given, as your imperial majesty at first 
 seemed to expect in this case ; and we persuade our- 
 self, that your imperial majesty, who are a prince 
 equally famous for clemency and exact justice, will not 
 require us, who are the guardian and protectress of 
 the laws, to inflict a punishment upon our subjects 
 which the laws do not empower us to do. 
 
 <* Nevertheless, we have not been wanting, at the same 
 time, to use all the means which we judged most effec- 
 tual, to persuade your imperial majesty, and the whole 
 world, of the sincerity of our intentions, and of our 
 endeavors in this affair. And to the end the guilty 
 might be punished, so far as the laws and constitutions 
 of our kingdoms, which were then in force, would per- 
 mit ; we gave express orders to our officers of justice, 
 and to our ministers, to prosecute them with the ut- 
 most severity. 
 
 " That prosecution has been long continued with very 
 great diligence, and nothing has heen omitted to bring 
 it to as speedy a conclusion as possible. But after all, 
 the matter is such, that we find ourself obliged to in- 
 form your imperial majesty, that as well because of ti:.-> 
 different pleadings in favor of the criminals : the slow, 
 hut indispensable manner of proceeding in a law-suit 
 of so great importance ; as of the case itself, which is 
 of an extraordinary nature, against which no sufficient 
 
 * o 
 
 provision is made in the ancient statutes of these king- 
 doms , it has not hitherto been in the power of our 
 
172 THE LIFE OF 
 
 counsel learned in the law, to obtain a sentence, nor a 
 final decision of this affair. 
 
 " Wherefore, considering all these inconveniences, and 
 foreseeing the delays which might probably happen in 
 the ordinary course of law ; and desiring 1 , at the same 
 time, to give you signal marks of our sorrow, as also 
 to shew you the indignation of all our subjects on this 
 occasion, we have passed an act of parliament made in 
 the most solemn manner, bv the great council and as- 
 
 y *> O 
 
 sembly of our kingdom of Great-Britain, wherein is 
 made a declaration as authentic as possible, of the just 
 horror which our subjects in general have against this 
 violent insult ; and all the acts and proceedings, which 
 relate to the arrest of the person of your imperial ma- 
 estv's ambassador, are annulled, and razed out of the 
 
 * ' 7 
 
 registers of our courts of justice, and those who had a 
 share therein are branded as infamous criminals, and 
 obnoxious to the laws which were then in force. And 
 if any person hereafter durst commit the like offence, 
 or any ways violate the privileges of ambassadors and 
 other foreign ministers, they will be liable to the most 
 severe penalties and punishments, which the arbitrary 
 power of the judges should think fit to inflict upon them, 
 and to which no bounds are given in this new act. 
 So that .insults of this nature will be prevented for 
 the future, and the security which all princes' minis- 
 ters ought to enjoy will be firmly established and pre- 
 served by this famous law. And this will remain as 
 a monument to all posterity, of the deference which 
 has been shewn to your imperial majesty ; and all the 
 ministers which shall come for the future, will be in- 
 debted for this extraordinary act for their protection, 
 to the particular consideration which we and our peo- 
 ple have had for your imperial majesty's honor. As 
 Therefore your imperial majesty cannot but see, that 
 we have used our utmost endeavors in prosecuting the 
 criminals.; and in causing them to be punished, though 
 not with the success we could have wished : and since 
 we have procured an act to be made by the represen- 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 173 
 
 tacives of all our subjects of Great-Britain, as well for 
 reparation of what has hcen done, as to prevent the 
 like insolences for the future ; we instantly pray your 
 imperial majesty to accept of all that we have done on 
 our side, as the most we could do here for your satis- 
 faction ; whereby your imperial majesty will give us 
 the strongest proof that can be, of your constant affec- 
 tion towards us ; and vou may be assured, that we shall 
 
 v *' 
 
 not fail on our side, to do all that lies in our power, on- 
 all occasions, to shew you our gratitude by our firm 
 friendship and esteem. 
 
 < And to the end that nothing may be omitted, 
 which is in our power to do farther, by way of suita- 
 ble reparation, we have thought fit to make choice of 
 some worthy and able person, to declare to your im- 
 perial majesty, in the most public and solemn manner, 
 the indignation we conceived at the affront offered, and 
 our concern that it is not in our power to cause the 
 criminals to be punished according to their deserts. 
 And as our trusty and well beloved Mr. Charles Whit- 
 worth has merited our royal approbation, by his abili- 
 ty and experience in all the affairs which have been 
 entrusted with him, as also by his good conduct at your 
 imperial majesty's court, for several year past $ we 
 have, therefore, given him a special power and com- 
 mission to represent our person, as our ambassador ex- 
 traordinary upon this occasion, and to make such ex- 
 cuses and declarations in our name, as will, we hope, 
 give your imperial majesty entire satisfaction. And we 
 do hereby desire your imperial majesty to be pleased 
 to admit and receive the said Mr. Charles WMtwortb 
 as our ambassador extraordinary for this end, and to 
 give entire credit to all that he shall say to you in our 
 royal name, as if we were present to do it in person* 
 We will only add, as a mark of our esteem for your 
 ambassador himself, who suffered this insult, that as 
 we were sensible of his personal virtues and great 
 qualities, during his residence at our court, so we were 
 more particularly concerned, that such an injury should 
 
 r 2 
 
17* THE LIFE OF 
 
 be offered to a gentleman of so great merit mid consid- 
 eration, being besides, tbe ambassador of so great a 
 prince, and so good an ally. And so praying, that the 
 great dispenser of all good things will vouchsafe to 
 pour forth his heavenly benedictions upon the person 
 and kingdom of your imperial majesty, we recommend 
 you to his holy protection. ANNE R." 
 
 His czarish majesty having received this letter from 
 the hands of the ambassador, delivered it to the count 
 de Golofskin, and was pleased to make the following 
 answer in his own tongue : 
 
 " It was but requisite, that her majesty the queen 
 should have given us satisfaction, by punishing the 
 criminals conformably to our demands, in the most rig- 
 orous manner, as is the custom in such cases through- 
 out the universe ; but seeing; her majesty has ordered 
 
 O t* 
 
 you to make excuses in the quality of her ambassador 
 extraordinary, conferred upon you expressly for this 
 purpose, and to remonstrate, that her majesty could 
 not inflict such a punishment upon them, because of the 
 defect, in that particular, of the former established 
 constitutions of her kingdom ; and that with the unan- 
 imous consent of the parliament, her majesty has caus- 
 ed a new act to be passed to serve as a law therein 
 for the future ; we accept all this for a proof of the 
 affection her majesty has for us, and for sufficient sat- 
 isfaction ; and w r e will give orders to our ministers to 
 settle entirely this affair with you in a conference," 
 
 * 
 
 His czarish majesty having concluded his answer, 
 the ambassador retired backwards out of the hall, 
 making three obeisances, in the same manner as when 
 he came in, and was conducted back to his house with 
 the same ceremony, and the same train. The chief 
 carver treated him three days successively by express 
 order of his czarish majesty, with the greatest plenty, 
 delicacy and magnificence ; the officers of his majes- 
 ty's household serving at table. 
 
 The ninth of the same month, the ambassador came 
 to the house of count de Golofskin, great chamberlain. 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 175 
 
 and there had a conference with him, and other minis- 
 ters of his czarish majesty ; in which this troublesome 
 affair was terminated, to the mutual satisfaction of the 
 two powers ; and the ancient friendship between the 
 two crowns renewed, on condition that certain articles, 
 which were stipulated, should he performed. After 
 which his czarish majesty was to acquaint the queen 
 that he is content with the forcsaid satisfaction, by a 
 letter, which should be delivered to the ambassador, 
 Mr. Whitworth. All this was accordingly done. 
 
 The defeat of the Swedes at Pultowa produced one 
 advantage, with respect to the establishment of arts, 
 which undoubtedly the czar himself did not expect. 
 After the triumph at Moscow, about 3000 Swedish of- 
 ficers, and near 20,000 soldiers were dispersed all over 
 his dominions, especially in the vast country of Sibe- 
 ria, which, taken in the utmost latitude, extends to the 
 borders of China, and is the place of exile for Musco- 
 vite criminals. Almost all these prisoners, destitute of 
 a plentiful subsistence, and considering the distance and 
 uncertainty of their return, took to the exercise of such 
 different professions as they had knowledge of, and in 
 which necessity soon made them expert. Even mas- 
 ters of languages and mathematicians, sprung up among 
 them. Thoy became a sort of colony, which civilized 
 
 / * ^ 
 
 the ancient inhabitants ; and many curious arts, which, 
 though well known at Moscow and Petersburg!!, would 
 have been many years in travelling to Siberia, were 
 by their means conveyed thither in an instant. All 
 the distinctions which fortune makes among men, were 
 lost with the liberty of these people. The officer who 
 could follow no trade, was forced to cleave and carry 
 wood for the soldier, that was now turned tailor, dra- 
 per or smith, and got a subsistence by his labor. 
 
 Count Piper, the king of Sweden's prime minister, 
 was the most severely used of all the prisoners, as the 
 czar suspected him of having persuaded liis master, 
 for a sum of money given him by the duke of Marl- 
 borough^ to turn his arms out of the empire into Rus- 
 
176 THE LIFE OF 
 
 sia. He was a long time confined at Petersburg!!, and 
 died some years after at Moscow. 
 
 Frequent rumors were every day spread over Eu- 
 rope, that the king of Sweden was upon the point of 
 returning home, and sometimes that he was upon the 
 road. Mean while the czar and his allies made the 
 best use of that monarch's absence, and stripped him 
 of almost all his territories, but Scandinavia only.- 
 General Crassan had drawn off his army, consisting 
 of 12 or 13,000 men, from Poland into Pomerania, 
 which was now to have been the seat of the war. This 
 storm alarmed the emperor and the German princes, 
 who, with the queen of Great-Britain and the states- 
 general, were then at war with France, and occasion- 
 ed that famous act of neutrality for the empire, which 
 allowed the northern allies to attack the king of Swe- 
 den any where but in Germany. The czar and the 
 kins: of Poland came into this treaty* and caused an 
 
 t_^ " 
 
 article to be inserted, that the Swedes in Ponierania 
 should not depart thence to defend their other provin- 
 ces. An army was to be raised in the empire, and 
 encamped on the Oder, to preserve this neutrality : 
 but the king of Sweden protested strongly against the 
 articles that tied up his hands, while it left his enemies 
 at liberty ; and at last the whole project came to noth- 
 ing for want of the quotas being sent in. 
 
 The marriage of Anne Joannowna, at present em- 
 press of Russia, to Frederick VPilliam. duke of Cour- 
 land, was celebrated during the czar's residence at 
 Moscow- But the young prince falling ill, left her a 
 widow a few days after marriage. About the same 
 time his majesty received news of the taking; of Elbmff, 
 
 tJ * O O" 
 
 a considerable town in Polish Prussia. 
 
 It will not be improper to insert a particular account 
 of that action, which was certainly very glorious to the 
 forces of the czar. 
 
 Major-general Nostitz having pretended to make 
 preparation of all things, that he might the better suc- 
 ceed in the design he had formed to carry the place by 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 177 
 
 assault, commanded out 2000 men, and divided them 
 into seven bodies, to make five real attacks, and two 
 feigned ones, at five o'clock next morning; with orders, 
 in case one of them should succeed, to push the Swedes 
 home without giving them time to recollect themselves. 
 Pursuant to this order, the troops moved under the 
 command of brigadier Balck, and after they had pass- 
 ed the ditches, thev scaled the wall on the side of the 
 
 / 
 
 new town, and of the corn magazines, and entered 
 the place, notwithstanding the fire of the cannon, with 
 which the ramparts were well provided, and the op- 
 position of the main part of the garrison ; and besides, 
 the bastions and works had mines under them. The 
 Swedes were pushed to the bridge of the old town, 
 over the river, where for some time thev made an ob- 
 
 W 
 
 senate resistance ; but in the end, they were obliged 
 to give way, and were pursued to the great square of 
 the old town, where brigadier Balck made all the gar- 
 rison prisoners, with the two lieutenant-colonels who 
 commanded them. 
 
 This action was the bolder, because the town was 
 fortified with twelve royal bastions, two ditches filled 
 with water, and a high wall with ramparts of turf. 
 Major-general Nostitz, in consideration of the gallant 
 behaviour of the commanding Swedish officers in this 
 action, returned them their swords till the czar's plea- 
 sure should be known. Those officers confessed that 
 they could not conceive how the major-general came 
 to hazard such an enterprise, and yet less how it came 
 to succeed so happily; attributing the success entirely 
 to the good conduct and bravery of the officers and 
 soldiers of his czarish majesty. The prisoners were 
 the lieutenant-colonels Bethun and Jager, 10 captains, 
 13 lieutenants, 12 ensigns, 95 subalterns and gunners, 
 766 soldiers. 
 
 The major-general re-fortified Elbing, and put into 
 it a strong garrison, which was the more wondered at, 
 because an agreement was said to have been made 
 between the czar and the king of Prussia, for the im- 
 
178 THE LIFE OF 
 
 mediate delivery of this place to the latter. It is cer- 
 tain the prince of Holstein demanded it in the king's 
 name ; hut the Muscovite general denied his having 
 knowledge of any such agreement, and refused to com- 
 ply without an express order from his master. He 
 gave a like denial to the Polish diet, who also de- 
 manded it for the republic, to whom it formerly he- 
 longed. That assembly in the mean time was greatly 
 divided in itself; the members making the continuance 
 of Russian troops in Poland a pretext for their ani- 
 mosities ; refusing; to come to anv resolution on the 
 
 1~-' *s 
 
 state of the nation till those troops were sent out of the 
 kingdom. This reason alone would have obliged tlw 
 czar to continue them, lest he should lose the fruit of 
 all his victories. 
 
 His majesty left Moscow the latter end of February, 
 in order to go into Poland ; but first he undertook the 
 siege of Wyhurg, which would open his troops a way 
 into the great dutchy of Finland. He came before 
 the place in April, with 23,000 men, 80 pieces of can- 
 non, 26 large, and 250 small mortars. He was here 
 in some danger of being surprised by a Swedish fleet 
 of 13 sail, which, however, only shewed itself, without 
 attempting any tiling. Admiral Apraxin was left to 
 carry on the siege, who attacking the suburbs, the 
 Swedes quitted them, having set their magazines on 
 fire. The Muscovites put out the flames, and seized 
 on three skips in the port. The siege continued till 
 June, when the governor obtained leave to march out 
 with arms and baggage ; but count Apraxin, upon 
 his quitting the place, caused him and his garrison to 
 he detained prisoners of war, as a reprisal lor several 
 practices of the Swedes, contrary to the laws of nations 
 and the usage of war. That general published a sort of 
 manifesto, containing the reasons which induced him 
 to this seeming breach of the capitulation, which con- 
 sisted of three articles. I. That a Muscovite ship be- 
 ing sent to Sweden with a flag of truce, as had been 
 often practised in the like cases, had been detained 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 179 
 
 contrary to all manner of justice. 2. Because the res- 
 ident of the czar, who was at Stockholm in the be- 
 ginning of tliis war, had been detained, and had his 
 effects confiscated, though the Swedish minister re- 
 siding at Moscow, was sent back without molestation. 
 3. Because the subjects of his czaiish majesty, who 
 were come into Sweden in time of peace, to carry on 
 a trade beneficial to both nations, were detained upon 
 the beginning of the war, and had their effects confis- 
 cated. The number of the garrison, including the 
 sick and wounded, was near 5000 men. There was 
 found in the town a large quantity of arms and am- 
 munition. 
 
 The garrison of Riga, which surrendered about the 
 same time, had a better fate than that of Wyburg. 
 The siege of that place had been a long time carried 
 on, with various hopes of success, and was now redu- 
 ced to a blockade. On the 22d of January past, t3ie 
 laboratory for bombs had taken fire, which in an instant 
 blew up the whole house, and the magazines adjoin- 
 ing, to the great terror of the garrison, of whom near 
 2000 were entirely lost. General Gzeremetoff had 
 after this offered very honorable conditions to general 
 Stromberg, the governor, to induce him to surrender ; 
 but the intrepid Swede returned to those civilities only 
 from the mouths of his cannon, expecting, but in vahij 
 to be relieved by sea. 
 
 At last, on the 29th of June, being the feast of St. 
 Peter, whose name his czarish majesty bears, when 
 the general officers were at dinner with field-marshal 
 Czeremetoff, the Swedish governor sent out one to no- 
 tify that he desired to capitulate, and would send out 
 deputies for that purpose. The next day the field-mar- 
 shal sent into the town for hostages, two colonels and 
 an auditor ; and his Coaches brought back to the camp 
 11 hostages from the town. Being conducted intotho 
 presence of the field-marshal, they made a speech to 
 him ; and he nominated two colonels and one auditor 
 to treat with them. They delivered about 65 articles. 
 
180 THE LIFE OF 
 
 upon which his excellency having deliberated with the 
 other generals, sent them baek into the town, with his 
 resolution, by the Swedish auditor, who was ordered 
 to return at nine the next morning with that of count 
 Stromberg. The auditor came at the time limited, 
 but it was only to desire some delay tor the governor ; 
 which being refused, the governor sent out his reso- 
 lutions in the afternoon ; and the whole was agreed, 
 signed and exchanged. By virtue of the capitulation, 
 the garrison was to be conducted to Revel, and thence 
 transported to Stockholm : but this last particular was 
 never complied with, for reasons published by the field- 
 marshal. The town and citadel were immediately gar- 
 risoned by seven Muscovite regiments, commanded by 
 prince Repnin. What forced the governor to surren- 
 der, was the famine, which was so great, that at least 
 100 men of the garrison died every day during the last 
 weeks of the siege ; and of above 10,000 of which 
 the garrison consisted when the place was invested, 
 no more than 1800 were left able to bear arms. Sixty 
 thousand of the town's people perished likewise during 
 the siege, partly by famine, and partly by the plague. 
 The Swedish garrison went out with the usual marks 
 of honor, of drums beating, colors flying, arms and 
 baggage, and six cannon, with powder and ball for six 
 charges each. But prince Czeremetoff detained the 
 remains of the two regiments of Carclia and Wyburg, 
 aliedging that they were become subjects of the czar, 
 by his late conquests. And so favorable an impression 
 did the prince give of his master's government, that 
 a great number of officers, and almost all the Livo- 
 nians, put themselves voluntarily under his protection. 
 There were found here 5000 pieces of artillery ; but 
 no provisions, and very little ammunition. 
 
 The old garrison of Dunamuyden-Schans, who were 
 at first 1200 men, having been almost all swept away 
 by the plague, the Swedish squadron put in a rein- 
 forcement of 700 men. But the contagion continuing 
 to rage among these likewise, near 200 of them were 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 181 
 
 presently carried off, and M. Stackleberg, the gover- 
 nar himself, was sick. In this extremity of the place, 
 the Muscovites raised batteries against it, and it sur- 
 rendered in about a fortnight. 
 
 The town of Pernau was obliged, on the 21st of 
 August, to follow the example of Riga, and submit to 
 the czar ; who sent a detachment to besiege Kexholm, 
 in Carclia, and another to besiege Revel, the only place 
 of note the Swedes remained masters of in Livonia. 
 Revel surrendered on the 8th of October, the garrison 
 being reduced to the last extremity, through sickness 
 and want of provisions. Of 50,000 inhabitants in this 
 place, but 3000 were left. Kexholm capitulated on 
 the 19th of September, as Arcnberg, in the isle of 
 Oesel, had done on the 14th. In these places were 
 large quantities of military stores. 
 
 The czar being now master of all Livonia, he pub- 
 lished a proclamation, promising the inhabitants a re- 
 newal of their privileges, encouraging trade and navi- 
 gation, and inviting foreigners to come and settle in 
 that country, which war and pestilence had almost de- 
 populated. Ships of other nations, which came into 
 the Livonian harbors, were treated with all possible 
 civility, and nothing was neglected by his majesty, 
 to render his government acceptable to these new 
 subjects. 
 
 The allies of his czarish majesty were not so fortu- 
 nate as himself. King Augustus, harrassed as he was 
 by the diet at 'Warsaw, had not time for action, and his 
 troops could only watch the motions of general Cras- 
 sau, in Pomerania. The enterprise against Schonen, 
 by the king of Denmark, had a very different success 
 from what most people imagined, notwithstanding it 
 was undertaken at the most favorable juncture that 
 ever the Danes could have wished for. Sweden ex- 
 hausted ; its army entirely defeated or taken prisoners; 
 their king wounded, and forced to take refuge in the 
 Turkish dominions ; Livonia exposed to the ravages 
 of a powerful cneniv ; were all very promising cireum- 
 
 Q 
 
182 THE LIFE OF 
 
 stances, which seemed to assure the Danes that their 
 design could not miscarry. They had all imaginable 
 success in the beginning of this war. They landed in 
 Schonen without any opposition. The Swedes fled he- 
 fore them as far as Christianstadt and Carelshaven ; 
 but when these conquerors, flushed up with this suc- 
 cess, meditated the design to go and burn the Swedish 
 fleet at Carclscroon, the Swedes marched against them, 
 (breed them to abandon Cristianstadt, and return to- 
 wards Helsingburg. Within three miles of that place 
 they were entirely routed by general Steinbeck, at the 
 head of 8000 old troops, and 12,000 new ones, who, on 
 this occasion, out of a natural antipathy to the Banes, 
 behaved with the intrepidity of veteran regiments, 
 obliged the general to fight sooner than he intended, 
 and cut to pieces all the king of Denmark's guards. 
 The remains of the Danish army retired under the 
 cannon of Helsingburg, and in five days after the bat- 
 tle returned to Zealand, having first killed their horses 
 and destroyed their provisions, to prevent their falling 
 into the hands of the enemv. 
 
 
 
 We must now leave the affairs on this side of Eu- 
 rope, and turn to a new scene of action, which had 
 like to have proved fatal to his czarish majesty, and 
 in him to the whole Russian empire. Even the faults 
 of great men ought not to be concealed, and they are 
 usually themselves the first to acknowledge their mis- 
 takes. The czar Peter, whose great genius but two 
 years before had been too hard for the warlike king 
 of Sweden, in 1711, had like to have fallen a sacrifice 
 to a raw, inexperienced grand vizir, who never before 
 made a campaign. 
 
 Ever since the king of Sweden had been in Tur- 
 key, he had used all possible means to occasion a rup- 
 ture between the Ottoman porte and the czar, to whom 
 he was still irreconcilable. General Poniatowski, a per- 
 son of extraordinary abilities, and who had saved his 
 master after the battle of Pultowa, was now agent of 
 his intrigues in the seraglio. Several persons of the 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 183 
 
 first rank there, and particularly the sultan's mother, 
 received such favorable impressions of the young Chris- 
 tian hero, that they did all in their power to second 
 his designs, and things were long there in a very fluc- 
 tuating state with regard to Russia. War was some- 
 times threatened, and then again peace was confirm- 
 ed ; and as there had been several grand vizirs during 
 these two years, it was given out, though with little 
 foundation, that the king of Sweden advanced and 
 disgraced them at pleasure, according as they seemed 
 inclinable to execute his revenge. At last Baltagi Ma- 
 homet, who had been formerly a cleaver of wood, had 
 the seals given him ; and the party of king Charles at 
 that time prevailing, the first command this minister 
 received, was to march against the Muscovites with 
 200,000 men. 
 
 The palatine of Kiow, who fled with the king from 
 Puliowa, had great sway over the kam of Tartary, as 
 that prince always has among the Ottoman ministers. 
 Soon after his misfortune, the palatine made a journey 
 to the kam's court, from whom he received many sig- 
 nal favors, and in particular, firmly engaged him in 
 the kins: of Sweden's interest. From this time for- 
 
 o 
 
 wards, all proper measures were consulted for bringing 
 the porte into the same sentiments, and breaking the 
 peace between Turkey and Russia, which, however, 
 had been renewed in this very year. But now 7 , what 
 by insinuating the exorbitant greatness of the czar, 
 especially since his. defeat of the king of Sweden, and 
 the danger which threatened the Ottoman empire from 
 the increase of his power in the Black Sea ; the bashaw 
 of Bender, the mufti, the captain bashaw, or admiral, 
 and at last the sultan himself, and the whole divan- (in. 
 which the kam of Tartary was present, and made a 
 long speech) were brought to look upon a rupture as 
 necessary ; and accordingly the Russian ambassador 
 was imprisoned in the castle of the Seven-Towers, ac- 
 cording to the practice of the Turks in such cases, 
 about the middle of November, 1710, just at the time 
 
18 i THE LIFE OF 
 
 when the new vizir Baltagi was advanced to his office. 
 No sooner did the czar hear of this step, but he be- 
 gan to make preparations for his own defence. Yet 
 willing, if possible, to prevent a rupture, he wrote 
 several letters to the sultan, offering to refer their dif- 
 ferences to other potentates. He received no answer 
 to these, but instead thereof, heard that a manifesto 
 was sent to all the officers and governors of the Otto- 
 man empire, commanding them to prepare for the en- 
 suing war. Upon this he gave orders for the defence 
 of Asoph, and sent thither vice-admiral Yander Cruys, 
 with 300 good sea-officers, leaving to prince Menzikott* 
 the command of all his forces in Livonia, Ir.gria, and 
 Finland. He then set out in person for Moscow, the 
 more readily to attend his new levies, and to despatch 
 an army into the Ukrania. The generals Repnin, AI- 
 lard and Galliczh), conducted across Poland, in three 
 columns, tlie best part of his troops that were in Samc- 
 gitia and Lithuania ; which he soon increased to 100,000 
 men, by ordering one in four of all that were able to 
 bear arms, and the second of all the valets of the no- 
 bility, to repair to his standard. Apaka Taquin, prince 
 of the Kalmucks, sent him 25,000 men ; and prince 
 Romanadowski advanced against the Tartars with the 
 militia, which made the whole army 150.000, exclu- 
 sive of prince MenzikofTs forces. His majesty also 
 published a manifesto, setting forth at large the infi- 
 delity and treachery of the Turks, and asserting the 
 justice of his own cause. And as the sultan had sent 
 an aga to Vienna, to prevent the emperor's taking um- 
 brage at this rupture with the czar, his Russian maj- 
 esty transmitted thither a short declaration, that it 
 might be communicated to the Turkish minister, and 
 vindicated himself in case his proposals Were disre- 
 garded. As this piece contains a brief deduction of 
 the whale quarrel, I chuse rather to give it a place, 
 than represent the particulars of it in other words. 
 
 " WHEREAS we have received information, from 
 divers places, that the Ottoman porte endeavors to ju- 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 185 
 
 tify the violation of peace, by a war already declared 
 against us, and actually begun, by the irruption of the 
 Tartars into our territories : and for that purpose, 
 charges us with several groundless matters, by which, 
 they pretend they were forced to come to a rupture ; 
 and amongst others, as if we were not inclined to con- 
 tinue in peace with them, but had actually resolved to 
 begin a war : as also, that contrary to the peace con- 
 cluded with the Ottomans, we had erected several new 
 fortifications on our frontiers ; suffered our troops to 
 enter the Turkish dominions ; and that we woidd not 
 give them leave to convoy the king of Sweden in safe- 
 ty back to his own territories : we have thought it ne- 
 cessary to declare here openly, that we never had the 
 least intention to break, in any manner whatsoever, the 
 peace concluded between us and the Ottoman porte, 
 and to enter into a war with the Turks ; but the same 
 has hitherto been religiously and inviolably observed 
 by us. The fortifications erected by us, are likewise 
 in no respect against the treaty, but upon our own ter- 
 ritories, which partly belonged to us of old, and partly 
 were yielded to us by the treaty, and the limits mark- 
 ed out by the commissaries on both sides, which have 
 been fixed many years ago ; and it is therefore to be 
 wondered, that the porte should take occasion to com- 
 plain thereof at this juncture. Our troops never en- 
 tered on the Turkish dominions, but remained only up- 
 on the frontiers ; and although they did some time ago, 
 according to the laws of war, pursue their enemy into 
 the Turkish territories, and seized them therein ; which, 
 however, was done in such places where there were 
 no inhabitants ; yet all this, as well as other matters, 
 were fully settled and adjusted, in the confirmation of 
 peace renewed last year, whereby the porte did like- 
 wise stipulate with our ambassador, that they should 
 convoy the king of Sweden, with 500 Turks, through 
 Poland, and that we should guard him by our officers 
 from the frontiers ; to which we not only consented, but 
 also promised to procure the like consent from the king 
 
186 THE LIFE OF 
 
 and republic of Poland. But this being not accepted 
 by the porte, on account of several pretences, we did 
 at last, in two of our letters to the sultan, and by our 
 ambassador and privy-counsellor Tolstoi at Constanti- 
 nople, declare that we would suffer the king of Swe- 
 den to pass through Poland free and unmolested, into 
 his own dominions ; and to that end did permit him a 
 guard of 5000 Turks, to send him safe through Po- 
 land ; whereby our peaceable temper sufficiently ap- 
 pears, and that on our part, we have contributed what- 
 ever might prevent all manner of disturbance, and 
 maintain a good correspondence, and neighborly friend- 
 ship with the Ottoman porte : and that all the world 
 may be sensible thereof, we confirm here, with our for- 
 mer declaration, and offer, before a tedious war be com- 
 menced, to accommodate matters with the Porte, and 
 to live in a neighbourly amity with her, as formerly : 
 and notwithstanding, in order to provide for our pres- 
 ervation and security, (after we have been informed 
 from all parts of a rupture, and that the war is actu- 
 ally declared against us at Constantinople, and our am- 
 bassador carried prisoner to the seven towers) we have 
 caused our troops to march to the Turkish frontiers ; 
 1 hey shall, however, not undertake any hostilities, pro- 
 vided the Turks live on their part peaceably ; put a 
 stop to all preparations of war, and set our ambassa- 
 dor, with all his retinue, at liberty ; and we will, as 
 soon as we are sufficiently assured of these things by 
 the Ottoman Porte, order our forces to withdraw from 
 the frontiers, and facilitate, as much as in us lies, a 
 friendly accommodation. So we willingly accept, and 
 herewith desire the mediation of his imperial majesty, 
 her majesty the queen of Great-Britain, and their high 
 mightinesses the states general. But in case the porte, 
 without any occasion given her by us, should persist in 
 her resolution to break the peace with us, and begin 
 the war with us ; we declare before God, and all the 
 world, that we are excusable, and not guilty of all tbc 
 blood that may be spilt on this occasion : and we have 
 
TETER THE GREAT. 187 
 
 an entire confidence in God, that he will assist our just 
 cause, and prosper our arms with victory, against an 
 enemy who hreaks treaties, and who hut a year ago, 
 hy so many oaths and promises, confirmed and renew- 
 ed the peace with us." 
 
 Every unprejudiced person must he convinced, from 
 this declaration, that the czar was forced into this war. 
 There was no avoiding it, and his majesty made all 
 possible preparations, notwithstanding the business he 
 had already on his hands. The kam's sudden irrup- 
 tion was attended with bad consequences ; he took sev- 
 eral small places, penetrated as far as Samara, and 
 burnt 150 small vessels that lay there for transports. 
 His son, the sultan Galga, and Potocki palatine of Ki- 
 ow, advanced along the Borysthenes, distributing man- 
 ifestos every where as they went, and raising contribu- 
 tions on the country ; but at last, sitting down before 
 Bialocerkiew, prince Galliczin came i-p before they 
 could take the citadel, put them to flight, killed 5000 
 of their men, and retook all the prisoners, and the boo- 
 ty they had made. 
 
 The czar had created a senate at Moscow the vear 
 
 
 
 before, consisting of nine boyars ; and having settled 
 with these the affairs of government in his absence, he 
 went directly to the main army, which, with an expe- 
 dition scarcely credible, marched to the borders of Mol- 
 davia, over a tract of near 2000 miles. They were in 
 
 J 
 
 all about 80,000 men, of whom half at least were horse. 
 The czar expected Cantemir, hospodar or prince of 
 Moldavia, who had lately been so created by the porte, 
 to join him with all the forces in his power, which he 
 did not doubt would be the greatest part of his sub- 
 jects. But the Moldavians are often in a different in- 
 terest from their master, and as the Turks never op- 
 press them, they had rather live under their protection 
 than under that of the Muscovites, who on former oc- 
 casions had used them ill. It was to little purpose 
 therefore that his majesty published a manifesto, ad- 
 dressed to them and the Walachiansj exhorting them- 
 
188 THE LIFE OF 
 
 to join and assist him, and promising to come upon the 
 banks of the Danube, in order to redeem them from 
 the Turkish yoke, and establish them in the free en- 
 joyment of their religion and liberties. Nor had the 
 declaration of Cantemir himself, upon his going over 
 to the czar, any better effect, though it threatened the 
 severest penalties on those who assisted the Ottomans. 
 
 Braiicovan, hospodar of Walachia,had also promised 
 to revolt to his czarish majesty, as soon as he should 
 appear in Moldavia with 30,000 men. This was a fa^ 
 tal agreement to the Russian monarch, who, depend- 
 ing on the supplies which Brancovan was to bring, ad- 
 vanced over the Pruth of Jassy, the capital of Molda- 
 via, where Cantemir indeed joined him ; but the other, 
 knowing his stipulation to be discovered by the porte, 
 made a merit to the Turks of betraying the czar, and 
 leaving him destitute of provisions, among a people no 
 way his friends. In this situation the Turkish army 
 found him, and his majesty, pent up between them and 
 the river Pruth, was so sensible of his own danger, 
 that he was heard to say, I am at least in as bad a 
 condition as my brother Charles was at Pultow r a." As 
 the several particulars of this march, and the action 
 and peace that followed it, fill up one of the most re- 
 markable periods of the czar's life, and the only con- 
 siderable one wherein he was unfortunate in his own 
 person, I shall relate as many of them as are come to 
 light ; for all are not so even to this day. 
 
 When his majesty first came upon the borders of Mol- 
 davia, victory seemed to attend him. Three thousand 
 Turks that were posted over against Ruskow, to dis- 
 pute the passage of the Niester, fled before 2000 Musco- 
 vite grenadiers, and all the army passed over without 
 molestation. When he came near the Pruth, an ad- 
 vanced party of dragoons, commanded by general 
 Renne, surprised a small garrison near the mouth of 
 that river, where the Turks had made a magazine. 
 It was apparently then his interest to have marched 
 directly to the Danube, and prevented the Ottomans 
 
TETER THE GREAT. 189 
 
 coming over : but the grand vizir, after some months 
 tedious preparation, came forward with such expedition 
 while the czar was at Jassy, that he crossed that river 
 above the mouth of the Pruth, before his majesty well 
 knew him to be upon the road, and surrounded the 
 Russian arm}', already pretty much reduced, with 
 150,000 men. Mean while, i#,000 Tartars galled it 
 on the right, left and rear, by continual excursions, in 
 which they surprised and carried off many people, and 
 a prodigious number of horses. They also cut off all 
 provisions and intelligence, so that the czar knew noth- 
 ing of what the enemy was doing. The Moldavians 
 and Walaehians that had joined him, seeing the Turks 
 approach, immediately went over to them ; only the 
 hospodar of Moldavia, with a few other persons of note, 
 continued faithful to his majesty. 
 
 The enemy being advanced, appeared at least three 
 times as numerous as the Russians. Hereupon the czar 
 caused his army to retire, and disposed it behind a line 
 of chevaux de frise, where the enemy came up and 
 attacked it. The Turks were received with such a 
 strong and regular fire, that after an action of four 
 hours, in which the Janissaries were often relieved, 
 they retreated towards evening out of the reach of the 
 Russian artillery. The Russians then enlarged their 
 entrenchments, and posted 10,000 dragoons to defend 
 them against 20,000 Janissaries, who came up the next 
 morning, supported by a large body of horse. This 
 day there was another obstinate engagement, in which 
 abundance of lives were lost, though more of the Turks 
 than of the Russians. But the former being still re- 
 inforced, and seeming resolved to carry the lines, and 
 the Tartars at the same time harrassing them in the 
 rear, assisted by 10,000 Turkish foot, his majesty 
 thought proper to turn the action into a running fight. 
 The men took up the chevaux de frise, which they 
 carried by relieving each other, and when the enemy 
 pressed too closely, threw them down again in a line, 
 and poured in a fresh volley of shot upon them. At 
 
ISO THE LIFE OF 
 
 last, finding a convenient situation to encamp and en- 
 trench, the czar halted again, and the Turkish infan- 
 try coming up, hoth armies were furiously engaged till 
 night. In these two clays actions, the Turks lost ahout 
 12,000 men, and the Russians about 7000. There was 
 yet a probability that the latter would be entirely vic- 
 torious, had the enemy been all in front ; especially 
 as the Turks began to be disheartened, and to call to 
 mind some of their old prophecies, from which they 
 conjectured providence was against them. 
 
 At last the vizir came up with the whole Turkish ar- 
 my ; but dared not to attack the Russian c?.mp, which 
 was defended in front by a morass, on the right wing 
 by a winding branch of the Pruth, and on the left by 
 a*hill 9 which they had entrenched. The indefatigable 
 count Poniatowski, who was at this time in the vizir's 
 camp, would have had that minister starve out the Rus- 
 sians, which he might have infallibly done : but the 
 vizir chose rather to bring up his artillery and cannon- 
 ade them in their camp with 50 large field-pieces. The 
 Russians had no possible defence against these ; nor 
 could they attempt to cross the river, on account of 
 the whole Tartar army, which now hovered over the 
 opposite shore. In this distress the soldiers and inferior 
 officers were for drawing out immediately, and giving 
 battle in the- open field. But the czar was too prudent 
 a general to risk his whole army, and his own liberty, 
 while he could possibly prevent it, against near ten 
 times the number of men, and who had the advantage 
 too of situation. His majesty afterwards confessed, 
 that in all his life he never fi.lt so much uneasiness t s 
 now. Not a general in the army had presence of mind, 
 on this occasion, to think of any salutary means for 
 their preservation. 
 
 In the midst of this general consternation, the gal- 
 lant Catharine, already the partner of his majesty's 
 bed, and who never forsook him in the 'greatest ex- 
 tremity, had the good fortune to hit on the expedient 
 wanted. She held a private council with the general 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 191 
 
 officers, and the vice-chancellor Schaffirof, in which 
 she proposed the sending a letter to the vizir, to sue 
 for peace. They all came into her sentiment, and the 
 vice-chancellor wrote a letter in his master's name. 
 The czar had shut himself up in his tent, commanded 
 that nobody should come near him, and, in despair of 
 relief, without provision for one day's subsistence, giv- 
 en orders for an attack the next morning, with bayo- 
 nets at the end of the soldiers' muskets. Catharine, 
 notwithstanding his prohibition, boldly carried in the 
 letter, and with much difficulty prevailed on him to 
 sign it. She instantly sent it away, accompanied, some 
 say, with all her own money and jewels, and whatev- 
 er she could borrow from the general officers ; but de 
 la Mot ray e, who was in the Turkish camp, denies that 
 any other presents were brought than some fine skins 
 of sables. How ever that was, the message opened the 
 way for a treaty, and Iris majesty's wisdom accomplish- 
 ed all the rest. Schaffirof was admitted to the vizir's 
 tent, whose first demand was. that the czar, with his 
 whole armv, should surrender at discretion. * My mas- 
 
 * . 
 
 tcr, (says the chancellor) intends to give you battle in 
 a quarter of an hour, and all his men will sooner be 
 cut in pieces than submit to dishonorable conditions." 
 Osman Aga, the vizir's lieutenant, seconded the Rus- 
 sian minister : and as the vizir himself was no soldier, 
 he thought it safer to take the advice of one that was, 
 than hazard a battle with troops who must needs be 
 desperate. He granted a truce for six hours, and in 
 that time a treaty was concluded, by wliich the czar 
 agreed to give up Asoph, with its territories and dis- 
 tricts ; to demolish Taiganrog, and other forts which he 
 had erected on the Turkish side ; not to concern himself 
 with the affairs of Poland, nor with the Cossacks who 
 had been under the Porte ; to grant the king of Swe- 
 den a free and safe passage, and to release all Turkish 
 prisoners. On these conditions he had liberty to march 
 off with his whole army, with all their baggage and 
 ammunition, as if they had returned from a victory. 
 
192 THE LIFE OF 
 
 Poniatowski, \\hen he saw the czar's fate, as he 
 thought, inevitable, had sent post for his master to come 
 to the camp, and feed his eyes with the spectacle of his 
 rival's misfortune. Charles arrived just as the peace 
 was concluded, and was greatly mortified to find the 
 vizir inflexibly just to his agreement. He begged on- 
 ly 20,000 men, and promised with those to recover the 
 advantage which the other had given away. Ponia- 
 towski used all his eloquence to persuade the Turk to 
 a compliance, and urged the czar's protestations of 
 friendship to the king of Sweden in 1700, at the same 
 time that be was preparing to fall upon his dominions, 
 as a reason for infrinjmis: this treaty in the kino: of 
 
 t_j *j %/ fj 
 
 Sweden's favor. But ail would not do, and the king 
 of Sweden, after a little reproach thrown on the vizir, 
 scornfully turned round on his heel, and rode back to 
 
 V 
 
 Sender. This memorable peace was signed on the 
 21st of July, 1711, to the immortal honor of the czarina 
 (for by tjmt title she was soon after acknowledged) and 
 the entire ruin of all Charles's intrigues, during the 
 two years he had been in Turkey. 
 
 / / 
 
 The vizir had insisted, during the treaty, that the 
 hospodar Cantemir should be delivered up, as a rebel 
 to the sultan ; and most of the czar's courtiers were 
 for agreeing to it ; but his majesty would by no means 
 consent to sacrifice the life of a prince, who had alrea- 
 dy abandoned a principality in his service. The hos- 
 podar was therefore shut up in the czarina's coach, and 
 the ambassadors were ordered to tell the Turks that 
 he was not in the army ; so that the article for surren- 
 dering him was thrown out. He continued ever after 
 in high esteem with the czar, who settled on him sev- 
 eral estates, and a pension of 20,000 rubles per an- 
 num. Cantemir was a very learned prince ; he wrote 
 a history of the Ottoman, or (as he calls it) Othman 
 empire, in Greek and Latin, and had a son not long 
 since ambassador at the court of Great Britain. 
 
 The czar had two other unfortunate princes under 
 his protection. Conto Cantacuzeno, son, by a sister of 
 
PETER THE GREAT. las 
 
 prince Cantemir, to the hospodar of WaJaehia, who 
 was strangled at Constantinople, was a major-general 
 in the Russian service, and had a pension of 5000 ru- 
 bles. The other was Militetski prince of Georgia, who 
 was divested of his sovereignty by the schah of Persia, 
 and died at Moscow. An only son of this prince, 
 whom the czar had promised to restore to his father's 
 dominions, was taken prisoner in the battle of Narva, 
 where he commanded the artillery. 
 
 His czarish majesty never ceased, during all these 
 transactions, to cany on his designs at Petersburg!*, 
 and in particular to prepare a good fleet : hut the sit- 
 uation of affairs would not vet suffer him to honor that 
 
 tf 
 
 place with his presence. Since the Swedes would not 
 consent to the execution of the neutrality, as stipulated 
 by the alliance against France, his czarish majesty, and 
 the kings of Poland and Denmark, were no longer 
 obliged to observe it. They all joined now in a body, to 
 push general Crassan in Pomerania, where , lay for 
 some time unmolested. The king of Poland publish- 
 ed a long manifesto, in which he set forth the reasons- 
 of these new hostilities ; urging, that the king of Swe- 
 den, notwithstanding what had been concerted for the 
 peace of the empire, had greatly augmented his army 
 there ; had ordered some Danish ships to be attacked, 
 which belonged to provinces included in the neutrali- 
 ty ; had protested against the said neutrality : had sent 
 the rebel Smiegielski, with a manifesto from Stanislaus, 
 and some troops, to make an irruption into Poland, 
 and excite the Poles to rebellion ; concluding, that the 
 measures now taken by the northern allies, were not 
 contrary to the interest of the emperor, or of the al- 
 lies against France/' 
 
 The king of Denmark entered Pomerania, with a 
 body of 20,000 men, on the 7th of August, 1711, and 
 being joined in September by 12,000 Saxons, the uni- 
 ted troops invested Stralsr.nd. This place, strong by 
 nature, and well fortified, could not be taken without 
 first securing the islaml of Rugen : but the Swedes hav- 
 
 R 
 
19* THE LIFE OF 
 
 ing there a powerful army, which they constantly in- 
 creased by new recruits 5 being able likewise to bring 
 provisions into the town, and keep the sea open by their 
 fleet $ it was found impracticable, after some efforts, to 
 take either the town or the island at this time ; though 
 15,000 Muscovites, and a strong Danish fleet, came 
 up before the enterprise was abandoned. 
 
 Some time was spent on the frontiers of Tartary, in 
 settling matters with the Turks according to the treaty, 
 before the czar could appear personally in these wes- 
 tern parts. At last he arrived at Warsaw in Poland ; 
 went from thence to Carlsband, where he drank the 
 waters; proceeded next to Dresden ; and having con- 
 eluded a negociation with the king of Prussia's minis- 
 ter, arrived at Targau on the 24th of October. Here 
 he staid to solemnize the nuptials of his only son, with 
 the princess Charlotte Christina Sophia of Brunswick 
 Wolfenh uttel ; a match that had been concerted for 
 some tinte before. The marriage was performed by a 
 Greek priest, with no great ceremony ; the czar utterly 
 refusing all extraordinary pomp and expense, which the 
 duke of Wolfenbuttel would gladly have been at. The 
 consequence of this union was still less happy than the 
 solemnization of it was splendid, as we shall see here- 
 after. What the czar aimed at in thus varvina: from the 
 
 v O 
 
 custom of his ancestors, who had seldom or never mar- 
 ried their sons out of their own dominions (besides his 
 general reason of establishing an intercourse with for- 
 eign nations) was in particular to get admission, by 
 this means, into the diet of the empire. But this pro- 
 ject of his never succeeded ; and though some time al- 
 ter he offered, as sovereign of Livonia, to receive from 
 the emperor the investiture of that dutchy, which had 
 formerly been a fief of the empire, promising as a 
 member to send 25,000 men for his quota against 
 France, the diet was too cautious to accept his propo- 
 sal, pretending that it might engage them in all the 
 quarrels in Poland, but really dreading to have so pow- 
 erful a prince admitted into their college. 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 195 
 
 The czar, immediately after the wedding, set out for 
 Silesia ; and at the beginning' of November the czarc- 
 witz, with his new consort, departed on his way to Pe- 
 tersburg'). When they came to Komgsberg in Prus- 
 sia, his czarish majesty again met them, and they were 
 all magnificently entertained by the governor. They 
 then continued their journey, through Riga and Revel, 
 where the czar was most respectfully received by his 
 new subjects, and arrived in December at Petersburg, 
 whither his majesty was now called by some new trou- 
 bles with the Turks, excited by the Swedish and French 
 factions. 
 
 It was agreed by the treaty of the Pruth that the 
 king of Sweden should have free liberty to return tor 
 his dominions, and the vizir did all that lie was able 
 to send that monarch home ; but he being soon after 
 deposed (though not, as was pretended, by the king 
 of Sweden's influence) and Charles continuing obsti- 
 nately resolved that he would not return, but on cer- 
 tain conditions of his own imagining, the czar, who 
 expected the execution of this part of the treaty, had 
 not been over hasty in performing his own. This was 
 represented to the sultan, under the administration of 
 a new vizir, so much to his majesty's disadvantage, that 
 a resolution passed at the porte for renewing the war, 
 and the circular letters were issued out to the several 
 bashaws. But the vigilance of the czar and his min- 
 isters at Constantinople, prevented the bad consequen- 
 ces of this resolution ; his majesty, by ordering Asoph 
 to be immediately demolished, and the ambassadors, 
 by remonstrating their master's case in an audience ob- 
 tained of the vizir, in which they were seconded by 
 the English and Dutch ministers. The letter for re- 
 newing the war was dated in December, 1711, and in 
 the April following a new treaty was concluded be- 
 tween Russia and the porte, by winch the czar agreed 
 to withdraw his troops out of Polund, and to let the king 
 of Sweden return unmolested to his doin inu/ns, when 
 and in what manner the sultan pleased. -Neither par- 
 
06 THE LIFE OF 
 
 ' was to erect any forts between Asaph and Ciraski, 
 nor at Kamemcck and Savar ; but the sultan might re- 
 build the fort of Cinola, over against Asopli. The 
 czar was to restore or pay for sixty pieces of brass 
 cannon that were in Asoph when he took it ; and this 
 peace was to continue 25 years, within which time it 
 might be renewed. 
 
 This treaty, concluded and executed with great sin- 
 cerity on both sides, was a new mortification to the 
 king of Sweden ; and as the English and Dutch min- 
 isters, sir Robert Button and count Colycar, were 
 thought to be instrumental in procuring it, that prince 
 could not help expressing his resentment against them. 
 Sir Robert, in particular, was branded as acting with- 
 out order from his mistress, and his majesty even wrote 
 to England, to accuse him with espousing the czar's 
 interest, and requiring no less satisfaction than the hav- 
 ing him recalled and disgraced. 
 
 But neither had these remonstrances any effect 
 against the English minister, nor did the treaty which 
 occasioned them long continue. The sultan again suf- 
 fered himself, before the end of the year, to be pre- 
 vailed on bv the kam of Tartarv, and the French and 
 
 / ; ' 
 
 Swedish ministers, upon the pretence that some Rus- 
 sian troops were still in Poland. This indeed was the 
 only article in which the treaty of Moldavia was not 
 precisely executed ; nor was it fairly infringed even 
 in this, since Elbing and Thorn, the towns his czarish 
 majesty held in Poland, were conquests made upon the 
 Swedes, and of right to continue in his possession till 
 ihc war with Sweden was over. But as the sultan, at 
 this time received all his information from persons in 
 the interest of Charles, (one of whom, an aga of the 
 J anissaries, was siMit expressly into Poland to learn the 
 i ruth of the affair) he was made to believe what the 
 [action thought proper. War was actually declared 
 ugainst Russia, and the czar's two ambassadors, count 
 Schafiirof and young Czcremetoff, were imprisoned in 
 the seven towers. The sultan came with his whole. 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 197 
 
 court to Adrianople, in order to be nearer the place of 
 action. His resentment even tell upon the ambassa- 
 dors of the czar's ally, king Augustus, who were seized 
 and imprisoned upon the road : it was resolved that 
 Charles should he conducted home with splendor, that 
 Stanislaus should be replaced on the throne of Poland ; 
 and the war, in short, seemed inevitable. 
 
 The great actions of sovereigns, which make such 
 a figure on the theatre of life, are often no more than 
 the effects of intrigue, in which the monarch is per- 
 haps the dupe of his own creatures. This was now the 
 case with sultan Achmct, whose favorite, AH Cou- 
 mourgi, having some designs in view, which required 
 the friendship of the czar, turned the tide of all these 
 preparations, persuaded his master that he had been- 
 imposed on by persons in the interest of the king of 
 Sweden, brought over the vizir and mufti, who had 
 before declared for war, and got the treaty renewed. 
 Augustus, at the same time, found means to gain the- 
 kam of Tartary, the most dangerous enemy the czar 
 had on that side ; and the king of Sweden, who was 
 big with expectation of his favorite revenge, saw him- 
 self at once deserted, and received orders to leave the 
 Turkish territories. Everyone is acquainted with his- 
 obstinatc behavior on this occasion, and the violent 
 measure the Turks were obliged to take, hi order to 
 reduce him to reason. He beheld with regret those 
 ambassadors caressed, who had just before been im- 
 prisoned $ and was a witness to the public rejoicings 
 they made in Constantinople, to which all the foreign 
 ministers were invited, upon the anniversary of the 
 battle of Pultowa. 
 
 Among the other spectacles, exhibited during this- 
 entertainment, were two beautiful figures, each of two 
 hearts united ; the one inscribed, " Long live the em- 
 pcvor Peter I. and the empress Catharine ;" -and the 
 other, Long live the prince imperial Alexis, and the 
 princess Charlotte." We have related the marriage 
 f this latter couple, and must here take notice, that 
 
' 
 
 198 THE LIFE OF 
 
 the czar, during the dispute between him and the 
 Turks, had publicly solemnized his marriage with his 
 consort Catharine, to whom he was long before pri- 
 vately betrothed. This ceremony was called his maj- 
 esty's old wedding, to signify its being only a publica- 
 tion of what was before done ; and the nobility were 
 invited to it under that denomination. The czar ap- 
 peared in the habit of an admiral, attended by his sea 
 officers, two of whom were the bride men, and who in 
 general had the chief share in the solemnity. It was 
 celebrated at prince MenzikofiTs palace, where the 
 evemnsj was concluded by a splendid ball. The habit 
 
 O ' i. 
 
 ef admiral was so much the more proper at this time, 
 as the Muscovites now first began to see a fleet grow- 
 ing up at Petersburg, to which his majesty contributed 
 not only his personal directions, but even his bodily 
 labor. One ship, of 5i guns, in which himself had 
 been chief carpenter, was soon after launched and 
 called the Pultowa. He also put on the stocks many 
 gallies, a sort of vessels before unknown in those seas, 
 nut which were indeed the most proper for the shallow 
 coasts of Sweden and Finland. We shall soon see what 
 use he made of them. 
 
 Prince Mcnzikoff was already in Pomcrania, at the 
 head of 36,000 men, when his czarish majesty arrived 
 there, with his consort and son ; but as the attempt on 
 Stralsimd had failed of success, and the united armies 
 had nothing farther to do this season than to secure 
 themselves behind their lines, and to keep Stctin block- 
 ed up, the active spirit of this monarch would not suf- 
 fer him to attend these slow operations, but carried 
 him away to Berlin, after he had given the command 
 of his troops to king Augustus. Here mutual civilities 
 passed for some days between their czarish and Prus- 
 sian majesties, and then the former set out for Carels- 
 had, in order to drink the waters, from which he had 
 before received benefit. Mean time count Steinbock 
 made a sally out of Stralsund, leaving the defence of 
 it to the burghers and a select garrison. It was ex- 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 199 
 
 \ 
 
 ported he was going' to force the enemy's linos ; but 
 instead of that, he took on a sudden the route of Meck- 
 lenburg*, got possession of Rostock, and laid the whole 
 dutchy under heavy contributions. This success of the 
 Swedes, and the hazard there was on both sides in 
 coming to a battle, induced king Augustus to think of 
 a cessation of arms, which was agreed to for three 
 months. 
 
 This separate agreement of the king of Poland a 
 little startled the czar and the king of Denmark, who 
 began to suspect him of carrying on a private treaty. 
 The Danish monarch was then coming back from the 
 dutchy of Bremen, where he had bombarded Stada, 
 a strong town on the Elbe, and obliged the garrison, 
 after a vigorous defence, ^o surrender at discretion, be- 
 fore count Steinbock could come up to their assistance. 
 He had burnt the place to ashes, which served Stein- 
 bock soon rater for a pretence to exercise a much great- 
 er cruelty. His majesty's intention was to join as soon 
 
 .' , / l 
 
 as possible the Muscovite troops, which were also ad- 
 vancing to meet Mm ; but he had tiie misfortune to be 
 strengthened only by a few Saxon squadrons, before 
 the Swedish general came up with him, on the 20th of 
 December, 1712, at a place called Gadebush, near a 
 river of that name* in the dutchy of Mecklenburg. 
 The Dimes and Saxons were posted with a morass 
 between them and a wood before, which, with the su- 
 periority of their numbers, gave them ail possible ad- 
 vantage. Steinbock, notwithstanding, led on his troops, 
 which were about 12,000, over the morass, through the 
 fire of the Danish artillery, and began one of the most 
 bloody engagements that ever had happened between 
 th? two nations. After an action of three hours, tiie 
 Swedes remained masters of the field, having entirely 
 routed the Danes. 
 
 As the Saxons did not engage, they made the best 
 of their way to rejoin the Russians, that they might he 
 in a condition together to oppose the victors, \\ ho, it was 
 now thought would attempt to penetrate into Poland. 
 
200 THE LIFE OF 
 
 But count Steinbock, far from doing as they expected, 
 and as in policy he ought to have done, turned away 
 towards Holstein, in order to take up his quarters in 
 the king of Denmark's territories, for which lie had 
 the directions of the Swedish regency. Here the first 
 thing he attempted was upon the town of Altena, which 
 stood a little below the city of Hamburg, and by the 
 encouragement of its sovereign, the king of Denmark, 
 was become no insignificant rival in trade to that fa- 
 mous mart. Steinbock peremptorily summoned the 
 inhabitants to evacuate the place with their effects, tel- 
 ling them lie was resolved to destroy it immediately. 
 The magistrates fell on their knees before him, and 
 offered him 100,000 crowns for the ransom of their 
 town : but he insisted upon twice that sum, and as they 
 could not instantly raise it, the soldiers, who had al- 
 ready their torches lighted, began to kindle the flames. 
 A strong north wind assisted them, and by 10 o'clock 
 in the morning, on the 10th of January, 1713, there 
 was scarce any sign of a building, where the midnight 
 before stood a large and populous town. Bed-rid old 
 people, and women newly delivered, were obliged to 
 escape into the fields, where most of them perished by 
 the extreme cold weather. Not a soul of them could 
 get admitted into Hamburgh ; for which the Hani- 
 burghers pretended the infectious distempers that had 
 been in Altena, but were suspected of acting thus from 
 another motive, that mean one of utterly suppressing 
 the people they had feared. 
 
 Steinbock excused himself to the generals of Poland 
 and Denmark, and the ministers of other powers, who 
 complained of this unwarranted piece of cruelty, by ur- 
 ging what the Danes had before done at Stade, though 
 indeed that was far from being a parallel case. War, 
 he said, was not the theatre of lenity and moderation ; 
 nor was Lewis XIV. who permitted the burning of the 
 Palatinate, or marshal Turcnne, who executed it, ever 
 thought more barbarous than other men. If there was 
 any blame in such things, the charge must fall upon 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 281 
 
 the northern allies, and not on him, who had but fol- 
 lowed their example." 
 
 While the Swedes and their enemies were acting on 
 these terms of violence against each other, his czarish 
 majesty had the pleasure to sec all his great designs 
 going forward at home, and to hear that the fame of 
 his actions had readied the centre of all Asia, .and 
 brought an ambassador from Persia to Moscow, where 
 lie had made a most magnificent entry, and now wait- 
 ed liis majesty's return. The czar, however, did not 
 go thither immediately, but having first concerted the 
 operations of the next campaign, paid a visit to the un- 
 happy remnant of the inhabitants of Altena. He great- 
 ly compassionated their distressed condition, distribu- 
 ted 1000 rubles among their poor, and promised them 
 considerable privileges in their trade with his subjects. 
 
 About this time the starost Grudzinski, who had 
 gone over to the king of Sweden, made an irruption 
 into Poland, surprised general Baur's regiment, and 
 met with such success, that if the king of Sweden and 
 Stanislaus, had been there in person, the latter, in all 
 likelihood, would have regained the throne. But the 
 insurmountable obstinacy of Charles, which kept him 
 still a voluntary exile in a remote country, defeated all 
 the good effects of the advantages gained by his troops, 
 was the reason that Grudzinski was again surprised 
 in his turn, and that Steinbock himself lost, by piece- 
 meal, all that he had gained in several great actions. 
 Such a fatal influence has the absence of a chief upon 
 all military affairs, and so contrary was the conduct of 
 the Swedish to that of the Russian monarch, whose 
 want of prudence never threw a shade over the lustre 
 of liis valor, except w : e allow, (what may yet be dis- 
 puted) it did so in the fatal action at the river Pruth. 
 
 The troops of the allies now advanced by several 
 ways, in order as well to enclose the Swedes, as to be 
 able to join on a proper occasion. Four thousand Rus- 
 sians, tinder general Bam 1 , carried the bridge of Hol- 
 lingstcdt, which was defended by a party of Swedes, 
 
202 THE LIFE OF 
 
 made several prisoners, and afterwards broke down the 
 bridge ; Steinbock, upon this, perceived the mistake in 
 his own conduct, and had no way to prevent his im- 
 mediate ruin, but by entrenching himself between 
 Frederiekstadt, Husuin and Tonningen. Hither the 
 czar advanced, and on the 12th of February, at the 
 head of only five battalions and some dragoons, attack- 
 ed and became master of the entrenchments : upon 
 which the garrison at Frederiekstadt betaking them- 
 selves to flight, his majesty took possession of the town, 
 witSi all the enemy's baggage, and about 300 prisoners. 
 The distress to which general Steinbock was now re- 
 duced, occasioned that famous retreat into Tonningen, 
 which not only for that season put an end to all action 
 in the field, but gave a pretext for the sequestration 
 of the duke of Holstein's estates, that prince being 
 then a minor. 
 
 The bishop of Lubeck, uncle to the duke, governed 
 this unhappy and divided country, under the name of 
 administrator ; and being willing at the same time to 
 prevent the loss of the Swedish army, to preserve the 
 appearance of a neutrality, and to avert the war from 
 the dominions of his pupil, he had recourse to artifice, 
 the mean and dangerous refuge of weak minds. 
 When Steinbock demanded of him admittance into 
 the castle of Tonningen, he ordered Wolf the gover- 
 nor to receive the Swedish troops, but never to own he 
 had any such order, and take all the blame of the ac- 
 tion on himself. They were accordingly admitted ; 
 but the duke, the administrator, and Steinbock, all 
 paid dearly for their contrivance : for the czar, with 
 the kings of Denmark and Poland, resenting this in- 
 Iraction of the neutrality, formed the blockade of Ton- 
 ningen, and so effectually kept all provisions from the 
 little Swedish army, (which still consisted of about ten 
 thousand men, including the sick and wounded) that 
 the general was obliged, on the 17th of March, 1713, 
 to surrender that and himself to the king of Denmark. 
 It wits in vain that lie pretended he had got into the 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 203 
 
 town by stratagem, and that the governor swore the 
 same : a copy of the treaty was found among the gen- 
 eral's papers, and Wolf afterwards confessed the se- 
 cret, it was in vain that the administrator applied to 
 the courts of Berlin and Hanover, to beg their media- 
 tion with the king of Denmark : who was glad of this 
 occasion to seize the young prince's territories, most of 
 which he has kept ever since. Pomcrania, all but. 
 Stralsund, the isle of Rugen, and some neighboring 
 places, fell immediately after into the hands of the al- 
 lies, and were sequestered in the, keeping of the king 
 of Prussia. At the same time the dutclties of Bremen 
 and Verdcn. since made over to the elector of Hano- 
 ver, were filled with Danish garrisons. 
 
 Whatever was conquered on that side, though by 
 the troops of the czar, was got only for those allies 
 who were members of the empire ; a rank which his 
 nuiicstv had not been able to obtain. This made him 
 
 < J * 
 
 the more intent on another part of the war, in which, 
 as he acted alone against the enemy, so he had no ri- 
 val in his claim on the new acquisitions. He left Ton- 
 ningen even before Steiribock surrendered, and assur- 
 ed his allies that he would find work for the Swedes 
 on the side of Finland. In his way home ho took the 
 courts of Hanover, Wolfcnbuttel and Prussia, conver- 
 sed with the sovereigns of each, and was particularly 
 charmed with the princess dowager Sophia, at that 
 time heir to the crown of Great-Britain : then posting 
 from thence to Dantzick and Konigsberg, he Ibund the 
 czarina at Riga, newly delivered of a princess, whom 
 he called Maria Petrownu. Prince Menzikoft' had the 
 command of the Russian forces that were left behind 
 in Germany, where lie added not a little to the glory 
 of his majesty's arms, in the reduction of Stetin, tak- 
 ing the isle of Rugeis. and driving away the remains 
 of the Swedish troops : then, having in his way rain- 
 ed contributions on the cities of Hamburgh, Lubcck 
 und Dantzick, upon some pretensions, which soldiers 
 n:jvcr want, took the road to Petersburg"], where 
 
20* THE LIFE OF 
 
 the czar was newly arrived from his expedition into 
 Finland. 
 
 For no sooner was the monarch in his new capital, 
 but lie made preparations for a descent on that coun- 
 try. Having got together from Revel, Narva, and 
 other parts, about 200 transports ; with these, 20 men 
 of war, and 100 gallics, he set sail from Petersburg}], 
 and meeting with a favorable wind, landed 12,000 men 
 at Ilclsingtbrs, a small town on the gulph. General 
 Lubekkcr, who was posted there with sonic Swedish 
 troops, made no resistance, but retired precipitately 
 t > Abo, the capital of the province. Ill success on the 
 side of the Swedes had quite changed the lace of the 
 %var, and the terror, which for some years they every 
 
 i'lerc carried, was now transferred to the Muscovites. 
 The czar forced the passage of Caresloio, defended by 
 800 men, and coming up to Abo, found the place aban- 
 doned to him. His majesty took here a very valuable 
 collection of books, which he transferred to his new li- 
 brary at Petersburg]!. 
 
 The Swedish arm}-, consisting of 7000 old soldiers, 
 was retreated to the side of Thavasthus, and there lay 
 strongly entrenched, at a place called the Passage of 
 Pulkoixi. Lubekkcr being recalled, general Arntcldt 
 was sent in his room, and brought witli him a large 
 body of new recruits. This addition of strength, and 
 the advantage of their situation, obliged the Russians 
 to halt when they came within sight of their camp, and 
 rover themselves also with an entrenchment. As there 
 was no coming at the enemy in front, the Russian gen- 
 erals Apraxin, Butterlin, and Shermishew, attempted 
 to pass over Rome deep morasses in their rear, that 
 were now covered with water. "While the Swedes 
 thought themselves prepared for a long defence, ad- 
 vice was brought their general that 7000 Muscovites 
 were coining over about a quarter of a league behind 
 them, having got together a number of boats, pontoons 
 and floats of timber. Arnfeldt posted a party of horse 
 where he expected them to land, with a large body of 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 20* 
 
 foot to support it. But the wind turning in favor of the 
 Russians, brought such a thick log upon the Swedes, 
 that they did not perceive their enemy till prince Gal- 
 liczin attacked their horse, and obliged them to retire. 
 The TOGO men were almost landed before general 
 Arnfeldt came up with the loot, AS hen a warm action 
 instantly began. At the first charge of the Swedish 
 infantry, some of the Russians were driven back into 
 the water ; but these soon recovering their ground, 
 after an action of four hours, the entrenchments were 
 carried, and the Swedes put to night, who retired 
 towards Tammerstbrt. The Russians lost 700 men in 
 this battle, but slew more of the enemy, took above 
 200 prisoners, with several pieces of cannon and eight 
 colors. The Swedes would have rallied soon after the 
 light, had not prince Galliczin pursued them and giv- 
 en them another route near Lapla, where Arnfddt had 
 again entrenched ; but could not now make head any 
 longer. The whole province of Finland soon fell into 
 the hands of the czar, who immediately fortified Tha- 
 vasthus, to prevent the Swedes from penetrating into 
 it again. 
 
 The czar was not present in the battle of Pulkona, 
 having employed himself in the mean time at sea, 
 where he narrowly escaped being cast away on the 
 rocks. As the country suffered much in this war. his 
 
 > 
 
 majesty ordered a manifesto to be published, wherein 
 he charged the continuance of it to the king of Swe- 
 den, to whom he had frequently offered peace on very 
 equitable conditions. Then, to make the best use of 
 the present low condition of the enemy, he ordered 
 colonel Schubajof, governor of Wyburg, to attack Nys- 
 lot, the chief fortress of Savolaxia, with a detachment 
 of men from his garrison, and a train of artillery. 
 The governor did it with good success, and the place 
 surrendered, by capitulation, on the 2iHh of June, 
 171*. 
 
 There had been a congress held at Brunswick since, 
 the battle of Pulkona, in the intermediate winter ; but 
 
 S 
 
206 THE LIFE OF 
 
 as the conferences there came to nothing, his czarish 
 majesty again resolved on a vigorous prosecution of the 
 war, and to that purpose concerted new measures with 
 the king of Denmark. In the mean time the arts of 
 peace were not neglected, especially those which regard- 
 ed the city of Petersburg, whither families from other 
 parts were continually transferred, foreigners were al- 
 lured hy all the baits of encouragement, and where 
 arts and sciences abundantly flourished. His majesty 
 attempted at this time, to bring thither the trade .which 
 had hitherto been at Archangel ; but this could not be 
 fully effected till some years after, when the war was 
 entirely over, and the navigation of the Baltic became 
 free and open. 
 
 "While prince Galliczin was in Finland, the czar put 
 to sea with a fleet, to make a descent on Aland, an 
 island about ten leagues from Stockholm. Europe was 
 surprised to see 30 ships of the line, 80 gallics, and 
 100 half-gallics, with 20.000 men on board, set sail 
 from a place where a few years before was neither 
 ship nor harbor. The Swedes were alarmed, and sent 
 out all the strength they could, under the command of 
 admiral Wartrang, who at first gained some advantages 
 on the coast of Abo. Admiral Apraxin commanded 
 the Russians, and the czar served under him as rear 
 admiral. They came up to the coast of Revel on the 
 15th of July, and on the 16th they saw the Swedish 
 vice-admiral Lillie, with fourteen men of war. The 
 czar, as rear admiral, desired to be sent with 25 gal- 
 lies, to take a view of the Swedish fleet ; which being 
 granted, and his majesty judging, upon observation of 
 Wartrang's situation, that their design might be to at- 
 tack the Russian fleet, he sent for the admiral to come 
 and join him. 
 
 Thirty-five gallics, in two squadrons, passed by the 
 next day, between the Swedish fleet and the shore, and 
 afterwards the whole Russian fleet forced a passage, 
 with the litss of only one galley. Commodore Ismaie- 
 tvitz, with 20 gallics, blocked up the Swedish rear-ad- 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 207 
 
 miral, and an officer was sent to summon him to sur- 
 render ; which the rear-admiral refusing, an action 
 
 X * J ' 
 
 ensued between him and the Russian van-guard, con- 
 ducted by the czar in person, which lasted three hours, 
 and ended in the taking of rear-admiral Ehrenschild, 
 after he had made a most gallant defence. This vic- 
 tory, which was complete, was the more to the czar's 
 honor, as the Swedish ships that engaged were much 
 larger than the Russian, and threw a greater weight 
 of metal. The Swedes lost near iOQQ men, killed and 
 taken, and as man} 7 vessels as mounted 116 guns, which, 
 with the prisoners, were sent to Revel. The same 
 day 16,000 Russians were landed in the isle of Aland, 
 where they took prisoners all the Swedish soldiers, and 
 sent them on board the czar's licet. His majesty re- 
 duced the fort, and all the strong places in the island, 
 intending to transport thither his troops that were in 
 Finland, and to make a descent in the neigborhood of 
 Stockholm, at the same time that the king of Denmark 
 landed an army in Schonen. But the season putting- 
 an end to all the operations of this year, his majesty 
 retook the route of Revel, and returned to Cronslot, 
 with Elirenschild's ship, three lesser ones, a frigate, 
 and six gallics, all taken in the late action. 
 
 From Cronslot he sailed in triumph to Petersburg]}, 
 followed by his victorious fleet and the ships he had ta- 
 ken, lie was received under a triple discharge of 150 
 cannon. Then going on shore, lie made a public en- 
 try through the city, with much the same ceremonies 
 as before at Moscow; but with more secret pleasure to 
 himself, as being dene amidst 40,000 houses, all of his 
 own raising in ten years time, and for a naval victory 
 won by a nation who till his reign knew not what a 
 fleet was. 
 
 This was indeed a n^v spectacle for Muscovy, and 
 what the czar himself was perhaps surprised to exhibit 
 so soon. The victors marched under a triumphal arch, 
 and the czar, who triumphed less as the sovereign of 
 Russia, than as the author of her marine, and the first 
 
208 THE LIFE OF 
 
 who had in person shown the use of it, appeared only 
 in his quality of rear-admiral, in which he had fought. 
 They proceeded to the citadel, where the vice-czar 
 Bonianodowski, seated upon a throne, and surrounded 
 by tv/elvo senators, ordered the rear-admiral to he 
 brought before him, and received at his hands a rela- 
 tion of the battle. Then, after having asked him sev- 
 eral questions, with the approbation of the council, he 
 made him a vice-admiral in reward of his services. 
 The slaves of the Romans was unnecessary to the czar 
 Peter's triumph, whose only aim was to make his sub- 
 jects emulous of merit. It must ever be remembered 
 in these ceremonies, which might otherwise in some 
 particulars appear insipid, that military subordination 
 was one of the novelties the czar had introduced in 
 Russia ; and there could certainly be no way so effec- 
 tual to recommend the innovation, as by thus submit- 
 ting- to it himself. 
 
 The Swedish rear-admiral, who had received seven 
 wounds, was treated by the czar with the same gene- 
 rosity that general Renchild had been before. While 
 ihey were sitting at table together, his majesty pointed 
 him out to the Russian nobility, as an example of brave- 
 ry, and fidelity to his master: telling the Swede at the 
 same time, with a smile, that lie forgave him the deaths 
 of all the brave Russians he had slain him. There 
 was something inexpressibly grand in his behavior on 
 these occasions, which is peculiar to souls of the first 
 rank, who alone can love that merit in others for which 
 they value themselves; while weak minds are ever 
 jealous and einious of every reputation but their own. 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 209 
 
 BOOK VI. 
 
 From the king of Sweden- s return to his d&minions, to 
 
 death of the Czarewitz. 
 
 'HE king of Sweden having at last quitted the 
 Turkish territories, in October, 171i, and rode in- 
 cognito through Germany to Stralsiind, after perform- 
 ing tiling's at Bender beyond what romance ever feign- 
 ed, his czarish majesty had again this formidable and 
 active enemy to make head against. He was now 
 strengthened however by his alliance with Denmark ; 
 whereas in the war in Poland and the Ukrain, when 
 Sweden was in a much better condition, he had no as- 
 sistant. But there was something to he done at home, 
 before this monarch could again venture on a foreign 
 war ; and therefore, while the preparations were mak- 
 ing, his majesty went on hoard one of the Russian ves- 
 sels, which had a share in the late victory, and was 
 built at Petersburg!!; where, sitting amidst several old 
 Russians, he addressed a discourse to them to the fol- 
 lowing effect : 
 
 66 Is there a man among yon, brethren, who thirty 
 years ago thought of being employed witli me in the 
 art of ship-building ? who ever dreamed of coming to 
 settle on the shores of the Baltic, in a country con- 
 quered by our personal fatigues ; to see soldiers and 
 seamen, brave as we now behold, sprung from Rus- 
 sian bktod ; our sons coming home able men from re- 
 mote countries ; foreign artificers and tradesmen living 
 in our dominions, and the most distant potentates shew- 
 ing us marks of their esteem? The sciences, which 
 inhabited antient Greece, expelled thence by the fa- 
 tality of the times, spread first into Italy, and after- 
 wards dispersed themselves over the rest of Europe i 
 
 S3 
 
210 THE LIFE OF 
 
 but the perverseness of our ancestors fixed tlieir ut- 
 most limits in Poland, where a better taste in the gov- 
 ernors opened the eyes of the commonalty, and made 
 them what the Grecians had been before. If you will 
 but second my designs, and endeavor to shake off your 
 blind obstinacy, and become voluntary agents in the 
 pursuits of knowledge, Muscovy shall now shine forth 
 in her turn. Who knows but the day may one time 
 conte, when the arts shall quit their abode in England. 
 Franco and Germany, and transfer themselves for 
 some centuries to dwell among us ? Let me only re- 
 commend to you diligence and devotion, which I am 
 persuaded, even in our life -time, will enable us to put 
 other nations to the blush, and raise to the utmost the 
 glory of the Russian name." 
 
 Though the old Russians outwardly applauded this 
 speech, they did not yet seem very earnest to improve 
 the contents of it. The czar, after near twenty years 
 labor, was almost single in his great designs, which 
 no genius but his own could ever have pursued amidst 
 such discouragement. But as the men, especially the 
 elder sort, appeared yet too uncomplying, he wisely 
 concluded that the surest way to prevail on them, was 
 to bring the fair sex, whose opinion and example arc 
 seldom ineffectual, to see the beauty of what he pro- 
 posed. With this view lie made an order, that the 
 married nobility, who were in a condition to travel, 
 should take their ladies along with them ; and as this 
 gave them a liberty which they had hitherto wanted, 
 th^ women were infinitely pleased with the injunction, 
 and did not a little contribute to promote the ends of 
 it. We have since beheld yet more : we have seen 
 two women sovereigns of Russia, who of their own 
 choice have pursued the steps which the czar Peter 
 had trod before them. 
 
 Ascherbi, ambassador from the kam of Usbeek, ar- 
 rived at Petersburg!! on the 17th of May, with a reti- 
 nue of 16 persons. He had an audience of the czar 
 the next day $ in which, after paying his compliments 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 211 
 
 in the eastern way, lie recommended his master to his 
 majesty's protection ; desired that a neighboring Tar- 
 tarian prince, the vassal of Russia, might he enjoined 
 to live in amity with the Usbccks ; offered the czar 
 50,000 soldiers on occasion, and some advantageous ar- 
 ticles with regard to a trade with China. Then he 
 laid at his majesty's feet a valuable present of silks and 
 furs, styling; him all along: the wise emveror ; which title, 
 
 - *_5 O f * 
 
 as it is the highest distinction in his country, may shew 
 the good sense of a people whom we are apt to call bar- 
 barous. This ambassador was first minister to his mas- 
 ter, and had been formerly his governor. He gave 
 pertinent answers to several questions his majesty put 
 to him, on which the czar made judicious reflections. 
 M. Weber, his late majesty's minister at Petersburg!! 
 as elector of Hanover, was present at these conferences, 
 and has given a very particular account of them. 
 
 It was during the czar's abode this time at Peters- 
 burgh, that he instituted the order of St. Catharine, 
 in memory of the service he had received from the cza- 
 rina at the river Pruth. That princess, who was chief 
 of the order, and had the liberty of conferring it on 
 what ladies she pleased to honor, appeared first in her 
 collar on St. Andrew's day. The present czarina con- 
 tinues to wear it as sovereign, and has lately bestowed 
 it on her royal highness the princess of Hesse Cassel, 
 daughter of his Britannic majesty. A chapter of sis- 
 ter knights, all equally industrious with those I have 
 mentioned, as it adds to the glory of the great institu- 
 tor, may it not rival some more ancient orders of the 
 other sex ? 
 
 The administration of the czar's affairs, chiefly 
 
 */ 
 
 through his own necessary absence, had been greatly 
 perverted since the year 1706. His majesty searched 
 into the bottom of the disorder ; found why his army 
 had suffered so much, and been so ill paid ; why so 
 many workmen had miserably perished, trade had so 
 sensibly decayed, and poverty spread over the country. 
 The confusion his finances were in, and the misappli- 
 
312 THE LIFE OF 
 
 cation of monies raised, appeared to be the source of 
 all these misfortunes. The czar Peter would screen 
 no man from the infamy of his crimes : he instituted 
 a grand inquisition, of which prince Dolhorucki was 
 president, and the scrutiny was carried on with such 
 severity, that most of the great men in the empire 
 were found guilty. Mcnzikoff, Apraxin, and Bruce, as 
 their commands in the army kept them continually 
 from Petersburg]!, excused themselves from the im- 
 possibility of their inspecting the matters under their 
 care, and so threw off part of the blame on their un- 
 faithful servants; but had their purses* however, well 
 drained, to make reparation. The rest, as they had 
 nothing to urge in their own vindication, either under- 
 went some bodily punishment, or were banished to Si- 
 beria, and had their estates confiscated. 
 
 The same cause which had contributed to this mal- 
 administration, had in some measure retarded the pub- 
 lic buildings at Petersburg*!!. But now his majesty was 
 on the spot, he not only carried on with vigor those 
 that were already began, but set others on foot. The 
 fortifications were enlarged, the citadel strengthened, 
 and in short, 40,000 men were found insufficient to car- 
 ry on the several works : six thousand Swedish pris- 
 oners were sent for from the river Wolga, and the pea- 
 sants of Finland weiv pressed into the service. In the 
 mean time the encouragement to foreigners was re- 
 newed. They had lands given them to build on, and 
 were exempted from taxes for ten years ; but whereas 
 a great part of the houses were hitherto of wood, all 
 who built for the future were enjoined to use only brick 
 for the walls, and tiles for the roofs. Near 12,000 fam- 
 ilies were at this time introduced here from other pla- 
 ces, and among them the czar John's widow, with the 
 princesses her daughters. 
 
 When his majesty was the last year in Holstein, to 
 animate the war there against the Swedes, he had 
 spent a great part of his time in making observations 
 of various kinds. He had caused his engineers to take 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 213 
 
 the plan of every city, and the designs of all the dif- 
 ferent mills and machines which were not in Russia. 
 He had informed himself of every particular relating 
 to husbandry, as well as the mechanics. At the citv 
 
 ? . 
 
 of Gottorp, which then belonged to the king of Den- 
 mark, he saw the famous globe, celestial w\\\ terres- 
 trial, that was made from a design cf Tyelio Brahe, 
 and so large that twelve persons might sit in the inside 
 of it, round a table, and make their observations by 
 turning it about. A curiosity so extraordinary could 
 not but strike a man of Peter's temper, and make him 
 desirous to have it in his own possession ; nor coidd 
 the king of Denmark deny it to his request. The great 
 difficulty was how to get it home without damage, which 
 was done first by conveying it in a frigate to Prussia, 
 and from thence in a great sled over the snow to Riga, 
 where it was again shipped for Petersbugh. A large 
 room was built there on purpose to receive it, for the 
 use i if the astronomers. 
 
 Though the northern war still continued, the dispo- 
 sition of tilings with regard to the czar was so altered, 
 that all the difficulties of it might be said to be sur- 
 mounted. I shall be the more brief, therefore, in the 
 history of his following campaigns, which, as they do 
 not afford such a variety of actions as the preceding, 
 so are the affairs of them more complicated with those 
 of other nations. The czar did not now fight to con- 
 quer, but to secure the possession of what he had con- 
 quered by an advantageous peace. 
 
 The king of Sweden, upon his return home, found 
 himself surrounded with new enemies. The same ob- 
 stinate temper that kept him from treating when in 
 exile, occasioned him, the next day after his arrival 
 at Stralsund, to give orders for renewing the military 
 preparations, though he was then shut up in almost 
 the only town that was left him of all his foreign do- 
 
 ' 
 
 minions. He demanded the restitution of Pomerania, 
 
 in very high terms, of the king of Prussia, in wl-ose 
 hands it had been sequestered by the allies. This de- 
 
THE LIFE OF 
 
 maud procured a manifesto from that prince, in which 
 he set forth the reasons of his not complying with it, 
 and asstrted the justice of what he had done. Mean 
 while the Prussian forces, with the Banes and Saxons, 
 in all 36,000 men, invested Charles in Stralsimd ; the 
 troops of Hanover, and others of Denmark, laid siege 
 to Wismar; the czar, with 2G men of war, and 150 
 transports, having on board 30,000 soldiers, kept the 
 Baltic, and hovered over the coasts of Sweden. 
 
 Never was a place attacked or defended with more 
 bravery than Stralsund. According- to the accounts 
 of persons who were there, the actions performed by 
 the king of Sweden, as well in the town as in the isle 
 of Rugen, almost surpass belief, and were equalled 
 only by what himself had done before. When the en- 
 emy had been two days in possession of the horn-work, 
 and there was no possibility of a longer defence, lie 
 made his escape in a little bark, with only ten men, 
 the ice being broke to let the vessel out ; and in this 
 manner he passed under a battery of twelve cannon. 
 The next day, which was the 21st of December, Stral- 
 fiund surrendered, and the king arrived safe at Isted, 
 in Schonen. Wismar capitulated on the 2ith of Feb- 
 ruary following ; which left the allies no more to do 
 on that side the Baltic, and every one expected to see 
 them invade Sweden itself. 
 
 Though the czar had hitherto done more than all 
 the rest in the prosecution of this war, it was now ow- 
 ing to him that king Charles was not utterly ruined. 
 At the same time that the Danes and Prussians could 
 not conquer without him, they seemed resolved to kt 
 him have no share in their victories. His majesty had 
 sent into Pomerania 12 or 15,000 men, under prince 
 Czeremetoff, to facilitate the taking of the invested 
 towns, and expected to have Wismar put into the hands 
 of the duke of Mecklenburgh, then newly marri- d to his 
 niece, that the Russians might always have a retreat 
 for their ships on that side : but s:> far were his desires 
 from being complied with, that his troops were not 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 215 
 
 even suffered to appear in the siege. This, and some 
 other signs of jealousy that for two years past had 
 been shewn the czar, made him grow cold in a quarrel 
 which it was no longer his interest to continue, and 
 prevented his making a descent on Sweden, though he 
 IKIX! it entirely iu his power. Thus the jealousy of the 
 czar's allies provoked him to spare an inveterate en- 
 emy, whom else he must have destroyed in his own 
 defence : unless, what was not then likely, he could at 
 last have persuaded him into pacific measures. All the 
 Russian forces did this winter, was to make a few oth- 
 er conquests in Finland, where the Swedes that re- 
 mained, were shut up in the fortress of Cajaneburg, 
 situated on an inaccessible rock. 
 
 Having taken this view of the state of the war, I 
 must turn hack a little to some other affairs, which 
 passed during his majesty's residence at Petersburg!!. 
 He not only set up a new academy there, for riding, 
 mathematics, and foreign languages; but took as much 
 pains to know the true state of other countries, as to 
 re form that of his own. With this view he sent M. 
 Artiem Wolinski his ambassador into Persia, accompa- 
 nied by several learned men, with instructions to get 
 all possible, information concerning the strength, ex- 
 tent, and condition of that empire. A very laudable 
 curiosity this, and well deserving the expense of an 
 embassy. But perhaps the reader may not be dis- 
 pleased to hear of two foreign ministers that arrived 
 in the czar's dominions, the one at the beginning, the 
 oilier about the end of the same year, on very differ- 
 ent errands. The first was from the kam of the Kal- 
 mucks to prince Menzikoff, who had some time before 
 presented the kam with an English made coach. One 
 of the wheels of this machine was broke, and the sub- 
 ject of the embassy was, to entreat that his highness 
 would send the monarch a new one. The other was 
 from the emperor of China to Gagarin, governor of 
 Siberia, praying that he would send him an able phy- 
 sician, and some medicines, that would provoke to 
 
216 THE LIFE OF 
 
 venery. Mr. Garwin, an English surgeon, went to 
 China on this occasion, carrying with him the drugs 
 desired. 
 
 As Russia is a country of such vast extent, there 
 never passes a year without some alarms on the fron- 
 tiers ; which very little , if at all, affect the court, and 
 sometimes are even over hcfore the news of them come 
 thither. The petty Tartar princes who are under the 
 czar's protection, and those who arc tributary to other 
 rnonarehs, frequently decide their differences between 
 themselves, or with very little assistance from the Rus- 
 sian governors. Thus there have been wars for years 
 together between the vassals of Russia and those of 
 China, without the emperors on either side engaging 
 themselves, or their own proper forces therein ; and 
 at last peace has been made, and the limits fixed, by 
 the lieutenants on either part. The Cossack, Cuban, 
 and other Tartar nations, are often in arms to throw 
 off their allegiance, and as often suppressed with little 
 loss. For this reason I have omitted most of the in- 
 surrections of these people, as they were not attended 
 with any consequence worthy a place in history ; and 
 shall only just observe here, that somewhat of this na- 
 ture happened this winter ; that the kam of Cuban's 
 son was hanged, and a great many men and horses 
 taken. 
 
 The most dangerous of all these irruptions are from 
 the Tartars who are vassals to the porte, by whom 
 they are usually spirited up and supported ; and this 
 is frequently the prelude to a rupture between the two 
 empires. The czar apprehended they might attempt 
 something this 3 ear in Poland, where affairs were yet 
 in great confusion, and ordered some regiments that 
 way to have an eye over them. But his majesty re- 
 fused to carry his arms into that kingdom, though Au- 
 gustus applied to him for succor against his mal-con- 
 tent subjects ; ('busing rather the peaceable province 
 of becoming a mediator between the king and the re- 
 public ; an honor, says M. dc Voltaire, perhaps equal 
 
PETER THE GREAT. sir 
 
 to that of setting up a king. M. Darzo^y and prince 
 Dolhorucki were his plenipotentiaries on this occasion ; 
 but the negotiations lasted a long time. 
 
 I before mentioned the marriage of the czarewitz 
 with the princess of WolfenUuttel, and just hinted at 
 the misfortunes of that amiable princess, who, by the 
 gracefulness of her person, the submission she shewed 
 to their majesties, and her uncommon humanity to all 
 sorts of people, had commanded veneration from every 
 rank and degree. She had the year before borne a 
 daughter to her husband, at a time when he was ab- 
 sent at Carlsbad, in Germany, whither it was thought 
 he went purely to be out of the way. On the 22d of 
 October, 1715, she was delivered of a prince, who af- 
 ter his majesty, was christened Peter, and who suc- 
 ceeded the empress Catharine by the name of Peter II. 
 But at the same time that Russia had a monarch given 
 her, she lost one of the greatest ornaments she had ever 
 enjoyed. The princess died on the first of November, 
 in the 21st year of her age, having for five days before 
 endured the most acute pains, and yet kept up a spirit 
 of fervent devotion, ffivina; comfort and admonitions 
 
 ~ _) O 
 
 to her weeping servants, who joined in prayer for her 
 departing soul. 
 
 There is something uncommonly affecting in the his- 
 tory of this lady, as it is given us by M. Weber, who 
 knew her personally, and was at Petci sburqh when she 
 died. The czarewitz knew it was his father's inten- 
 tion, as well to reclaim him from his indolent wicked 
 course, as to make an alliance in the empire, to marry 
 him with a German princess of high rank and gener- 
 ous education. But the depravity of the son's conduct 
 had almost weaned the" father of his paternal affection, 
 and made him drop some intimations that unless he 
 gave timely hopes of amendment, he should be depriv- 
 ed of the succession and thrust into a convent. Though 
 he had an aversion to all foreigners, the young prince 
 was wrought upon by his favorites, on the sight of his 
 own danger, seemingly to fall in with his father's scn- 
 
 T 
 
220 THE LIFE OF 
 
 king of Denmark's territories, which they were ready 
 to enter; but at the same time not to assist the Danes 
 in making conquests on Sweden, which was already 
 sufficiently reduced. The czar then proceeded to Al- 
 teiia, where he was met by the Danish monarch, who 
 continued with him for some time in the neighborhood 
 of that place. Here was concerted the famous descent 
 on Sehonen, in order to draw the king of Sweden out 
 of Norway, into which he had now penetrated with 
 2*,009 men. M. de Voltaire observes, that the world 
 had not seen any general since Hannibal, who, when 
 he could not make head against his enemies at home, 
 went to attack them in their own dominions. But king 
 Charles seemed little to regard what he lost, provided 
 he could still conquer. Barren rocks, amid snow and 
 ice, were more pleasant to him, when taken from an 
 tfnemy, than the beautiful provinces he had been strip- 
 ped of in the east and south. 
 
 From the dutchy of Holstein the czar and czarina 
 went to Copenhagen, where they spent three months 
 in the diversions of the Danish court. But at the same 
 time that these were outwardly the czar's employment, 
 he visited all the colleges, all the academies, and eve- 
 ry private man who had acquired reputation in the 
 learned world. There was no manner of ceremony in 
 these visits, and it was just the same to the czar Peter 
 whether the student waited upon him, or he upon the 
 Student. Every day he went out in boats, with two 
 engineers, upon the coast of Denmark and Sweden, 
 measuring all their bays, sounding all their depths, 
 and making such exact charts of the whole, that not 
 the smallest bank of sand escaped his notice. It was 
 a proof that his ally had the highest veneration for his 
 person and genius, since he did not attempt to hinder 
 his getting these exact informations, which were al- 
 most enough to have excited jealousy. 
 
 There was yet a greater token of respect shewn to 
 Peter the Great, during his residence at Copenhagen, 
 when nations the most experienced in naval affairs, 
 paid their submission to him, the first Russian who had 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 
 
 ever known the sea. The English and Dutch squad- 
 rons, under sir John Norris and commodore Grave, 
 arrived in the sound to join the Russians and Danes, 
 and all the flag-officers unanimously agreed to confer 
 on him the command of this united fleet of four nations. 
 In this quality the czar hoisted liis flag, on the 13th 
 of August, on board one of his finest ships ; and his 
 majesty declared that he never in his life had more 
 satisfaction than in receiving this honor. 
 
 Notwithstanding that measures were so well con- 
 certed, and the defence of Norway neglected in favor 
 of the intended descent, the orders for it were on a sud- 
 den countermanded, after the necessary dispositions 
 had been agreed on, in a council of war between the 
 two monarchs. All Europe was amazed at this beha- 
 vior in the czar, who coldly alledged that the season 
 was too far spent. The king of Denmark complained 
 aloud of this breach of articles, in a manifesto, which 
 leaves " providence and time to discover what might 
 have induced his Russian majesty to take a step so 
 prejudicial to the northern alliance." In the mean 
 time no one doubted but he had very strong reasons 
 for this piece of conduct, though they were not as yet 
 apparent. 
 
 The king of Denmark was doubtless the first who 
 proposed this invasion, and the czar readily came into 
 it, as the only apparent means at that time of bring- 
 ing the king of Sweden to terms. But after he saw, 
 from repeated instances, that of all the allies his inter- 
 est was the least regarded, and that the only way to 
 secure himself, was to depend less upon others ; he be- 
 gan to look with another eye on this attempt, which 
 might possibly cost him the flower of his troops, and, 
 if successfid, would procure a peace for the rest, and 
 bring the whole weight of the war again on himself. 
 In this situation, it would have been hard for him to 
 keep his new acquisitions ; as probably one article of 
 a separate agreement might be to assist the Swedes to 
 
 T 
 
 o> 
 
THE LIFE OF 
 
 regain them, and so he would not only he left in the 
 lurch, hut pushed by those very allies whom he had 
 hitherto supported. An accommodation between him 
 and the king of Sweden, he knew, would be very hard 
 to bring about ; for as, on the one side, he should nev- 
 er consent to part with those sea-ports, which were so 
 necessary for carrying on his vast designs ; so the king 
 of Sweden, on the other, would use all possible means 
 to get them restored. But then the czar was so well 
 acquainted with the heroic temper of his enemy, that 
 he had some hopes of working upon it by a nicety of 
 honor. The king of Sweden, he rightly judged, must 
 be now less exasperated against him, who had alone 
 carried on the war with various success, and frequent- 
 ly made overtures of peace, than with the rest of the 
 confederates, who, in breach of treaties, bad taken 
 the advantage of his misfortunes, fell upon him in an 
 ungenerous manner, and made a partition of his pro- 
 vinces. 
 
 It is one great character of a true politician, that 
 lie knows how to accommodate himself to the genius 
 of an adversary. The rest of the allies, on all occasions, 
 had used the most unbecoming reproaches against the 
 king of Sweden : hut the czar, on the contrary, al- 
 ways spoke of his brother Charles with the utmost 
 civility, maintained him to be the greatest general in 
 Europe, and even publicly averred that he would trust 
 more to a word from him, than to the strongest assur- 
 ances, and even treaties, from some others. These 
 kind of civilities, he had good reason to think, would 
 make a deep impression on the mind of that gallant 
 hero, and persuade him rather to sacrifice a real inter- 
 est to a generous enemy, than to gratify, in things of 
 less moment, those by whom he had been inhumanly 
 used. And if this did not succeed, he should however 
 make his confederates uneasy, by seeming inclined to 
 come to a negociation, which must engage them to be 
 the more solicitous to keep him in the alliance, by 
 granting such concessions as he should require for his 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 22$ 
 
 own interest: in the mean time the Danes and Swedes 
 were weakening each other, and liis own troops were 
 maintained in the territories of the allies. 
 
 All these particulars were the conjectures at that 
 time, though no-body then knew how far they were 
 true. But they were undoubtedly the real senti- 
 ments of his czarish majesty ; and he found in the king 
 of Sweden a greater disposition to favor them than he 
 had at first expected. Baron Gortz, formerly prime 
 minister to the duke of Holstein, and now to the king 
 of Sweden, whom he governed more than any man 
 had ever done before, had formed a project for recon- 
 ciling the courts of Sweden and Russia, and at the 
 same time flattering to the high spirit of his master. 
 This man was in the cabinet what Charles was in the 
 army, as capable of disturbing the peace of Europe, 
 and as resolute in the executing of his designs. He 
 had long discovered the czar's uneasiness at his allies, 
 and now perceived that he WHS particularly disgusted 
 with the king of Great-Britain, who was at the same 
 time the chief object of his master's resentment, as he 
 was the only one of Charles' enemies whom he had 
 not provoked, and who seemed to have engaged in the 
 alliance only to keep the dutchies of Bremen and Vcr- 
 den. The English ships, which had been sent trj the 
 Baltic, did not at all please the czar ; who was uncer- 
 tain, notwithstanding they came as allies, for what pur- 
 pose they were designed. 
 
 Gortz having weighed all this in his mind, ventur- 
 ed to propose the making of a peace between the two 
 rival potentates; insinuating, that Peter Alexiowitz, 
 and Charles XII. together, might make all Europe 
 tremble ; that by yielding such places to the former as 
 he was already master of, he might make him assist 
 in dethroning Augustus, with whom he was now dis- 
 pleased, and replacing Stanislaus on the throne of Po- 
 land ; and that by setting the pretender on the throne of 
 England, and restoring the duke of Holstein to his do- 
 minions, all which they might be able to perform, his 
 
THE LIFE OF 
 
 majesty would be sufficiently revenged on tlie kings of 
 Great-Britain and Denmark. Charles, pleased with 
 these grand ideas, gave his minister authority to act 
 at large, who soon found means to see how the court 
 of Muscovy stood affected, by the means of Dr. Arcs- 
 kine, a Scotchman, who was chief physician to the 
 czar, and entirely in the pretender's interest. Prince 
 Menzikoff, to whom the proposal was first made, was 
 highly pleased ; and the czar came into it. The Rus- 
 sian troops were sent to winter in Mecklenburg, in- 
 stead of passing over into Schonen ; and the czar went 
 thither himself, on pretence of adjusting some disputes 
 between the duke and his nobilhty, but in reality, says 
 M. de Voltaire, to gain a principality in the empire, 
 for which he hoped to make a bargain with the duke. 
 Whatever was the czar's intention, the German al- 
 lies were greatly alarmed. They dreaded so potent a 
 neighbor, who might have it in his power to become 
 emperor, and oppress all the other sovereigns of Ger- 
 many. The czar negociated with them by way of 
 amusement, and at the same time waited to see what 
 Gortz would do, whose project went on the better, 
 through the resentment of the allies. He proposed it 
 to cardinal Alberoni, then at the head of affair's in 
 Spain, who was charmed with the project of setting up 
 the pretender in England, but could as yet do bat lit- 
 tle towards effecting it. The ready genius of Gortz 
 contrived the means, by sending to the pirates at 
 Madagascar, who, rejected by all other nations, had 
 already offered themselves, with 60 ships, and a vast 
 treasure, to the king of Sweden. The king consent- 
 ed to receive them and their wealth at Gotten!) urg, 
 provided they would make the descent in Scotland. 
 At the same time the strength of the disaffected was 
 sounded in Great-Britain. They asked only 10,000 
 men, and promised to do the rest themselves. They 
 advanced considerable sums, which Gortz received in 
 Holland, (where he was arrived, after having been 
 privately in France) and negociated with it the purr 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 
 
 chase of ships and ammunition. In a word, king 
 George was to be deposed from the throne of Great- 
 Britain, the duke of Orleans, from the regency of 
 France, and the Turks were to fall upon the emperor. 
 Count Gilienburg, the Swedish ambassador in Lon- 
 don, became an agent with the enemies of that king 
 lie was sent to address. The chevalier de Folard, a 
 soldier of fortune, carried on the project in France, 
 and the branches of it were privately spread all over 
 Europe. 
 
 But the main point, without which nothing could be 
 done, was to settle peace with the czar. Baron Os- 
 terman, chief minister in Russia, as Gortz was in Swe- 
 den, was more cautious than to come hastily into tin's 
 scheme ; and as the two princes had hitherto left it all 
 to their servants, the affair by this means was some- 
 what retarded. Just at this crisis, the czar himself, 
 having made the tour of Hamburg, Hanover and \Tol- 
 fcnbuttel, came to Holland, in his way to France-.- 
 Gortz procured two conferences with him at the Hague, 
 and did more in these with his majesty, than he could 
 have done in six months with his minister. At the 
 same time he talked only of peace, and of regarding 
 the king of Great-Britain as arbiter of the north. His 
 designs seemed impenetrable,, and lie hoped they would 
 be discovered only in tbe execution. 
 
 The duke of Orleans had spies in all the courts of 
 Europe, and in every corner of the kingdom he gov- 
 erned. By the help of these he got knowledge of the 
 Swedish minister's plot, and communicated it to the 
 king of Great-Britain, who immediately ordered count 
 Gilienburg to be seized in London, and prevailed on 
 the Dutch to do the same by Gortz. But though the 
 king was justifiable in arresting an enemy, who had 
 violated the law of nations, thelDutch were not excus- 
 ed by the rest of Europe, because nothing was design- 
 ed against them, and they had invaded the freedom 
 of ambassadors, merely out of complaisance to an ally. 
 The letters that passed between Gortz and Gillenburg 
 
THE LIFE OF 
 
 were printed in England, and the conspiracy was too 
 plain to be in the least disputed. 
 
 As the c^ar was not named, but only hinted at in 
 these papers, he wrote a long letter to the king of 
 Great Britain* which was communicated by his resident 
 Wesselowski, with protestations of friendship. This 
 is an artifice often practised by princes to each other, 
 and usually taken in public for satisfaction, though per- 
 haps it is just the reverse. The king neither believed 
 the czar, nor had the czar yet done with the kins;, 
 His Russian majesty, though he had little new to learn, 
 or to introduce among his subjects, had still the cari- 
 osity to see France, a country where the sciences have 
 been carried as far, and the pleasures of society far- 
 ther, than any where else. Germany, England and 
 Holland, had formerly seen, and France now saw, the 
 uncommon spectacle of an emperor travelling for in- 
 struction. But his rough outside, the effect of his ed- 
 ucation and temper, was all the common people ever 
 beheld, while the legislator and the great man, escaped 
 their observation. 
 
 I shall not give a journal of all that passed during 
 his abode in France. It is sufficient to say that he fre- 
 quently visited the regent and the young king, and was 
 visited by them ; that he saw all that was curious in 
 Paris, and the circumjacent places, where the utmost 
 care was taken to make his entertainment still agree- 
 able. M. de Fontenelle takes notice, that he was par- 
 ticularly charmed with the person of the king, though 
 then but an infant ; that he often walked with him in 
 the apartments of the Louvre, leading him by the 
 hand, and defending Mm from the pressure of the mob, 
 with as much tenderness and care as if he had been his 
 governor. 
 
 On the 19th of June, 1717, he honored the acade- 
 my of sciences with his presence. All their new ex- 
 periments and curious machines, were produced on tin's 
 occasion, and his majesty expressed great satisfaction 
 with them. It may be observed here, to prevent a 
 
TETER THE GREAT. 227 
 
 digression elsewhere, that after liis return to Muscovy, 
 he ordered M. Areskin, his chief physician, to write 
 to the abbe Bignon. and signify his desire of being ad- 
 mitted a member of the society. The academy sent, 
 with -the notice of admission, a letter of acknowledg- 
 ment for the honor done them : to which his majestv 
 
 > \t 
 
 returned an answer with his own hand : and from this 
 time the society transmitted him every year a volume 
 of their transactions, wliich belonged to him as a mem- 
 ber, which he always received from his brethren in 
 the most courteous manner. The sciences, says the 
 eloquent secretary of that academy, in favor of which 
 he debased himself to the rank of a private man, ought, 
 in return, to raise him among the Augustuses, and 
 Chariemagnes, who also condescended to become fa- 
 miliar with them. 
 
 But the czar had something to do at Paris, besides 
 seeing the academies, the public libraries, the cabinets 
 of the curious, and the royal palaces. In pursuance 
 of the plan that had been concerted, he made a pro- 
 posal to the regent, which, though it was apparently 
 for the interest of France as well as his own, was, 
 however, rejected, and intelligence of it given to king 
 George. It was to make peace with Sweden: to take 
 from the Danes their power in the Baltic : to weaken 
 England by a civil war : to set up Stanislaus against 
 Augustus, and to bring into Muscovy all the commerce 
 of the north. The duke did just the reverse of all 
 this, and made a treaty with England and the emper- 
 or. All the czar could obtain of him, was, to inter- 
 pose for the engagement of the two Swedish ministers, 
 which was granted in August ; and at the same time 
 the English resident at Stockholm, who had been im- 
 prisoned by way of reprisal, was also set at liberty. 
 
 Alberoni, who was master of the whole scheme, and 
 very desirous to establish his religion in England, sent 
 
 ^_J <_^ 
 
 the duke of Ormond out of Spain, to Mittaw, in Cour- 
 land, with full commission to treat of a marriage be- 
 tween the pretender and the princess Anna Petrownav 
 
228 THE LIFE OF 
 
 the czar's daughter. Baron Gortz had long intended 
 this lady tor the duke of Holstein, who afterwards 
 married her, and this cross step of the two politicians 
 almost defeated their whole scheme. Gortz opposed 
 the duke of Ormond's negotiation, and got him sent 
 hack to Spain without satisfaction. But the duke left 
 behind him one Jernegan, his confident, a man of 
 sense and spirit, to manage matters privately ; which 
 he did a long time at Petershurgh, going out only 
 o'nights, and conversing with the czar's ministers in 
 the habit either of a peasant or a Tartar. 
 
 As the czar, in his return from Paris, was to re-pass 
 through Amsterdam, where he left the czarian ; his 
 Britannic majesty sent thither admiral Norris and 
 Mr. Whitworth to compliment him, and to return 
 thanks for his having declared that lie would withdraw 
 his forces out of the empire. This declaration the 
 czar had made at Paris, upon the pressing instances 
 of the regent, who had been applied to for that purpose 
 by the northern allies. The British ministers were 
 also to resume a treaty of commerce between England 
 and Russia, if the czar had been that way inclined : 
 but the high terms he insisted on, (no less than the 
 sending 15 men of war against Sweden, to act under 
 Russian admirals) rendered the proposition ineffectual. 
 The czar likewise ordered his forces to withdraw out 
 of Poland, upon the application of the king and the re- 
 public. They were sent thither to procure a peace 
 between the still contending parties ; but now, as ever 
 before, became a pretext for continuing other disputes. 
 
 His czarish majesty, in his way home, was splen- 
 didly entertained at Berlin ; and proceeding from 
 thence to Dantzic, he found a new treaty had been 
 just concluded betwixt his ministers and the Dantzic- 
 kers, which put an end to their long subsisting disputes. 
 The citizens were to forbear all correspondence with 
 Sweden ; to fit out three frigates against the enemy ; 
 to pay 140,000 dollars in specie, and to receive the 
 Russian vessels in their port : and the czar was to 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 
 
 ^ Undraw his troops out of the territories of Dantzick, 
 and fully discharge the city from all demands. 
 
 When his majesty arrived at Petersburgh,on the 17th 
 of September, 1717, he found many things to redress, 
 especially with regard to the administration. The sen- 
 ate met every day, to enquire into the ground of the 
 people's complaints, and his majesty was always pres- 
 ent by four o'clock in the morning. But as some tilings 
 appeared to be of a deeper dye than was at first ex- 
 pected, an extraordinary court of justice was establish- 
 ed, divided into separate committees, who were to 
 examine the several causes laid before them. This 
 court was made up of military officers ; and it was 
 usual, during the sessions of the committees, to see the 
 head of a noble family appear before a lieutenant as 
 his judge. AVolchinski, governor of Archangel, was 
 shot to death, upon full conviction of his crimes. 
 
 Money was at this time very scarce in Russia, which 
 was partly occasioned by the long war, and partly by 
 the many great works the czar had been carrying on, 
 which, though at this day they are very advantageous, 
 were in their infancy, not sufficient to defray the ex- 
 pense of them. To remedy this, his majesty prohib- 
 ited the wearing of gold and silver lace, discharged 
 many useless mechanics, reduced others to half pay, 
 and set on foot several other methods. But at the same 
 time that he reduced the number of unnecessary work- 
 men* who were but an almost infallible consequence 
 of the great encouragement he had given, his majesty 
 granted a privilege for many years to a new manufac- 
 tory of silks, and raised the duties on foreign goods of 
 the same kind. He made a great many other useful 
 regulations, and in particular appointed several coun- 
 cils for the administration of public affairs, like those 
 which the regent had established in France. 
 
 Though the scheme concerted by Gortz was still 
 bringing to perfection, (as much of it as was not pre- 
 vented by the discovery at London) yet a shew of 
 
 U 
 
230 THE LIFE OF 
 
 friendship continued between the monarchs of Great- 
 Britain and Russia. M. Weber, resident from the for- 
 mer as elector of Hanover, waited upon the czar, to 
 return him thanks for what he had written to king 
 George, by admiral Norris, and to assure him of the 
 king's good dispositions to live in amity. But M. Web- 
 er at the same time hinting his master's uneasiness at 
 the conferences the czar had held in Holland with 
 baron Gortz, the Russian ministers denied that any 
 such interviews had been, though soon after they were 
 obliged to ow r n the truth. In the mean time measures 
 were taken for bringing about the treaty between Swe- 
 den and Russia, which, however, was not at this time 
 concluded. The king of Sweden was killed before 
 Frederickshal, while matters were yet in suspence ; 
 and baron Gortz, who had a long time been mortally 
 hated by every Swede but the king alone, was execut- 
 ed immediately after. 
 
 It will be very proper, at this period, to take a lit- 
 tle respite from foreign affairs, and turn to several 
 other effects of the czar's mighty genius, which, though 
 they did not appear all at once, but were accomplish- 
 ed some before and some after the time we are upon, 
 will make a juster figure thrown here together, than 
 scattered chronilogically through different parts of this 
 history, and interspersed with the more turbulent busi- 
 ness of war. 
 
 To extend the power of the state as far as possible, 
 it is necessary that the sovereign should study his coun- 
 try, not as a politician merely, but as a geographer and 
 philosopher ; that he should be perfectly acquainted 
 with all its natural advantages, and have the address 
 to turn them to the best account. The czar was inde- 
 fatigable in the acquisition of this knowledge, and the 
 pursuit of this art. He did not rely upon ministers, 
 who are seldom over careful of the public welfare : 
 he would trust only to his own eyes, and made nothing 
 of a journey of 3 or &00 leagues, to be informed in 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 231 
 
 his proper person. He frequently made these excur- 
 sions with a retinue of only three or four attendants, 
 and with such an intrepidity, as was alone capahle to 
 secure him from danger. By this means he got so 
 perfectly acquainted with the map of his vast empire, 
 that he easily projected, without hazard of being de- 
 ceived, all the advantages that might be drawn either 
 from its situation in general, or from whatever was 
 particular to the respective provinces. 
 
 As all the meredians meet under the pole in a single 
 point, the English and Chinese, for example, would 
 become neighbors in the north, provided their king- 
 doms extended far enough that way. Thus the very 
 northern situation of the Russian empire, joined to its 
 vast extent, occasions that by its meridional lines ; it 
 touches the northern parts of many great countries, 
 which towards the south are very distant from each 
 other. It is contiguous to a great part of Europe, and 
 to all Asia. It has besides very large rivers, which 
 fall into different seas ; as the Dwina into the White 
 Sea, a part of the ocean ; the Don into the Black Sea, 
 a part of the Mediterranean ; the Wolga into the Cas- 
 pian, which borders on Great Tartary and Persia. 
 The czar observed that these rivers, which had hith- 
 erto been almost useless, might unite in his dominions 
 nations the farthest divided, if he only made a commu- 
 nication between them, either by means of the small 
 rivers which fall into them, or by the digging of canals 
 from one to the other. He entered on this prodigious 
 undertaking, had the different elevations of the coun- 
 try every where calculated, chose himself the places 
 where the canals ought to be sunk, and regulated the 
 number of sluices. 
 
 The junction of the river Volkona, which rr.ns into 
 the lake Ladoga, near Petersburg!}, with the Wolga, 
 was finished in his life -time, and by means of it there 
 is a passage by water across all Russia, from tlio gi;Iph 
 of Finland to the Caspian Sea, a distance of more than 
 800 leagues. The czar sent to the academy of scion- 
 
THE LIFE OF 
 
 ces the plan of this wonderful communication, in which 
 lie had himself been principal engineer. He did not, 
 Hke other princes, look upon the being an academician 
 as a mere honorary title, but was willing to contribute 
 his proper quota of experiments and operations. He 
 completed another canal between the Don and the 
 Wolga ; but the restoration of Asoph to the Turks, 
 by the treaty of Pruth, rendered that canal useless in 
 the latter part of his reign. There were great hopes 
 of seeing it flourish again about two years ago, when 
 Asoph was retaken from the Mussclmen ; had not an- 
 other treaty, concluded by the mediation of a French 
 minister, most surprisingly obliged the present empress 
 to a fresh restoration, after all the success that had at- 
 tended her arms. 
 
 I mentioned, in the geographical part, that the do- 
 minions of Russia extend east above 1500 leagues, to 
 the very frontiers of Ciiina, and the seas of Japan. 
 The Muscovite caravans, which went to China lor the 
 sake of traffic, employed a whole year in their voyage. 
 This was a grievance well worth the consideration of 
 such a genius as the czar Peter, who knew this tedious 
 journey might be made both shorter and easier, either 
 by the communication of rivers, or by other public 
 works, or by making treaties with certain Tartarian 
 princes, who could grant them a passage through their 
 countries : in short, the labor of a year might be redu- 
 ced to four months ; and, according to this design, all 
 commerce should have its centre at Petersburg!!, which 
 would then become the emporium of the universe. 
 That city to which lie had given both being and name, 
 was to him what Alexandria had been to Alexander, 
 its founder : and as Alexandria was so happily situa- 
 ted, that it changed the face of commerce in those days, 
 and became for trade what Tyre had been before, so 
 Petersburg!! bids fair to change the course of business 
 in the present a'e, and become one of the principal 
 scats of' merchandize in the whole world. 
 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 233 
 
 The czar carried bis views yet a great deal farther. 
 He wantecTto know what his situation was with regard 
 to America ; whether that vast continent joined to Tar- 
 tary, or whether the Northern Ocean gave a passage 
 thither* which would open to him a way to the new 
 world. It reflects no dishonor on the attempt, that it 
 was not equally successful with his oilier undertakings, 
 and that of two vessels which he sent to make this yet 
 impossible discovery, one was stopped in its passage 
 by the ice, and the other in all probability was lost, 
 having never since been heard of. The very year be- 
 fore his death he ordered a skilful sea captain to build 
 two others for the same enterprise ; but the event still 
 made it appear, that in order to accomplish such an 
 arduous task, the same greatness of mind which lie pos- 
 sessed, should be communicated to those he employed. 
 Something of the same nature has been very lately un- 
 dertaken ; and though the northern passage to Amer- 
 ica be still unknown, a discovery has been made of 
 several fertile islands, where never European had been 
 before, and these, too, well inhabited by a civilized 
 people. 
 
 There were in Muscovy a great many mines either 
 totally unknown, or, what was more shameful, unim- 
 proved, through the ancient indolence of the populace, 
 and the general discouragement of their governors. 
 These could not possibly escape the attention of the 
 czar Peter, which took in every thing throughout his 
 dominions. He procured workmen skilled in metals 
 from foreign parts, particularly from Germany, and 
 raised these hidden treasures to their standard value. 
 Gold dust was brought him from the banks of the Cas- 
 pian Sea, and the farthest parts of Siberia ; and six- 
 teen ounces of this latter produced fourteen ounces of 
 pure gold. Iron, more necessary than gold itself, be- 
 came in his days common in Muscovy, and with it all 
 the arts which either prepare or employ it. 
 
 In speaking of the gold dust on the Caspian Sea, I 
 must not omit the unfortunate expedition of prince Al~ 
 
 u 2, 
 
33* THE LIFE OF 
 
 exander Bekewitz, which happened in the very year 
 we are now upon. So long ago as the year 1715, the 
 czar had received intelligence that a great deal of gold 
 was discovered at the mouth of the liver Dauria, winch 
 falls into that sea, and had sent thither this Bekewitz, 
 a prince of the Circassian Tartars, and captain of his 
 majesty's guard, accompanied by Mr. Bluher, a man 
 skilful in mine affairs, to clear the country of the va- 
 grant Tartars, and set up the necessary works. They 
 had made one journey thither with great hopes of suc- 
 cess ; having discovered, besides a great quantity of 
 gold dust and silver ore, some curious pieces of anti- 
 quity. But the prince being sent thither again, at 
 the head of 3000 men, in order to take possession of 
 the river, and to secure it by two forts on the Caspian 
 Sea, he was drawn into a snare by the natives of Schir- 
 van, had all his troops cut in pieces, and was himself 
 inhumanly massacred at the kam's tent. The czar was 
 prevented from taking immediate vengeance for this 
 outrage, by a domestic affair of yet greater impor-r 
 tance ; an enquiry into the crimes of his eldest son, 
 Alexis Petrowitz, who, during his father's absence, 
 had made his escape out of the kingdom. I have post- 
 poned the relation of this affair to the, present period, 
 when the prince was brought back to Moscow, and the 
 following manifesto published by his majesty, which, 
 with what comes after, will entirely vindicate his se- 
 verity to this rebellious son. 
 
 PETER I. by the grace of God, czar and emperor 
 
 Russia, &c. 
 
 It is notorious to the greatest part of our faithful sub- 
 jects, and chiefly to those who live in the places of our 
 residence, or who are in our service, with how much 
 care we have caused our eldest son Alexis, to be cduca- 
 Cated, having given him, from his infancy, tutors to 
 teach him the Russian and foreign languages, and oth- 
 ers to instruct him in all arts and sciences, in order not 
 only to bring him up in our orthodox faith of the 
 Oreek confession, but also in the knowledge of politi- 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 235 
 
 eal and military affairs, and of the constitution of for- 
 eign countries, their customs and languages, that 
 through the reading of history and other books, he 
 might acquire the qualifications worthy of a successor 
 to our throne of great Russia. Nevertheless, we have 
 seen with grief, that all our attention and care for the 
 instruction of our son proved ineffectual, seeing he al- 
 ways swerved from his filial obedience, shewing no ap- 
 plication for what was becoming a worthy successor, 
 and slighting the precepts of the masters we had ap- 
 pointed for him ; but on the contrary frequenting dis- 
 orderly persons, from whom he could learn nothing 
 good. 
 
 We have not neglected often to endeavor to bring 
 him back to his duty, sometimes by gentle means, 
 sometimes by reprimand, sometimes by paternal cor- 
 rections. We have more than once taken him along 
 with us into our army, to cause him to be instructed in 
 the art of war, as one of the chief sciences for the de- 
 fence of his country ; taking care to keep him off from 
 any dangerous occasion, out of regard to the succes- 
 sion, though we exposed our own. person to those perils. 
 We have at other times left him at Moscow, putting 
 into his hands a sort of regency in the empire, in or- 
 der to form him in the art of government. We have 
 afterwards sent him into foreign countries, in hopes, 
 that seeing in his travels governments so well regu- 
 lated, this would excite in him an inclination to apply 
 himself to do well. But all our care has been fruit- 
 less, and like the seed of the doctrine, fallen upon a 
 rock. For he has not onlv refused to follow that which 
 
 * 
 
 is good, but even is come to hate it. He only and con- 
 tinually conversed with disorderly persons, whose mor- 
 als were abominable. 
 
 As we were resolved to endeavor by all imaginable 
 means to reclaim him, and inspire him with an inclina- 
 tion to converse with pel-sons of virtue and honor, we 
 exhorted him to choose a consort among the princesses 
 of the chief foreign houses, as is usual in other coun- 
 
236 THE LIFE OF 
 
 tries, and hath been practised by some of our ances- 
 tors, the czars of Muscovy ; and we left him at full lib- 
 erty to make a choice. He declared his inclination 
 for the princess, grand-daughter to the duke of Wol- 
 fenbuttel then reigning, sister-in-law to the emperor 
 of the Romans now reigning, and cousin to the king of 
 Great-Britain ; and having desired us to procure him 
 that alliance, and permit him to marry that princess, 
 we readily consented thereunto, without any regard to 
 the great expense which was occasioned by that mar- 
 riage. But after its consummation, we found ourselves 
 disappointed of the hope we had, that the change of 
 the condition of our son would produce a change in his 
 bad inclinations, but found quite the reverse of what 
 was expected : for notwithstanding his spouse was, as 
 far as we have been able to observe, a wise, sprightly 
 princess, and of a virtuous conduct, he lived with her 
 in the greatest disunion, while he redoubled his affec- 
 tion for lewd people, bringing thereby a disgrace upon 
 our house before the foreign princes, to whom tiiat prin- 
 cess was related, which drew upon us many reproaches. 
 These advices and exhortations provp'J ineffectual : on 
 the contrary, he violated at last the conjugal faith, and 
 gave his affection to a prostitute of the most servile 
 condition, living publicly in that crime with her, to the 
 great contempt of his lawful spouse, who soon after 
 died of sickness ; and it was believed that her grief, 
 occasioned by the life of her husband, hastened the 
 end of her days. 
 
 When we saw Ins resolution to persevere in his vi- 
 cious course, we declared to him at the funeral of his 
 consort, that if he dil not for the future conform him- 
 self to our will, and apply himself to things becoming 
 a prince, we would deprive him of the succession, with- 
 out any regard to his being our only son (our second 
 son not then being born ;) because we would rather 
 choose for our successor a stranger worthy thereof, 
 than an unworthy son : that we could not leave our em- 
 pire to a successor, who would ruin what the father^ 
 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 237 
 
 hath, by God's assistance, established, and tarnish the 
 glory of the Russian nation, for the acquiring of which 
 we had sacrificed our ease and our health, willingly 
 exposing our own life on several occasions : besides, 
 that the fear of God's judgment would not permit us 
 to leave the government of such vast territories in the 
 hands of one whose insufficiency and tmworthiness we 
 are not ignorant of. In short, we exhorted him in the 
 most pressing terms, to behave himself with discretion, 
 and gave him time to repent and return to his duty. 
 
 His answer to these remonstrances was, that he ac- 
 knowledged himself guilty in all these points ; but al- 
 ledging the weakness of his genius, which did not per- 
 mit him to apply himself to the functions recommend- 
 ed to him, he owned himself incapable of our succes- 
 sion, desiring us to discharge him from the same. 
 
 Nevertheless, we continued to exhort him with pa- 
 ternal affection, and joined menaces to our exhortations, 
 we forgot nothing to bring him back to the right way,; 
 and the operations of war having obliged us to repair 
 to Denmark, we left him at Petersburg*!*, to give him 
 time to return to his duty. And afterwards, upon the 
 repeated advices we received of the continuation of his 
 disorderly life, we sent him orders to come to us at 
 Copenhagen, to make the campaign, that he might 
 thereby the better form himself. But forgetting the 
 fear and commandments of God, who enjoins obedi- 
 ence even to private parents, and much more to those 
 wlio are at the same time sovereigns, our paternal cares 
 had no other return than an unheard of ingratitude. 
 For, instead of coming to us as he was ordered, h6 
 withdrew, taking along with him great sums of money, 
 and his infamous concubine, with whom he continued 
 to live in a criminal course. He put himself under 
 the protection of the emperor, raising against us a 
 world of calumnies and false reports, as if we did per- 
 secute, and intended without cause, to deprive him of 
 our succession ; alledging that even his life was not 
 safe if he continued with us, and desiring the emper- 
 
23S THE LIFE OF 
 
 or not only to give him refuge, but also to protect him 
 against us by force of arms. The emperor, though 
 informed of his excesses, and how he had lived with 
 his consort, sister-in-law to his imperial majesty, 
 thought fit, upon his pressing instances, to appoint a 
 place where he might reside : and he desired further, 
 that he might be so private there, that we might not 
 come to the knowledge of it. 
 
 Mean while, his long stay having made us fear that 
 some misfortune had befallen him, we sent persons 
 several ways to get intelligence of him ; and after a 
 great deal of trouble, we were at last informed by the 
 captain of our guard, Alexander RomanzofF, that he 
 was privately kept in an imperial fortress at Tyrol : 
 whereupon we wrote a letter with our own hand to the 
 emperor, to desire that he might be sent back to us. 
 But notwithstanding the emperor's acquainting him 
 with our demands, and exhorting him to return to us, 
 and submit to our will ; yet he alledged, with a great 
 many calumnies against us, that he ought not to be 
 delivered into our hands ; as if we had been a tyrant, 
 from whom he had nothing to expect but death. In 
 short, he persuaded his imperial majesty, instead of 
 sending him back at that time to us, to remove him 
 to Naples, in Italy, and keep him there secretly in the 
 castle, under a borrowed name. 
 
 Nevertheless, we had notice from our said captain, 
 of the place where he was, and thereupon despatched 
 to the emperor our privy-counsellor, Peter Talstoi, and 
 the captain of our guard aforesaid, with a most pres- 
 sing letter, representing how unjust it would be to de- 
 tain our son, contrary to all laws, divine and human ; 
 according to which, private parents, and with much 
 more reason, those wfio are invested with sovereign 
 authority, have an unlimited power over their children, 
 independently of any other judge : and we set forth, 
 on one side, the just and affectionate manner with 
 which we had always used our son; and on the other, 
 lus disobedience ; representing, in the conclusion, the 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 239 
 
 ill consequences the refusal of delivering up our said 
 son to us might occasion, because we could not leave 
 tliis affair in that condition. \Ve ordered those we sent 
 with that letter, to make verbal representations even 
 in more pressing terms, and declare that we should be 
 obliged to revenge, by all possible means, such detain- 
 ing of our son. 
 
 We wrote likewise to him a letter with our own hand, 
 to represent to him the impiety of his conduct, and, 
 the enormity of the crime he had committed against 
 us, Ins father ; and how God threatened, in his laws, 
 to punish disobedient children. AVe threatened him, 
 as a father, with our curse, and, as his lord, to de- 
 clare him a traitor to his country, unless he returned 
 and obeyed our commands ; and gave him assurances, 
 that if he did as we desired, we would pardon his 
 crime. 
 
 Our envoys, after many solicitations, and the above- 
 said representation made by us in writing, at last ob- 
 tained leave of the emperor to go and speak to our 
 son, in order to dispose him to return home. The im- 
 perial ministers gave them, at the same time, to un- 
 derstand, that our son had informed the emperor that 
 we persecuted him, and that his life was not safe with 
 us, whereby he had moved the emperor's compassion ; 
 hut that the emperor, taking ROW into his consideration 
 our true representations, promised he would give or- 
 ders to endeavor, by all possible means, to dispose him 
 to return to us, and would, moreover, declare to him 
 that he could not injustice refuse to deliver him up to 
 his father, and fall out with us on this account. 
 
 Our envoys, upon their arrival at Naples, having 
 desired to deliver to him our letter, sent us word, that 
 he did not only refuse to admit them, but that the em- 
 peror's viceroy had found means, by inviting him home 
 to his house, to present them to him afterwards against 
 his will. He did then indeed receive our letter, con- 
 taining our paternal exhortation, and threatening our 
 curse ; but without shewing the least inclination to re- 
 
THE LIFE OF 
 
 turn ; alledging still a great many falsities against us, 
 as if by reason of several dangers he had to apprehend 
 from us, he could and would not return ; and boast- 
 ing that the emperor had promised not only to protect 
 him against us, but even to set him upon the throne of 
 Russia against our will, by force of arms. 
 
 Our envoys, perceiving this evil disposition, tried all 
 imaginable ways to prevail upon him to return : they 
 entreated him ; they expatiated upon our assurances 
 towards him, and upon our threats in case of disobe- 
 dience. They declared, that the emperor would not 
 enter into a war with us on his account ; and many 
 other representations did they make unto him. But 
 he paid no regard to all this, neither shewed any in- 
 clination to return to us, till the imperial viceroy, con- 
 vinced of his obstinacy, told him, in the emperor's 
 name, that he ought to return ; for that his imperial 
 majesty could not keep him from us, nor embroil him- 
 self with us upon his account. 
 
 When he saw how the case stood, he at length re- 
 solved to return home, and declared his mind to our 
 envoys, and to the imperial viceroy. He likewise wrote 
 the same thing to us, acknowledging himself a crimi- 
 nal ; and in this manner he is arrived here. 
 
 And albeit now our son, by so long a course of dis- 
 obedience against us, his father and lord, and particu- 
 larly for the dishonor lie hath cast upon us in the face 
 of the world, by withdrawing himself, and raising cal- 
 umnies of us, and for opposing his sovereign, hath de- 
 served to be punished with death ; nevertheless, our 
 paternal affection inclines us to have mercy upon him, 
 and we therefore pardon his crimes^ and exempt him 
 from all punishments of the same. But considering 
 his unworthiness, we cannot in conscience leave him 
 after us the succession of the throne of Russia, fore- 
 seeing that he would entirely destroy the glory of our 
 nation and the safety of our dominions, which, through 
 God's assistance, we have acquired and established by 
 an incessant application. 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 211 
 
 Now, as we should pity our faithful subjects, if by 
 such a successor we should throw them back into a 
 worse condition than ever they were yet : so, by the 
 paternal authority, in virtue of which, by the laws of 
 our empire, even any one of our subjects may disin- 
 herit a son ;. and in quality of sovereign prince, in con- 
 sideration of the safety of our dominions, we do deprive 
 our son Alexis of the succession to our throne of Rus- 
 sia, even though there should not remain a single per- 
 ,sf>n of our family after us : and we do constitute and 
 declare successor to the said throne after us, our sec- 
 ond son Peter, though yet very- young, having no suc- 
 cessor that is older. 
 
 We lay upon our said son Alexis our paternal curse, 
 if ever he pretends to, or reclaims, the said succession. 
 And we desire our faithful subjects, of all ranks and 
 conditions, that in conformity to this constitution, they 
 acknowledge and consider our said son Peter, appoint- 
 ed by us to succeed, as lawful successor, and that they 
 confirm the whole by oath before the altar, upon the 
 .holy gospel, kissing the cross. And all those who shall 
 ever, at i-ny time, oppose this our will, and shall dare 
 to consider our son Alexis as successor, or to assist him 
 for that purpose, we declare them traitors to us and 
 their country. And we have ordered that these pres- 
 ents shall be eveiy where published, to the end no 
 persim may pretend ignorance. 
 
 Done at Moscow 9 the 3d of February, 1718, O. &'. 
 
 The czarewitz arrived with the sieur Tolstoi, at 
 Mcscow, on the llth of February, and waited the same 
 night on the czar, with whom he had a long confer- 
 ence. The next day a great council was held, and on 
 I he i-itli, before break of day, the guards and garri- 
 son of the city, were posted round the castle, and or- 
 ders were sent to all his majesty's ministers, boyars, 
 find counsellors, to repair to the great hall there, and 
 to the clergy, to assemble in the cathedral. Then the 
 great bell was tolled, and the prince, as prisoner, be- 
 ing carried into the czar's presence, presented a writ- 
 
 X 
 
THE LIFE OF 
 
 ing to his majesty, containing a confession of his crime, 
 and in tears fell at his feet. The czar gave the paper 
 to haron SchafiroiT, and raising his son from the ground 
 demanded of him what was Ids desire ? The prince 
 implored his mercy, and begged that he would save 
 his life. His majesty granted his request : hut told 
 him, that he must solemnly renounce the succession, 
 and acknowledge the same under his hand ; which, he 
 answered, he was ready to perform. The czar then 
 expostulated with him upon his disobedience, and ask- 
 ed him who were the advisers of his late escape ? Upon 
 which, the prince drew near and whispered him, and 
 they went together into an adjoining room, where, it 
 was supposed, he named the persons. 
 
 Being returned into the hall, the prince signed an 
 instrument, setting forth, that finding himself unquali- 
 fied for government, lie therefore disclaimed any right 
 of succession to the crown. Then several articles, con- 
 taining a deduction of the causes of his majesty's ex- 
 cluding his eldest son from the succession, were read 
 iiloud. The ministers, boyars, officers, and others who 
 were present, swore upon the gospel, and subscribed 
 an oath, importing, that the czar having declared that 
 he had excluded from the crown the czarcwitz Alexis 
 Petrowitz, and had appointed his second son, the prince 
 royal Peter Petrowitz, to succeed him; they owned the 
 legality of this his majesty's decree, acknowledged the 
 said Peter Petrowitz to be the undoubted successor to 
 the crown, engaged to stand by him with their livis 
 against any that should dare to oppose him, and never 
 to adhere to prince Alexis Petrowitz, or assist him in 
 the recovery of the said succession. Then the compa- 
 ny repaired to the cathedral, where the czar, in a long 
 speech, set forth his son's undutiful behavior ; after 
 which, the clergy swore and subscribed the oath above 
 mentioned. The said oath was afterwards administer- 
 ed to all the public officers, and other inhabitants of 
 Moscow, who were not present at the solemnity ; and 
 orders were sent for doing the like all over the Rus- 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 2i3 
 
 sian empire, and in his majesty's armies abroad.* 
 The prince was kept under confinement, and no body 
 admitted to him but the sicur Tolstoi, and such others 
 as were appointed by the czar. 
 
 The grand inquisition proceeded with great dili- 
 gence. There were two different processes, one of 
 which related to the czarewitz, and the other to the 
 late czarina, and major-general Gleboff: the former 
 was finished at Petersburg!], and the latter at Moscow. 
 The concourse of people at Moscow was extraordinary 
 on this occasion. The whole court was there, with the 
 greater part of the generals and superior officers, and 
 the chief of the clergy and nobility of all Russia. But 
 what most deserved every one's attention, was to hear 
 the czar himself, contrary to the custom of his prede- 
 cessors, make speeches to the clergy and great men in 
 the hall, representing to them and the people, with 
 Ins natural eloquence, (in which accomplishment, as 
 well as that of expressing himself in writing, he had 
 no equal among his subjects) the danger to which his 
 government had been exposed, and the horror of the 
 crime of high treason. On these solemnities the czar 
 appeared in his usual dress, being naturally an enemy 
 to all pageantry, and affecting a plain habit and small 
 retinue. Even at the time we are speaking of, in the 
 midst of the disturbances of his own family, he had 
 never above two or three servants attending his sled, 
 in which by night as well as day, lie was carried up 
 and down the citv. 
 
 tf 
 
 The senator Samarin was acquitted ; as was also 
 count Peter Matucwitz Aprax in,. senator, and formerly 
 governor of Astracan. But the prince Wassili \VolO- 
 dimiFOwitz Dolgorucki, lieutenant-genera], was ordered 
 to be continued under close confinement. The other 
 principal persons involved in this grand inquisition, be- 
 sides the czarewitz and Kikil, were the former czari- 
 na, Ottokesa Federowna, of the family of Lopuchin ,* her 
 father confessor; Maria Alexewmi, the czar's sister 
 by the half blood ; the czarewitz of Siberia ; the boyar 
 
THE LIFE OF 
 
 Stepan Glcboff; Dossifei bis!;op of Rosteff; and the 
 treasure* 1 of the monastery of Susdal ; of whom the 
 boyar Glcboff, the bishop Dossifei, Kikin, the treas- 
 urer of the monastery of Susdal, and another Russian y 
 were executed in the public market place of the city 
 of Moscow, on the 2f>tli of March. Glcboff was em- 
 paleil 'alivp, and the others broken on the wheel. T!ie 
 corpse of the bishop was burnt ; hist las head, with 
 those of 'Kikin, and the other Russians, were put on 
 high poles, on the four corners of a square wall erect- 
 ed for that purpose, and the empaled corpse of Glcboff 
 placed in the middle. Blacklanofsky, the czar's page, 
 and s'Mne ivans, had their sentence mitigated, but suf- 
 fered severe corporeal punishments. This Backlan- 
 ofsky had been the spy of Kikin, even in the czar's 
 closet. 
 
 Afrosini, the czarewitz's mistress, was set at liberty, 
 not only in consideration of the open confessions she 
 had made, but also because, by her persuasions, she 
 had much contributed to the czarewitz's return. She 
 pretended that the ezarewitz forced her to comply with 
 bis will, threatening 1 her with death on refusal. It is 
 maintained by several, that after her first lying- in, and 
 upon her conforming to the Russian faith, she was ac- 
 tually married to the ezarewitz. This circumstance- 
 appeared the more probable, because having obtained 
 his majesty's full pardon, and had several jewels re- 
 stored to her, with this declaration, that if she had a 
 mind to marry, she should receive a portion out of the 
 czar's treasury ; she made this answer : " I first yield- 
 ed to one man's will out of force, henceforth no other 
 '.shall come near me." 
 
 The pardon which his majesty bad given the ezare- 
 witz, was -only up>n condition that he. should declare 
 ail that he knew; but the letters that were aftei'wj'rtis 
 intercepted, made it appear that the inquisition had 'not 
 gone to the bottom of the affair, and the ezarewitz had 
 forfeited the gY.ice, which his father would have con- 
 ferred on him. The czar therefore saw himself -neces* 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 
 
 sitated to establish a second high court of justice. To 
 this end he convoked the chief of the Russian clergy, 
 with all possible speed, to Petersburg!! ; and having 
 besides, established another court, consisting of the min- 
 isters, senators, governors, generals, and superior offi- 
 cers of his guards, his majesty for eight several days 
 continued some hours on his knees, imploring God to 
 inspire him with such thoughts as the honor of his ho- 
 ly name; and the welfare of the Russian nation re- 
 quired. On the 25th of June, 1718, tiie sessions of this 
 criminal court were opened in the hall of the senate, 
 whither his majesty repaired, with the whole body of 
 the sec- alar clergy and judges, after having first caused 
 solemn service to he performed in the church of the 
 Holy Ghost. The whole assembly having taken their 
 respective places at several tables, the doors and win- 
 dov.s \veiv set open, in order to give free admittance 
 to all sorts of persons. Upon this, the czare \vitz was 
 brought into court, under the guard of four under of- 
 fice-' and upon his appearance, his majesty ma-de a 
 brit Oration of the causes why he had called them 
 tog , and ordered all the * writings to be publicly 
 re? . hich concerned this affair. 
 
 .ic first of these papers was entitled, Jl (kdarction 
 to 'fay son, in which his majesty set forth the advantages 
 which he had acquired to his people by industry and 
 the love of arms, and expostulated with the yw ng 
 prince for his neglect of whatever tended to form a 
 girat sovereign. It concluded with these remarkable 
 words : "After having considered all these inconveni- 
 enc'\s, and reflected upon them, as I see I have not 
 been able to engage you by any motives to do as yon 
 oi-.ghl, I have judged it convenient to lay brfore you 
 in writing, this act of my last will ; resolving still to 
 wait a little longer before I come to a final execution 
 ef my purpose, to try whether you will amend or not ; 
 
 * S(.-e manifesto concerning the tml of the czarewitz, pulilishcd \ 
 majesty's order. 
 
 v 
 
 A s+ 
 
2*6 THE LIFE OF 
 
 and if not, be assured that I will deprive you of tTie 
 succession, and cut you off as an unprofitable member. 
 Do not think that because 1 have no other child, * I say 
 this only with a design to frighten you. I will certain- 
 ly do what I say, if it shall so please God. For as I 
 spare not my own life for the good of my country, and 
 the safety of my people, why should 1 spare you, who 
 will not be at the pains to be worthy of them ? I shall 
 rather choose to transmit them into the hands of a wor- 
 thy stranger, than give them to an unworthy son." 
 This declaration his majesty gave the czarewitz the 
 same night that his consort was buried. 
 
 The prince, in his answer to this and several other 
 letters which his majesty sent him, still pretending in- 
 disposition of body, declared a sense of his own unfit- 
 ness for government, and expressed a desire to take 
 on him a monastic life. These letters, as published by 
 order, are interspersed with memoirs relating to his 
 conduct at the same time : after which follow the sev- 
 eral heads uf examination, written by his majesty, and 
 presented to the czarewitz, with that prince's answer 
 to every article, and several additional confessions, 
 drawn from him one after another, as evidence against 
 him appeared ; by which it was manifest, that he had 
 endeavored to conceal the most material particulars ; 
 also the depositions of the several witnesses against 
 him, among whom was his own mistress Afrosini, with 
 whom he was confronted ; proving the several crimes 
 charged upon him by his majesty, and detecting divers 
 circumstances that were not before known, which con- 
 firmed the hypocrisy and prevarication, as well as guilt 
 of the czarewitz, who himself confessed, in his last an- 
 swer, " that he had criminal designs, which he meant 
 to execute, even during his father's life -time, if occa- 
 sion offered." But as the reflections upon these pieces, 
 which were afterwards read in their order, contain a 
 
 * This letter was written eighteen days hcforc the birth of the care - 
 witz Peter Petrowitz. 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 
 
 representation of what was most considerable in the 
 whole process, I shall content myself with inserting 
 them, and proceed to the judgment of the court. 
 
 " The hotter to comprehend the care his czarish 
 majesty has taken to bring back the czarewitz into the 
 right way, that he might engage him to become wor- 
 thy of the succession ; and to let the public see how the 
 czarewitz, on the other hand, has broke through all Ins 
 father's measures, by the opposition he has made to 
 them ; we shall set the matter in a still greater light, 
 though it may be amply deduced from the several 
 pieces. 
 
 " It is notorious, bv the first manifesto which was 
 
 */ 
 
 published upon the arrival of the czarewitz at Mos- 
 cow, and by the letters his majesty wrote to him, with 
 what reiterated solicitations his majesty, his father, ex- 
 horted him to make himself capable and deserving of 
 the succession ; and yet, notwithstanding, the czarewitz 
 always shewed himself refractory. In his re ply to the 
 letter which his czarian majesty had written to him, he 
 did not tell him the reasons why he would not take 
 pains, as his father desired, to make himself capable 
 of the succession : he only deceived him with false 
 oaths, by which he engaged himself to a renunciation 
 of tSie crown, and which he afterwards not only broke, 
 b'.it aspired to the succession by ill practices. 
 
 " His czarish majesty, who saw into the naughty in- 
 clinations of his son, again exhorted him, by other let- 
 ters, to form himsolf for the government ; and repre- 
 sented to him, to intimidate and engage him to a compli- 
 ance with his will, and that if this was absolutely impos- 
 sible for him, he should then embrace a monastic state. 
 He plainly saw that the czarewitz's renunciation of the 
 succession was no more than an amusement, and alto- 
 gether void of sincerity, as afterwards appeared plain- 
 ly by the consequence for he was so far from giving a 
 clear and positive answer to his czarish majesty's let- 
 ter, who exhorted him to a determination, that he had 
 still recourse to subterfuges, and answered only in a 
 
THE LIFE OF 
 
 vague and undermined manner, by oaths and entrea- 
 ties, that he might be allowed immediate!} to retire 
 into a convent \ which, notwithstanding, were altogeth- 
 er fraudulent. 
 
 66 For which reason his majesty advised him, upon 
 his departure from Pete rsburgh into foreign countries, 
 not to enter so soon into a convent, because the engage- 
 ment was difficult for a young man to observe, and 
 gave him still six months time to consider of it ; at 
 the end of which he was to write to his majesty what 
 part he would take. He used him thus, in hoped that 
 he might change his opinion, and, by a better conduct, 
 conform to the will of his father, and make himself de- 
 serving of the succession, by a serious application to 
 his duty. 
 
 *< The czarewitz, not caring to answer any thing at 
 that time upon this subject to his father, pretended to 
 he sick ; but his majesty was scarce gone from him, 
 before he went to an entertainment with Michael Voi- 
 nots. The six months passed, and the czarewitz took 
 no notice of the choice he was to make. His majesty, 
 who saw his deceit, wrote to him again from Copen- 
 hagen, to repeat his exhortations concerning the suc- 
 cession ; and ordered him 'to come to him that he might 
 learn the business of war : but that if he desired to re- 
 tire to a convent, he required that he would make 
 choice of his monastery? fix the time of his retirement, 
 and write word back to his majesty, who would nei- 
 ther prescribe the time nor assign the place. It evi- 
 dently appears by his majesty's three letters, that he 
 earnestly wished lie would make himself capable of the 
 succession ; that lie had no inclination to force him to 
 become a monk ; but, on the contrary, was desirous- 
 to dissuade him from it, and left his choice to his own 
 freo determination. The czarewitz seemingly made 
 choice of a convent of his own proper motion. How- 
 ever, all his promises, which were confirmed by so ma- 
 ny oaths, were found deceitful. For it hi-s act; ci'Iy 
 appeared, that the czarewitz aimed at the succession, 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 
 
 of which his majesty had not only deprived him, hut 
 also forced him, by his powerful exhortations, to pre- 
 tend to it, by laboring to make him self worthy of it. 
 
 " But, in contempt of all this, the czarewitz made his 
 escape, and took refuge with the emperor, demanding 
 his assistance and protection, to aid Mm even with an 
 armed hand ; and he has said that the emperor had as- 
 sured him by the count de Sconborn, vice-chancellor, 
 that lie would procure him the Russian crown, not on- 
 ly by good offices, but also by force of arms : insomuch 
 that the czarewitz not only hoped for his father's death 
 with expressions of joy, but also sought it $ and when 
 he was told there was a rebellion raised in the coun- 
 try* he declared his satisfaction at the news, and was 
 
 / ? 
 
 resolved to join the rebels if they had called him, wheth- 
 er his father was living or dead. 
 
 " One might convict him from his own confession, 
 that when he wrote in his answer, which he gave to his 
 father, that his infirmity was so great that he did not 
 desire the succession, he told him a manifest falsehood. 
 He took physic only to appear sick, if mention was 
 made of any journey he did not care to take, as his 
 father desired : wlien in reality he was perfectly well. 
 Insomuch that we may judge by all these circumstances, 
 that he aimed at the succession, iwt in the manner his 
 father was desirous to leave it him, namely in the prop- 
 er order, but after his own manner, by foreign assist- 
 ance, or the force of rebels, even whilst his father 
 was alive. 
 
 " Though the czarewitz had said in his last confes- 
 sion, that his not having owned his letter from Naples, 
 to the metropolitan of Kiovia, was to be imputed to his 
 fore'etfulncKS : this also has been found to be absolute-' 
 ly false. I 'or since he has remembered the particulars 
 in matters of far less consequence, which were the sub- 
 ject of his discourse with several people some years 
 ago, as appeal's by his examination, how c ?;;ld he have 
 forgot this circumstance of having written to the arch- 
 bishop, which is a point of far greater i 
 
250 THE LIFE OF 
 
 " There appears in this excuse of forgetfulncss not 
 only a direct falsehood, but also a very malicious dispo- 
 sition ; for when Afrosini had maintained to his face 
 that he had written to the archbishop from the fortress, 
 and had sealed the letter in her presence, he had a mind 
 to conceal the business, by the pretence of a plan of 
 the attack of Belgrade, which he sent back sealed to 
 the secretary of the viceroy of Naples: however, he 
 afterwards owned that it was not the plan, but the let- 
 ter to the archbishop of Kiovia, which he had sealed. 
 The excuse he also made, of having forgot to own in 
 his first confession, what concerns the czarewna Mary 
 Alexiewna Dubrofski, and Ebarlakof, who were ac- 
 quainted with his escape, was also a falsehood, as ap- 
 pears from his having afterwards declared he had com- 
 passion upon the czarewna. It also appears by the re- 
 port of the resident Weselowski at Vienna, that the 
 imperialists did not force the czarewitz to write let- 
 ters to the senate and the archbishops. 
 
 " His czarian majesty, in his letters to the czarewitz 
 at Naples, promised him only his gracious pardon for 
 his escape, if lie would return to him. He not only 
 pardoned him upon his return, but also extended his 
 favor so far, as to promise him a general forgiveness 
 for all he had committed, if he would make a sincere 
 confession of all he had done, and discover his accom- 
 plices without any reserve ; declared to him at the 
 same time, that if he kept back any tiling, or conceal- 
 ed any person who was an accomplice in this affair, 
 his pardon should be null and void. Yet we have clear- 
 ly seen in what manner the czarewitz, contemning the 
 paternal clemency and pardon lie had obtained, con- 
 cealed a great number of persons, letters and facts, as 
 also his pernicious designs of joining the rebels, and 
 entering into their devices. It is therefore evident, 
 that he has not only had no real intention of discover- 
 ing all his crimes, and making amends by a sincere 
 repentance, but that he has also disguised, and con- 
 cealed what had pussed, that he might be able to re- 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 2i>l 
 
 sume again his designs for the future, and renew \vhat 
 hitherto he has not been able to effect.'* 
 
 As they were reading the matters above related, his 
 majesty again verbally examined the czarewitz touch- 
 ing the crimes that were proved in those pieces, and 
 how every thing had passed ; and, after a great many 
 questions upon the points of most importance, of which 
 liis majesty shewed him the proofs for his conviction, 
 the czarewitz confessed before the whole assembly, that 
 he was guilty of all that was found in the writings 
 which had been related. 
 
 The audience being ended, his majesty caused an 
 ordinance to be issued out to the arch-bishops and sec- 
 ular states, commanding them to search the holy scrip- 
 tures, and the civil and military laws, relating to the 
 present case, and pronounce sentence against the czare- 
 witz in conformity thereto: authorizing them also to 
 examine him, if they found it convenient, upon any 
 point whatsoever ; to make him appear before them, 
 and put such questions to him as should be necessary. 
 The three following remarkable interrogatories, given 
 to him by count Tolstoi, from under his majesty's own 
 hand, with the prince's answer, ought not to be omit- 
 ted. 
 
 < Go to my son in the afternoon, and put down iu 
 writing, the answers he shall give to the following ques- 
 tions : 
 
 " I. What is the reason why he has not obeyed me, 
 and refused to do what I required of him, or apply 
 himself to any business, contrary to the practice of the 
 world, besides the sin and shame attending upon it ? 
 
 ** II. Whence it is that he has been so little afraid 
 of me, and has not apprehended the consequences of 
 his disobedience ? 
 
 4 III. Whv did he desire to have the succession oth- 
 
 *. 
 
 ci-wise than by obedience, as I have formerly asked 
 him myself? stncl examiu? him upon every thing else, 
 that bears arv relation to this affair."' 
 
 it 
 
 These questions, and the answers that follow, were 
 dated June 
 
252 THE LIFE OF 
 
 " L Though I was not ignorant, that to be disobe- 
 dient, as I was to my father, was opposite to the prac- 
 tice of mankind, and was also both a sin and a shame ; 
 yet this arose from my having been brought up in my 
 infancy with a governess and her maids, from whom I 
 learned nothing but amusements, and diversions, and 
 bigotry, to which I had naturally an inclination. The 
 persons to whom I was entrusted, after I was removed 
 from my governess, gave me no better instructions, 
 particularly Nicophorus Yasenski, Alexis Saslli, and 
 the Naraskins. 
 
 66 My father being careful of my education, and de- 
 sirous I should apply myself to what became the son of 
 the czar, ordered me to learn the German tongue, and 
 other sciences, which I was very much averse to. I 
 .applied myself to them in a very negligent manner, 
 .and only to pass away the time, without having an in- 
 timation to learn any thing. And as my father, who 
 was then frequently with the army, was at a distance 
 iVom me, he ordered prince Mcn-zikoff to have an eye 
 upon me. 'Whilst I was with him, I \v-os obliged to 
 apply ; but as soon as I was out of his sight, the Na- 
 raskins and Vasenski, observing my inclination w:'.s 
 only bent to bigotry and idleness, to keep company 
 with priests and monks, and drink with them, they not 
 only, diverted me from business, but took a pleasure in 
 doing as I did. As they had been about me from my 
 infancy, I was accustomed to observe their directions, 
 to fear them, and to comply with them in every thing ; 
 and thus by degrees they alienated my affect ions from 
 my father, by diverting me with pleasures of this na- 
 ture; so that by little and little, I had not only the mil- 
 itary affairs, and other actions of my father in horror, 
 but also liis person itself, which bus always made me 
 wish to be at a distance from him. 
 
 ""When 1 found myself entrusted at Moscow with the 
 government of the empire, finding I was at frill liber- 
 ty and master of myself, instead of considering that 
 my father had put it in my hands to train me up, and 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 253 
 
 form me for the succession after him, if I would make 
 myself capable of it ; I gave myself up still to the 
 pleasures I was addicted to, with the priests and monks, 
 and other people of that temper. Alexander Kikin, 
 when he was with me, constantly took a great deal of 
 pains to confirm me in tills disorderly way of life. 
 
 *" My father having compassion on me, and desiring 
 to make me worthy of the state to which I was called, 
 sent me into foreign countries ; hut as I was already 
 grown to man's estate, I made no alterations in my way 
 of living. It is true indeed my travels were in some 
 respects useful to me, but were insufficient to erase the 
 vicious habits which had taken such deep root in me. 
 
 " II. It was this naughty disposition which prevent- 
 ed my being apprehensive of my father's correction for 
 my disobedience : I freely owned it ; for though I was 
 really afraid of him, yet it was not with a filial fear; 
 I only sought for means to get from him, and was no 
 ways concerned to do his will, of which I here give 
 you a plain instance. 
 
 " When I came back to Petersburg]!, to my father, 
 from abroad, lie received me in a very gracious man- 
 ner : among other things, he asked me whether I had 
 not forgot what I had learned, and I told him no. He 
 ordered me to brhig in my draughts ; and fearing that 
 he would make me design in his presence, as I knr vr 
 nothing of the matter. I studied how to hurt my hand, 
 so that it should be impossible for me to do any thing 
 at all : I charged a pistol witli hull, and taking it 
 in my left hand, let it off agi'inst the palm of my 
 right, with a design to have shot through it. The ball 
 missed my hand, but the powder burnt it sufficiently 
 to wound it. As the ball entered the wall of mv clos- 
 
 . 
 
 ct, it may be seen there still. My father observing 
 my hand to be wounded, ask< 1 me how it came. I 
 told him an evasive story, anc T kept the truth to my- 
 self. By this means you may see that I was afraid of 
 my father, but not with a filii 1 fear. 
 
 X 
 
25* THE LIFE OF 
 
 " III. As to my having desired the succession, oth- 
 erwise than by obedience, all the world may easily 
 guess at tlic reason ; for when I was once ot of the 
 good way, and was resolved to imitate my father in 
 nothing, I sought to obtain the succession by any the 
 most wrongful method : I was even desirous to come 
 at it by a foreign assistance, and if I had got it, and 
 the emperor would have put in execution what he prom- 
 ised me, of procuring for me the crown of Russia, even 
 with an armed force, I should have spared nothing to 
 have obtained it. For instance, if the emperor had 
 demanded Russian troops in exchange for his ser- 
 vice, against any of his enemies, or large sums of mo- 
 ney, I should have done whatever he pleased, and giv- 
 en great presents to his ministers and generals over 
 and above. I would have entertained at my own ex- 
 pense the auxiliary troops he should have lent me, to 
 put me in possession of the crown of Russia ; and, in a 
 word, have thought nothing too much to have obtained 
 KIV desire." 
 
 
 
 These answers, with a great number of new evi- 
 dences, and the opinions of the clergy, supported by 
 authorities out of the old and new testament, the con- 
 stitutions of the empire, and the military laws being 
 laid before the persons appointed by his czarian maj- 
 esty, the court assembled in the hail on the 2-*th of 
 June to give judgment ; and after having beared all 
 that has been said, read and related, and made ma- 
 ture reflections upon it, with one unanimous consent, 
 they pronounced and ordered sentence of death upon 
 the prince to be signed, and set their seals to it wiili 
 their own hands ; at the same time expressing the 
 great repugnance they had to this ungrateful cilice, and 
 submitting their sentence to his majesty's clemency. 
 This being done, a new session was held on the ttth of 
 July in the morning, and the czarcwitz brought out of 
 the fortress into court, under guard, where he was 
 obliged to repeat the confession of his crimes, and to 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 255 
 
 Lear Ids condemn atkm read to him ; after which lie was 
 SL'iit back into custody. 
 
 As we? have the authority of a public minister, then 
 on the spot, for wliat passed the next day. it would be 
 an injury to the czar not to insert it. Early in the 
 morning, July the 7th. news was brought to his maj- 
 
 *L_? ** 
 
 esty, that the passions of his mind, and the terrors of 
 death, had thrown the czarewitz into an apoplectic fit. 
 Another messenger about noon brought advice, that 
 the prince was in great danger of his life ; and a third, 
 that, being past hopes, he could not out-live the eve- 
 ning : and that he longed to see his father. Then the 
 czar, attended by the principal persons of his court, 
 went to see his dying son, who, at the sight of his fa- 
 ther, burst into tears, and, with his hands folded, de- 
 clared, " That he had grievously and heinously offend- 
 ed the majesty of God Almighty, and of the czar ; that 
 he hop?d not to recover of his indisposition, and even 
 if he should, yet he was unworthy of life ; therefore 
 he begged his majesty, for God's sake, only to take 
 from him the curse lie had laid upon him at Mos- 
 cow ; to forgive him all his heavy crimes ; to impart 
 to him his paternal blessing ; and to caiise prayers to 
 be put up for his soul." During these moving words, 
 the czar and the whole company almost melted away 
 in tears. His majesty returned a pathetic answer, rep- 
 resented to him in a few words all his offences, and 
 then gave him his forgiveness and blessing. After 
 which they parted, with abundance of tears and lamen- 
 tations on Loth sides. 
 
 At iivc in the evening came, a fourth messenger, to 
 ae-juaint his majesty, tir.it the cr.arewitz was extremely 
 (i.sirous once more to see his father. The czar at first 
 was unwilling to comply : but was at last pei s-iialed 
 h? the company, who represented how hard it would 
 be to deny that comfort to a son, who, bcirg on tire 
 point of death, might probably be tortured by (ho s'ings 
 of a guilty consul :--ncc. But when his majesty i adjust 
 stepped into his sloop to go over to the fortress, a fifth 
 
256 THE LIFE OF 
 
 messenger brought an account, that the prince was al- 
 ready expired. 
 
 The very next day, his czarish majesty caused a 
 circular letter to he sent to his ministers abroad, in or- 
 der to prevent the false reports which might be spread 
 about this tragical event. After reciting the circ. in- 
 stances of it, to the same effect as above, his niaji sty 
 concludes, < That although this stroke was a great at- 
 iiiction to him, he nevertheless judged it had happened 
 by the particular providence of God, for the good and 
 repose of his kingdoms ; so that it was with a Christian 
 duty and submission he received this affliction from the 
 hand of God." 
 
 On the 9th of July the corpse being laid into a cof- 
 fin covered with black velvet, and a pall of gold tissue 
 spread over it, was carried from the fortress to the 
 church of the Holy Trinty, where it was laid in state. 
 Four officers of the guards were in waiting, who gave 
 leave to a vast number of people to kiss the hands of 
 the deceased. The preparations being finished, on the 
 llth in the evening, the corpse \vas carried back to the 
 fortress, where it w r as deposited in the new burying- 
 vault of the jczarish family, next to the coffin of the 
 prince's late consort. The czar, the czarina, the chiefs 
 of the nobility and of the courtiers, followed in proces- 
 sion. The czar, and the rest of the mourners, carried 
 each a small wax taper lighted in their hands ; but they 
 wore no mourning cloaks, and the ladies w r ere only 
 dressed in black silks. The czar was bathed in tears 
 during the procession and service at church, where the 
 priest had chosen for the text of his funeral sermon the 
 >vords of David : " my son Absalom, my son, my son 
 Absalom." 
 
 Undoubtedly more credit ought to be given to this 
 relation, than to any of the various reports which wore 
 raised about the death of the young prince ; as, that 
 lie was obliged to take a poisonous draught ; that the 
 czar whipped him to death with his own hands ; and 
 ether fables equally improbable. The many original 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 257 
 
 pieces which his majesty published concerning' the his- 
 tory of this unfortunate son, the frank and generous 
 assurance with which lie lays his own conduct before 
 the impartial world, are incontestable proofs that he 
 had nothing to reproach himself with in this remarka- 
 ble event. The noble acts of clemency he had shown 
 to persons infinitely less detir, and the great pains he- 
 had evidently taken to reclaim this unworthy heir, can- 
 not but convince i;s that it was a necessary piece of se- 
 verity when he gave him up to be tried as a criminal, 
 and at the same time prevent our believing he could be 
 cruel to a child, against whom he was unwilling to be 
 strictly just. And so much as this being manifest, it 
 can certainly be no impeachment of the character of 
 a legislator, that he preferred the interest of an empire, 
 for which he had so often hazarded his life, for which 
 lie had labored incessantly near 30 years, to the safety 
 of a son who had conspired to dethrone him, and to dis- 
 concert the whole system lie had so long been forming. 
 There were not wanting, however, even among the 
 ministers of foreign powers, those who wrote false ac- 
 counts of this affair, and other occurrences at the Rus- 
 sian court. The Imperial and Dutch residents, on this 
 occasion, fell under his majesty's displeasure. He wrote 
 to Vienna to have the first recalled, and had the other 
 seized and examined. To justify which proceeding, 
 he sent a memorial to their high mightinesses, who an- 
 swered it by another very submissively drawn up, 
 wherein they acknowledge the fault of their minister. 
 These injurious reports being stilled, his majesty pro- 
 ceeded in the inquisition against such as were accom- 
 plices in the crimes of the czarewitz, and found the 
 list of conspirators every day increase. Persons of 
 both sexes, and of every age and degree, were invol- 
 ved in the horrid design of destroying their monarch 
 and father, who saw that clemency would here have 
 been misplaced. Some he punished with death, others 
 with the knout and batagos, and not a few banished 
 into Siberia. Prince Dolhonicki was sent an exile to 
 
258 THE LIFE OF 
 
 Casan, stripped of every tiling but the clothes on his 
 back ; and the divorced czarina, mother of the late 
 czarewitz, with princess Mary Alexcwna, his majesty's 
 half sister, were both closely confined. About this 
 time general Renchild was sent home, in exchange for 
 the two Russian generals, Gollowin and Trubeskoi. 
 The first had been in Russia ever since the battle of 
 Pultowa* and the others in Sweden much longer, hav- 
 ing been taken at the battle 4>f Narva. 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 259 
 
 BOOK VII. 
 
 Containing the remainder of the Czar Peters reign, 
 an account of his character. 
 
 TTPON the execution of baron Gortz, mentioned iii 
 the preceding book, plans concerted between him 
 and M. Osterman, were found among his papers. 
 Tlie negotiations had gone successfully on. and the 
 congress which had been transferred from Abo to the 
 isle of Aland, was just drawing to an end, and want- 
 ed only the final approbation of the king of Sweden 
 to its proceedings. Baron Gortz was upon the road 
 to procure this, when he was unexpectedly seized, in- 
 formed that by his master's death all his projects were 
 at an end, and conveyed a prisoner to Stockholm. 
 
 The czar, who saw his scheme disconcerted by tin's 
 sudden revolution, immediately resolved upon prose- 
 cuting the war witli vigor against an almost defence- 
 less nation, and obliging it by force of arms to make 
 those cessions, which he had before hoped to obtain by 
 mere negotiation. He had attempted nothing in the 
 last sea campaign, but suffered Charles to invade Nor- 
 way unmolested ; and so well was the Swedish monarch 
 assured of his pacific disposition, that he had sent for 
 his guards, and a part of the garrison of Stockholm, 
 to assist in the invasion. But the death of this royal 
 adventurer, whose ambition had given too much um- 
 brage to his neighbors, changed the disposition of all 
 Europe, with regard to the desolated kingdom he left 
 behind him, and determined the king of Great-Britain, 
 and soon after the king of Prussia, to enter into friend- 
 ship with the new queen, whom they were unwilling 
 to see deprived of any more provinces. These mon- 
 archs indeed* at the same time-that they took on them the 
 
260 THE LIFE OP 
 
 guarantee of what vet remained to the Swedish crown. 
 
 w 
 
 had the countries confirmed to them that they were al- 
 ready possessed of ; which to the former were Bremen 
 and Verdcn, and to the latter Stctin with its territories. 
 His Britannic majesty was also to pay 300,000 crowns 
 annually to Sweden, during the continuance of the war, 
 and even to procure by force, the restitution of what 
 the czar had conquered, and of the estates of the duke 
 of Rolstein which the king of Denmark had usurped. 
 M. Ostcrman, during the winter, had been sent for 
 from Aland to receive new instructions ; but when he 
 returned thither again in the spring, it was more to 
 menace than negociate with the Swedes, and to declare, 
 that unless in two mouths time they accepted the con- 
 ditions proposed, they must expect a visit from i 0,000 
 plenipotentiaries. Sweden no doubt must have com- 
 plied, had it not been for the alliance above mentioned : 
 .but she made another figure than she had lately done, 
 when the lord Carteret appeared at Stockholm, in the 
 character of ambassador from the king of Great-Brit- 
 ain, and sir John Norris in the road of Copenhagen* 
 -with a squadron of English men of war. It did not 
 at all please the czar, that this admiral, whom he had 
 been informed a few months before was coming to him 
 as a public minister, should have the influence of a 
 strong fleet to support his negociations. This charac- 
 ter had been designed for sir John in the preceding 
 winter, when the resident Jewries had orders to take 
 his excellency with him from Copenhagen : but when 
 Mr. JeflTcries came thither, he found that sir John was 
 returned with his fleet for England, and was obliged 
 to proceed to Petersburg}! alone, where he arrived in 
 the middle of Jamiarv. He had several audiences of 
 
 t/ 
 
 tli) 1 czar and his ministers, in which he complained of 
 the good reception the Jacobites found a.t the Russian 
 court, and that his czarisb majesty had endeavored to 
 div /tthe regent of France from signing the (juadru- 
 pl /alhinec. The rest of Mr. Jeffrries' commission was 
 to make compliments and propositions.) and to concert 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 261 
 
 plans of operation against Sweden ; which, on the- one 
 part, however sincerely agreed to at first, were never 
 intruded to be put in execution alter the death of king 
 Charles. 
 
 It was on the 3d of July, 1719, that sir John Xorris 
 appeared again in the road of Copenhagen, where he 
 received a letter from the czar, requiring him to send 
 in writing the reasons of his coining to the BalUc. 
 The adiniial returned a very mild answer, desiring 
 that he would send to the king his master, to be satis- 
 fied of his good intentions. But this was so far from 
 convincing the czar of the continuance of the king of 
 Great-Britain's friendship, that it plainly shewed him 
 he was abandoned by his allies, and those very allies 
 gone over to the enemy. The king of Poland himself 
 had entered into a treaty with the emperor and the 
 king of Great-Britain ; which occasioned the ezar to 
 write him a warm cxpostulatory letter, and disperse 
 it among the members of the republic : and this usage 
 so exasperated Augustus, that he answered it with se- 
 vere reproaches, w hich seemed to foretel a rupture be- 
 tween Russia and Poland. 
 
 The czar, who had before resolved to make a de- 
 scent on Sweden, now hastened to put it in execution 
 before she could receive any succor from her allies, 
 He published a manifesto from on board his fleet, to 
 declare the motives of this expedition, and vindicate 
 liis own conduct, by throwing the blame of it on the 
 queen of Sw r eden. Her Swedish majesty answered by 
 a counter-manifesto, wherein she recriminates upon 
 the czar, and argues the unreasonableness of those 
 conditions on which he had offered peace ; exhorting 
 her subjects not to receive false impressions fi-om this 
 writing of her avowed enlmy, but bravely to imitate 
 their ancestors in defence of their country. The czar's 
 pen was indeed to be dreaded, as well as his sword : 
 and the queen of Sweden was not the only monarch 
 who was apprehensive of the impressions it might 
 make on their subjects, and who complained of the 
 artifice with which lie employed it. 
 
262 THE LIFE OF 
 
 The descent is mad?, and in s ich an effectual man- 
 ner th;\t the Swedes ai-e unar.l to oppos' 1 the torrent 
 of de.sii'i-.cl'.r-r. overwhelms them. Tiic prince of 
 
 Hesse, with his little army, files about iVr-ni place to 
 place ; bat the Russians neither wait his coirrr ; !C up, 
 nor stop their devastations for fear of his efi'iJ^. 
 They land in parties ever) where, dcsLvy ; 11 t at 
 conies in their way; and as the best towns, the iincst 
 seals, and the richest mines of Sweden, lie near the 
 seiv-eo,ist, they could do their business, and t -in bark 
 again for other places, before it was possible for the 
 Swedish forces to interrupt them, though they even 
 lay within a few leagues. The gazettes of that time 
 give the particulars of this dreadful invasion, which I 
 shall not here copy ; but according 1 to the general ac- 
 eoimt published at Petersburg!), by the czar's order, 
 it appears that admiral Apraxin, for his part, burnt 
 and destroyed, 6 good towns, 11 castles or palaces of 
 brick, 109 of wood, belonging to noblemen, 826 villages 
 or hamlets, 3 mills, 10 magazines, 2 mines of copper, 
 and 5 of iron. General Lesly, who commanded an- 
 other grand party, reduced to ashes 2 towns, 21 cas- 
 tles or noblemen's houses, 535 villages or hamlets, 40 
 mills, 16 magazines, and 9 iron mines, to save one <.-f 
 which the Swedes had offered 300,000 rix-dollars. It 
 must be observed, that in Sweden there are few large 
 towns, the people feting dispersed in small villages 
 over the fsice of the country ; which is the reason that 
 in these lists the number of the latter is so great in 
 proportion to that of the former. 
 
 The Russians, from one mine that they destroyed, 
 carried 13,000 tons of iron on board their gallies : and 
 as a great part of the wealth of Sweden consists in 
 this metal, the more completely to ruin that unhappy 
 kingdom, the invaders threw into the sea all of it 1 hat 
 they could not bring away, which was no less than SO 
 thousand bars. The mines and mills they utterly de- 
 stroyed wherever they came, with the corn and forage, 
 and killed all the cattle and horses which they could 
 
PETER THE GREAT 263 
 
 iv.'ithcr expend nor carry off. In a word : the czar 
 was resolved to reduce the Swedes to such extremity, 
 
 7 
 
 that they should accept of the conditions he thought 
 proper to impose ; bu f , that intrepid nation began to 
 imbibe new courage at the appearance that was made 
 in their favor, and \vhen M. (Jstcrman, after these de- 
 vastations, came to offer them propositions again upon 
 the toot of baron Gortz's plan, they not only rejected 
 them with scorn, but broke up the conferences at Aland 
 Siiul the ministers on both sides returned home. 
 
 Sir John Norris, who had hitherto Iain quiet in the 
 road of Copenhagen, while the Swedes in vain expect- 
 ed him to make a diversion in their favor, perceiving 
 how hardly they \vere now pressed, sailed away for 
 l lie ports of Sweden, in order, as was imagined, to 
 meet the Russians. The latter, however, did not 
 think propei' to wait the junction of the English and 
 Swedish ileets, which undoubtedly would have been 
 an over-match for theirs, but prudently retired to their 
 own harbors eight days beibre sir John's arrival. But 
 fear is a motive that must never be ascribed to great 
 monarchs, and though the czar's conduct in this re- 
 treat was no more than a necessary prudential step, 
 so jealous was he lest it should be interpreted to his 
 disadvantage, that he caused a writing to be published 
 on this occasion, entitled '' A true relation of tlsc re- 
 turn of the Russian fleet to Revel and Cronsiot, pub- 
 lished to confute the false reports of those that enw 
 
 
 
 the glory of his czarish majesty's arms/ * It contained 
 a journal of the motions of the fleet for some time be- 
 ibre, and asserted that the season of the year was the 
 only cause of its retreat; though few could be induced 
 to believe that sir John Norris would have advanced 
 into those northern seas, with an English ileet, at a 
 time when the severity of the weather obliged the Rus- 
 sians to retire. 
 
 It was impossible all this while, there could be any 
 proud understanding between the courts of London and 
 Petersburg!!. Mr. Berkely, son of the lord Bcrkcly, 
 
THE LIFE OF 
 
 of Stratton, had been despatched with letters from lord 
 Carte ret, at Stockholm, while the Russian plenipoten- 
 tiaries were yet at the isle of Aland, offering his Bri- 
 tannic majesty's mediation between the czar and the 
 queen of Sweden : hut when he arrived there, the- 
 plcnipotentiaries would neither grant him a passport 
 to Petershurgh, nor undertake to send his letters to the 
 czar; general Bruce excusing himself upon the con- 
 tents of those letters, which, lie said, were not agree- 
 able to the ties subsisting between their czarian and 
 Britannic majesties. Upon this, messieurs Jeiferies 
 and Weber were ordered to retire to Dantzick ; and 
 the czar, in return, seized the persons and effects of 
 all the English merchants in his dominions, threaten- 
 ing to confiscate the latter, in case the king of Great- 
 Britain made war upon him, which he was informed 
 admiral N orris had commission to do, in conjunction 
 with Sweden. At the same time the Russian resident 
 at London, M. Wesselowski, presented a very hold 
 memorial to king George, which charged him with 
 breach of treaties and violation of friendship. This 
 was answered by secretary Stanhope, and the chance- 
 ry of Hanover, respectively ; and these answers were 
 u short time after replied to by M. Bestuchef. who 
 succeeded Wesselov.ski at London, in such an affront- 
 ing manner, that he was ordered to depart the king- 
 dom. 
 
 I shall postpone the transactions at Petersburg!!., 
 <luring the czar's stay there in the winter, till we have 
 entirely done with this tedious war. His czarian 
 
 
 
 majesty begun early in 1720 to prepare for a new 
 campaign, and resolved alone to push the operations 
 against Sweden, assisted by an English fleet, favored 
 by the kings of Prussia and Denmark, and ready to 
 make peace with Poland. Ulrica Elcanora, sister of 
 the late king Charles XII. in the mean while resign- 
 ed her crown to her husband,- the prince of Hesse - 
 Cassrl ; and king George engaged the regent of 
 France, with whom he was in strict alliance, to pay 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 263 
 
 certain large subsidies that were due to the Swedes, 
 of v, hicli 600,000 crowns were remitted at once. All 
 these dispositions looked little favorable to the czar, 
 who now saw that if he obtained an advantageous 
 peace, he must extort it by force. He reinforced his 
 army in Finland, augmented his fleet, and made all 
 possible haste to enter on action. It was pleasant to 
 see, that while hostilities were vigorously carrying on 
 between the two nations, the king of Sweden sent to 
 notify his accession to the czar,, and the czar very af- 
 fectionately complimented the king upon the news ; 
 each monarch doing all in his power to entertain the 
 envoy of the prince he was at war with. But M. Ro- 
 manzoff, who was sent to Stockholm on this occasion, 
 could obtain nothing but gracious words ; for the Swe- 
 dish court would neither consent to an armistice, nor 
 a cartel for the exchange of prisoners, (both which M. 
 Romanzoff had commission to offer) unless prelimina- 
 ries for a peace were at the same time settled. 
 
 As soon as the season of the year would permit, ad- 
 miral Norris arrived again in the Sound, witli orders 
 anew to offer his master's mediation, and to support it 
 with his fleet. But the czar, who chose rather to treat 
 of peace directly with Sweden, would, however, admit 
 of no mediator but the emperor of Germany. He was 
 persuaded the British admiral would not act offensive- 
 ly, as there was no open rupture between the courts 
 of London and Petersburg!! ; and therefore not only 
 proceeded with drawing together his army in Finland, 
 to the number of 80,000 men, but at the same time 
 got ready his fleet at Cronslot and Revel. He did not 
 venture it out, however, during the whole season, and 
 the, only action it performed was the taking of two 
 Swedish frigates, and running two others aground. 
 Tiiis advantage v*as owing to the rashness of the 
 Swedisli vice-admiral, who, ignorant of the Russian's 
 strength, ventured to attack them on the coast, and 
 were repulsed with the loss of 400 men, 150 pieces of 
 cannon, and these- vessels. Yet the czar, very politi- 
 
 Z 
 
266 THE LIFE OF 
 
 cally, to kcej) up the reputation of Ins marine, made 
 this victory the subject of a triumph ; had medals 
 struck on the occasion, and gave presents to prince 
 Galliczin, the admiral, and the other officers and sol- 
 diers who had signalized their valor. These deluding 
 cavalcades, in M. de Voltaire's opinion, augmented 
 the people's veneration for his person, and, perhaps, 
 made him appear greater in their eyes, than all the 
 real good he had done them. In the mean time, it 
 could not but be a sensible mortification to his majes- 
 ty, that he durst not attempt any tiling farther ; and 
 sir John Norris, though he acted nothing really, did 
 Sweden great service, by keeping the czar from ac- 
 tion. The Russian fleet, though the wonder of the 
 world for the time it had been raising, was yet insuf- 
 ficient to appear before a British squadron. His maj- 
 esty's land forces were more successful ; they burnt 
 the new town of Uma, in Lapland, destroyed two gen- 
 tlemen's seats, 41 villages, 17 mills, and 183 maga- 
 zines, without suffering the least loss. 
 
 Though M. Roman zoif effected nothing himself, it 
 appeared at the beginning of the year 1721, that his 
 voyage to Stockholm had not been useless. He made 
 count Horn, president of the Swedish chancery, so sen- 
 sible of the czar's pacific disposition, that the cartel, 
 which had been refused, was soon after granted to 
 prince Miserski, who immediately succeeded Roman- 
 zoff. His czarish majesty, in the midst of his con- 
 quests, could be under no other necessity to sue for 
 peace, than what paternal affection for his subjects, 
 drained and wasted by twenty years hostilities, laid 
 upon him; and the frankness with which he proposed 
 it, in this advantageous situation, convinced the Swe- 
 dish ministry of his sincerity. When prince Miser- 
 ski returned to Petersburg)!, M. Dahlman, a Swedish 
 adjutant-general, followed him thither, and proposed 
 an armistice for a whole year : but the czar, as he 
 had prepared for the next campaign, would not con- 
 sent to a suspension of arms for so long a time, lest it 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 287 
 
 should be only a snare of the enemy, in order to recov- 
 er strength ; yet he gave M. Dahiinan to understand, 
 that he would accept the mediation of France, which 
 M. Campredon, the French minister at Stockholm, had 
 in some measure offered. This was immediately com- 
 plied with, and M. Campredon went to Petersburg!], 
 to hear his majesty's propositions, which were the same 
 lie had before sent by M. Osterman to Stockholm, and 
 communicated to the king of Great-Britain. The 
 Swedes consented to treat on the conditions they had 
 before refused, and Nieustadt, a little town of Finland, 
 was named for the- place of congress. The plenipo- 
 tentiaries soon repaired thither, but not time enough 
 to prevent the Russian troops from making some fresh 
 progress upon the coasts of Sweden, where general 
 Lesly burnt six new gallics, and twenty-seven oilier 
 vessels ; destroyed a magazine of arms, a manufactory 
 of muskets, two iron forges and thirteen mills ; besides 
 laying waste four towns, 509 hamlets, 98 parishes, and 
 334 barns. But as these hostilities were immediately 
 
 >' 
 
 stopped, as soon as the suspension of arms was agreed 
 on by the plenipotentiaries, the alarm they gave the 
 Swedish court tended only to forward the negoefatiohs, 
 v>hich indeed was all the czar desired. 
 
 The king of Sweden having been brought to con- 
 sent to the cession of Livonia, Esthonia, Ingria, part 
 of Carelia, and the territory of Wyburg; the isles of 
 Oesel, Dragoc, Maen, c. the czar agreed to restore 
 part of Finland ; to pay two millions of rix-dollars to 
 his Swedish majesty ; to permit the Swedes to buy 
 50,000 rubles worth of corn every year at Riga, Rev- 
 el and Wyburg, and to transport it without paying- 
 duty ; except when a bad harvest, or other solid rea- 
 sons, should hinder ii: and to allow the s?ime liberties, 
 civil and religions, to the provinces, that they had cn- 
 j>yed under former governments. AH confiscations, 
 except those already escheated, were to be resioivu,. 
 and all prisoners released without ransom, provided 
 they paid their debts. Those who were \\illing to d. 
 
268 THE LIFE OF 
 
 homage to the czar, were permitted to do so, without 
 being incapacitated from serving elsewhere : the rest 
 had three years allowed to dispose of their estates, and 
 were obliged to pay off all mortgages. Tims did the 
 czar Peter, when all his allies had deserted him, pro- 
 cure a peace upon his own terms, without permitting 
 the king of Great-Britain? as elector of Hanover, to 
 be included in the treaty, though the Swedes had en- 
 deavored to get his name inserted. 
 
 The profusion with which his majesty celebrated the 
 publication of this peace, as well by his ministers at 
 foreign courts, as in the cities of his empire, sufficient- 
 ly expressed the pleasure it gave him. He loaded the 
 plenipotentiaries on both sides with presents and fa- 
 vors, and sent immediate orders to set the Swedish 
 captives every where at liberty ; but with this intima- 
 tion, that if they were willing to enter into his service, 
 he would give them the same rank they had borne in 
 the troops of their country, upon public declaration, 
 that it was their own choice. Those general officers of 
 whose bravery he had been witness, he recommended 
 to the favor of their sovereign. Rear-admiral Ehren- 
 child, in particular, whom the czar, at his departure, 
 had presented with his picture set in diamonds, was, 
 upon this recommendation, preferred to the degree of 
 admiral. 
 
 As to the inhabitants of Livonia, his majesty did 
 more for them than was stipulated in the treaty ; and 
 not only gave the Calvinists among them the free exer- 
 cise of their religion, which they coidd never obtain 
 under the Swedes, but restored to the whole province 
 all those privileges that had been usurped during the 
 two late reigns. Other ordinances that he made in 
 
 O 
 
 1 heir favor, sufficiently convinced them of the lenity of 
 his government. And far all those of his ancient sub- 
 j cts, who were in prison or on board the Allies, he 
 passed an act of indemnity, that thvy too might p-irt;\ke 
 in the funeral joy, and bless God for restoring- public. 
 
PETEft THE GREAT. 269 
 
 The 22d of October, 1721, was ordered for a day of 
 general thanksgiving throughout the empire. Two days 
 before a resolution was taken in the senate, after delib- 
 eration with the clergy, to thank his majesty for his 
 paternal care and pains in the government of his peo- 
 ple, especially during the last war, and to entreat him 
 to accept the titles of Peter the Great, father of his coun- 
 try, and Emperor of all Russia." When this proposi- 
 tion was made to him, he seemed some time in sus- 
 pense, and even desired to be excused from receiving 
 that honor ; but at length he submitted to their re- 
 peatod solicitations, and on the day of thanksgiving, af- 
 ter the treaty of peace was read, the archbishop of 
 Pkskow made an oration upon his majesty's exploits, 
 declaring him worthy of those titles. Then the great 
 chancellor Golofskiu,. at the head of the senate, ad- 
 dressed his majesty in a short speech, which conferred 
 them on liiin, and set forth the reason of this proceed- 
 ing. The whole senate then repeated thrice, " Long 
 live Peter the great, father of his country, and em- 
 peror of all Russia." This was followed by a general 
 salvo of all the cannon, and the loud acclamations of 
 the people. The conduits in the streets ran with wines : 
 flie night concluded with illuminations and fireworks,, 
 and these rejoicings continued for fifteen davs. 
 
 t, 
 
 Having beheld peace thus re -instated in the north, 
 by the great wisdom of his czarish majesty, I return 
 to some transactions dining the last two years, that, for 
 the reasons before given, were hitherto omitted. There 
 had been several other executions, at the end of the 
 year 1718, besides those we have mentioned, of per- 
 sons concerned in the kte czarewitz's treason. After 
 which his majesty established another high tribunal, 
 consisting of military officers, to inquire into the faults 
 of those, concerned in the civil administration. The 
 princes Menzikoff and Dolgorucki, admiral Apraxm,Ms 
 brother the senator, and many others, were found gsiil- 
 ty before it of s-vn-al henious crimps; but the only 
 punishment they suffered, was being severely mulctA 
 
270 THE LIFE OF 
 
 in their purses. The reason his majesty gave for 
 this lenity, was the consideration of their former ser- 
 
 */ ^ 
 
 vices. But it was thought hy many, that the court was 
 instituted only to draw from these favorites a pail of 
 what they had extorted from the people, in the exercise 
 of their respective authorities. "What gave some color 
 to this supposition, was the czar's behavior to prince 
 MenzikofT, who, though always found guilty in inqui- 
 sitions of this nature (of which there were several -dur- 
 ing his majesty's reign) was constantly re-established 
 in his former honors ; and therefore was looked upon 
 only as a tool on these occasions, to color this arbitrary 
 way of levying money on the nobility and chief officers, 
 By this means, it was said, the czar avoided the odium 
 of oppressing his subjects, to raise those immense trea- 
 sures that were necessary for carrying on his vast pro- 
 jects, and even made the commonalty admiiv. their sove- 
 reign, while they hated his ministers \ though at the 
 same time lie only punished them for extortions him- 
 self connived at, and let them still go on to drain the 
 people, that he might squeeze them like sponges, when 
 the exigencies of state called for what they had amass- 
 ed. Whether this suggestion was well founded, or how 
 far such a measure might be justifiable in an absolute 
 monarch; to make him beloved by the most perverse 
 nation in the universe, I will not pretend to determine : 
 but certainly we must allow it, if true, to be a most re- 
 fined stroke of policy. Though me thinks the bodily 
 punishments, such as the knout and batagos, which 
 were often made use of on these convictions, and which 
 Mr nzikoff himself did not always escape, are a pretty 
 strong argument for the contrary opinion. 
 
 In the winter of 1719, the czar banished the Jesuits 
 from his dominions, whither they had introduced them- 
 selves by a recommendation from the emperor. His 
 majesty saw that the maxims of these fathers, which 
 tend to undermine all civil governments, and alienate 
 the minds of people from their princes, in order to fix 
 them on other objects, were incompatible with his do- 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 271 
 
 sign of making- a brave people, that should have no 
 human dependence, but on their own natural sovereign. 
 And at the same time, in imitation of other great leg- 
 islators, he instituted public diversions, to wean liis sub- 
 jects of their superstitious inclinations, which had giv- 
 en but too much handle to the artifice of those spiritual 
 itinerants. He caused assemblies to be opened at Pe- 
 tersburg! i, and drew up regulations to be observed in 
 them, \vhich were printed in the Russian language. 
 Every great man at court was to hold one of these at 
 least every winter, and separate rooms were provided 
 for the ladies, and those who were willing to spend the. 
 evening in conversation, while in others there was dan- 
 cing, or playing at cards and chess, in which last game 
 the Russians arc great proficients. Plays and operas 
 were also introduced ; but, as the czar himself had no 
 great relish for them, they made but little progress 
 during his reign. 
 
 Poland was still so embarrassed, that it is difficult, 
 in a few words, to mention the affairs of that kingdom. 
 The quarrels of the nobility, either among themselves, 
 with their own king, or some foreign potentate, is the 
 chief characteristic of their boasted liberty. They had 
 fi>r a long time been uneasy with the czar on account 
 of the troops which lie kept quartered among them, or 
 Gonthiual'y marched through their territories. Prince 
 Doihorucki, who had been several years with them as 
 his majesty's ambassador, was hitherto unable to give 
 them satisfaction. Augustus himself, as he had now 
 no body to fear, had long been less respectful than for- 
 merly to his ezarish majesty, either out of disregard to 
 an old friend, from whom he expected no further ser- 
 vices, or to ingratiate himself the more with the repub- 
 lic. The coldness was become mutual between the 
 two monarchs, and Augustus was rather inclined to 
 enter into alliance with the Swedes, who had d-.-pos',>d 
 him, than observe his engagements with the czar his 
 restorer : as the latter, for his part, had once thought 
 of undoing what he had done, and replacing Stanislaus 
 
THE LIFE OF 
 
 on the throne from which he had driven him. \Vhile 
 confidence was thus wanting on both sides, the pala- 
 tine of Mazovia came ambassador from the diet to his 
 ezarian majesty, to demand satisfaction for the dam- 
 ages done by the marches of his troops, and to declare, 
 in case of refusal, that the nobility were ready to get 
 on horseback, to take revenge for the injuries they had 
 received. The czar was neither willing to break with 
 the republic, nor to relinquish the pretensions he had 
 upon it, and therefore answered the ambassador by oth- 
 er demands, and promised to examine into the grounds 
 of what he complained of. Thus the negociations 
 were still spun out ; prince Dolhorucki was continued, 
 and the palatine of Mazovia went home as he came ; 
 but not without being loaded with civilities, and ex- 
 pressing his admiration at the wonders of his majes- 
 ty's reign, his magnificent buildings, numerous armies, 
 powerful fleets, and political institutions ; all which lie 
 promised to recount in his own country. 
 
 As the king of Great-Britain had taken part with 
 Sweden, the czar apprehended the British ministry 
 would oppose all the steps towards an accommodation : 
 for this reason his majesty, who well knew the temper 
 and constitution of the English, endeavored to set the 
 people of that nation against their rulers, as if these 
 latter were only in the interest of Hanover. By pub- 
 lishing an ordinance in favor of the British merchants, 
 he kept the ministry from doing him any hurt during 
 the congress at Nieustadt. To see him not only con- 
 quer the first hero of the age, but out-reach the ablest 
 politicians, surmount every obstacle that lay in his way, 
 and accomplish all he had fought for in alliance, when 
 deserted and opposed by his allies ; what an idea does 
 it give us of his wonderful spirit how does it convince 
 us of the propriety of his newly acquired title ? 
 
 But the imperial title, thus solemnly conferred by 
 his own subjects, was yet to be acknowledged by for- 
 eign powers. All the ministers residing at Petersburg!! 
 had public notification of what was done, and were de- 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 273 
 
 sired to write concerning it to tlicir respective courts : 
 at the same time the Russian ministers abroad had the 
 like, notice, that they might demand of the powers to 
 whom they were sent, the acknowledgment of this ti- 
 tle. The king of Prussia, the states-general, and the 
 grand seignior, made no hesitation ; and the other pow- 
 ers, who had any misunderstanding with the court of 
 Petersburgh, or any private reasons to keep them at 
 present on the reserve, complied as soon as the matters 
 in suspense were adjusted. Mean while his imperial 
 majesty, every day more worthy of those honors, ac- 
 complished what lie had before found impracticable, 
 by transferring the trade of Archangel almost entirely 
 to Petersburgh : and for the encouragement of the mer- 
 cantile part of his subjects, as well as to lessen the 
 public expense, he cantoned out his men of war among 
 the trading cities, who were to use them in commerce, 
 upon condition only of keeping them in repair for his 
 majesty's service. Nor was religion neglected among 
 his other regulations, though the manner in which he 
 promoted it was not conformable to the system of priests. 
 He caused the bible to he printed in the Russian lan- 
 guage, and obliged every father of a family to have at 
 least one copy, on which account they were sold very 
 cheap : and the clergy, most of whom thirty years he- 
 fore could barely read, were ordered all of them to 
 preach in the modern method, such doctrines only as 
 were to he found in the scriptures. 
 
 On the 2ist of December, 1721, his czarish majesty 
 set out from Petersburgh for Moscow, attended by the 
 empress, the nobility and the foreign ministers. On 
 the 26th lie entered his ancient capital in triumph, at 
 tUe head of his first regiment of guards, passing un- 
 der several arches, and receiving, as he marched along, 
 the compliments of the magistracy and clergy. But 
 neither is it my business to describe particularly these 
 cavalcades, having already said < rrr:p;li in their de- 
 fence ; nor vas it the bi'.sin- ss of his majesty only to 
 exliibit a public spectacle, Prince Peter, his only son, 
 
THE LIFE OF 
 
 had been dead almost three years, and the succession, 
 in all probability, would occasion much dispute after 
 his death, if it were not settled before ; besides that 
 the empire might fall into the hands of a person un- 
 worthy or incapable of governing',, who would conse- 
 quently ruin all tlr.it had hitherto been done. His ma- 
 jesty therefore summoned all the ofliccrs, civil and mil- 
 itary, and all the inhabitants of Moscow, native and 
 foreign, to assemble in the castle on the fourth of Feb- 
 ruary, where an unexpected proposal was made them, 
 and afterwards distributed to each person in print. It 
 was that they should swear, and give it under their 
 hands, " to approve such person for successor to the 
 empire, as his majesty should nominate." An order of 
 the same nature was published a few days afterwards 
 atPetersburgh, to be subscribed by the magistrates and 
 people. The grandees of Russia were all summoned 
 to Moscow, and those of Astracan and Siberia to their 
 respective capitals, to subscribe the same writing. And 
 such was now the universal opinion of their emperor's 
 wisdom and cares, that all ranks and degrees pressed to 
 obey his commands, though every one was ignorant 
 who the person was he intended to choose. Prince Na- 
 raskin, a near relation of his majesty, a person of great 
 abilities and experience, who had been many years 
 abroad, and was well acquainted with his majesty's 
 great designs, was the man generally thought of. The 
 emperor, however would satisfy nobody, but delared in 
 general in the act of succession, that if the person 
 pitched upon should forget himself on that account, 
 and not continue to answer his expectation, he would 
 exclude him and choose another." 
 
 The situation of affairs in Persia, upon the revolt of 
 Myr-Maghmud, gave both the czar and the grivntl 
 seignior an opportunity of turning their arms that way. 
 Father du Cerceau, in his history of the revolution in 
 Persia, gives a very particular account of this extra- 
 ordinary event, one of the most remarkable of the pres- 
 ent age. He shcv.s us an indolent monarch, other- 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 275 
 
 wise generous and humane, suffering himself to be lul- 
 led into a pi'OHnmd lethargy, while his subjects were 
 more oppressed, and less protected, than under the 
 worst of his tyrannical predecessors. An artful noble- 
 man, one of the head of the Aghwans, an obscure na- 
 tion, who inhabited a very remote and neglected part 
 of the empire, discovers the weakness cf the court, and 
 forms the project of becoming independent. He effects 
 it with ease, and preserves this independency till his 
 death : after which his son, a youth of but eighteen, 
 having defeated an army that was sent against him, 
 pursues his victory till he deposes his sovereign, and 
 ascends the imperial throne. The example of the Agh- 
 wans encouraged the Lesgians to revolt likewise, who 
 being a people that inhabit about mount Caucusus, on 
 the west of the Caspian Sea, among the ravages and 
 massacres they committed, put to the sword above 300 
 'Russians, who came thither in the way of commerce, 
 and seized their effects, to the amount of above a mil- 
 lion of money. About the same time the caravan from 
 
 
 
 China was pillaged and destroyed by the Usbeck Tar- 
 tars, a people in union with Myr-Maghmud. 
 
 These outrages upon his majesty's subjects gave suf- 
 ficient cause of complaint, and occasioned his sending 
 an ambassador to Persia, who remonstrated the case to 
 the young usurper. Maghmud, with an air of haugh- 
 tiness and indifference, which success and want of ex- 
 perience are ever apt to give, told the ambassador, 
 *' that for his part, he was willing to maintain a good 
 understanding with the czar, who he had heard was a 
 prudent and valiant prince : but could not answer for 
 the conduct of his Tartar allies, with whom the czar 
 must treat for security if he wanted to pass through 
 their country." This insolent answer, joined to the 
 damage his subjects had sustained, gave the Russian 
 emperor a fair opportunity to make an expedition to 
 the Caspian Sea ; the becoming master of which might 
 be a means of extending the commerce of his empire. 
 With this view he gave orders for assembling troops 
 
276 THE LIFE OF 
 
 about Astracan, building vessels on the Wolga, and 
 making all the necessary dispositions for falling on the 
 northern provinces of Persia, which lay along the west 
 (if this unnavigatcd sea. The river Daria, before 
 mentioned for its gold dust, falls into it in these parts, 
 and some very remarkable antiquities, in particular 
 seA T eral thousand manuscripts in an unknown language, 
 had been discovered in the same neighbourhood ; both 
 \vhich were motives sufficient to draw thither a prince 
 of Peter's character, who it was judged, would not have 
 wanted a pretence for this expedition, if the affront 
 from Myr-Maghmud had never been received. 
 
 It gave no small alarm to the Turks, when they saw 
 an army of 100,000 men, with the emperor of Russia at 
 their head, drawn up on their frontiers ; for the Turk- 
 ish provinces here run up parallel with those of Per- 
 sia, and border upon the Black, as the other upon the 
 Caspian Sea. The grand vizir signified the suspi- 
 cions of the Porte to the Russian minister at Constan- 
 tinople, and was soon satisfied by a manifesto, which 
 the emperor sent him, and caused to be dispersed along 
 Ihe borders, that his imperial majesty's design was not 
 against Georgia, nor any other province dependent on 
 the Turks, but to correct the insolence of the usurper 
 Maghmud. And as sovereigns never want more pomp- 
 ous reasons to cover those that are private and real, 
 his majesty declared himself the protector of the in- 
 jured sophi, whom he resolved to support against Magh- 
 mud's pretensions. He had received indeed three ex- 
 presses from this monarch, imploring his assistance 
 against the rebel. The conditions offered were too ad- 
 vantageous for Peter not to embrace them, though it 
 was impossible he should actually attempt, with his own 
 troops, to re-enthrone the sophi. The marching an ar- 
 my into the heart of Persia would have been too haz- 
 ardous an enterprise, as it must have excited the jeal- 
 ousy of the Turks, and even of the mogul : but the 
 Russian emperor, by invading the provinces on the 
 Caspian Sea, might draw off the forces of the usurper 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 277 
 
 thither, and give the party of the deposed monarch 
 time to recover strength. 
 
 On the 18th of July, 1722, the Russian fleet, con- 
 sisting of 273 large vessels, began to fall down the 
 Wolga. The emperor Peter, who commanded the ex- 
 pedition in person, was his own historian, and to his 
 journal* is the world obliged for all the accounts of it 
 extant. It informs us of the surrender of Terki and 
 Dorbi'iit, the two principal towns along the coast ; of 
 the routing several detachments of the petty princes 
 .hereabouts, and of the joy with which they were re- 
 ceived at all the places they passed through. His 
 majesty, in short, became master of the coasts of Dag- 
 hestan and Schirvan, and that verv armv which was 
 
 %/ 
 
 in Sweden in September, 1721, was in Moscow from 
 November to the April following, conquered two prov- 
 inces from Persia in the summer, and arrived at Mos- 
 cow again in November, 1722. A little inspection of 
 the map will give an idea of this laborious expedition, 
 whiclu thoue^i it was not attended with anv reinarka- 
 
 O *- 
 
 ble action,, there not being an enemy in those parts 
 capable of making head against such a numerous ar- 
 my, deserves a place among the great actions of the 
 emperor Peter. The Latin verse written over the 
 gate of Dcrbent, when his majesty entered it, alluding 
 to the opinion that Alexander the Great was the build- 
 er of that city, contained a very handsome compliment 
 oYi this occasion : 
 
 FifrtLvemt hancfortis, tend lianc jam fortior nrbem. 
 
 Nor was it only as a conqueror, that Peter visited 
 the so shores, but as a geographer and mathematician. 
 The Caspian Sea had been known as long as we have 
 any records of time, but the true figure of it was nev- 
 er discovered till this expedition. The czar detected 
 the ignorance of all former ages, by ordering a chart 
 to be taken of this prodigious lake : and we now see 
 
 This journal is published in English, among other pieces, in the sec- 
 ond volume of Consett's trials. 
 
 2 A 
 
278 THE LIFE OF 
 
 it extended in length from north to south, to more than 
 three times the breadth j whereas in our maps before 
 this, it makes always a round or an oval figure. His 
 majesty sent a draught of his new Caspian Sea, (for so 
 we may properly call it) to his brethren of the acade- 
 my, wherein the places are laid down with as much 
 exactness as in our maps of England, and the copies 
 of it are now almost as common. 
 
 Myr Maghmiid having strove in vain to distress the 
 Russian army, by setting upon them the neighboring 
 Tartars, and finding he could have no confidence in 
 the loyalty of the Persians, took all possible pains to 
 bring over the porte to his interest, and make it break 
 with the czar. We have already seen, in several in- 
 stances, the weak and uncertain measures which the 
 Ottomans took on every slight alarm from Russia, and 
 it was now no difficult matter to terrify them with the 
 danger of Georgia, and the storm which threatened 
 the Mahometan religion, for which the Turks and Per- 
 sians were equally concerned. A rupture, in all like- 
 lihood, must have followed, if the emperor of Germany 
 had not signified to the sultan, who sent to sound his 
 inclinations, that he was under such engagements to 
 Russia, as would oblige him to take arms in its fa- 
 vor, whenever attacked by his sublime highness. The 
 grand vizir, who was almost the only man in the divan 
 that wished to preserve the peace, made the best use 
 of this declaration to soften the rest of the ministry ; 
 and as the French ambassador, at the same time, took 
 pains to convince the sultan that the Russian emperor 
 had done nothing but what the porte had before ap- 
 proved of, the matter for the present blew over , and 
 though a fresh alarm arose, upon the revolt of the peo- 
 ple of Ghilan to the czar; the same preparations that 
 had been making against Russia, were at last employ- 
 ed against Maghmud himself, upon the pressing in- 
 stances of the deposed sophi. 
 
 The czar made preparations the next spring for re- 
 newing the Persian war. But the usurper had then 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 279 
 
 his hands full of the Turks, and was in no condition to 
 oppose, the troops which his majesty had left behind 
 him. They took Baku, the only place of importance 
 that remained to the Persians on that coast ; for which 
 great rejoicing's were made at Petersburg!!, as it se- 
 cured all the other Russian conquests on the Caspian 
 Sea. About the same time arrived an ambassador from 
 Schah Thanias, son of the deposed sophi Hussein. 
 That young prince was now at the head of an army, 
 and had gained some advantages over the enemv. 
 
 tt 
 
 His minister being received with much splendor, con- 
 cluded a treaty with his czarish majesty, by which 
 Derbent, Baku, the provinces of Ghila.ii, Mazande- 
 ran, and all the other, countries bordering upon the 
 Caspian Sea, were ceded forever to Russia, upon con- 
 dition, that the czar should assist the young Schah 
 against his rebellious subjects, and get him re-estab- 
 lished on the throne of his ancestors. 
 
 As the Turks were now stripping Persia of all the 
 provinces they could, without regard either to the usur- 
 per or the hereditary prince, they immediately took 
 umbrage at this alliance, and debated again about en- 
 tering into a war with the Russians. But his imperial 
 majesty having timely notice of their disposition, he 
 took care to communicate the new treaty to the porte 
 in form, inviting her to become a party in it, as no 
 more was designed by it than to assist an insulted 
 prince against his rebellions subjects. The vizir again 
 gave a good turn to this declaration/ and the usurpa- 
 tion of Maglunud was painted in such colors to the sul- 
 tan, that he at last approved of what tlie Russian cm- 
 peroi* had done. A convention was consequently agreed 
 on between Sehah Thamas and his highness, bv which 
 
 ) 
 
 the latter was left in possession of Erivan, Tauris and 
 Casbin : but at the same- time a limitation was set to 
 the conquests of the Russians, which, however, not on- 
 ly confirmed to them the western coasts of the Cas- 
 pian, of which they were already masters, but gave 
 them a prospect of two other rich provinces, #s S.OOH 
 
280 THE LIFE OF 
 
 as the repose of Persia was settled. Thus, this last 
 war in which the czar Peter was ever engaged, we 
 have seen us happy a conclusion as to any of his former. 
 
 His imperial majesty for several years past, had 
 been often afflicted with such violent fits of the cholic, 
 that his life was more than once in danger. One of 
 these paroxisms had seized him at Moscow, just before 
 he set out on the expedition against Persia, and as the 
 distemper returned upon him more frequently than 
 formerly, he thought it advisable, for fear of an acci- 
 dent, to leave behind him a will, written with his own 
 hand, and appointing his successor in the empire. 
 This testament, made in consequence of the power he 
 had assumed, which power his subjects had acknowl- 
 edged in the oath they took some time before, was pla- 
 ced among the records of the empire, that it might be 
 recurred to in case of his demise : but now that lie was 
 returned in safety, and had established peace on every 
 side of his wide extended empire, his majesty resolved 
 to declare publicly the person he had nominated in his 
 will, and to secure to her the allegiance of his subjects 
 Avhile he yet lived. His beloved Catharine, the com- 
 panion and partner of all his fatigues, was to be sol- 
 emnly crowned in his ancient city of Moscow, and left 
 in possession of that dignity, which, after the experi- 
 ence of many years, he found due to her merit. 
 
 A proclamation was published in pursuance of tliis 
 resolution, allcdging the examples of several Greek 
 emperors, as Basilicas, Justinian, Heraclius, and Leo 
 the philosopher, who had all of them set the crown 
 upon the head of their consorts, as a precedent for 
 what his majesty had determined to do. It mentioned 
 in particular the action at the Pruth, in which the em- 
 press had afforded him such eminent service, and do- 
 t-hired this dignity to be conferred on her as an ac- 
 knowledgment for all that she had done and suffered 
 in Jus behalf. 
 
 Givnt preparations were made for the exhibition of 
 this extraordinary spectacle, which was retarded for 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 281 
 
 some time on account of new misunderstandings with 
 the Turks: but these being blown over, the emperor 
 and empress arrived at Moscow, on the first of April, 
 172*. The solemnity was performed the 18th of May, 
 after her imperial majesty bad for three days prepar- 
 ed for it by fasting' and prayer. Of all the public cer- 
 emonies in the czar Peter's reign, this was, perhaps, 
 the most splendid and expensive. His majesty, who 
 well knew what an effect these magnificent shews 
 
 ZJ 
 
 have on the minds of the populace, was doubtless wil- 
 ling- by these means to teach them the most profound 
 veneration for the person he had chosen to govern them, 
 and whom he designed to honor in this unparalleled 
 manner. If we reflect on the birth of this princess, 
 and the extraordinary steps by which she rose to the 
 height of worldly majesty, we must allow there was 
 great reason for some such method to be taken, in or- 
 der to efface, as much as possible, the memory of her 
 former state. This great monarch, though he always 
 avoided pomp and expense, where they were not abso- 
 lutely necessary, would yet never spare them when- 
 they served any good purpose. 
 
 Gazettes and annals, or (what are much the same) 
 voluminous histories of particular persons, are the 
 proper registers of such matters as these. As they 
 are designed only to answer a present purpose, they 
 iio otherwise deserve a place in history, than just ?.s 
 precedents for future solemnities. It is sufficient to 
 take notice here, that the cathedral, in which this cer- 
 emony was performed, was richly adorned, and.croud- 
 cd with nobility, gentry, and foreign ministers ; that 
 the emperor himself put the crown on her majesty's 
 head, after which she received the sacrament, andThe- 
 ophanes, archbishop of Pleskow, made an oration in her 
 praise. She was led by the duke of Holstein, and all 
 the great officers of state made a splendid appearance. 
 After the whole procession was over, their majesties 
 dined in the great hall of solemnities, which is one of 
 the largest and finest rooms in Europe, The duke of 
 
282 THE LIFE OF 
 
 Holstcin had a table bv himself. The fountains ran 
 
 ft 
 
 with wine, red and white ; and oxen, and all manner 
 of fowls, were roasted and given away to the populace. 
 
 Having thus introduced the duke of Holstein, it is 
 proper here to give a history of that prince, who was 
 now in high favor at the imperial court of Russia. I 
 before mentioned his being dispossessed, during his mi- 
 nority, of the dutchy of Sleswick, which had been 
 guaranteed to him by the king of Great-Britain. His 
 pretensions to the crown of Sweden, as son of the late 
 Charles XIFs eldest sister, were thwarted by the suc- 
 cession of his aunt Ulrica, who had now resigned he r 
 right to her husband, and suffered the states to resume 
 their ancient privilege of electing their sovereigns. In 
 these circumstances the duke applied in 1720 to the 
 czar, who was then at war with Sweden, and not much 
 pleased with the kings of Denmark and Great-Britain. 
 His majesty very graciously attended to the young 
 prince's minister, promised him his protection, and as 
 an earnest of respect, sent bis highness 100,000 crowns, 
 and an invitation to come to him from Breslau, where 
 he then resided. Riga was at that time the residence 
 of the Russian court, and the duke coming thither in 
 April 1721, he met witii a most kind reception from 
 both the czar and czarina, with whom he had continu- 
 ed ever since. 
 
 I took notice that the emperor's daughter Anne IV- 
 trowna, who had been solicited in marriage for the 
 chevalier de St. George, was at the same time intend- 
 ed for the duke of Holstein bv baron Gortz. But the 
 
 % 
 
 sudden death of both the baron and his master, and 
 fiie new system that was introduced in Sweden, had 
 entirely changed the state of affairs with regard to the 
 duke, who co'ild hardly have thought afterwards of so 
 great a match, but for this lucky incident of being 
 taken under the czar's protection. This had already 
 raised the character and interest of the young prince, 
 and revived his Inpos of still succeeding to the crown, 
 which he thought to be his right ; and an embassy 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 283 
 
 which he sent to the senate at Stockholm, supported 
 by the Russian ministers, had been so effectual, that 
 the states of Sweden, notwithstanding the remonstran- 
 ces of the king and queen to the contrary, allowed him 
 to take and use the titls of royal highness ; which was 
 a sort of tacit acknowledgment of his claim to the Swed- 
 dish crown. The czar was very much pleased with 
 the success of this negociation, as he determined still, 
 to give his daughter to the duke, according to what 
 liad been concerted six vears before : and now, in the 
 
 * 
 
 winter of i72i<, he invited the foreign ministers and 
 nobility, to be present at betrothing the royal couple, 
 which was performed by his majesty's joining their hands 
 and the archbishop of Novogorod's conferring on them 
 his sacerdotal blessing. The marriage was solem- 
 nized in form not long after ; but the duke did not 
 long enjoy Ills beautiful consort, for she died 1728, 
 aged only 16 years. His royal highness survived her 
 eleven years, and died at tiie age of 39. 
 
 This act of betrothing his daughter was the last pub- 
 lic solemnity at which the czar Peter assisted, and we 
 are now come to the period of that life which did so 
 much honor to the human species. 
 
 His majesty iiad been first seized with the strangury 
 about the end of the year 172.). for which he had re- 
 course to the use of mineral waters. His disease how- 
 ever, was more powerful than these remedies, which, 
 though they gave him some short intervals of relief, 
 could not prevent its returning with more fury than 
 ever : s:> that about the middle of January 1725, lie- 
 was obliged to be confined to his chamber. The ago- 
 ny of Ills pain was so violent in making water, that lie 
 seemed unable to express it, and only vented himself 
 in heavy groans. A whole week he continued in tor- 
 ture, before it was thought convenient to break an ab- 
 scess, which was discovered in tho neck of his bladder. 
 When this was done, the plentiful discharge 1 of matter 
 gave him some ease for the pros v : . 15 ut all hopes of 
 recovery soon after vanished* and nothing but grief 
 
28* THE LIFE OF 
 
 was seen or heaved throughout the whole palace. In 
 this extremity, while, as himself expressed it, he was 
 *' convinced what a miserable creature mortal man is," 
 he issued out an act of grace, which extended even to 
 malefactors condemned for treason. On the 27th of 
 January he tainted away, when all who were present 
 thought him expired. The alarm was instantly given. 
 All the senators and great officers, with crowds of the 
 people, came rushing into the apartment, and with 
 tears bedewed the hand of their monarch, who unex- 
 pectedly recovering from his fit. with some difficulty 
 pronounced a few words. This accident gave him 
 an opportunity if seeing how dearly he was belov- 
 ed, by the sincere lamentations that were uttered 
 upon the supposition of his having expired. After this 
 he continued fifteen hours in the agonies of death, all 
 which time, in proportion to his strength, he filled up 
 with acts of devotion. At last, on the 28th of Janua- 
 ry, at four o'clock in the morning, with all the forti- 
 tude of a hero and the piety of a Christian, he gave 
 up the ghost, having a little before received the sacra- 
 ment. He lived fifty -two years, seven months and 
 eight days : a very short time for the many gveat 
 things he performed. 
 
 He left behind him three daughters, by the empvtss 
 Catharine ; Anne, dutchcss of Holstcin ; Elizabeth, 
 who is still living ; and Natalia, who dying the 15th 
 of March fallowing, was buried with her father on tic 
 21st of the same month. The funeral obsequies were 
 extraordinarily magnificent, for the account of which 
 we refer to the journals of the time. Such posthu- 
 mous honors could add nothing to the character of Pe- 
 ter, and may be indiscriminately bestowed upon the 
 tyrant and the legislator. 
 
 During his last illness, lie gave orders that the oath, 
 which had been formerly administered in behalf of the 
 empress, should be renewed. Notwithstanding which 
 there was some debate in council after his deal]), wheth- 
 er +hey should acknowledge her for successor, and 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 
 
 whether her coronation conferred any right ; hut this 
 was instantly over, and a declaration drawn up, in the 
 name of the senators, clergy, and general officers, that 
 the most august Catharine had succeeded, and to hey 
 all allegiance was due. Tins, together with an oath 
 on the occasion, was printed and sent to all parts of 
 the empire ; and every one subscribed it with the ut- 
 most alacrity. The great merit of this lady sufficient- 
 ly justified the czar's passion for her during life, and 
 the donation he had made her at his death. She had 
 an understanding capable of entering into rJl his views, 
 ii resolution and intrepidity for putting them in execu- 
 tion, almost equal to his own, and a most beneficent 
 temper, ready to redress every grievance. 
 
 In the beginning of this history is a general state- 
 ment of what Russia was before the reign of Peter 
 the great. "We have now seen in some measure, what 
 he had made it. Augustus boasted concerning Rome, 
 that he had found a city of brick and left one of mar- 
 ble. How much more the legislator of Russia had to 
 boast of, we shall see by looking over some of his prin- 
 cipal establishments. 
 
 A body of infantry of * 100,000 men, as fine troops, 
 as hardy and well disciplined as any in Europe, with a 
 great part of the officers native Russians. The want 
 of horses in Russia, prevented his having a cavalry 
 equally good. 
 
 A powerful fleet, consisting of 40 ships of the line, 
 and 200 gallies. One of the largest of these ships, 
 mounting 90 guns, he built himself, in conjunction with 
 Muscovite workmen. This great vessel was launched 
 in 1718, amidst the acclamations of the people, with a 
 pomp that was worthy of the principal carpenter. 
 
 A great number of strong fortifications, erected ac- 
 cording to the best and newest plans, furnished with 
 artillery and regular garrisons. Also harbors for the 
 
 * Th's number, says tl-.o author of Original Aneo<'oti-s of Ffttr tiT 
 Great, (Mr. EtiBtaphieve) bliould be op wards of 2uo,uou. 
 
286 THE LIFE OF 
 
 * safety of his fleets, as convenient and well defended as 
 in any other country. 
 
 An excellent form of government in all the great 
 cities, which were before as dangerous to pass through 
 in the night, as the most unfrequented woods. High 
 roads were also made, as in other nations. 
 
 An academy of sciences and belles-lettres, upon the 
 model of that at Paris, and almost under the same reg- 
 ulations. Another for the marine and navigation, to 
 which all the noble families in Russia were obliged to 
 send some of their children. 
 
 Colleges at Moscow, Petersburg!], and Kiow, for 
 the languages, the polite sciences, and the mathemat- 
 ics. Likewise schools in all the towns and little vil- 
 lages, where the children of peasants learned to read 
 and write, wliich the very gentry could hardly do be- 
 fore. 
 
 A college of physicians, and a fine public dispensa- 
 tory at Moscow, which supplied with remedies all the 
 great cities, and the army. Till his reign there never 
 was in Muscovy either physician or apothecary, but 
 only for the czar's person. 
 
 Public lectures in anatomy, a science whose name 
 was till then unknown ; for the purpose of which his 
 majesty had brought M. Ruisch's excellent cabinet, 
 of itself a perpetual lecture, consisting of dissections 
 the most curious and instructive. 
 
 An observatory, where the astronomers were not 
 wholly employed in the study of the heavens, but hud 
 for their object all the curiosities of natural history, 
 which lias enabled them already to oblige the world 
 with a great variety of physical researches. 
 
 A garden of plants, under the direction of able bot- 
 anists, who were making collections, not only from all 
 the known parts of Europe, hut from the most unknown 
 tracts of Europe and Asia, as well as from Persia, and 
 ' China itself. 
 
 Printing-houses, in which he changed the ancient 
 barbarous characters that could hardly be decypher- 
 
PETER THE GREAT 287 
 
 % 
 
 ed, on account of the frequent abbreviations, Books, 
 which, before his time, were more scarce in Russia, 
 than any foreign commodity, are now to be seen there 
 in great plenty. 
 
 Interpreters, not only for all the living languages iu 
 Europe, but for Latin, Greek, the Turkish, the Cal- 
 muck, the Mogul, and the Chinese tongues. A most 
 noble instance of the vast extent of the Russian empire 
 and possibly a presage that it will yet be greater. 
 
 A royal library, composed of three very large ones, 
 which he bought in England, Holstein and Germany. 
 
 A flourishing* trade, for the encouragement of which 
 he built new cities, caused canals to be cut, and made 
 roads through places before impassable, all at incredi- 
 ble labor and expense. 
 
 Medicinal waters, baths, and mines, which had been 
 hitherto unknown in his country, he laid open. He 
 raised manufactories, of which Russia had formerly 
 little or no knowledge, and prevented the sending of 
 raw goods to England, Holland, and other places, 
 where they used to be sold at a low rate, and after- 
 wards, when manufactured, bought again at ten times 
 the price. 
 
 After having given to this work these solid and ne- 
 cessary foundations, he added to it all that was want- 
 ing for ornament. The ancient architecture, rude and 
 unpolished to the last degree, he entirely changed, or 
 rather he gave birth to architecture in his empire. 
 Multitudes of new houses, convenient and uniform, 
 were seen to rise every year. He erected palaces and 
 public offices, and in particular a magniGcent admiral- 
 ty, on which he bestowed the greater expense, as it 
 was not designed for a mere piece of ostentation. 
 
 Great numbers of pictures, by the masters of Italy 
 and France, lie purchased and brought over ; and a 
 nation who never knew what painting was but from 
 some coarse representations of their saints, can now 
 relish the works of a Raphael or a Poussin. He sent 
 ships to Genoa and Leghorn, loaded with inerchan- 
 
288 THE LIFE OF 
 
 disc, which in return brought back statues and antiqui- 
 ties. Pope Clement. XL in regard to his fine taste, 
 sent him an antique of great value, which he trans- 
 parted to Petersburg'! by land, to avoid the hazards of 
 the sea. A cabinet of medals, a sort of curiosity that 
 is not ancient in the most polite countries, was formed 
 in Petersburg!! under his care. Without the tedious 
 progress by which other nations have arrived at their 
 present perfection, lie had the happiness to leave his 
 in a condition almost equal to the proudest of them 
 all. The Russian empire was just at the summit of 
 its glory ; which it attained with the more reputation, 
 as it started from a condition the most mean and des- 
 picable. ; 
 
 Among the rest of his reformations, we have before 
 mentioned that religion was included, which till then 
 hardly merited the ua'inc of Christian. Their many 
 lents and lasts, their superstitious worship of saints, 
 miracles which depended only on the pleasure of igno- 
 rant priests : this was before the religion of the Rus- 
 sians. The clergy, who knew nothing themselves, 
 could give no instruction to the laity. Peter had the 
 courage to reform these abuses, and not to suffer the 
 soldiers and populace to be made indolent by the holi- 
 days of their church. In 1721, he published a spir- 
 itual regulation, which was drawn up by a synod as- 
 sembled for that purpose, and every article of it con- 
 sidered and approved by himself, containing directions 
 for all ranks and orders of men ; and what was more, 
 he saw them effectually put in execution. By mak- 
 ing himself head of the church, upon abolishing the 
 patriarchate, he became the more absolute master of 
 his empire. Preaching is now frequent in the Mus- 
 covite language, and confined, as it ought, to spiritual 
 subjects. 
 
 The czar did more : he dared to lop off from the 
 rich livings and monasteries, their superfluous reve- 
 nue, and apply it to his own use. A clergy immod- 
 erately rich, he well knew, would be immoderately 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 
 
 turbulent. " In this, says M.'de Fontenelle, very wit- 
 tily, we can only praise his policy, not his zeal for re- 
 ligion ; though pure religion can easily put up with 
 such a retrenchment." In a word, lie established a 
 plenary liberty of conscience in all his dominions ; 
 which, whatever priestcraft or weak policy may al- 
 ledge to the contrary, is an undoubted right of man- 
 kind. 
 
 In his last sickness, when the senators and bishops 
 mentioned the obligations he had laid on his people, 
 lie told them that he had forgot to reform one of the 
 most important points of ail, the administration of jus- 
 tice. The tedious and expensive method of proceed- 
 ing in law-suits, which he wholly attributed to the 
 chicanery of the lawyers, seemed to him inconsistent 
 with moral equity. He would therefore have a sum- 
 mary way of determining causes, by proofs in writing 
 and living witnesses, without the embarrassment of art- 
 ful pleadings, which only tend to disguise the truth. 
 Judgment, by this means, might always be given in a 
 few hours; and if the sentence was thought unjust, the 
 party might appeal to the senate, and from that to the 
 sovereign. This was the scheme he proposed ; and the 
 parties present approving it, he immediately issued 
 out an order for putting it in execution. He lived but 
 cloven days longer, but had the pleasure to hear, that 
 all causes then depending in the capital courts, were 
 determined before he closed his eyes. 
 
 It was no wonder, after this, that we saw medals 
 struck to his honor after his death, in which he had the 
 appellation of PETER THE GIIEAT. Nations the most 
 remote, and generations f ,he farthest behind, will un- 
 doubtedly ratify the title conferred on him by his sub- 
 jects. 
 
 As to the person of this extraordinary man, he was 
 above six feet high, and extremely well set. His as- 
 pect was noble ; his features regular, and his look 
 somewhat severe ; his face was of an oval figure, and 
 his eyes very large 5 his hair in his youth of a light 
 
 SB 
 
290 THE LIFE OF 
 
 A 
 
 ; his complexion inclining to the dark, but very 
 clear. In his whole demeanor there was a great deal 
 of majesty, hut in his conversation such an open fa- 
 miliarity, that rendered him amiable to all. I have 
 heard, from those who knew him, that he was subject 
 to a sort of convulsive motion, particularly in his head, 
 which some ascribe to his having been poisoned by his 
 sister Sophia, and others, perhaps with more justice, 
 to the excesses of his youth. It is very certain, that 
 while he was under the tutelage of Boris Galliczin, 
 that nobleman led him into some irregular courses, 
 which the heat of youth is but too apt to indulge. - 
 Drinking, the constitutional vice of the Muscovites, 
 lie had the happiness, in a great measure, to conquer, 
 though many attribute to this the distemper that short- 
 ened his days. 
 
 His character must be well known from what has 
 been already said, and we can only add to it a few r re- 
 markable particulars. With an intrepidity that no 
 danger could move, he was very cautious and circum- 
 spect. Indefatigable to the last degree, he seldom al- 
 lowed himself above four hours sleep. The institutions 
 he framed, the extracts which he made with his own 
 hands from the laws of other nations, that he might 
 compare them with his own, were undeniable proofs 
 of his strict attachment to justice : as was his walking 
 on foot every day through the streets, to receive peti- 
 tions from his subjects, whom lie always redressed in 
 the most gracious manner. Never was a prince more 
 generous to his faithful and loyal servants, of which 
 the princes Mcnzikoff, Cantemir, and Apraxin, the 
 generals Renne, Baur, Bruce, Weide. the ministers of 
 state, Jagusinski, Osterman and Schaffiroff, were most 
 remarkable instances : all of whom, from mean ex- 
 traction, were advanced to some of the chief offices of 
 the empire. But then his severity was equally strict 
 to the treacherous and disloyal ; as appeared in the 
 instance of his son, and many others recorded in this 
 .history. Even Schaffiroff, the most able of all {Ids niin- 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 291 
 
 isters, who had long served him as vice-chancellor, 
 was condemned to death in 1723, upon conviction of 
 several crimes ; but had his sentence commuted for 
 banishment. If the ruin of this minister, as some 
 pretend, was more owing to the intrigues of prince 
 Menzikoff, than to any real misdemeanor, we can on- 
 ly say, that the prince at that time found the art to 
 deceive his master, a thing that was very dangerous 
 to attempt. 
 
 Pomp and equipage, the gay trappings of majesty, 
 were things the czar Peter disdained. He loaded 
 prince Menzikoff with these, that the magnificence of 
 the favorite might testify the grandeur of the master, 
 who reserved to himself only the toils of a sovereign. 
 So little did he consider his own person, that he was 
 seen at all the fires, which are very frequent in Mos- 
 cow. He instituted an order of firemen like those in 
 London, and made one of them himself, To shew an 
 example in time of danger, he has mounted the tops 
 of houses in flames ; and what w r e should admire here 
 in an inferior magistrate, was in Muscovy performed 
 by the emperor. 
 
 We ought not to regulate our judgment of this mon- 
 arch's actions, by comparing them with the delicate 
 and effemiate manners of the French, I had almost said 
 our own nation. Few of our military gentlemen, who 
 make so pretty a figure at a review 7 or ball, would be 
 proud either of the fatigue or reputation of such vig- 
 orous exercises. We must not wonder, if a prince of 
 this character, when viewed by a modern man of taste, 
 was charged with being rough and unpolished. It was 
 the fault of his nation indeed to be so ; but to charge 
 this fault on a prince who had polished that whole na- 
 tion, seems, however, a little incongruous. 
 
 He knew perfectly how to distinguish merit, and to 
 honor it when found ; which is the only means to call 
 forth and increase it. Not content with giving pres- 
 ents and pensions, which were favors indispensably ne- 
 cessary in the pursuit of his designs ; he found other 
 
293 THE LIFE OF 
 
 means of a more obliging nature, to shew his respect 
 for the persons of valuable men, and sometimes gave 
 testimonies of it, even after their death. He made a 
 magnificent funeral for Dr. Areskine, his first physi- 
 cian, at which he assisted himself, with a lighted torch 
 in liis hand, according to the custom of the Greek 
 church. He did the same honor to two Englishmen ; 
 the one was Mr. Paddon, rear-admiral of his fleet, 
 and the other his interpreter of the languages. He 
 conferred a title of honor, and a considerable pension 
 on the famous Mr. Lebnitz, whom he had consulted 
 upon some of his grand projects, and who would have 
 been fully contented with having given his advice to so 
 great a monarch. 
 
 The name of the czar will augment the list of the 
 few sovereigns who have been authors, he having com- 
 posed some treatises on marine affairs. He often amus- 
 ed himself in the art of turning, and sent some of his 
 performances to the emperor of China. Others of 
 them he gave to M. Onzembrai, whose cabinet he 
 thought worthy of such a curiosity as the handy work 
 of a monarch. 
 
 In the diversions which he took with his court, ac- 
 cording to the relation of M. Weber and others, there 
 appeared some remains of the ancient Muscovite. 
 We have two or three accounts of mock marriages, 
 one of M. Sotoff, a man who had been successively in 
 the opposite characters of his majesty's tutor and fool, 
 which makes a very grotesque figure as simply rela- 
 ted. But the truth appears to be, that his aim in one 
 was to ridicule some of the ancient customs of his peo- 
 ple, and in another to expose the character of the pa- 
 triarch, which he had wisely abolished. His consecra- 
 tion of the Little Grandsire, the skiff which first gave 
 him an idea of shipping, was equally instructive and 
 magnificent, and performed on the same principle as 
 his triumphal entries. It is impossible to pass a judg- 
 ment on the actions of great men, unless we know the 
 motive from which they act; and we should never sup- 
 
PETER THE GREAT. 293 
 
 that to be extravagant, of which we have no cer- 
 tain idea. Whatever was the czars taste in plea- 
 sures, it was sufficient that those he used could relax his 
 mkid ; and perhaps he had no time to refine on an arti- 
 cle which he the least of all regarded. Arts of this 
 kind come fast enough of themselves ; they need not 
 be employed in the foundation of an empire. 
 
 " No man that rightly knows the czar, says M. 
 Weber, (who wrote in his life-time) can question his 
 being the most judicious minister,, the most experien- 
 ced general officer and soldier, of his whole empire ; 
 the most learned of all the Russian divines and philos- 
 ophers, well versed in history and mechanics, an able 
 shipwright, and still a better sailor.*' Can history pro- 
 duce another monarch, of whom half so much was ever 
 justly written ? 
 
 Detached and single attributes of virtues, says a 
 writer of our own country, which met full and perfect 
 in the Russian monarch's character, have eternized 
 the memory of ancient heroes, and swelled history with 
 their praises. The invention of new arts, the estab- 
 lishment of new laws, the adornment or enrichment of 
 their country, the reducing barbarism into civil socie- 
 ty, the encouragement of learning, the punishment of 
 oppression, the deliverance of their own country, or 
 the conquest of others ; eacli of these, separately, has 
 been thought sufficient, in all ages, to make and im- 
 mortalize a hero. What name, then, shall the grate- 
 ful world invent and bestow, to distinguish the posses- 
 sor of more than all these virtues united ?" 
 
 " It would be an injury, as another expresses it, to 
 name him with any one of antiquity. Who, but him- 
 self, ever left a throne, to learn to fit it with more 
 grace ? Who ever thought himself mean in absolute 
 power, till he had learned to use it ; Others may, in 
 a metaphorical or philosophic sense, be said to com- 
 mand themselves, but this emperor was also literally 
 under his own command. How generous and how 
 good was his entering his own name as a private man 
 
29* LIFE OF PETER THE GREAT. 
 
 in the army lie raised, that none in it might expect to 
 outrun the steps with which he himself advanced ? * 
 jBy such measures this godlike prince learned to con- 
 quer, learned to use his conquests. How terrible has 
 he appeared in battle, how gentle in victory I" 
 
 I shall make but one quotation more, and with that 
 conclude. It is from Mr. Hill, author of that excellent 
 poem in his praise, entitled, The Northern Star : 
 " We, who had the honor to live cotemporaries with 
 this egregious spirit, were deadened in our sense of his 
 true greatness, by the nearness and familiarity with 
 which we observed it : but when posterity, from the 
 distance of descending ages, shall look up towards the 
 records of the present generation, and enquire in vain 
 for the names of some prouder princes who reigned 
 with him : his memory, and the splendor of his never 
 to be forgotten glory, shall cast a brightness over his 
 tera, and millions not yet to be born, till a thousand 
 years after his death, shall remain ignorant of what 
 passed in the days of their grandfathers, while they 
 shall be more learned and enlightened than we are, in 
 the character, the purposes, the actions, and the vir- 
 tues, of this illustrious diguifier of human nature.*' 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 N the decease of Peter the Great, Catharine ascend- 
 ed the throne of Russia, and, from the commencement 
 of her reign, conducted herself with the greatest be- 
 nignity and gentleness, and hy that means secured the 
 love and veneration of her suhjects. She had home 
 to the late czar several children, of whom two daugh- 
 ters survived him, and have obtained a place in history ; 
 Anne and Elizabeth Petrowna. It is pronouncing her 
 eulogy, when we say, that during her administration it 
 could not be perceived that the head of the empire had 
 been changed. The genius of Peter the Great, as if 
 it had been infused into her soul, still continued to di- 
 rect the government, and to watch over the glory of 
 the empire. Her indefatigable zeal for the welfare of 
 her subjects, as well as her gratitude, prompted her 
 to pursue with undeviating exactitude the plan which 
 Peter had formed for the civilization of his people. 
 During her reign, the empire enjoyed the blessings of 
 peace. 
 
 Of the young son of Alexis, who was at that time 
 the only remaining male of the blood of the czars, 
 Catharine took peculiar care ; and, with a view of 
 opening to him the avenue to the throne, declared him 
 grand duke of Russia. She presided at the first ses- 
 sion of the academy of Petersburg!), to which Peter 
 had not had time to give the finishing form. She died 
 at the age of thirty-eight, two years after the death of 
 her husband. Previous to her decease, Catharine had 
 been prevailed on to make her will and settle the suc- 
 cession : accordingly she left the throne to Peter II. 
 son of Alexis, under the direction of a council of re- 
 gency, at the head of which was prince Menzikoff. 
 
% APPENDIX. 
 
 Peter II. reigned only three years, and was succeed- 
 ed by the empress Anne, daughter of the czar Ivan, 
 eldest brother of Peter I. To Anne, in 1740, succeed- 
 ed Ivan III. an infant yet in his cradle, who reigned 
 only thirteen months. He was succeeded by Elizabeth 
 who was daughter of Peter the Great by Catharine. 
 She died in 1762, and was succeeded by Peter III. 
 grandson to Peter the Great, by his daughter who mar- 
 ried the duke of Holstein. Peter HI. was declared in- 
 capable of the government and Catharine II. his wJfc 
 was declared sovereign. She was a German princvss 
 of the house of Anhalt-Zerbst- died 1796. The reign 
 of Catharine was long and splendid. Her court was 
 the most polished in Europe. She was succeeded by 
 Paul Petrowitz, her son, then 43 years of age. He 
 reigned a few years, and was succeeded by the present 
 emperor Alexander, A. D. 1801. 
 
 A BRIEF STATEMENT OF THE COMMERCE OF 
 
 RUSSM. 
 
 EXPORTS PROM 1780 TO 1790. 
 
 19,528 poods of saltpetre 
 
 2,498,950 hemp 
 
 106,763 cordage 
 
 167,432 hemp oil and linseed oii 
 
 52,645 tobacco 
 
 129 rhubarb 
 
 35,864 barley 
 
 7,487 rosin 
 
 81,386 train-oil 
 
 943,618 tallow and tallow candles 
 
 31,712 potasbes 
 
 5,516 isinglflfiB 
 
 horse-half 
 
APPENDIX. S 
 
 29,110 poods of hog's bristles 
 
 1*4,876 hicks and soal-leather 
 
 192,328 linseed 
 
 214,704 pieces of sail-cloth and flems 
 2,907,876 arshines of napkins and linep 
 8,958 poods of caviar 
 
 792,932 flax 
 
 2,655,038 iron 
 
 105,136 wheat 
 
 271,976 rye 
 
 200,000 . oats 8j 
 
 9,720 pitch 
 
 37,336 tar 
 
 10,467 wax 
 
 1,456 masts 
 1,193,125 planks 
 85,647 boards 
 69,722 horse-tails 
 166,045 Russia mats 
 292,016 goat-skins 
 621,327 pieces of fur 
 
 9,982 ox-tongues 
 73,350 ox-bones 
 
 Tin's list, which is complete, excepting a few arti- 
 cles of inferior consequence, contains no wrought goods 
 but napkins, linen, sail-cloth, cordage, tallow-candles, 
 potashes, isinglass, caviar, furs, and leather, and even 
 some of these have only such a preparation as is ne- 
 cessary for the preservation and transport of the pro- 
 duct. The employment of the nation, considerably as 
 it has increased since the time of Peter the Great, is 
 still more directed to production than to manufacture. 
 This is the natural progress of every human society- 
 advancing to civilization ; and Russia will continue to 
 confine itself to the commerce in raw materials, till the 
 quantity of its population and employment be sufficient 
 to the manufacturing of them. 
 
4 APPENDIX. 
 
 The buying up of the foregoing articles, and their 
 conveyance from the midland, and partly from the re- 
 motest regions of the empire, form an important branch 
 of the internal commerce. The majority of these pro- 
 ducts are raised on the fertile shores of the Wolga ; 
 this inestimable river, which, in its course, connects 
 the most distant provinces, is at the same time, the 
 channel of business and industry. Wherever its wa- 
 ters lave the rich and fruitful coasts, industry and dili- 
 gence have fixed their abode : its course marks the 
 progress of internal civilization. But even at a dis- 
 tance of from five to six thousand versts, from the 
 heart of Siberia, rich in metals, St. Petersburg!! re- 
 ceives the stores of its enormous magazines. The 
 greater part of them, at least the hardwares, are 
 brought hither from the eastern districts of Siberia, 
 almost entirely by water. The Selenga receives and 
 transfers them to the Baikal ; which wafts them by the 
 Angara to the Yenisey ; whence, passing along the 
 Oby into the Tobol, they are conveyed over a tract of 
 about four hundred versts, by land, to the Tchusso- 
 vaiya ; thence, falling down the Kamma, they proceed 
 along the Wolga, shooting the sluices at Vishney-Vol- 
 otshok, into the Volkhof $ and passing out of that into 
 the Ladoga-lake, they, lastly, after having completed 
 a journey through two quarters of the globe, arrive in 
 the Neva, and are conveyed to the place of their des- 
 tination. This astonishing transport becomes still more 
 interesting, by the reflection that these products con- 
 veyed hither, from the neighborhood of the north-eas- 
 tern ocean, tarry but a few weeks, in order then to set 
 out on a second, and perhaps greater voyage ; or after 
 being unshipped in distant countries, return under an 
 altered form, and, by a tedious and difficult navigation, 
 come back to their native land. How many scythes 
 of the Siberian boors may have gone this circuitous 
 course ! 
 
 The number of vessels which, according to a ten- 
 years' average, viz. from 1774 to 1784, came by the 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 Ladoga canal to St. Petersburg]), was 2861 barks, 797 
 half barks, 508 one-masted vessels, 1113 chaloups 
 in all, 5330. Add to these 6739 floats of balks. Sum 
 total 12,078. 
 
 The prodigious value, in money, of these products 
 is, by the want which Russia has of wrought commod- 
 ities, and by the ever-increasing luxury, so much les- 
 sened, that the advantage on the balance is propcr- 
 tionably very small. A list of the articles of trade, 
 with which St. Petcrshurgh annually furnishes a part 
 of the empire, affords matter for the most interesting 
 economic al comin entary . 
 
 The annual imports at St. Petersburg!!, for the space 
 of ten years, from 1780 to 1790, were, 
 
 Silken stuffs to the amount of 2,500,000 rubles. 
 
 Woollen stuffs, - 2,000,000 
 
 Cloth, 
 
 Cotton stuffs, 
 
 Trinkets, 
 
 Hardware, 
 
 Looking-glasses, 
 
 English stone-ware, 
 
 Oranges and lemons, 
 
 Fresh fruit, 
 
 Sweet oil, 
 
 Porter and English beer, 
 
 Mineral water, 
 
 Paper of different soils, 
 
 Books, 
 
 Copper-plate engravings, 
 
 Glass and glass wares, 
 
 Coffee, 
 
 Sugar, 
 
 Tobacco, 
 
 All tun, 
 
 Indigo, 
 
 Cochineal, 
 
 Silk and cotton stockings, 
 
 \Vatdies, 
 
 ',000,000 
 534,000 
 700,000 
 50,000 
 - 50,000 
 43,000 
 101,500 
 65,000 
 20,000 
 262,000 
 12,000 
 42,750 
 50,150 
 60,200 
 64,000 
 
 26,300 poods. 
 
 372,000 
 
 5,000 
 
 25,500 
 
 3,830 
 
 1,335 
 
 10,000 doz. pa>. 
 2,000 
 
6 APPENDIX. 
 
 English horses, - 250 
 
 French brandy, 50,000 ankers. 
 
 Champaign and Burgundy, 4,000 pipes. 
 
 Other wines, 250,000 hogsh's. 
 
 Scythes, 525,000 &c. c. 
 
 A considerable part of these commodities remain, 
 and are consumed in St. Petersburg!). The rest are 
 conveyed by land carriage, to various parts of the em- 
 pire : as to go up the navigable rivers, against the 
 stream, would be tedious and expensive. The carts, 
 or sledges, made use of for this purpose, are mostly 
 drawn by one horse, each having a driver. These 
 caravans, consist of from twenty-five to one hundred 
 carts ; and, on long journies, there are seldom more 
 than one driver to every three carts. 
 
 Value of Imports and Exports, and the balance of the 
 Trade to St. Petersburgh on an average of ten years 
 from 1780 to 1790. 
 
 Rubles. 
 
 Exports, 13,269,li2 
 
 Imports, 12,238,319 
 
 Profit, - - - 1,023,623 
 
 In coined and uncoined gold and 
 silver, in the three last years, 
 were annually imported - - - 337,064 
 
 This, added to the foregoing, makes 1,360,687 
 
 The amount of the whole commerce was, there- 
 fore, in the said period, from 1780 to 1790, annually, 
 25,837,325 rubles. 
 
 The increase of the commerce appears in a striking 
 progression from the following statements : 
 
 Imports. Exports. 
 
 1780. 8,600,000 rubles. 10,900,000 rubles. 
 
 1785. 10,000,000 13,400,000 
 
 1789. 15,300,000 18,700,000 
 
APPENDIX. 7 
 
 If we admit, upon the most probable computation, 
 that the whole commerce of the empire amounts to 
 about fifty millions of rubles, it will then follow that 
 St. Petersburg!! has more than the half for its share, 
 The next place in the commercial scale, after St. Pe- 
 tcrsburgh, is held by Riga ; the commerce of which, 
 collectively, may be estimated at about six millions.- 
 This proportion may serve to shew the rank on this 
 scale that may be allowed to the other trading towns 
 that come after Riga. 
 
 The commerce of St. Petersburg!! is chiefly carried 
 on by commission, in the hands of factors. This class 
 of merchants, which consists almost entirely of for- 
 eigners, forms the most respectable and considerable 
 part of the persons on the exchange. In the year 1790, 
 of the foreign counting-houses, not belonging to the 
 guilds, were twenty-eight English, seven German, 
 two Swiss, four Danish, several Prussian, six Dutch, 
 four French, two Portuguese, one Spanish, and one Ital- 
 ian. Beside these, were twelve denominated burghers ; 
 and of the first guild one hundred and six, witJi forty- 
 six foreign merchants, and seventeen belonging to oth- 
 er towns, though several cause themselves to be enroll- 
 ed in these guilds, who are not properly merchants. 
 
 In order to form an idea of the exchange and the 
 course of trade, the following brief account will suf- 
 fice. The Russian merchants, from the interior of the 
 empire, repair at a stated time to St. Petersburg!), 
 where they bargain with the factors for the sale of 
 their commodities. This done, they enter hrio con- 
 tracts to deliver the goods according to the particulars 
 therein specified, at -which time they commonly receive 
 the half or the whole of the purchase money, though 
 the goods are not to be delivered till the following 
 spring or summer, by the barks then to come down 
 the Ladoga canal. The quality of the goods is then 
 pronounced on by sworn brakers or sorters, according 
 to the kind mentioned in the contract. The articles 
 of importation are cither disposed of by Russian mcr- 
 
 2C 
 
8 APPENDIX. 
 
 chants, through the resident factors, or the latter de- 
 liver them for sale at foreign markets ; in both cases, 
 the Russian to whose order they come, receives them 
 on condition of paying for them hy instalments of six, 
 twelve, and more months. The Russian merchant, 
 therefore, is paid for his exports beforehand, and buys 
 such as are imported on credit ; he risks no damages 
 by sea, and is exempted from the tedious transactions 
 of the custom-house, and of loading and unloading. 
 
 The clearance of the ships, the transport of the goods 
 Into the government ware-houses, the packing and un- 
 packing, unloading and despatching of them ; in a word, 
 the whole of the great bustle attendant on the com- 
 merce of a maritime town, is principally at Cronstadt, 
 and that part of the residence called Vassiliostrof.* 
 Here are the exchange, the custom-house, and on a 
 small island in the vicinity, situated between that and 
 the St. Petersburg!! island, the hemp ware-houses and 
 magazines, in which the riches of so many countries 
 are bartered and kept. In all the other parts of the 
 city, the tumult of business is so rare and impercepti- 
 ble, that a stranger, who should be suddenly convey- 
 ed thither, would never imagine that he was in the 
 chief commercial town of the Russian empire. The 
 opulent merchants have their dwellings and counting- 
 houses in the most elegant parts of the town. Their 
 Louses, gate -ways, and court-yards, are not, as in 
 Hamburgh and Riga, blocked up and barricadocd with 
 bales of goods and heaps of timber : here, besides the 
 counting-house, no trace is seen of mercantile affairs. 
 The business at the custom-house is transacted by one 
 of the clerks, and people that are hired for the pur- 
 pose, called expediters ; and the labor is performed 
 by artelschiki, or porters, belonging to a kind of guild. 
 
 *The St. Petersbnrgh island was formerly called Beresovoiostrof ; the 
 Vassiliostrof, while ingria was in possession of the Swedes, bore the name 
 of Givisaari ; the Apothecary's island was called Korposaari ; Kamme- 
 noiostrof was then Kitzisaari ; and the Parish where Peterhof stands, 
 vas colled Tirief. 
 
APPENDIX. 9 
 
 The factor delivers the imported goods to the Rus- 
 sian merchant, who sends them off in the ahove men- 
 tioned manner, or retails them on the spot, in the mar- 
 kets, ware-houses, and shops 
 
 CENSUS OF RUSSIA, 
 
 In the year 1722 the number of people was 14,000,000 
 
 1742 16,000,000 
 
 1762 - - 20,000,000 
 
 1782 - - - - 28,000,000 
 
 1788 30,000,000 
 
 A BRIEF AND INTERESTING ACCOUNT 
 
 OF THE LATE INVASION OF THE SUSS IAN EMPIRE 
 BY THE EMPEROR OF FRANCE, AND THE DEFEAT 
 OF HIS IMMENSE ARMY, DESTINED TO SUBJUGATE 
 RUSSIA. 
 
 o EFFECT this subjugation, means the most formida- 
 dable were provided, that ever had been brought into 
 action by human power. Five years had been spent 
 in diligent, vigorous and skilful preparation. Numer- 
 ous fortresses had been erected on her frontier, or in 
 her neighborhood ; vast magazines were provided r 
 immense stores of warlike implements and munitions 
 were accumulated, and an army more numerous than 
 had ever been embodied since the days of Xerxes, was 
 marshalled on her borders. 
 
 If we believe the accounts published by the invader 
 liimself, this army amounted to six hundred thousand 
 
10 APPENDIX. 
 
 
 
 men: a number which exceeds the whole military 
 ibrce of the Roman empire, in the^Iays of Vespasian, 
 Trajan or Sever us, the most nourishing periods of the 
 Roman power. But if we make full allowance and 
 deduction for exaggeration, still we cannot, from the 
 most authentic sources of information, rate the army 
 at less than four hundred thousand effective men. 
 
 But in estimating the efficient force of the army, the 
 number of men is by no means the only, or even the 
 most important consideration. Infinitely more de- 
 pends on its organization, discipline and equipment; 
 on the abilities of its generals, the skill of its ord- 
 nance, commissary and quarter-master departments, 
 the knowledge of its inferior officers, and the military 
 habits of its various members. These it is that dis- 
 tinguish an army from a multitude, one army from an- 
 other ; the army of Hannibal, Caesar or Frederick, 
 from the army of Xerxes and in these, no army 
 probably, ever excelled that which crossed the Nie- 
 incn in July 1812, for the invasion of Russia. It con- 
 tained, no doubt, many new soldiers ; but even they 
 were seasoned conscripts, who had passed the ordeal 
 oF the training camps, and of a march of many hun- 
 dred miles. The greater part were veterans, inured 
 to a military life by many campaigns, and most per- 
 fectly disciplined. All the officers, from a marshal 
 to the lowest subaltern, and the whole corps of non- 
 commissioned officers, who constitute the sinews and 
 muscles of an army, had been formed by long and va- 
 rious service ; almost like Hannibal, brought up in 
 camps, and carefully selected for their merit alone. 
 
 Nor is tins all : the French armies derive vast ad- 
 vantages from the manner in which they are raised and 
 recruited. Armies formed by voluntary enlistment, 
 are likely to consist of the most worthless part of the 
 population ; of the vicious, the idle, the dissolute and 
 the indigent ; for that part is always the most ready 
 to enlist. Frequently also they enter at an age too 
 advanced, for acquiring new habits and learning with 
 
APPENDIX. U 
 
 facility the various duties of a soldier. But the con- 
 scription brings the flower of the youth into the army. 
 Being taken from a higher class of society, they arc 
 more likely to feel military pride, a sense of honor, 
 and the hope of promotion. Being younger, they art- 
 more susceptible of instruction, more pure in their 
 minds, more vigorous and alert in their bodies, more 
 ardent in their tempers, imbibe mere readily the " es- 
 prit du corps," which is the soul of an army, and like 
 soft clay in the hands of the potter, the more easily 
 moulded into any form, which they may require to take. 
 Being engaged for life, they look to nothing but the 
 army, confine all their hopes and prospects to rising 
 in the service, and all their efforts to the acquirement 
 of those talents which may lead to promotion. The 
 conscription is a most detestable engine of tyranny, 
 altogether intolerable to a free people ; but there can 
 be no doubt that it is by far the most effectual mode 
 which has hitherto been invented, of rendering the fac- 
 ulties of a nation subservient to the purposes of war. 
 But there was another circumstance attending the 
 French army, which contributed more perhaps than all 
 the others, to render it formidable. It was accustom- 
 ed to victory. It had the utmost confidence in its com- 
 mander, its officers and itself. It had completely tri- 
 umphed over Prussia in one campaign. It had fre- 
 quently beaten, and at length humbled Austria. Its 
 conflicts with Russia had been always bloody, and 
 sometimes doubtful, but it had always come off finally 
 
 f V 
 
 victorious. It regarded its chief as invincible, and look- 
 ed upon the fields of Austerlitz and Friedland as the 
 sure presages of future victories, aiul ultimate triumph. 
 The splendid rewards too which awaited the offi- 
 cers, from the spoil of Russia yet untouched, the booty 
 which Moscow, and so many other rich cities was to 
 fifford io the soldiers, the honors and distinctions to 
 which this last aud final victory would entitle all class- 
 es, added the utmost degree of excitement, to the aiv 
 tier inspired by sojuany other coj&uxruig causes: wMLc 
 
 2 C 2 
 
12 APPENDIX. 
 
 the hope of repose, when the final conquest of the 
 world should be achieved on the plains of the Dwina, 
 the Weser and the Wolga, stimulated to present exer- 
 tion those who might have grown weary and languid, 
 through former and long continued labors. 
 
 Such was the army, thus prosperous, and thus 
 abounding with all the physical and moral elements 
 of force, which aided by Austria, backed, supplied and 
 recruited by France, Germany, Italy, Denmark and 
 part of Poland, and led by the most daring and fortu- 
 nate commander of modern times, burst like an over- 
 whelming torrent on Russia, and swept on its destruc- 
 tive course to the heart of her empire. Such was the 
 army which Russia beat, drove out and exterminated. 
 Nor let it be imagined that her triumph was produced 
 by premature frost, or the rigor of her climate. A 
 rapid glance over the events of the campaign will suf- 
 fice to shew that she is indebted, under Providence, to 
 herself alone to her regular and permanent means of 
 defence, for this glorious victory to the vigor and con- 
 stancy of her government, the superior abilities of her 
 commanders, the valor of her armies, and the patriot- 
 ism of her people. 
 
 The preparations for invasion had extended along 
 the Russian frontier, from Grodno to Memel, a dis- 
 tance of nearly two hundred miles. It was uncertain 
 on what point of this long line the attack would be 
 made. The Russians were therefore compelled to 
 stretch their armies along its whole extent $ without 
 which it would have bceni impossible to prevent their 
 being turned, attacked in flank, and cut oft' from their 
 supplies and reinforcements, on one side or the other. 
 The invader having completed his preparations, rap- 
 idly concentrated his army, and crossed the Russian 
 frontier at Kowno, near the centre of the line, in July 
 1812. His first great effort was to separate the two 
 grand divisions of the Russian army from each other, 
 so as to fall upon each in succession with his whole 
 foce, and thus crush them by piecemeal. This system 
 
APPENDIX. 1 
 
 
 
 of tactics he had often found successful, but now it com- 
 pletely failed. Jfot with standing the extraordinary and 
 boasted celerity of Ids movements, the Russians retiring 
 before him conducted their operations with such skill 
 as always to keep up their communication, frequently 
 to chastise the temerity of his columns, and finally to 
 effect a junction of their arms untouched, at Vitapsk, 
 on the Dwina. Thence a strong division was detach- 
 ed to the north-east, under Witgenstein, to guard the 
 road to "Riga and St. Petersburg!!, and threaten the 
 line of French communication ; while the main body 
 continued its retreat on Smoleiisko. It was still pur- 
 sued by the French, who were, however, obliged to 
 leave part of their forces on the Dwina, to keep open 
 the communication in the rear, threatened by Witgen- 
 stein. At Smolensko, a further concentration of the 
 Russian armies took place ; but being not yet prepar- 
 ed for the stand which they meditated, they continued 
 their retreat in the direction of Moscow. They were 
 warmly pressed by the French, who, however, were 
 never able to bring them to action, or obtain any ad- 
 vantage over them. At length, near the village of Bo- 
 rodino, about sixty miles from Moscow, they were join- 
 ed by their commander in chief, the veteran KutusofT, 
 with additional reinforcements. He thought the mo- 
 ment arrived for turning on the foe. Having collect- 
 ed his force, he waited for the attack, which was not 
 long delayed ; and on the seventh of September was 
 fought the memorable battle of Borodino, the most ob- 
 stinate and sanguinary recorded in history. In the 
 shock of two mighty empires, where one struggled for 
 universal dominion, and the other for national indepen- 
 dence, science, discipline and courage, displayed all 
 their power : every resource of military art was tried 
 and exhausted, and the hitherto triumphant progress 
 of the invader was at length arrested. He was re* 
 pulsed and beaten, though not defeated ; but he there 
 received his death wound. Fifty thousand combat- 
 ants, which, according to the most authentic accounts,. 
 
1* APPENDIX. 
 
 were killed or wounded on each side, attest the des- 
 perate nature of the conflict, and afforded the French 
 an awftd lesson of what they were to expect in their 
 further progress. Th^y claimed the victory ; hut 
 their own bulletin, dated three days after the battle, 
 and fifteen miles in the rear of the ground where it was 
 fought, gave the lie to their pretensions, and disclosed 
 the true situation of their affairs. 
 
 It was then that the superior genius of Kutusoff 
 conceived that profound plan of future operations, which 
 in its developement and execution has produced such 
 wonderful results. He might then have driven out 
 the invader, who mus' have yielded, in his crippled 
 state, to a vigorous attack, which the Russian general, 
 who had powerful reinforcements at hand, might specd- 
 ilv have been in a situation to make. But he saw 
 
 V 
 
 that if the French were then driven back, they would 
 retreat with their army almost entire, would soon unite 
 with their reinforcements in the rear, would winter in 
 Poland with plentiful magazines, would draw new 
 and numerous forces from the countries behind them, 
 and would be in a condition to renew the war, early 
 in the spring, with increased vigor and more power- 
 ful means. If, on the other hand, by retiring before 
 them, he could draw them further into the empire, and 
 detain them there, time woidd be afforded for bring- 
 ing into their rear, the forces which were collecting in 
 the north, and in the south, and increasing his own 
 army, while theirs would be wasted and weakened by 
 continual marches and partial engagements. They 
 would also be thrown into the winter for their retreat, 
 when compelled to commence it ; and thus their com- 
 plete destruction might be effected. The known rash- 
 ness, arrogance and presumption of their leader, af- 
 forded the hope that they might be drawn into this fa- 
 tal snare. 
 
 Kutusoff instantly resolved on his plan. He fell back 
 towards Moscow with his main army, and held up the 
 possession of that city as a lure to &hc foe. .He jr-e- 
 
APPENDIX. . 
 
 doubled his efforts for reinforcing Witgenstein in the 
 north, and for hastening the march of Tchitchagoff 
 Irani the south. He ordered them to form a junction 
 as soon as possible, on the road from \Vilna to Smolen- 
 lensko, by which the French had advanced and must 
 retreat. He formed a strong corps under Winzinge- 
 rodc to the north of Moscow. He drew together re- 
 inforcements from all quarters to his own army. Hav- 
 ing thus set and baited the trap, he retreated to Mos- 
 cow ; and when the enemy approached that city, he 
 abandoned and burned it. This he did to deprive them of 
 the numerous advantages which they must have deriv- 
 ed from the possession of Moscow ; to strike terror 
 into the hearts of the invaders by shewing them the 
 sort of resistance which they had to expect ; and to 
 teach the Russians the sacrifices which they were ex- 
 pected to make in defence of their country. Having 
 taken this decisive step, he retired to the east, leaving 
 the enemy quietly to enter the smoaking ruins of the 
 ancient Russian capital. 
 
 On a man of sense this awful lesson would have had 
 its effect. He would have perceived his attempt to be 
 desperate, and would have retired while it was yet time. 
 But that obstinate pride, that presumptuous arrogance 
 in the character of the French chief, which had form- 
 ed the basis of Kutusoff's plan, now insured its suc- 
 cess. They prevented the invader from listening to 
 this warning voice, or perceiving the dangers which 
 were gathering around him. Too blind to see his error, 
 or too proud to acknowledge it, and to retrace his steps, 
 buoyed up with the vain and delusive hope, that the 
 Russian government would submit, now that their cap- 
 ital was in his possession, he spent five weeks at Mos- 
 cow, which ought to have been employed in his retreat. 
 In the mean time Kutusoff was silently wheeling on 
 his right flank, and Winzingerode forming on his left. 
 Tchitchagoff advanced with a rapid and steady course 
 into his rear ; and the gallant Witgenstein being 
 strongly reinforced, had attacked, defeated and dis- 
 
16 . APPENDIX. 
 
 persed the corps left on the Dwina, to keep open his 
 communications, bring up his supplies, and facilitate, 
 if necessary, his retreat. This blow was decisive. 
 The strong points of his line of communications were 
 formed by Polotsk and Vitapsk, where large maga- 
 zines had been collected. These fell into the hands of 
 the Russians. 
 
 Witgenstein then had possession of one road of re- 
 treat, that from Smolensko to Wilna by the way of the 
 D wina. Tchitchagoff, having disposed of the Aus- 
 trians, was rapidly approaching the other, which leads 
 from Smolensko to Grodno, or Wilna, by the way of 
 Minsk. Kutusoff, with the main army, was advancing 
 from Kalouga to Borodino, into the rear of the French, 
 on one side, and Winzingerode, with a strong corps 
 from the Twer, on the other. 
 
 It was then that on the 18th of October, the inva- 
 der, with rage and anguish in his heart, too late 
 resolved on his retreat. Having tried in vain his usual 
 arts of negociation, and seeing the obstructions which 
 had been formed in his road back, he made a desperate 
 attack on the army of Kutusoif, in hopes, apparently, 
 of opening his way into the south-western provinces of 
 Russia. This produced the battle of Malajarosoff, in 
 which, after a most obstinate and bloody conflict, after 
 that town had been eleven times taken and retaken in 
 one day, he was repulsed with immense loss, beaten 
 and driven back on Moscow. He then commenced 
 his retreat, or rather flight, by the way of Smolensko, 
 where he arrived on the 10th of November, with an 
 army fatigued, defeated, disheartened, and diminished 
 one third. 
 
 And let it be remembered, that according to his own 
 account, the cold did not set in till three days before 
 he reached Smolensko. Up to that moment, up to the 
 7th of November, the weather, say his bulletins, was 
 as fine as in the middle provinces of France. And 
 yet in that part of his retreat which took place during 
 this fine season, the force of his army was entirely 
 
APPENDIX. 17 
 
 broken. His troops were beaten and scattered on all 
 sides. Whole corps were made prisoners. The roads 
 were every where strewed with their camion and their 
 baggage, their dead and their dying. In fine, this 
 pretended retreat was already, before the snow and 
 frost commenced, the most disastrous flight recorded 
 in history. It was not, therefore, the premature win- 
 ter, nor the severity of the climate, but, under God, 
 the skill and prowess of his enemies, by which he was 
 destroyed. He no doubt suffered severely from the 
 
 v * 
 
 cold, the ice, and the snow : but it was the force of his 
 enemies that compelled him to be exposed to them 
 Had lie been able to make head against his pursuers, 
 or even to make a slow and orderly retreat, he might 
 have found quarters to shelter him from the ice and 
 snow ; to which, moreover, his pursuers were as much 
 exposed as himself. After halting two clays at Smo- 
 lensko, and he could stay no longer, for one day more 
 would have brought Kutusoff into his front, he resum- 
 ed his (light by the road to Minsk ; for he was shut 
 out by Witgenstein from that which led through Vi- 
 tapsk and Polotsk to Wilna. The active "Witgenstein, 
 informed of this movement, put himself in motion to- 
 wards the Minsk road, driving the remnant of Victor's 
 corps before him. Tchitchagoff approached it on the 
 other side. He reached Minsk before the French, and 
 passed the bridge of the Berezina, which lies between 
 that city and Smolensko. The French were thus driv- 
 en from the main road, and compelled to ascend the 
 Berezina in quest of a passage. Here they encounter- 
 ed the army of Witgenstein ; and were compelled to 
 fight the battle of the 58th of November, in order to 
 open to themselves a road to Wilna. This object they 
 effected, with the loss of all their ammunition waggons 
 and provisions," and a great portion of their remaining 
 troops. The miserable remnant fled to Wilna. which 
 a small part of them reached on the 8th of December, 
 and entered the town with the Russians at their heels ; 
 or as Tchitchagoff expressed it in one of liis despatch- 
 
48 APPENDIX. 
 
 es, on their shoulders. Unable to halt there, even long 
 enough to take a hasty meal, or to lire their magazines, 
 they tied in small and broken bands towards Kowno, 
 where their destruction was completed in the passage 
 of the Niemen. 
 
 During the flight from Berezina to Wilna, these 
 miserable fugitives were left by their commander-in- 
 ch ief. 
 
 On the 10th of December the Russian head-quar- 
 ters were established at Wilna, within a few days of 
 five months after the French had left it, on their ad- 
 vance into Russia. Within that short time this im- 
 mense army had been so completely destroyed, that, 
 according to the most certain and accurate accounts 
 which have been made public, not more than thirty 
 thousand, out of four hundred thousand at the least, 
 repassed the Russian frontier. This scattered rem- 
 nant, flying in detached portions, was every where 
 pursued and pressed by the victorious Russians ; who, 
 between the 10th of December and the 10th of March, 
 advanced from Wilna to Hamburgh, a distance of more 
 than eight hundred miles, hearing every way before 
 them the glad tidings of emancipation and protection. 
 
 [Harper's Address. 
 
 ADDITIONAL PARTICULARS. 
 
 [From a Pamphlet originally published in Russia.]] 
 
 ABOUT November first, the severity of the cold 
 weather began, and brought additional misery upon 
 the French ; to bivomck upon ice and snow, without 
 oth*r food than froneri horse-flesh, without any kind of 
 strengthening beverage, and without proper clothing, 
 was more than human strength could endure. Many 
 hundreds were every flight frozen to death, and an 
 
 \-j < 
 
APPENDIX. 9 
 
 equal number died of complete exhaustion by day ; a 
 line of dead bodies marked the road which the army 
 was pursuing. Whole detachments now threw down 
 their arms together; order and discipline had alto- 
 gether ceased ; the soldier cared no longer for the of- 
 ficer, nor the officer for the soldier ; each was so com- 
 pletely engaged with his own wants and sufferings, 
 that he disregarded those of others, and would neither 
 command nor obey. The different regiments were in- 
 termixed, and, as they moved, had the appearance of 
 a motley mass, in which the different corps could only 
 be distinguished by the difference of the columns ap- 
 propriated to the baggage and baggage-waggons ; and 
 these were at every instant attacked on either side by 
 predatory parties of Cossacks. Want of precaution 
 had been so great at the very beginning of the retreat, 
 that the horses had not even been rough shod at Moscow 
 to secure them in case of frost ;* so that being already 
 reduced in point of strength, they were wholly une- 
 qual to the exertion of drawing upon slippery roads ; 
 twelve or fourteen were harnessed to a single cannon, 
 and yet the smallest rise of ground was an almost in- 
 surmountable obstacle. The cavalry had no longer 
 any horses to spare, being itself dismounted, with the 
 exception of a few regiments of the guards ; and it 
 therefore soon became utterly impossible to bring on 
 the artillery. At Dorogobush the fourth corps left the 
 whole of its artillery behind, consisting of upwards of 
 one hundred pieces of ordnance ; and the same was 
 done by the first and third corps ; so that the army, 
 upon reaching Smolensko, had already lost about four 
 hundred pieces of cannon. The French force, which, 
 on leaving Moscow, was more than one hundred thous- 
 and strong, had at Smolensko hardly sixty thousand 
 men left, of which number scarcely half were under 
 arms. 
 
 * A neglect, equally criminal and fatal, cost the British army its horses 
 in the retreat to Corunna. 
 
 3D 
 
20 APPENDIX. 
 
 Never, surely, was the apothegm of the sagacious 
 Franklin on the neglect of small matters, more com- 
 pletely veriiied, than in the omission of properly shoe- 
 ing 1 the horses at Moscow. For want of a nail the 
 shoe was lost ; for want of a shoe, the horse was lost ; 
 for want of a horse, the rider was lost : being over- 
 taken, and slain by the enemy. 5 ' 
 
 The armv remained in Smolensko two days, which 
 
 / 
 
 were one continued scene of confusion, plunder and 
 conflagration. The magazines that were found there 
 were of no great resource : for the share that was dis- 
 
 t_> . 
 
 tributed to each man as a supply for several days, was 
 at once devoured by the famished wretches, although 
 
 v _v 
 
 the rations were not given in bread, but in meal. 
 Many thousands indeed went away altogether misap- 
 plied, each, in the general struggle being obliged to 
 obtain by force the portion that was allotted him. A 
 day had also been fixed for distributing ammunition ; 
 but few soldiers appeared at the appointed time to re- 
 ceive it. 
 
 We advance now to the crossing of the Berezina, 
 which is thus described : 
 
 This crossing of the Berezina will long remain in 
 the recollection of the soldiers, on account of the ter- 
 ror with which it was attended. The troops, from the 
 first moment, crowded upon each other in the most dis- 
 orderly manner, and many, even then, met with a wa- 
 tery grave : but when the corps of Victor and Dom- 
 torowsky, being repulsed by the Russian armies, di- 
 rected their flight to the bridge, confusion and terror 
 increased, and were soon at the highest pitch. Cav- 
 alry, infantry, baggage and artillery, struggled respec- 
 tively to pass over the first. The weaker were forced 
 into the river by the stronger, whose progress they 
 impeded, or were trampled under foot : officers and 
 privates met with the same fate : hundreds were crush- 
 ed under the wheels of the artillery train : many at- 
 tempted to swim, but were benumbed in the attempt; 
 and others again, trusting to the broken sheet of ice 
 
APPENDIX. 21 
 
 that covered the stream, were drowned : the cry of 
 (Udtress was heard on all sides, but relief wus no where 
 given. At length, when tho Russian batteries began 
 to cannonade the bridge and both banks of the river, 
 the crossing necessarily ceased, and a whole division 
 of Victor's corps, consisting of seven thousand five 
 hundred men, together with live generals, capitulated. 
 Many thousands were drowned, and an equal number 
 hilled ; besides which, much baggage and cannon re- 
 mained on the left bank. 
 
 About 40,000 men, together with a body of artillery, 
 still tolerably considerable, had crossed the Berezina ; 
 hut to what a miserable state was this force reduced ! 
 
 Another severe frost completed the measure of their 
 sufferings : arms were now thrown down in all direc- 
 tions : the greater number of soldiers had neither 
 boots nor shoes ; but were compelled to make use of 
 old hats and knapsacks, or any other kind of covering 
 to fasten round their feet. Round their heads and 
 shoulders they wrapped whatever first offered itself, 
 and might serve as an additional protection against 
 the cold old sacks, straw mats half torn, and hides of 
 animals recently skinned ; [dresses of the women peas- 
 ants, priest's dresses, &c.] fortunate were the few who 
 succeeded in providing themselves with a bit of fur. 
 With downcast looks, and every other mark of dejec- 
 tion, both officers and soldiers moved slowly on togeth- 
 er in mute dismay ; and even the guards were in no 
 way superior to, or distinguishable from, the rest : they 
 were equally tattered, famished and unarmed. All 
 spirit of resistance and defence had ceased. At the 
 mere cry of Cossacks ! whole columns surrendered, and 
 a few of these were often sufficient to take many hun- 
 dred prisoners. The road which the army followed, 
 was covered with dead bodies, and every bivouack ap- 
 peared next morning like a field of battle. No sooner 
 was a man fallen to the ground, exhausted witli fa- 
 tigue and lum.ijvv, than those who stood next to him, 
 stripped him while yet alive, to cover themselves with 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 his rags. Every house and barn was set on fire : anil 
 wherever a conflagration had taken place, there also 
 was found a pile of dead bodies ; those who had ap- 
 proached the fire to warm themselves, having after- 
 wards, from extreme weakness, been unable to escape 
 from the flames. The high road swarmed with pris- 
 oners, who almost ceased to be taken notice of, and 
 scenes of distress occurred, such as had never before 
 been witnessed. Wretches, black with smoke and filth 
 of every kind, crawled like ghosts, among the dead 
 bodies of their fellow soldiers, till they themselves 
 dropped and expired. Many hobbled on with bars 
 and gangrened feet, almost deprived of reason ; and 
 others again had lost the use of speech, or, from the 
 extreme severity of cold and famine, were driven to 
 a kind of delirium which made them roast and devour 
 corpses, or even gnaw their own hands and arms. 
 Some were so helpless as not to be able to gather fuel, 
 but collected round any little fire that might remain, 
 sitting upon pil Jtof the bodies of their comrades, and 
 died as the lasrf^^rk went out. Reduced to a state 
 of complete senselessness, many were seen crawling 
 into the fire and burnt to death in endeavouring to 
 warm themseHfcjgy while others, notwithstanding the 
 P.Y^m^if* rrpwlpri ; dftpv them and met with a simi- 
 lar iate 
 
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