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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/21889-8.txt b/21889-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..72e24d5 --- /dev/null +++ b/21889-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,7737 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, Peter the Great, by Jacob Abbott + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Peter the Great + + +Author: Jacob Abbott + + + +Release Date: June 21, 2007 [eBook #21889] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PETER THE GREAT*** + + +E-text prepared by Al Haines + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 21889-h.htm or 21889-h.zip: + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/1/8/8/21889/21889-h/21889-h.htm) + or + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/1/8/8/21889/21889-h.zip) + + + + + +Makers of History + +PETER THE GREAT + +by + +JACOB ABBOTT + +With Engravings + + + + + + + +[Illustration: PORTRAIT OF PETER THE GREAT.] + + + +New York and London +Harper & Brothers Publishers +1902 + +Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight +hundred and fifty-nine, by +Harper & Brothers, +In the Clerk's office of the District Court of the Southern District of +New York. + +Copyright, 1887, by Benjamin Vaughan Abbott, Austin Abbott, Lyman +Abbott, and Edward Abbott. + + + + +PREFACE. + +There are very few persons who have not heard of the fame of Peter the +Great, the founder, as he is generally regarded by mankind, of Russian +civilization. The celebrity, however, of the great Muscovite sovereign +among young persons is due in a great measure to the circumstance of +his having repaired personally to Holland, in the course of his efforts +to introduce the industrial arts among his people, in order to study +himself the art and mystery of shipbuilding, and of his having worked +with his own hands in a ship-yard there. The little shop where Peter +pursued these practical studies still stands in Saardam, a +ship-building town not far from Amsterdam. The building is of wood, +and is now much decayed; but, to preserve it from farther injury, it +has been incased in a somewhat larger building of brick, and it is +visited annually by great numbers of curious travelers. + +The whole history of Peter, as might be expected from the indications +of character developed by this incident, forms a narrative that is full +of interest and instruction for all. + + + +[Transcriber's note: In the original book, each page had a header +summarizing the contents of that page. These headers have been +collected into introductory paragraphs at the start of each chapter. +The headers also contain the year in which the events on the page took +place. These dates have been placed between the chapter title and the +introductory paragraph, in the form of a date range, e.g., for Chapter +I, "1676-1684."] + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +Chapter + + I. THE PRINCESS SOPHIA + II. THE PRINCESS'S DOWNFALL + III. THE CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH OF PETER + IV. LE FORT AND MENZIKOFF + V. COMMENCEMENT OF THE REIGN + VI. THE EMPEROR'S TOUR + VII. CONCLUSION OF THE TOUR + VIII. THE REBELLION + IX. REFORMS + X. THE BATTLE OF NARVA + XI. THE BUILDING OF ST. PETERSBURG + XII. THE REVOLT OF MAZEPPA + XIII. THE BATTLE OF PULTOWA + XIV. THE EMPRESS CATHARINE + XV. THE PRINCE ALEXIS + XVI. THE FLIGHT OF ALEXIS + XVII. THE TRIAL + XVIII. THE CONDEMNATION AND DEATH OF ALEXIS + XIX. CONCLUSION + + + + +ENGRAVINGS. + + + PORTRAIT OF PETER . . . . . . . . . . . . _Frontispiece_. + + THE ESCAPE + + MENZIKOFF SELLING HIS CAKES + + PETER AMONG THE SHIPPING + + PETER TURNING EXECUTIONER + + MAP OF THE RUSSIAN AND SWEDISH FRONTIER + + STRATAGEMS OF THE SWEDES + + SITUATION OF ST. PETERSBURG + + FLIGHT OF THE KING OF SWEDEN + + THE EMPRESS CATHARINE + + THE CZAR'S VISIT TO ALEXIS IN PRISON + + + + +PETER THE GREAT. + + +CHAPTER I. + +THE PRINCESS SOPHIA. + +1676-1684 + +Parentage of Peter--His father's double marriage--Death of his +father--The princesses--Their places of seclusion--Theodore and +John--Sophia uneasy in the convent--Her request--Her probable +motives--Her success--Increase of her influence--Jealousies--Parties +formed--The imperial guards--Their character and +influence--Dangers--Sophia and the soldiers--Sophia's continued +success--Death of Theodore--Peter proclaimed--Plots formed by +Sophia--Revolution--Means of exciting the people--Poisoning--Effect of +the stories that were circulating--Peter and his mother--The Monastery of +the Trinity--Natalia's flight--Narrow escape of Peter--Commotion in the +city--Sophia is unsuccessful--Couvansky's schemes--Sophia's attempt to +appease the soldiers--No effect produced--Couvansky's views--His plan of +a marriage for his son--Indignation of Sophia--A stratagem--Couvansky +falls into the snare--Excitement produced by his +death--Galitzin--Measures adopted by him--They are successful + + +The circumstances under which Peter the Great came to the throne form a +very remarkable--indeed, in some respects, quite a romantic story. + +The name of his father, who reigned as Emperor of Russia from 1645 to +1676, was Alexis Michaelowitz. In the course of his life, this Emperor +Alexis was twice married. By his first wife he had two sons, whose names +were Theodore and John,[1] and four daughters. The names of the +daughters were Sophia, Catharine, Mary, and Sediassa. By his second wife +he had two children--a son and a daughter. The name of the son was +Peter, and that of the daughter was Natalia Alexowna. Of all these +children, those with whom we have most to do are the two oldest sons, +Theodore and John, and the oldest daughter, Sophia, by the first wife; +and Peter, the oldest son by the second wife, the hero of this history. +The name of the second wife, Peter's mother, was Natalia. + +Of course, Theodore, at his father's death, was heir to the throne. Next +to him in the line of succession came John; and next after John came +Peter, the son of the second wife; for, by the ancient laws and usages of +the Muscovite monarchy, the daughters were excluded from the succession +altogether. Indeed, not only were the daughters excluded themselves from +the throne, but special precautions were taken to prevent their ever +having sons to lay claim to it. They were forbidden to marry, and, in +order to make it impossible that they should ever violate this rule, they +were all placed in convents before they arrived at a marriageable age, +and were compelled to pass their lives there in seclusion. Of course, +the convents where these princesses were lodged were very richly and +splendidly endowed, and the royal inmates enjoyed within the walls every +comfort and luxury which could possibly be procured for them in such +retreats, and which could tend in any measure to reconcile them to being +forever debarred from all the pleasures of love and the sweets of +domestic life. + +Now it so happened that both Theodore and John were feeble and sickly +children, while Peter was robust and strong. The law of descent was, +however, inexorable, and, on the death of Alexis, Theodore ascended to +the throne. Besides, even if it had been possible to choose among the +sons of Alexis, Peter was at this time altogether too young to reign, for +at his father's death he was only about four years old. He was born in +1672, and his father died in 1676. + +Theodore was at this time about sixteen. Of course, however, being so +young, and his health being so infirm, he could not take any active part +in the administration of government, but was obliged to leave every thing +in the hands of his counselors and ministers of state, who managed +affairs as they thought proper, though they acted always in Theodore's +name. + +There were a great many persons who were ambitious of having a share of +the power which the young Czar thus left in the hands of his +subordinates; and, among these, perhaps the most ambitious of all was the +Princess Sophia, Theodore's sister, who was all this time shut up in the +convent to which the rules and regulations of imperial etiquette +consigned her. She was very uneasy in this confinement, and wished very +much to get released, thinking that if she could do so she should be able +to make herself of considerable consequence in the management of public +affairs. So she made application to the authorities to be allowed to go +to the palace to see and take care of her brother in his sickness. This +application was at length complied with, and Sophia went to the palace. +Here she devoted herself with so much assiduity to the care of her +brother, watching constantly at his bedside, and suffering no one to +attend upon him or to give him medicines but herself, that she won not +only his heart, but the hearts of all the nobles of the court, by her +seemingly disinterested sisterly affection. + +Indeed, it is not by any means impossible that Sophia might have been at +first disinterested and sincere in her desire to minister to the wants of +her brother, and to solace and comfort him in his sickness. But, however +this may have been at the outset, the result was that, after a time, she +acquired so much popularity and influence that she became quite an +important personage at court. She was a very talented and accomplished +young woman, and was possessed, moreover, of a strong and masculine +character. Yet she was very agreeable and insinuating in her manners; +and she conversed so affably, and at the same time so intelligently, with +all the grandees of the empire, as they came by turns to visit her +brother in his sick chamber, that they all formed a very high estimate of +her character. + +She also obtained a great ascendency over the mind of Theodore himself, +and this, of itself, very much increased her importance in the eyes of +the courtiers. They all began to think that, if they wished to obtain +any favor of the emperor, it was essential that they should stand well +with the princess. Thus every one, finding how fast she was rising in +influence, wished to have the credit of being her earliest and most +devoted friend; so they all vied with each other in efforts to aid in +aggrandizing her. + +Things went on in this way very prosperously for a time; but at length, +as might have been anticipated, suspicions and jealousies began to arise, +and, after a time, the elements of a party opposed to the princess began +to be developed. These consisted chiefly of the old nobles of the +empire, the heads of the great families who had been accustomed, under +the emperors, to wield the chief power of the state. These persons were +naturally jealous of the ascendency which they saw that the princess was +acquiring, and they began to plot together in order to devise means for +restricting or controlling it. + +But, besides these nobles, there was another very important power at the +imperial court at this time, namely, the army. In all despotic +governments, it is necessary for the sovereign to have a powerful +military force under his command, to maintain him in his place; and it is +necessary for him to keep this force as separate and independent as +possible from the people. There was in Russia at this time a very +powerful body of troops, which had been organized by the emperors, and +was maintained by them as an imperial guard. The name of this body of +troops was the Strelitz; but, in order not to encumber the narrative +unnecessarily with foreign words, I shall call them simply the Guards. + +Of course, a body of troops like these, organized and maintained by a +despotic dynasty for the express purpose, in a great measure, of +defending the sovereign against his subjects, becomes in time a very +important element of power in the state. The officers form a class by +themselves, separate from, and jealous of the nobles of the country; and +this state of things has often led to very serious collisions and +outbreaks. The guards have sometimes proved too strong for the dynasty +that created them, and have made their own generals the real monarchs of +the country. When such a state of things as this exists, the government +which results is called a military despotism. This happened in the days +of the Roman empire. The army, which was originally formed by the +regular authorities of the country, and kept for a time in strict +subjection to them, finally became too powerful to be held any longer +under control, and they made their own leading general emperor for many +successive reigns, thus wholly subverting the republic which originally +organized and maintained them. + +It was such a military body as this which now possessed great influence +and power at Moscow. The Princess Sophia, knowing how important it would +be to her to secure the influence of such a power upon her side, paid +great attention to the officers, and omitted nothing in her power which +was calculated to increase her popularity with the whole corps. The +result was that the Guards became her friends, while a great many of the +old nobles were suspicious and jealous of her, and were beginning to +devise means to curtail her increasing influence. + +But, notwithstanding all that they could do, the influence of Sophia +increased continually, until the course of public affairs came to be, in +fact, almost entirely under her direction. The chief minister of state +was a certain Prince Galitzin, who was almost wholly devoted to her +interests. Indeed, it was through her influence that he was appointed to +his office. Things continued in this state for about six years, and +then, at length, Theodore was taken suddenly sick. It soon became +evident that he could not live. On his dying bed he designated Peter as +his successor, passing over his brother John. The reason for this was +that John was so extremely feeble and infirm that he seemed to be wholly +unfit to reign over such an empire. Besides various other maladies under +which he suffered, he was afflicted with epilepsy, a disease which +rendered it wholly unsuitable that he should assume any burdens whatever +of responsibility and care. + +It is probable that it was through the influence of some of the nobles +who were opposed to Sophia that Theodore was induced thus to designate +Peter as his successor. However this may be, Peter, though then only ten +years old, was proclaimed emperor by the nobles immediately after +Theodore's death. Sophia was much disappointed, and became greatly +indignant at these proceedings. John was her own brother, while Peter, +being a son of the second wife, was only her half-brother. John, too, on +account of his feeble health, would probably never be able to take any +charge of the government, and she thought that, if he had been allowed to +succeed Theodore, she herself might have retained the real power in her +hands, as regent, as long as she lived; whereas Peter promised to have +strength and vigor to govern the empire himself in a few years, and, in +the mean time, while he remained in his minority, it was natural to +expect that he would be under the influence of persons connected with his +own branch of the family, who would be hostile to her, and that thus her +empire would come to an end. + +So she determined to resist the transfer of the supreme power to Peter. +She secretly engaged the Guards on her side. The commander-in-chief of +the Guards was an officer named Couvansky. He readily acceded to her +proposals, and, in conjunction with him, she planned and organized a +revolution. + +In order to exasperate the people and the Guards, and excite them to the +proper pitch of violence, Sophia and Couvansky spread a report that the +late emperor had not died a natural death, but had been poisoned. This +murder had been committed, they said, by a party who hoped, by setting +Theodore and his brother John aside, to get the power into their hands in +the name of Peter, whom they intended to make emperor, in violation of +the rights of John, Theodore's true heir. There was a plan also formed, +they said, to poison all the principal officers of the Guards, who, the +conspirators knew, would oppose their wicked proceedings, and perhaps +prevent the fulfillment of them if they were not put out of the way. The +poison by which Theodore had been put to death was administered, they +said, by two physicians who attended upon him in his sickness, and who +had been bribed to give him poison with his medicine. The Guards were to +have been destroyed by means of poison, which was to have been mixed with +the brandy and the beer that was distributed to them on the occasion of +the funeral. + +These stories produced a great excitement among the Guards, and also +among a considerable portion of the people of Moscow. The guards came +out into the streets and around the palaces in great force. They first +seized the two physicians who were accused of having poisoned the +emperor, and killed them on the spot. Then they took a number of nobles +of high rank, and officers of state, who were supposed to be the leaders +of the party in favor of Peter, and the instigators of the murder of +Theodore, and, dragging them out into the public squares, slew them +without mercy. Some they cut to pieces. Others they threw down from the +wall of the imperial palace upon the soldiers' pikes below, which the men +held up for the purpose of receiving them. + +Peter was at this time with his mother in the palace. Natalia was +exceedingly alarmed, not for herself, but for her son. As soon as the +revolution broke out she made her escape from the palace, and set out +with Peter in her arms to fly to a celebrated family retreat of the +emperor's, called the Monastery of the Trinity. This monastery was a +sort of country palace of the Czar's, which, besides being a pleasant +rural retreat, was also, from its religious character, a sanctuary where +fugitives seeking refuge in it might, under all ordinary circumstances, +feel themselves beyond the reach of violence and of every species of +hostile molestation. + +Natalia fled with Peter and a few attendants to this refuge, hotly +pursued, however, all the way by a body of the Guards. If the fugitives +had been overtaken on the way, both mother and son would doubtless have +been cut to pieces without mercy. As it was, they very narrowly escaped, +for when Natalia arrived at the convent the soldiers were close upon her. +Two of them followed her in before the doors could be closed. Natalia +rushed into the church, which formed the centre of the convent inclosure, +and took refuge with her child at the foot of the altar. The soldiers +pursued her there, brandishing their swords, and were apparently on the +point of striking the fatal blow; but the sacredness of the place seemed +to arrest them at the last moment, and, after pausing an instant with +their uplifted swords in their hands, and uttering imprecations against +their victims for having thus escaped them, they sullenly retired. + +In the mean time the commotion in the city went on, and for several days +no one could foresee how it would end. At length a sort of compromise +was effected, and it was agreed by the two parties that John should be +proclaimed Czar, not alone, but in conjunction with his brother Peter, +the regency to remain for the present, as it had been, in the hands of +Sophia. Thus Sophia really gained all her ends; for the retaining of +Peter's name, as nominally Czar in conjunction with his brother, was of +no consequence, since her party had proved itself the strongest in the +struggle, and all the real power remained in her hands. She had obtained +this triumph mainly through Couvansky and the Guards; and now, having +accomplished her purposes by means of their military violence, she +wished, of course, that they should retire to their quarters, and resume +their habits of subordination, and of submission to the civil authority. +But this they would not do. Couvansky, having found how important a +personage he might become through the agency of the terrible organization +which was under his direction and control, was not disposed at once to +lay aside his power; and the soldiers, intoxicated with the delights of +riot and pillage, could not now be easily restrained. Sophia found, as a +great many other despotic rulers have done in similar cases, that she had +evoked a power which she could not now control. Couvansky and the troops +under his command continued their ravages in the city, plundering the +rich houses of every thing that could gratify their appetites and +passions, and murdering all whom they imagined to belong to the party +opposed to them. + +Sophia first tried to appease them and reduce them to order by +conciliatory measures. From the Monastery of the Trinity, to which she +had herself now retreated for safety, she sent a message to Couvansky and +to the other chiefs of the army, thanking them for the zeal which they +had shown in revenging the death of her brother, the late emperor, and in +vindicating the rights of the true successor, John, and promising to +remember, and in due time to reward, the great services which they had +rendered to the state. She added that, now, since the end which they all +had in view in the movement which they had made had been entirely and +happily accomplished, the soldiers should be restrained from any farther +violence, and recalled to their quarters. + +This message had no effect. Indeed, Couvansky, finding how great the +power was of the corps which he commanded, began to conceive the idea +that he might raise himself to the supreme command. He thought that the +Guards were all devoted to him, and would do whatever he required of +them. He held secret conferences with the principal officers under his +command, and endeavored to prepare their minds for the revolution which +he contemplated by representing to them that neither of the princes who +had been proclaimed were fit to reign. John, he said, was almost an +imbecile, on account of the numerous and hopeless bodily infirmities to +which he was subject. Peter was yet a mere boy; and then, besides, even +when he should become a man, he would very likely be subject to the same +diseases with his brother. These men would never have either the +intelligence to appreciate or the power to reward such services as the +Guards were capable of rendering to the state; whereas he, their +commander, and one of their own body, would be both able and disposed to +do them ample justice. + +Couvansky also conceived the design of securing and perpetuating the +power which he hoped thus to acquire through the army by a marriage of +his son with one of the princesses of the imperial family. He selected +Catharine, who was Sophia's sister--the one next in age to her--for the +intended bride. He cautiously proposed this plan to Sophia, hoping that +she might be induced to approve and favor it, in which case he thought +that every obstacle would be removed from his way, and the ends of his +ambition would be easily and permanently attained. + +But Sophia was perfectly indignant at such a proposal. It seemed to her +the height of presumption and audacity for a mere general in the army to +aspire to a connection by marriage with the imperial family, and to a +transfer, in consequence, of the supreme power to himself and to his +descendants forever. She resolved immediately to adopt vigorous measures +to defeat these schemes in the most effectual manner. She determined to +kill Couvansky. But, as the force which he commanded was so great that +she could not hope to accomplish any thing by an open contest, she +concluded to resort to stratagem. She accordingly pretended to favor +Couvansky's plans, and seemed to be revolving in her mind the means of +carrying them into effect. Among other things, she soon announced a +grand celebration of the Princess Catharine's fête-day, to be held at the +Monastery of the Trinity, and invited Couvansky to attend it.[2] +Couvansky joyfully accepted this invitation, supposing that the occasion +would afford him an admirable opportunity to advance his views in respect +to his son. So Couvansky, accompanied by his son, set out on the +appointed day from Moscow to proceed to the monastery. Not suspecting +any treachery, he was accompanied by only a small escort. On the road he +was waylaid by a body of two hundred horsemen, whom Galitzin, Sophia's +minister of state, had sent to the spot. Couvansky's guard was at once +overpowered, and both he and his son were taken prisoners. They were +hurried at once to a house, where preparations for receiving them had +already been made, and there, without any delay, sentence of death +against them both, on a charge of treason, was read to them, and their +heads were cut off on the spot. + +The news of this execution spread with great rapidity, and it produced, +of course, an intense excitement and commotion among all the Guards as +fast as it became known to them. They threatened vengeance against the +government for having thus assassinated, as they expressed it, their +chief and father. They soon put themselves in motion, and began +murdering, plundering, and destroying more furiously than ever. The +violence which they displayed led to a reaction. A party was formed, +even among the Guards, of persons that were disposed to discountenance +these excesses, and even to submit to the government. The minister +Galitzin took advantage of these dissensions to open a communication with +those who were disposed to return to their duty. He managed the affair +so well that, in the end, the great body of the soldiers were brought +over, and, finally, they themselves, of their own accord, slew the +officers who had been most active in the revolt, and offered their heads +to the minister in token of their submission. They also implored pardon +of the government for the violence and excess into which they had been +led. Of course, this pardon was readily granted. The places of +Couvansky and of the other officers who had been slain were filled by new +appointments, who were in the interest of the Princess Sophia, and the +whole corps returned to their duty. Order was now soon fully restored in +Moscow, rendering it safe for Sophia and her court to leave the monastery +and return to the royal palace in the town. Galitzin was promoted to a +higher office, and invested with more extended powers than he had yet +held, and Sophia found herself finally established as the real sovereign +of the country, though, of course, she reigned, in the name of her +brothers. + + + +[1] The Russian form of these names is Foedor [Transcriber's note: +Feodor?] and Ivan. + +[2] These celebrations were somewhat similar to the birthday celebrations +of England and America, only the day on which they were held was not the +birth-day of the lady, but the fête-day, as it was called, of her patron +saint--that is, of the saint whose name she bore. All the names for +girls used in those countries where the Greek or the Catholic Church +prevails are names of saints, each one of whom has in the calendar a +certain day set apart as her fête-day. Each girl considers the saint +from whom she is named as her patron saint, and the fête-day of this +saint, instead of her own birth-day, is the anniversary which is +celebrated in honor of her. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +THE PRINCESS'S DOWNFALL. + +1684-1869 + +Sophia at the height of her power--Military expeditions--The Cham of +Tartary--Mazeppa--Origin and history--His famous punishment--Subsequent +history--The war unsuccessful--Sophia's artful policy--Rewards and +honors to the army--The opposition--Their plans--Reasons for the +proposed marriage--The intended wife--Motives of politicians--Results +of Peter's marriage--Peter's country house--Return of Galitzin--The +princess's alarm--The Cossacks--Sophia's plot--The commander of the +Guards--Prince Galitzin--Details of the plot--Manner in which the plot +was discovered--Messengers dispatched--The sentinels--The detachment +arrives--Peter's place of refuge--Sophia's pretenses--The +Guards--Sophia attempts to secure them--They adhere to the cause of +Peter--Sophia's alarm--Her first deputation--Failure of the +deputation--Sophia appeals to the patriarch--His mission +fails--Sophia's despair--Her final plans--She is repulsed from the +monastery--The surrender of Thekelavitaw demanded--He is brought to +trial--He is put to the torture--His confessions--Value of them--Modes +of torture applied--Various punishments inflicted--Galitzin is +banished--His son shares his fate--Punishment of Thekelavitaw--Decision +in respect to Sophia--Peter's public entry into Moscow--He gains sole +power--Character and condition of John--Subsequent history of Sophia + + +The Princess Sophia was now in full possession of power, so that she +reigned supreme in the palaces and in the capital, while, of course, +the ordinary administration of the affairs of state, and the relations +of the empire with foreign nations, were left to Galitzin and the other +ministers. It was in 1684 that she secured possession of this power, +and in 1689 her regency came to an end, so that she was, in fact, the +ruler of the Russian empire for a period of about five years. + +During this time one or two important military expeditions were set on +foot by her government. The principal was a campaign in the southern +part of the empire for the conquest of the Crimea, which country, +previous to that time, had belonged to the Turks. Poland was at that +period a very powerful kingdom, and the Poles, having become involved +in a war with the Turks, proposed to the Russians, or Muscovites, as +they were then generally called, to join them in an attempt to conquer +the Crimea. The Tartars who inhabited the Crimea and the country to +the northeastward of it were on the side of the Turks, so that the +Russians had two enemies to contend with. + +The supreme ruler of the Tartars was a chieftain called a Cham. He was +a potentate of great power and dignity, superior, indeed, to the Czars +who ruled in Muscovy. In fact, there had been an ancient treaty by +which this superiority of the Cham was recognized and acknowledged in a +singular way--one which illustrates curiously the ideas and manners of +those times. The treaty stipulated, among other things, that whenever +the Czar and the Cham should chance to meet, the Czar should hold the +Cham's stirrup while he mounted his horse, and also feed the horse with +oats out of his cap. + +In the war between the Muscovites and the Tartars for the possession of +the Crimea, a certain personage appeared, who has since been made very +famous by the poetry of Byron. It was Mazeppa, the unfortunate +chieftain whose frightful ride through the tangled thickets of an +uncultivated country, bound naked to a wild horse, was described with +so much graphic power by the poet, and has been so often represented in +paintings and engravings. + +Mazeppa was a Polish gentleman. He was brought up as a page in the +family of the King of Poland. When he became a man he mortally +offended a certain Polish nobleman by some improprieties in which he +became involved with the nobleman's wife. The husband caused him to be +seized and cruelly scourged, and then to be bound upon the back of a +wild, ungovernable horse. When all was ready the horse was turned +loose upon the Ukrain, and, terrified with the extraordinary burden +which he felt upon his back, and uncontrolled by bit or rein, he rushed +madly on through the wildest recesses of the forest, until at length he +fell down exhausted with terror and fatigue. Some Cossack peasants +found and rescued Mazeppa, and took care of him in one of their huts +until he recovered from his wounds. + +Mazeppa was a well-educated man, and highly accomplished in the arts of +war as they were practiced in those days. He soon acquired great +popularity among the Cossacks, and, in the end, rose to be a chieftain +among them, and he distinguished himself greatly in these very +campaigns in the Crimea, fought by the Muscovites against the Turks and +Tartars during the regency of the Princess Sophia. + +If the war thus waged by the government of the empress had been +successful, it would have greatly strengthened the position of her +party in Moscow, and increased her own power; but it was not +successful. Prince Galitzin, who had the chief command of the +expedition, was obliged, after all, to withdraw his troops from the +country, and make a very unsatisfactory peace; but he did not dare to +allow the true result of the expedition to be known in Moscow, for fear +of the dissatisfaction which, he felt convinced, would be occasioned +there by such intelligence; and the distance was so great, and the +means of communication in those days were so few, that it was +comparatively easy to falsify the accounts. So, after he had made +peace with the Tartars, and began to draw off his army, he sent +couriers to Moscow to the Czars, and also to the King in Poland, with +news of great victories which he had obtained against the Tartars, of +conquests which he made in their territories, and of his finally having +compelled them to make peace on terms extremely favorable. The +Princess Sophia, as soon as this news reached her in Moscow, ordered +that arrangements should be made for great public rejoicings throughout +the empire on account of the victories which had been obtained. +According to the custom, too, of the Muscovite government, in cases +where great victories had been won, the council drew up a formal letter +of thanks and commendations to the officers and soldiers of the army, +and sent it to them by a special messenger, with promotions and other +honors for the chiefs, and rewards in money for the men. The princess +and her government hoped, by these means, to conceal the bad success of +their enterprise, and to gain, instead of losing, credit and strength +with the people. + +But during all this time a party opposed to Sophia and her plans had +been gradually forming, and it was now increasing in numbers and +influence every day. The men of this party naturally gathered around +Peter, intending to make him their leader. Peter had now grown up to +be a young man. In the next chapter we shall give some account of the +manner in which his childhood and early youth were spent; but he was +now about eighteen years old, and the party who adhered to him formed +the plan of marrying him. So they proceeded to choose him a wife. + +The reasons which led them to advocate this measure were, of course, +altogether political. They thought that if Peter were to be married, +and to have children, all the world would see that the crown must +necessarily descend in his family, since John had no children, and he +was so sickly and feeble that it was not probable that even he himself +would long survive. They knew very well, therefore, that the marriage +of Peter and the birth of an heir would turn all men's thoughts to him +as the real personage whose favor it behooved them to cultivate; and +this, they supposed, would greatly increase his importance, and so add +to the strength of the party that acted in his name. + +It turned out just as they had anticipated. The wife whom the +councilors chose for Peter was a young lady of noble birth, the +daughter of one of the great boiars, as they were called, of the +empire. Her name was Ottokessa Federowna. The Princess Sophia did all +in her power to prevent the match, but her efforts were of no avail. +Peter was married, and the event greatly increased his importance among +the nobles and among the people, and augmented the power and influence +of his party. In all cases of this kind, where a contest is going on +between rival claimants to a throne, or rival dynasties, there are some +persons, though not many, who are governed in their conduct, in respect +to the side which they take, by principles of honor and duty, and of +faithful adherence to what they suppose to be the right. But a vast +majority of courtiers and politicians in all countries and in all ages +are only anxious to find out, not which side is right, but which is +likely to be successful. Accordingly, in this case, as the marriage of +Peter made it still more probable than it was before that he would in +the end secure to his branch of the family the supreme power, it +greatly increased the tendency among the nobles to pay their court to +him and to his friends. This tendency was still more strengthened by +the expectation which soon after arose, that Peter's wife was about to +give birth to a son. The probability of the appearance of a son and +heir on Peter's side, taken in connection with the hopeless +childlessness of John, seemed to turn the scales entirely in favor of +Peter's party. This was especially the case in respect to all the +young nobles as they successively arrived at an age to take an interest +in public affairs. All these young men seemed to despise the +imbecility, and the dark and uncertain prospects of John, and to be +greatly charmed with the talents and energy of Peter, and with the +brilliant future which seemed to be opening before him. Thus even the +nobles who still adhered to the cause of Sophia and of John had the +mortification to find that their sons, as fast as they came of age, all +went over to the other side. + +Peter lived at this time with his young wife at a certain country +palace belonging to him, situated on the banks of a small river a few +miles from Moscow. The name of this country-seat was Obrogensko. + +Such was the state of things at Moscow when Prince Galitzin returned +from his campaigns in the Crimea. The prince found that the power of +Sophia and her party was rapidly waning, and that Sophia herself was in +a state of great anxiety and excitement in respect to the future. The +princess gave Galitzin a very splendid reception, and publicly rewarded +him for his pretended success in the war by bestowing upon him great +and extraordinary honors. Still many people were very suspicious of +the truth of the accounts which were circulated. The partisans of +Peter called for proofs that the victories had really been won. Prince +Galitzin brought with him to the capital a considerable force of +Cossacks, with Mazeppa at their head. The Cossacks had never before +been allowed to come into Moscow; but now, Sophia having formed a +desperate plan to save herself from the dangers that surrounded her, +and knowing that these men would unscrupulously execute any commands +that were given to them by their leaders, directed Galitzin to bring +them within the walls, under pretense to do honor to Mazeppa for the +important services which he had rendered during the war. But this +measure was very unpopular with the people, and, although the Cossacks +were actually brought within the walls, they were subjected to such +restrictions there that, after all, Sophia could not employ them for +the purpose of executing her plot, but was obliged to rely on the +regular Muscovite troops of the imperial Guard. + +The plot which she formed was nothing else than the assassination of +Peter. She saw no other way by which she could save herself from the +dangers which surrounded her, and make sure of retaining her power. +Her brother, the Czar John, was growing weaker and more insignificant +every day; while Peter and his party, who looked upon her, she knew, +with very unfriendly feelings, were growing stronger and stronger. If +Peter continued to live, her speedy downfall, she was convinced, was +sure. She accordingly determined that Peter should die. + +The commander-in-chief of the Guards at this time was a man named +Theodore Thekelavitaw. He had been raised to this exalted post by +Sophia herself on the death of Couvansky. She had selected him for +this office with special reference to his subserviency to her +interests. She determined now, accordingly, to confide to him the +execution of her scheme for the assassination of Peter. + +When Sophia proposed her plan to Prince Galitzin, he was at first +strongly opposed to it, on account of the desperate danger which would +attend such an undertaking. But she urged upon him so earnestly the +necessity of the case, representing to him that unless some very +decisive measures were adopted, not only would she herself soon be +deposed from power, but that he and all his family and friends would be +involved in the same common ruin, he at length reluctantly consented. + +The plan was at last fully matured. Thekelavitaw, the commander of the +Guards, selected six hundred men to go with him to Obrogensko. They +were to go in the night, the plan being to seize Peter in his bed. +When the appointed night arrived, the commander marshaled his men and +gave them their instructions, and the whole body set out upon their +march to Obrogensko with every prospect of successfully accomplishing +the undertaking. + +But the whole plan was defeated in a very remarkable manner. While the +commander was giving his instructions to the men, two of the soldiers, +shocked with the idea of being made the instruments of such a crime, +stole away unobserved in the darkness, and ran with all possible speed +to Obrogensko to warn Peter of his danger. Peter leaped from his bed +in consternation, and immediately sent to the apartments where his +uncles, the brothers of his mother, were lodging, to summon them to +come to him. When they came, a hurried consultation was held. There +was some doubt in the minds of Peter's uncles whether the story which +the soldiers told was to be believed. They thought it could not +possibly be true that so atrocious a crime could be contemplated by +Sophia. Accordingly, before taking any measures for sending Peter and +his family away, they determined to send messengers toward the city to +ascertain whether any detachment of Guards was really coming toward +Obrogensko. + +These messengers set off at once; but, before they had reached half way +to Moscow, they met Thekelavitaw's detachment of Guards, with +Thekelavitaw himself at the head of them, stealing furtively along the +road. The messengers hid themselves by the wayside until the troop had +gone by. Then hurrying away round by a circuitous path, they got +before the troop again, and reached the palace before the assassins +arrived. Peter had just time to get into a coach, with his wife, his +sister, and one or two other members of his family, and to drive away +from the palace before Thekelavitaw, with his band, arrived. The +sentinels who were on duty at the gates of the palace had been much +surprised at the sudden departure of Peter and his family, and now they +were astonished beyond measure at the sudden appearance of so large a +body of their comrades arriving at midnight, without any warning, from +the barracks in Moscow. + +[Illustration: The escape.] + +Immediately on his arrival at the palace, Thekelavitaw's men searched +every where for Peter, but of course could not find him. They then +questioned the sentinels, and were told that Peter had left the palace +with his family in a very hurried manner but a very short time before. +No one knew where they had gone. + +There was, of course, nothing now for Thekelavitaw to do but to return, +discomfited and alarmed, to the Princess Sophia, and report the failure +of their scheme. + +In the mean time Peter had fled to the Monastery of the Trinity, the +common refuge of the family in all cases of desperate danger. The news +of the affair spread rapidly, and produced universal excitement. +Peter, from his retreat in the monastery, sent a message to Sophia, +charging her with having sent Thekelavitaw and his band to take his +life. Sophia was greatly alarmed at the turn which things had taken. +She, however, strenuously denied being guilty of the charge which Peter +made against her. She said that the soldiers under Thekelavitaw had +only gone out to Obrogensko for the purpose of relieving the guard. +This nobody believed. The idea of taking such a body of men a league +or more into the country at midnight for the purpose of relieving the +guard of a country palace was preposterous. + +The excitement increased. The leading nobles of the country began to +flock to the monastery to declare their adhesion to Peter, and their +determination to sustain and protect him. Sophia, at the same time, +did all that she could do to rally her friends. Both sides endeavored +to gain the good-will of the Guards. The princess caused them to be +assembled before her palace in Moscow, and there she appeared on a +balcony before them, accompanied by the Czar John; and the Czar made +them a speech--one, doubtless, which Sophia had prepared for him. In +this speech John stated to the Guards that his brother Peter had +retired to the Monastery of the Trinity, though for what reason he knew +not. He had, however, too much reason to fear, he said, that he was +plotting some schemes against the state. + +"We have heard," he added, "that he has summoned you to repair thither +and attend him, but we forbid your going on pain of death." + +Sophia then herself addressed the Guards, confirming what John had +said, and endeavoring artfully to awaken an interest in their minds in +her favor. The Guards listened in silence; but it seems that very +little effect was produced upon them by these harangues, for they +immediately afterward marched in a body to the monastery, and there +publicly assured Peter of their adhesion to his cause. + +Sophia was now greatly alarmed. She began to fear that all was lost. +She determined to send an embassage to Peter to deprecate his +displeasure, and, if possible, effect a reconciliation. She employed +on this commission two of her aunts, her father's sisters, who were, of +course, the aunts likewise of Peter, and the nearest family relatives, +who were equally the relatives of herself and of him. These ladies +were, of course, princesses of very high rank, and their age and family +connection were such as to lead Sophia to trust a great deal to their +intercession. + +She charged these ladies to assure Peter that she was entirely innocent +of the crime of which she was suspected, and that the stories of her +having sent the soldiers to his palace with any evil design were +fabricated by her enemies, who wished to sow dissension between herself +and him. She assured him that there had been no necessity at all for +his flight, and that he might now at any time return to Moscow with +perfect safety. + +Peter received his aunts in a very respectful manner, and listened +attentively to what they had to say; but, after they had concluded +their address to him, he assured them that his retreat to the monastery +was not without good cause: and he proceeded to state and explain all +the circumstances of the case, and to show so many and such conclusive +proofs that a conspiracy to destroy him had actually been formed, and +was on the eve of being executed, that the princesses could no longer +doubt that Sophia was really guilty. They were overwhelmed with grief +in coming to this conviction, and they declared, with tears in their +eyes, that they would not return to Moscow, but would remain at the +monastery and share the fortunes of their nephew. + +When Sophia learned what had been the result of her deputation she was +more alarmed than ever. After spending some time in perplexity and +distress, she determined to apply to the patriarch, who was the head of +the Church, and, of course, the highest ecclesiastical dignitary in the +empire. She begged and implored him to act as mediator between her and +her brother, and he was at length so moved by her tears and entreaties +that he consented to go. + +This embassage was no more successful than the other. Peter, it seems, +was provided with proof, which he offered to the patriarch, not only of +the reality of the conspiracy which had been formed, but also of the +fact that, if it had been successful, the patriarch himself was to have +been taken off, in order that another ecclesiastic more devoted to +Sophia's interests might be put in his place. The patriarch was +astonished and shocked at this intelligence, and was so much alarmed by +it that he did not dare to return to Sophia to make his report, and +decided, as the ladies had done before him, to take up his abode with +Peter in the monastery until the crisis should be passed. + +The princess was now almost in a state of despair. Prince Galitzin, it +is true, still remained with her, and there were some others in the +palace who adhered to her cause. She called these few remaining +friends together, and with them held a sorrowful and anxious +consultation, in order to determine what should now be done. It was +resolved that Thekelavitaw and one or two others who were deeply +implicated in the plot for the assassination of Peter should be secured +in a place of close concealment in the palace, and then, that the +princess herself, accompanied by Galitzin and her other leading +friends, should proceed in a body to the Monastery of the Trinity, and +there make a personal appeal to Peter, in hopes of appeasing him, and +saving themselves, if possible, from their impending fate. This plan +they proceeded to carry into effect; but before Sophia, and those who +were with her, had reached half way to the palace, they were met by a +nobleman who had been sent from the monastery to intercept them, and +order them, in Peter's name, to return to Moscow. If the princess were +to go on, she would not be received at the monastery, the messenger +said, but would find the gates closed against her. + +So Sophia and her train turned, and despairingly retraced their steps +to Moscow. + +The next day an officer, at the head of a body of the Guards three +hundred in number, was dispatched from the monastery to demand of the +Princess Sophia, at her palace, that she should give up Thekelavitaw, +in order that he might be brought to trial on a charge of treason. +Sophia was extremely unwilling to comply with this demand. She may +naturally be supposed to have desired to save her instrument and agent +from suffering the penalties of the crime which she herself had planned +and had instigated him to attempt; but the chief source of her extreme +reluctance to surrender the prisoner was her fear of the revelations +which he would be likely to make implicating her. After hesitating for +a time, being in a state during the interval of great mental distress +and anguish, she concluded that she must obey, and so Thekelavitaw was +brought out from his retreat and surrendered. The soldiers immediately +took him and some other persons who were surrendered with him, and, +securing them safely with irons, they conveyed them rapidly to the +monastery. + +Thekelavitaw was brought to trial in the great hall of the monastery, +where a court, consisting of the leading nobles, was organized to hear +his cause. He was questioned closely by his judges for a long time, +but his answers were evasive and unsatisfactory, and at length it was +determined to put him to torture, in order to compel him to confess his +crime, and to reveal the names of his confederates. This was a very +unjust and cruel mode of procedure, but it was in accordance with the +rude ideas which prevailed in those times. + +The torture which was applied to Thekelavitaw was scourging with a +knout. The knout was a large and strong whip, the lash of which +consists of a tough, thick thong of leather, prepared in a particular +way, so as greatly to increase the intensity of the agony caused by the +blows inflicted with it. Thekelavitaw endured a few strokes from this +dreadful instrument, and then declared that he was ready to confess +all; so they took him back to prison and there heard what he had to +say. He made a full statement in respect to the plot. He said that +the design was to kill Peter himself, his mother, and several other +persons, near connections of Peter's branch of the family. The +Princess Sophia was the originator of the plot, he said, and he +specified many other persons who had taken a leading part in it. + +These statements of the unhappy sufferer may have been true or they may +have been false. It is now well known that no reliance whatever can be +placed upon testimony that is extorted in this way, as men under such +circumstances will say any thing which they think will be received by +their tormentors, and be the means of bringing their sufferings to an +end. + +However it may have been in fact in this case, the testimony of +Thekelavitaw was believed. On the faith of it many more arrests were +made, and many other persons were put to the torture to compel them to +reveal additional particulars of the plot. It is said that one of the +modes of torment of the sufferers in these trials consisted in first +shaving the head and tying it in a fixed position, and then causing +boiling water to be poured, drop by drop, upon it, which in a very +short time produced, it is said, an exquisite and dreadful agony which +no mortal heroism could long endure. + +After all these extorted confessions had been received, and the persons +accused by the wretched witnesses had been secured, the court was +employed two days in determining the relative guilt of the different +criminals, and in deciding upon the punishments. Some of the prisoners +were beheaded; others were sentenced to perpetual imprisonment; others +were banished. The punishment of Prince Galitzin was banishment for +life to Siberia. He was brought before the court to hear his sentence +pronounced by the judges in form. It was to this effect, namely, "That +he was ordered to go to Karga, a town under the pole, there to remain, +as long as he lived, in disgrace with his majesty, who had, +nevertheless, of his great goodness, allowed him threepence a day for +his subsistence; but that his justice had ordained all his goods to be +forfeited to his treasury." + +Galitzin had a son who seems to have been implicated in some way with +his father in the conspiracy. At any rate, he was sentenced to share +his father's fate. Whether the companionship of his son on the long +and gloomy journey was a comfort to the prince, or whether it only +redoubled the bitterness of his calamity to see his son compelled to +endure it too, it would be difficult to say. The female members of the +family were sent with them too. + +As soon as the prince had been sent away, officers were dispatched to +take possession of his palace, and to make an inventory of the property +contained in it. The officers found a vast amount of treasure. Among +other things, they discovered a strong box buried in a vault, which +contained an immense sum of money. There were four hundred vessels of +silver of great weight, and many other rich and costly articles. All +these things were confiscated, and the proceeds put into the imperial +treasury. + +Thekelavitaw, the commander-in-chief of the Guards, had his head cut +off. The subordinate officer who had the immediate command of the +detachment which marched out to Obrogensko was punished by being first +scourged with the knout, then having his tongue cut out, and then being +sent to Siberia in perpetual banishment, with an allowance for his +subsistence of one third the pittance which had been granted to +Galitzin. Some of the private soldiers of the detachment were also +sentenced to have their tongues cut out, and then to be sent to Siberia +to earn their living there by hunting sables. + +Peter was not willing that the Princess Sophia, being his sister, +should be publicly punished or openly disgraced in any way, so it was +decreed that she should retire to a certain convent, situated in a +solitary place a little way out of town, where she could be closely +watched and guarded. Sophia was extremely unwilling to obey this +decree, and she would not go to the convent of her own accord. The +commander of the Guards was thereupon directed to send a body of armed +men to convey her there, with orders to take her by force if she would +not go willingly; so Sophia was compelled to submit, and, when she was +lodged in the convent, soldiers were placed not only to keep sentinel +at the doors, but also to guard all the avenues leading to the place, +so as effectually to cut the poor prisoner off from all possible +communication with any who might be disposed to sympathize with her or +aid her. She remained in this condition, a close prisoner, for many +years. + +Two days after this--every thing connected with the conspiracy having +been settled--it was determined that Peter should return to Moscow. He +made a grand triumphant entry into the city, attended by an armed +escort of eighteen thousand of the Guards. Peter himself rode +conspicuously at the head of the troops on horseback. His wife and his +mother followed in a coach. + +On arriving at the royal palace, he was met on the staircase by his +brother John, who was not supposed to have taken any part in Sophia's +conspiracy. Peter greeted his brother kindly, and said he hoped that +they were friends. John replied in the same spirit, and so the two +brothers were reinstated again as joint possessors, nominally, of the +supreme power, but, now that Sophia was removed out of the way, and all +her leading friends and partisans were either beheaded or banished, the +whole control of the government fell, in fact, into the hands of Peter +and of his counselors and friends. + +John, his brother Czar, was too feeble and inefficient to take any part +whatever in the management of public affairs. He was melancholy and +dejected in spirit, in consequence of his infirmities and sufferings, +and he spent most of his time in acts of devotion, according to the +rites and usages of the established church of the country, as the best +means within his knowledge of preparing himself for another and happier +world. He died about seven years after this time. + +The Princess Sophia lived for fifteen years a prisoner. During this +period several efforts were made by those who still adhered to her +cause to effect her release and her restoration to power, but they were +all unsuccessful. She remained in close confinement as long as she +lived. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +THE CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH OF PETER. + +1677-1688 + +Troublous times in the family--Peter's first governor--His +qualifications--Peter's earliest studies--His disposition and +character--Sophia's jealousy of him--Her plans for corrupting his +morals--The governor is dismissed--New system adopted--Sophia's +expectations--Peter's fifty playmates--The plot does not succeed--Peter +organizes a military school--Peter a practical mechanic--His ideas and +intentions--His drumming--His wheelbarrow--Progress of the +school--Results of Peter's energy of character + + +We must now go back a little in our narrative, in order to give some +account of the manner in which the childhood and early youth of Peter +were spent, and of the indications which appeared in this early period +of his life to mark his character. He was only eighteen years of age +at the time of his marriage, and, of course, all those contests and +dissensions which, for so many years after his father Alexis's death, +continued to distract the family, took place while he was very young. +He was only about nine years old when they began, at the time of the +death of his father. + +The person whom Peter's father selected to take charge of his little +son's education, in the first instance, was a very accomplished general +named Menesius. General Menesius was a Scotchman by birth, and he had +been well educated in the literary seminaries of his native country, so +that, besides his knowledge and skill in every thing which pertained to +the art of war, he was well versed in all the European languages, and, +having traveled extensively in the different countries of Europe, he +was qualified to instruct Peter, when he should become old enough to +take an interest in such inquiries, in the arts and sciences of western +Europe, and in the character of the civilization of the various +countries, and the different degrees of progress which they had +respectively made. + +At the time, however, when Peter was put under his governor's charge he +was only about five years old, and, consequently, none but the most +elementary studies were at that time suited to his years. Of course, +it was not the duty of General Menesius to attend personally to the +instruction of his little pupil in these things, but only to see to it +that the proper teachers were appointed, and that they attended to +their duties in a faithful manner. + +Every thing went on prosperously and well under this arrangement as +long as the Czar Alexis, Peter's father, continued to live. General +Menesius resided in the palace with his charge, and he gradually began +to form a strong attachment to him. Indeed, Peter was so full of life +and spirit, and evinced so much intelligence in all that he did and +said, and learned what was proper to be taught him at that age with so +much readiness and facility, that he was a favorite with all who knew +him; that is, with all who belonged to or were connected with his +mother's branch of the family. With those who were connected with the +children of Alexis' first wife he was an object of continual jealousy +and suspicion, and the greater the proofs that he gave of talent and +capacity, the more jealous of him these his natural rivals became. + +At length, when Alexis, his father, died, and his half-brother Theodore +succeeded to the throne, the division between the two branches of the +family became more decided than ever; and when Sophia obtained her +release from the convent, and managed to get the control of public +affairs, in consequence of Theodore's imbecility, as related in the +first chapter, one of the first sources of uneasiness for her, in +respect to the continuance of her power, was the probability that Peter +would grow up to be a talented and energetic young man, and would +sooner or later take the government into his own hands. She revolved +in her mind many plans for preventing this. The one which seemed to +her most feasible at first was to attempt to spoil the boy by +indulgence and luxury. + +She accordingly, it is said, attempted to induce Menesius to alter the +arrangements which he had made for Peter, so as to release him from +restraint, and allow him to do as he pleased. Her plan was also to +supply him with means of pleasure and indulgence very freely, thinking +that a boy of his age would not have the good sense or the resolution +to resist these temptations. Thus she thought that his progress in +study would be effectually impeded, and that, perhaps, he would +undermine his health and destroy his constitution by eating and +drinking, or by other hurtful indulgences. + +But Sophia found that she could not induce General Menesius to +co-operate with her in any such plans. He had set his heart on making +his pupil a virtuous and an accomplished man, and he knew very well +that the system of laxity and indulgence which Sophia recommended would +end in his ruin. After a considerable contest, Sophia, finding that +Menesius was inflexible, manoeuvred to cause him to be dismissed from +his office, and to have another arrangement made for the boy, by which +she thought her ends would be attained. So Menesius bade his young +charge farewell, not, however, without giving him, in parting, most +urgent counsels to persevere, as he had begun, in the faithful +performance of his duty, to resist every temptation to idleness or +excess, and to devote himself, while young, with patience, +perseverance, and industry to the work of storing his mind with useful +knowledge, and of acquiring every possible art and accomplishment which +could be of advantage to him when he became a man. + +After General Menesius had been dismissed, Sophia adopted an entirely +new system for the management of Peter. Before this time Theodore had +died, and Peter, in conjunction with John, had been proclaimed emperor, +Sophia governing as regent in their names. The princess now made an +arrangement for establishing Peter in a household of his own, at a +palace situated in a small village at some distance from Moscow, and +she appointed fifty boys to live with him as his playmates and amusers. +These boys were provided with every possible means of indulgence, and +were subject to very little restraint. The intention of Sophia was +that they should do just as they pleased, and she had no doubt that +they would spend their time in such a manner that they would all grow +up idle, vicious, and good for nothing. There was even some hope that +Peter would impair his health to such an extent by excessive +indulgences as to bring him to an early grave. + +Indeed, the plot was so well contrived that there are probably not many +boys who would not, under such circumstances, have fallen into the +snare so adroitly laid for them and been ruined; but Peter escaped it. +Whether it was from the influence of the counsels and instructions of +his former governor, or from his own native good sense, or from both +combined, he resisted the temptations that were laid before him, and, +instead of giving up his studies, and spending his time in indolence +and vice, he improved such privileges as he enjoyed to the best of his +ability. He even contrived to turn the hours of play, and the +companions who had been given to him as mere instruments of pleasure, +into means of improvement. He caused the boys to be organized into a +sort of military school, and learned with them all the evolutions, and +practiced all the discipline necessary in a camp. He himself began at +the very beginning. He caused himself to be taught to drum, not merely +as most boys do, just to make a noise for his amusement, but regularly +and scientifically, so as to enable him to understand and execute all +the beats and signals used in camp and on the field of battle. He +studied fortification, and set the boys at work, himself among them, in +constructing a battery in a regular and scientific manner. He learned +the use of tools, too, practically, in a shop which had been provided +for the boys as a place for play; and the wheelbarrow with which he +worked in making the fortification was one which he had constructed +with his own hands. + +He did not assume any superiority over his companions in these +exercises, but took his place among them as an equal, obeying the +commands which were given to him, when it came to his turn to serve, +and taking his full share of all the hardest of the work which was to +be done. + +Nor was this all mere boys' play, pursued for a little time as long as +the novelty lasted, and then thrown aside for something more amusing. +Peter knew that when he became a man he would be emperor of all Russia. +He knew that among the populations of that immense country there were a +great many wild and turbulent tribes, half savage in habits and +character, that would never be controlled but by military force, and +that the country, too, was surrounded by other nations that would +sometimes, unless he was well prepared for them, assume a hostile +attitude against his government, and perhaps make great aggressions +upon his territories. He wished, therefore, to prepare himself for the +emergencies that might in future arise by making himself thoroughly +acquainted with all the details of the military art. He did not +expect, it is true, that he should ever be called upon to serve in any +of his armies as an actual drummer, or to wheel earth and construct +fortifications with his own hands, still less to make the wheelbarrows +by which the work was to be done; but he was aware that he could +superintend these things far more intelligently and successfully if he +knew in detail precisely how every thing ought to be done, and that was +the reason why he took so much pains to learn himself how to do them. + +As he grew older he contrived to introduce higher and higher branches +of military art into the school, and to improve and perfect the +organization of it in every way. After a while he adopted improved +uniforms and equipments for the pupils, such as were used at the +military schools of the different nations of Europe; and he established +professors of different branches of military science as fast as he +himself and his companions advanced in years and in power of +appreciating studies more and more elevated. The result was, that +when, at length, he was eighteen years of age, and the time arrived for +him to leave the place, the institution had become completely +established as a well-organized and well-appointed military school, and +it continued in successful operation as such for a long time afterward. + +It was in a great measure in consequence of the energy and talent which +Peter thus displayed that so many of the leading nobles attached +themselves to his cause, by which means he was finally enabled to +depose Sophia from her regency, and take the power into his own hands, +even before he was of age, as related in the last chapter. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +LE FORT AND MENZIKOFF. + +1689-1691 + +Conditions of success in life--The selection of agents--Building a +house--Secret of success--Peter's youth--Le Fort and Menzikoff--Merchants +of Amsterdam--Le Fort in the counting-house--He goes to Copenhagen--He +becomes acquainted with military life--The ambassador--Le Fort an +interpreter--He attracts the attention of the emperor--His judicious +answers--Gratification of the emperor--The embassador's opinion--The +glass of wine--Le Fort given up to the emperor--His appointment at +court--His subsequent career--Uniforms--Le Fort's suggestion--An +embassador's train--Surprise and pleasure of the Czar--Le Fort undertakes +a commission--Making of the uniforms--He enlists a company--The company +appears before the emperor--The result--New improvements +proposed--Changes--Remodeling of the tariff--Effects of the change--The +finances--Carpenters and masons brought in--New palace--Le Fort's +increasing influence--His generosity--Peter's violent temper--Le Fort an +intercessor--Prince Menzikoff--His early history--He sets off to seek his +fortune--His pies and cakes--Negotiations with the emperor--Menzikoff in +Le Fort's company--Menzikoff's real character--Quarrel between Peter and +his wife--Cause of the quarrel--Ottokesa's cruel fate--Grave faults in +Peter's character + + +Whatever may be a person's situation in life, his success in his +undertakings depends not more, after all, upon his own personal ability +to do what is required to be done, than it does upon his sagacity and the +soundness of his judgment in selecting the proper persons to co-operate +with him and assist him in doing it. In all great enterprises undertaken +by men, it is only a very small part which they can execute with their +own hands, and multitudes of most excellently contrived plans fail for +want of wisdom in the choice of the men who are depended upon for the +accomplishment of them. + +This is true in all things, small as well as great. A man may form a +very wise scheme for building a house. He may choose an excellent place +for the location of it, and draw up a good plan, and make ample +arrangements for the supply of funds, but if he does not know how to +choose, or where to find good builders, his scheme will come to a +miserable end. He may choose builders that are competent but dishonest, +or they may be honest but incompetent, or they may be subject to some +other radical defect; in either of which cases the house will be badly +built, and the scheme will be a failure. + +Many men say, when such a misfortune as this happens to them, "Ah! it was +not my fault. It was the fault of the builders;" to which the proper +reply would be, "It _was_ your fault. You should not have undertaken to +build a house unless, in addition to being able to form the general plan +and arrangements wisely, you had also had the sagacity to discern the +characters of the men whom you were to employ to execute the work." This +latter quality is as important to success in all undertakings as the +former. Indeed, it is far more important, for good _men_ may correct or +avoid the evils of a bad plan, but a good plan can never afford security +against the evil action of bad men. + +The sovereigns and great military commanders that have acquired the +highest celebrity in history have always been remarkable for their tact +and sagacity in discovering and bringing forward the right kind of talent +for the successful accomplishment of their various designs. + +When Peter first found himself nominally in possession of the supreme +power, after the fall of the Princess Sophia, he was very young, and the +administration of the government was really in the hands of different +nobles and officers of state, who managed affairs in his name. From time +to time there were great dissensions among these men. They formed +themselves into cliques and coteries, each of which was jealous of the +influence of the others. As Peter gradually grew older, and felt +stronger and stronger in his position, he took a greater part in the +direction and control of the public policy, and the persons whom he first +made choice of to aid him in his plans were two very able men, whom he +afterward raised to positions of great responsibility and honor. These +men became, indeed, in the end, highly distinguished as statesmen, and +were very prominent and very efficient instruments in the development and +realization of Peter's plans. The name of the first of these statesmen +was Le Fort; that of the second was Menzikoff. The story which is told +by the old historians of both of these men is quite romantic. + +Le Fort was the son of a merchant of Geneva. He had a strong desire from +his childhood to be a soldier, but his father, considering the hardships +and dangers to which a military life would expose him, preferred to make +him a merchant, and so he provided him with a place in the counting-house +of one of the great merchants of Amsterdam. The city of Amsterdam was in +those days one of the greatest and wealthiest marts of commerce in the +world. + +Very many young men, in being thus restrained by their fathers from +pursuing the profession which they themselves chose, and placed, instead, +in a situation which they did not like, would have gone to their duty in +a discontented and sullen manner, and would have made no effort to +succeed in the business or to please their employers; but Le Fort, it +seems, was a boy of a different mould from this. He went to his work in +the counting-house at Amsterdam with a good heart, and devoted himself to +his business with so much industry and steadiness, and evinced withal so +much amiableness of disposition in his intercourse with all around him, +that before long, as the accounts say, the merchant "loved him as his own +child." After some considerable time had elapsed, the merchant, who was +constantly sending vessels to different parts of the world, was on one +occasion about dispatching a ship to Copenhagen, and Le Fort asked +permission to go in her. The merchant was not only willing that he +should go, but also gave him the whole charge of the cargo, with +instructions to attend to the sale of it, and the remittance of the +proceeds on the arrival of the ship in port. Le Fort accordingly sailed +in the ship, and on his arrival at Copenhagen he transacted the business +of selling the cargo and sending back the money so skillfully and well +that the merchant was very well pleased with him. + +Copenhagen is the capital of Denmark, and the Danes were at that time +quite a powerful and warlike nation. Le Fort, in walking about the +streets of the town while his ship was lying there, often saw the Danish +soldiers marching to and fro, and performing their evolutions, and the +sight revived in his mind his former interest in being a soldier. He +soon made acquaintance with some of the officers, and, in hearing them +talk of their various adventures, and of the details of their mode of +life, he became very eager to join them. They liked him, too, very much. +He had made great progress in learning the different languages spoken in +that part of the world, and the officers found, moreover, that he was +very quick in understanding the military principles which they explained +to him, and in learning evolutions of all kinds. + +About this time it happened that an embassador was to be sent from +Denmark to Russia, and Le Fort, who had a great inclination to see the +world as well as to be a soldier, was seized with a strong desire to +accompany the expedition in the embassador's train. He already knew +something of the Russian language, and he set himself at work with all +diligence to study it more. He also obtained recommendations from those +who had known him--probably, among others, from the merchant in +Amsterdam, and he secured the influence in his favor of the officers in +Copenhagen with whom he had become acquainted. When these preliminary +steps had been taken, he made application for the post of interpreter to +the embassy; and after a proper examination had been made in respect to +his character and his qualifications, he received the appointment. Thus, +instead of going back to Amsterdam after his cargo was sold, he went to +Russia in the suite of the embassador. + +The embassador soon formed a very strong friendship for his young +interpreter, and employed him confidentially, when he arrived in Moscow, +in many important services. The embassador himself soon acquired great +influence at Moscow, and was admitted to quite familiar intercourse, not +only with the leading Russian noblemen, but also with Peter himself. On +one occasion, when Peter was dining at the embassador's--as it seems he +was sometimes accustomed to do--he took notice of Le Fort, who was +present as one of the party, on account of his prepossessing appearance +and agreeable manners. He also observed that, for a foreigner, he spoke +the Russian language remarkably well. The emperor asked Le Fort some +questions concerning his origin and history, and, being very much pleased +with his answers, and with his general air and demeanor, he asked him +whether he should be willing to enter into his service. Le Fort replied +in a very respectful manner, "That, whatever ambition he might have to +serve so great a monarch, yet the duty and gratitude which he owed to his +present master, the embassador, would not allow him to promise any thing +without first asking his consent." + +"Very well," replied the Czar; "_I_ will ask your master's consent." + +"But I hope," said Le Fort, "that your majesty will make use of some +other interpreter than myself in asking the question." + +Peter was very much pleased with both these answers of Le Fort--the one +showing his scrupulous fidelity to his engagements in not being willing +to leave one service for another, however advantageous to himself the +change might be, until he was honorably released by his first employer, +and the other marking the delicacy of mind which prompted him to wish not +to take any part in the conversation between the emperor and the +embassador respecting himself, as his office of interpreter would +naturally lead him to do, but to prefer that the communication should be +made through an indifferent person, in order that the embassador might be +perfectly free to express his real opinion without any reserve. + +Accordingly, the Czar, taking another interpreter with him, went to the +embassador and began to ask him about Le Fort. + +"He speaks very good Russian," said Peter. + +"Yes, please your majesty," said the embassador, "he has a genius for +learning any thing that he pleases. When he came to me four months ago +he knew very little of German, but now he speaks it very well. I have +two German interpreters in my train, and he speaks the language as well +as either of them. He did not know a word of Russian when he came to my +country, but your majesty can judge yourself how well he speaks it now." + +In the mean time, while Peter and the embassador were talking thus about +Le Fort, he himself had withdrawn to another part of the room. The Czar +was very much pleased with the modesty of the young gentleman's behavior; +and, after finishing the conversation with the embassador, without, +however, having asked him to release Le Fort from his service, he +returned to the part of the room where Le Fort was, and presently asked +him to bring him a glass of wine. He said no more to him at that time in +respect to entering his service, but Le Fort understood very well from +his countenance, and from the manner in which he asked him for the wine, +that nothing had occurred in his conversation with the embassador to lead +him to change his mind. + +The next day Peter, having probably in the mean time made some farther +inquiries about Le Fort, introduced the subject again in conversation +with the embassador. He told the embassador that he had a desire to have +the young man Le Fort about him, and asked if he should be willing to +part with him. The embassador replied that, notwithstanding any desire +he might feel to retain so agreeable and promising a man in his own +service, still the exchange was too advantageous to Le Fort, and he +wished him too well to make any objection to it; and besides, he added, +he knew too well his duty to his majesty not to consent readily to any +arrangement of that kind that his majesty might desire. + +The next day Peter sent for Le Fort, and formally appointed him his first +interpreter. The duties of this office required Le Fort to be a great +deal in the emperor's presence, and Peter soon became extremely attached +to him. Le Fort, although we have called him a young man, was now about +thirty-five years of age, while Peter himself was yet not twenty. It was +natural, therefore, that Peter should soon learn to place great +confidence in him, and often look to him for information, and this the +more readily on account of Le Fort's having been brought up in the heart +of Europe, where all the arts of civilization, both those connected with +peace and war, were in a much more advanced state than they were at this +time in Russia. + +Le Fort continued in the service of the emperor until the day of his +death, which happened about ten years after this time; and during this +period he rose to great distinction, and exercised a very important part +in the management of public affairs, and more particularly in aiding +Peter to understand and to introduce into his own dominions the arts and +improvements of western Europe. + +The first improvement which Le Fort was the means of introducing in the +affairs of the Czar related to the dress and equipment of the troops. +The Guards had before that time been accustomed to wear an old-fashioned +Russian uniform, which was far from being convenient. The outside +garment was a sort of long coat or gown, which considerably impeded the +motion of the limbs. One day, not long after Le Fort entered the service +of the emperor, Peter, being engaged in conversation with him, asked him +what he thought of his soldiers. + +"The men themselves are very well," replied Le Port, "but it seems to me +that the dress which they wear is not so convenient for military use as +the style of dress now usually adopted among the western nations." + +Peter asked what this style was, and Le Fort replied that if his majesty +would permit him to do so, he would take measures for affording him an +opportunity to see. + +Accordingly, Le Fort repaired immediately to the tailor of the Danish +embassador. This tailor the embassador had brought with him from +Copenhagen, for it was the custom in those days for personages of high +rank and station, like the embassador, to take with them, in their train, +persons of all the trades and professions which they might require, so +that, wherever they might be, they could have the means of supplying all +their wants within themselves, and without at all depending upon the +people whom they visited. Le Fort employed the tailor to make him two +military suits, in the style worn by the royal guards at Copenhagen--one +for an officer, and another for a soldier of the ranks. The tailor +finished the first suit in two days. Le Fort put the dress on, and in +the morning, at the time when, according to his usual custom, he was to +wait upon the emperor in his chamber, he went in wearing the new uniform. + +The Czar was surprised at the unexpected spectacle. At first he did not +know Le Fort in his new garb; and when at length he recognized him, and +began to understand the case, he was exceedingly pleased. He examined +the uniform in every part, and praised not only the dress itself, but +also Le Fort's ingenuity and diligence in procuring him so good an +opportunity to know what the military style of the western nations really +was. + +Soon after this Le Fort appeared again in the emperor's presence wearing +the uniform of a common soldier. The emperor examined this dress too, +and saw the superiority of it in respect to its convenience, and its +adaptedness to the wants and emergencies of military life. He said at +once that he should like to have a company of guards dressed and equipped +in that manner, and should be also very much pleased to have them +disciplined and drilled according to the western style. Le Fort said +that if his majesty was pleased to intrust him with the commission, he +would endeavor to organize such a company. + +The emperor requested him to do so, and Le Port immediately undertook the +task. He went about Moscow to all the different merchants to procure the +materials necessary--for many of these materials were such as were not +much in use in Moscow, and so it was not easy to procure them in +sufficient quantities to make the number of suits that Le Fort required. +He also sought out all the tailors that he could find at the houses of +the different embassadors, or of the great merchants who came from +western Europe, and were consequently acquainted with the mode of cutting +and making the dresses in the proper manner. Of course, a considerable +number of tailors would be necessary to make up so many uniforms in the +short space of time which Le Fort wished to allot to the work. + +Le Fort then went about among the strangers and foreigners at Moscow, +both those connected with the embassadors and others, to find men that +were in some degree acquainted with the drill and tactics of the western +armies, who were willing to serve in the company that he was about to +organize. He soon made up a company of fifty men. When this company was +completed, and clothed in the new uniform, and had been properly drilled, +Le Fort put himself at the head of them one morning, and marched them, +with drums beating and colors flying, before the palace gate. The Czar +came to the window to see them as they passed. He was much surprised at +the spectacle, and very much pleased. He came down to look at the men +more closely; he stood by while they went through the exercises in which +Le Fort had drilled them. The emperor was so much pleased that he said +he would join the company himself. He wished to learn to perform the +exercise personally, so as to know in a practical manner precisely how +others ought to perform it. He accordingly caused a dress to be made for +himself, and he took his place afterward in the ranks as a common +soldier, and was drilled with the rest in all the exercises. + +From this beginning the change went on until the style of dress and the +system of tactics for the whole imperial army was reformed by the +introduction of the compact and scientific system of western Europe, in +the place of the old-fashioned and cumbrous usages which had previously +prevailed. + +The emperor having experienced the immense advantages which resulted from +the adoption of western improvements in his army, wished now to make an +experiment of introducing, in the same way, the elements of western +civilization into the ordinary branches of industry and art. He proposed +to Le Fort to make arrangements for bringing into the country a great +number of mechanics and artisans from Denmark, Germany, France, and other +European countries, in order that their improved methods and processes +might be introduced into Russia. Le Fort readily entered into this +proposal, but he explained to the emperor that, in order to render such a +measure successful on the scale necessary for the accomplishment of any +important good, it would be first requisite to make some considerable +changes in the general laws of the land, especially in relation to +intercourse with foreign nations. On his making known fully and in +detail what these changes would be, the emperor readily acceded to them, +and the proposed modifications of the laws were made. The tariff of +duties on the products and manufactures of foreign countries was greatly +reduced. This produced a two-fold effect. + +In the first place, it greatly increased the importations of goods from +foreign countries, and thus promoted the intercourse of the Russians with +foreign merchants, manufacturers, and artisans, and gradually accustomed +the people to a better style of living, and to improved fashions in +dress, furniture, and equipage, and thus prepared the country to furnish +an extensive market for the encouragement of Russian arts and +manufactures as fast as they could be introduced. + +In the second place, the new system greatly increased the revenues of the +empire. It is true that the tariff was reduced, so that the articles +that were imported paid only about half as much in proportion after the +change as before. But then the new laws increased the importations so +much, that the loss was very much more than made up to the treasury, and +the emperor found in a very short time that the state of his finances was +greatly improved. This enabled him to take measures for introducing into +the country great numbers of foreign manufacturers and artisans from +Germany, France, Scotland, and other countries of western Europe. These +men were brought into the country by the emperor, and sustained there at +the public expense, until they had become so far established in their +several professions and trades that they could maintain themselves. +Among others, he brought in a great many carpenters and masons to teach +the Russians to build better habitations than those which they had been +accustomed to content themselves with, which were, in general, wooden +huts of very rude and inconvenient construction. One of the first +undertakings in which the masons were employed was the building of a +handsome palace of hewn stone in Moscow for the emperor himself, the +first edifice of that kind which had ever been built in that city. The +sight of a palace formed of so elegant and durable a material excited the +emulation of all the wealthy noblemen, so that, as soon as the masons +were released from their engagement with the emperor, they found plenty +of employment in building new houses and palaces for these noblemen. + +These and a great many other similar measures were devised by Le Fort +during the time that he continued in the service of the Czar, and the +success which attended all his plans and proposals gave him, in the end, +great influence, and was the means of acquiring for him great credit and +renown. And yet he was so discreet and unpretending in his manners and +demeanor, if the accounts which have come down to us respecting him are +correct, that the high favor in which he was held by the emperor did not +awaken in the hearts of the native nobles of the land any considerable +degree of that jealousy and ill-will which they might have been expected +to excite. Le Fort was of a very self-sacrificing and disinterested +disposition. He was generous in his dealings with all, and he often +exerted the ascendency which he had acquired over the mind of the emperor +to save other officers from undeserved or excessive punishment when they +displeased their august master; for it must be confessed that Peter, +notwithstanding all the excellences of his character, had the reputation +at this period of his life of being hasty and passionate. He was very +impatient of contradiction, and he could not tolerate any species of +opposition to his wishes. Being possessed himself of great decision of +character, and delighting, as he did, in promptness and energy of action, +he lost all patience sometimes, when annoyed by the delays, or the +hesitation, or the inefficiency of others, who were not so richly endowed +by nature as himself. In these cases he was often unreasonable, and +sometimes violent; and he would in many instances have acted in an +ungenerous and cruel manner if Le Fort had not always been at hand to +restrain and appease him. + +Le Fort always acted as intercessor in cases of difficulty of this sort; +so that the Russian noblemen, or boyars as they were called, in the end +looked upon him as their father. It is said that he actually saved the +lives of great numbers of them, whom Peter, without his intercession, +would have sentenced to death. Others he saved from the knout, and +others from banishment. At one time, when the emperor in a passion, was +going to cause one of his officers to be scourged, although, as Le Fort +thought, he had been guilty of no wrong which could deserve such a +punishment, Le Fort, after all other means had failed, bared his own +breast and shoulders, and bade the angry emperor to strike or cut there +if he would, but to spare the innocent person. The Czar was entirely +overcome by this noble generosity, and, clasping Le Fort in his arms, +thanked him for his interposition, at the same time allowing the +trembling prisoner to depart in peace, with his heart full of gratitude +toward the friend who had so nobly saved him. + +Another of the chief officers in Peter's service during the early part of +his reign was the Prince Menzikoff. His origin was very humble. His +Christian name was Alexander, and his father was a laboring man in the +service of a monastery on the banks of the Volga. The monasteries of +those times were endowed with large tracts of valuable land, which were +cultivated by servants or vassals, and from the proceeds of this +cultivation the monks were supported, and the monastery buildings kept in +repair or enlarged. + +Alexander spent the early years of his life in working with his father on +the monastery lands; but, being a lad of great spirit and energy, he +gradually became dissatisfied with this mode of life; for the peasants of +those days, such as his father, who tilled the lands of the nobles or of +the monks, were little better than slaves. Alexander, then, when he +arrived at the age of thirteen or fourteen, finding his situation and +prospects at home very gloomy and discouraging, concluded to go out into +the world and seek his fortune. + +So he left his father's hut and set out for Moscow. After meeting with +various adventures on the way and in the city, he finally found a place +in a pastry-cook's shop; but, instead of being employed in making and +baking the pies and tarts, he was sent out into the streets to sell them. +In order to attract customers to his merchandise, he used to sing songs +and tell stories in the streets. Indeed, it was the talent which he +evinced in these arts, doubtless, which led his master to employ him in +this way, instead of keeping him at work at home in the baking. + +The story which is told of the manner in which the emperor's attention +was first attracted to young Menzikoff is very curious, but, as is the +case with all other such personal anecdotes related of great sovereigns, +it is very doubtful how far it is to be believed. It is said that Peter, +passing along the street one day, stopped to listen to Menzikoff as he +was singing a song or telling a story to a crowd of listeners. He was +much diverted by one of the songs that he heard, and at the close of it +he spoke to the boy, and finally asked him what he would take for his +whole stock of cakes and pies, basket and all. The boy named the sum for +which he would sell all the cakes and pies, but as for the basket he said +that belonged to his master, and he had no power to sell it. + +[Illustration: Menzikoff selling his cakes.] + +"Still," he added, "every thing belongs to your majesty, and your majesty +has, therefore, only to give me the command, and I shall deliver it up to +you." + +This reply pleased the Czar so much that he sent for the boy to come to +him, and on conversing with him farther, and after making additional +inquiries respecting him, he was so well satisfied that he took him at +once into his service. + +All this took place before Le Fort's plan was formed for organizing a +company to exhibit to the emperor the style of uniform and the system of +military discipline adopted in western Europe, as has already been +described. Menzikoff joined this company, and he took so much interest +in the exercises and evolutions, and evinced so great a degree of +intelligence, and so much readiness in comprehending and in practicing +the various manoeuvres, that he attracted Le Fort's special attention. +He was soon promoted to office in the company, and ultimately he became +Le Fort's principal co-operator in his various measures and plans. From +this he rose by degrees, until in process of time he became one of the +most distinguished generals in Peter's army, and took a very important +part in some of his most celebrated campaigns. + +In reading stories like these, we are naturally led to feel a strong +interest in the persons who are the subjects of them, and we sometimes +insensibly form opinions of their characters which are far too favorable. +This Menzikoff, for example, notwithstanding the enterprising spirit +which he displayed in his boyhood, in setting off alone to Moscow to seek +his fortune, and his talent for telling stories and singing songs, and +the interest which he felt, and the success that he met with, in learning +Le Fort's military manoeuvres, and the great distinction which he +subsequently acquired as a military commander, may have been, after all, +in relation to any just and proper standards of moral duty, a very bad +man. Indeed, there is much reason to suppose that he was so. At all +events, he became subsequently implicated in a dreadful quarrel which +took place between Peter and his wife, under circumstances which appear +very much against him. This quarrel occurred after Peter had been +married only about two years, and when he was yet not quite twenty years +old. As usual in such cases, very different stories are told by the +friends respectively of the husband and the wife. On the part of the +empress it was said that the difficulty arose from Peter's having been +drawn away into bad company, and especially the company of bad women, +through the instrumentality of Menzikoff when he first came into Peter's +service. Menzikoff was a dissolute young man, it was said, while he was +in the service of the pastry-cook, and was accustomed to frequent the +haunts of the vicious and depraved about the town; and after he entered +into Peter's service, Peter himself began to go with him to these places, +disguised, of course, so as not to be known. This troubled Ottokesa, and +made her jealous; and when she remonstrated with her husband he was +angry, and by way of recrimination accused her of being unfaithful to +him. Menzikoff too was naturally filled with resentment at the empress's +accusations against him, and he took Peter's part against his wife. +Whatever may have been the truth in regard to the grounds of the +complaints made by the parties against each other, the power was on +Peter's side. He repudiated his wife, and then shut her up in a place of +seclusion, where he kept her confined all the remainder of her days. + +Besides the unfavorable inferences which we might justly draw from this +case, there are unfortunately other indications that Peter, +notwithstanding the many and great excellences of his character, was at +this period of his life violent and passionate in temper, very impatient +of contradiction or opposition, and often unreasonable and unjust in his +treatment of those who for any reason became the objects of his suspicion +or dislike. Various incidents and occurrences illustrating these traits +in his character will appear in the subsequent chapters of his history. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +COMMENCEMENT OF THE REIGN. + +1691-1697 + +Peter's unlimited power--Extent of his dominions--Character--His wishes +in respect to his dominion--Embassy to China--Siberia--Inhospitable +climate--The exiles--Western civilization--Ship-building--The Dutch +ship-yards--Saardam--The barge at the country palace--The emperor's +first vessels--Sham-fights--Azof--Naval operations against +Azof--Treachery of the artilleryman--Defeat--New attempt--The Turkish +fleet taken--Fall of Azof--Fame of the emperor--His plans for building +a fleet--Foreign workmen--Penalties--His arbitrary proceedings--He +sends the young nobility abroad--Opposition--Sullen mood of +mind--National prejudices offended--The opposition party--Arguments of +the disaffected--Religious feelings of the people--The patriarch--An +impious scheme--Plan of the conspirators--Fires--Dread of them in +Moscow--Modern cities--Plan for massacring the foreigners--The day--The +plot revealed--Measures taken by Peter--Torture--Punishment of the +conspirators--The column in the market-place + + +Peter was now not far from twenty years of age, and he was in full +possession of power as vast, perhaps--if we consider both the extent of +it and its absoluteness--as was ever claimed by any European sovereign. +There was no written constitution to limit his prerogatives, and no +Legislature or Parliament to control him by laws. In a certain sense, +as Alexander Menzikoff said when selling his cakes, every thing +belonged to him. His word was law. Life and death hung upon his +decree. His dominions extended so far that, on an occasion when he +wished to send an embassador to one of his neighbors--the Emperor of +China--it took the messenger more than _eighteen months_ of constant +and diligent traveling to go from the capital to the frontier. + +Such was Peter's position. As to character, he was talented, +ambitious, far-seeing, and resolute; but he was also violent in temper, +merciless and implacable toward his enemies, and possessed of an +indomitable will. + +He began immediately to feel a strong interest in the improvement of +his empire, in order to increase his own power and grandeur as the +monarch of it, just as a private citizen might wish to improve his +estate in order to increase his wealth and importance as the owner of +it. He sent the embassador above referred to to China in order to make +arrangements for increasing and improving the trade between the two +countries. This mission was arranged in a very imposing manner. The +embassador was attended with a train of twenty-one persons, who went +with him in the capacity of secretaries, interpreters, legal +councilors, and the like, besides a large number of servants and +followers to wait upon the gentlemen of the party, and to convey and +take care of the baggage. The baggage was borne in a train of wagons +which followed the carriages of the embassador and his suite, so that +the expedition moved through the country quite like a little army on a +march. + +It was nearly three years before the embassage returned. The measure, +however, was eminently successful. It placed the relations of the two +empires on a very satisfactory footing. + +The dominions of the Czar extended then, as now, through all the +northern portions of Europe and Asia, to the shores of the Icy Sea. A +very important part of this region is the famous Siberia. The land +here is not of much value for cultivation, on account of the long and +dreary winters and the consequent shortness of the summer season. But +this very coldness of the climate causes it to produce a great number +of fine fur-bearing animals, such as the sable, the mink, the ermine, +and the otter; for nature has so arranged it that, the colder any +climate is, the finer and the warmer is the fur which grows upon the +animals that live there. + +The inhabitants of Siberia are employed, therefore, chiefly in hunting +wild animals for their flesh or their fur, and in working the mines; +and, from time immemorial, it has been the custom to send criminals +there in banishment, and compel them to spend the remainder of their +lives in these toilsome and dangerous occupations. Of course, the +cold, the exposure, and the fatigue, joined to the mental distress and +suffering which the thought of their hard fate and the recollections of +home must occasion, soon bring far the greater proportion of these +unhappy outcasts to the grave. + +Peter interested himself very much in efforts to open communications +with these retired and almost inaccessible regions, and to improve and +extend the working of the mines. But his thoughts were chiefly +occupied with the condition of the European portion of his dominions, +and with schemes for introducing more and more fully the arts and +improvements of western Europe among his people. He was ready to seize +upon every occasion which could furnish any hint or suggestion to this +end. + +The manner in which his attention was first turned to the subject of +ship-building illustrated this. In those days Holland was the great +centre of commerce and navigation for the whole world, and the art of +ship-building had made more progress in that nation than in any other. +The Dutch held colonies in every quarter of the globe. Their +men-of-war and their fleets of merchantmen penetrated to every sea, and +their naval commanders were universally renowned for their enterprise, +their bravery, and their nautical skill. + +The Dutch not only built ships for themselves, but orders were sent to +their ship-yards from all parts of the world, inasmuch as in these +yards all sorts of vessels, whether for war, commerce, or pleasure, +could be built better and cheaper than in any other place. + +One of the chief centres in which these ship and boat building +operations were carried on was the town of Saardam. This town lies +near Amsterdam, the great commercial capital of the country. It +extends for a mile or two along the banks of a deep and still river, +which furnish most complete and extensive facilities for the docks and +ship-yards. + +Now it happened that, one day when Peter was with Le Fort at one of his +country palaces where there was a little lake, and a canal connected +with it, which had been made for pleasure-sailing on the grounds, his +attention was attracted to the form and construction of a yacht which +was lying there. This yacht having been sent for from Holland at the +time when the palace grounds were laid out, the emperor fell into +conversation with Le Fort in respect to it, and this led to the subject +of ships and ship-building in general. Le Fort represented so strongly +to his master the advantages which Holland and the other maritime +powers of Europe derived from their ships of war, that Peter began +immediately to feel a strong desire to possess a navy himself. There +were, of course, great difficulties in the way. Russia was almost +entirely an inland country. There were no good sea-ports, and Moscow, +the capital, was situated very far in the interior. Then, besides, +Peter not only had no ships, but there were no mechanics or artisans in +Russia that knew how to build them. + +Le Fort, however, when he perceived how deep was the interest which +Peter felt in the subject, made inquiries, and at length succeeded in +finding among the Dutch merchants that were in Moscow the means of +procuring some ship-builders to build him several small vessels, which, +when they were completed, were launched upon a lake not far from the +city. Afterward other vessels were built in the same place, in the +form of frigates; and these, when they were launched, were properly +equipped and armed, under Le Fort's direction, and the emperor took +great interest in sailing about in them on the lake, in learning +personally all the evolutions necessary for the management of them, and +in performing sham-fights by setting one of them against another. He +took command of one of the vessels as captain, and thenceforward +assumed that designation as one of his most honorable titles. All this +took place when Peter was about twenty-two years old. + +Not very long after this the emperor had an opportunity to make a +commencement in converting his nautical knowledge to actual use by +engaging in something like a naval operation against an enemy, in +conjunction with several other European powers, he declared war anew +against the Turks and Tartars, and the chief object of the first +campaign was the capture of the city of Azof, which is situated on the +shores of the Sea of Azof, near the mouth of the River Don. Peter not +only approached and invested the city by land, but he also took +possession of the river leading to it by means of a great number of +boats and vessels which he caused to be built along the banks. In this +way he cut off all supplies from the city, and pressed it so closely +that he would have taken it, it was said, had it not been for the +treachery of an officer of artillery, who betrayed to the enemy the +principal battery which had been raised against the town just as it was +ready to be opened upon the walls. This artilleryman, who was not a +native Russian, but one of the foreigners whom the Czar had enlisted in +his service, became exasperated at some ill treatment which he received +from the Russian nobleman who commanded his corps; so he secretly drove +nails into the touchholes of all the guns in the battery, and then, in +the night, went over to the Turks and informed them what he had done. +Accordingly, very early in the morning the Turks sallied forth and +attacked the battery, and the men who were charged with the defense of +it, on rushing to the guns, found that they could not be fired. The +consequence was that the battery was taken, the men put to flight, and +the guns destroyed. This defeat entirely disconcerted the Russian +army, and so effectually deranged their plans that they were obliged to +raise the siege and withdraw, with the expectation, however, of +renewing the attempt in another campaign. + +Accordingly, the next year the attempt was renewed, and many more boats +and vessels were built upon the river to co-operate with the besiegers. +The Turks had ships of their own, which they brought into the Sea of +Azof for the protection of the town. But Peter sent down a few of his +smaller vessels, and by means of them contrived to entice the Turkish +commander up a little way into the river. Peter then came down upon +him with all his fleet, and the Turkish ships were overpowered and +taken. Thus Peter gained his first naval victory almost, as we might +say, on the land. He conquered and captured a fleet of sea-going ships +by enticing them among the boats and other small craft which he had +built up country on the banks of a river. + +Soon after this Azof was taken. One of the conditions of the surrender +was that the treacherous artilleryman should be delivered up to the +Czar. He was taken to Moscow, and there put to death with tortures too +horrible to be described. They did not deny that the man had been +greatly injured by his Russian commander, but they told him that what +he ought to have done was to appeal to the emperor for redress, and not +to seek his revenge by traitorously giving up to the enemy the trust +committed to his charge. + +The emperor acquired great fame throughout Europe by the success of his +operations in the siege of Azof. This success also greatly increased +his interest in the building of ships, especially as he now, since Azof +had fallen into his hands, had a port upon an open sea. + +In a word, Peter was now very eager to begin at once the building ships +of war. He was determined that he would have a fleet which would +enable him to go out and meet the Turks in the Black Sea. The great +difficulty was to provide the necessary funds. To accomplish this +purpose, Peter, who was never at all scrupulous in respect to the means +which he adopted for attaining his ends, resorted at once to very +decided measures. Besides the usual taxes which were laid upon the +people to maintain the war, he ordained that a certain number of +wealthy noblemen should each pay for one ship, which, however, as some +compensation for the cost which the nobleman was put to in building it, +he was at liberty to call by his own name. The same decree was made in +respect to a number of towns, monasteries, companies, and public +institutions. The emperor also made arrangements for having a large +number of workmen sent into Russia from Holland, and from Venice, and +from other maritime countries. The emperor laid his plans in this way +for the construction and equipment of a fleet of about one hundred +ships and vessels, consisting of frigates, store-ships, bomb-vessels, +galleys, and galliasses. These were all to be built, equipped, and +made in all respects ready for sea in the space of three years; and if +any person or party failed to have his ship ready at that time, the +amount of the tax which had been assessed to him was to be doubled. + +In all these proceedings, the Czar, as might have been expected from +his youth and his headstrong character, acted in a very summary, and in +many respects in an arbitrary and despotic manner. His decrees +requiring the nobles to contribute such large sums for the building of +his fleet occasioned a great deal of dissatisfaction and complaint. +And very soon he resorted to some other measures, which increased the +general discontent exceedingly. + +He appointed a considerable number of the younger nobility, and the +sons of other persons of wealth and distinction, to travel in the +western countries of Europe while the fleet was preparing, giving them +special instructions in respect to the objects of interest which they +should severally examine and study. The purpose of this measure was to +advance the general standard of intelligence in Russia by affording to +these young men the advantages of foreign travel, and enlarging their +ideas in respect to the future progress of their own country in the +arts and appliances of civilized life. The general idea of the emperor +in this was excellent, and the effect of the measure would have been +excellent too if it had been carried out in a more gentle and moderate +way. But the fathers of the young men were incensed at having their +sons ordered thus peremptorily out of the country, whether they liked +to go or not, and however inconvenient it might be for the fathers to +provide the large amounts of money which were required for such +journeys. It is said that one young man was so angry at being thus +sent away that he determined that his country should not derive any +benefit from the measure, so far as his case was concerned, and +accordingly, when he arrived at Venice, which was the place where he +was sent, he shut himself up in his house, and remained there all the +time, in order that he might not see or learn any thing to make use of +on his return. + +This seems almost incredible. Indeed, the story has more the air of a +witticism, invented to express the sullen humor with which many of the +young men went away, than the sober statement of a fact. Still, it is +not impossible that such a thing may have actually occurred; for the +veneration of the old Russian families for their own country, and the +contempt with which they had been accustomed for many generations to +look upon foreigners, and upon every thing connected with foreign +manners and customs, were such as might lead in extreme cases, to +almost any degree of fanaticism in resisting the emperor's measures. +At any rate, in a short time there was quite a powerful party formed in +opposition to the foreign influences which Peter was introducing into +the country. + +There was no one in the imperial family to whom this party could look +for a leader and head except the Princess Sophia. The Czar John, +Peter's feeble brother, was dead, otherwise they might have made his +name their rallying cry. Sophia was still shut up in the convent to +which Peter had sent her on the discovery of her conspiracy against +him. She was kept very closely guarded there. Still, the leaders of +the opposition contrived to open a communication with her. They took +every means to increase and extend the prevailing discontent. To +people of wealth and rank they represented the heavy taxes which they +were obliged to pay to defray the expenses of the emperor's wild +schemes, and the loss of their own proper influence and power in the +government of the country, they themselves being displaced to make room +for foreigners, or favorites like Menzikoff, that were raised from the +lowest grades of life to posts of honor and profit which ought to be +bestowed upon the ancient nobility alone. To the poor and ignorant +they advanced other arguments, which were addressed chiefly to their +religious prejudices. The government were subverting all the ancient +usages of the country, they said, and throwing every thing into the +hands of infidel or heretical foreigners. The course which the Czar +was pursuing was contrary to the laws of God, they said, who had +forbidden the children of Israel to have any communion with the +unbelieving nations around them, in order that they might not be led +away by them into idolatry. And so in Russia, they said, the extensive +power of granting permission to any Russian subject to leave the +country vested, according to the ancient usages of the empire, with the +patriarch, the head of the Church--and Peter had violated these usages +in sending away so many of the sons of the nobility without the +patriarch's consent. There were many other measures, too, which Peter +had adopted, or which he had then in contemplation, that were equally +obnoxious to the charge of impiety. For instance, he had formed a +plan--and he had even employed engineers to take preliminary steps in +reference to the execution of it--for making a canal from the River +Wolga to the River Don, thus presumptuously and impiously undertaking +to turn the streams one way, when Providence had designed them to flow +in another! Absurd as many of these representations were, they had +great influence with the mass of the common people. + +At length this opposition party became so extended and so strong that +the leaders thought the time had arrived for them to act. They +accordingly arranged the details of their plot, and prepared to put it +in execution. + +The scheme which they formed was this: they were to set fire to some +houses in the night, not far from the royal palace, and when the +emperor came out, as it is said was his custom to do, in order to +assist in extinguishing the flames, they were to set upon him and +assassinate him. + +It may seem strange that it should be the custom of the emperor himself +to go out and assist personally in extinguishing fires. But it so +happened that the houses of Moscow at this time were almost all built +of wood, and they were so combustible, and were, moreover, so much +exposed, on account of the many fires required in the winter season in +so cold a climate, that the city was subject to dreadful +conflagrations. So great was the danger, that the inhabitants were +continually in dread of it, and all classes vied with each other in +efforts to avert the threatened calamity whenever a fire broke out. +Besides this, there were in those days no engines for throwing water, +and no organized department of firemen. All this, of course, is +entirely different at the present day in modern cities, where houses +are built of brick or stone, and the arrangements for extinguishing +fires are so complete that an alarm of fire creates no sensation, but +people go on with their business or saunter carelessly along the +streets, while the firemen are gathering, without feeling the least +concern. + +As soon as they had made sure of the death of the Czar, the +conspirators were to repair to the convent where Sophia was imprisoned, +release her from her confinement, and proclaim her queen. They were +then to reorganize the Guards, restore all the officers who had been +degraded at the time of Couvansky's rebellion, then massacre all the +foreigners whom Peter had brought into the country, especially his +particular favorites, and so put every thing back upon its ancient +footing. + +The time fixed for the execution of this plot was the night of the 2d +of February, 1697; but the whole scheme was defeated by what the +conspirators would probably call the treachery of two of their number. +These were two officers of the Guards who had been concerned in the +plot, but whose hearts failed them when the hour arrived for putting it +into execution. Falling into conversation with each other just before +the time, and finding that they agreed in feeling on the subject, they +resolved at once to go and make a full confession to the Czar. + +So they went immediately to the house of Le Fort, where the Czar then +was, and made a confession of the whole affair. They related all the +details of the plot, and gave the names of the principal persons +concerned in it. + +The emperor was at table with Le Fort at the time that he received this +communication. He listened to it very coolly--manifested no +surprise--but simply rose from the table, ordered a small body of men +to attend him, and, taking the names of the principal conspirators, he +went at once to their several houses and arrested them on the spot. + +The leaders having been thus seized, the execution of the plot was +defeated. The prisoners were soon afterward put to the torture, in +order to compel them to confess their crime, and to reveal the names of +all their confederates. Whether the names thus extorted from them by +suffering were false or true would of course be wholly uncertain, but +all whom they named were seized, and, after a brief and very informal +trial, all, or nearly all, were condemned to death. The sentence of +death was executed on them in the most barbarous manner. A great +column was erected in the market-place in Moscow, and fitted with iron +spikes and hooks, which were made to project from it on every side, +from top to bottom. The criminals were then brought out one by one, +and first their arms were cut off, then their legs, and finally their +heads. The amputated limbs were then hung up upon the column by the +hooks, and the heads were fixed to the spikes. There they remained--a +horrid spectacle, intended to strike terror into all beholders--through +February and March, as long as the weather continued cold enough to +keep them frozen. When at length the spring came on, and the flesh of +these dreadful trophies began to thaw, they were taken down and thrown +together into a pit, among the bodies of common thieves and murderers. + +This was the end of the second conspiracy formed against the life of +Peter the Great. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +THE EMPEROR'S TOUR. + +1697 + +Objects of the tour--An embassy to be sent--The emperor to go +incognito--His associates--The regency--Disposition of the Guards--The +embassy leaves Moscow--Riga--Not allowed to see the +fortifications--Arrival at Konigsberg--Grand procession in entering the +city--The pages--Curiosity of the people--The escort--Crowds in the +streets--The embassy arrives at its lodgings--Audience of the +king--Presents--Delivery of the letter from the Czar--Its contents--The +king's reply--Grand banquet--Effects of such an embassy--The policy of +modern governments--The people now reserve their earnings for their own +use--How Peter occupied his time--Dantzic--Peter preserves his +incognito--Presents--His dress--His interest in the shipping--Grand +entrance into Holland--Curiosity of the people--Peter enters Amsterdam +privately--Views of the Hollanders--Residence of the Czar--The East India +Company--Peter goes to work--His real object in pursuing this course--His +taste for mechanics--The opportunities and facilities he enjoyed--His old +workshop--Mode of preserving it--The workmen in the yard--Peter's visits +to his friends in Amsterdam--The rich merchant--Peter's manners and +character--The Hague--The embassy at the Hague + + +At the time when the emperor issued his orders to so many of the sons of +the nobility, requiring them to go and reside for a time in the cities of +western Europe, he formed the design of going himself to make a tour in +that part of the world, for the purpose of visiting the courts and +capitals, and seeing with his own eyes what arts and improvements were to +be found there which might be advantageously introduced into his own +dominions. In the spring of the year 1697, he thought that the time had +come for carrying this idea into effect. + +The plan which he formed was not to travel openly in his own name, for he +knew that in this case a great portion of his time and attention, in the +different courts and capitals, would be wasted in the grand parades, +processions, and ceremonies with which the different sovereigns would +doubtless endeavor to honor his visit. He therefore determined to travel +incognito, in the character of a private person in the train of an +embassy. An embassy could proceed more quietly from place to place than +a monarch traveling in his own name; and then besides, if the emperor +occupied only a subordinate place in the train of the embassy, he could +slip away from it to pursue his own inquiries in a private manner +whenever he pleased, leaving the embassadors themselves and those of +their train who enjoyed such scenes to go through all the public +receptions and other pompous formalities which would have been so +tiresome to him. + +General Le Fort, who had by this time been raised to a very high position +under Peter's government, was placed at the head of this embassy. Two +other great officers of state were associated with him. Then came +secretaries, interpreters, and subordinates of all kinds, in great +numbers, among whom Peter was himself enrolled under a fictitious name. +Peter took with him several young men of about his own age. Two or three +of these were particular friends of his, whom he wished to have accompany +him for the sake of their companionship on the journey. There were some +others whom he selected on account of the talent which they had evinced +for mechanical and mathematical studies. These young men he intended to +have instructed in the art of ship-building in some of the countries +which the embassy were to visit. + +Besides these arrangements in respect to the embassy, provision was, of +course, to be made by the emperor for the government of the country +during his absence. He left the administration in the hands of three +great nobles, the first of whom was one of his uncles, his mother's +brother. The name of this prince was Naraskin. The other two nobles +were associated with Naraskin in the regency. These commissioners were +to have the whole charge of the government of the country during the +Czar's absence. Peter's little son, whose name was Alexis, and who was +now about seven years old, was also committed to their keeping. + +Not having entire confidence in the fidelity of the old Guards, Peter did +not trust the defense of Moscow to them, but he garrisoned the +fortifications in and around the capital with a force of about twelve +thousand men that he had gradually brought together for that purpose. A +great many of these troops, both officers and men, were foreigners. +Peter placed greater reliance on them on that account, supposing that +they would be less likely to sympathize with and join the people of the +city in case of any popular discontent or disturbances. The Guards were +sent off into the interior and toward the frontiers, where they could do +no great mischief; even if disposed. + +At length, when every thing was ready, the embassy set out from Moscow. +The departure of the expedition from the gates of the city made quite an +imposing scene, so numerous was the party which composed the embassadors' +train. There were in all about three hundred men. The principal persons +of the embassy were, of course, splendidly mounted and equipped, and they +were followed by a line of wagons conveying supplies of clothing, stores, +presents for foreign courts, and other baggage. This baggage-train was, +of course, attended by a suitable escort. Vast multitudes of people +assembled along the streets and at the gates of the city to see the grand +procession commence its march. + +The first place of importance at which the embassy stopped was the city +of Riga, on the shores of the Gulf of Riga, in the eastern part of the +Baltic Sea.[1] Riga and the province in which it was situated, though +now a part of the Russian empire, then belonged to Sweden. It was the +principal port on the Baltic in those days, and Peter felt a great +interest in viewing it, as there was then no naval outlet in that +direction from his dominions. The governor of Riga was very polite to +the embassy, and gave them a very honorable reception in the city, but he +refused to allow the embassadors to examine the fortifications. It had +been arranged beforehand between the embassadors and Peter that two of +them were to ask permission to see the fortifications, and that Peter +himself was to go around with them as their attendant when they made +their visit, in order that he might make his own observations in respect +to the strength of the works and the mode of their construction. Peter +was accordingly very much disappointed and vexed at the refusal of the +governor to allow the fortifications to be viewed, and he secretly +resolved that he would seize the first opportunity after his return to +open a quarrel with the King of Sweden, and take this city away from him. + +Leaving Riga, the embassy moved on toward the southward and westward +until, at length, they entered the dominions of the King of Prussia. +They came soon to the city of Konigsberg, which was at that time the +capital. The reception of the embassy at this city was attended with +great pomp and display. The whole party halted at a small village at the +distance of about a mile from the gates, in order to give time for +completing the arrangements, and to await the arrival of a special +messenger and an escort from the king to conduct them within the walls. + +At length, when all was ready, the procession formed about four o'clock +in the afternoon. First came a troop of horses that belonged to the +king. They were splendidly caparisoned, but were not mounted. They were +led by grooms. Then came an escort of troops of the Royal Guards. They +were dressed in splendid red uniform, and were preceded by kettle-drums. +Then a company of the Prussian nobility in beautifully-decorated coaches, +each drawn by six horses. Next came the state carriages of the king. +The king himself was not in either of them, it being etiquette for the +king to remain in his palace, and receive the embassy at a public +audience there after their arrival. The royal carriages were sent out, +however, as a special though indirect token of respect to the Czar, who +was known to be in the train. + +Then came a precession of pages, consisting of those of the king and +those of the embassadors marching together. These pages were all +beautiful boys, elegantly dressed in characteristic liveries of red laced +with gold. They marched three together, two of the king's pages in each +rank, with one of the embassadors' between them. The spectators were +very much interested in these boys, and the boys were likewise doubtless +much interested in each other; but they could not hold any conversation +with each other, for probably those of each set could speak only their +own language. + +Next after the pages came the embassy itself. First there was a line of +thirty-six carriages, containing the principal officers and attendants of +the three embassadors. In one of these carriages, riding quietly with +the rest as a subordinate in the train, was Peter. There was doubtless +some vague intimation circulating among the crowd that the Emperor of +Russia was somewhere in the procession, concealed in his disguise. But +there were no means of identifying him, and, of course, whatever +curiosity the people felt on the subject remained ungratified. + +Next after these carriages came the military escort which the embassadors +had brought with them. The escort was headed by the embassadors' band of +music, consisting of trumpets, kettle-drums, and other martial +instruments. Then came a body of foot-guards: their uniform was green, +and they were armed with silver battle-axes. Then came a troop of +horsemen, which completed the escort. Immediately after the escort there +followed the grand state carriage of the embassy, with the three +embassadors in it. + +The procession was closed by a long train of elegant carriages, conveying +various personages of wealth and distinction, who had come from the city +to join in doing honor to the strangers. + +As the procession entered the city, they found the streets through which +they were to pass densely lined on each side by the citizens who had +assembled to witness the spectacle. Through this vast concourse the +embassadors and their suite advanced, and were finally conducted to a +splendid palace which had been prepared for them in the heart of the +city. The garrison of the city was drawn up at the gates of the palace, +to receive them as they arrived. When the carriage reached the gate and +the embassadors began to alight, a grand salute was fired from the guns +of the fortress. The embassadors were immediately conducted to their +several apartments in the palace by the officers who had led the +procession, and then left to repose. When the officers were about to +withdraw, the embassadors accompanied them to the head of the stairs and +took leave of them there. The doors of the palace and the halls and +entrances leading to the apartments of the embassadors were guarded by +twenty-four soldiers, who were stationed there as sentinels to protect +the precincts from all intrusion. + +Four days after this there was another display, when the embassadors were +admitted to their first public audience with the king. There was again a +grand procession through the streets, with great crowds assembled to +witness it, and bands of music, and splendid uniforms, and gorgeous +equipages, all more magnificent, if possible, than before. The +embassadors were conducted in this way to the royal palace. They entered +the hall, dressed in cloth of gold and silver, richly embroidered, and +adorned with precious stones of great value. Here they found the king +seated on a throne, and attended by all the principal nobles of his +court. The embassadors advanced to pay their reverence to his majesty, +bearing in their hands, in a richly-ornamented box, a letter from the +Czar, with which they had been intrusted for him. There were a number of +attendants also, who were loaded with rich and valuable presents which +the embassadors had brought to offer to the king. The presents consisted +of the most costly furs, tissues of gold and silver, precious stones, and +the like, all productions of Russia, and of very great value. + +The king received the embassadors in a very honorable manner, and made +them an address of welcome in reply to the brief addresses of salutation +and compliment which they first delivered to him. He received the letter +from their hands and read it. The presents were deposited on tables +which had been set for the purpose. + +The letter stated that the Czar had sent the embassy to assure him of his +desire "to improve the affection and good correspondence which had always +existed, as well between his royal highness and himself as between their +illustrious ancestors." It said also that "the same embassy being from +thence to proceed to the court of Vienna, the Czar requested the king to +help them on their journey." And finally it expressed the thanks of the +Czar, for the "engineers and bombardiers" which the king had sent him +during the past year, and who had been so useful to him in the siege of +Azof. + +The king, having read the letter, made a verbal reply to the embassadors, +asking them to thank the Czar in his name for the friendly sentiments +which his letter expressed, and for the splendid embassy which he had +sent to him. + +All this time the Czar himself, the author of the letter, was standing +by, a quiet spectator of the scene, undistinguishable from the other +secretaries and attendants that formed the embassadors' train. + +After the ceremony of audience was completed the embassadors withdrew. +They were reconducted to their lodgings with the same ceremonies as were +observed in their coming out, and then spent the evening at a grand +banquet provided for them by the elector. All the principal nobility of +Prussia were present at this banquet, and after it was concluded the town +was illuminated with a great display of fireworks, which continued until +midnight. + +The sending of a grand embassage like this from one royal or imperial +potentate to another was a very common occurrence in those times. The +pomp and parade with which they were accompanied were intended equally +for the purpose of illustrating the magnificence of the government that +sent them, and of offering a splendid token of respect to the one to +which they were sent. Of course, the expense was enormous, both to the +sovereign who sent and to the one who received the compliment. But such +sovereigns as those were very willing to expend money in parades which +exhibited before the world the evidences of their own grandeur and power, +especially as the mass of the people, from whose toils the means of +defraying the cost was ultimately to come, were so completely held in +subjection by military power that they could not even complain, far less +could they take any effectual measures for calling their oppressors to +account. In governments that are organized at the present day, either by +the establishment of new constitutions, or by the remodeling and +reforming of old ones, all this is changed. The people understand now +that all the money which is expended by their governments is ultimately +paid by themselves, and they are gradually devising means by which they +can themselves exercise a greater and greater control over these +expenditures. They retain a far greater portion of the avails of their +labor in their own hands, and expend it in adorning and making +comfortable their own habitations, and cultivating the minds of their +children, while they require the government officials to live, and +travel, and transact their business in a more quiet and unpretending way +than was customary of yore. + +Thus, in traveling over most parts of the United States, you will find +the people who cultivate the land living in comfortable, well-furnished +houses, with separate rooms appropriately arranged for the different uses +of the family. There is a carpet on the parlor floor, and there are +books in the book-case, and good supplies of comfortable clothing in the +closets. But then our embassadors and ministers in foreign courts are +obliged to content themselves with what they consider very moderate +salaries, which do not at all allow of their competing in style and +splendor with the embassadors sent from the old despotic monarchies of +Europe, under which the people who till the ground live in bare and +wretched huts, and are supplied from year to year with only just enough +of food and clothing to keep them alive and enable them to continue their +toil. + +But to return to Peter and his embassy. When the public reception was +over Peter introduced himself privately to the king in his own name, and +the king, in a quiet and unofficial manner, paid him great attention. +There were to be many more public ceremonies, banquets, and parades for +the embassy in the city during their stay, but Peter withdrew himself +entirely from the scene, and went out to a certain bay, which extended +about one hundred and fifty miles along the shore between Konigsberg and +Dantzic, and occupied himself in examining the vessels which were there, +and in sailing to and fro in them. + +This bay you will find delineated on any map of Europe. It extends along +the coast for a considerable distance between Konigsberg and Dantzic, on +the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea. + +When the embassadors and their train had finished their banquetings and +celebrations in Konigsberg, Peter joined them again, and the expedition +proceeded to Dantzic. This was at that time, as it is now, a large +commercial city, being one of the chief ports on the Baltic for the +exportation of grain from Poland and other fertile countries in the +interior. + +By this time it began to be every where well known that Peter himself was +traveling with the embassy. Peter would not, however, allow himself to +be recognized at all, or permit any public notice to be taken of his +presence, but went about freely in all the places that he visited with +his own companions, just as if he were a private person, leaving all the +public parades and receptions, and all the banquetings, and other state +and civic ceremonies, to the three embassadors and their immediate train. + +A great many elegant and expensive presents, however, were sent in to +him, under pretense of sending them to the embassadors. + +The expedition traveled on in this way along the coasts of the Baltic +Sea, on the way toward Holland, which was the country that Peter was most +eager to see. At every city where they stopped Peter went about +examining the shipping. He was often attended by some important official +person of the place, but in other respects he went without any ceremony +whatever. He used to change his dress, putting on, in the different +places that he visited, that which was worn by the common people of the +town, so as not to attract any attention, and not even to be recognized +as a foreigner. At one port, where there were a great many Dutch vessels +that he wished to see, he wore the pea-jacket and the other sailor-like +dress of a common Dutch skipper,[2] in order that he might ramble about +at his ease along the docks, and mingle freely with the seafaring men, +without attracting any notice at all. + +[Illustration: Peter among the shipping.] + +The people of Holland were aware that the embassy was coming into their +country, and that Peter himself accompanied it, and they accordingly +prepared to receive the party with the highest marks of honor. As the +embassy, after crossing the frontier, moved on toward Amsterdam, salutes +were fired from the ramparts of all the great towns that they passed, the +soldiers were drawn out, and civic processions, formed of magistrates and +citizens, met them at the gates to conduct them through the streets. The +windows, too, and the roofs of all the houses, were crowded with +spectators. Wherever they stopped at night bonfires and illuminations +were made in honor of their arrival, and sometimes beautiful fireworks +were played off in the evening before their palace windows. + +Of course, there was a great desire felt every where among the spectators +to discover which of the personages who followed in the train of the +embassy was the Czar himself. They found it, however, impossible to +determine this point, so completely had Peter disguised his person, and +merged himself with the rest. Indeed, in some cases, when the procession +was moving forward with great ceremony, the object of the closest +scrutiny in every part for thousands of eyes, Peter himself was not in it +at all. This was particularly the case on the occasion of the grand +entry into Amsterdam. Peter left the party at a distance from the city, +in order to go in quietly the next day, in company with some merchants +with whom he had become acquainted. And, accordingly, while all +Amsterdam had gathered into the streets, and were watching with the most +intense curiosity every train as it passed, in order to discover which +one contained the great Czar, the great Czar himself was several miles +away, sitting quietly with his friends, the merchants, at a table in a +common country inn. + +The government and the people of Holland took a very great interest in +this embassy, not only on account of the splendor of it, and the +magnitude of the imperial power which it represented, but also on account +of the business and pecuniary considerations which were involved. They +wished very much to cultivate a good understanding with Russia, on +account of the trade and commerce of that country, which was already very +great, and was rapidly increasing. They determined, therefore, to show +the embassy every mark of consideration and honor. + +Besides the measures which they adopted for giving the embassy itself a +grand reception, the government set apart a spacious and splendid house +in Amsterdam for the use of the Czar during his stay. They did this in a +somewhat private and informal manner, it is true, for they knew that +Peter did not wish that his presence with the embassy should be openly +noticed in any way. They organized also a complete household for this +palace, including servants, attendants, and officers of all kinds, in a +style corresponding to the dignity of the exalted personage who was +expected to occupy it. + +But Peter, when he arrived, would not occupy the palace at all, but went +into a quiet lodging among the shipping, where he could ramble about +without constraint, and see all that was to be seen which could +illustrate the art of navigation. The Dutch East India Company, which +was then, perhaps, the greatest and most powerful association of +merchants which had ever existed, had large ship-yards, where their +vessels were built, at Saardam. Saardam was almost a suburb of +Amsterdam, being situated on a deep river which empties into the Y, so +called, which is the harbor of Amsterdam, and only a few miles from the +town. Peter immediately made arrangements for going to these ship-yards +and spending the time while the embassy remained in that part of the +country in studying the construction of ships, and in becoming acquainted +with the principal builders. Here, as the historians of the times say, +he entered himself as a common ship-carpenter, being enrolled in the list +of the company's workmen by the name Peter Michaelhoff, which was as +nearly as possible his real name. He lived here several months, and +devoted himself diligently to his work. He kept two or three of his +companions with him--those whom he had brought from Moscow as his friends +and associates on the tour; but they, it is said, did not take hold of +the hard work with nearly as much zeal and energy as Peter displayed. +Peter himself worked for the greatest part of every day among the other +workmen, wearing also the same dress that they wore. When he was tired +of work he would go out on the water, and sail and row about in the +different sorts of boats, so as to make himself practically acquainted +with the comparative effects of the various modes of construction. + +The object which Peter had in view in all this was, doubtless, in a great +measure, his own enjoyment for the time being. He was so much interested +in the subject of ships and ship-building, and in every thing connected +with navigation, that it was a delight to him to be in the midst of such +scenes as were to be witnessed in the company's yards. He was still but +a young man, and, like a great many other young men, he liked boats and +the water. It is not probable, notwithstanding what is said by +historians about his performances with the broad-axe, that he really did +much serious work. Still he was naturally fond of mechanical +occupations, as the fact of his making a wheelbarrow with which to +construct a fortification, in his schoolboy days, sufficiently indicates. + +Then, again, his being in the ship-yards so long, nominally as one of the +workmen, gave him undoubtedly great facilities for observing every thing +which it was important that he should know. Of course, he could not have +seriously intended to make himself an actual and practical +ship-carpenter, for, in the first place, the time was too short. A trade +like that of a ship-carpenter requires years of apprenticeship to make a +really good workman. Then, in the second place, the mechanical part of +the work was not the part which it devolved upon him, as a sovereign +intent on building up a navy for the protection of his empire, even to +superintend. He could not, therefore, have seriously intended to learn +to build ships himself, but only to make himself nominally a workman, +partly for the pleasure which it gave him to place himself so wholly at +home among the shipping, and partly for the sake of the increased +opportunities which he thereby obtained of learning many things which it +was important that he should know. + +Travelers visiting Holland at the present day often go out to Saardam to +see the little building that is still shown as the shop which Peter +occupied while he was there. It is a small wooden building, leaning and +bent with age and decrepitude and darkened by exposure and time. Within +the last half century, however, in order to save so curious a relic from +farther decay, the proprietors of the place have constructed around and +over it an outer building of brick, which incloses the hut itself like a +case. The sides of the outer building are formed of large, open arches, +which allow the hut within to be seen. The ground on which the hut +stands has also been laid out prettily as a garden, and is inclosed by a +wall. Within this wall, and near the gate, is a very neat and pretty +Dutch cottage, in which the custodian lives who shows the place to +strangers. + +While Peter was in the ship-yards the workmen knew who he was, but all +persons were forbidden to gather around or gaze at him, or to interfere +with him in any way by their notice or their attentions. They were to +allow him to go and come as he pleased, without any molestation. These +orders they obeyed as well as they could, as every one was desirous of +treating their visitor in a manner as agreeable to him as possible, so as +to prolong his stay. + +Peter varied his amusements, while he thus resided in Saardam, by making +occasional visits in a quiet and private way to certain friends in +Amsterdam. He very seldom attended any of the great parades and +celebrations which were continually taking place in honor of the embassy, +but went only to the houses of men eminent in private life for their +attainments in particular branches of knowledge, or for their experience +or success as merchants or navigators. There was one person in +particular that Peter became acquainted with in Amsterdam, whose company +and conversation pleased him very much, and whom he frequently visited. +This was a certain wealthy merchant, whose operations were on so vast a +scale that he was accustomed to send off special expeditions at his own +expense, all over the world, to explore new regions and discover new +fields for his commercial enterprise. In order also to improve the +accuracy of the methods employed by his ship-masters for ascertaining the +latitude and longitude in navigating their ships, he built an +observatory, and furnished it with the telescopes, quadrants, and other +costly instruments necessary for making the observations--all at his own +expense. + +With this gentleman, and with the other persons in Amsterdam that Peter +took a fancy to, he lived on very friendly and familiar terms. He often +came in from Saardam to visit them, and would sometimes spend a +considerable portion of the night in drinking and making merry with them. +He assumed with these friends none of the reserve and dignity of demeanor +that we should naturally associate with the idea of a king. Indeed, he +was very blunt, and often rough and overbearing in his manners, not +unfrequently doing and saying things which would scarcely be pardoned in +a person of inferior station. When thwarted or opposed in any way he was +irritable and violent, and he evinced continually a temper that was very +far from being amiable. In a word, though his society was eagerly sought +by all whom he was willing to associate with, he seems to have made no +real friends. Those who knew him admired his intelligence and his +energy, and they respected his power, but he was not a man that any one +could love. + +Amsterdam, though it was the great commercial centre of Holland--and, +indeed, at that time, of the world--was not the capital of the country. +The seat of government was then, as now, at the Hague. Accordingly, +after remaining as long at Amsterdam as Peter wished to amuse himself in +the ship-yards, the embassy moved on to the Hague, where it was received +in a very formal and honorable manner by the king and the government. +The presence of Peter could not be openly referred to, but very special +and unusual honors were paid to the embassy in tacit recognition of it. +At the Hague were resident ministers from all the great powers of Europe, +and these all, with one exception, came to pay visits of ceremony to the +embassadors, which visits were of course duly returned with great pomp +and parade. The exception was the minister of France. There was a +coolness existing at this time between the Russian and the French +governments on account of something Peter had done in respect to the +election of a king of Poland, which displeased the French king, and on +this account the French minister declined taking part in the special +honors paid to the embassy. + +The Hague was at this time perhaps the most influential and powerful +capital of Europe. It was the centre, in fact, of all important +political movements and intrigues for the whole Continent. The embassy +accordingly paused here, to take some rest from the fatigues and +excitements of their long journey, and to allow Peter time to form and +mature plans for future movements and operations. + + + +[1] For the situation of Riga in relation to Moscow, and for that of the +other places visited by the embassy, the reader must not fail to refer to +a map of Europe. + +[2] A skipper is the captain of a small vessel. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +CONCLUSION OF THE TOUR. + +1697 + +Peter compares the shipping of different nations--He determines to +visit England--King William favors Peter's plans--Peter leaves +Holland--Helvoetsluys--Arrival in England--His reception in London--The +Duke of Leeds--Bishop Burnet--The bishop's opinion of Peter's +character--Designs of Providence--Peter's curiosity--His conversations +with the bishop--Peter takes a house "below bridge"--How he spent his +time--Peter's dress--Curiosity in respect to him--His visit to the +Tower--The various sights and shows of London--Workmen engaged--Peter's +visit to Portsmouth and Spithead--Situation of Spithead--Appearance of +the men-of-war--Grand naval spectacle--Present of a yacht--Peter sets +sail--His treatment of his workmen--Wages retained--The +engineer--Voyage to Holland--Peter rejoins the embassy--The Emperor +Leopold--Interview with the Emperor of Germany--Feasts and +festivities--Ceremonies--Bad tidings--Plans changed--Designs +abandoned--Return to Moscow + + +While the embassy itself was occupied with the parades and ceremonies +at the Hague, and at Utrecht, where they had a grand interview with the +States-General, and at other great political centres, Peter traveled to +and fro about Holland, visiting the different ports, and examining the +shipping that he found in them, with the view of comparing the +different models; for there were vessels in these ports from almost all +the maritime countries of Europe. His attention was at last turned to +some English ships, which pleased him very much. He liked the form of +them better than that of the Dutch ships that he had seen. He soon +made the acquaintance of a number of English ship-masters and +ship-carpenters, and obtained from them, through an interpreter of +course, a great deal of information in respect to the state of the art +of ship-building in their country. He heard that in England naval +carpentry had been reduced to a regular science, and that the forms and +models of the vessels built there were determined by fixed mathematical +principles, which every skillful and intelligent workman was expected +to understand and to practice upon; whereas in Holland the carpenters +worked by rote, each new set following their predecessors by a sort of +mechanical imitation, without being governed by any principles or +theory at all. + +Peter immediately determined that he would go to England, and study the +English methods himself on the spot, as he had already studied those of +Holland. + +The political relations between England and Holland were at this time +of a very intimate character, the King of England being William, Prince +of Orange.[1] The king, when he heard of Peter's intention, was much +pleased, and determined to do all in his power to promote his views in +making the journey. He immediately provided the Czar with a number of +English attendants to accompany him on his voyage, and to remain with +him in England during his stay. Among these were interpreters, +secretaries, valets, and a number of cooks and other domestic servants. +These persons were paid by the King of England himself, and were +ordered to accompany Peter to England, to remain with him all the time +that he was there, and then to return with him to Holland, so that +during the whole period of his absence he should have no trouble +whatever in respect to his personal comforts or wants. + +These preparations having been all made, the Czar left the embassy, and +taking with him the company of servants which the king had provided, +and also the few private friends who had been with him all the time +since leaving Moscow, he sailed from a certain port in the +south-western part of Holland, called Helvoetsluys, about the middle of +the month of January. + +He arrived without any accident at London. Here he at first took up +his abode in a handsome house which the king had ordered to be provided +and furnished for him. This house was in a genteel part of the town, +where the noblemen and other persons belonging to the court resided. +It was very pleasantly situated near the river, and the grounds +pertaining to it extended down to the water side. Still it was far +away from the part of the city which was devoted to commerce and the +shipping, and Peter was not very well satisfied with it on that +account. He, however, went to it at first, and continued to occupy it +for some time. + +In this house the Czar was visited by a great number of the nobility, +and he visited them in return. He also received particular attentions +from such members of the royal family as were then in London. But the +person whose society pleased him most was one of the nobility, who, +like himself, tools: a great interest in maritime affairs. This was +the Duke of Leeds. The duke kept a number of boats at the foot of his +gardens in London, and he and Peter used often to go out together in +the river, and row and sail in them. + +Among other attentions which were paid to Peter by the government +during his stay in London, one was the appointment of a person to +attend upon him for the purpose of giving him, at any time, such +explanations or such information as he might desire in respect to the +various institutions of England, whether those relating to government, +to education, or to religion. The person thus appointed was Bishop +Burnet, a very distinguished dignitary of the Church. The bishop +could, of course, only converse with Peter through interpreters, but +the practice of conversing in that way was very common in those days, +and persons were specially trained and educated to translate the +language of one person to another in an easy and agreeable manner. In +this way Bishop Burnet held from time to time various interviews with +the Czar, but it seems that he did not form a very favorable opinion of +his temper and character. The bishop, in an account of these +interviews which he subsequently wrote, said that Peter was a man of +strong capacity, and of much better general education than might have +been expected from the manner of life which he had led, but that he was +of a very hot and violent temper, and that he was very brutal in his +language and demeanor when he was in a passion. The bishop expressed +himself quite strongly on this point, saying that he could not but +adore the depth of the providence of God that had raised such a furious +man to so absolute an authority over so great a part of the world. + +It was seen in the end how wise was the arrangement of Providence in +the selection of this instrument for the accomplishment of its +designs--for the reforms which, notwithstanding the violence of his +personal character, and the unjust and cruel deeds which he sometimes +performed, Peter was the means of introducing, and those to which the +changes that he made afterward led, have advanced, and are still +advancing more and more every year, the whole moral, political, and +social condition of all the populations of Northern Europe and Asia, +and have instituted a course of progress and improvement which will, +perhaps, go on, without being again arrested, to the end of time. + +The bishop says that he found Peter somewhat curious to learn what the +political and religious institutions of England were, but that he did +not manifest any intention or desire to introduce them into his own +country. The chief topic which interested him, even in talking with +the bishop, was that of his purposes and plans in respect to ships and +shipping. He gave the bishop an account of what he had done, and of +what he intended to do, for the elevation and improvement of his +people; but all his plans of this kind were confined to such +improvements as would tend to the extension and aggrandizement of his +own power. In other words, the ultimate object of the reforms which he +was desirous of introducing was not the comfort and happiness of the +people themselves, but his own exaltation and glory among the +potentates of the earth as their hereditary and despotic sovereign. + +After remaining some time in the residence which the king had provided +for him at the court end of the town, Peter contrived to have a house +set apart for him "below bridge," as the phrase was--that is, among the +shipping. There was but one bridge across the Thames in those days, +and the position of that one, of course, determined the limit of that +part of the river and town that could be devoted to the purposes of +commerce and navigation, for ships, of course, could not go above it. +The house which was now provided for Peter was near the royal +ship-yard. There was a back gate which opened from the yard of the +house into the ship-yard, so that Peter could go and come when he +pleased. Peter remained in this new lodging for some time. He often +went into the ship-yard to watch the men at their operations, and while +there would often take up the tools and work with them. At other times +he would ramble about the streets of London in company with his two or +three particular friends, examining every thing which was new or +strange to him, and talking with his companions in respect to the +expediency or feasibility of introducing the article or the usage, +whatever it might be, as an improvement, into his own dominions. + +In these excursions Peter was sometimes dressed in the English +citizen's dress, and sometimes he wore the dress of a common sailor. +In the latter costume he found that he could walk about more freely on +the wharves and along the docks without attracting observation, but, +notwithstanding all that he could do to disguise himself, he was often +discovered. Some person, perhaps, who had seen him and his friends in +the ship-yard, would recognize him and point him out. Then it would be +whispered from one to another among the by-standers that that was the +Russian Emperor, and people would follow him where he went, or gather +around him where he was standing. In such cases as this, as soon as +Peter found that he was recognized, and was beginning to attract +attention, he always went immediately away. + +Among other objects of interest which attracted Peter's attention in +London was the Tower, where there was kept then, as now, an immense +collection of arms of all kinds. This collection consists not only of +a vast store of the weapons in use at the present day, laid up there to +be ready for service whenever they may be required, but also a great +number and variety of specimens of those which were employed in former +ages, but are now superseded by new inventions. Peter, as might +naturally have been expected, took a great deal of interest in +examining these collections. + +In respect to all the more ordinary objects of interest for strangers +in London, the shops, the theatres, the parks, the gay parties given by +the nobility at the West End, and other such spectacles, Peter saw them +all, but he paid very little attention to them. His thoughts were +almost entirely engrossed by subjects connected with his navy. He +found, as he had expected from what he heard in Holland, that the +English ship-carpenters had reduced their business quite to a system, +being accustomed to determine the proportions of the model by fixed +principles, and to work, in the construction of the ship, from drafts +made by rule. When he was in the ship-yard he studied this subject +very attentively; and although it was, of course, impossible that in so +short a time he should make himself fully master of it, he was still +able to obtain such a general insight into the nature of the method as +would very much assist him in making arrangements for introducing it +into his own country. + +There was another measure which he took that was even more important +still. He availed himself of every opportunity which was afforded him, +while engaged in the ship-yards and docks, to become acquainted with +the workmen, especially the head workmen of the yards, and he engaged a +number of them to go to Russia, and enter into his service there in the +work of building his navy. + +In a word, the Czar was much better pleased with the manner in which +the work of ship-building was carried on in England than with any thing +that he had seen in Holland; so much so that he said he wished that he +had come directly to England at first, inasmuch as now, since he had +seen how much superior were the English methods, he considered the long +stay which he had made in Holland as pretty nearly lost time. + +After remaining as long and learning as much in the dock-yards in and +below London as he thought the time at his command would allow, Peter +went to Portsmouth to visit the royal navy at anchor there. The +arrangement which nature has made of the southern coast of England +seems almost as if expressly intended for the accommodation of a great +national and mercantile marine. In the first place, at the town of +Portsmouth, there is a deep and spacious harbor entirely surrounded and +protected by land. Then at a few miles distant, off the coast, lies +the Isle of Wight, which brings under shelter a sheet of water not less +than five miles wide and twenty miles long, where all the fleets and +navies of the world might lie at anchor in safety. There is an open +access to this sound both from the east and from the west, and yet the +shores curve in such a manner that both entrances are well protected +from the ingress of storms. + +Directly opposite to Portsmouth, and within this inclosed sea, is a +place where the water is just of the right depth, and the bottom of +just the right conformation for the convenient anchoring of ships of +war. This place is called Spithead, and it forms one of the most +famous anchoring grounds in the world. It is here that the vast fleets +of the English navy assemble, and here the ships come to anchor, when +returning home from their distant voyages. The view of these +grim-looking sea-monsters, with their double and triple rows of guns, +lying quietly at their moorings, as seen by the spectator from the deck +of the steamer which glides through and among them, on the way from +Portsmouth to the Isle of Wight, is extremely imposing. Indeed, when +considered by a mind capable of understanding in some degree the vast +magnitude and extension of the power which lies thus reposing there, +the spectacle becomes truly sublime. + +In order to give Peter a favorable opportunity to see the fleet at +Spithead, the King of England commissioned the admiral in command of +the navy to accompany him to Portsmouth, and to put the fleet to sea, +with the view of exhibiting a mock naval engagement in the Channel. +Nothing could exceed the pleasure which this spectacle afforded to the +Czar. He expressed his admiration of it in the most glowing terms, and +said that he verily believed that an admiral of the English fleet was a +happier man than the Czar of Muscovy. + +At length, when the time arrived for Peter to set out on his return to +his own dominions, the King of England made him a present of a +beautiful yacht, which had been built for his own use in his voyages +between England and Holland. The name of the yacht was the Royal +Transport. It was an armed vessel, carrying twenty-four guns, and was +well-built, and richly finished and furnished in every respect. The +Czar set sail from England in this yacht, taking with him the +companions that he had brought with him into England, and also a +considerable number of the persons whom he had engaged to enter into +his service in Russia. Some of these persons were to be employed in +the building of ships, and others in the construction of a canal to +connect the River Don with the River Wolga. The Don flows into the +Black and the Wolga into the Caspian Sea, and the object of the canal +was to allow Peter's vessels to pass from one sea into the other at +pleasure. As soon as the canal should be opened, ships could be built +on either river for use in either sea. + +The persons who had been engaged for these various purposes were +promised, of course, very large rewards to induce them to leave their +country. Many of them afterward had occasion bitterly to regret their +having entered the service of such a master. They complained that, +after their arrival in Russia, Peter treated them in a very unjust and +arbitrary manner. They were held as prisoners more than as salaried +workmen, being very closely watched and guarded to prevent their making +their escape and going back to their own country before finishing what +Peter wished them to do. Then, a large portion of their pay was kept +back, on the plea that it was necessary for the emperor to have +security in his own hands for their fidelity in the performance of +their work, and for their remaining at their posts until their work was +done. There was one gentleman in particular, a Scotch mathematician +and engineer, who had been educated at the University of Aberdeen, that +complained of the treatment which he received in a full and formal +protest, which he addressed to Peter in writing, and which is still on +record. He makes out a very strong case in respect to the injustice +with which he was treated. + +But, however disappointed these gentlemen may have been in the end, +they left England in the emperor's beautiful yacht, much elated with +the honor they had received in being selected by such a potentate for +the execution of important trusts in a distant land, and with high +anticipations of the fame and fortune which they expected to acquire +before the time should arrive for them to return to their own country. +From England the yacht sailed to Holland, where Peter disembarked, in +order to join the embassy and accompany them in their visits to some +other courts in Central Europe before returning home. + +He first went to Vienna. He still nominally preserved his incognito; +but the Emperor Leopold, who was at that time the Emperor of Germany, +gave him a very peculiar sort of reception. He came out to the door of +his antechamber to meet Peter at the head of a certain back staircase +communicating with the apartment, which was intended for his own +private use. Peter was accompanied by General Le Fort, the chief +embassador, at this interview, and he was conducted up the staircase by +two grand officers of the Austrian court--the grand chamberlain and the +grand equerry. After the two potentates had been introduced to each +other, the emperor, who had taken off his hat to bow to the Czar, put +it on again, but Peter remained uncovered, on the ground that he was +not at that time acting in his own character as Czar. The emperor, +seeing this, took off his hat again, and both remained uncovered during +the interview. + +After this a great many parades and celebrations took place in Vienna, +all ostensibly in honor of the embassy, but really and truly in honor +of Peter himself, who still preserved his incognito. At many of these +festivities Peter attended, taking his place with the rest of the +subordinates in the train of the embassy, but he never appeared in his +own true character. Still he was known, and he was the object of a +great many indirect but very marked attentions. On one occasion, for +example, there was a masked ball in the palace of the emperor; Peter +appeared there dressed as a peasant of West Friesland, which is a part +of North Holland, where the costumes worn by the common people were +then, as indeed they are at the present day, very marked and peculiar. +The Emperor of Germany appeared also at this ball in a feigned +character--that of a host at an entertainment, and he had thirty-two +pages in attendance upon him, all dressed as butlers. In the course of +the evening one of the pages brought out to the emperor a very curious +and costly glass, which he filled with wine and presented to the +emperor, who then approached Peter and drank to the health of the +peasant of West Friesland, saying at the same time, with a meaning +look, that he was well aware of the inviolable affection which the +peasant felt for the Czar of Muscovy. Peter, in return, drank to the +health of the host, saying he was aware of the inviolable affection he +felt for the Emperor of Germany. + +These toasts were received by the whole company with great applause, +and after they were drunk the emperor gave Peter the curious glass from +which he had drunk, desiring him to keep it as a souvenir of the +occasion. + +These festivities in honor of the embassy at Vienna were at length +suddenly interrupted by the arrival of tidings from Moscow that a +rebellion had broken out there against Peter's government. This +intelligence changed at once all Peter's plans. He had intended to go +to Venice and to Rome, but he now at once abandoned these designs, and +setting out abruptly from Vienna, with General Le Fort, and a train of +about thirty persons, he traveled with the utmost possible dispatch to +Moscow. + + + +[1] William, Prince of Orange, was descended on the female side from +the English royal family, and was a Protestant. Accordingly, when +James II., and with him the Catholic branch of the royal family of +England, was expelled from the throne, the British Parliament called +upon William to ascend it, he being the next heir on the Protestant +side. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +THE REBELLION. + +1698 + +Precautions taken by the Czar--His uneasiness--His fury against his +enemies--His revolting appearance--Imperfect +communication--Conspiracy--Arguments used--Details of the plot--Pretext +of the guards--They commence their march--Alarm in Moscow--General +Gordon--A parley with the rebels--Influence of the Church--The clergy on +the side of the rebels--Conservatism--The Russian clergy--The armies +prepare for battle--The insurgents defeated--Massacre of +prisoners--Confession--Peter's arrival at Moscow--His terrible +severity--Peter becomes himself an executioner--The Guards--Gibbets--The +writer of the address to Sophia--The old Russian nobility--Arrival of +artisans--Retirement of Sophia--Her death + + +It will be recollected by the reader that Peter, before he set out on his +tour, took every possible precaution to guard against the danger of +disturbances in his dominions during his absence. The Princess Sophia +was closely confined in her convent. All that portion of the old Russian +Guards that he thought most likely to be dissatisfied with his proposed +reforms, and to take part with Sophia, he removed to fortresses at a +great distance from Moscow. Moscow itself was garrisoned with troops +selected expressly with reference to their supposed fidelity to his +interests, and the men who were to command them, as well as the great +civil officers to whom the administration of the government was committed +during his absence, were appointed on the same principle. + +But, notwithstanding all these precautions, Peter did not feel entirely +safe. He was well aware of Sophia's ambition, and of her skill in +intrigue, and during the whole progress of his tour he anxiously watched +the tidings which he received from Moscow, ready to return at a moment's +warning in case of necessity. He often spoke on this subject to those +with whom he was on terms of familiar intercourse. On such occasions he +would get into a great rage in denouncing his enemies, and in threatening +vengeance against them in case they made any movement to resist his +authority while he was away. At such times he would utter most dreadful +imprecations against those who should dare to oppose him, and would work +himself up into such a fury as to give those who conversed with him an +exceedingly unfavorable opinion of his temper and character. The ugly +aspect which his countenance and demeanor exhibited at such times was +greatly aggravated by a nervous affection of the head and face which +attacked him, particularly when he was in a passion, and which produced +convulsive twitches of the muscles that drew his head by jerks to one +side, and distorted his face in a manner that was dreadful to behold. It +was said that this disorder was first induced in his childhood by some +one of the terrible frights through which he passed. However this may +have been, the affection seemed to increase as he grew older, and as the +attacks of it were most decided and violent when he was in a passion, +they had the effect, in connection with his coarse and dreadful language +and violent demeanor, to make him appear at such times more like some +ugly monster of fiction than like a man. + +The result, in respect to the conduct of his enemies during his absence, +was what he feared. After he had been gone away for some months they +began to conspire against him. The means of communication between +different countries were quite imperfect in those days, so that very +little exact information came back to Russia in respect to the emperor's +movements. The nobles who were opposed to him began to represent to the +people that he had gone nobody knew where, and that it was wholly +uncertain whether he would ever return. Besides, if he did return, they +said it would only be to bring with him a fresh importation of foreign +favorites and foreign manners, and to proceed more vigorously than ever +in his work of superseding and subverting all the good old customs of the +land, and displacing the ancient native families from all places of +consideration and honor, in order to make room for the swarms of +miserable foreign adventurers that he would bring home with him in his +train. + +By these and similar representations the opposition so far increased and +strengthened their party that, at length, they matured their arrangements +for an open outbreak. Their plan was, first, to take possession of the +city by means of the Guards, who were to be recalled for this purpose +from their distant posts, and by their assistance to murder all the +foreigners. They were then to issue a proclamation declaring that Peter, +by leaving the country and remaining so long away, had virtually +abdicated the government; and also a formal address to the Princess +Sophia, calling upon her to ascend the throne in his stead. + +In executing this plan, negotiations were first cautiously opened with +the Guards, and they readily acceded to the proposals made to them. A +committee of three persons was appointed to draw up the address to +Sophia, and the precise details of the movements which were to take place +on the arrival of the Guards at the gates of Moscow were all arranged. +The Guards, of course, required some pretext for leaving their posts and +coming toward the city, independent of the real cause, for the +conspirators within the city were not prepared to rise and declare the +throne vacant until the Guards had actually arrived. Accordingly, while +the conspirators remained quiet, the Guards began to complain of various +grievances under which they suffered, particularly that they were not +paid their wages regularly, and they declared their determination to +march to Moscow and obtain redress. The government--that is, the regency +that Peter had left in charge--sent out deputies, who attempted to pacify +them, but could not succeed. The Guards insisted that they would go with +their complaints to Moscow. They commenced their march. The number of +men was about ten thousand. They pretended that they were only going to +the city to represent their case themselves directly to the government, +and then to march back again in a peaceable manner. They wished to know, +too, they said, what had become of the Czar. They could not depend upon +the rumors which came to them at so great a distance, and they were +determined to inform themselves on the spot whether he were alive or +dead, and when he was coming home. + +The deputies returned with all speed to Moscow, and reported that the +Guards were on their march in full strength toward the city. The whole +city was thrown into a state of consternation. Many of the leading +families, anticipating serious trouble, moved away. Others packed up and +concealed their valuables. The government, too, though not yet +suspecting the real design of the Guards in the movement which they were +making, were greatly alarmed. They immediately ordered a large armed +force to go and meet the insurgents. This force was commanded by General +Gordon, the officer whom Peter had made general-in-chief of the army +before he set out on his tour. + +General Gordon came up with the rebels about forty miles from Moscow. As +soon as he came near to them he halted, and sent forward a deputation +from his camp to confer with the leaders, in the hope of coming to some +amicable settlement of the difficulty. This deputation consisted of +Russian nobles of ancient and established rank and consideration in the +country, who had volunteered to accompany the general in his expedition. +General Gordon himself was one of the hated foreigners, and of course his +appearance, if he had gone himself to negotiate with the rebels, would +have perhaps only exasperated and inflamed them more than ever. + +The deputation held a conference with the leaders of the Guards, and made +them very conciliatory offers. They promised that if they would return +to their duty the government would not only overlook the serious offense +which they had committed in leaving their posts and marching upon Moscow, +but would inquire into and redress all their grievances. But the Guards +refused to be satisfied. They were determined, they said, to march to +Moscow. They wished to ascertain for themselves whether Peter was dead +or alive, and if alive, what had become of him. They therefore were +going on, and, if General Gordon and his troops attempted to oppose them, +they would fight it out and see which was the strongest. + +In civil commotions of this kind occurring in any of the ancient +non-Protestant countries in Europe, it is always a question of the utmost +moment which side the Church and the clergy espouse. It is true that the +Church and the clergy do not fight themselves, and so do not add any +thing to the physical strength of the party which they befriend, but they +add enormously to its moral strength, that is, to its confidence and +courage. Men have a sort of instinctive respect and fear for constituted +authorities of any kind, and, though often willing to plot against them, +are still very apt to falter and fall back when the time comes for the +actual collision. The feeling that, after all, they are in the wrong in +fighting against the government of their country, weakens them extremely, +and makes them ready to abandon the struggle in panic and dismay on the +first unfavorable turn of fortune. But if they have the Church and the +clergy on their side, this state of things is quite changed. The +sanction of religion--the thought that they are fighting in the cause of +God and of duty, nerves their arms, and gives them that confidence in the +result which is almost essential to victory. + +It was so in this case. There was no class in the community more opposed +to the Czar's proposed improvements and reforms than the Church. Indeed, +it is always so. The Church and the clergy are always found in these +countries on the side of opposition to progress and improvement. It is +not that they are really opposed to improvement itself for its own sake, +but that they are so afraid of change. They call themselves +Conservatives, and wish to preserve every thing as it is. They hate the +process of pulling down. Now, if a thing is good, it is better, of +course, to preserve it; but, on the other hand, if it is bad, it is +better that it should be pulled down. When, therefore, you are asked +whether you are a Conservative or not, reply that that depends upon the +character of the institution or the usage which is attacked. If it is +good, let it stand. If it is bad, let it be destroyed. + +In the case of Peter's proposed improvements and reforms the Church and +the clergy were Conservatives of the most determined character. Of +course, the plotters of the conspiracy in Moscow were in communication +with the patriarch and the leading ecclesiastics in forming their plans; +and in arranging for the marching of the Guards to the capital they took +care to have priests with them to encourage them in the movement, and to +assure them that in opposing the present government and restoring Sophia +to power they were serving the cause of God and religion by promoting the +expulsion from the country of the infidel foreigners that were coming in +in such numbers, and subverting all the good old usages and customs of +the realm. + +It was this sympathy on the part of the clergy which gave the officers +and soldiers of the Guards their courage and confidence in daring to +persist in their march to Moscow in defiance of the army of General +Gordon, brought out to oppose them. + +The two armies approached each other. General Gordon, as is usual in +such cases, ordered a battery of artillery which he had brought up in the +road before the Guards to fire, but he directed that the guns should be +pointed so high that the balls should go over the heads of the enemy. +His object was to intimidate them. But the effect was the contrary. The +priests, who had come into the army of the insurgents to encourage them +in the fight, told them that a miracle had been performed. God had +averted the balls from them, they said. They were fighting for the honor +of his cause and for the defense of his holy religion, and they might +rely upon it that he would not suffer them to be harmed. + +But these assurances of the priests proved, unfortunately for the poor +Guards, to be entirely unfounded. When General Gordon found that firing +over the heads of the rebels did no good, ho gave up at once all hope of +any adjustment of the difficulty, and he determined to restrain himself +no longer, but to put forth the whole of his strength, and kill and +destroy all before him in the most determined and merciless manner. A +furious battle followed, in which the Guards were entirely defeated. Two +or three thousand of them were killed, and all the rest were surrounded +and made prisoners. + +The first step taken by General Gordon, with the advice of the Russian +nobles who had accompanied him, was to count off the prisoners and hang +every tenth man. The next was to put the officers to the torture, in +order to compel them to confess what their real object was in marching to +Moscow. After enduring their tortures as long as human nature could bear +them, they confessed that the movement was a concerted one, made in +connection with a conspiracy within the city, and that the object was to +subvert the present government, and to liberate the Princess Sophia and +place her upon the throne. They also gave the names of a number of +prominent persons in Moscow who, they said, were the leaders of the +conspiracy. + +It was in this state of the affair that the tidings of what had occurred +reached Peter in Vienna, as is related in the last chapter. He +immediately set out on his return to Moscow in a state of rage and fury +against the rebels that it would be impossible to describe. As he +arrived at the capital, he commenced an inquisition into the affair by +putting every body to the torture whom he supposed to be implicated as a +leader in it. From the agony of these sufferers he extorted the names of +innumerable victims, who, as fast as they were named, were seized and put +to death. There were a great many of the ancient nobles thus condemned, +a great many ladies of high rank, and large numbers of priests. These +persons were all executed, or rather massacred, in the most reckless and +merciless manner. Some were beheaded; some were broken on the wheel, and +then left to die in horrible agonies. Many were buried alive, their +heads only being left above the ground. It is said that Peter took such +a savage delight in these punishments, that he executed many of the +victims with his own hands. At one time, when half intoxicated at a +banquet, he ordered twenty of his prisoners to be brought in, and then, +with his brandy before him, which was his favorite drink, and which he +often drank to excess, he caused them to be led, one after another, to +the block, that he might cut off their heads himself. He took a drink of +brandy after each execution while the officers were bringing forward the +next man. He was just an hour, it was said, in cutting off the twenty +heads, which allows of an average of three minutes to each man. This +story is almost too horrible to be believed, but, unfortunately, it +comports too well with the general character which Peter has always +sustained in the opinion of mankind in respect to the desperate and +reckless cruelty to which he could be aroused under the influence of +intoxication and anger. + +[Illustration: Peter turning executioner.] + +About two thousand of the Guards were beheaded. The bodies of these men +were laid upon the ground in a public place, arranged in rows, with their +heads lying beside them. They covered more than an acre of ground. Here +they were allowed to lie all the remainder of the winter, as long, in +fact, as the flesh continued frozen, and then, when the spring came on, +they were thrown together into a deep ditch, dug to receive them, and +thus were buried. + +There were also a great number of gibbets set up on all the roads leading +to Moscow, and upon these gibbets men were hung, and the bodies allowed +to remain there, like the beheaded Guards upon the ground, until the +spring. + +As for the Princess Sophia, she was still in the convent where Peter had +placed her, the conspirators not having reached the point of liberating +her before their plot was discovered. Peter, however, caused the three +authors of the address, which was to have been made to Sophia, calling +upon her to assume the crown, to be sent to the convent, and there hung +before Sophia's windows. And then, by his orders, the arm of the +principal man among them was cut off, the address was put into his hand, +and, when the fingers had stiffened around it, the limb was fixed to the +wall in Sophia's chamber, as if in the act of offering her the address, +and ordered to remain so until the address should drop, of itself, upon +the floor. + +Such were the horrible means by which Peter attempted to strike terror +into his subjects, and to put down the spirit of conspiracy and +rebellion. He doubtless thought that it was only by such severities as +these that the end could be effectually attained. At all events, the end +was attained. The rebellion was completely suppressed, and all open +opposition to the progress of the Czar's proposed improvements and +reforms ceased. The few leading nobles who adhered to the old customs +and usages of the realm retired from all connection with public affairs, +and lived thenceforth in seclusion, mourning, like good Conservatives, +the triumph of the spirit of radicalism and innovation which was leading +the country, as they thought, to certain ruin. The old Guards, whom it +had been proved so utterly impossible to bring over to Peter's views, +were disbanded, and other troops, organized on a different system, were +embodied in their stead. By this time the English ship-builders, and the +other mechanics and artisans that Peter had engaged, began to arrive in +the country, and the way was open for the emperor to go on vigorously in +the accomplishment of his favorite and long-cherished plans. + +The Princess Sophia, worn out with the agitations and dangers through +which she had passed, and crushed in spirit by the dreadful scenes to +which her brother had exposed her, now determined to withdraw wholly from +the scene. She took the veil in the convent where she was confined, and +went as a nun into the cloisters with the other sisters. The name that +she assumed was Marpha. + +Of course, all her ambitious aspirations were now forever extinguished, +and the last gleam of earthly hope faded away from her mind. She pined +away under the influences of disappointment, hopeless vexation, and +bitter grief for about six years, and then the nuns of the convent +followed the body of sister Marpha to the tomb. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +REFORMS. + +1700-1701 + +Peter begins his proposed reforms--Remodeling the army--Changes of +dress--The officers--New appointments--Motives and object of the +Czar--Means of revenue--Mysterious power--The secret of it--Management +of a standing army--Artful contrivances--Despotism _versus_ +freedom--Policy of the American people--Standing armies--The American +government is weak--The people reserve their strength--Peter's +policy--The Church--Conservatism of the clergy--The patriarch--Ancient +custom--The emperor on the procession--Emblems--Peter's reflections on +the subject--Peter's determination--He proceeds cautiously--Contest +with the bishops--Peter is victorious--Other reforms--Collection of the +revenues--New revenue system--Manners and customs of the +people--Mustaches and beards--The long dresses suppressed--Effect of +ridicule--The jester's marriage--Curious sleeves--Mode of manoeuvring +the sleeve--The boyars in the streets--Long trains of attendants--Peter +changes the whole system--Motives of the Czar--Ultimate effect of his +reforms + + +As soon as Peter had sufficiently glutted his vengeance on those whom +he chose to consider, whether justly or unjustly, as implicated in the +rebellion, he turned his attention at once to the work of introducing +the improvements and reforms which had been suggested to him by what he +had seen in the western countries of Europe. There was a great deal of +secret hostility to the changes which he thus wished to make, although +every thing like open opposition to his will had been effectually put +down by the terrible severity of his dealings with the rebels. He +continued to urge his plans of reform during the whole course of his +reign, and though he met from time to time with a great variety of +difficulties in his efforts to carry them into effect, he was in the +end triumphantly successful in establishing and maintaining them. I +shall proceed to give a general account of these reforms in this +chapter, notwithstanding that the work of introducing them extended +over a period of many years subsequent to this time. + +The first thing to which the Czar gave his attention was the complete +remodeling of his army. He established new regiments in place of the +old Guards, and put his whole army on a new footing. He abolished the +dress which the Guards had been accustomed to wear--an ancient +Muscovite costume, which, like the dress of the Highlanders of +Scotland, was strongly associated in the minds of the men with ancient +national customs, many of which the emperor now wished to abolish. +Instead of this old costume the emperor dressed his new troops in a +modern military uniform. This was not only much more convenient than +the old dress, but the change exerted a great influence in +disenthralling the minds of the men from the influence of old ideas and +associations. It made them feel at once as if they were new men, +belonging to a new age--one marked by a new and higher civilization +than they had been accustomed to in former years. The effect which was +produced by this simple change was very marked--so great is the +influence of dress and other outward symbols on the sentiments of the +mind and on the character. + +Peter had made a somewhat similar change to this, in the case of his +household troops and private body-guard, at the suggestion of General +Le Fort, some time previous to this period, but now he carried the same +reform into effect in respect to his whole army. + +In addition to these improvements in the dress and discipline of the +men, Peter adopted an entirely new system in officering his troops. A +great many of the old officers--all those who were proved or even +suspected of being hostile to him and to his measures--had been +beheaded or sent into banishment, and others still had been dismissed +from the service. Peter filled all these vacant posts by bringing +forward and appointing the sons of the nobility, making his selections +from those families who were either already inclined to his side, or +who he supposed might be brought over by the influence of appointments +and honors conferred upon their sons. + +Of course, the great object of the Czar in thus reorganizing his army +and increasing the military strength of the empire was not the more +effectual protection of the country from foreign enemies, or from any +domestic violence which might threaten to disturb the peace or endanger +the property of the public, but only the confirming and perpetuating +his own power as the sovereign ruler of it. It is true that such +potentates as Peter really desire that the countries over which they +rule should prosper, and should increase in wealth and population; but +then they do this usually only as the proprietor of an estate might +wish to improve his property, that is, simply with an eye to his own +interest as the owner of it. In reforming his army, and placing it, as +he did, on a new and far more efficient footing than before, Peter's +main inducement was to increase and secure his own power. He wished +also, doubtless, to preserve the peace of the country, in order that +the inhabitants might go on regularly in the pursuit of their +industrial occupations, for their ability to pay the taxes required for +the large revenues which he wished to raise would increase or diminish, +he knew very well, just in proportion to the productiveness of the +general industry; still, his own exaltation and grandeur were the +ultimate objects in view. + +Young persons, when they read in history of the power which many great +tyrants have exercised, and the atrocious crimes which they have +committed against the rights of their fellow-men, sometimes wonder how +it is that one man can acquire or retain so absolute a dominion over so +many millions as to induce them to kill each other in such vast numbers +at his bidding; for, of course, it is but a very small number of the +victims of a tyrant's injustice or cruelty that are executed by his own +hand. How is it, then, that one weak and often despicable and hateful +man can acquire and retain such an ascendency over those that stand +around him, that they shall all be ready to draw their swords +instantaneously at his bidding, and seize and destroy, without +hesitation and without mercy, whomsoever he may choose to designate as +the object of his rage and vengeance? How is it that the wealthiest, +the most respected, and the most popular citizens of the state, though +surrounded with servants and with multitudes of friends, have no power +to resist when one of these Neros conceives the idea of striking him +down, but must yield without a struggle to his fate, as if to +inevitable destiny? + +The secret of this extraordinary submission of millions to one is +always an army. The tyrant, under the pretense of providing the means +for the proper execution of just and righteous laws, and the +maintenance of peace and order in the community, organizes an army. He +contrives so to arrange and regulate this force as to separate it +completely from the rest of the community, so as to extinguish as far +as possible all the sympathies which might otherwise exist between the +soldiers and the citizens. Marriage is discouraged, so that the troops +may not be bound to the community by any family ties. The regiments +arc quartered in barracks built and appropriated to their especial use, +and they are continually changed from one set of barracks to another, +in order to prevent their forming too intimate an acquaintance with any +portion of the community, or learning to feel any common interest or +sympathy with them. Then, as a reward for their privations, the +soldiers are allowed, with very little remonstrance or restraint, to +indulge freely in all such habits of dissipation and vice as will not +at once interfere with military discipline, or deteriorate from the +efficiency of the whole body as a military corps. The soldiers soon +learn to love the idle and dissolute lives which they are allowed to +lead. The officers, especially those in the higher grades of rank, are +paid large salaries, are clothed in a gaudy dress which is adorned with +many decorations, and they are treated every where with great +consideration. Thus they become devoted to the will of the government, +and lose gradually all regard for, and all sympathy with the rights and +welfare of the people. There is a tacit agreement between them and the +government, by which they are bound to keep the people in a state of +utter and abject submission to the despot's will, while he, on his +part, is bound to collect from the people thus subdued the sums of +money necessary for their pay. Thus it is the standing army which is +that great and terrible sword by means of which one man is able to +strike awe into the hearts of so many millions, and hold them all so +entirely subject to his will. + +It is in consequence of having observed the effect of such armaments in +the despotisms of Europe and Asia that the free governments of modern +times take good care not to allow large standing armies to be formed. +Instead of this the people organize themselves into armed bands, in +connection with which they meet and practice military evolutions on +appointed days, and then separate and go back to their wives and to +their children, and to their usual occupations, while in the despotic +countries where large standing armies are maintained, the people are +strictly forbidden to possess arms, or to form organizations, or to +take measures of any kind that could tend to increase their means of +defense against their oppressors in the event of a struggle. + +The consequence is, that under the free governments of the present day +the people are strong and the government is weak. The standing army of +France consists at the present time[1] of five hundred thousand men, +completely armed and equipped, and devoted all the time to the study +and practice of the art of war. By means of this force one man is able +to keep the whole population of the country in a state of complete and +unquestioning submission to his will. In the United States, on the +other hand, with a population nearly as great, the standing army seldom +amounts to an effective force of fifteen thousand men; and if a +president of the United States were to attempt by means of it to +prolong his term of office, or to accomplish any other violent end, +there is, perhaps, not a single state in the Union, the population of +which would not alone be able to put him down--so strong are the people +with us, and so weak, in opposition to them, the government and the +army. + +It is often made a subject of reproach by European writers and +speakers, in commenting on the state of things in America, that the +government is so weak; but this we consider not our reproach, but our +glory. The government is indeed weak. The people take good care to +keep it weak. But the nation is not weak; the nation is strong. The +difference is, that in our country the nation chooses to retain its +power in its own hands. The people make the government strong enough +from time to time for all the purposes which they wish it to +accomplish. When occasion shall arise, the strength thus to be +imparted to it may be increased almost indefinitely, according to the +nature of the emergency. In the mean time, the people consider +themselves the safest depositary of their reserved power. + +But to return to Peter. Of course, his policy was the reverse of ours. +He wished to make his army as efficient as possible, and to cut it off +as completely as possible from all communion and sympathy with the +people, so as to keep it in close and absolute subjection to his own +individual will. The measures which he adopted were admirably adapted +to this purpose. By means of them he greatly strengthened his power, +and established it on a firm and permanent basis. + +Peter did not forget that, during the late rebellion, the influence of +the Church and that of all the leading ecclesiastics had been against +him. This was necessarily the case; for, in a Church constituted as +that of Russia then was, the powers and prerogatives of the priests +rested, not on reason or right, but on ancient customs. The priests +would therefore naturally be opposed to all changes--even +improvements--in the usages and institutions of the realm, for fear +that the system of reform, if once entered upon, might extend to and +interfere with their ancient prerogatives and privileges. An +established Church in any country, where, by means of the +establishment, the priests or the ministers hold positions which secure +to them the possession of wealth or power, is always opposed to every +species of change. It hates even the very name of reform. + +Peter determined to bring the Russian Church more under his own +control. Up to that time it had been, in a great measure, independent. +The head of it was an ecclesiastic of great power and dignity, called +the Patriarch. The jurisdiction of this patriarch extended over all +the eastern portion of the Christian world, and his position and power +were very similar to those of the Pope of Rome, who reigned over the +whole western portion. + +Indeed, so exalted was the position and dignity of the patriarch, and +so great was the veneration in which he was held by the people, that he +was, as it were, the spiritual sovereign of the country, just as Peter +was the civil and military sovereign; and on certain great religious +ceremonies he even took precedence of the Czar himself, and actually +received homage from him. At one of the great religious anniversaries, +which was always celebrated with great pomp and parade, it was +customary for the patriarch to ride through the street on horseback, +with the Czar walking before him holding the bridle of the horse. The +bridle used, on these occasions was very long, like a pair of reins, +and was made of the richest material, and ornamented with golden +embroidery. The Czar walked on in advance, with the loop of the bridle +lying over his arm. Then came three or four great nobles of the court, +who held up the reins behind the Czar, one of them taking hold close to +the horse's head, so as to guide and control the movements of the +animal. The patriarch, who, as is the custom with priests, was dressed +in long robes, which prevented his mounting the horse in the usual +manner, sat upon a square flat seat which was placed upon the horse's +back by way of saddle, and rode in that manner, with his feet hanging +down upon one side. Of course, his hands were at liberty, and with +these he held a cross, which he displayed to the people as he rode +along, and gave them his benediction. + +After the patriarch, there followed, on these occasions, an immensely +long train of priests, all clothed in costly and gorgeous sacerdotal +robes, and bearing a great number and variety of religious emblems. +Some carried very costly copies of the Gospels, bound in gold and +adorned with precious stones; others crosses, and others pictures of +the Virgin Mary. All these objects of veneration were enriched with +jewels and gems of the most costly description. + +So far, however, as these mere pageants and ceremonies were concerned, +Peter would probably have been very easily satisfied, and would have +made no objection to paying such a token of respect to the patriarch as +walking before him through the street once a year, and holding the +bridle of his horse, if this were all. But he saw very clearly that +these things were by no means to be considered as mere outward show. +The patriarch was at the head of a vast organization, which extended +throughout the empire, all the members of which were closely banded +together in a system the discipline of which made them dependent upon +and entirely devoted to their spiritual head. These priests, moreover, +exercised individually a vast influence over the people in the towns +and villages where they severally lived and performed their functions. +Thus the patriarch wielded a great and very extended power, almost +wholly independent of any control on the part of the Czar--a power +which had already been once turned against him, and which might at some +future day become very dangerous. Peter determined at once that he +would not allow such a state of things to continue. + +He, however, resolved to proceed cautiously. So he waited quietly +until the patriarch who was then in office died. Then, instead of +allowing the bench of bishops, as usual, to elect another in his place, +he committed the administration of the Church to an ecclesiastic whom +he appointed for this purpose from among his own tried friends. He +instructed this officer, who was a very learned and a very devout man, +to go on as nearly as possible as his predecessors, the patriarchs, had +done, in the ordinary routine of duty, so as not to disturb the Church +by any apparent and outward change; but he directed him to consider +himself, the Czar, as the real head of the Church, and to refer all +important questions which might arise to him for decision. He thus, in +fact, abrogated the office of patriarch, and made himself the supreme +head of the Church. + +The clergy throughout the empire, as soon as they understood this +arrangement, were greatly disturbed, and expressed their discontent and +dissatisfaction among themselves very freely. The Czar heard of this; +and, selecting one of the bishops, who had spoken more openly and +decidedly than the rest, he ordered him to be degraded from his office +for his contumacy. But this the other bishops objected to very +strongly. They did not see, in fact, they said, how it could be done. +It was a thing wholly unknown that a person of the rank and dignity of +a bishop in the Church should be degraded from his office; and that, +besides, there was no authority that could degrade him, for they were +all bishops of equal rank, and no one had any jurisdiction or power +over the others. Still, notwithstanding this, they were willing, they +said, to sacrifice their brother if by that means the Church could be +saved from the great dangers which were now threatening her; and they +said that they would depose the bishop who was accused on condition +that Peter would restore the rights of the Church which he had +suspended, by allowing them to proceed to the election of a new +patriarch, to take the place of the one who had died. + +Peter would not listen to this proposal; but he created a new bishop +expressly to depose the one who had offended him. The latter was +accordingly deposed, and the rest were compelled to submit. None of +them dared any longer to speak openly against the course which the Czar +was pursuing, but writings were mysteriously dropped about the streets +which contained censures of his proceedings in respect to the Church, +and urged the people to resist them. Peter caused large rewards to be +immediately offered for the discovery of the persons by whom these +writings were dropped, but it was of no avail, and at length the +excitement gradually passed away, leaving the victory wholly in Peter's +hands. + +After this the Czar effected a great many important reforms in the +administration of the affairs of the empire, especially in those +relating to the government of the provinces, and to the collection of +the revenues in them. This business had been hitherto left almost +wholly in the hands of the governors, by whom it had been grossly +mismanaged. The governors had been in the habit both of grievously +oppressing the people in the collection of the taxes, and also of +grossly defrauding the emperor in remitting the proceeds to the +treasury. + +Peter now made arrangements for changing the system entirely. He +established a central office at the capital for the transaction of all +business connected with the collecting of the revenues, and then +appointed collectors for all the provinces of the empire, who were to +receive their instructions from the minister who presided over this +central office, and make their returns directly to him. Thus the whole +system was remodeled, and made far more efficient than it ever had been +before. Of course, the old governors, who, in consequence of this +reform, lost the power of enriching themselves by their oppressions and +frauds, complained bitterly of the change, and mourned, like good +Conservatives, the ruin which this radicalism was bringing upon the +country, but they were forced to submit. + +Whenever there was any thing in the private manners and customs of the +people which Peter thought was likely to impede in any way the +effectual accomplishment of his plans, he did not hesitate at all to +ordain a change; and some of the greatest difficulties which he had to +encounter in his reforms arose from the opposition which the people +made to the changes that he wished to introduce in the dress that they +wore, and in several of the usages of common life. The people of the +country had been accustomed to wear long gowns, similar to those worn +to this day by many Oriental nations. This costume was very +inconvenient, not only for soldiers, but also for workmen, and for all +persons engaged in any of the common avocations of life. Peter +required the people to change this dress; and he sent patterns of the +coats worn in western Europe to all parts of the country, and had them +put up in conspicuous places, where every body could see them, and +required every body to imitate them. He, however, met with a great +deal of difficulty in inducing them to do so. He found still greater +difficulty in inducing the people to shave off their mustaches and +their beards. Finding that they would not shave their faces under the +influence of a simple regulation to that effect, he assessed a tax upon +beards, requiring that every gentleman should pay a hundred rubles a +year for the privilege of wearing one; and as for the peasants and +common people, every one who wore a beard was stopped every time he +entered a city or town, and required to pay a penny at the gate by way +of tax or fine. + +The nuisance of long clothes he attempted to abate in a similar way. +The officers of the customs, who were stationed at the gates of the +towns, were ordered to stop every man who wore a long dress, and compel +him either to pay a fine of about fifty cents, or else kneel down and +have all that part of their coat or gown which lay upon the ground, +while they were in that posture, cut off with a pair of big shears. + +Still, such was the attachment of the people to their old fashions, +that great numbers of the people, rather than submit to this curtailing +of their vestments, preferred to pay the fine. + +On one occasion the Czar, laying aside for the moment the system of +severity and terror which was his usual reliance for the accomplishment +of his ends, concluded to try the effect of ridicule upon the +attachment of the people to old and absurd fashions in dress. It +happened that one of the fools or jesters of the court was about to be +married. The young woman who was to be the jester's bride was very +pretty, and she was otherwise a favorite with those who knew her, and +the Czar determined to improve the occasion of the wedding for a grand +frolic. He accordingly made arrangements for celebrating the nuptials +at the palace, and he sent invitations to all the great nobles and +officers of state, with their wives, and to all the other great ladies +of the court, giving them all orders to appear dressed in the fashions +which prevailed in the Russian court one or two hundred years before. +With the exception of some modes of dress prevalent at the present day, +there is nothing that can be conceived more awkward, inconvenient, and +ridiculous than the fashions which were reproduced on this occasion. +Among other things, the ladies wore a sort of dress of which the +sleeves, so it is said, were ten or twelve yards long. These sleeves +were made very full, and were drawn up upon the arm in a sort of a +puff, it being the fashion to have as great a length to the sleeve as +could possibly be crowded on between the shoulder and the wrist. It is +said, too, that the customary salutation between ladies and gentlemen +meeting in society, when this dress was in fashion, was performed +through the intervention of these sleeves. On the approach of the +gentleman, the lady, by a sudden and dexterous motion other arm, would +throw off the end of her sleeve to him. The sleeve, being very long, +could be thrown in this way half across the room. The gentleman would +take the end of the sleeve, which represented, we are to suppose, the +hand of the lady, and, after kissing and saluting it in a most +respectful manner, he would resign it, and then the lady would draw it +back again upon her arm. This would be too ridiculous to be believed +if it were possible that any thing could be too ridiculous to be +believed in respect to the absurdities of fashion. + +A great many of the customs and usages of social life which prevailed +in those days, as well as the fashions of dress, were inconvenient and +absurd. These the Czar did not hesitate to alter and reform by +proceedings of the most arbitrary and summary character. For instance, +it was the custom of all the great nobles, or boyars, as they were +called, to go in grand state whenever they moved about the city or in +the environs of it, attended always by a long train of their servants +and retainers. Now, as these followers were mostly on foot, the nobles +in the carriages, or, in the winter, in their sledges or sleighs, were +obliged to move very slowly in order to enable the train to keep up +with them. Thus the streets were full of these tedious processions, +moving slowly along, sometimes through snow and sometimes through rain, +the men bareheaded, because they must not be covered in the presence of +their master, and thus exposed to all the inclemency of an almost +Arctic climate. And what made the matter worse was, that it was not +the fashion for the nobleman to move on even as fast as his followers +might easily have walked. They considered it more dignified and grand +to go slowly. Thus, the more aristocratic a grandee was in spirit, and +the greater his desire to make a display of his magnificence in the +street, the more slowly he moved. If it had not been for the banners +and emblems, and the gay and gaudy colors in which many of the +attendants were dressed, these processions would have produced the +effect of particularly solemn funerals. + +The Czar determined to change all this. First he set an example +himself of rapid motion through the streets. When he went out in his +carriage or in his sleigh, he was attended only by a very few persons, +and they were dressed in a neat uniform and mounted on good horses, and +his coachman was ordered to drive on at a quick pace. The boyars were +slow to follow this example, but the Czar assisted them considerably in +their progress toward the desired reform by making rules limiting the +number of idle attendants which they were allowed to have about them; +and then, if they would not dismiss the supernumeraries, he himself +caused them to be taken from them and sent into the army. + +The motive of the Czar in making all these improvements and reforms was +his desire to render his own power as the sovereign of the country more +compact and efficient, and not any real and heartfelt interest in the +welfare and happiness of the people. Still, in the end, very excellent +results followed from the innovations which he thus introduced. They +were the commencement of a series of changes which so developed the +power and advanced the civilization of the country, as in the course of +a few subsequent reigns had the effect of bringing Russia into the +foremost rank among the nations of Europe. The progress which these +changes introduced continues to go on to the present time, and will, +perhaps, go on unimpeded for centuries to come. + + + +[1] 1858. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +THE BATTLE OF NARVA. + +1700-1701 + +Origin of the war with Sweden--Peace with the Turks--Charles XII--Siege +of Narva--The frontier--Plan of the campaign--Indignation of the King +of Sweden--Remonstrances of Holland and England--The King of Sweden at +Riga--the Czar a subordinate--General Croy--His plans--Operations of +the king--Surprise and defeat of the Russians--Terrible +slaughter--Whimsical plan for disposing of the prisoners--Effect upon +the Czar--New plans and arrangements + + +The reader will perhaps recollect how desirous Peter had long been to +extend his dominions toward the west, so as to have a sea-port under +his control on the Baltic Sea; for, at the time when he succeeded to +the throne, the eastern shores of the Baltic belonged to Poland and to +Sweden, so that the Russians were confined, in a great measure, in +their naval operations to the waters of the Black and Caspian Seas, and +to the rivers flowing into them. You will also recollect that when, at +the commencement of his tour, he arrived at the town of Riga, which +stands at the head of the Gulf of Riga, a sort of branch of the Baltic, +he had been much offended at the refusal of the governor of the place, +acting under the orders of the King of Sweden, to allow him to view the +fortifications there. He then resolved that Riga, and the whole +province of which it was the capital, should one day be his. The year +after he returned from his travels--that is, in 1699, the country being +by that time restored to its ordinary state of repose after the +suppression of the rebellion--he concluded that the time had arrived +for carrying his resolution into effect. + +So he set a train of negotiations on foot for making a long truce with +the Turks, not wishing to have two wars on his hands at the same time. +When he had accomplished this object, he formed a league with the +kingdoms of Poland and Denmark to make war upon Sweden. So exactly +were all his plans laid, that the war with Sweden was declared on the +very next day after the truce of the Turks was concluded. + +The King of Sweden at this time was Charles XII. He was a mere boy, +being only at that time eighteen years of age, and he had just +succeeded to the throne. He was, however, a prince of remarkable +talents and energy, and in his subsequent campaigns against Peter and +his allies he distinguished himself so much that he acquired great +renown, and finally took his place among the most illustrious military +heroes in history. + +The first operation of the war was the siege of the city of Narva. +Narva was a port on the Baltic; the situation of it, as well as that of +the other places mentioned in this chapter, is seen by the adjoining +map, which shows the general features of the Russian and Swedish +frontier as it existed at that time. + +[Illustration: Map of the Russian and Swedish frontier.] + +Narva, as appears by the map, is situated on the sea-coast, near the +frontier--much nearer than Riga. Peter expected that by the conquest +of this city he should gain access to the sea, and so be able to build +ships which would aid him in his ulterior operations. He also +calculated that when Narva was in his hands the way would be open for +him to advance on Riga. Indeed, at the same time while he was +commencing the siege of Narva, his ally, the King of Poland, advanced +from his own dominions to Riga, and was now prepared to attack that +city at the same time that the Czar was besieging Narva. + +In the mean while the news of these movements was sent by couriers to +the King of Sweden, and the conduct of Peter in thus suddenly making +war upon him, and invading his dominions, made him exceedingly +indignant. The only cause of quarrel which Peter pretended to have +against the king was the uncivil treatment which he had received at the +hands of the Governor of Riga in refusing to allow him to see the +fortifications when he passed through that city on his tour. Peter +had, it is true, complained of this insult, as he called it, and had +sent commissioners to Sweden to demand satisfaction; and certain +explanations had been made, though Peter professed not to be satisfied +with them. Still, the negotiations had not been closed, and the +government of Sweden had no idea that the misunderstanding would lead +to war. Indeed, the commissioners were still at the Swedish court, +continuing the negotiations, when the news arrived that Peter had at +once brought the question to an issue by declaring war and invading the +Swedish territory. The king immediately collected a large army, and +provided a fleet of two hundred transports to convey them to the scene +of action. The preparations were made with great dispatch, and the +fleet sailed for Riga. + +The news, too, of this war occasioned great dissatisfaction among the +governments of western Europe. The government of Holland was +particularly displeased, on account of the interference and +interruption which the war would occasion to all their commerce in the +Baltic. They immediately determined to remonstrate with the Czar +against the course which he was pursuing, and they induced King +William, of England, to join them in the remonstrance. They also, at +the same time, sent a messenger to the King of Poland, urging him by +all means to suspend his threatened attack on Riga until some measures +could be taken for accommodating the quarrel. Riga was a very +important commercial port, and there were a great many wealthy Dutch +merchants there, whose interests the Dutch government were very anxious +to protect. + +The King of Sweden arrived at Riga with his fleet at just about the +same time that the remonstrance of the Dutch government reached the +King of Poland, who was advancing to attack it. Augustus, for that was +the name of the King of Poland, finding that now, since so great a +force had arrived to succor and strengthen the place, there was no hope +for success in any of his operations against it, concluded to make a +virtue of necessity, and so he drew off his army, and sent word to the +Dutch government that he did so in compliance with their wishes. + +The King of Sweden had, of course, nothing now to do but to advance +from Riga to Narva and attack the army of the Czar. + +This army was not, however, commanded by the Czar in person. In +accordance with what seems to have been his favorite plan in all his +great undertakings, he did not act directly himself as the head of the +expedition, but, putting forward another man, an experienced and +skillful general, as responsible commander, he himself took a +subordinate position as lieutenant. Indeed, he took a pride in +entering the army at one of the very lowest grades, and so advancing, +by a regular series of promotions, through all the ranks of the +service. The person whom the Czar had made commander-in-chief at the +siege of Narva was a German officer. His name was General Croy. + +General Croy had been many weeks before Narva at the time when the King +of Sweden arrived at Riga, but he had made little progress in taking +the town. The place was strongly fortified, and the garrison, though +comparatively weak, defended it with great bravery. The Russian army +was encamped in a very strong position just outside the town. As soon +as news of the coming of the King of Sweden arrived, the Czar went off +into the interior of the country to hasten a large re-enforcement which +had been ordered, and, at the same time, General Croy sent forward +large bodies of men to lay in ambuscade along the roads and defiles +through which the King of Sweden would have to pass on his way from +Riga. + +But all these excellent arrangements were entirely defeated by the +impetuous energy, and the extraordinary tact and skill of the King of +Sweden. Although his army was very much smaller than that of the +Russians, he immediately set out on his march to Narva; but, instead of +moving along the regular roads, and so falling into the ambuscade which +the Russians had laid for him, he turned off into back and circuitous +by-ways, so as to avoid the snare altogether. It was in the dead of +winter, and the roads which he followed, besides being rough and +intricate, were obstructed with snow, and the Russians had thought +little of them, so that at last, when the Swedish army arrived at their +advanced posts, they were taken entirely by surprise. The advanced +posts were driven in, and the Swedes pressed on, the Russians flying +before them, and carrying confusion to the posts in the rear. The +surprise of the Russians, and the confusion consequent upon it, were +greatly increased by the state of the weather; for there was a violent +snow-storm at the time, and the snow, blowing into the Russians' faces, +prevented their seeing what the numbers were of the enemy so suddenly +assaulting them, or taking any effectual measures to restore their own +ranks to order when once deranged. + +When at length the Swedes, having thus driven in the advanced posts, +reached the Russian camp itself, they immediately made an assault upon +it. The camp was defended by a rampart and by a double ditch, but on +went the assaulting soldiers over all the obstacles, pushing their way +with their bayonets, and carrying all before them. The Russians were +entirely defeated and put to flight. + +In a rout like this, the conquering army, maddened by rage and by all +the other dreadful excitements of the contest, press on furiously upon +their flying and falling foes, and destroy them with their bayonets in +immense numbers before the officers can arrest them. Indeed, the +officers do not wish to arrest them until it is sure that the enemy is +so completely overwhelmed that their rallying again is utterly +impossible. In this case twenty thousand of the Russian soldiers were +left dead upon the field. The Swedes, on the other hand, lost only two +or three thousand. + +Besides those who were killed, immense numbers were taken prisoners. +General Croy, and all the other principal generals in command, were +among the prisoners. It is very probable that, if Peter had not been +absent at the time, he would himself have been taken too. + +The number of prisoners was so very great that it was not possible for +the Swedes to retain them, on account of the expense and trouble of +feeding them, and keeping them warm at that season of the year; so they +determined to detain the officers only, and to send the men away. In +doing this, besides disarming the men, they adopted a very whimsical +expedient for making them helpless and incapable of doing mischief on +their march. They cut their clothes in such a manner that they could +only be prevented from falling off by being held together by both +hands; and the weather was so cold--the ground, moreover, being covered +with snow--that the men could only save themselves from perishing by +keeping their clothes around them. + +In this pitiful plight the whole body of prisoners were driven off, +like a flock of sheep, by a small body of Swedish soldiery, for a +distance of about a league on the road toward Russia, and then left to +find the rest of the way themselves. + +The Czar, when he heard the news of this terrible disaster, did not +seem much disconcerted by it. He said that he expected to be beaten at +first by the Swedes. "They have beaten us once," said he, "and they +may beat us again; but they will teach us in time to beat them." + +He immediately began to adopt the most efficient and energetic measures +for organizing a new army. He set about raising recruits in all parts +of the empire. He introduced many new foreign officers into his +service; and to provide artillery, after exhausting all the other +resources at his command, he ordered the great bells of many churches +and monasteries to be taken down and cast into cannon. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +THE BUILDING OF ST. PETERSBURG. + +1700-1704 + +Continuation of the war--Stratagems of the Swedes--Peculiar kind of +boat--Making a smoke--Peter determines to build a city--The site--Peter's +first visit to the Neva--Cronstadt--A stratagem--Contest on the +island--Peter examines the locality--He matures his plans--Mechanics and +artisans--Ships and merchandise--Laborers--The boyars--The building +commenced--Wharves and piers--Palace--Confusion--Variety of labors--Want +of tools and implements--Danger from the enemy--Supplies of +provisions--The supplies often fall short--Consequent sickness--Great +mortality--Peter's impetuosity of spirit--Streets and buildings--Private +dwellings--What the King of Sweden said--Map--Situation of +Cronstadt--Peter plans a fortress--Mode of laying the foundations--Danger +from the Swedes--Plan of their attack--The Swedes beaten off--The attempt +entirely fails--Mechanics and artisans--Various improvements--Scientific +institutions + + +The struggle thus commenced between the Czar Peter and Charles XII. of +Sweden, for the possession of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, +continued for many years. At first the Russians were every where beaten +by the Swedes; but at last, as Peter had predicted, the King of Sweden +taught them to beat him. + +The commanders of the Swedish army were very ingenious in expedients, as +well as bold and energetic in action, and they often gained an advantage +over their enemy by their wit as well as by their bravery. One instance +of this was their contrivance for rendering their prisoners helpless on +their march homeward after the battle of Narva, by cutting their clothes +in such a manner as to compel the men to keep both hands employed, as +they walked along the roads, in holding them together. On another +occasion, when they had to cross a river in the face of the Russian +troops posted on the other side, they invented a peculiar kind of boat, +which was of great service in enabling them to accomplish the transit in +safety. These boats were flat-bottomed and square; the foremost end of +each of them was guarded by a sort of bulwark, formed of plank, and made +very high. This bulwark was fixed on hinges at the lower end, so that it +could be raised up and down. It was, of course, kept up during the +passage across the river, and so served to defend the men in the boat +from the shots of the enemy. But when the boat reached the shore it was +let down, and then it formed a platform or bridge by which the men could +all rush out together to the shore. + +At the same time, while they were getting these boats ready, and placing +the men in them, the Swedes, having observed that the wind blew across +from their side of the river to the other, made great fires on the bank, +and covered them with wet straw, so as to cause them to throw out a +prodigious quantity of smoke. The smoke was blown over to the other side +of the river, where it so filled the air as to prevent the Russians from +seeing what was going on. + +[Illustration: Stratagems of the Swedes.] + +It was about a year after the first breaking out of the war that the tide +of fortune began to turn, in some measure, in favor of the Russians. +About that time the Czar gained possession of a considerable portion of +the Baltic shore; and as soon as he had done so, he conceived the design +of laying the foundation of a new city there, with the view of making it +the naval and commercial capital of his kingdom. This plan was carried +most successfully into effect in the building of the great city of St. +Petersburg. The founding of this city was one of the most important +transactions in Peter's reign. Indeed, it was probably by far the most +important, and Peter owes, perhaps, more of his great fame to this +memorable enterprise than to any thing else that he did. + +The situation of St. Petersburg will be seen by the map in the preceding +chapter. At a little distance from the shore is a large lake, called the +Lake of Ladoga. The outlet of the Lake of Ladoga is a small river called +the Neva. The Lake of Ladoga is supplied with water by many rivers, +which flow into it from the higher lands lying to the northward and +eastward of it; and it is by the Neva that the surplus of these waters is +carried off to the sea. + +The circumstances under which the attention of the Czar was called to the +advantages of this locality were these. He arrived on the banks of the +Neva, at some distance above the mouth of the river, in the course of his +campaign against the Swedes in the year 1702. He followed the river +down, and observed that it was pretty wide, and that the water was +sufficiently deep for the purpose of navigation. When he reached the +mouth of the river, he saw that, there was an island,[1] at some distance +from the shore, which might easily be fortified, and that, when +fortified, it would completely defend the entrance to the stream. He +took with him a body of armed men, and went off to the island in boats, +in order to examine it more closely. The name of this island was then +almost unknown, but it is now celebrated throughout the world as the seat +of the renowned and impregnable fortress of Cronstadt. + +There was a Swedish ship in the offing at the time when Peter visited the +island, and this ship drew near to the island and began to fire upon it +as soon as those on board saw that the Russian soldiers had landed there. +This cannonading drove the Russians back from the shores, but instead of +retiring from the island they went and concealed themselves behind some +rocks. The Swedes supposed that the Russians had gone around to the +other side of the island, and that they had there taken to their boats +again and returned to the main land; so they determined to go to the +island themselves, and examine it, in order to find out what the Russians +had been doing there. + +They accordingly let down their boats, and a large party of Swedes +embarking in them rowed to the island. Soon after they had landed the +Russians rushed out upon them from their ambuscade, and, after a sharp +contest, drove them back to their boats. Several of the men were killed, +but the rest succeeded in making their way to the ship, and the ship soon +afterward weighed anchor and put to sea. + +Peter was now at liberty to examine the island, the mouth of the river, +and all the adjacent shores, as much as he pleased. He found that the +situation of the place was well adapted to the purposes of a sea-port. +The island would serve to defend the mouth of the river, and yet there +was deep water along the side of it to afford an entrance for ships. The +water, too, was deep in the river, and the flow of the current smooth. +It is true that in many places the land along the banks of the river was +low and marshy, but this difficulty could be remedied by the driving of +piles for the foundation of the buildings, which had been done so +extensively in Holland. + +There was no town on the spot at the time of Peter's visit to it, but +only a few fishermen's huts near the outlet of the river, and the ruins +of an old fort a few miles above. Peter examined the whole region with +great care, and came decidedly to the conclusion that he would make the +spot the site of a great city. + +He matured his plans during the winter, and in the following spring he +commenced the execution of them. The first building that was erected was +a low one-story structure, made of wood, to be used as a sort of office +and place of shelter for himself while superintending the commencement of +the works that he had projected. This building was afterward preserved a +long time with great care, as a precious relic and souvenir of the +foundation of the city. + +The Czar had sent out orders to the governments of the different +provinces of the empire requiring each of them to send his quota of +artificers and laborers to assist in building the city. This they could +easily do, for in those days all the laboring classes of the people were +little better than slaves, and were almost entirely at the disposal of +the nobles, their masters. In the same manner he sent out agents to all +the chief cities in western Europe, with orders to advertise there for +carpenters, masons, engineers, ship-builders, and persons of all the +other trades likely to be useful in the work of building the city. These +men were to be promised good wages and kind treatment, and were to be at +liberty at any time to return to their respective homes. + +The agents also, at the same time, invited the merchants of the countries +that they visited to send vessels to the new port, laden with food for +the people that were to be assembled there, and implements for work, and +other merchandise suitable for the wants of such a community. The +merchants were promised good prices for their goods, and full liberty to +come and go at their pleasure. + +The Czar also sent orders to a great many leading boyars or nobles, +requiring them to come and build houses for themselves in the new town. +They were to bring with them a sufficient number of their serfs and +retainers to do all the rough work which would be required, and money to +pay the foreign mechanics for the skilled labor. The boyars were not at +all pleased with this summons. They already possessed their town houses +in Moscow, with gardens and pleasure-grounds in the environs. The site +for the new city was very far to the northward, in a comparatively cold +and inhospitable climate; and they knew very well that, even if Peter +should succeed, in the end, in establishing his new city, several years +must elapse before they could live there in comfort. Still, they did not +dare to do otherwise than to obey the emperor's summons. + +In consequence of all these arrangements and preparations, immense +numbers of people came in to the site of the new city in the course of +the following spring and summer. The numbers were swelled by the +addition of the populations of many towns and villages along the coast +that had been ravaged or destroyed by the Swedes in the course of the +war. The works were immediately commenced on a vast scale, and they were +carried on during the summer with great energy. The first thing to be +secured was, of course, the construction of the fortress which was to +defend the town. There were wharves and piers to be built too, in order +that the vessels bringing stores and provisions might land their goods. +The land was surveyed, streets laid out, building lots assigned to +merchants for warehouses and shops, and to the boyars for palaces and +gardens. The boyars commenced the building of their houses, and the Czar +himself laid the foundation of an imperial palace. + +But, notwithstanding all the precautions which Peter had taken to secure +supplies of every thing required for such an undertaking, and to regulate +the work by systematic plans and arrangements, the operations were for a +time attended with a great deal of disorder and confusion, and a vast +amount of personal suffering. For a long time there was no proper +shelter for the laborers. Men came to the ground much faster than huts +could be built to cover them, and they were obliged to lie on the marshy +ground without any protection from the weather. There was also a great +scarcity of tools and implements suitable for the work that was required, +in felling and transporting trees, and in excavating and filling up, +where changes in the surface were required. In constructing the +fortifications, for example, which, in the first instance, were made of +earth, it was necessary to dig deep ditches and to raise great +embankments. There was a great deal of the same kind of work necessary +on the ground where the city was to stand before the work of erecting +buildings could be commenced. There were dikes and levees to be made +along the margin of the stream to protect the land from the inundations +to which it was subject when the river was swollen with rains. There +were roads to be made, and forests to be cleared away, and many other +such labors to be performed. Now, in order to employ at once the vast +concourse of laborers that were assembled on the ground in such works as +these, an immense number of implements were required, such as pickaxes, +spades, shovels, and wheelbarrows; but so limited was the supply of these +conveniences, that a great portion of the earth which was required for +the dikes and embankments was brought by the men in their aprons, or in +the skirts of their clothes, or in bags made for the purpose out of old +mats, or any other material that came to hand. It was necessary to push +forward the work promptly and without any delay, notwithstanding all +these disadvantages, for the Swedes were still off the coast with their +ships, and no one knew how soon they might draw near and open a cannonade +upon the place, or even land and attack the workmen in the midst of their +labors. + +What greatly increased the difficulties of the case was the frequent +falling short of the supply of provisions. The number of men to be fed +was immensely large; for, in consequence of the very efficient measures +which the Czar had taken for gathering men from all parts of his +dominions, it is said that there were not less than three hundred +thousand collected on the spot in the course of the summer. And as there +were at that time no roads leading to the place, all the supplies were +necessarily to be brought by water. But the approach from the Baltic +side was well-nigh cut off by the Swedes, who had at that time full +possession of the sea. Vessels could, however, come from the interior by +way of Lake Ladoga; but when for several days or more the wind was from +the west, these vessels were all kept back, and then sometimes the +provisions fell short, and the men were reduced to great distress. To +guard as much as possible against the danger of coming to absolute want +at the times when the supplies were thus entirely cut off, the men were +often put on short allowance beforehand. The emperor, it is true, was +continually sending out requisitions for more food; but the men increased +in number faster, after all, than the means for feeding them. The +consequence was, that immense multitudes of them sickened and died. The +scarcity of food, combined with the influence of fatigue and +exposure--men half fed, working all day in the mud and rain, and at night +sleeping without any shelter--brought on fevers and dysenteries, and +other similar diseases, which always prevail in camps, and among large +bodies of men exposed to such influences as these. It is said that not +less than a hundred thousand men perished from these causes at St. +Petersburg in the course of the year. + +Peter doubtless regretted this loss of life, as it tended to impede the +progress of the work; but, after all, it was a loss which he could easily +repair by sending out continually to the provinces for fresh supplies of +men. Those whom the nobles and governors selected from among the serfs +and ordered to go had no option; they were obliged to submit. And thus +the supply of laborers was kept full, notwithstanding the dreadful +mortality which was continually tending to diminish it. + +If Peter had been willing to exercise a little patience and moderation in +carrying out his plans, it is very probable that most of this suffering +might have been saved. If he had sent a small number of men to the +ground the first year, and had employed them in opening roads, +establishing granaries, and making other preliminary arrangements, and, +in the mean time, had caused stores of food to be purchased and laid up, +and ample supplies of proper tools and implements to be procured and +conveyed to the ground, so as to have had every thing ready for the +advantageous employment of a large number of men in the following year, +every thing would, perhaps, have gone well. But the qualities of +patience and moderation formed no part of Peter's character. What he +conceived of and determined to do must be done at once, at whatever cost; +and a cost of human life seems to have been the one that he thought less +of than any other. He rushed headlong on, notwithstanding the suffering +which his impetuosity occasioned, and thus the hymn which solemnized the +entrance into being of the new-born city was composed of the groans of a +hundred thousand men, dying in agony, of want, misery, and despair. + +Peter was a personal witness of this suffering, for he remained, during a +great part of the time, on the ground, occupying himself constantly in +superintending and urging on the operations. Indeed, it is said that he +acted himself as chief engineer in planning the fortifications, and in +laying out the streets of the city. He drew many of the plans with his +own hands; for, among the other accomplishments which he had acquired in +the early part of his life, he had made himself quite a good practical +draughtsman. + +When the general plan of the city had been determined upon, and proper +places had been set apart for royal palaces and pleasure-grounds, and +public edifices of all sorts that might be required, and also for open +squares, docks, markets, and the like, a great many streets were thrown +open for the use of any persons who might choose to build houses in them. +A vast number of the mechanics and artisans who had been attracted to the +place by the offers of the Czar availed themselves of this opportunity to +provide themselves with homes, and they proceeded at once to erect +houses. A great many of the structures thus built were mere huts or +shanties, made of any rude materials that came most readily to hand, and +put up in a very hasty manner. It was sufficient that the tenement +afforded a shelter from the rain, and that it was enough of a building to +fulfill the condition on which the land was granted to the owner of it. +The number of these structures was, however, enormous. It was said that +in one year there were erected thirty thousand of them. There is no +instance in the history of the world of so great a city springing into +existence with such marvelous rapidity as this. + +During the time while Peter was thus employed in laying the foundations +of his new city, the King of Sweden was carrying on the war in Poland +against the conjoined forces of Russia and Poland, which were acting +together there as allies. When intelligence was brought to him of the +operations in which Peter was engaged on the banks of the Neva, he said, +"It is all very well. He may amuse himself as much as he likes in +building his city there; but by-and-by, when I am a little at leisure, I +will go and take it away from him. Then, if I like the town, I will keep +it; and if not, I will burn it down." + +[Illustration: Situation at St. Petersburg.] + +Peter, however, determined that it should not be left within the power of +the King of Sweden to take his town, or even to molest his operations in +the building of it, if any precautions on his part could prevent it. He +had caused a number of redoubts and batteries to be thrown up during the +summer. These works were situated at different points near the outlet of +the river, and on the adjacent shores. + +There was an island off the mouth of the river which stood in a suitable +position to guard the entrance. This island was several miles distant +from the place where the city was to stand, and it occupied the middle of +the bay leading toward it. Thus there was water on both sides of it, but +the water was deep enough only on one side to allow of the passage of +ships of war. Peter now determined to construct a large and strong +fortress on the shores of this island, placing it in such a position that +the guns could command the channel leading up the bay. It was late in +the fall when he planned this work, and the winter came on before he was +ready to commence operations. This time for commencing was, however, a +matter of design on his part, as the ice during the winter would assist +very much, he thought, in the work of laying the necessary foundations; +for the fortress was not to stand on the solid land, but on a sandbank +which projected from the land on the side toward the navigable channel. +The site of the fortress was to be about a cannon-shot from the and, +where, being surrounded by shallow water on every side, it could not be +approached either by land or sea. + +Peter laid the foundations of this fortress on the ice by building +immense boxes of timber and plank, and loading them with stones. When +the ice melted in the spring these structures sank into the sand, and +formed a stable and solid foundation on which he could afterward build at +pleasure. This was the origin of the famous Castle of Cronstadt, which +has since so well fulfilled its purpose that it has kept the powerful +navies of Europe at bay in time of war, and prevented their reaching the +city. + +Besides this great fortress, Peter erected several detached batteries at +different parts of the island, so as to prevent the land from being +approached at all by the boats of the enemy. + +At length the King of Sweden began to be somewhat alarmed at the accounts +which he received of what Peter was doing, and he determined to attack +him on the ground, and destroy his works before he proceeded any farther +with them. He accordingly ordered the admiral of the fleet to assemble +his ships, to sail up the Gulf of Finland, and there attack and destroy +the settlement which Peter was making. + +The admiral made the attempt, but he found that he was too late. The +works were advanced too far, and had become too strong for him. It was +on the 4th of July, 1704, that the Russian scouts, who were watching on +the shores of the bay, saw the Swedish ships coming up. The fleet +consisted of twenty-two men-of-war, and many other vessels. Besides the +forts and batteries, the Russians had a number of ships of their own at +anchor in the waters, and as the fleet advanced a tremendous cannonade +was opened on both sides, the ships of the Swedes against the ships and +batteries of the Russians. When the Swedish fleet had advanced as far +toward the island as the depth of the water would allow, they let down +from the decks of their vessels a great number of flat-bottomed boats, +which they had brought for the purpose, and filled them with armed men. +Their plan was to land these men on the island, and carry the Russian +batteries there at the point of the bayonet. + +But they did not succeed. They were received so hotly by the Russians +that, after an obstinate contest, they were forced to retreat. They +endeavored to get back to their boats, but were pursued by the Russians; +and now, as their backs were turned, they could no longer defend +themselves, and a great many were killed. Even those that were not +killed did not all succeed in making their escape. A considerable +number, finding that they should not be able to get to the boats, threw +down their arms, and surrendered themselves prisoners; and then, of +course, the boats which they belonged to were taken. Five of the boats +thus fell into the hands of the Russians. The others were rowed back +with all speed to the ships, and then the ships withdrew. Thus the +attempt failed entirely. The admiral reported the ill success of his +expedition to the king, and not long afterward another similar attempt +was made, but with no better success than before. + +The new city was now considered as firmly established, and from this time +it advanced very rapidly in wealth and population. Peter gave great +encouragement to foreign mechanics and artisans to come and settle in the +town, offering to some lands, to others houses, and to others high wages +for their work. The nobles built elegant mansions there in the streets +set apart for them, and many public buildings of great splendor were +planned and commenced. The business of building ships, too, was +introduced on an extended scale. The situation was very favorable for +this purpose, as the shores of the river afforded excellent sites for +dock-yards, and the timber required could be supplied in great quantities +from the shores of Lake Ladoga. + +In a very few years after the first foundation of the city, Peter began +to establish literary and scientific institutions there. Many of these +institutions have since become greatly renowned, and they contribute a +large share, at the present day, to the _éclat_ which surrounds this +celebrated city, and which makes it one of the most splendid and renowned +of the European capitals. + + + +[1] See map on page 221. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +THE REVOLT OF MAZEPPA. + +1708 + +Progress of the war--Peter's fleet--The King of Sweden's +successes--Peter wishes to make peace--The reply--Plan changed--Mazeppa +and the Cossacks--Plans for reforming the Cossacks--Mazeppa opposes +them--The quarrel--Mazeppa's treasonable designs--The plot +defeated--Precautions of the Czar--Mazeppa's plans--He goes on step by +step--He sends his nephew to the Czar--The envoy is arrested--Commotion +among the Cossacks--Failure of the plot--Mazeppa's trial and +condemnation--The effigy--Execution of the sentence upon the +effigy--New chieftain chosen + + +In the mean time the war with Sweden went on. Many campaigns were +fought, for the contest was continued through several successive years. +The King of Sweden made repeated attempts to destroy the new city of +St. Petersburg, but without success. On the contrary, the town grew +and prospered more and more; and the shelter and protection which the +fortifications around it afforded to the mouth of the river and to the +adjacent roadsteads enabled the Czar to go on so rapidly in building +new ships, and in thus increasing and strengthening his fleet, that +very soon he was much stronger than the King of Sweden in all the +neighboring waters, so that he not only was able to keep the enemy very +effectually at bay, but he even made several successful descents upon +the Swedish territory along the adjoining coasts. + +But, while the Czar was thus rapidly increasing his power at sea, the +King of Sweden proved himself the strongest on land. He extended his +conquests very rapidly in Poland and in the adjoining provinces, and at +last, in the summer of 1708, he conceived the design of crossing the +Dnieper and threatening Moscow, which was still Peter's capital. He +accordingly pushed his forces forward until he approached the bank of +the river. He came up to it at a certain point, as if he was intending +to cross there. Peter assembled all his troops on the opposite side of +the river at that point in order to oppose him. But the demonstration +which the king made of an intention to cross at that point was only a +pretense. He left a sufficient number of men there to make a show, and +secretly marched away the great body of his troops in the night to a +point about three miles farther up the river, where he succeeded in +crossing with them before the emperor's forces had any suspicion of his +real design. The Russians, who were not strong enough to oppose him in +the open field, were obliged immediately to retreat, and leave him in +full possession of the ground. + +Peter was now much alarmed. He sent an officer to the camp of the King +of Sweden with a flag of truce, to ask on what terms the king would +make peace with him. But Charles was too much elated with his success +in crossing the river, and placing himself in a position from which he +could advance, without encountering any farther obstruction, to the +very gates of the capital, to be willing then to propose any terms. So +he declined entering into any negotiation, saying only in a haughty +tone "that he would treat with his brother Peter at Moscow." + +On mature reflection, however, he seems to have concluded that it would +be more prudent for him not to march at once to Moscow, and so he +turned his course for a time toward the southward, in the direction of +the Crimea and the Black Sea. + +There was one secret reason which induced the King of Sweden to move +thus to the southward which Peter did not for a time understand. The +country of the Cossacks lay in that direction, and the famous Mazeppa, +of whom some account has already been given in this volume, was the +chieftain of the Cossacks, and he, as it happened, had had a quarrel +with the Czar, and in consequence of it had opened a secret negotiation +with the King of Sweden, and had agreed that if the king would come +into his part of the country he would desert the cause of the Czar, and +would come over to his side, with all the Cossacks under his command. + +The cause of Mazeppa's quarrel with the Czar was this: He was one day +paying a visit to his majesty, and, while seated at table, Peter began +to complain of the lawless and ungovernable character of the Cossacks, +and to propose that Mazeppa should introduce certain reforms in the +organization and discipline of the tribe, with a view of bringing them +under more effectual control. It is probable that the reforms which he +proposed were somewhat analogous to those which he had introduced so +successfully into the armies under his own more immediate command. + +Mazeppa opposed this suggestion. He said that the attempt to adopt +such measures with the Cossacks would never succeed; that the men were +so wild and savage by nature, and so fixed in the rude and irregular +habits of warfare to which they and their fathers had been so long +accustomed, that they could never be made to submit to such +restrictions as a regular military discipline would impose. + +Peter, who never could endure the least opposition or contradiction to +any of his ideas or plans, became quite angry with Mazeppa on account +of the objections which he made to his proposals, and, as was usual +with him in such cases, he broke out in the most rude and violent +language imaginable. He called Mazeppa an enemy and a traitor, and +threatened to have him impaled alive. It is true he did not really +mean what he said, his words being only empty threats dictated by the +brutal violence of his anger. Still, Mazeppa was very much offended. +He went away from the Czar's tent muttering his displeasure, and +resolving secretly on revenge. + +Soon after this Mazeppa opened the communication above referred to with +the King of Sweden, and at last an agreement was made between them by +which it was stipulated that the king was to advance into the southern +part of the country, where, of course, the Cossacks would be sent out +to meet him, and then Mazeppa was to revolt from the Czar, and go over +with all his forces to the King of Sweden's side. By this means the +Czar's army was sure, they thought, to be defeated; and in this case +the King of Sweden was to remain in possession of the Russian +territory, while the Cossacks were to retire to their own fortresses, +and live thenceforth as an independent tribe. + +The plot seemed to be very well laid; but, unfortunately for the +contrivers of it, it was not destined to succeed. In the first place, +Mazeppa's scheme of revolting with the Cossacks to the enemy was +discovered by the Czar, and almost entirely defeated, before the time +arrived for putting it into execution. Peter had his secret agents +every where, and through them he received such information in respect +to Mazeppa's movements as led him to suspect his designs. He said +nothing, however, but manoeuvred his forces so as to have a large body +of troops that he could rely upon always near Mazeppa and the Cossacks, +and between them and the army of the Swedes. He ordered the officers +of these troops to watch Mazeppa's movements closely, and to be ready +to act against him at a moment's notice, should occasion require. +Mazeppa was somewhat disconcerted in his plans by this state of things; +but he could not make any objection, for the troops thus stationed near +him seemed to be placed there for the purpose of co-operating with him +against the enemy. + +In the mean time, Mazeppa cautiously made known his plans to the +leading men among the Cossacks as fast as he thought it prudent to do +so. He represented to them how much better it would be for them to be +restored to their former liberty as an independent tribe, instead of +being in subjugation to such a despot as the Czar. He also enumerated +the various grievances which they suffered under Russian rule, and +endeavored to excite the animosity of his hearers as much as possible +against Peter's government. + +He found that the chief officers of the Cossacks seemed quite disposed +to listen to what he said, and to adopt his views. Some of them were +really so, and others pretended to be so for fear of displeasing him. +At length he thought it time to take some measures for preparing the +minds of the men generally for what was to come, and in order to do +this he determined on publicly sending a messenger to the Czar with the +complaints which he had to make in behalf of his men. The men, knowing +of this embassy, and understanding the grounds of the complaint which +Mazeppa was to make by means of it, would be placed, he thought, in +such a position that, in the event of an unfavorable answer being +returned, as he had no doubt would be the case, they could be the more +easily led into the revolt which he proposed. + +Mazeppa accordingly made out a statement of his complaints, and +appointed his nephew a commissioner to proceed to head-quarters and lay +them before the Czar. The name of the nephew was Warnarowski. As soon +as Warnarowski arrived at the camp, Peter, instead of granting him an +audience, and listening to the statement which he had to make, ordered +him to be seized and sent to prison, as if he were guilty of a species +of treason in coming to trouble his sovereign with complaints and +difficulties at such a time, when the country was suffering under an +actual invasion from a foreign enemy. + +As soon as Mazeppa heard that his nephew was arrested, he was convinced +that his plots had been discovered, and that he must not lose a moment +in carrying them into execution, or all would be lost. He accordingly +immediately put his whole force in motion to march toward the place +where the Swedish army was then posted, ostensibly for the purpose of +attacking them. He crossed a certain river which lay between him and +the Swedes, and then, when safely over, he stated to his men what he +intended to do. + +The men were filled with indignation at this proposal, which, being +wholly unexpected, came upon them by surprise. They refused to join in +the revolt. A scene of great excitement and confusion followed. A +portion of the Cossacks, those with whom Mazeppa had come to an +understanding beforehand, were disposed to go with him, but the rest +were filled with vexation and rage. They declared that they would +seize their chieftain, bind him hand and foot, and send him to the +Czar. Indeed, it is highly probable that the two factions would have +come soon to a bloody fight for the possession of the person of their +chieftain, in which case he would very likely have been torn to pieces +in the struggle, if those who were disposed to revolt had not fled +before the opposition to their movement had time to become organized. +Mazeppa and those who adhered to him--about two thousand men in +all--went over in a body to the camp of the Swedes. The rest, led by +the officers that still remained faithful, marched at once to the +nearest body of Russian forces, and put themselves under the command of +the Russian general there. + +A council of war was soon after called in the Russian camp for the +purpose of bringing Mazeppa to trial. He was, of course, found guilty, +and sentence of death--with a great many indignities to accompany the +execution--was passed upon him. The sentence, however, could not be +executed upon Mazeppa himself, for he was out of the reach of his +accusers, being safe in the Swedish camp. So they made a wooden image +or effigy to represent him, and inflicted the penalties upon the +substitute instead. + +In the first place, they dressed the effigy to imitate the appearance +of Mazeppa, and put upon it representations of the medals, ribbons, and +other decorations which he was accustomed to wear. They brought this +figure out before the camp, in presence of the general and of all the +leading officers, the soldiers being also drawn up around the spot. A +herald appeared and read the sentence of condemnation, and then +proceeded to carry it into execution, as follows. First, he tore +Mazeppa's patent of knighthood in pieces, and threw the fragments into +the air. Then he tore off the medals and decorations from the image, +and, throwing them upon the ground, he trampled them under his feet. +Then he struck the effigy itself a blow by which it was overturned and +left prostrate in the dust. + +The hangman then came up, and, tying a halter round the neck of the +effigy, dragged it off to a place where a gibbet had been erected, and +hanged it there. + +Immediately after this ceremony, the Cossacks, according to their +custom, proceeded to elect a new chieftain in the place of Mazeppa. +The chieftain thus chosen came forward before the Czar to take the oath +of allegiance to him, and to offer him his homage. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +THE BATTLE OF PULTOWA. + +1709 + +Invasion of the Swedes--Their progress through the country--Artificial +roads--Pultowa--Fame of the battle--Situation of Pultowa--It is +besieged--Menzikoff--Manoeuvres--Menzikoff most successful--King +Charles wounded--The Czar advances to Pultowa--The king resolves to +attack the camp--A battle determined upon--Military rank of the +Czar--His address to the army--The litter--The battle--Courage and +fortitude of the king--The Swedes defeated--Narrow escape of the +Czar--He discovers the broken litter--Escape of King Charles--Dreadful +defeat--Flight and adventures of the king--He offers now to make +peace--The king's followers--Peter's reply--Carriage for the +king--Flight to the Turkish frontier--Sufferings of the retreating +army--Deputation sent to the Turkish frontier--Reception of the +messenger--Boats collected--Crossing the river--Bender--Fate of the +Swedish army--The prisoners--Anecdote of the Czar--The Czar's +habits--Disposition of the prisoners--Adventures of the King of +Sweden--Military promotion of the Czar + + +In the mean time, while these transactions had been taking place among +the Russians, the King of Sweden had been gradually making his way +toward the westward and southward, into the very heart of the Russian +dominions. The forces of the emperor, which were not strong enough to +offer him battle, had been gradually retiring before him; but they had +devastated and destroyed every thing on their way, in their retreat, so +as to leave nothing for the support of the Swedish army. They broke up +all the bridges too, and obstructed the roads by every means in their +power, so as to impede the progress of the Swedes as much as possible, +since they could not wholly arrest it. + +The Swedes, however, pressed slowly onward. They sent off to great +distances to procure forage for the horses and food for the men. When +they found the bridges down, they made detours and crossed the rivers +at fording-places. When the roads were obstructed, they removed the +impediments if they could, and if not, they opened new roads. +Sometimes, in these cases, their way led them across swampy places +where no solid footing could be found, and then the men would cut down +an immense quantity of bushes and trees growing in the neighborhood, +and make up the branches into bundles called _fascines_. They would +lay these bundles close together on the surface of the swamp, and then +level them off on the top by loose branches, and so make a road firm +enough for the army to march over. + +Things went on in this way until, at last, the farther progress of King +Charles was arrested, and the tide of fortune was turned wholly against +him by a great battle which was fought at a place called Pultowa. This +battle, which, after so protracted a struggle, at length suddenly +terminated the contest between the king and the Czar, of course +attracted universal attention at the time, for Charles and Peter were +the greatest potentates and warriors of their age, and the struggle for +power which had so long been waged between them had been watched with +great interest, through all the stages of it, by the whole civilized +world. The battle of Pultowa was, in a word, one of those great final +conflicts by which, after a long struggle, the fate of an empire is +decided. It, of course, greatly attracted the attention of mankind, +and has since taken its place among the most renowned combats of +history. + +Pultowa is a town situated in the heart of the Russian territories +three or four hundred miles north of the Black Sea. It stands on a +small river which flows to the southward and westward into the Dnieper. +It was at that time an important military station, as it contained +great arsenals where large stores of food and of ammunition were laid +up for the use of Peter's army. The King of Sweden determined to take +this town. His principal object in desiring to get possession of it +was to supply the wants of his army by the provisions that were stored +there. The place was strongly fortified, and it was defended by a +garrison; but the king thought that he should be able to take it, and +he accordingly advanced to the walls, invested the place closely on +every side, and commenced the siege. + +The name of the general in command of the largest body of Russian +forces near the spot was Menzikoff, and as soon as the King of Sweden +had invested the place, Menzikoff began to advance toward it in order +to relieve it. Then followed a long series of manoeuvres and partial +combats between the two armies, the Swedes being occupied with the +double duty of attacking the town, and also of defending themselves +from Menzikoff; while Menzikoff, on the other hand, was intent, first +on harassing the Swedes and impeding as much as possible their siege +operations, and, secondly, on throwing succors into the town. + +In this contest Menzikoff was, on the whole, most successful. He +contrived one night to pass a detachment of his troops through the +gates of Pultowa into the town to strengthen the garrison. This +irritated the King of Sweden, and made him more determined and reckless +than ever to press the siege. Under this excitement he advanced so +near the walls one day, in a desperate effort to take possession of an +advanced part of the works, that he exposed himself to a shot from the +ramparts, and was badly wounded in the heel. + +This wound nearly disabled him. He was obliged by it to confine +himself to his tent, and to content himself with giving orders from his +couch or litter, where he lay helpless and in great pain, and in a +state of extreme mental disquietude. + +His anxiety was greatly increased in a few days in consequence of +intelligence which was brought into his camp by the scouts, that Peter +himself was advancing to the relief of Pultowa at the head of a very +large army. Indeed, the tidings were that this great force was close +at hand. The king found that he was in danger of being surrounded. +Nor could he well hope to escape the danger by a retreat, for the broad +and deep river Dnieper, which he had crossed to come to the siege of +Pultowa, was behind him, and if the Russians were to fall upon him +while attempting to cross it, he knew very well that his whole army +would be cut to pieces. + +He lay restless on his litter in his tent, his thoughts divided between +the anguish of the wound in his heel and the mental anxiety and +distress produced by the situation that he was in. He spent the night +in great perplexity and suffering. At length, toward morning, he came +to the desperate resolution of attacking the Russians in their camp, +inferior as his own numbers were now to theirs. + +He accordingly sent a messenger to the field-marshal, who was chief +officer in command under himself, summoning him to his tent. The +field-marshal was aroused from his sleep, for it was not yet day, and +immediately repaired to the king's tent. The king was lying on his +couch, quiet and calm, and, with an air of great serenity and +composure, he gave the marshal orders to beat to arms and march out to +attack the Czar in his intrenchments as soon as daylight should appear. + +The field-marshal was astonished at this order, for he knew that the +Russians were now far superior in numbers to the Swedes, and he +supposed that the only hope of the king would be to defend himself +where he was in his camp, or else to attempt a retreat. He, however, +knew that there was nothing to be done but to obey his orders. So he +received the instructions which the king gave him, said that he would +carry them into execution, and then retired. The king then at length +fell into a troubled sleep, and slept until the break of day. + +By this time the whole camp was in motion. The Russians, too, who in +their intrenchments had received the alarm, had aroused themselves and +were preparing for battle. The Czar himself was not the commander. He +had prided himself, as the reader will recollect, in entering the army +at the lowest point, and in advancing regularly, step by step, through +all the grades, as any other officer would have done. He had now +attained the rank of major general; and though, as Czar, he gave orders +through his ministers to the commander-in-chief of the armies directing +them in general what to do, still personally, in camp and in the field +of battle, he received orders from his military superior there; and he +took a pride and pleasure in the subordination to his superior's +authority which the rules of the service required of him. + +He, however, as it seems, did not always entirely lay aside his +imperial character while in camp, for in this instance, while the men +were formed in array, and before the battle commenced, he rode to and +fro along their lines, encouraging the men, and promising, as their +sovereign, to bestow rewards upon them in proportion to the valor which +they should severally display in the coming combat. + +The King of Sweden, too, was raised from his couch, placed upon a +litter, and in this manner carried along the lines of his own army just +before the battle was to begin. He told the men that they were about +to attack an enemy more numerous than themselves, but that they must +remember that at Narva eight thousand Swedes had overcome a hundred +thousand Russians in their own intrenchments, and what they had done +once, he said, they could do again. + +The battle was commenced very early in the morning. It was complicated +at the beginning with many marches, countermarches, and manoeuvres, in +which the several divisions of both the Russian and Swedish armies, and +the garrison of Pultowa, all took part. In some places and at some +times the victory was on one side, and at others on the other. King +Charles was carried in his litter into the thickest of the battle, +where, after a time, he became so excited by the contest that he +insisted on being put upon a horse. The attendants accordingly brought +a horse and placed him carefully upon it; but the pain of his wound +brought on faintness, and he was obliged to be put back in his litter +again. Soon after this a cannon ball struck the litter and dashed it +to pieces. The king was thrown out upon the ground. Those who saw him +fall supposed that he was killed, and they were struck with +consternation. They had been almost overpowered by their enemies +before, but they were now wholly disheartened and discouraged, and they +began to give way and fly in all directions. + +The king had, however, not been touched by the ball which struck the +litter. He was at once raised from the ground by the officers around +him, and borne away out of the immediate danger. He remonstrated +earnestly against being taken away, and insisted upon making an effort +to rally his men; but the officers soon persuaded him that for the +present, at least, all was lost, and that the only hope for him was to +make his escape as soon as possible across the river, and thence over +the frontier into Turkey, where he would be safe from pursuit, and +could then consider what it would be best to do. + +The king at length reluctantly yielded to these persuasions, and was +borne away. + +In the mean time, the Czar himself had been exposed to great danger in +the battle, and, like the King of Sweden, had met with some very narrow +escapes. His hat was shot through with a bullet which half an inch +lower would have gone through the emperor's head. General Menzikoff +had three horses shot under him. But, notwithstanding these dangers, +the Czar pressed on into the thickest of the fight, and was present at +the head of his men when the Swedes were finally overwhelmed and driven +from the field. Indeed, he was among the foremost who pursued them; +and when he came to the place where the royal litter was lying, broken +to pieces, on the ground, he expressed great concern for the fate of +his enemy, and seemed to regret the calamity which had befallen him as +if Charles had been his friend. He had always greatly admired the +courage and the military skill which the King of Sweden had manifested +in his campaigns, and was disposed to respect his misfortunes now that +he had fallen. He supposed that he was unquestionably killed, and he +gave orders to his men to search every where over the field for the +body, and to guard it, when found, from any farther violence or injury, +and take charge of it, that it might receive an honorable burial. + +The body was, of course, not found, for the king was alive, and, with +the exception of the wound in his heel, uninjured. He was borne off +from the field by a few faithful adherents, who took him in their arms +when the litter was broken up. As soon as they had conveyed him in +this manner out of immediate danger, they hastily constructed another +litter in order to bear him farther away. He was himself extremely +unwilling to go. He was very earnest to make an effort to rally his +men, and, if possible, save his army from total ruin. But he soon +found that it was in vain to attempt this. His whole force had been +thrown into utter confusion; and the broken battalions, flying in every +direction, were pursued so hotly by the Russians, who, in their +exultant fury, slaughtered all whom they could overtake, and drove the +rest headlong on in a state of panic and dismay which was wholly +uncontrollable. + +Of course some escaped, but great numbers were taken prisoners. Many +of the officers, separated from their men, wandered about in search of +the king, being without any rallying point until they could find him. +After suffering many cruel hardships and much exposure in the +lurking-places where they attempted to conceal themselves, great +numbers of them were hunted out by their enemies and made prisoners. + +In the mean time, those who had the king under their charge urged his +majesty to allow them to convey him with all speed out of the country. +The nearest way of escape was to go westward to the Turkish frontier, +which, as has already been said, was not far distant, though there were +three rivers to cross on the way--the Dnieper, the Bog, and the +Dniester. The king was very unwilling to listen to this advice. Peter +had several times sent a flag of truce to him since he had entered into +the Russian dominions, expressing a desire to make peace, and proposing +very reasonable terms for Charles to accede to. To all these proposals +Charles had returned the same answer as at first, which was, that he +should not be ready to treat with the Czar until he arrived at Moscow. +Charles now said that, before abandoning the country altogether, he +would send a herald to the Russian camp to say that he was now willing +to make peace on the terms which Peter had before proposed to him, if +Peter was still willing to adhere to them. + +Charles was led to hope that this proposal might perhaps be successful, +from the fact that there was a portion of his army who had not been +engaged at Pultowa that was still safe; and he had no doubt that a very +considerable number of men would succeed in escaping from Pultowa and +joining them. Indeed, the number was not small of those whom the king +had now immediately around him, for all that escaped from the battle +made every possible exertion to discover and rejoin the king, and so +many straggling parties came that he soon had under his command a force +of one or two thousand men. This was, of course, but a small remnant +of his army. Still, he felt that he was not wholly destitute of means +and resources for carrying on the struggle in case Peter should refuse +to make peace. + +So he sent a trumpeter to Peter's camp with the message; but Peter sent +word back that his majesty's assent to the terms of peace which he had +proposed to him came too late. The state of things had now, he said, +entirely changed; and as Charles had ventured to penetrate into the +Russian country without properly considering the consequences of his +rashness, he must now think for himself how he was to get out of it. +For his part, he added, he had got the birds in the net, and he should +do all in his power to secure them. + +After due consultation among the officers who were with the king, it +was finally determined that it was useless to think for the present of +any farther resistance, and the king, at last, reluctantly consented to +be conveyed to the Turkish frontier. He was too ill from the effects +of his wound to ride on horseback, and the distance was too great for +him to be conveyed in a litter. So they prepared a carriage for him. +It was a carriage which belonged to one of his generals, and which, by +some means or other, had been saved in the flight of the army. The +route which they were to take led across the country where there were +scarcely any roads, and a team of twelve horses was harnessed to draw +the carriage which conveyed the king. + +No time was to be lost. The confused mass of officers and men who had +escaped from the battle, and had succeeded in rejoining the king, were +marshaled into something like a military organization, and the march, +or rather the flight, commenced. The king's carriage, attended by such +a guard as could be provided for it, went before, and was followed by +the remnant of the army. Some of the men were on horseback, others +were on foot, and others still, sick or wounded, were conveyed on +little wagons of the country, which were drawn along in a very +difficult and laborious manner. + +[Illustration: Flight of the King of Sweden.] + +This mournful train moved slowly on across the country, seeking, of +course, the most retired and solitary ways to avoid pursuit, and yet +harassed by the continual fear that the enemy might at any time come up +with them. The men all suffered exceedingly from want of food, and +from the various other hardships incident to their condition. Many +became so worn out by fatigue and privation that they could not +proceed, and were left by the road sides to fall into the hands of the +enemy, or to perish of want and exhaustion; while those who still had +strength enough remaining pressed despairingly onward, but little less +to be pitied than those who were left behind. + +When at length the expedition drew near to the Turkish borders, the +king sent forward a messenger to the pasha in command on the frontier, +asking permission for himself and his men to pass through the Turkish +territory on his way to his own dominions. He had every reason to +suppose that the pasha would grant this request, for the Turks and +Russians had long been enemies, and he knew very well that the +sympathies of the Turks had been entirely on his side in this war. + +Nor was he disappointed in his expectations. The pasha received the +messenger very kindly, offered him food, and supplied all his wants. +He said, moreover, that he would not only give the king leave to enter +and pass through the Turkish territories, but he would give him +efficient assistance in crossing the river which formed the frontier. +This was, indeed, necessary, for a large detachment of the Russian army +which had been sent in pursuit of the Swedes was now coming close upon +them, and there was danger of their being overtaken and cut to pieces +or taken prisoners before they should have time to cross the stream. +The principal object which the Czar had in view in sending a detachment +in pursuit of the fugitives was the hope of capturing the king himself. +He spoke of this his design to the Swedish officers who were already +his prisoners, saying to them jocosely, for he was in excellent humor +with every body after the battle, "I have a great desire to see my +brother the king, and to enjoy his society; so I have sent to bring +him. You will see him here in a few days." + +The force dispatched for this purpose had been gradually gaining upon +the fugitives, and was now very near, and the pasha, on learning the +facts, perceived that the exigency was very urgent. He accordingly +sent off at once up and down the river to order all the boats that +could be found to repair immediately to the spot where the King of +Sweden wished to cross. A considerable number of boats were soon +collected, and the passage was immediately commenced. The king and his +guards were brought over safely, and also a large number of the +officers and men. But the boats were, after all, so few that the +operation proceeded slowly, and the Russians, who had been pressing on +with all speed, arrived at the banks of the river in time to interrupt +it before all the troops had passed, and thus about five hundred men +fell into their hands. They were all made prisoners, and the king had +the mortification of witnessing the spectacle of their capture from the +opposite bank, which he had himself reached in safety. + +The king was immediately afterward conveyed to Bender, a considerable +town not far from the frontier, where, for the present, he was safe, +and where he remained quiet for some weeks, in order that his wound +might have opportunity to heal. Peter was obliged to content himself +with postponing for a time the pleasure which he expected to derive +from the enjoyment of his brother's society. + +The portion of the Swedish army which remained in Russia was soon after +this surrounded by so large a Russian force that the general in command +was forced to capitulate, and all the troops were surrendered as +prisoners of war. Thus, in all, a great number of prisoners, both of +officers and men, fell into Peter's hands. The men were sent to +various parts of the empire, and distributed among the people, in order +that they might settle permanently in the country, and devote +themselves to the trades or occupations to which they had been trained +in their native land. The officers were treated with great kindness +and consideration. Peter often invited them to his table, and +conversed with them in a very free and friendly manner in respect to +the usages and customs which prevailed in their own country, especially +those which related to the military art. Still, they were deprived of +their swords and kept close prisoners. + +One day, when some of these officers were dining with Peter in his +tent, and he had been for some time conversing with them about the +organization and discipline of the Swedish army, and had expressed +great admiration for the military talent and skill which they had +displayed in the campaigns which they had fought, he at last poured out +some wine and drank to the health of "his masters in the art of war." +One of the officers who was present asked who they were that his +majesty was pleased to honor with so great a title. + +"It is yourselves, gentlemen," replied the Czar; "the Swedish generals. +It is you who have been my best instructors in the art of war." + +"Then," replied the officer, "is not your majesty a little ungrateful +to treat the masters to whom you owe so much so severely?" + +Peter was so much pleased with the readiness and wit of this reply, +that he ordered the swords of the officers all to be restored to them. +It is said that he even unbuckled his own sword from his side and +presented it to one of the generals. + +It ought, perhaps, to be added, however, that the habit of drinking to +excess, which Peter seems to have formed early in life, had before this +time become quite confirmed, and he often became completely intoxicated +at his convivial entertainments, so that it is not improbable that the +sudden generosity of the Czar on this occasion may have been due, in a +considerable degree, to the excitement produced by the brandy which he +had been drinking. + +Although the swords of the officers were thus restored to them, they +were themselves still held as prisoners until arrangements could be +made for exchanging them. In order, however, that they might all be +properly provided for, he distributed them around among his own +generals, giving to each Russian officer the charge of a Swedish +officer of his own rank, granting, of course, to each one a proper +allowance for the maintenance and support of his charge. The Russian +generals were severally responsible for the safe-keeping of their +prisoners; but the surveillance in such cases is never strict, for it +is customary for the prisoners to give their _parole_ of honor that +they will not attempt to escape, and then they are allowed, within +reasonable limits, their full personal liberty, so that they live more +like the guests and companions of their keepers than as their captives. + +The King of Sweden met with many remarkable adventures and encountered +very serious difficulties before he reached his own kingdom, but it +would be foreign to the subject of this history to relate them here. +As to Mazeppa, he made his escape too, with the King of Sweden, across +the frontier. The Czar offered a very large reward to whoever should +bring him back, either dead or alive; but he never was taken. He died +afterward at Constantinople at a great age. + +One of the most curious and characteristic results which followed from +the battle of Pultowa was the promotion of Peter in respect to his rank +in the army. It was gravely decided by the proper authorities, after +due deliberation, that in consequence of the vigor and bravery which he +had displayed on the field, and of the danger which he had incurred in +having had a shot through his hat, he deserved to be advanced a grade +in the line of promotion. So he was made a major general. + + +Thus ended the great Swedish invasion of Russia, which was the occasion +of the greatest and, indeed, of almost the only serious danger, from +any foreign source, which threatened the dominions of Peter during the +whole course of his reign. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +THE EMPRESS CATHARINE. + +1709-1715 + +Duration of the war with Sweden--Catharine--Her origin--Destitution--Her +kind teacher--Dr. Gluck--She goes to Marienburg--Her character--Mode of +life at Marienburg--Her lover--His person and character--Catharine is +married--The town captured--Catharine made prisoner--Her anxiety and +sorrow--The Russian general--Catharine saved--Catharine in the general's +service--Seen by Menzikoff--Transferred to his service--Transferred to +the Czar--Privately married--Affairs on the Pruth--The emperor's +danger--Catharine in camp--A bribe--Catharine saves her husband--The +vizier's excuses--A public marriage determined on--Arrangements--The +little bridesmaids--Wedding ceremonies--Festivities and rejoicings--Birth +of Catharine's son--Importance of the event--The baptism--Dwarfs in the +pies--Influence of Catharine over her husband--Use which she made of her +power--Peter's jealousy--Dreadful punishment--Catharine's usefulness to +the Czar--Her imperfect education--Her final exaltation to the throne + + +It was about the year 1690 that Peter the Great commenced his reign, and +he died in 1725, as will appear more fully in the sequel of this volume. +Thus the duration of the reign was thirty-five years. The wars between +Russia and Sweden occupied principally the early part of the reign +through a period of many years. The battle of Pultowa, by which the +Swedish invasion of the Russian territories was repelled, was fought in +1709, nearly twenty years after the Czar ascended the throne. + +During the period while the Czar was thus occupied in his mortal struggle +with the King of Sweden, there appeared upon the stage, in connection +with him, a lady, who afterward became one of the most celebrated +personages of history. This lady was the Empress Catharine. The +character of this lady, the wonderful and romantic incidents of her life, +and the great fame of her exploits, have made her one of the most +celebrated personages of history. We can, however, here only give a +brief account of that portion of her life which was connected with the +history of Peter. + +Catharine was born in a little village near the town of Marienburg, in +Livonia.[1] Her parents were in very humble circumstances, and they both +died when she was a little child, leaving her in a very destitute and +friendless condition. The parish clerk, who was the teacher of a little +school in which perhaps she had been a pupil--for she was then four or +five years old--felt compassion for her, and took her home with him to +his own house. He was the more disposed to do this as Catharine was a +bright child, full of life and activity, and, at the same time, amiable +and docile in disposition, so that she was easily governed. + +After Catharine had been some time at the house of the clerk, a certain +Dr. Gluck, who was the minister of Marienburg, happening to be on a visit +to the clerk, saw her and heard her story. The minister was very much +pleased with the appearance and manners of the child, and he proposed +that the clerk should give her up to him. This the clerk was willing to +do, as his income was very small, and the addition even of such a child +to his family of course somewhat increased his expenses. Besides, he +knew that it would be much more advantageous for Catharine, for the time +being, and also much more conducive to her future success in life, to be +brought up in the minister's family at Marienburg than in his own humble +home in the little village. So Catharine went to live with the +minister.[2] + +Here she soon made herself a great favorite. She was very intelligent +and active, and very ambitious to learn whatever the minister's wife was +willing to teach her. She also took great interest in making herself +useful in every possible way, and displayed in her household avocations, +and in all her other duties, a sort of womanly energy which was quite +remarkable in one of her years. She learned to knit, to spin, and to +sew, and she assisted the minister's wife very much in these and similar +occupations. She had learned to read in her native tongue at the clerk's +school, but now she conceived the idea of learning the German language. +She devoted herself to this task with great assiduity and success, and as +soon as she had made such progress as to be able to read in that +language, she spent all her leisure time in perusing the German books +which she found in the minister's library. + +Years passed away, and Catharine grew up to be a young woman, and then a +certain young man, a subaltern officer in the Swedish army--for this was +at the time when Livonia was ill possession of the Swedes--fell in love +with her. The story was, that Catharine one day, in some way or other, +fell into the hands of two Swedish soldiers, by whom she would probably +have been greatly maltreated; but the officer, coming by at that time, +rescued her and sent her safe to Dr. Gluck. The officer had lost one of +his arms in some battle, and was covered with the scars of other wounds; +but he was a very generous and brave man, and was highly regarded by all +who knew him. When he offered Catharine his hand, she was strongly +induced by her gratitude to him to accept it, but she said she must ask +the minister's approval of his proposal, for he had been a father to her, +she said, and she would take no important step without his consent. + +The minister, after suitable inquiry respecting the officer's character +and prospects, readily gave his consent, and so it was settled that +Catharine should be married. + +Now it happened that these occurrences took place not very long after the +war broke out between Sweden and Russia, and almost immediately after +Catharine's marriage--some writers say on the very same day of the +wedding, and others on the day following--a Russian army came suddenly up +to Marienburg, took possession of the town, and made a great many of the +inhabitants prisoners. Catharine herself was among the prisoners thus +taken. The story was, that in the confusion and alarm she hid herself +with others in an oven, and was found by the Russian soldiers there, and +carried off as a valuable prize. + +What became of the bridegroom is not certainly known. He was doubtless +called suddenly to his post when the alarm was given of the enemy's +approach, and a great many different stories were told in respect to what +afterward befell him. One thing is certain, and that is, that his young +bride never saw him again.[3] + +Catharine, when she found herself separated from her husband and shut up +a helpless prisoner with a crowd of other wretched and despairing +captives, was overwhelmed with grief at the sad reverse of fortune that +had befallen her. She had good reason not only to mourn for the +happiness which she had lost, but also to experience very anxious and +gloomy forebodings in respect to what was before her, for the main object +of the Russians in making prisoners of the young and beautiful women +which they found in the towns that they conquered, was to send them to +Turkey, and to sell them there as slaves. + +Catharine was, however, destined to escape this dreadful fate. One of +the Russian generals, in looking over the prisoners, was struck with her +appearance, and with the singular expression of grief and despair which +her countenance displayed. He called her to him and asked her some +questions; and he was more impressed by the intelligence and good sense +which her answers evinced than he had been by the beauty of her +countenance. He bid her quiet her fears, promising that he would himself +take care of her. He immediately ordered some trusty men to take her to +his tent, where there were some women who would take charge of and +protect her. + +These women were employed in various domestic occupations in the service +of the general. Catharine began at once to interest herself in these +employments, and to do all in her power to assist in them; and at length, +as one of the writers who gives an account of these transactions goes on +to say, "the general, finding Catharine very proper to manage his +household affairs, gave her a sort of authority and inspection over these +women and over the rest of the domestics, by whom she soon came to be +very much beloved by her manner of using them when she instructed them in +their duty. The general said himself that he never had been so well +served as since Catharine had been with him. + +"It happened one day that Prince Menzikoff, who was the general's +commanding officer and patron, saw Catharine, and, observing something +very extraordinary in her air and behavior, asked the general who she was +and in what condition she served him. The general related to him her +story, taking care, at the same time, to do justice to the merit of +Catharine. The prince said that he was himself very ill served, and had +occasion for just such a person about him. The general replied that he +was under too great obligations to his highness the prince to refuse him +any thing that he asked. He immediately called Catharine into his +presence, and told her that that was Prince Menzikoff, and that he had +occasion for a servant like herself, and that he was able to be a much +better friend to her than he himself could be, and that he had too much +kindness for her to prevent her receiving such a piece of honor and good +fortune. + +"Catharine answered only with a profound courtesy, which showed, if not +her consent to the change proposed, at least her conviction that it was +not then in her power to refuse the offer that was made to her. In +short, Prince Menzikoff took her with him, or she went to him the same +day." + +Catharine remained in the service of the prince for a year or two, and +was then transferred from the household of the prince to that of the Czar +almost precisely in the same way in which she had been resigned to the +prince by the general. The Czar saw her one day while he was at dinner +with the prince, and he was so much pleased with her appearance, and with +the account which the prince gave him of her character and history, that +he wished to have her himself; and, however reluctant the prince may have +been to lose her, he knew very well that there was no alternative for him +but to give his consent. So Catharine was transferred to the household +of the Czar. + +She soon acquired a great ascendency over the Czar, and in process of +time she was privately married to him. This private marriage took place +in 1707. For several years afterward the marriage was not publicly +acknowledged; but still Catharine's position was well understood, and her +power at court, as well as her personal influence over her husband, +increased continually. + +Catharine sometimes accompanied the emperor in his military campaigns, +and at one time was the means, it is thought, of saving him from very +imminent danger. It was in the year 1711. The Czar was at that time at +war with the Turks, and he had advanced into the Turkish territory with a +small, but very compact and well-organized army. The Turks sent out a +large force to meet him, and at length, after various marchings and +manoeuvrings, the Czar found himself surrounded by a Turkish force three +times as large as his own. The Russians fortified their camp, and the +Turks attacked them. The latter attempted for two or three successive +days to force the Russian lines, but without success, and at length the +grand vizier, who was in command of the Turkish troops, finding that he +could not force his enemy to quit their intrenchments, determined to +starve them out; so he invested the place closely on all sides. The Czar +now gave himself up for lost, for he had only a very small stock of +provisions, and there seemed no possible way of escape from the snare in +which he found himself involved. Catharine was with her husband in the +camp at this time, having had the courage to accompany him in the +expedition, notwithstanding its extremely dangerous character, and the +story is that she was the means of extricating him from his hazardous +position by dextrously bribing the vizier. + +The way in which she managed the affair was this. She arranged it with +the emperor that he was to propose terms of peace to the vizier, by +which, on certain conditions, he was to be allowed to retire with his +army. Catharine then secretly made up a very valuable present for the +vizier, consisting of jewels, costly decorations, and other such +valuables belonging to herself, which, as was customary in those times, +she had brought with her on the expedition, and also a large sum of +money. This present she contrived to send to the vizier at the same time +with the proposals of peace made by the emperor. The vizier was +extremely pleased with the present, and he at once agreed to the +conditions of peace, and thus the Czar and all his army escaped the +destruction which threatened them. + +The vizier was afterward called to account for having thus let off his +enemies so easily when he had them so completely in his power; but he +defended himself as well as he could by saying that the terms on which he +had made the treaty were as good as could be obtained in any way, adding, +hypocritically, that "God commands us to pardon our enemies when they ask +us to do so, and humble themselves before us." + +In the mean time, years passed away, and the emperor and Catharine lived +very happily together, though the connection which subsisted between +them, while it was universally known, was not openly or publicly +recognized. In process of time they had two or three children, and this, +together with the unassuming but yet faithful and efficient manner in +which Catharine devoted herself to her duties as wife and mother, +strengthened the bond which bound her to the Czar, and at length, in the +year 1712, Peter determined to place her before the world in the position +to which he had already privately and unofficially raised her, by a new +and public marriage. + +It was not pretended, however, that the Czar was to be married to +Catharine now for the first time, but the celebration was to be in honor +of the nuptials long before performed. Accordingly, in the invitations +that were sent out, the expression used to denote the occasion on which +the company was to be convened was "to celebrate his majesty's old +wedding." The place where the ceremony was to be performed was St. +Petersburg, for this was now many years after St. Petersburg had been +built. + +[Illustration: The Empress Catharine.] + +Very curious arrangements were made for the performance of this +extraordinary ceremony. The Czar appeared in the dress and character of +an admiral of the fleet, and the other officers of the fleet, instead of +the ministers of state and great nobility, were made most prominent on +the occasion, and were appointed to the most honorable posts. This +arrangement was made partly, no doubt, for the purpose of doing honor to +the navy, which the Czar was now forming, and increasing the +consideration of those who were connected with it in the eyes of the +country. As Catharine had no parents living, it was necessary to appoint +persons to act in their stead "to give away the bride." It was to the +vice admiral and the rear admiral of the fleet that the honor of acting +in this capacity was assigned. They represented the bride's father, +while Peter's mother, the empress dowager, and the lady of the vice +admiral of the fleet represented her mother. + +Two of Catharine's own daughters were appointed bridesmaids. Their +appointment was, however, not much more than an honorary one, for the +children were very young, one of them being five and the other only three +years old. They appeared for a little time pending the ceremony, and +then, becoming tired, they were taken away, and their places supplied by +two young ladies of the court, nieces of the Czar. + +The wedding ceremony itself was performed at seven o'clock in the +morning, in a little chapel belonging to Prince Menzikoff, and before a +small company, no person being present at that time except those who had +some official part to perform. The great wedding party had been invited +to meet at the Czar's palace later in the day. After the ceremony had +been performed in the chapel, the emperor and empress went from the +chapel into Menzikoff's palace, and remained there until the time arrived +to repair to the palace of the Czar. Then a grand procession was formed, +and the married pair were conducted through the streets to their own +palace with great parade. As it was winter, the bridal party were +conveyed in sleighs instead of carriages. These sleighs, or sledges as +they were called, were very elegantly decorated, and were drawn by six +horses each. The procession was accompanied by a band of music, +consisting of trumpets, kettle-drums, and other martial instruments. The +entertainment at the palace was very splendid, and the festivities were +concluded in the evening by a ball. The whole city, too, was lighted up +that night with bonfires and illuminations. + +Three years after this public solemnization of the marriage the empress +gave birth to a son. Peter was perfectly overjoyed at this event. It is +true that he had one son already, who was born of his first wife, who was +called the Czarewitz, and whose character and melancholy history will be +the subject of the next chapter. But this was the first son among the +children of Catharine. She had had only daughters before. It was in the +very crisis of the difficulties which the Czar had with his eldest son, +and when he was on the point of finally abandoning all hope of ever +reclaiming him from his vices and making him a fit inheritor of the +crown, that this child of Catharine's was born. These circumstances, +which will be explained more fully in the next chapter, gave great +political importance to the birth of Catharine's son, and Peter caused +the event to be celebrated with great public rejoicings. The rejoicings +were continued for eight days, and at the baptism of the babe, two kings, +those of Denmark and of Prussia, acted as godfathers. The name given to +the child was Peter Petrowitz. + +The baptism was celebrated with the greatest pomp, and it was attended +with banquetings and rejoicings of the most extraordinary character. +Among other curious contrivances were two enormous pies, one served in +the room of the gentlemen and the other in that of the ladies; for, +according to the ancient Russian custom on such occasions, the sexes were +separated at the entertainments, tables being spread for the ladies and +for the gentlemen in different halls. From the ladies' pie there stepped +out, when it was opened, a young dwarf, very small, and clothed in a very +slight and very fantastic manner. The dwarf brought out with him from +the pie some wine-glasses and a bottle of wine. Taking these in his +hand, he walked around the table drinking to the health of the ladies, +who received him wherever he came with screams of mingled surprise and +laughter. It was the same in the gentlemen's apartment, except that the +dwarf which appeared before the company there was a female. + +The birth of this son formed a new and very strong bond of attachment +between Peter and Catharine, and it increased very much the influence +which she had previously exerted over him. The influence which she thus +exercised was very great, and it was also, in the main, very salutary. +She alone could approach the Czar in the fits of irritation and anger +into which he often fell when any thing displeased him, and sometimes, +when his rage and fury were such, that no one else would have dared to +come near, Catharine knew how to quiet and calm him, and gradually bring +him back again to reason. She had great power over him, too, in respect +to the nervous affection--the convulsive twitchings of the head and +face--to which he was subject. Indeed, it was said that the soothing and +mysterious influence of her gentle nursing in allaying these dreadful +spasms, and relieving the royal patient from the distress which they +occasioned, gave rise to the first feeling of attachment which he formed +for her, and which led him, in the end, to make her his wife. + +Catharine often exerted the power which she acquired over her husband for +noble ends. A great many persons, who from time to time excited the +displeasure of the Czar, were rescued from undeserved death, and +sometimes from sufferings still more terrible than death, by her +interposition. In many ways she softened the asperities of Peter's +character, and lightened the heavy burden of his imperial despotism. +Every one was astonished at the ascendency which she acquired over the +violent and cruel temper of her husband, and equally pleased with the +good use which she made of her power. + +There was not, however, always perfect peace between Catharine and her +lord. Catharine was compelled sometimes to endure great trials. On one +occasion the Czar took it into his head, with or without cause, to feel +jealous. The object of his jealousy was a certain officer of his court +whose name was De la Croix. Peter had no certain evidence, it would +seem, to justify his suspicions, for he said nothing openly on the +subject, but he at once caused the officer to be beheaded on some other +pretext, and ordered his head to be set up on a pole in a great public +square in Moscow. He then took Catharine out into the square, and +conveyed her to and fro in all directions across it, in order that she +might see the head in every point of view. Catharine understood +perfectly well what it all meant, but, though thunderstruck and +overwhelmed with grief and horror at the terrible spectacle, she +succeeded in maintaining a perfect self-control through the whole scene, +until, at length, she was released, and allowed to return to her +apartment, when she burst into tears, and for a long time could not be +comforted or calmed. + +With the exception of an occasional outbreak like this, the Czar evinced +a very strong attachment to his consort, and she continued to live with +him a faithful and devoted wife for nearly twenty years; from the period +of her private marriage, in fact, to the death of her husband. During +all this time she was continually associated with him not only in his +personal and private, but also in his public avocations and cares. She +accompanied him on his journeys, she aided him with her counsels in all +affairs of state. He relied a great deal on her judgment in all +questions of policy, whether internal or external; and he took counsel +with her in all matters connected with his negotiations with foreign +states, with the sending and receiving of embassies, the making of +treaties with them, and even, when occasion occurred, in determining the +question of peace or war. + +And yet, notwithstanding the lofty qualities of statesmanship that +Catharine thus displayed in the counsel and aid which she rendered her +husband, the education which she had received while at the minister's in +Marienburg was so imperfect that she never learned to write, and +whenever, either during her husband's life or after his death, she had +occasion to put her signature to letters or documents of any kind, she +did not attempt to write the name herself, but always employed one of her +daughters to do it for her. + +At length, toward the close of his reign, Peter, having at that time no +son to whom he could intrust the government of his empire after he was +gone, caused Catharine to be solemnly crowned as empress, with a view of +making her his successor on the throne. But before describing this +coronation it is necessary first to give an account of the circumstances +which led to it, by relating the melancholy history of Alexis, Peter's +oldest son. + + + +[1] The situation of the place is shown in the map on page 197. + +[2] The accounts which different historians give of the circumstances of +Catharine's early history vary very materially. One authority states +that the occasion of Gluck's taking Catharine away was the death of the +curate and of all his family by the plague. Gluck came, it is said, to +the house to see the family, and found them all dead. The bodies were +lying on the floor, and little Catharine was running about among them, +calling upon one after another to give her some bread. After Gluck came +in, and while he was looking at the bodies in consternation, she came up +behind him and pulled his robe, and asked him if he would not give her +some bread. So he took her with him to his own home. + +[3] There was a story that he was taken among the prisoners at the battle +of Pultowa, and that, on making himself known, he was immediately put in +irons and sent off in exile to Siberia. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +THE PRINCE ALEXIS. + +1690-1716 + +Birth of Alexis--His father's hopes--Advantages enjoyed by +Alexis--Marriage proposed--Account of the wedding--Alexis returns to +Russia--Cruel treatment of his wife--Her hardships and sufferings--The +Czar's displeasure--Birth of a son--Cruel neglect--The Czar sent +for--Death-bed scene--Grief of the attendants--The princess's +despair--High rank no guarantee for happiness--Peter's +ultimatum--Letter to Alexis--Positive declarations contained in it--The +real ground of complaint--Alexis's excuses--His reply to his father--He +surrenders his claim to the crown--Another letter from the Czar--New +threats--More positive declarations--Alexis's answer--Real state of his +health--His depraved character--The companions and counselors of +Alexis--Priests--Designs of Alexis's companions--General policy of an +opposition--The old Muscovite party--Views of Alexis--Peter at a +loss--One more final determination--Farewell conversation--Alexis's +duplicity--Letter from Copenhagen--Alternative offered--Peter's +unreasonable severity--Alexis made desperate--Alexis's resolution + + +The reader will perhaps recollect that Peter had a son by his first +wife, an account of whose birth was given in the first part of this +volume. The name of this son was Alexis, and he was destined to become +the hero of a most dreadful tragedy. The narrative of it forms a very +dark and melancholy chapter in the history of his father's reign. + +Alexis was born in the year 1690. In the early part of his life his +father took great interest in him, and made him the centre of a great +many ambitious hopes and projects. Of course, he expected that Alexis +would be his successor on the imperial throne, and he took great +interest in qualifying him for the duties that would devolve upon him +in that exalted station. While he was a child his father was proud of +him as his son and heir, and as he grew up he hoped that he would +inherit his own ambition and energy, and he took great pains to inspire +him with the lofty sentiments appropriate to his position, and to train +him to a knowledge of the art of war. + +But Alexis had no taste for these things, and his father could not, in +any possible way, induce him to take any interest in them whatever. He +was idle and spiritless, and nothing could arouse him to make any +exertion. He spent his time in indolence and in vicious indulgences. +These habits had the effect of undermining his health, and increasing +more and more his distaste for the duties which his father wished him +to perform. + +The Czar tried every possible means to produce a change in the +character of his son, and to awaken in him something like an honorable +ambition. To this end he took Alexis with him in his journeys to +foreign countries, and introduced him to the reigning princes of +eastern Europe, showed him their capitals, explained to him the various +military systems which were adopted by the different powers, and made +him acquainted with the principal personages in their courts. But all +was of no avail. Alexis could not be aroused to take an interest in +any thing but idle indulgences and vice. + +At length, when Alexis was about twenty years of age, that is, in the +year 1710, his father conceived the idea of trying the effect of +marriage upon him. So he directed his son to make choice of a wife. +It is not improbable that he himself really selected the lady. At any +rate, he controlled the selection, for Alexis was quite indifferent in +respect to the affair, and only acceded to the plan in obedience to his +father's commands. + +The lady chosen for the bride was a Polish princess, named Charlotta +Christina Sophia, Princess of Wolfenbuttel, and a marriage contract, +binding the parties to each other, was executed with all due formality. + +Two years after this marriage contract was formed the marriage was +celebrated. Alexis was then about twenty-two years of age, and the +princess eighteen. The wedding, however, was by no means a joyful one. +Alexis had not improved in character since he had been betrothed, and +his father continued to be very much displeased with him. Peter was at +one time so angry as to threaten that, if his son did not reform his +evil habits, and begin to show some interest in the performance of his +duties, he would have his head shaved and send him to a convent, and so +make a monk of him. + +How far the princess herself was acquainted with the facts in respect +to the character of her husband it is impossible to say, but every body +else knew them very well. The emperor was in very bad humor. The +princess's father wished to arrange for a magnificent wedding, but the +Czar would not permit it. The ceremony was accordingly performed in a +very quiet and unostentatious way, in one of the provincial towns of +Poland, and after it was over Alexis went home with his bride to her +paternal domains. + +The marriage of Alexis to the Polish princess took place the year +before his father's public marriage with his second wife, the Empress +Catharine. + +As Peter had anticipated, the promises of reform which Alexis had made +on the occasion of his marriage failed totally of accomplishment. +After remaining a short time in Poland with his wife, conducting +himself there tolerably well, he set out on his return to Russia, +taking his wife with him. But no sooner had he got back among his old +associates than he returned to his evil ways, and soon began to treat +his wife with the greatest neglect and even cruelty. He provided a +separate suite of apartments for her in one end of the palace, while he +himself occupied the other end, where he could be at liberty to do what +he pleased without restraint. Sometimes a week would elapse without +his seeing his wife at all. He purchased a small slave, named +Afrosinia, and brought her into his part of the palace, and lived with +her there in the most shameless manner, while his neglected wife, far +from all her friends, alone, and almost broken-hearted, spent her time +in bitterly lamenting her hard fate, and gradually wearing away her +life in sorrow and tears. + +She was not even properly provided with the necessary comforts of life. +Her rooms were neglected, and suffered to go out of repair. The roof +let in the rain, and the cold wind in the winter penetrated through the +ill-fitted windows and doors. Alexis paid no heed to these things; +but, leaving his wife to suffer, spent his time in drinking and +carousing with Afrosinia and his other companions in vice. + +During all this time the attention of the Czar was so much engaged with +the affairs of the empire that he could not interfere efficiently. +Sometimes he would upbraid Alexis for his undutiful and wicked +behavior, and threaten him severely; but the only effect of his +remonstrances would be to cause Alexis to go into the apartment of his +wife as soon as his father had left him, and assail her in the most +abusive manner, overwhelming her with rude and violent reproaches for +having, as he said, made complaints to his father, or "told tales," as +he called it, and so having occasioned his father to find fault with +him. This the princess would deny. She would solemnly declare that +she had not made any complaints whatever. Alexis, however, would not +believe her, but would repeat his denunciations, and then go away in a +rage. + +This state of things continued for three or four years. During that +time the princess had one child, a daughter; and at length the time +arrived when she was to give birth to a son; but even the approach of +such a time of trial did not awaken any feeling of kind regard or +compassion on the part of her husband. His neglect still continued. +No suitable arrangements were made for the princess, and she received +no proper attention during her confinement. The consequence was, that, +in a few days after the birth of the child, fever set in, and the +princess sank so rapidly under it that her life was soon despaired of. + +When she found that she was about to die, she asked that the Czar might +be sent for to come and see her. Peter was sick at this time, and +almost confined to his bed; but still--let it be remembered to his +honor--he would not refuse this request. A bed, or litter, was placed +for him on a sort of truck, and in this manner he was conveyed to the +palace where the princess was lying. She thanked him very earnestly +for coming to see her, and then begged to commit her children, and the +servants who had come with her from her native land, and who had +remained faithful to her through all her trials, to his protection and +care. She kissed her children, and took leave of them in the most +affecting manner, and then placed them in the arms of the Czar. The +Czar received them very kindly. He then bade the mother farewell, and +went away, taking the children with him. + +All this time, the room in which the princess was lying, the +antechamber, and all the approaches to the apartment, were filled with +the servants and friends of the princess, who mourned her unhappy fate +so deeply that they were unable to control their grief. They kneeled +or lay prostrate on the ground, and offered unceasing petitions to +heaven to save the life of their mistress, mingling their prayers with +tears, and sobs, and bitter lamentations. + +The physicians endeavored to persuade the princess to take some +medicines which they had brought, but she threw the phials away behind +the bed, begging the physicians not to torment her any more, but to let +her die in peace, as she had no wish to live. + +She lingered after this a few days, spending most of her time in +prayer, and then died. + +At the time of her death the princess was not much over twenty years of +age. Her sad and sorrowful fate shows us once more what unfortunately +we too often see exemplified, that something besides high worldly +position in a husband is necessary to enable the bride to look forward +with any degree of confidence to her prospects of happiness when +receiving the congratulations of her friends on her wedding-day. + +The death of his wife produced no good effect upon the mind of Alexis. +At the funeral, the Czar his father addressed him in a very stern and +severe manner in respect to his evil ways, and declared to him +positively that, if he did not at once reform and thenceforth lead a +life more in conformity with his position and his obligations, he would +cut him off from the inheritance to the crown, even if it should be +necessary, on that account, to call in some stranger to be his heir. + +The communication which the Czar made to his son on this occasion was +in writing, and the terms in which it was expressed were very severe. +It commenced by reciting at length the long and fruitless efforts which +the Czar had made to awaken something like an honorable ambition in the +mind of his son, and to lead him to reform his habits, and concluded, +substantially, as follows: + + +"How often have I reproached you with the obstinacy of your temper and +the perverseness of your disposition! How often, even, have I +corrected you for them! And now, for how many years have I desisted +from speaking any longer of them! But all has been to no purpose. My +reproofs have been fruitless. I have only lost my time and beaten the +air. You do not so much as strive to grow better, and all your +satisfaction seems to consist in laziness and inactivity. + +"Having, therefore, considered all these things, and fully reflected +upon them, as I see I have not been able to engage you by any motives +to do as you ought, I have come to the conclusion to lay before you, in +writing, this my last determination, resolving, however, to wait still +a little longer before I come to a final execution of my purpose, in +order to give you one more trial to see whether you will amend or no. +If you do not, I am fully resolved to cut you off from the succession. + +"Do not think that because I have no other son I will not really do +this, but only say it to frighten you. You may rely upon it that I +will certainly do what I say; for, as I spare not my own life for the +good of my country and the safety of my people, why should I spare you, +who will not take the pains to make yourself worthy of them? I shall +much prefer to transmit this trust to some worthy stranger than to an +unworthy son. + +"(Signed with his majesty's own hand), + + "PETER." + + +The reader will observe, from the phraseology of these concluding +paragraphs, what is made still more evident by the perusal of the whole +letter, that the great ground of Peter's complaint against his son was +not his immorality and wickedness, but his idleness and inefficiency. +If he had shown himself an active and spirited young man, full of +military ardor, and of ambition to rule, he might probably, in his +private life, have been as vicious and depraved as he pleased without +exciting his father's displeasure. But Peter was himself so full of +ambition and energy, and he had formed, moreover, such vast plans for +the aggrandizement of the empire, many of which could only be commenced +during his lifetime, and must depend for their full accomplishment on +the vigor and talent of his successor, that he had set his heart very +strongly on making his son one of the first military men of the age; +and he now lost all patience with him when he saw him stupidly +neglecting the glorious opportunity before him, and throwing away all +his advantages, in order to spend his time in ease and indulgence, thus +thwarting and threatening to render abortive some of his father's +favorite and most far-reaching plans. + +The excuse which Alexis made for his conduct was the same which bad +boys often offer for idleness and delinquency, namely, his ill health. +His answer to his father's letter was as follows. It was not written +until two or three weeks after his father's letter was received, and in +that interim a son was born to the Empress Catharine, as related in the +last chapter. It is to this infant son that Alexis alludes in his +letter: + + +"MY CLEMENT LORD AND FATHER,-- + +"I have read the writing your majesty gave me on the 27th of October, +1715, after the interment of my late spouse. + +"I have nothing to reply to it but that if it is your majesty's +pleasure to deprive me of the crown of Russia by reason of my +inability--your will be done. I even earnestly request it at your +majesty's hands, as I do not think myself fit for the government. My +memory is much weakened, and without it there is no possibility of +managing affairs. My mind and body are much decayed by the distempers +to which I have been subject, which renders me incapable of governing +so many people, who must necessarily require a more vigorous man at +their head than I am. + +"For which reason I should not aspire to the succession of the crown of +Russia after you--whom God long preserve--even though I had no brother, +as I have at present, whom I pray God also to preserve. Nor will I +ever hereafter lay claim to the succession, as I call God to witness by +a solemn oath, in confirmation whereof I write and sign this letter +with my own hand. + +"I give my children into your hands, and, for my part, desire no more +than a bare maintenance so long as I live, leaving all the rest to your +consideration and good pleasure. + +"Your most humble servant and son, + + "ALEXIS." + + +The Czar did not immediately make any rejoinder to the foregoing +communication from his son. During the fall and winter months of that +year he was much occupied with public affairs, and his health, +moreover, was quite infirm. At length, however, about the middle of +June, he wrote to his son as follows: + + +"MY SON,--As my illness hath hitherto prevented me from letting you +know the resolutions I have taken with reference to the answer you +returned to my former letter, I now send you my reply. I observe that +you there speak of the succession as though I had need of your consent +to do in that respect what absolutely depends on my own will. But +whence comes it that you make no mention of your voluntary indolence +and inefficiency, and the aversion you constantly express to public +affairs, which I spoke of in a more particular manner than of your ill +health, though the latter is the only thing you take notice of? I also +expressed my dissatisfaction with your whole conduct and mode of life +for some years past. But of this you are wholly silent, though I +strongly insisted upon it. + +"From these things I judge that my fatherly exhortations make no +impression upon you. For this reason I have determined to write this +letter to you, and it shall be the last. + +"I don't find that you make any acknowledgment of the obligation you +owe to your father who gave you life. Have you assisted him, since you +came to maturity of years, in his labors and pains? No, certainly. +The world knows that you have not. On the other hand, you blame and +abhor whatever of good I have been able to do at the expense of my +health, for the love I have borne to my people, and for their +advantage, and I have all imaginable reason to believe that you will +destroy it all in case you should survive me. + +"I can not let you continue in this way. Either change your conduct, +and labor to make yourself worthy of the succession, or else take upon +you the monastic vow. I can not rest satisfied with your present +behavior, especially as I find that my health is declining. As soon, +therefore, as you shall have received this my letter, let me have your +answer in writing, or give it to me yourself in person. If you do not, +I shall at once proceed against you as a malefactor.--(Signed) PETER." + + +To this communication Alexis the next day returned the following reply: + + +"MOST CLEMENT LORD AND FATHER,-- + +"I received yesterday in the morning your letter of the 19th of this +month. My indisposition will not allow me to write a long answer. I +shall enter upon a monastic life, and beg your gracious consent for so +doing. + +"Your most humble servant and son, + + "ALEXIS." + + +There is no doubt that there was some good ground for the complaints +which Alexis made with respect to his health. His original +constitution was not vigorous, and he had greatly impaired both his +mental and physical powers by his vicious indulgences. Still, his +excusing himself so much on this ground was chiefly a pretense, his +object being to gain time, and prevent his father from coming to any +positive decision, in order that he might continue his life of +indolence and vice a little longer undisturbed. Indeed, it was said +that the incapacity to attend to the studies and perform the duties +which his father required of him was mainly due to his continual +drunkenness, which kept him all the time in a sort of brutal stupor. + +Nor was the fault wholly on his side. His father was very harsh and +severe in his treatment of him, and perhaps, in the beginning, made too +little allowance for the feebleness of his constitution. Neither of +the two were sincere in what they said about Alexis becoming a monk. +Peter, in threatening to send him to a monastery, only meant to +frighten him; and Alexis, in saying that he wished to go, intended only +to circumvent his father, and save himself from being molested by him +any more. He knew very well that his becoming a monk would be the last +thing that his father would really desire. + +Besides, Alexis was surrounded by a number of companions and advisers, +most of them lewd and dissolute fellows like himself, but among them +were some much more cunning and far-sighted than he, and it was under +their advice that he acted in all the measures that he took, and in +every thing that he said and did in the course of this quarrel with his +father. Among these men were several priests, who, like the rest, +though priests, were vile and dissolute men. These priests, and +Alexis's other advisers, told him that he was perfectly safe in +pretending to accede to his father's plan to send him to a monastery, +for his father would never think of such a thing as putting the threat +in execution. Besides, if he did, it would do no harm; for the vows +that he would take, though so utterly irrevocable in the case of common +men, would all cease to be of force in his case, in the event of his +father's death, and his succeeding to the throne. And, in the mean +time, he could go on, they said, taking his ease and pleasure, and +living as he had always done. + +Many of the persons who thus took sides with Alexis, and encouraged him +in his opposition to his father, had very deep designs in so doing. +They were of the party who opposed the improvements and innovations +which Peter had introduced, and who had in former times made the +Princess Sophia their head and rallying-point in their opposition to +Peter's policy. It almost always happens thus, that when, in a +monarchical country, there is a party opposed to the policy which the +sovereign pursues, the disaffected persons endeavor, if possible, to +find a head, or leader, in some member of the royal family itself, and +if they can gain to their side the one next in succession to the crown, +so much the better. To this end it is for their interest to foment a +quarrel in the royal family, or, if the germ of a quarrel appears, +arising from some domestic or other cause, to widen the breach as much +as possible, and avail themselves of the dissension to secure the name +and the influence of the prince or princess thus alienated from the +king as their rallying-point and centre of action. + +This was just the case in the present instance. The old Muscovite +party, as it was called, that is, the party opposed to the reforms and +changes which Peter had made, and to the foreign influences which he +had introduced into the realm, gathered around Alexis. Some of them, +it was said, began secretly to form conspiracies for deposing Peter, +raising Alexis nominally to the throne, and restoring the old order of +things. Peter knew all this, and the fears which these rumors excited +in his mind greatly increased his anxiety in respect to the course +which Alexis was pursuing and the exasperation which he felt against +his son. Indeed, there was reason to believe that Alexis himself, so +far as he had any political opinions, had adopted the views of the +malcontents. It was natural that he should do so, for the old order of +things was much better adapted to the wishes and desires of a selfish +and dissolute despot, who only valued his exaltation and power for the +means of unlimited indulgence in sensuality and vice which they +afforded. It was this supposed bias of Alexis's mind against his +father's policy of reform that Peter referred to in his letter when he +spoke of Alexis's desire to thwart him in his measures and undo all +that he had done. + +When he received Alexis's letter informing him that he was ready to +enter upon the monastic life whenever his father pleased, Peter was for +a time at a loss what to do. He had no intention of taking Alexis at +his word, for in threatening to make a monk of him he had only meant to +frighten him. For a time, therefore, after receiving this reply, he +did nothing, but only vented his anger in useless imprecations and +mutterings. + +Peter was engaged at this time in very important public affairs arising +out of the wars in which he was engaged with some foreign nations, and +important negotiations which were going on with others. Not long after +receiving the short letter from Alexis last cited, he was called upon +to leave Russia for a time, to make a journey into central Europe. +Before he went away he called to see Alexis, in order to bid him adieu, +and to state to him once more what he called his final determination. + +Alexis, when he heard that his father was coming, got into his bed, and +received him in that way, as if he were really quite sick. + +Peter asked him what conclusion he had come to. Alexis replied, as +before, that he wished to enter a monastery, and that he was ready to +do so at any time. His father remonstrated with him long and earnestly +against this resolution. He represented in strong terms the folly of a +young man like himself, in the prime of his years, and with such +prospects before him, abandoning every thing, and shutting himself up +all his days to the gloomy austerities of a monastic life; and he +endeavored to convince him how much better it would be for him to +change his course of conduct, to enter vigorously upon the fulfillment +of his duties as a son and as a prince, and prepare himself for the +glorious destiny which awaited him on the Russian throne. + +Finally, the Czar said that he would give him six months longer to +consider of it, and then, bidding him farewell, went away. + +As soon as he was gone Alexis rose from his bed, and went away to an +entertainment with some of his companions. He doubtless amused them +during the carousal by relating to them what had taken place during the +interview with his father, and how earnestly the Czar had argued +against his doing what he had begun originally with threatening to make +him do. + +The Czar's business called him to Copenhagen. While there he received +one or two letters from Alexis, but there was nothing in them to denote +any change in his intentions, and, finally, toward the end of the +summer, the Czar wrote him again in the following very severe and +decided manner: + + +"Copenhagen, Aug. 26th, 1716. + +"MY SON,--Your first letter of the 29th of June, and your next of the +30th of July, were brought to me. As in them you speak only of the +condition of your health, I send you the present letter to tell you +that I demanded of you your resolution upon the affair of the +succession when I bade you farewell. You then answered me, in your +usual manner, that you judged yourself incapable of it by reason of +your infirmities, and that you should choose rather to retire into a +convent. I bade you seriously consider of it again, and then send me +the resolution you should take. I have expected it for these seven +months, and yet have heard nothing of you concerning it. You have had +time enough for consideration, and, therefore, as soon as you shall +receive my letter, resolve on one side or on the other. + +"If you determine to apply yourself to your duties, and qualify +yourself for the succession, I wish you to leave Petersburg and to come +to me here within a week, so as to be here in time to be present at the +opening of the campaign; but if, on the other hand, you resolve upon +the monastic life, let me know when, where, and on what day you will +execute your resolution, so that my mind may be at rest, and that I may +know what to expect of you. Send me back your final answer by the same +courier that shall bring you my letter. + +"Be particular to let me know the day when you will set out from +Petersburg, if you conclude to come to me, and, if not, precisely when +you will perform your vow. I again tell you that I absolutely insist +that you shall determine upon something, otherwise I shall conclude +that you are only seeking to gain time in order that you may spend it +in your customary laziness.--PETER." + + +When we consider that Alexis was at this time a man nearly thirty years +of age, and himself the father of a family, we can easily imagine that +language like this was more adapted to exasperate him and make him +worse than to win him to his duty. He was, in fact, driven to a +species of desperation by it, and he so far aroused himself from his +usual indolence and stupidity as to form a plan, in connection with +some of his evil advisers, to make his escape from his father's control +entirely by secretly absconding from the country, and seeking a retreat +under the protection of some foreign power. The manner in which he +executed this scheme, and the consequences which finally resulted from +it, will be related in the next chapter. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +THE FLIGHT OF ALEXIS. + +1717 + +Alexis resolves to escape--Alexis makes arrangements for +flight--Secrecy--Alexis deceives Afrosinia--How Alexis obtained the +money--Alexander Kikin--Alexis sets out on his journey--Meets +Kikin--Arrangements--Plans matured--Kikin's cunning contrivances--False +letters--Kikin and Alexis concert their plans--Possibility of being +intercepted--More prevarications--Arrival at Vienna--The Czar sends for +Alexis--Interview with the envoys--Threats of Alexis--He returns to +Naples--St. Elmo--Long negotiations--Alexis resolves at last to +return--His letter to his father--Alexis delivers himself up + + +When Alexis received the letter from his father at Copenhagen, ordering +him to proceed at once to that city and join his father there, or else +to come to a definite and final conclusion in respect to the convent +that he would join, he at once determined, as intimated in the last +chapter, that he would avail himself of the opportunity to escape from +his father's control altogether. Under pretense of obeying his +father's orders that he should go to Copenhagen, he could make all the +necessary preparations for leaving the country without suspicion, and +then, when once across the frontier, he could go where he pleased. He +determined to make his escape to a foreign court, with a view of +putting himself under the protection there of some prince or potentate +who, from feelings of rivalry toward his father, or from some other +motive, might be disposed, he thought, to espouse his cause. + +He immediately began to make arrangements for his flight. What the +exact truth is in respect to the arrangements which he made could never +be fully ascertained, for the chief source of information in respect to +them is from confessions which Alexis made himself after he was brought +back. But in these confessions he made such confusion, first +confessing a little, then a little more, then contradicting himself, +then admitting, when the thing had been proved against him, what he had +before denied, that it was almost impossible to disentangle the truth +from his confused and contradictory declarations. The substance of the +case was, however, as follows: + +In the first place, he determined carefully to conceal his design from +all except the two or three intimate friends and advisers who +originally counseled him to adopt it. He intended to take with him his +concubine Afrosinia, and also a number of domestic servants and other +attendants, but he did not allow any of them to know where he was +going. He gave them to understand that he was going to Copenhagen to +join his father. He was afraid that, if any of those persons were to +know his real design, it would, in some way or other, be divulged. + +As to Afrosinia, he was well aware that she would know that he could +not intend to take her to Copenhagen into his father's presence, and so +he deceived her as to his real design, and induced her to set out with +him, without suspicion, by telling her that he was only going to take +her with him a part of the way. She was only to go, he said, as far as +Riga, a town on the shores of the Baltic, on the way toward Copenhagen. +Alexis was the less inclined to make a confidante of Afrosinia from the +fact that she had never been willingly his companion. She was a +Finland girl, a captive taken in war, and preserved to be sold as a +slave on account of her beauty. When she came into the possession of +Alexis he forced her to submit to his will. She was a slave, and it +was useless for her to resist or complain. It is said that Alexis only +induced her to yield to him by drawing his knife and threatening to +kill her on the spot if she made any difficulty. Thus, although he +seems to have become, in the end, strongly attached to her, he never +felt that she was really and cordially on his side. He accordingly, in +this case, concealed from her his real designs, and told her he was +only going to take her with him a little way. He would then send her +back, he said, to Petersburg. So Afrosinia made arrangements to +accompany him without feeling any concern. + +Alexis obtained all the money that he required by borrowing +considerable sums of the different members of the government and +friends of his father, under pretense that he was going to his father +at Copenhagen. He showed them the letter which his father had written +him, and this, they thought, was sufficient authority for them to +furnish him with the money. He borrowed in this way various sums of +different persons, and thus obtained an abundant supply. The largest +sum which he obtained from any one person was two thousand ducats, +which were lent him by Prince Menzikoff, a noble who stood very high in +Peter's confidence, and who had been left by him chief in command +during his absence. The prince gave Alexis some advice, too, about the +arrangements which he was to make for his journey, supposing all the +time that he was really going to Copenhagen. + +The chief instigator and adviser of Alexis in this affair was a man +named Alexander Kikin. This Kikin was an officer of high rank in the +navy department, under the government, and the Czar had placed great +confidence in him. But he was inclined to espouse the cause of the old +Muscovite party, and to hope for a revolution that would bring that +party again into power. He was not at this time in St. Petersburg, but +had gone forward to provide a place of retreat for Alexis. Alexis was +to meet him at the town of Libau, which stands on the shores of the +Baltic Sea, between St. Petersburg and Konigsberg, on the route which +Alexis would have to take in going to Copenhagen. Alexis communicated +with Kikin in writing, and Kikin arranged and directed all the details +of the plan. He kept purposely at a distance from Alexis, to avoid +suspicion. + +At length, when all was ready, Alexis set out from St. Petersburg, +taking with him Afrosinia and several other attendants, and journeyed +to Libau. There he met Kikin, and each congratulated the other warmly +on the success which had thus far attended their operations. + +Alexis asked Kikin what place he had provided for him, and Kikin +replied that he had made arrangements for him to go to Vienna. He had +been to Vienna himself, he said, under pretense of public business +committed to his charge by the Czar, and had seen and conferred with +the Emperor of Germany there, and the emperor agreed to receive and +protect him, and not to deliver him up to his father until some +permanent and satisfactory arrangement should have been made. + +"So you must go on," continued Kikin, "to Konigsberg and Dantzic; and +then, instead of going forward toward Copenhagen, you will turn off on +the road to Vienna, and when you get there the emperor will provide a +safe place of retreat for you. When you arrive there, if your father +should find out where you are, and send some one to try to persuade you +to return home, you must not, on any account, listen to him; for, as +certain as your father gets you again in his power, after your leaving +the country in this way, he will have you beheaded." + +Kikin contrived a number of very cunning devices for averting suspicion +from himself and those really concerned in the plot, and throwing it +upon innocent persons. Among other things, he induced Alexis to write +several letters to different individuals in St. Petersburg--Prince +Menzikoff among the rest--thanking them for the advice and assistance +that they had rendered him in setting out upon his journey, which +advice and assistance was given honestly, on the supposition that he +was really going to his father at Copenhagen. The letters of thanks, +however, which Kikin dictated were written in an ambiguous and +mysterious manner, being adroitly contrived to awaken suspicion in +Peter's mind, if he were to see them, that these persons were in the +secret of Alexis's plans, and really intended to assist him in his +escape. When the letters were written Alexis delivered them to Kikin, +who at some future time, in case of necessity, was to show them to +Peter, and pretend that he had intercepted them. Thus he expected to +avert suspicion from himself, and throw it upon innocent persons. + +Kikin also helped Alexis about writing a letter to his father from +Libau, saying to him that he left St. Petersburg, and had come so far +on his way toward Copenhagen. This letter was, however, not dated at +Libau, where Alexis then was, but at Konigsberg, which was some +distance farther on, and it was sent forward to be transmitted from +that place. + +When Alexis had thus arranged every thing with Kikin, he prepared to +set out on his journey again. He was to go on first to Konigsberg, +then to Dantzic, and there, instead of embarking on board a ship to go +to Copenhagen, according to his father's plan, he was to turn off +toward Vienna. It was at that point, accordingly, that his actual +rebellion against his father's commands would begin. He had some +misgivings about being able to reach that point. He asked Kikin what +he should do in case his father should have sent somebody to meet him +at Konigsberg or Dantzic. + +"Why, you must join them in the first instance," said Kikin, "and +pretend to be much pleased to meet them; and then you must contrive to +make your escape from them in the night, either entirely alone, or only +with one servant. You must abandon your baggage and every thing else. + +"Or, if you can not manage to do this," continued Kikin, "you must +pretend to be sick; and if there are two persons sent to meet you, you +can send one of them on before, with your baggage and attendants, +promising yourself to come on quietly afterward with the other; and +then you can contrive to bribe the other, or in some other way induce +him to escape with you, and so go to Vienna." + +Alexis did not have occasion to resort to either of these expedients, +for nobody was sent to meet him. He journeyed on without any +interruption till he came to Konigsberg, which was the place where the +road turned off to Vienna. It was now necessary to say something to +Afrosinia and his other attendants to account for the new direction +which his journey was to take; so he told them that he had received a +letter from his father, ordering him, before proceeding to Copenhagen, +to go to Vienna on some public business which was to be done there. +Accordingly, when he turned off, they accompanied him without any +apparent suspicion. + +Alexis proceeded in this way to Vienna, and there he appealed to the +emperor for protection. The emperor received him, listened to the +complaints which he made against the Czar--for Alexis, as might have +been expected, cast all the blame of the quarrel upon his father--and, +after entertaining him for a while in different places, he provided him +at last with a secret retreat in a fortress in the Tyrol. + +Here Alexis concealed himself, and it was a long time before his father +could ascertain what had become of him. At length the Czar learned +that he was in the emperor's dominions, and he wrote with his own hand +a very urgent letter to the emperor, representing the misconduct of +Alexis in its true light, and demanding that he should not harbor such +an undutiful and rebellious son, but should send him home. He sent two +envoys to act as the bearers of this letter, and to bring Alexis back +to his father in case the emperor should conclude to surrender him. + +The emperor communicated the contents of this letter to Alexis, but +Alexis begged him not to comply with his father's demand. He said that +the difficulty was owing altogether to his father's harshness and +cruelty, and that, if he were to be sent back, he should be in danger +of his life from his father's violence. + +After long negotiations and delays, the emperor allowed the envoys to +go and visit Alexis in the place of his retreat, with a view of seeing +whether they could not prevail upon him to return home with them. The +envoys carried a letter to Alexis which his father had written with his +own hand, representing to him, in strong terms, the impropriety and +wickedness of his conduct, and the enormity of the crime which he had +committed against his father by his open rebellion against his +authority, and denouncing against him, if he persisted in his wicked +course, the judgment of God, who had threatened in his Word to punish +disobedient children with eternal death. + +But all these appeals had no effect upon the stubborn will of Alexis. +He declared to the envoys that he would not return with them, and he +said, moreover, that the emperor had promised to protect him, and that, +if his father continued to persecute him in this way, he would resist +by force, and, with the aid which the emperor would render him, he +would make war upon his father, depose him from his power, and raise +himself to the throne in his stead. + +After this there followed a long period of negotiation and delay, +during which many events occurred which it would be interesting to +relate if time and space permitted. Alexis was transferred from one +place to another, with a view of eluding any attempt which his father +might make to get possession of him again, either by violence or +stratagem, and at length was conveyed to Naples, in Italy, and was +concealed in the castle of St. Elmo there. + +In the mean time Peter grew more and more urgent in his demands upon +the emperor to deliver up his son, and the emperor at last, finding +that the quarrel was really becoming serious, and being convinced, +moreover, by the representations which Peter caused to be made to him, +that Alexis had been much more to blame than he had supposed, seemed +disposed to change his ground, and began now to advise Alexis to return +home. Alexis was quite alarmed when he found that, after all, he was +not to be supported in his rebellion by the emperor, and at length, +after a great many negotiations, difficulties, and delays, he +determined to make a virtue of necessity and to go home. His father +had written him repeated letters, promising him a free pardon if he +would return, and threatening him in the most severe and decided manner +if he did not. To the last of these letters, when Alexis had finally +resolved to go back, he wrote the following very meek and submissive +reply. It was written from Naples in October, 1717: + + +"MY CLEMENT LORD AND FATHER,-- + +"I have received your majesty's most gracious letter by Messrs. Tolstoi +and Rumanrow,[1] in which, as also by word of mouth, I am most +graciously assured of pardon for having fled without your permission in +case I return. I give you most hearty thanks with tears in my eyes, +and own myself unworthy of all favor. I throw myself at your feet, and +implore your clemency, and beseech you to pardon my crimes, for which I +acknowledge that I deserve the severest punishment. But I rely on your +gracious assurances, and, submitting to your pleasure, shall set out +immediately from Naples to attend your majesty at Petersburg with those +whom your majesty has sent. + +"Your most humble and unworthy servant, who deserves not to be called +your son, + +"ALEXIS." + + +After having written and dispatched this letter Alexis surrendered +himself to Tolstoi and Rumanrow, and in their charge set out on his +return to Russia, there to be delivered into his father's hands; for +Peter was now in Russia, having returned there as soon as he heard of +Alexis's flight. + + + +[1] These were the envoys, officers of high rank in the government, +whom Peter had sent to bring Alexis back. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +THE TRIAL. + +1717-1718 + +His father's manifesto on his return--Interview between Alexis and his +father--Anger of the Czar--Substantial cause for Peter's +excitement--Grand councils convened--Scene in the hall--Conditional +promise of pardon--Alexis humbled--Secret conference--Alexis +disinherited--The new heir--Oaths administered--Alexis +imprisoned--Investigation commenced--Prisoners--The torture--Arrest of +Kikin--The page--He fails to warn Kikin in time--Condemnation of +prisoners--Executions--Dishonest confessions of Alexis--His +excesses--Result of the examinations--Proofs against Alexis--An +admission--Testimony of Afrosinia + + +As soon as Alexis arrived in the country, his father issued a +manifesto, in which he gave a long and full account of his son's +misdemeanors and crimes, and of the patient and persevering, but +fruitless efforts which he himself had made to reclaim him, and +announced his determination to cut him off from the succession to the +crown as wholly and hopelessly irreclaimable. This manifesto was one +of the most remarkable documents that history records. It concluded +with deposing Alexis from all his rights as son and heir to his father, +and appointing his younger brother Peter, the little son of Catharine, +as inheritor in his stead; and finally laying the paternal curse upon +Alexis if he ever thereafter pretended to, or in any way claimed the +succession of which he had been deprived. + +This manifesto was issued as soon as Peter learned that Alexis had +arrived in the country under the charge of the officers who had been +appointed to bring him, and before the Czar had seen him. Alexis +continued his journey to Moscow, where the Czar then was. When he +arrived he went that same night to the palace, and there had a long +conference with his father. He was greatly alarmed and overawed by the +anger which his father expressed, and he endeavored very earnestly, by +expressions of penitence and promises of amendment, to appease him. +But it was now too late. The ire of the Czar was thoroughly aroused, +and he could not be appeased. He declared that he was fully resolved +on deposing his son, as he had announced in his manifesto, and that the +necessary steps for making the act of deposition in a formal and solemn +manner, so as to give it full legal validity as a measure of state, +would be taken on the following day. + +It must be confessed that the agitation and anger which Peter now +manifested were not wholly without excuse, for the course which Alexis +had pursued had been the means of exposing his father to a great and +terrible danger--to that, namely, of a rebellion among his subjects. +Peter did not even know but that such a rebellion was already planned +and was ripe for execution, and that it might not break out at any +time, notwithstanding his having succeeded in recovering possession of +the person of Alexis, and in bringing him home. Of such a rebellion, +if one had been planned, the name of Alexis would have been, of course, +the watch-word and rallying-point, and Peter had a great deal of ground +for apprehension that such a one had been extensively organized and was +ready to be carried into effect. He immediately set himself at work to +ferret out the whole affair, resolving, however, in the first place, to +disable Alexis himself from doing any farther mischief by destroying +finally and forever all claims on his part to the inheritance of the +crown. + +Accordingly, on the following morning, before daybreak, the garrison of +the city were put under arms, and a regiment of the Guards was posted +around the palace, so as to secure all the gates and avenues; and +orders were sent, at the same time, to the principal ministers, nobles, +and counselors of state, to repair to the great hall in the castle, and +to the bishops and clergy to assemble in the Cathedral. Every body +knew that the occasion on which they were convened was that they might +witness the disinheriting of the prince imperial by his father, in +consequence of his vices and crimes; and in coming together in +obedience to the summons, the minds of all men were filled with solemn +awe, like those of men assembling to witness an execution. + +When the appointed hour arrived the great bell was tolled, and Alexis +was brought into the hall of the castle, where the nobles were +assembled, bound as a prisoner, and deprived of his sword. The Czar +himself stood at the upper end of the hall, surrounded by the chief +officers of state. Alexis was brought before him. As he approached he +presented a writing to his father, and then fell down on his knees +before him, apparently overwhelmed with grief and shame. + +The Czar handed the paper to one of his officers who stood near, and +then asked Alexis what it was that he desired. Alexis, in reply, +begged that his father would have mercy upon him and spare his life. +The Czar said that he would spare his life, and forgive him for all his +treasonable and rebellious acts, on condition that he would make a full +and complete confession, without any restriction or reserve, of every +thing connected with his late escape from the country, explaining fully +all the details of the plan which he had formed, and reveal the names +of all his advisers and accomplices. But if his confession was not +full and complete--if he suppressed or concealed any thing, or the name +of any person concerned in the affair or privy to it, then this promise +of pardon should be null and void. + +The Czar also said that Alexis must renounce the succession to the +crown, and must confirm the renunciation by a solemn oath, and +acknowledge it by signing a declaration, in writing, to that effect +with his own hand. To all this, Alexis, who seemed overwhelmed with +contrition and anguish, solemnly agreed, and declared that he was ready +to make a full and complete confession. + +The Czar then asked his son who it was that advised him and aided him +in his late escape from the kingdom. Alexis seemed unwilling to reply +to this question in the midst of such an assemblage, but said something +to his father in a low voice, which the others could not hear. In +consequence of what he thus said his father took him into an adjoining +room, and there conversed with him in private for a few minutes, and +then both returned together into the public hall. It is supposed that +while they were thus apart Alexis gave his father the names of some of +those who had aided and abetted him in his absconding, for immediately +afterward three couriers were dispatched in three different directions, +as if with orders to arrest the persons who were thus accused. + +As soon as Alexis and his father had returned into the hall, the +document was produced which the prince was to sign, renouncing the +succession to the crown. The signature and seal of Alexis were affixed +to this document with all due formality. Then a declaration was made +on the part of the Czar, stating the reasons which had induced his +majesty to depose his eldest son from the succession, and to appoint +his younger son, Peter, in his place. This being done, all the +officers present were required to make a solemn oath on the Gospels, +and to sign a written declaration, of which several copies had +previously been prepared, importing that the Czar, having excluded from +the crown his son Alexis, and appointed his son Peter his successor in +his stead, they owned the legality and binding force of the decree, +acknowledged Peter as the true and rightful heir, and bound themselves +to stand by him with their lives against any or all who should oppose +him, and declared that they never would, under any pretense whatsoever, +adhere to Alexis, or assist him in recovering the succession. + +The whole company then repaired to the Cathedral, where the bishops and +other ecclesiastics were assembled, and there the whole body of the +clergy solemnly took the same oath and subscribed the same declaration. +The same oath was also afterward administered to all the officers of +the army, governors of the provinces, and other public functionaries +throughout the empire. + +When these ceremonies at the palace and at the Cathedral were +concluded, the company dispersed. Alexis was placed in confinement in +one of the palaces in Moscow, and none were allowed to have access to +him except those whom the Czar appointed to keep him in charge. + +Immediately after this the necessary proceedings for a full +investigation of the whole affair were commenced in a formal and solemn +manner. A series of questions were drawn up and given to Alexis, that +he might make out deliberate answers to them in writing. Grand courts +of investigation and inquiry were convened in Moscow, the great +dignitaries both of Church and state being summoned from all parts of +the empire to attend them. These persons came to the capital in great +state, and, in going to and fro to attend at the halls of judgment from +day to day, they moved through the streets with such a degree of pomp +and parade as to attract great crowds of spectators. As fast as the +names were discovered of persons who were implicated in Alexis's +escape, or who were suspected of complicity in it, officers were +dispatched to arrest them. Some were taken from their beds at +midnight, without a moment's warning, and shut up in dungeons in a +great fortress at Moscow. When questioned, if they seemed inclined to +return evasive answers, or to withhold any information of which the +judges thought they were possessed, they were taken into the +torturing-room and put to the torture. + +One of the first who was arrested was Alexander Kikin, who had been +Alexis's chief confidant and adviser in all his proceedings. Kikin had +taken extreme precautions to guard against having his agency in the +affair found out; but Alexis, in the answers that he gave to the first +series of questions that were put to him, betrayed him. Kikin was +aware of the danger, and, in order to secure for himself some chance of +escape in case Alexis should make disclosures implicating him, had +bribed a page, who was always in close attendance upon the Czar, to let +him know immediately in case of any movement to arrest him. + +The name of this page was Baklanoffsky. He was in the apartment at the +time that the Czar was writing the order for Kikin's arrest, standing, +as was his wont, behind the chair of the Czar, so as to be ready at +hand to convey messages or to wait upon his master. He looked over, +and saw the order which the Czar was writing. He immediately contrived +some excuse to leave the apartment, and hurrying away, he went to the +post-house and sent on an express by post to Kikin at Petersburg to +warn him of the danger. + +But the Czar, noticing his absence, sent some one off after him, and +thus his errand at the post-house was discovered, but not until after +the express had gone. Another express was immediately sent off with +the order for Kikin's arrest, and both the couriers arrived in +Petersburg very nearly at the same time. The one, however, who brought +the warning was a little too late. When he arrived the house of the +commissioner was surrounded by a guard of fifty grenadiers, and +officers were then in Kikin's apartment taking him out of his bed. +They put him at once in irons and took him away, scarcely allowing him +time to bid his wife farewell. + +The page was, of course, arrested and sent to prison too. A number of +other persons, many of whom were of very high rank, were arrested in a +similar manner. + +The arrival of Alexis at Moscow took place early in February, and +nearly all of February and March were occupied with these arrests and +the proceedings of the court in trying the prisoners. At length, +toward the end of March, a considerable number, Kikin himself being +among them, were condemned to death, and executed in the most dreadful +manner in a great public square in the centre of Moscow. One was +impaled alive; that is, a great stake was driven through his body into +the ground, and he was left in that situation to die. Others were +broken on the wheel. One, a bishop, was burnt. The heads of the +principal offenders were afterward cut off and set up on poles at the +four corners of a square inclosure made for the purpose, the impaled +body lying in the middle. + +The page who had been bribed by Kikin was not put to death. His life +was spared, perhaps on account of his youth, but he was very severely +punished by scourging. + +During all this time Alexis continued to be confined to his prison, and +he was subjected to repeated examinations and cross-examinations, in +order to draw from him not only the whole truth in respect to his own +motives and designs in his flight, but also such information as might +lead to the full development of the plans and designs of the party in +Russia who were opposed to the government of Peter, and who had +designed to make use of the name and position of Alexis for the +accomplishment of their schemes. Alexis had promised to make a full +and complete confession, but he did not do so. In the answers to the +series of questions which were first addressed to him, he confessed as +much as he thought was already known, and endeavored to conceal the +rest. In a short time, however, many things that he had at first +denied or evaded were fully proved by other testimony taken in the +trial of the prisoners who have already been referred to. Then Alexis +was charged with the omissions or evasions in his confession which had +thus been made to appear, and asked for an explanation, and thereupon +he made new confessions, acknowledging the newly-discovered facts, and +excusing himself for not having mentioned them before by saying that he +had forgotten them, or else that he was afraid to divulge them for fear +of injuring the persons that would be implicated by them. Thus he went +on contradicting and involving himself more and more by every fresh +confession, until, at last, his father, and all the judges who had +convened to investigate the case, ceased to place any confidence in any +thing that he said, and lost almost all sympathy for him in his +distress. + +The examination was protracted through many months. The result of it, +on the whole, was, that it was fully proved that there was a powerful +party in Russia opposed to the reforms and improvements of the Czar, +and particularly to the introduction of the European civilization into +the country, who were desirous of effecting a revolution, and who +wished to avail themselves of the quarrel between Alexis and his father +to promote their schemes. Alexis was too much stupefied by his +continual drunkenness to take any very active or intelligent part in +these schemes, but he was more or less distinctly aware of them; and in +the offers which he had made to enter a monastery and renounce all +claims to the crown he had been utterly insincere, his only object +having been to blind his father by means of them and gain time. He +acknowledged that he had hated his father, and had wished for his +death, and when he fled to Vienna it was his intention to remain until +he could return and take possession of the empire in his father's +place. He, however, solemnly declared that it was never his intention +to take any steps himself toward that end during his father's lifetime, +though he admitted, at last, when the fact had been pretty well proved +against him by other evidence, that, in case an insurrection in his +behalf had broken out in Russia, and he had been called upon, he should +have joined the rebels. + +A great deal of information, throwing light upon the plans of Alexis +and of the conspirators in Russia connected with him, was obtained from +the disclosures made by Afrosinia. As has already been stated, she had +been taken by Alexis as a slave, and forced, against her will, to join +herself to him and to follow his fortunes. He had never admitted her +into his confidence, but had induced her, from time to time, to act as +he desired by telling her any falsehood which would serve the purpose. +She consequently was not bound to him by any ties of honor or +affection, and felt herself at liberty to answer freely all questions +which were put to her by the judges. Her testimony was of great value +in many points, and contributed very essentially toward elucidating the +whole affair. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +THE CONDEMNATION AND DEATH OF ALEXIS. + +1718 + +Condition of Alexis--The two tribunals--Their powers--The Czar calls +for a decision--His addresses to the two councils--Deliberation of the +clergy--Their answer--Their quotations from Scripture--Cautious +language used by the bishops--They suggest clemency and +mercy--Additional confessions made by Alexis--The priest--Tolstoi sent +to Alexis--The Czar's three final questions--Alexis's three +answers--His account of the manner in which he had been educated--His +feelings toward his father--His attempts to maim himself--His +treasonable designs--Alexis's confession sent to the council--Decision +of the council--The promise of pardon--Forfeiture of it--Conclusion of +the sentence--The signatures--The 6th of July--The Czar's mental +struggles--Alexis brought out to hear his sentence--Overwhelmed with +dismay--Visit of his father--Sorrowful scene--Alexis sends a second +time for his father--His death--Czar's circular--The body laid in +state--Rumors circulated--Funeral ceremonies--The opposition broken +up--The mother of Alexis--Afrosinia--The Czar pardons her + + +The examinations and investigations described in the last chapter were +protracted through a period of several months. They were commenced in +February, and were not concluded until June. During all this time +Alexis had been kept in close confinement, except when he had been +brought out before his judges for the various examinations and +cross-examinations to which he had been subjected; and as the truth in +respect to his designs became more and more fully developed, and the +danger in respect to the result increased, he sank gradually into a +state of distress and terror almost impossible to be conceived. + +The tribunals before whom he was tried were not the regular judicial +tribunals of the country. They were, on the other hand, two grand +convocations of all the great official dignitaries of the Church and of +the state, that were summoned expressly for this purpose--not to +_decide_ the case, for, according to the ancient customs of the Russian +empire, that was the sole and exclusive province of the Czar, but to +aid him in investigating it, and then, if called upon, to give him +their counsel in respect to the decision of it. One of these +assemblies consisted of the ecclesiastical authorities, the +archbishops, the bishops, and other dignitaries of the Church. The +other was composed of nobles, ministers of state, officers of the army +and navy in high command, and other great civil and military +functionaries. These two assemblies met and deliberated in separate +halls, and pursued their investigations in respect to the several +persons implicated in the affair, as they were successively brought +before them, under the direction of the Czar, though the final disposal +of each case rested, it was well understood, with him alone. + +At length, in the month of June, when all the other cases had been +disposed of, and the proof in respect to Alexis was considered +complete, the Czar sent in a formal address to each of these +conventions, asking their opinion and advice in respect to what he +ought to do with his son. + +In his address to the archbishops and bishops, he stated that, although +he was well aware that he had himself absolute power to judge his son +for his crimes, and to dispose of him according to his own will and +pleasure, without asking advice of any one, still, "as men were +sometimes less discerning," he said, "in their own affairs than in +those of others, so that even the most skillful physicians do not run +the hazard of prescribing for themselves, but call in the assistance of +others when they are indisposed," in the same manner he, having the +fear of God before his eyes, and being afraid to offend him, had +decided to bring the question at issue between himself and his son +before them, that they might examine the Word of God in relation to it, +and give their opinion, in writing, what the will of God in such a case +might be. He wished also, he said, that the opinion to which they +should come should be signed by each one of them individually, with his +own hand. + +He made a similar statement in his address to the grand council of +civil authorities, calling upon them also to give their opinion in +respect to what should be done with Alexis. "I beg of you," he said, +in the conclusion of his address, "to consider of the affair, to +examine it seriously and with attention, and see what it is that our +son has deserved, without flattering me, or apprehending that, if in +your judgment he deserves no more than slight punishment, it will be +disagreeable to me; for I swear to you, by the Great God and by his +judgments, that you have nothing to fear from me on this account. + +"Neither are you to allow the consideration that it is the son of your +sovereign that you are to pass judgment upon to have any effect upon +you. But do justice without respect of persons, so that your +conscience and mine may not reproach us at the great day of judgment." + +The convocation of clergy, in deliberating upon the answer which they +were to make to the Czar, deemed it advisable to proceed with great +caution. They were not quite willing to recommend directly and openly +that Alexis should be put to death, while, at the same time, they +wished to give the sanction of their approval for any measures of +severity which the Czar might be inclined to take. So they forbore to +express any positive opinion of their own, but contented themselves +with looking out in the Scriptures, both in the Old and New Testament, +the terrible denunciations which are therein contained against +disobedient and rebellious children, and the accounts of fearful +punishments which were inflicted upon them in Jewish history. They +began their statement by formally acknowledging that Peter himself had +absolute power to dispose of the case of his son according to his own +sovereign will and pleasure; that they had no jurisdiction in the case, +and could not presume to pronounce judgment, or say any thing which +could in any way restrain or limit the Czar in doing what he judged +best. But nevertheless, as the Czar had graciously asked them for +their counsel as a means of instructing his own mind previously to +coming to a decision, they would proceed to quote from the Holy +Scriptures such passages as might be considered to bear upon the +subject, and to indicate the will of God in respect to the action of a +sovereign and father in such a case. + +They then proceeded to quote the texts and passages of Scripture. Some +of these texts were denunciations of rebellious and disobedient +children, such as, "The eye that mocketh his father and that despiseth +to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pluck it out," and +the Jewish law providing that, "If a man have a stubborn and rebellious +son, who will not obey the voice of his father nor the voice of his +mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto +them, then shall his father and mother lay hold of him, and bring him +out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place, and +shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is rebellious: he +will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard. And all the +men of his city shall stone him with stones that he die." + +There were other passages quoted relating to actual cases which +occurred in the Jewish history of sons being punished with death for +crimes committed against their parents, such as that of Absalom, and +others. + +The bearing and tendency of all these extracts from the Scriptures was +to justify the severest possible treatment of the unhappy criminal. +The bishops added, however, at the close of their communication, that +they had made these extracts in obedience to the command of their +sovereign, not by way of pronouncing sentence, or making a decree, or +in any other way giving any authoritative decision on the question at +issue, but only to furnish to the Czar himself such spiritual guidance +and instruction in the case as the word of God afforded. It would be +very far from their duty, they said, to condemn any one to death, for +Jesus Christ had taught his ministers not to be governed by a spirit of +anger, but by a spirit of meekness. They had no power to condemn any +one to death, or to seek his blood. That, when necessary, was the +province of the civil power. Theirs was to bring men to repentance of +their sins, and to offer them forgiveness of the same through Jesus +Christ their Savior. + +They therefore, in submitting their communication to his imperial +majesty, did it only that he might do what seemed right in his own +eyes. "If he concludes to punish his fallen son," they said, +"according to his deeds, and in a manner proportionate to the enormity +of his crimes, he has before him the declarations and examples which we +have herein drawn from the Scriptures of the Old Testament. If, on the +other hand, he is inclined to mercy, he has the example of Jesus +Christ, who represented the prodigal son as received and forgiven when +he returned and repented, who dismissed the woman taken in adultery, +when by the law she deserved to be stoned, and who said that he would +have mercy and not sacrifice." + +The document concluded by the words, + +"The heart of the Czar is in the hand of God, and may he choose the +part to which the hand of God shall turn it." + +As for the other assembly, the one composed of the nobles and senators, +and other great civil and military functionaries, before rendering +their judgment they caused Alexis to be brought before them again, in +order to call for additional explanations, and to see if he still +adhered to the confessions that he had made. At these audiences Alexis +confirmed what he had before said, and acknowledged more freely than he +had done before the treasonable intentions of which he had been guilty. +His spirit seems by this time to have been completely broken, and he +appeared to have thought that the only hope for him of escape from +death was in the most humble and abject confessions and earnest +supplications for pardon. In these his last confessions, too, he +implicated some persons who had not before been accused. One was a +certain priest named James. Alexis said that at one time he was +confessing to this priest, and, among other sins which he mentioned, he +said "that he wished for the death of his father." The priest's reply +to this was, as Alexis said, "God will pardon you for that, my son, for +we all," meaning the priests, "wish it too." The priest was +immediately arrested, but, on being questioned, he denied having made +any such reply. The inquisitors then put him to the torture, and there +forced from him the admission that he had spoken those words. Whether +he had really spoken them, or only admitted it to put an end to the +torture, it is impossible to say. + +They asked him for the names of the persons whom he had heard express a +desire that the Czar should die, but he said he could not recollect. +He had heard it from several persons, but he could not remember who +they were. He said that Alexis was a great favorite among the people, +and that they sometimes used to drink his health under the designation +of the Hope of Russia. + + +The Czar himself also obtained a final and general acknowledgment of +guilt from his son, which he sent in to the senate on the day before +their judgment was to be rendered. He obtained this confession by +sending Tolstoi, an officer of the highest rank in his court, and the +person who had been the chief medium of the intercourse and of the +communications which he had held with his son during the whole course +of the affair, with the following written instructions: + + +"To M. TOLSTOI, PRIVY COUNSELOR: + +"Go to my son this afternoon, and put down in writing the answers he +shall give to the following questions: + +"I. What is the reason why he has always been so disobedient to me, and +has refused to do what I required of him, or to apply himself to any +useful business, notwithstanding all the guilt and shame which he has +incurred by so strange and unusual a course? + +"II. Why is it that he has been so little afraid of me, and has not +apprehended the consequences that must inevitably follow from his +disobedience? + +"III. What induced him to desire to secure possession of the crown +otherwise than by obedience to me, and following me in the natural +order of succession? And examine him upon every thing else that bears +any relation to this affair." + + +Tolstoi went to Alexis in the prison, and read these questions to him. +Alexis wrote out the following statement in reply to them, which +Tolstoi carried to the Czar: + + +"I. Although I was well aware that to be disobedient as I was to my +father, and refuse to do what please him, was a very strange and +unusual course, and both a sin and a shame, yet I was led into it, in +the first instance, in consequence of having been brought up from 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 person to whom I was intrusted after I was removed from my +governess gave me no better instructions. + +"My father, afterward being anxious about my education, and desirous +that I should apply myself to what became the son of the Czar, ordered +me to learn the German language and other sciences, which I was very +averse to. I applied myself to them in a very negligent manner, and +only pretended to study at all in order to gain time, and without +having any inclination to learn any thing. + +"And as my father, who was then frequently with the army, was absent +from me a great deal, he ordered his serene highness, the Prince +Menzikoff, to have an eye upon me. While he was with me I was obliged +to apply myself, but, as soon as I was out of his sight, the persons +with whom I was left, observing that I was only bent on bigotry and +idleness, on keeping company with priests and monks, and drinking with +them, they not only encouraged me to neglect my business, but took +pleasure in doing as I did. As these persons had been about me from my +infancy, I was accustomed to observe their directions, to fear them, +and to comply with their wishes in every thing, and thus, by degrees, +they alienated my affections from my father by diverting me with +pleasures of this nature; so that, by little and little, I came to have +not only the military affairs and other actions of my father in horror, +but also his person itself, which made me always wish to be at a +distance from him. Alexander Kikin especially, when he was with me, +took a great deal of pains to confirm me in this way of life. + +"My father, having compassion on me, and desiring still to make me +worthy of the state to which I was called, sent me into foreign +countries; but, as I was already grown to man's estate, I made no +alteration in my way of living. + +"It is true, indeed, that my travels were of some advantage to me, but +they were insufficient to erase the vicious habits which had taken such +deep root in me. + +"II. It was this evil disposition which prevented my being apprehensive +of my father's correction for my disobedience. I was really afraid of +him, but it was not with a filial fear. I only sought for means to get +away from him, and was in no wise concerned to do his will, but to +avoid, by every means in my power, what he required of me. Of this I +will now freely confess one plain instance. + +"When I came back to Petersburg to my father from abroad, at the end of +one of my journeys, he questioned me about my studies, and, among other +things, asked me if I had forgotten what I had learned, and I told him +no. He then asked me to bring him some of my drawings of plans. Then, +fearing that he would order me to draw something in his presence, which +I could not do, as I knew nothing of the matter, I set to work to +devise a way to hurt my hand so that it should be impossible for me to +do any thing at all. So I charged a pistol with ball, and, taking it +in my left hand, I let it off against the palm of my right, with a +design to have shot through it. The ball, however, missed my hand, +though the powder burned it sufficiently to wound it. The ball entered +the wall of my room, and it may be seen there still. + +"My father, observing my hand to be wounded, asked me how it came. I +told him an evasive story, and kept the truth to myself. By this means +you may see that I was afraid of my father, but not with a proper +filial fear.[1] + +"III. As to my having desired to obtain the crown otherwise than by +obedience to my father, and following him in regular order of +succession, all the world may easily understand the reason; for, when I +was once out of the right way, and resolved to imitate my father in +nothing, I naturally sought to obtain the succession by any, even the +most wrongful method. I confess that I was even willing to come into +possession of it by foreign assistance, if it had been necessary. If +the emperor had been ready to fulfill the promise that he made 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 that I should afterward +furnish him with Russian troops against any of his enemies, in exchange +for his service in aiding me, or large sums of money, I should have +done whatever he pleased. I would have given great presents to his +ministers and generals over and above. In a word, I would have thought +nothing too much to have obtained my desire." + + +This confession, after it was brought to the Czar by Tolstoi, to whom +Alexis gave it, was sent by him to the great council of state, to aid +them in forming their opinion. + +The council were occupied for the space of a week in hearing the case, +and then they drew up and signed their decision. + +The statement which they made began by acknowledging that they had not +of themselves any original right to try such a question, the Czar +himself, according to the ancient constitution of the empire, having +sole and exclusive jurisdiction in all such affairs, without being +beholden to his subjects in regard to them in any manner whatever; but, +nevertheless, as the Czar had deemed it expedient to refer it to them, +they accepted the responsibility, and, after having fully investigated +the case, were now ready to pronounce judgment. + +They then proceeded to declare that, after a full hearing and careful +consideration of all the evidence, both oral and written, which had +been laid before them, including the confessions of Alexis himself, +they found that he had been guilty of treason and rebellion against his +father and sovereign, and deserved to suffer death. + +"And although," said the council, in continuation, "although, both +before and since his return to Russia, the Czar his father had promised +him pardon on certain conditions, yet those conditions were +particularly and expressly specified, especially the one which provided +that he should make a full and complete confession of all his designs, +and of the names of all the persons who had been privy to them or +concerned in the execution of them. With these conditions, and +particularly the last, Alexis had not complied, but had returned +insincere and evasive answers to the questions which had been put to +him, and had concealed not only the names of a great many of the +principal persons that were involved in the conspiracy, but also the +most important designs and intentions of the conspirators, thus making +it appear that he had determined to reserve to himself an opportunity +hereafter, when a favorable occasion should present itself, of resuming +his designs and putting his wicked enterprise into execution against +his sovereign and father. He thus had rendered himself unworthy of the +pardon which his father had promised him, and had forfeited all claim +to it." + +The sentence of the council concluded in the following words: + +"It is with hearts full of affliction and eyes streaming down with +tears that we, as subjects and servants, pronounce this sentence, +considering that, being such, it does not belong to us to enter into a +judgment of so great importance, and particularly to pronounce sentence +against the son of the most mighty and merciful Czar our lord. +However, since it has been his will that we should enter into judgment, +we herein declare our real opinion, and pronounce this condemnation, +with a conscience so pure and Christian that we think we can answer for +it at the terrible, just, and impartial judgment of the Great God. + +"To conclude, we submit this sentence which we now give, and the +condemnation which we make, to the sovereign power and will, and to the +merciful review of his Czarian majesty, our most merciful monarch." + + +This document was signed in the most solemn manner by all the members +of the council, nearly one hundred in number. Among the signatures are +the names of a great number of ministers of state, counselors, +senators, governors, generals, and other personages of high civil and +military rank. The document, when thus formally authenticated, was +sent, with much solemn and imposing ceremony, to the Czar. + +The Czar, after an interval of great suspense and solicitude, during +which he seems to have endured much mental suffering, confirmed the +judgment of the council, and a day was appointed on which Alexis was to +be arraigned, in order that sentence of death, in accordance with it, +might be solemnly pronounced upon him. + +The day appointed was the 6th of July, nearly a fortnight after the +judgment of the court was rendered to the Czar. The length of this +delay indicates a severe struggle in the mind of the Czar between his +pride and honor as a sovereign, feelings which prompted him to act in +the most determined and rigorous manner in punishing a rebel against +his government, and what still remained of his parental affection for +his son. He knew well that after what had passed there could never be +any true and genuine reconciliation, and that, as long as his son +lived, his name would be the watchword of opposition and rebellion, and +his very existence would act as a potent and perpetual stimulus to the +treasonable designs which the foes of civilization and progress were +always disposed to form. He finally, therefore, determined that the +sentence of death should at least be pronounced. What his intention +was in respect to the actual execution of it can never be known. + +When the appointed day arrived a grand session of the council was +convened, and Alexis was brought out from the fortress where he was +imprisoned, and arraigned before it for the last time. He was attended +by a strong guard. On being placed at the bar of the tribunal, he was +called upon to repeat the confessions which he had made, and then the +sentence of death, as it had been sent to the Czar, was read to him. +He was then taken back again to his prison as before. + +Alexis was overwhelmed with terror and distress at finding himself thus +condemned; and the next morning intelligence was brought to the Czar +that, after suffering convulsions at intervals through the night, he +had fallen into an apoplectic fit. About noon another message was +brought, saying that he had revived in some measure from the fit, yet +his vital powers seemed to be sinking away, and the physician thought +that his life was in great danger. + +The Czar sent for the principal ministers of state to come to him, and +he waited with them in great anxiety and agitation for farther tidings. + +At length a third messenger came, and said that it was thought that +Alexis could not possibly outlive the evening, and that he longed to +see his father. The Czar immediately requested the ministers to +accompany him, and set out from his palace to go to the fortress where +Alexis was confined. On entering the room where his dying son was +lying, he was greatly moved, and Alexis himself, bursting into tears, +folded his hands and began to entreat his father's forgiveness for his +sins against him. He said that he had grievously and heinously +offended the majesty of God Almighty and of the Czar; that he hoped he +should not recover from his illness, for if he should recover he should +feel that he was unworthy to live. But he begged and implored his +father, for God's sake, to take off the curse that he had pronounced +against him, to forgive him for all the heinous crimes which he had +committed, to bestow upon him his paternal blessing, and to cause +prayers to be put up for his soul. + +While Alexis was speaking thus, the Czar himself, and all the ministers +and officers who had come with him, were melted in tears. The Czar +replied kindly to him. He referred, it is true, to the sins and crimes +of which Alexis had been guilty, but he gave him his forgiveness and +his blessing, and then took his leave with tears and lamentations which +rendered it impossible for him to speak, and in which all present +joined. The scene was heart-rending. + +[Illustration: The Czar's visit to Alexis in prison.] + +At five o'clock in the evening a major of the Guards came across the +water from the fortress to the Czar's palace with a message that Alexis +was extremely desirous to see his father once more. The Czar was at +first unwilling to comply with this request. He could not bear, he +thought, to renew the pain of such an interview. But his ministers +advised him to go. They represented to him that it was hard to deny +such a request from his dying son, who was probably tormented by the +stings of a guilty conscience, and felt relieved and comforted when his +father was near. So Peter consented to go. But just as he was going +on board the boat which was to take him over to the fortress, another +messenger came saying that it was too late. Alexis had expired. + +On the next day after the death of his son, the Czar, in order to +anticipate and preclude the false rumors in respect to the case which +he knew that his enemies would endeavor to spread throughout the +Continent, caused a brief but full statement of his trial and +condemnation, and of the circumstances of his death, to be drawn up and +sent to all his ministers abroad, in order that they might communicate +the facts in an authentic form to the courts to which they were +respectfully accredited.[2] + +The ninth day of July, the third day after the death of Alexis, was +appointed for the funeral. The body was laid in a coffin covered with +black velvet. A pall of rich gold tissue was spread over the coffin, +and in this way the body was conveyed to the church of the Holy +Trinity, where it was laid in state. It remained in this condition +during the remainder of that day and all of the next, and also on the +third day until evening. It was visited by vast crowds of people, who +were permitted to come up and kiss the hands of the deceased. + +On the evening of the third day after the body was conveyed to the +church, the funeral service was performed, and the body was conveyed to +the tomb. A large procession, headed by the Czar, the Czarina, and all +the chief nobility of the court, followed in the funeral train. The +Czar and all the other mourners carried in their hands a small wax +taper burning. The ladies were all dressed in black silks. It was +said by those who were near enough in the procession to observe the +Czar that he went weeping all the way. + +At the service in the church a funeral sermon was pronounced by the +priest from the very appropriate text, "O Absalom! my son! my son +Absalom!" + +Thus ended this dreadful tragedy. The party who had been opposed to +the reforms and improvements of the Czar seems to have become +completely disorganized after the death of Alexis, and they never again +attempted to organize any resistance to Peter's plans. Indeed, most of +the principal leaders had been executed or banished to Siberia. As to +Ottokesa, the first wife of the Czar, and the mother of Alexis, who was +proved to have been privy to his designs, she was sent away to a strong +castle, and shut up for the rest of her days in a dungeon. So close +was her confinement that even her food was put in to her through a hole +in the wall. + +It remains only to say one word in conclusion in respect to Afrosinia. +When Alexis was first arrested, it was supposed that she, having been +the slave and companion of Alexis, was a party with him in his +treasonable designs; but in the course of the examinations it appeared +very fully that whatever of connection with the affair, or +participation in it, she may have had, was involuntary and innocent, +and the testimony which she gave was of great service in unraveling the +mystery of the whole transaction. In the end, the Czar expressed his +satisfaction with her conduct in strong terms. He gave her a full +pardon for the involuntary aid which she had rendered Alexis in +carrying out his plans. He ordered every thing which had been taken +away from her to be restored, made her presents of handsome jewelry, +and said that if she would like to be married he would give her a +handsome portion out of the royal treasury. But she promptly declined +this proposal. "I have been compelled," she said, "to yield to one +man's will by force; henceforth no other shall ever come near my side." + + + +[1] This incident shows to what a reckless and brutal state of +desperation Alexis had been reduced by the obstinacy of his opposition +to his father, and by the harshness of his father's treatment of him. +He confessed, on another occasion, that he had often taken medicine to +produce an apparent sickness, in order to have an excuse for not +attending to duties which his father required of him. + +[2] There were, in fact, a great many rumors put in circulation, and +they spread very far, and were continued in circulation a long time. +One story was that Alexis was poisoned. Another, that his father +killed him with his own hands in the prison. It was said in London +that he beat him to death with an iron chain. The extent to which +these and similar stories received currency indicates pretty clearly +what ideas prevailed in men's minds at that time in respect to the +savage ferocity of Peter's character. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +CONCLUSION. + +1719-1725 + +Death of little Peter--Excessive grief of the Czar--The Czar shuts +himself up--Device of his minister--Subsequent reign--His plan for the +succession--Oath required of the people--Prince +Naraskin--Proclamation--Catharine's usefulness--Splendour of the +preparations--The interior of the church--The dais--The canopy--The +regalia--The ceremonies--Sickness and death of Peter--Natalia--The double +funeral--General character of Peter--Compared with other +sovereigns--Playful vein in his character--Examples--The Little +Grandfather--Taken to Cronstadt--Triumphal procession--Display before the +fleet--Closing festivities--Catharine proclaimed empress--Catharine's +brief reign--Her beneficent character + + +At the time of the death of Alexis the Czar's hopes in respect to a +successor fell upon his little son, Peter Petrowitz, the child of +Catharine, who was born about the time of the death of Alexis's wife, +when the difficulties between himself and Alexis were first beginning to +assume an alarming form. This child was now about three years old, but +he was of a very weak and sickly constitution, and the Czar watched him +with fear and trembling. His apprehensions proved to be well founded, +for about a year after the unhappy death of Alexis he also died. + +Peter was entirely overwhelmed with grief at this new calamity. He was +seized with the convulsions to which he was subject when under any strong +excitement, his face was distorted, and his neck was twisted and +stiffened in a most frightful manner. In ordinary attacks of this kind +Catharine had power to soothe and allay the spasmodic action of the +muscles, and gradually release her husband from the terrible gripe of the +disease, but now he would not suffer her to come near him. He could not +endure it, for the sight of her renewed so vividly the anguish that he +felt for the loss of their child, that it made the convulsions and the +suffering worse than before. + +It is said that on this occasion Peter shut himself up alone for three +days and three nights in his own chamber, where he lay stretched on the +ground in anguish and agony, and would not allow any body to come in. At +length one of his ministers of state came, and, speaking to him through +the door, appealed to him, in the most earnest manner, to come forth and +give them directions in respect to the affairs of the empire, which, he +said, urgently required his attention. The minister had brought with him +a large number of senators to support and enforce his appeal. At length +the Czar allowed the door to be opened, and the minister, with all the +senators, came together into the room. The sudden appearance of so many +persons, and the boldness of the minister in taking this decided step, +made such an impression on the mind of the Czar as to divert his mind for +the moment from his grief, and he allowed himself to be led forth and to +be persuaded to take some food. + +The death of Petrowitz took place in 1719, and the Czar continued to live +and reign himself after this period for about sixteen [Transcriber's +note: six? (Peter died in 1725)] years. During all that time he went on +vigorously and successfully in completing the reforms which he had +undertaken in the internal condition of his empire, and increasing the +power and influence of his government among surrounding nations. He had +no farther serious difficulty with the opponents of his policy, though he +was always under apprehensions that difficulties might arise after his +death. He had the right, according to the ancient constitution of the +monarchy, to designate his own successor, choosing for this purpose +either one of his sons or any other person. And now, since both his sons +were dead, his mind revolved anxiously the question what provision he +should make for the government of the empire after his decease. He +finally concluded to leave it in the hands of Catharine herself, and, to +prepare the way for this, he resolved to cause her to be solemnly crowned +empress during his lifetime. + +As a preliminary measure, however, before publicly announcing Catharine +as his intended successor, Peter required all the officers of the empire, +both civil and military, and all the nobles and other chief people of the +country, to subscribe a solemn declaration and oath that they +acknowledged the right of the Czar to appoint his successor, and that +after his death they would sustain and defend whomsoever he should name +as their emperor and sovereign. + +This declaration, printed forms of which were sent all over the kingdom, +was signed by the people very readily. No one, however, imagined that +Catharine would be the person on whom the Czar's choice would fall. It +was generally supposed that a certain Prince Naraskin would be appointed +to the succession. The Czar himself said nothing of his intention, but +waited until the time should arrive for carrying it into effect. + +The first step to be taken in carrying the measure into effect was to +issue a grand proclamation announcing his design and explaining the +reasons for it. In this proclamation Peter cited many instances from +history in which great sovereigns had raised their consorts to a seat on +the throne beside them, and then he recapitulated the great services +which Catharine had rendered to him and to the state, which made her +peculiarly deserving of such an honor. She had been a tried and devoted +friend and counselor to him, he said, for many years. She had shared his +labors and fatigues, had accompanied him on his journeys, and had even +repeatedly encountered all the discomforts and dangers of the camp in +following him in his military campaigns. By so doing she had rendered +him the most essential service, and on one occasion she had been the +means of saving his whole army from destruction. He therefore declared +his intention of joining her with himself in the supreme power, and to +celebrate this event by a solemn coronation. + +The place where the coronation was to be performed was, of course, the +ancient city of Moscow, and commands were issued to all the great +dignitaries of Church and state, and invitations to all the foreign +embassadors, to repair to that city, and be ready on the appointed day to +take part in the ceremony. + +It would be impossible to describe or to conceive, without witnessing it, +the gorgeousness and splendor of the spectacle which the coronation +afforded. The scene of the principal ceremony was the Cathedral, which +was most magnificently decorated for the occasion. The whole interior of +the building was illumined with an immense number of wax candles, +contained in chandeliers and branches of silver and gold, which were +suspended from the arches or attached to the walls. The steps of the +altar, and all that part of the pavement of the church over which the +Czarina would have to walk in the performance of the ceremonies, were +covered with rich tapestry embroidered with gold, and the seats on which +the bishops and other ecclesiastical dignitaries were to sit were covered +with crimson cloth. + +The ceremony of the coronation itself was to be performed on a dais, or +raised platform, which was set up in the middle of the church. This +platform, with the steps leading to it, was carpeted with crimson velvet, +and it was surmounted by a splendid canopy made of silk, embroidered with +gold. The canopy was ornamented, too, on every side with fringes, +ribbons, tufts, tassels, and gold lace, in the richest manner. Under the +canopy was the double throne for the emperor and empress, and near it +seats for the royal princesses, all covered with crimson velvet trimmed +with gold. + +When the appointed hour arrived the procession was formed at the royal +palace, and moved toward the Cathedral through a dense and compact mass +of spectators that every where thronged the way. Every window was +filled, and the house-tops, wherever there was space for a footing, were +crowded. There were troops of guards mounted on horseback and splendidly +caparisoned--there were bands of music, and heralds, and great officers +of state, bearing successively, on cushions ornamented with gold and +jewels, the imperial mantle, the globe, the sceptre, and the crown. In +this way the royal party proceeded to the Cathedral, and there, after +going through a great many ceremonies, which, from the magnificence of +the dresses, of the banners, and the various regal emblems that were +displayed, was very gorgeous to behold, but which it would be tedious to +describe, the crown was placed upon Catharine's head, the moment being +signalized to all Moscow by the ringing of bells, the music of trumpets +and drums, and the firing of cannon. + +The ceremonies were continued through two days by several other imposing +processions, and were closed on the night of the second day by a grand +banquet held in a spacious hall which was magnificently decorated for the +occasion. And while the regal party within the hall were being served +with the richest viands from golden vessels, the populace without were +feasted by means of oxen roasted whole in the streets, and public +fountains made to run with exhaustless supplies of wine. + +The coronation of Catharine as empress was not a mere empty ceremony. +There were connected with it formal legal arrangements for transferring +the supreme power into her hands on the death of the Czar. Nor were +these arrangements made any too soon; for it was in less than a year +after that time that the Czar, in the midst of great ceremonies of +rejoicing, connected with the betrothal of one of his daughters, the +Princess Anna Petrowna, to a foreign duke, was attacked suddenly by a +very painful disease, and, after suffering great distress and anguish for +many days, he at length expired. His death took place on the 28th of +January, 1725. + +One of his daughters, the Princess Natalia Petrowna, the third of +Catharine's children, died a short time after her father, and the bodies +of both parent and child were interred together at the same funeral +ceremony, which was conducted with the utmost possible pomp and parade. +The obsequies were so protracted that it was more than six weeks from the +death of the Czar before the bodies were finally committed to the tomb; +and a volume might be filled with an account of the processions, the +ceremonies, the prayers, the chantings, the costumes, the plumes and +trappings of horses, the sledges decked in mourning, the requiems sung, +the salvos of artillery fired, and all the various other displays and +doings connected with the occasion. + + +Thus was brought to an end the earthly personal career of Peter the +Great. He well deserves his title, for he was certainly one of the +greatest as well as one of the most extraordinary men that ever lived. +Himself half a savage, he undertook to civilize twenty millions of +people, and he pursued the work during his whole lifetime through +dangers, difficulties, and discouragements which it required a surprising +degree of determination and energy to surmount. He differs from other +great military monarchs that have appeared from time to time in the +world's history, and by their exploits have secured for themselves the +title of The Great, in this, that, while they acquired their renown by +conquests gained over foreign nations, which, in most cases, after the +death of their conquerors, lapsed again into their original condition, +leaving no permanent results behind, the triumphs which Peter achieved +were the commencement of a work of internal improvement and reform which +is now, after the lapse of a century and a half since he commenced it, +still going on. The work is, in fact, advancing at the present day with +perhaps greater and more successful progress than ever before. + +Notwithstanding the stern severity of Peter's character, the terrible +violence of his passions, and the sort of savage grandeur which marked +all his great determinations and plans, there was a certain vein of +playfulness running through his mind; and, when he was in a jocose or +merry humor, no one could be more jocose and merry than he. The interest +which he took in the use of tools, and in working with his own hands at +various handicrafts--his notion of entering the army as a drummer, the +navy as a midshipman, and rising gravely, by regular promotion in both +services, through all the grades--the way in which he often amused +himself, when on his travels, in going about in disguise among all sorts +of people, and a thousand other circumstances which are related of him by +historians, are indications of what might be called a sort of boyish +spirit, which strongly marked his character, and was seen continually +coming out into action during the whole course of his life. + +It was only two years before his death that a striking instance of this +occurred. The first vessel that was built in Russia was a small skiff, +which was planned and built almost entirely by Peter's own hands. This +skiff was built at Moscow, where it remained for twenty or thirty years, +an object all this time, in Peter's mind, of special affection and +regard. At length, when the naval power of the empire was firmly +established, Peter conceived the idea of removing this skiff from Moscow +to Petersburg, and consecrating it solemnly there as a sort of souvenir +to be preserved forever in commemoration of the small beginnings from +which all the naval greatness of the empire had sprung. The name which +he had given to the skiff was The Little Grandfather, the name denoting +that the little craft, frail and insignificant as it was, was the parent +and progenitor of all the great frigates and ships of the line which were +then at anchor in the Roads about Cronstadt and off the mouth of the Neva. + +A grand ceremony was accordingly arranged for the "consecration of the +Little Grandfather." The little vessel was brought in triumph from +Moscow to Petersburg, where it was put on board a sort of barge or +galliot to be taken to Cronstadt. All the great officers of state and +all the foreign ministers were invited to be present at the consecration. +The company embarked on board yachts provided for them, and went down the +river following the Little Grandfather, which was borne on its galliot in +the van--drums beating, trumpets sounding, and banners waving all the way. + +The next day the whole fleet, which had been collected in the bay for +this purpose, was arranged in the form of an amphitheatre. The Little +Grandfather was let down from his galliot into the water. The emperor +went on board of it. He was accompanied by the admirals and vice +admirals of the fleet, who were to serve as crew. The admiral stationed +himself at the helm to steer, and the vice admirals took the oars. These +grand officials were not required, however, to do much hard work at +rowing, for there were two shallops provided, manned by strong men, to +tow the skiff. In this way the skiff rowed to and fro over the sea, and +then passed along the fleet, saluted every where by the shouts of the +crews upon the yards and in the rigging, and by the guns of the ships. +Three thousand guns were discharged by the ships in these salvos in honor +of their humble progenitor. The Little Grandfather returned the salutes +of the guns with great spirit by means of three small swivels which had +been placed on board. + +The Empress Catharine saw the show from an elevation on the shore, where +she sat with the ladies of her court in a pavilion or tent which had been +erected for the purpose. + +At the close of the ceremonies the skiff was deposited with great +ceremony in the place which had been prepared to receive it in the Castle +of Cronstadt, and there, when one more day had been spent in banquetings +and rejoicings, the company left the Little Grandfather to his repose, +and returned in their yachts to the town. + + +Not many days after the death of Peter, Catharine, in accordance with the +arrangements that Peter had previously made, was proclaimed empress by a +solemn act of the senate and ministers of state, and she at once entered +upon the exercise of the sovereign power. She signalized her accession +by a great many acts of clemency--liberating prisoners, recalling exiles, +removing bodies from gibbets and wheels, and heads from poles, and +delivering them to friends for burial, remitting the sentence of death +pronounced upon political offenders, and otherwise mitigating and +assuaging sufferings which Peter's remorseless ideas of justice and +retribution had caused. Catharine did not, however, live long to +exercise her beneficial power. She died suddenly about two years after +her husband, and was buried with great pomp in a grand monumental tomb in +one of the churches of St. Petersburg, which she had been engaged ever +since his death in constructing for him. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PETER THE GREAT*** + + +******* This file should be named 21889-8.txt or 21889-8.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/1/8/8/21889 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at <a href = "http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre> +<p>Title: Peter the Great</p> +<p>Author: Jacob Abbott</p> +<p>Release Date: June 21, 2007 [eBook #21889]</p> +<p>Language: English</p> +<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p> +<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PETER THE GREAT***</p> +<br><br><center><h3>E-text prepared by Al Haines</h3></center><br><br> +<p> </p> +<hr class="full" noshade> +<p> </p> + +<A NAME="img-front"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-front.jpg" ALT="PORTRAIT OF PETER THE GREAT." BORDER="2" WIDTH="342" HEIGHT="462"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 342px"> +PORTRAIT OF PETER THE GREAT. +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<BR><BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Makers of History +</H3> + +<BR> + +<H1 ALIGN="center"> +Peter the Great +</H1> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +BY +</H3> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +JACOB ABBOTT +</H2> + +<BR><BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +WITH ENGRAVINGS +</H4> + +<BR><BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +NEW YORK AND LONDON +<BR> +HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS +<BR> +1902 +</H4> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H5 ALIGN="center"> +Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year <BR> +one thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, by +<BR> +HARPER & BROTHERS, +<BR> +In the Clerk's office of the District Court <BR> +of the Southern District of New York. +</H5> + +<H5 ALIGN="center"> +Copyright, 1887, by BENJAMIN VAUGHAN ABBOTT, AUSTIN ABBOTT, <BR> +LYMAN ABBOTT, and EDWARD ABBOTT. +</H5> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +PREFACE. +</H3> + +<P> +There are very few persons who have not heard of the fame of Peter the +Great, the founder, as he is generally regarded by mankind, of Russian +civilization. The celebrity, however, of the great Muscovite sovereign +among young persons is due in a great measure to the circumstance of +his having repaired personally to Holland, in the course of his efforts +to introduce the industrial arts among his people, in order to study +himself the art and mystery of shipbuilding, and of his having worked +with his own hands in a ship-yard there. The little shop where Peter +pursued these practical studies still stands in Saardam, a +ship-building town not far from Amsterdam. The building is of wood, +and is now much decayed; but, to preserve it from farther injury, it +has been incased in a somewhat larger building of brick, and it is +visited annually by great numbers of curious travelers. +</P> + +<P> +The whole history of Peter, as might be expected from the indications +of character developed by this incident, forms a narrative that is full +of interest and instruction for all. +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +[Transcriber's note: In the original book, each page had a header +summarizing the contents of that page. These headers have been +collected into introductory paragraphs at the start of each chapter. +The headers also contain the year in which the events on the page took +place. These dates have been placed between the chapter title and the +introductory paragraph, in the form of a date range, e.g., for Chapter +I, "1676-1684."] +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +CONTENTS. +</H2> + +<BR> + +<CENTER> + +<TABLE WIDTH="100%"> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">Chapter</TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> </TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">I. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap01">THE PRINCESS SOPHIA</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">II. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap02">THE PRINCESS'S DOWNFALL</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">III. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap03">THE CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH OF PETER</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">IV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap04">LE FORT AND MENZIKOFF</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">V. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap05">COMMENCEMENT OF THE REIGN</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap06">THE EMPEROR'S TOUR</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap07">CONCLUSION OF THE TOUR</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap08">THE REBELLION</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">IX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap09">REFORMS</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">X. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap10">THE BATTLE OF NARVA</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap11">THE BUILDING OF ST. PETERSBURG</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap12">THE REVOLT OF MAZEPPA</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap13">THE BATTLE OF PULTOWA</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap14">THE EMPRESS CATHARINE</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap15">THE PRINCE ALEXIS</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap16">THE FLIGHT OF ALEXIS</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap17">THE TRIAL</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap18">THE CONDEMNATION AND DEATH OF ALEXIS</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap19">CONCLUSION</A></TD> +</TR> + +</TABLE> + +</CENTER> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +ENGRAVINGS. +</H2> + +<BR> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-front"> +PORTRAIT OF PETER . . . . . . . . . . . . <I>Frontispiece</I>. +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-044"> +THE ESCAPE +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-088"> +MENZIKOFF SELLING HIS CAKES +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-127"> +PETER AMONG THE SHIPPING +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-168"> +PETER TURNING EXECUTIONER +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-197"> +MAP OF THE RUSSIAN AND SWEDISH FRONTIER +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-207"> +STRATAGEMS OF THE SWEDES +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-221"> +SITUATION OF ST. PETERSBURG +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-251"> +FLIGHT OF THE KING OF SWEDEN +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-272"> +THE EMPRESS CATHARINE +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-349"> +THE CZAR'S VISIT TO ALEXIS IN PRISON +</A> +</H3> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap01"></A> + +<H1 ALIGN="center"> +PETER THE GREAT. +</H1> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER I. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE PRINCESS SOPHIA. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +1676-1684 +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +Parentage of Peter—His father's double marriage—Death of his +father—The princesses—Their places of seclusion—Theodore and +John—Sophia uneasy in the convent—Her request—Her probable +motives—Her success—Increase of her influence—Jealousies—Parties +formed—The imperial guards—Their character and +influence—Dangers—Sophia and the soldiers—Sophia's continued +success—Death of Theodore—Peter proclaimed—Plots formed by +Sophia—Revolution—Means of exciting the people—Poisoning—Effect of +the stories that were circulating—Peter and his mother—The Monastery of +the Trinity—Natalia's flight—Narrow escape of Peter—Commotion in the +city—Sophia is unsuccessful—Couvansky's schemes—Sophia's attempt to +appease the soldiers—No effect produced—Couvansky's views—His plan of +a marriage for his son—Indignation of Sophia—A stratagem—Couvansky +falls into the snare—Excitement produced by his +death—Galitzin—Measures adopted by him—They are successful +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +The circumstances under which Peter the Great came to the throne form a +very remarkable—indeed, in some respects, quite a romantic story. +</P> + +<P> +The name of his father, who reigned as Emperor of Russia from 1645 to +1676, was Alexis Michaelowitz. In the course of his life, this Emperor +Alexis was twice married. By his first wife he had two sons, whose names +were Theodore and John,[1] and four daughters. The names of the +daughters were Sophia, Catharine, Mary, and Sediassa. By his second wife +he had two children—a son and a daughter. The name of the son was +Peter, and that of the daughter was Natalia Alexowna. Of all these +children, those with whom we have most to do are the two oldest sons, +Theodore and John, and the oldest daughter, Sophia, by the first wife; +and Peter, the oldest son by the second wife, the hero of this history. +The name of the second wife, Peter's mother, was Natalia. +</P> + +<P> +Of course, Theodore, at his father's death, was heir to the throne. Next +to him in the line of succession came John; and next after John came +Peter, the son of the second wife; for, by the ancient laws and usages of +the Muscovite monarchy, the daughters were excluded from the succession +altogether. Indeed, not only were the daughters excluded themselves from +the throne, but special precautions were taken to prevent their ever +having sons to lay claim to it. They were forbidden to marry, and, in +order to make it impossible that they should ever violate this rule, they +were all placed in convents before they arrived at a marriageable age, +and were compelled to pass their lives there in seclusion. Of course, +the convents where these princesses were lodged were very richly and +splendidly endowed, and the royal inmates enjoyed within the walls every +comfort and luxury which could possibly be procured for them in such +retreats, and which could tend in any measure to reconcile them to being +forever debarred from all the pleasures of love and the sweets of +domestic life. +</P> + +<P> +Now it so happened that both Theodore and John were feeble and sickly +children, while Peter was robust and strong. The law of descent was, +however, inexorable, and, on the death of Alexis, Theodore ascended to +the throne. Besides, even if it had been possible to choose among the +sons of Alexis, Peter was at this time altogether too young to reign, for +at his father's death he was only about four years old. He was born in +1672, and his father died in 1676. +</P> + +<P> +Theodore was at this time about sixteen. Of course, however, being so +young, and his health being so infirm, he could not take any active part +in the administration of government, but was obliged to leave every thing +in the hands of his counselors and ministers of state, who managed +affairs as they thought proper, though they acted always in Theodore's +name. +</P> + +<P> +There were a great many persons who were ambitious of having a share of +the power which the young Czar thus left in the hands of his +subordinates; and, among these, perhaps the most ambitious of all was the +Princess Sophia, Theodore's sister, who was all this time shut up in the +convent to which the rules and regulations of imperial etiquette +consigned her. She was very uneasy in this confinement, and wished very +much to get released, thinking that if she could do so she should be able +to make herself of considerable consequence in the management of public +affairs. So she made application to the authorities to be allowed to go +to the palace to see and take care of her brother in his sickness. This +application was at length complied with, and Sophia went to the palace. +Here she devoted herself with so much assiduity to the care of her +brother, watching constantly at his bedside, and suffering no one to +attend upon him or to give him medicines but herself, that she won not +only his heart, but the hearts of all the nobles of the court, by her +seemingly disinterested sisterly affection. +</P> + +<P> +Indeed, it is not by any means impossible that Sophia might have been at +first disinterested and sincere in her desire to minister to the wants of +her brother, and to solace and comfort him in his sickness. But, however +this may have been at the outset, the result was that, after a time, she +acquired so much popularity and influence that she became quite an +important personage at court. She was a very talented and accomplished +young woman, and was possessed, moreover, of a strong and masculine +character. Yet she was very agreeable and insinuating in her manners; +and she conversed so affably, and at the same time so intelligently, with +all the grandees of the empire, as they came by turns to visit her +brother in his sick chamber, that they all formed a very high estimate of +her character. +</P> + +<P> +She also obtained a great ascendency over the mind of Theodore himself, +and this, of itself, very much increased her importance in the eyes of +the courtiers. They all began to think that, if they wished to obtain +any favor of the emperor, it was essential that they should stand well +with the princess. Thus every one, finding how fast she was rising in +influence, wished to have the credit of being her earliest and most +devoted friend; so they all vied with each other in efforts to aid in +aggrandizing her. +</P> + +<P> +Things went on in this way very prosperously for a time; but at length, +as might have been anticipated, suspicions and jealousies began to arise, +and, after a time, the elements of a party opposed to the princess began +to be developed. These consisted chiefly of the old nobles of the +empire, the heads of the great families who had been accustomed, under +the emperors, to wield the chief power of the state. These persons were +naturally jealous of the ascendency which they saw that the princess was +acquiring, and they began to plot together in order to devise means for +restricting or controlling it. +</P> + +<P> +But, besides these nobles, there was another very important power at the +imperial court at this time, namely, the army. In all despotic +governments, it is necessary for the sovereign to have a powerful +military force under his command, to maintain him in his place; and it is +necessary for him to keep this force as separate and independent as +possible from the people. There was in Russia at this time a very +powerful body of troops, which had been organized by the emperors, and +was maintained by them as an imperial guard. The name of this body of +troops was the Strelitz; but, in order not to encumber the narrative +unnecessarily with foreign words, I shall call them simply the Guards. +</P> + +<P> +Of course, a body of troops like these, organized and maintained by a +despotic dynasty for the express purpose, in a great measure, of +defending the sovereign against his subjects, becomes in time a very +important element of power in the state. The officers form a class by +themselves, separate from, and jealous of the nobles of the country; and +this state of things has often led to very serious collisions and +outbreaks. The guards have sometimes proved too strong for the dynasty +that created them, and have made their own generals the real monarchs of +the country. When such a state of things as this exists, the government +which results is called a military despotism. This happened in the days +of the Roman empire. The army, which was originally formed by the +regular authorities of the country, and kept for a time in strict +subjection to them, finally became too powerful to be held any longer +under control, and they made their own leading general emperor for many +successive reigns, thus wholly subverting the republic which originally +organized and maintained them. +</P> + +<P> +It was such a military body as this which now possessed great influence +and power at Moscow. The Princess Sophia, knowing how important it would +be to her to secure the influence of such a power upon her side, paid +great attention to the officers, and omitted nothing in her power which +was calculated to increase her popularity with the whole corps. The +result was that the Guards became her friends, while a great many of the +old nobles were suspicious and jealous of her, and were beginning to +devise means to curtail her increasing influence. +</P> + +<P> +But, notwithstanding all that they could do, the influence of Sophia +increased continually, until the course of public affairs came to be, in +fact, almost entirely under her direction. The chief minister of state +was a certain Prince Galitzin, who was almost wholly devoted to her +interests. Indeed, it was through her influence that he was appointed to +his office. Things continued in this state for about six years, and +then, at length, Theodore was taken suddenly sick. It soon became +evident that he could not live. On his dying bed he designated Peter as +his successor, passing over his brother John. The reason for this was +that John was so extremely feeble and infirm that he seemed to be wholly +unfit to reign over such an empire. Besides various other maladies under +which he suffered, he was afflicted with epilepsy, a disease which +rendered it wholly unsuitable that he should assume any burdens whatever +of responsibility and care. +</P> + +<P> +It is probable that it was through the influence of some of the nobles +who were opposed to Sophia that Theodore was induced thus to designate +Peter as his successor. However this may be, Peter, though then only ten +years old, was proclaimed emperor by the nobles immediately after +Theodore's death. Sophia was much disappointed, and became greatly +indignant at these proceedings. John was her own brother, while Peter, +being a son of the second wife, was only her half-brother. John, too, on +account of his feeble health, would probably never be able to take any +charge of the government, and she thought that, if he had been allowed to +succeed Theodore, she herself might have retained the real power in her +hands, as regent, as long as she lived; whereas Peter promised to have +strength and vigor to govern the empire himself in a few years, and, in +the mean time, while he remained in his minority, it was natural to +expect that he would be under the influence of persons connected with his +own branch of the family, who would be hostile to her, and that thus her +empire would come to an end. +</P> + +<P> +So she determined to resist the transfer of the supreme power to Peter. +She secretly engaged the Guards on her side. The commander-in-chief of +the Guards was an officer named Couvansky. He readily acceded to her +proposals, and, in conjunction with him, she planned and organized a +revolution. +</P> + +<P> +In order to exasperate the people and the Guards, and excite them to the +proper pitch of violence, Sophia and Couvansky spread a report that the +late emperor had not died a natural death, but had been poisoned. This +murder had been committed, they said, by a party who hoped, by setting +Theodore and his brother John aside, to get the power into their hands in +the name of Peter, whom they intended to make emperor, in violation of +the rights of John, Theodore's true heir. There was a plan also formed, +they said, to poison all the principal officers of the Guards, who, the +conspirators knew, would oppose their wicked proceedings, and perhaps +prevent the fulfillment of them if they were not put out of the way. The +poison by which Theodore had been put to death was administered, they +said, by two physicians who attended upon him in his sickness, and who +had been bribed to give him poison with his medicine. The Guards were to +have been destroyed by means of poison, which was to have been mixed with +the brandy and the beer that was distributed to them on the occasion of +the funeral. +</P> + +<P> +These stories produced a great excitement among the Guards, and also +among a considerable portion of the people of Moscow. The guards came +out into the streets and around the palaces in great force. They first +seized the two physicians who were accused of having poisoned the +emperor, and killed them on the spot. Then they took a number of nobles +of high rank, and officers of state, who were supposed to be the leaders +of the party in favor of Peter, and the instigators of the murder of +Theodore, and, dragging them out into the public squares, slew them +without mercy. Some they cut to pieces. Others they threw down from the +wall of the imperial palace upon the soldiers' pikes below, which the men +held up for the purpose of receiving them. +</P> + +<P> +Peter was at this time with his mother in the palace. Natalia was +exceedingly alarmed, not for herself, but for her son. As soon as the +revolution broke out she made her escape from the palace, and set out +with Peter in her arms to fly to a celebrated family retreat of the +emperor's, called the Monastery of the Trinity. This monastery was a +sort of country palace of the Czar's, which, besides being a pleasant +rural retreat, was also, from its religious character, a sanctuary where +fugitives seeking refuge in it might, under all ordinary circumstances, +feel themselves beyond the reach of violence and of every species of +hostile molestation. +</P> + +<P> +Natalia fled with Peter and a few attendants to this refuge, hotly +pursued, however, all the way by a body of the Guards. If the fugitives +had been overtaken on the way, both mother and son would doubtless have +been cut to pieces without mercy. As it was, they very narrowly escaped, +for when Natalia arrived at the convent the soldiers were close upon her. +Two of them followed her in before the doors could be closed. Natalia +rushed into the church, which formed the centre of the convent inclosure, +and took refuge with her child at the foot of the altar. The soldiers +pursued her there, brandishing their swords, and were apparently on the +point of striking the fatal blow; but the sacredness of the place seemed +to arrest them at the last moment, and, after pausing an instant with +their uplifted swords in their hands, and uttering imprecations against +their victims for having thus escaped them, they sullenly retired. +</P> + +<P> +In the mean time the commotion in the city went on, and for several days +no one could foresee how it would end. At length a sort of compromise +was effected, and it was agreed by the two parties that John should be +proclaimed Czar, not alone, but in conjunction with his brother Peter, +the regency to remain for the present, as it had been, in the hands of +Sophia. Thus Sophia really gained all her ends; for the retaining of +Peter's name, as nominally Czar in conjunction with his brother, was of +no consequence, since her party had proved itself the strongest in the +struggle, and all the real power remained in her hands. She had obtained +this triumph mainly through Couvansky and the Guards; and now, having +accomplished her purposes by means of their military violence, she +wished, of course, that they should retire to their quarters, and resume +their habits of subordination, and of submission to the civil authority. +But this they would not do. Couvansky, having found how important a +personage he might become through the agency of the terrible organization +which was under his direction and control, was not disposed at once to +lay aside his power; and the soldiers, intoxicated with the delights of +riot and pillage, could not now be easily restrained. Sophia found, as a +great many other despotic rulers have done in similar cases, that she had +evoked a power which she could not now control. Couvansky and the troops +under his command continued their ravages in the city, plundering the +rich houses of every thing that could gratify their appetites and +passions, and murdering all whom they imagined to belong to the party +opposed to them. +</P> + +<P> +Sophia first tried to appease them and reduce them to order by +conciliatory measures. From the Monastery of the Trinity, to which she +had herself now retreated for safety, she sent a message to Couvansky and +to the other chiefs of the army, thanking them for the zeal which they +had shown in revenging the death of her brother, the late emperor, and in +vindicating the rights of the true successor, John, and promising to +remember, and in due time to reward, the great services which they had +rendered to the state. She added that, now, since the end which they all +had in view in the movement which they had made had been entirely and +happily accomplished, the soldiers should be restrained from any farther +violence, and recalled to their quarters. +</P> + +<P> +This message had no effect. Indeed, Couvansky, finding how great the +power was of the corps which he commanded, began to conceive the idea +that he might raise himself to the supreme command. He thought that the +Guards were all devoted to him, and would do whatever he required of +them. He held secret conferences with the principal officers under his +command, and endeavored to prepare their minds for the revolution which +he contemplated by representing to them that neither of the princes who +had been proclaimed were fit to reign. John, he said, was almost an +imbecile, on account of the numerous and hopeless bodily infirmities to +which he was subject. Peter was yet a mere boy; and then, besides, even +when he should become a man, he would very likely be subject to the same +diseases with his brother. These men would never have either the +intelligence to appreciate or the power to reward such services as the +Guards were capable of rendering to the state; whereas he, their +commander, and one of their own body, would be both able and disposed to +do them ample justice. +</P> + +<P> +Couvansky also conceived the design of securing and perpetuating the +power which he hoped thus to acquire through the army by a marriage of +his son with one of the princesses of the imperial family. He selected +Catharine, who was Sophia's sister—the one next in age to her—for the +intended bride. He cautiously proposed this plan to Sophia, hoping that +she might be induced to approve and favor it, in which case he thought +that every obstacle would be removed from his way, and the ends of his +ambition would be easily and permanently attained. +</P> + +<P> +But Sophia was perfectly indignant at such a proposal. It seemed to her +the height of presumption and audacity for a mere general in the army to +aspire to a connection by marriage with the imperial family, and to a +transfer, in consequence, of the supreme power to himself and to his +descendants forever. She resolved immediately to adopt vigorous measures +to defeat these schemes in the most effectual manner. She determined to +kill Couvansky. But, as the force which he commanded was so great that +she could not hope to accomplish any thing by an open contest, she +concluded to resort to stratagem. She accordingly pretended to favor +Couvansky's plans, and seemed to be revolving in her mind the means of +carrying them into effect. Among other things, she soon announced a +grand celebration of the Princess Catharine's fête-day, to be held at the +Monastery of the Trinity, and invited Couvansky to attend it.[2] +Couvansky joyfully accepted this invitation, supposing that the occasion +would afford him an admirable opportunity to advance his views in respect +to his son. So Couvansky, accompanied by his son, set out on the +appointed day from Moscow to proceed to the monastery. Not suspecting +any treachery, he was accompanied by only a small escort. On the road he +was waylaid by a body of two hundred horsemen, whom Galitzin, Sophia's +minister of state, had sent to the spot. Couvansky's guard was at once +overpowered, and both he and his son were taken prisoners. They were +hurried at once to a house, where preparations for receiving them had +already been made, and there, without any delay, sentence of death +against them both, on a charge of treason, was read to them, and their +heads were cut off on the spot. +</P> + +<P> +The news of this execution spread with great rapidity, and it produced, +of course, an intense excitement and commotion among all the Guards as +fast as it became known to them. They threatened vengeance against the +government for having thus assassinated, as they expressed it, their +chief and father. They soon put themselves in motion, and began +murdering, plundering, and destroying more furiously than ever. The +violence which they displayed led to a reaction. A party was formed, +even among the Guards, of persons that were disposed to discountenance +these excesses, and even to submit to the government. The minister +Galitzin took advantage of these dissensions to open a communication with +those who were disposed to return to their duty. He managed the affair +so well that, in the end, the great body of the soldiers were brought +over, and, finally, they themselves, of their own accord, slew the +officers who had been most active in the revolt, and offered their heads +to the minister in token of their submission. They also implored pardon +of the government for the violence and excess into which they had been +led. Of course, this pardon was readily granted. The places of +Couvansky and of the other officers who had been slain were filled by new +appointments, who were in the interest of the Princess Sophia, and the +whole corps returned to their duty. Order was now soon fully restored in +Moscow, rendering it safe for Sophia and her court to leave the monastery +and return to the royal palace in the town. Galitzin was promoted to a +higher office, and invested with more extended powers than he had yet +held, and Sophia found herself finally established as the real sovereign +of the country, though, of course, she reigned, in the name of her +brothers. +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[1] The Russian form of these names is Foedor [Transcriber's note: +Feodor?] and Ivan. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[2] These celebrations were somewhat similar to the birthday celebrations +of England and America, only the day on which they were held was not the +birth-day of the lady, but the fête-day, as it was called, of her patron +saint—that is, of the saint whose name she bore. All the names for +girls used in those countries where the Greek or the Catholic Church +prevails are names of saints, each one of whom has in the calendar a +certain day set apart as her fête-day. Each girl considers the saint +from whom she is named as her patron saint, and the fête-day of this +saint, instead of her own birth-day, is the anniversary which is +celebrated in honor of her. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap02"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER II. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE PRINCESS'S DOWNFALL. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +1684-1869 +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +Sophia at the height of her power—Military expeditions—The Cham of +Tartary—Mazeppa—Origin and history—His famous punishment—Subsequent +history—The war unsuccessful—Sophia's artful policy—Rewards and +honors to the army—The opposition—Their plans—Reasons for the +proposed marriage—The intended wife—Motives of politicians—Results +of Peter's marriage—Peter's country house—Return of Galitzin—The +princess's alarm—The Cossacks—Sophia's plot—The commander of the +Guards—Prince Galitzin—Details of the plot—Manner in which the plot +was discovered—Messengers dispatched—The sentinels—The detachment +arrives—Peter's place of refuge—Sophia's pretenses—The +Guards—Sophia attempts to secure them—They adhere to the cause of +Peter—Sophia's alarm—Her first deputation—Failure of the +deputation—Sophia appeals to the patriarch—His mission +fails—Sophia's despair—Her final plans—She is repulsed from the +monastery—The surrender of Thekelavitaw demanded—He is brought to +trial—He is put to the torture—His confessions—Value of them—Modes +of torture applied—Various punishments inflicted—Galitzin is +banished—His son shares his fate—Punishment of Thekelavitaw—Decision +in respect to Sophia—Peter's public entry into Moscow—He gains sole +power—Character and condition of John—Subsequent history of Sophia +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +The Princess Sophia was now in full possession of power, so that she +reigned supreme in the palaces and in the capital, while, of course, +the ordinary administration of the affairs of state, and the relations +of the empire with foreign nations, were left to Galitzin and the other +ministers. It was in 1684 that she secured possession of this power, +and in 1689 her regency came to an end, so that she was, in fact, the +ruler of the Russian empire for a period of about five years. +</P> + +<P> +During this time one or two important military expeditions were set on +foot by her government. The principal was a campaign in the southern +part of the empire for the conquest of the Crimea, which country, +previous to that time, had belonged to the Turks. Poland was at that +period a very powerful kingdom, and the Poles, having become involved +in a war with the Turks, proposed to the Russians, or Muscovites, as +they were then generally called, to join them in an attempt to conquer +the Crimea. The Tartars who inhabited the Crimea and the country to +the northeastward of it were on the side of the Turks, so that the +Russians had two enemies to contend with. +</P> + +<P> +The supreme ruler of the Tartars was a chieftain called a Cham. He was +a potentate of great power and dignity, superior, indeed, to the Czars +who ruled in Muscovy. In fact, there had been an ancient treaty by +which this superiority of the Cham was recognized and acknowledged in a +singular way—one which illustrates curiously the ideas and manners of +those times. The treaty stipulated, among other things, that whenever +the Czar and the Cham should chance to meet, the Czar should hold the +Cham's stirrup while he mounted his horse, and also feed the horse with +oats out of his cap. +</P> + +<P> +In the war between the Muscovites and the Tartars for the possession of +the Crimea, a certain personage appeared, who has since been made very +famous by the poetry of Byron. It was Mazeppa, the unfortunate +chieftain whose frightful ride through the tangled thickets of an +uncultivated country, bound naked to a wild horse, was described with +so much graphic power by the poet, and has been so often represented in +paintings and engravings. +</P> + +<P> +Mazeppa was a Polish gentleman. He was brought up as a page in the +family of the King of Poland. When he became a man he mortally +offended a certain Polish nobleman by some improprieties in which he +became involved with the nobleman's wife. The husband caused him to be +seized and cruelly scourged, and then to be bound upon the back of a +wild, ungovernable horse. When all was ready the horse was turned +loose upon the Ukrain, and, terrified with the extraordinary burden +which he felt upon his back, and uncontrolled by bit or rein, he rushed +madly on through the wildest recesses of the forest, until at length he +fell down exhausted with terror and fatigue. Some Cossack peasants +found and rescued Mazeppa, and took care of him in one of their huts +until he recovered from his wounds. +</P> + +<P> +Mazeppa was a well-educated man, and highly accomplished in the arts of +war as they were practiced in those days. He soon acquired great +popularity among the Cossacks, and, in the end, rose to be a chieftain +among them, and he distinguished himself greatly in these very +campaigns in the Crimea, fought by the Muscovites against the Turks and +Tartars during the regency of the Princess Sophia. +</P> + +<P> +If the war thus waged by the government of the empress had been +successful, it would have greatly strengthened the position of her +party in Moscow, and increased her own power; but it was not +successful. Prince Galitzin, who had the chief command of the +expedition, was obliged, after all, to withdraw his troops from the +country, and make a very unsatisfactory peace; but he did not dare to +allow the true result of the expedition to be known in Moscow, for fear +of the dissatisfaction which, he felt convinced, would be occasioned +there by such intelligence; and the distance was so great, and the +means of communication in those days were so few, that it was +comparatively easy to falsify the accounts. So, after he had made +peace with the Tartars, and began to draw off his army, he sent +couriers to Moscow to the Czars, and also to the King in Poland, with +news of great victories which he had obtained against the Tartars, of +conquests which he made in their territories, and of his finally having +compelled them to make peace on terms extremely favorable. The +Princess Sophia, as soon as this news reached her in Moscow, ordered +that arrangements should be made for great public rejoicings throughout +the empire on account of the victories which had been obtained. +According to the custom, too, of the Muscovite government, in cases +where great victories had been won, the council drew up a formal letter +of thanks and commendations to the officers and soldiers of the army, +and sent it to them by a special messenger, with promotions and other +honors for the chiefs, and rewards in money for the men. The princess +and her government hoped, by these means, to conceal the bad success of +their enterprise, and to gain, instead of losing, credit and strength +with the people. +</P> + +<P> +But during all this time a party opposed to Sophia and her plans had +been gradually forming, and it was now increasing in numbers and +influence every day. The men of this party naturally gathered around +Peter, intending to make him their leader. Peter had now grown up to +be a young man. In the next chapter we shall give some account of the +manner in which his childhood and early youth were spent; but he was +now about eighteen years old, and the party who adhered to him formed +the plan of marrying him. So they proceeded to choose him a wife. +</P> + +<P> +The reasons which led them to advocate this measure were, of course, +altogether political. They thought that if Peter were to be married, +and to have children, all the world would see that the crown must +necessarily descend in his family, since John had no children, and he +was so sickly and feeble that it was not probable that even he himself +would long survive. They knew very well, therefore, that the marriage +of Peter and the birth of an heir would turn all men's thoughts to him +as the real personage whose favor it behooved them to cultivate; and +this, they supposed, would greatly increase his importance, and so add +to the strength of the party that acted in his name. +</P> + +<P> +It turned out just as they had anticipated. The wife whom the +councilors chose for Peter was a young lady of noble birth, the +daughter of one of the great boiars, as they were called, of the +empire. Her name was Ottokessa Federowna. The Princess Sophia did all +in her power to prevent the match, but her efforts were of no avail. +Peter was married, and the event greatly increased his importance among +the nobles and among the people, and augmented the power and influence +of his party. In all cases of this kind, where a contest is going on +between rival claimants to a throne, or rival dynasties, there are some +persons, though not many, who are governed in their conduct, in respect +to the side which they take, by principles of honor and duty, and of +faithful adherence to what they suppose to be the right. But a vast +majority of courtiers and politicians in all countries and in all ages +are only anxious to find out, not which side is right, but which is +likely to be successful. Accordingly, in this case, as the marriage of +Peter made it still more probable than it was before that he would in +the end secure to his branch of the family the supreme power, it +greatly increased the tendency among the nobles to pay their court to +him and to his friends. This tendency was still more strengthened by +the expectation which soon after arose, that Peter's wife was about to +give birth to a son. The probability of the appearance of a son and +heir on Peter's side, taken in connection with the hopeless +childlessness of John, seemed to turn the scales entirely in favor of +Peter's party. This was especially the case in respect to all the +young nobles as they successively arrived at an age to take an interest +in public affairs. All these young men seemed to despise the +imbecility, and the dark and uncertain prospects of John, and to be +greatly charmed with the talents and energy of Peter, and with the +brilliant future which seemed to be opening before him. Thus even the +nobles who still adhered to the cause of Sophia and of John had the +mortification to find that their sons, as fast as they came of age, all +went over to the other side. +</P> + +<P> +Peter lived at this time with his young wife at a certain country +palace belonging to him, situated on the banks of a small river a few +miles from Moscow. The name of this country-seat was Obrogensko. +</P> + +<P> +Such was the state of things at Moscow when Prince Galitzin returned +from his campaigns in the Crimea. The prince found that the power of +Sophia and her party was rapidly waning, and that Sophia herself was in +a state of great anxiety and excitement in respect to the future. The +princess gave Galitzin a very splendid reception, and publicly rewarded +him for his pretended success in the war by bestowing upon him great +and extraordinary honors. Still many people were very suspicious of +the truth of the accounts which were circulated. The partisans of +Peter called for proofs that the victories had really been won. Prince +Galitzin brought with him to the capital a considerable force of +Cossacks, with Mazeppa at their head. The Cossacks had never before +been allowed to come into Moscow; but now, Sophia having formed a +desperate plan to save herself from the dangers that surrounded her, +and knowing that these men would unscrupulously execute any commands +that were given to them by their leaders, directed Galitzin to bring +them within the walls, under pretense to do honor to Mazeppa for the +important services which he had rendered during the war. But this +measure was very unpopular with the people, and, although the Cossacks +were actually brought within the walls, they were subjected to such +restrictions there that, after all, Sophia could not employ them for +the purpose of executing her plot, but was obliged to rely on the +regular Muscovite troops of the imperial Guard. +</P> + +<P> +The plot which she formed was nothing else than the assassination of +Peter. She saw no other way by which she could save herself from the +dangers which surrounded her, and make sure of retaining her power. +Her brother, the Czar John, was growing weaker and more insignificant +every day; while Peter and his party, who looked upon her, she knew, +with very unfriendly feelings, were growing stronger and stronger. If +Peter continued to live, her speedy downfall, she was convinced, was +sure. She accordingly determined that Peter should die. +</P> + +<P> +The commander-in-chief of the Guards at this time was a man named +Theodore Thekelavitaw. He had been raised to this exalted post by +Sophia herself on the death of Couvansky. She had selected him for +this office with special reference to his subserviency to her +interests. She determined now, accordingly, to confide to him the +execution of her scheme for the assassination of Peter. +</P> + +<P> +When Sophia proposed her plan to Prince Galitzin, he was at first +strongly opposed to it, on account of the desperate danger which would +attend such an undertaking. But she urged upon him so earnestly the +necessity of the case, representing to him that unless some very +decisive measures were adopted, not only would she herself soon be +deposed from power, but that he and all his family and friends would be +involved in the same common ruin, he at length reluctantly consented. +</P> + +<P> +The plan was at last fully matured. Thekelavitaw, the commander of the +Guards, selected six hundred men to go with him to Obrogensko. They +were to go in the night, the plan being to seize Peter in his bed. +When the appointed night arrived, the commander marshaled his men and +gave them their instructions, and the whole body set out upon their +march to Obrogensko with every prospect of successfully accomplishing +the undertaking. +</P> + +<P> +But the whole plan was defeated in a very remarkable manner. While the +commander was giving his instructions to the men, two of the soldiers, +shocked with the idea of being made the instruments of such a crime, +stole away unobserved in the darkness, and ran with all possible speed +to Obrogensko to warn Peter of his danger. Peter leaped from his bed +in consternation, and immediately sent to the apartments where his +uncles, the brothers of his mother, were lodging, to summon them to +come to him. When they came, a hurried consultation was held. There +was some doubt in the minds of Peter's uncles whether the story which +the soldiers told was to be believed. They thought it could not +possibly be true that so atrocious a crime could be contemplated by +Sophia. Accordingly, before taking any measures for sending Peter and +his family away, they determined to send messengers toward the city to +ascertain whether any detachment of Guards was really coming toward +Obrogensko. +</P> + +<P> +These messengers set off at once; but, before they had reached half way +to Moscow, they met Thekelavitaw's detachment of Guards, with +Thekelavitaw himself at the head of them, stealing furtively along the +road. The messengers hid themselves by the wayside until the troop had +gone by. Then hurrying away round by a circuitous path, they got +before the troop again, and reached the palace before the assassins +arrived. Peter had just time to get into a coach, with his wife, his +sister, and one or two other members of his family, and to drive away +from the palace before Thekelavitaw, with his band, arrived. The +sentinels who were on duty at the gates of the palace had been much +surprised at the sudden departure of Peter and his family, and now they +were astonished beyond measure at the sudden appearance of so large a +body of their comrades arriving at midnight, without any warning, from +the barracks in Moscow. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-044"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-044.jpg" ALT="The escape." BORDER="2" WIDTH="522" HEIGHT="336"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 522px"> +The escape. +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +Immediately on his arrival at the palace, Thekelavitaw's men searched +every where for Peter, but of course could not find him. They then +questioned the sentinels, and were told that Peter had left the palace +with his family in a very hurried manner but a very short time before. +No one knew where they had gone. +</P> + +<P> +There was, of course, nothing now for Thekelavitaw to do but to return, +discomfited and alarmed, to the Princess Sophia, and report the failure +of their scheme. +</P> + +<P> +In the mean time Peter had fled to the Monastery of the Trinity, the +common refuge of the family in all cases of desperate danger. The news +of the affair spread rapidly, and produced universal excitement. +Peter, from his retreat in the monastery, sent a message to Sophia, +charging her with having sent Thekelavitaw and his band to take his +life. Sophia was greatly alarmed at the turn which things had taken. +She, however, strenuously denied being guilty of the charge which Peter +made against her. She said that the soldiers under Thekelavitaw had +only gone out to Obrogensko for the purpose of relieving the guard. +This nobody believed. The idea of taking such a body of men a league +or more into the country at midnight for the purpose of relieving the +guard of a country palace was preposterous. +</P> + +<P> +The excitement increased. The leading nobles of the country began to +flock to the monastery to declare their adhesion to Peter, and their +determination to sustain and protect him. Sophia, at the same time, +did all that she could do to rally her friends. Both sides endeavored +to gain the good-will of the Guards. The princess caused them to be +assembled before her palace in Moscow, and there she appeared on a +balcony before them, accompanied by the Czar John; and the Czar made +them a speech—one, doubtless, which Sophia had prepared for him. In +this speech John stated to the Guards that his brother Peter had +retired to the Monastery of the Trinity, though for what reason he knew +not. He had, however, too much reason to fear, he said, that he was +plotting some schemes against the state. +</P> + +<P> +"We have heard," he added, "that he has summoned you to repair thither +and attend him, but we forbid your going on pain of death." +</P> + +<P> +Sophia then herself addressed the Guards, confirming what John had +said, and endeavoring artfully to awaken an interest in their minds in +her favor. The Guards listened in silence; but it seems that very +little effect was produced upon them by these harangues, for they +immediately afterward marched in a body to the monastery, and there +publicly assured Peter of their adhesion to his cause. +</P> + +<P> +Sophia was now greatly alarmed. She began to fear that all was lost. +She determined to send an embassage to Peter to deprecate his +displeasure, and, if possible, effect a reconciliation. She employed +on this commission two of her aunts, her father's sisters, who were, of +course, the aunts likewise of Peter, and the nearest family relatives, +who were equally the relatives of herself and of him. These ladies +were, of course, princesses of very high rank, and their age and family +connection were such as to lead Sophia to trust a great deal to their +intercession. +</P> + +<P> +She charged these ladies to assure Peter that she was entirely innocent +of the crime of which she was suspected, and that the stories of her +having sent the soldiers to his palace with any evil design were +fabricated by her enemies, who wished to sow dissension between herself +and him. She assured him that there had been no necessity at all for +his flight, and that he might now at any time return to Moscow with +perfect safety. +</P> + +<P> +Peter received his aunts in a very respectful manner, and listened +attentively to what they had to say; but, after they had concluded +their address to him, he assured them that his retreat to the monastery +was not without good cause: and he proceeded to state and explain all +the circumstances of the case, and to show so many and such conclusive +proofs that a conspiracy to destroy him had actually been formed, and +was on the eve of being executed, that the princesses could no longer +doubt that Sophia was really guilty. They were overwhelmed with grief +in coming to this conviction, and they declared, with tears in their +eyes, that they would not return to Moscow, but would remain at the +monastery and share the fortunes of their nephew. +</P> + +<P> +When Sophia learned what had been the result of her deputation she was +more alarmed than ever. After spending some time in perplexity and +distress, she determined to apply to the patriarch, who was the head of +the Church, and, of course, the highest ecclesiastical dignitary in the +empire. She begged and implored him to act as mediator between her and +her brother, and he was at length so moved by her tears and entreaties +that he consented to go. +</P> + +<P> +This embassage was no more successful than the other. Peter, it seems, +was provided with proof, which he offered to the patriarch, not only of +the reality of the conspiracy which had been formed, but also of the +fact that, if it had been successful, the patriarch himself was to have +been taken off, in order that another ecclesiastic more devoted to +Sophia's interests might be put in his place. The patriarch was +astonished and shocked at this intelligence, and was so much alarmed by +it that he did not dare to return to Sophia to make his report, and +decided, as the ladies had done before him, to take up his abode with +Peter in the monastery until the crisis should be passed. +</P> + +<P> +The princess was now almost in a state of despair. Prince Galitzin, it +is true, still remained with her, and there were some others in the +palace who adhered to her cause. She called these few remaining +friends together, and with them held a sorrowful and anxious +consultation, in order to determine what should now be done. It was +resolved that Thekelavitaw and one or two others who were deeply +implicated in the plot for the assassination of Peter should be secured +in a place of close concealment in the palace, and then, that the +princess herself, accompanied by Galitzin and her other leading +friends, should proceed in a body to the Monastery of the Trinity, and +there make a personal appeal to Peter, in hopes of appeasing him, and +saving themselves, if possible, from their impending fate. This plan +they proceeded to carry into effect; but before Sophia, and those who +were with her, had reached half way to the palace, they were met by a +nobleman who had been sent from the monastery to intercept them, and +order them, in Peter's name, to return to Moscow. If the princess were +to go on, she would not be received at the monastery, the messenger +said, but would find the gates closed against her. +</P> + +<P> +So Sophia and her train turned, and despairingly retraced their steps +to Moscow. +</P> + +<P> +The next day an officer, at the head of a body of the Guards three +hundred in number, was dispatched from the monastery to demand of the +Princess Sophia, at her palace, that she should give up Thekelavitaw, +in order that he might be brought to trial on a charge of treason. +Sophia was extremely unwilling to comply with this demand. She may +naturally be supposed to have desired to save her instrument and agent +from suffering the penalties of the crime which she herself had planned +and had instigated him to attempt; but the chief source of her extreme +reluctance to surrender the prisoner was her fear of the revelations +which he would be likely to make implicating her. After hesitating for +a time, being in a state during the interval of great mental distress +and anguish, she concluded that she must obey, and so Thekelavitaw was +brought out from his retreat and surrendered. The soldiers immediately +took him and some other persons who were surrendered with him, and, +securing them safely with irons, they conveyed them rapidly to the +monastery. +</P> + +<P> +Thekelavitaw was brought to trial in the great hall of the monastery, +where a court, consisting of the leading nobles, was organized to hear +his cause. He was questioned closely by his judges for a long time, +but his answers were evasive and unsatisfactory, and at length it was +determined to put him to torture, in order to compel him to confess his +crime, and to reveal the names of his confederates. This was a very +unjust and cruel mode of procedure, but it was in accordance with the +rude ideas which prevailed in those times. +</P> + +<P> +The torture which was applied to Thekelavitaw was scourging with a +knout. The knout was a large and strong whip, the lash of which +consists of a tough, thick thong of leather, prepared in a particular +way, so as greatly to increase the intensity of the agony caused by the +blows inflicted with it. Thekelavitaw endured a few strokes from this +dreadful instrument, and then declared that he was ready to confess +all; so they took him back to prison and there heard what he had to +say. He made a full statement in respect to the plot. He said that +the design was to kill Peter himself, his mother, and several other +persons, near connections of Peter's branch of the family. The +Princess Sophia was the originator of the plot, he said, and he +specified many other persons who had taken a leading part in it. +</P> + +<P> +These statements of the unhappy sufferer may have been true or they may +have been false. It is now well known that no reliance whatever can be +placed upon testimony that is extorted in this way, as men under such +circumstances will say any thing which they think will be received by +their tormentors, and be the means of bringing their sufferings to an +end. +</P> + +<P> +However it may have been in fact in this case, the testimony of +Thekelavitaw was believed. On the faith of it many more arrests were +made, and many other persons were put to the torture to compel them to +reveal additional particulars of the plot. It is said that one of the +modes of torment of the sufferers in these trials consisted in first +shaving the head and tying it in a fixed position, and then causing +boiling water to be poured, drop by drop, upon it, which in a very +short time produced, it is said, an exquisite and dreadful agony which +no mortal heroism could long endure. +</P> + +<P> +After all these extorted confessions had been received, and the persons +accused by the wretched witnesses had been secured, the court was +employed two days in determining the relative guilt of the different +criminals, and in deciding upon the punishments. Some of the prisoners +were beheaded; others were sentenced to perpetual imprisonment; others +were banished. The punishment of Prince Galitzin was banishment for +life to Siberia. He was brought before the court to hear his sentence +pronounced by the judges in form. It was to this effect, namely, "That +he was ordered to go to Karga, a town under the pole, there to remain, +as long as he lived, in disgrace with his majesty, who had, +nevertheless, of his great goodness, allowed him threepence a day for +his subsistence; but that his justice had ordained all his goods to be +forfeited to his treasury." +</P> + +<P> +Galitzin had a son who seems to have been implicated in some way with +his father in the conspiracy. At any rate, he was sentenced to share +his father's fate. Whether the companionship of his son on the long +and gloomy journey was a comfort to the prince, or whether it only +redoubled the bitterness of his calamity to see his son compelled to +endure it too, it would be difficult to say. The female members of the +family were sent with them too. +</P> + +<P> +As soon as the prince had been sent away, officers were dispatched to +take possession of his palace, and to make an inventory of the property +contained in it. The officers found a vast amount of treasure. Among +other things, they discovered a strong box buried in a vault, which +contained an immense sum of money. There were four hundred vessels of +silver of great weight, and many other rich and costly articles. All +these things were confiscated, and the proceeds put into the imperial +treasury. +</P> + +<P> +Thekelavitaw, the commander-in-chief of the Guards, had his head cut +off. The subordinate officer who had the immediate command of the +detachment which marched out to Obrogensko was punished by being first +scourged with the knout, then having his tongue cut out, and then being +sent to Siberia in perpetual banishment, with an allowance for his +subsistence of one third the pittance which had been granted to +Galitzin. Some of the private soldiers of the detachment were also +sentenced to have their tongues cut out, and then to be sent to Siberia +to earn their living there by hunting sables. +</P> + +<P> +Peter was not willing that the Princess Sophia, being his sister, +should be publicly punished or openly disgraced in any way, so it was +decreed that she should retire to a certain convent, situated in a +solitary place a little way out of town, where she could be closely +watched and guarded. Sophia was extremely unwilling to obey this +decree, and she would not go to the convent of her own accord. The +commander of the Guards was thereupon directed to send a body of armed +men to convey her there, with orders to take her by force if she would +not go willingly; so Sophia was compelled to submit, and, when she was +lodged in the convent, soldiers were placed not only to keep sentinel +at the doors, but also to guard all the avenues leading to the place, +so as effectually to cut the poor prisoner off from all possible +communication with any who might be disposed to sympathize with her or +aid her. She remained in this condition, a close prisoner, for many +years. +</P> + +<P> +Two days after this—every thing connected with the conspiracy having +been settled—it was determined that Peter should return to Moscow. He +made a grand triumphant entry into the city, attended by an armed +escort of eighteen thousand of the Guards. Peter himself rode +conspicuously at the head of the troops on horseback. His wife and his +mother followed in a coach. +</P> + +<P> +On arriving at the royal palace, he was met on the staircase by his +brother John, who was not supposed to have taken any part in Sophia's +conspiracy. Peter greeted his brother kindly, and said he hoped that +they were friends. John replied in the same spirit, and so the two +brothers were reinstated again as joint possessors, nominally, of the +supreme power, but, now that Sophia was removed out of the way, and all +her leading friends and partisans were either beheaded or banished, the +whole control of the government fell, in fact, into the hands of Peter +and of his counselors and friends. +</P> + +<P> +John, his brother Czar, was too feeble and inefficient to take any part +whatever in the management of public affairs. He was melancholy and +dejected in spirit, in consequence of his infirmities and sufferings, +and he spent most of his time in acts of devotion, according to the +rites and usages of the established church of the country, as the best +means within his knowledge of preparing himself for another and happier +world. He died about seven years after this time. +</P> + +<P> +The Princess Sophia lived for fifteen years a prisoner. During this +period several efforts were made by those who still adhered to her +cause to effect her release and her restoration to power, but they were +all unsuccessful. She remained in close confinement as long as she +lived. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap03"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER III. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH OF PETER. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +1677-1688 +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +Troublous times in the family—Peter's first governor—His +qualifications—Peter's earliest studies—His disposition and +character—Sophia's jealousy of him—Her plans for corrupting his +morals—The governor is dismissed—New system adopted—Sophia's +expectations—Peter's fifty playmates—The plot does not succeed—Peter +organizes a military school—Peter a practical mechanic—His ideas and +intentions—His drumming—His wheelbarrow—Progress of the +school—Results of Peter's energy of character +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +We must now go back a little in our narrative, in order to give some +account of the manner in which the childhood and early youth of Peter +were spent, and of the indications which appeared in this early period +of his life to mark his character. He was only eighteen years of age +at the time of his marriage, and, of course, all those contests and +dissensions which, for so many years after his father Alexis's death, +continued to distract the family, took place while he was very young. +He was only about nine years old when they began, at the time of the +death of his father. +</P> + +<P> +The person whom Peter's father selected to take charge of his little +son's education, in the first instance, was a very accomplished general +named Menesius. General Menesius was a Scotchman by birth, and he had +been well educated in the literary seminaries of his native country, so +that, besides his knowledge and skill in every thing which pertained to +the art of war, he was well versed in all the European languages, and, +having traveled extensively in the different countries of Europe, he +was qualified to instruct Peter, when he should become old enough to +take an interest in such inquiries, in the arts and sciences of western +Europe, and in the character of the civilization of the various +countries, and the different degrees of progress which they had +respectively made. +</P> + +<P> +At the time, however, when Peter was put under his governor's charge he +was only about five years old, and, consequently, none but the most +elementary studies were at that time suited to his years. Of course, +it was not the duty of General Menesius to attend personally to the +instruction of his little pupil in these things, but only to see to it +that the proper teachers were appointed, and that they attended to +their duties in a faithful manner. +</P> + +<P> +Every thing went on prosperously and well under this arrangement as +long as the Czar Alexis, Peter's father, continued to live. General +Menesius resided in the palace with his charge, and he gradually began +to form a strong attachment to him. Indeed, Peter was so full of life +and spirit, and evinced so much intelligence in all that he did and +said, and learned what was proper to be taught him at that age with so +much readiness and facility, that he was a favorite with all who knew +him; that is, with all who belonged to or were connected with his +mother's branch of the family. With those who were connected with the +children of Alexis' first wife he was an object of continual jealousy +and suspicion, and the greater the proofs that he gave of talent and +capacity, the more jealous of him these his natural rivals became. +</P> + +<P> +At length, when Alexis, his father, died, and his half-brother Theodore +succeeded to the throne, the division between the two branches of the +family became more decided than ever; and when Sophia obtained her +release from the convent, and managed to get the control of public +affairs, in consequence of Theodore's imbecility, as related in the +first chapter, one of the first sources of uneasiness for her, in +respect to the continuance of her power, was the probability that Peter +would grow up to be a talented and energetic young man, and would +sooner or later take the government into his own hands. She revolved +in her mind many plans for preventing this. The one which seemed to +her most feasible at first was to attempt to spoil the boy by +indulgence and luxury. +</P> + +<P> +She accordingly, it is said, attempted to induce Menesius to alter the +arrangements which he had made for Peter, so as to release him from +restraint, and allow him to do as he pleased. Her plan was also to +supply him with means of pleasure and indulgence very freely, thinking +that a boy of his age would not have the good sense or the resolution +to resist these temptations. Thus she thought that his progress in +study would be effectually impeded, and that, perhaps, he would +undermine his health and destroy his constitution by eating and +drinking, or by other hurtful indulgences. +</P> + +<P> +But Sophia found that she could not induce General Menesius to +co-operate with her in any such plans. He had set his heart on making +his pupil a virtuous and an accomplished man, and he knew very well +that the system of laxity and indulgence which Sophia recommended would +end in his ruin. After a considerable contest, Sophia, finding that +Menesius was inflexible, manoeuvred to cause him to be dismissed from +his office, and to have another arrangement made for the boy, by which +she thought her ends would be attained. So Menesius bade his young +charge farewell, not, however, without giving him, in parting, most +urgent counsels to persevere, as he had begun, in the faithful +performance of his duty, to resist every temptation to idleness or +excess, and to devote himself, while young, with patience, +perseverance, and industry to the work of storing his mind with useful +knowledge, and of acquiring every possible art and accomplishment which +could be of advantage to him when he became a man. +</P> + +<P> +After General Menesius had been dismissed, Sophia adopted an entirely +new system for the management of Peter. Before this time Theodore had +died, and Peter, in conjunction with John, had been proclaimed emperor, +Sophia governing as regent in their names. The princess now made an +arrangement for establishing Peter in a household of his own, at a +palace situated in a small village at some distance from Moscow, and +she appointed fifty boys to live with him as his playmates and amusers. +These boys were provided with every possible means of indulgence, and +were subject to very little restraint. The intention of Sophia was +that they should do just as they pleased, and she had no doubt that +they would spend their time in such a manner that they would all grow +up idle, vicious, and good for nothing. There was even some hope that +Peter would impair his health to such an extent by excessive +indulgences as to bring him to an early grave. +</P> + +<P> +Indeed, the plot was so well contrived that there are probably not many +boys who would not, under such circumstances, have fallen into the +snare so adroitly laid for them and been ruined; but Peter escaped it. +Whether it was from the influence of the counsels and instructions of +his former governor, or from his own native good sense, or from both +combined, he resisted the temptations that were laid before him, and, +instead of giving up his studies, and spending his time in indolence +and vice, he improved such privileges as he enjoyed to the best of his +ability. He even contrived to turn the hours of play, and the +companions who had been given to him as mere instruments of pleasure, +into means of improvement. He caused the boys to be organized into a +sort of military school, and learned with them all the evolutions, and +practiced all the discipline necessary in a camp. He himself began at +the very beginning. He caused himself to be taught to drum, not merely +as most boys do, just to make a noise for his amusement, but regularly +and scientifically, so as to enable him to understand and execute all +the beats and signals used in camp and on the field of battle. He +studied fortification, and set the boys at work, himself among them, in +constructing a battery in a regular and scientific manner. He learned +the use of tools, too, practically, in a shop which had been provided +for the boys as a place for play; and the wheelbarrow with which he +worked in making the fortification was one which he had constructed +with his own hands. +</P> + +<P> +He did not assume any superiority over his companions in these +exercises, but took his place among them as an equal, obeying the +commands which were given to him, when it came to his turn to serve, +and taking his full share of all the hardest of the work which was to +be done. +</P> + +<P> +Nor was this all mere boys' play, pursued for a little time as long as +the novelty lasted, and then thrown aside for something more amusing. +Peter knew that when he became a man he would be emperor of all Russia. +He knew that among the populations of that immense country there were a +great many wild and turbulent tribes, half savage in habits and +character, that would never be controlled but by military force, and +that the country, too, was surrounded by other nations that would +sometimes, unless he was well prepared for them, assume a hostile +attitude against his government, and perhaps make great aggressions +upon his territories. He wished, therefore, to prepare himself for the +emergencies that might in future arise by making himself thoroughly +acquainted with all the details of the military art. He did not +expect, it is true, that he should ever be called upon to serve in any +of his armies as an actual drummer, or to wheel earth and construct +fortifications with his own hands, still less to make the wheelbarrows +by which the work was to be done; but he was aware that he could +superintend these things far more intelligently and successfully if he +knew in detail precisely how every thing ought to be done, and that was +the reason why he took so much pains to learn himself how to do them. +</P> + +<P> +As he grew older he contrived to introduce higher and higher branches +of military art into the school, and to improve and perfect the +organization of it in every way. After a while he adopted improved +uniforms and equipments for the pupils, such as were used at the +military schools of the different nations of Europe; and he established +professors of different branches of military science as fast as he +himself and his companions advanced in years and in power of +appreciating studies more and more elevated. The result was, that +when, at length, he was eighteen years of age, and the time arrived for +him to leave the place, the institution had become completely +established as a well-organized and well-appointed military school, and +it continued in successful operation as such for a long time afterward. +</P> + +<P> +It was in a great measure in consequence of the energy and talent which +Peter thus displayed that so many of the leading nobles attached +themselves to his cause, by which means he was finally enabled to +depose Sophia from her regency, and take the power into his own hands, +even before he was of age, as related in the last chapter. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap04"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER IV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +LE FORT AND MENZIKOFF. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +1689-1691 +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +Conditions of success in life—The selection of agents—Building a +house—Secret of success—Peter's youth—Le Fort and Menzikoff—Merchants +of Amsterdam—Le Fort in the counting-house—He goes to Copenhagen—He +becomes acquainted with military life—The ambassador—Le Fort an +interpreter—He attracts the attention of the emperor—His judicious +answers—Gratification of the emperor—The embassador's opinion—The +glass of wine—Le Fort given up to the emperor—His appointment at +court—His subsequent career—Uniforms—Le Fort's suggestion—An +embassador's train—Surprise and pleasure of the Czar—Le Fort undertakes +a commission—Making of the uniforms—He enlists a company—The company +appears before the emperor—The result—New improvements +proposed—Changes—Remodeling of the tariff—Effects of the change—The +finances—Carpenters and masons brought in—New palace—Le Fort's +increasing influence—His generosity—Peter's violent temper—Le Fort an +intercessor—Prince Menzikoff—His early history—He sets off to seek his +fortune—His pies and cakes—Negotiations with the emperor—Menzikoff in +Le Fort's company—Menzikoff's real character—Quarrel between Peter and +his wife—Cause of the quarrel—Ottokesa's cruel fate—Grave faults in +Peter's character +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +Whatever may be a person's situation in life, his success in his +undertakings depends not more, after all, upon his own personal ability +to do what is required to be done, than it does upon his sagacity and the +soundness of his judgment in selecting the proper persons to co-operate +with him and assist him in doing it. In all great enterprises undertaken +by men, it is only a very small part which they can execute with their +own hands, and multitudes of most excellently contrived plans fail for +want of wisdom in the choice of the men who are depended upon for the +accomplishment of them. +</P> + +<P> +This is true in all things, small as well as great. A man may form a +very wise scheme for building a house. He may choose an excellent place +for the location of it, and draw up a good plan, and make ample +arrangements for the supply of funds, but if he does not know how to +choose, or where to find good builders, his scheme will come to a +miserable end. He may choose builders that are competent but dishonest, +or they may be honest but incompetent, or they may be subject to some +other radical defect; in either of which cases the house will be badly +built, and the scheme will be a failure. +</P> + +<P> +Many men say, when such a misfortune as this happens to them, "Ah! it was +not my fault. It was the fault of the builders;" to which the proper +reply would be, "It <I>was</I> your fault. You should not have undertaken to +build a house unless, in addition to being able to form the general plan +and arrangements wisely, you had also had the sagacity to discern the +characters of the men whom you were to employ to execute the work." This +latter quality is as important to success in all undertakings as the +former. Indeed, it is far more important, for good <I>men</I> may correct or +avoid the evils of a bad plan, but a good plan can never afford security +against the evil action of bad men. +</P> + +<P> +The sovereigns and great military commanders that have acquired the +highest celebrity in history have always been remarkable for their tact +and sagacity in discovering and bringing forward the right kind of talent +for the successful accomplishment of their various designs. +</P> + +<P> +When Peter first found himself nominally in possession of the supreme +power, after the fall of the Princess Sophia, he was very young, and the +administration of the government was really in the hands of different +nobles and officers of state, who managed affairs in his name. From time +to time there were great dissensions among these men. They formed +themselves into cliques and coteries, each of which was jealous of the +influence of the others. As Peter gradually grew older, and felt +stronger and stronger in his position, he took a greater part in the +direction and control of the public policy, and the persons whom he first +made choice of to aid him in his plans were two very able men, whom he +afterward raised to positions of great responsibility and honor. These +men became, indeed, in the end, highly distinguished as statesmen, and +were very prominent and very efficient instruments in the development and +realization of Peter's plans. The name of the first of these statesmen +was Le Fort; that of the second was Menzikoff. The story which is told +by the old historians of both of these men is quite romantic. +</P> + +<P> +Le Fort was the son of a merchant of Geneva. He had a strong desire from +his childhood to be a soldier, but his father, considering the hardships +and dangers to which a military life would expose him, preferred to make +him a merchant, and so he provided him with a place in the counting-house +of one of the great merchants of Amsterdam. The city of Amsterdam was in +those days one of the greatest and wealthiest marts of commerce in the +world. +</P> + +<P> +Very many young men, in being thus restrained by their fathers from +pursuing the profession which they themselves chose, and placed, instead, +in a situation which they did not like, would have gone to their duty in +a discontented and sullen manner, and would have made no effort to +succeed in the business or to please their employers; but Le Fort, it +seems, was a boy of a different mould from this. He went to his work in +the counting-house at Amsterdam with a good heart, and devoted himself to +his business with so much industry and steadiness, and evinced withal so +much amiableness of disposition in his intercourse with all around him, +that before long, as the accounts say, the merchant "loved him as his own +child." After some considerable time had elapsed, the merchant, who was +constantly sending vessels to different parts of the world, was on one +occasion about dispatching a ship to Copenhagen, and Le Fort asked +permission to go in her. The merchant was not only willing that he +should go, but also gave him the whole charge of the cargo, with +instructions to attend to the sale of it, and the remittance of the +proceeds on the arrival of the ship in port. Le Fort accordingly sailed +in the ship, and on his arrival at Copenhagen he transacted the business +of selling the cargo and sending back the money so skillfully and well +that the merchant was very well pleased with him. +</P> + +<P> +Copenhagen is the capital of Denmark, and the Danes were at that time +quite a powerful and warlike nation. Le Fort, in walking about the +streets of the town while his ship was lying there, often saw the Danish +soldiers marching to and fro, and performing their evolutions, and the +sight revived in his mind his former interest in being a soldier. He +soon made acquaintance with some of the officers, and, in hearing them +talk of their various adventures, and of the details of their mode of +life, he became very eager to join them. They liked him, too, very much. +He had made great progress in learning the different languages spoken in +that part of the world, and the officers found, moreover, that he was +very quick in understanding the military principles which they explained +to him, and in learning evolutions of all kinds. +</P> + +<P> +About this time it happened that an embassador was to be sent from +Denmark to Russia, and Le Fort, who had a great inclination to see the +world as well as to be a soldier, was seized with a strong desire to +accompany the expedition in the embassador's train. He already knew +something of the Russian language, and he set himself at work with all +diligence to study it more. He also obtained recommendations from those +who had known him—probably, among others, from the merchant in +Amsterdam, and he secured the influence in his favor of the officers in +Copenhagen with whom he had become acquainted. When these preliminary +steps had been taken, he made application for the post of interpreter to +the embassy; and after a proper examination had been made in respect to +his character and his qualifications, he received the appointment. Thus, +instead of going back to Amsterdam after his cargo was sold, he went to +Russia in the suite of the embassador. +</P> + +<P> +The embassador soon formed a very strong friendship for his young +interpreter, and employed him confidentially, when he arrived in Moscow, +in many important services. The embassador himself soon acquired great +influence at Moscow, and was admitted to quite familiar intercourse, not +only with the leading Russian noblemen, but also with Peter himself. On +one occasion, when Peter was dining at the embassador's—as it seems he +was sometimes accustomed to do—he took notice of Le Fort, who was +present as one of the party, on account of his prepossessing appearance +and agreeable manners. He also observed that, for a foreigner, he spoke +the Russian language remarkably well. The emperor asked Le Fort some +questions concerning his origin and history, and, being very much pleased +with his answers, and with his general air and demeanor, he asked him +whether he should be willing to enter into his service. Le Fort replied +in a very respectful manner, "That, whatever ambition he might have to +serve so great a monarch, yet the duty and gratitude which he owed to his +present master, the embassador, would not allow him to promise any thing +without first asking his consent." +</P> + +<P> +"Very well," replied the Czar; "<I>I</I> will ask your master's consent." +</P> + +<P> +"But I hope," said Le Fort, "that your majesty will make use of some +other interpreter than myself in asking the question." +</P> + +<P> +Peter was very much pleased with both these answers of Le Fort—the one +showing his scrupulous fidelity to his engagements in not being willing +to leave one service for another, however advantageous to himself the +change might be, until he was honorably released by his first employer, +and the other marking the delicacy of mind which prompted him to wish not +to take any part in the conversation between the emperor and the +embassador respecting himself, as his office of interpreter would +naturally lead him to do, but to prefer that the communication should be +made through an indifferent person, in order that the embassador might be +perfectly free to express his real opinion without any reserve. +</P> + +<P> +Accordingly, the Czar, taking another interpreter with him, went to the +embassador and began to ask him about Le Fort. +</P> + +<P> +"He speaks very good Russian," said Peter. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, please your majesty," said the embassador, "he has a genius for +learning any thing that he pleases. When he came to me four months ago +he knew very little of German, but now he speaks it very well. I have +two German interpreters in my train, and he speaks the language as well +as either of them. He did not know a word of Russian when he came to my +country, but your majesty can judge yourself how well he speaks it now." +</P> + +<P> +In the mean time, while Peter and the embassador were talking thus about +Le Fort, he himself had withdrawn to another part of the room. The Czar +was very much pleased with the modesty of the young gentleman's behavior; +and, after finishing the conversation with the embassador, without, +however, having asked him to release Le Fort from his service, he +returned to the part of the room where Le Fort was, and presently asked +him to bring him a glass of wine. He said no more to him at that time in +respect to entering his service, but Le Fort understood very well from +his countenance, and from the manner in which he asked him for the wine, +that nothing had occurred in his conversation with the embassador to lead +him to change his mind. +</P> + +<P> +The next day Peter, having probably in the mean time made some farther +inquiries about Le Fort, introduced the subject again in conversation +with the embassador. He told the embassador that he had a desire to have +the young man Le Fort about him, and asked if he should be willing to +part with him. The embassador replied that, notwithstanding any desire +he might feel to retain so agreeable and promising a man in his own +service, still the exchange was too advantageous to Le Fort, and he +wished him too well to make any objection to it; and besides, he added, +he knew too well his duty to his majesty not to consent readily to any +arrangement of that kind that his majesty might desire. +</P> + +<P> +The next day Peter sent for Le Fort, and formally appointed him his first +interpreter. The duties of this office required Le Fort to be a great +deal in the emperor's presence, and Peter soon became extremely attached +to him. Le Fort, although we have called him a young man, was now about +thirty-five years of age, while Peter himself was yet not twenty. It was +natural, therefore, that Peter should soon learn to place great +confidence in him, and often look to him for information, and this the +more readily on account of Le Fort's having been brought up in the heart +of Europe, where all the arts of civilization, both those connected with +peace and war, were in a much more advanced state than they were at this +time in Russia. +</P> + +<P> +Le Fort continued in the service of the emperor until the day of his +death, which happened about ten years after this time; and during this +period he rose to great distinction, and exercised a very important part +in the management of public affairs, and more particularly in aiding +Peter to understand and to introduce into his own dominions the arts and +improvements of western Europe. +</P> + +<P> +The first improvement which Le Fort was the means of introducing in the +affairs of the Czar related to the dress and equipment of the troops. +The Guards had before that time been accustomed to wear an old-fashioned +Russian uniform, which was far from being convenient. The outside +garment was a sort of long coat or gown, which considerably impeded the +motion of the limbs. One day, not long after Le Fort entered the service +of the emperor, Peter, being engaged in conversation with him, asked him +what he thought of his soldiers. +</P> + +<P> +"The men themselves are very well," replied Le Port, "but it seems to me +that the dress which they wear is not so convenient for military use as +the style of dress now usually adopted among the western nations." +</P> + +<P> +Peter asked what this style was, and Le Fort replied that if his majesty +would permit him to do so, he would take measures for affording him an +opportunity to see. +</P> + +<P> +Accordingly, Le Fort repaired immediately to the tailor of the Danish +embassador. This tailor the embassador had brought with him from +Copenhagen, for it was the custom in those days for personages of high +rank and station, like the embassador, to take with them, in their train, +persons of all the trades and professions which they might require, so +that, wherever they might be, they could have the means of supplying all +their wants within themselves, and without at all depending upon the +people whom they visited. Le Fort employed the tailor to make him two +military suits, in the style worn by the royal guards at Copenhagen—one +for an officer, and another for a soldier of the ranks. The tailor +finished the first suit in two days. Le Fort put the dress on, and in +the morning, at the time when, according to his usual custom, he was to +wait upon the emperor in his chamber, he went in wearing the new uniform. +</P> + +<P> +The Czar was surprised at the unexpected spectacle. At first he did not +know Le Fort in his new garb; and when at length he recognized him, and +began to understand the case, he was exceedingly pleased. He examined +the uniform in every part, and praised not only the dress itself, but +also Le Fort's ingenuity and diligence in procuring him so good an +opportunity to know what the military style of the western nations really +was. +</P> + +<P> +Soon after this Le Fort appeared again in the emperor's presence wearing +the uniform of a common soldier. The emperor examined this dress too, +and saw the superiority of it in respect to its convenience, and its +adaptedness to the wants and emergencies of military life. He said at +once that he should like to have a company of guards dressed and equipped +in that manner, and should be also very much pleased to have them +disciplined and drilled according to the western style. Le Fort said +that if his majesty was pleased to intrust him with the commission, he +would endeavor to organize such a company. +</P> + +<P> +The emperor requested him to do so, and Le Port immediately undertook the +task. He went about Moscow to all the different merchants to procure the +materials necessary—for many of these materials were such as were not +much in use in Moscow, and so it was not easy to procure them in +sufficient quantities to make the number of suits that Le Fort required. +He also sought out all the tailors that he could find at the houses of +the different embassadors, or of the great merchants who came from +western Europe, and were consequently acquainted with the mode of cutting +and making the dresses in the proper manner. Of course, a considerable +number of tailors would be necessary to make up so many uniforms in the +short space of time which Le Fort wished to allot to the work. +</P> + +<P> +Le Fort then went about among the strangers and foreigners at Moscow, +both those connected with the embassadors and others, to find men that +were in some degree acquainted with the drill and tactics of the western +armies, who were willing to serve in the company that he was about to +organize. He soon made up a company of fifty men. When this company was +completed, and clothed in the new uniform, and had been properly drilled, +Le Fort put himself at the head of them one morning, and marched them, +with drums beating and colors flying, before the palace gate. The Czar +came to the window to see them as they passed. He was much surprised at +the spectacle, and very much pleased. He came down to look at the men +more closely; he stood by while they went through the exercises in which +Le Fort had drilled them. The emperor was so much pleased that he said +he would join the company himself. He wished to learn to perform the +exercise personally, so as to know in a practical manner precisely how +others ought to perform it. He accordingly caused a dress to be made for +himself, and he took his place afterward in the ranks as a common +soldier, and was drilled with the rest in all the exercises. +</P> + +<P> +From this beginning the change went on until the style of dress and the +system of tactics for the whole imperial army was reformed by the +introduction of the compact and scientific system of western Europe, in +the place of the old-fashioned and cumbrous usages which had previously +prevailed. +</P> + +<P> +The emperor having experienced the immense advantages which resulted from +the adoption of western improvements in his army, wished now to make an +experiment of introducing, in the same way, the elements of western +civilization into the ordinary branches of industry and art. He proposed +to Le Fort to make arrangements for bringing into the country a great +number of mechanics and artisans from Denmark, Germany, France, and other +European countries, in order that their improved methods and processes +might be introduced into Russia. Le Fort readily entered into this +proposal, but he explained to the emperor that, in order to render such a +measure successful on the scale necessary for the accomplishment of any +important good, it would be first requisite to make some considerable +changes in the general laws of the land, especially in relation to +intercourse with foreign nations. On his making known fully and in +detail what these changes would be, the emperor readily acceded to them, +and the proposed modifications of the laws were made. The tariff of +duties on the products and manufactures of foreign countries was greatly +reduced. This produced a two-fold effect. +</P> + +<P> +In the first place, it greatly increased the importations of goods from +foreign countries, and thus promoted the intercourse of the Russians with +foreign merchants, manufacturers, and artisans, and gradually accustomed +the people to a better style of living, and to improved fashions in +dress, furniture, and equipage, and thus prepared the country to furnish +an extensive market for the encouragement of Russian arts and +manufactures as fast as they could be introduced. +</P> + +<P> +In the second place, the new system greatly increased the revenues of the +empire. It is true that the tariff was reduced, so that the articles +that were imported paid only about half as much in proportion after the +change as before. But then the new laws increased the importations so +much, that the loss was very much more than made up to the treasury, and +the emperor found in a very short time that the state of his finances was +greatly improved. This enabled him to take measures for introducing into +the country great numbers of foreign manufacturers and artisans from +Germany, France, Scotland, and other countries of western Europe. These +men were brought into the country by the emperor, and sustained there at +the public expense, until they had become so far established in their +several professions and trades that they could maintain themselves. +Among others, he brought in a great many carpenters and masons to teach +the Russians to build better habitations than those which they had been +accustomed to content themselves with, which were, in general, wooden +huts of very rude and inconvenient construction. One of the first +undertakings in which the masons were employed was the building of a +handsome palace of hewn stone in Moscow for the emperor himself, the +first edifice of that kind which had ever been built in that city. The +sight of a palace formed of so elegant and durable a material excited the +emulation of all the wealthy noblemen, so that, as soon as the masons +were released from their engagement with the emperor, they found plenty +of employment in building new houses and palaces for these noblemen. +</P> + +<P> +These and a great many other similar measures were devised by Le Fort +during the time that he continued in the service of the Czar, and the +success which attended all his plans and proposals gave him, in the end, +great influence, and was the means of acquiring for him great credit and +renown. And yet he was so discreet and unpretending in his manners and +demeanor, if the accounts which have come down to us respecting him are +correct, that the high favor in which he was held by the emperor did not +awaken in the hearts of the native nobles of the land any considerable +degree of that jealousy and ill-will which they might have been expected +to excite. Le Fort was of a very self-sacrificing and disinterested +disposition. He was generous in his dealings with all, and he often +exerted the ascendency which he had acquired over the mind of the emperor +to save other officers from undeserved or excessive punishment when they +displeased their august master; for it must be confessed that Peter, +notwithstanding all the excellences of his character, had the reputation +at this period of his life of being hasty and passionate. He was very +impatient of contradiction, and he could not tolerate any species of +opposition to his wishes. Being possessed himself of great decision of +character, and delighting, as he did, in promptness and energy of action, +he lost all patience sometimes, when annoyed by the delays, or the +hesitation, or the inefficiency of others, who were not so richly endowed +by nature as himself. In these cases he was often unreasonable, and +sometimes violent; and he would in many instances have acted in an +ungenerous and cruel manner if Le Fort had not always been at hand to +restrain and appease him. +</P> + +<P> +Le Fort always acted as intercessor in cases of difficulty of this sort; +so that the Russian noblemen, or boyars as they were called, in the end +looked upon him as their father. It is said that he actually saved the +lives of great numbers of them, whom Peter, without his intercession, +would have sentenced to death. Others he saved from the knout, and +others from banishment. At one time, when the emperor in a passion, was +going to cause one of his officers to be scourged, although, as Le Fort +thought, he had been guilty of no wrong which could deserve such a +punishment, Le Fort, after all other means had failed, bared his own +breast and shoulders, and bade the angry emperor to strike or cut there +if he would, but to spare the innocent person. The Czar was entirely +overcome by this noble generosity, and, clasping Le Fort in his arms, +thanked him for his interposition, at the same time allowing the +trembling prisoner to depart in peace, with his heart full of gratitude +toward the friend who had so nobly saved him. +</P> + +<P> +Another of the chief officers in Peter's service during the early part of +his reign was the Prince Menzikoff. His origin was very humble. His +Christian name was Alexander, and his father was a laboring man in the +service of a monastery on the banks of the Volga. The monasteries of +those times were endowed with large tracts of valuable land, which were +cultivated by servants or vassals, and from the proceeds of this +cultivation the monks were supported, and the monastery buildings kept in +repair or enlarged. +</P> + +<P> +Alexander spent the early years of his life in working with his father on +the monastery lands; but, being a lad of great spirit and energy, he +gradually became dissatisfied with this mode of life; for the peasants of +those days, such as his father, who tilled the lands of the nobles or of +the monks, were little better than slaves. Alexander, then, when he +arrived at the age of thirteen or fourteen, finding his situation and +prospects at home very gloomy and discouraging, concluded to go out into +the world and seek his fortune. +</P> + +<P> +So he left his father's hut and set out for Moscow. After meeting with +various adventures on the way and in the city, he finally found a place +in a pastry-cook's shop; but, instead of being employed in making and +baking the pies and tarts, he was sent out into the streets to sell them. +In order to attract customers to his merchandise, he used to sing songs +and tell stories in the streets. Indeed, it was the talent which he +evinced in these arts, doubtless, which led his master to employ him in +this way, instead of keeping him at work at home in the baking. +</P> + +<P> +The story which is told of the manner in which the emperor's attention +was first attracted to young Menzikoff is very curious, but, as is the +case with all other such personal anecdotes related of great sovereigns, +it is very doubtful how far it is to be believed. It is said that Peter, +passing along the street one day, stopped to listen to Menzikoff as he +was singing a song or telling a story to a crowd of listeners. He was +much diverted by one of the songs that he heard, and at the close of it +he spoke to the boy, and finally asked him what he would take for his +whole stock of cakes and pies, basket and all. The boy named the sum for +which he would sell all the cakes and pies, but as for the basket he said +that belonged to his master, and he had no power to sell it. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-088"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-088.jpg" ALT="Menzikoff selling his cakes." BORDER="2" WIDTH="517" HEIGHT="342"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 517px"> +Menzikoff selling his cakes. +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +"Still," he added, "every thing belongs to your majesty, and your majesty +has, therefore, only to give me the command, and I shall deliver it up to +you." +</P> + +<P> +This reply pleased the Czar so much that he sent for the boy to come to +him, and on conversing with him farther, and after making additional +inquiries respecting him, he was so well satisfied that he took him at +once into his service. +</P> + +<P> +All this took place before Le Fort's plan was formed for organizing a +company to exhibit to the emperor the style of uniform and the system of +military discipline adopted in western Europe, as has already been +described. Menzikoff joined this company, and he took so much interest +in the exercises and evolutions, and evinced so great a degree of +intelligence, and so much readiness in comprehending and in practicing +the various manoeuvres, that he attracted Le Fort's special attention. +He was soon promoted to office in the company, and ultimately he became +Le Fort's principal co-operator in his various measures and plans. From +this he rose by degrees, until in process of time he became one of the +most distinguished generals in Peter's army, and took a very important +part in some of his most celebrated campaigns. +</P> + +<P> +In reading stories like these, we are naturally led to feel a strong +interest in the persons who are the subjects of them, and we sometimes +insensibly form opinions of their characters which are far too favorable. +This Menzikoff, for example, notwithstanding the enterprising spirit +which he displayed in his boyhood, in setting off alone to Moscow to seek +his fortune, and his talent for telling stories and singing songs, and +the interest which he felt, and the success that he met with, in learning +Le Fort's military manoeuvres, and the great distinction which he +subsequently acquired as a military commander, may have been, after all, +in relation to any just and proper standards of moral duty, a very bad +man. Indeed, there is much reason to suppose that he was so. At all +events, he became subsequently implicated in a dreadful quarrel which +took place between Peter and his wife, under circumstances which appear +very much against him. This quarrel occurred after Peter had been +married only about two years, and when he was yet not quite twenty years +old. As usual in such cases, very different stories are told by the +friends respectively of the husband and the wife. On the part of the +empress it was said that the difficulty arose from Peter's having been +drawn away into bad company, and especially the company of bad women, +through the instrumentality of Menzikoff when he first came into Peter's +service. Menzikoff was a dissolute young man, it was said, while he was +in the service of the pastry-cook, and was accustomed to frequent the +haunts of the vicious and depraved about the town; and after he entered +into Peter's service, Peter himself began to go with him to these places, +disguised, of course, so as not to be known. This troubled Ottokesa, and +made her jealous; and when she remonstrated with her husband he was +angry, and by way of recrimination accused her of being unfaithful to +him. Menzikoff too was naturally filled with resentment at the empress's +accusations against him, and he took Peter's part against his wife. +Whatever may have been the truth in regard to the grounds of the +complaints made by the parties against each other, the power was on +Peter's side. He repudiated his wife, and then shut her up in a place of +seclusion, where he kept her confined all the remainder of her days. +</P> + +<P> +Besides the unfavorable inferences which we might justly draw from this +case, there are unfortunately other indications that Peter, +notwithstanding the many and great excellences of his character, was at +this period of his life violent and passionate in temper, very impatient +of contradiction or opposition, and often unreasonable and unjust in his +treatment of those who for any reason became the objects of his suspicion +or dislike. Various incidents and occurrences illustrating these traits +in his character will appear in the subsequent chapters of his history. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap05"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER V. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +COMMENCEMENT OF THE REIGN. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +1691-1697 +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +Peter's unlimited power—Extent of his dominions—Character—His wishes +in respect to his dominion—Embassy to China—Siberia—Inhospitable +climate—The exiles—Western civilization—Ship-building—The Dutch +ship-yards—Saardam—The barge at the country palace—The emperor's +first vessels—Sham-fights—Azof—Naval operations against +Azof—Treachery of the artilleryman—Defeat—New attempt—The Turkish +fleet taken—Fall of Azof—Fame of the emperor—His plans for building +a fleet—Foreign workmen—Penalties—His arbitrary proceedings—He +sends the young nobility abroad—Opposition—Sullen mood of +mind—National prejudices offended—The opposition party—Arguments of +the disaffected—Religious feelings of the people—The patriarch—An +impious scheme—Plan of the conspirators—Fires—Dread of them in +Moscow—Modern cities—Plan for massacring the foreigners—The day—The +plot revealed—Measures taken by Peter—Torture—Punishment of the +conspirators—The column in the market-place +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +Peter was now not far from twenty years of age, and he was in full +possession of power as vast, perhaps—if we consider both the extent of +it and its absoluteness—as was ever claimed by any European sovereign. +There was no written constitution to limit his prerogatives, and no +Legislature or Parliament to control him by laws. In a certain sense, +as Alexander Menzikoff said when selling his cakes, every thing +belonged to him. His word was law. Life and death hung upon his +decree. His dominions extended so far that, on an occasion when he +wished to send an embassador to one of his neighbors—the Emperor of +China—it took the messenger more than <I>eighteen months</I> of constant +and diligent traveling to go from the capital to the frontier. +</P> + +<P> +Such was Peter's position. As to character, he was talented, +ambitious, far-seeing, and resolute; but he was also violent in temper, +merciless and implacable toward his enemies, and possessed of an +indomitable will. +</P> + +<P> +He began immediately to feel a strong interest in the improvement of +his empire, in order to increase his own power and grandeur as the +monarch of it, just as a private citizen might wish to improve his +estate in order to increase his wealth and importance as the owner of +it. He sent the embassador above referred to to China in order to make +arrangements for increasing and improving the trade between the two +countries. This mission was arranged in a very imposing manner. The +embassador was attended with a train of twenty-one persons, who went +with him in the capacity of secretaries, interpreters, legal +councilors, and the like, besides a large number of servants and +followers to wait upon the gentlemen of the party, and to convey and +take care of the baggage. The baggage was borne in a train of wagons +which followed the carriages of the embassador and his suite, so that +the expedition moved through the country quite like a little army on a +march. +</P> + +<P> +It was nearly three years before the embassage returned. The measure, +however, was eminently successful. It placed the relations of the two +empires on a very satisfactory footing. +</P> + +<P> +The dominions of the Czar extended then, as now, through all the +northern portions of Europe and Asia, to the shores of the Icy Sea. A +very important part of this region is the famous Siberia. The land +here is not of much value for cultivation, on account of the long and +dreary winters and the consequent shortness of the summer season. But +this very coldness of the climate causes it to produce a great number +of fine fur-bearing animals, such as the sable, the mink, the ermine, +and the otter; for nature has so arranged it that, the colder any +climate is, the finer and the warmer is the fur which grows upon the +animals that live there. +</P> + +<P> +The inhabitants of Siberia are employed, therefore, chiefly in hunting +wild animals for their flesh or their fur, and in working the mines; +and, from time immemorial, it has been the custom to send criminals +there in banishment, and compel them to spend the remainder of their +lives in these toilsome and dangerous occupations. Of course, the +cold, the exposure, and the fatigue, joined to the mental distress and +suffering which the thought of their hard fate and the recollections of +home must occasion, soon bring far the greater proportion of these +unhappy outcasts to the grave. +</P> + +<P> +Peter interested himself very much in efforts to open communications +with these retired and almost inaccessible regions, and to improve and +extend the working of the mines. But his thoughts were chiefly +occupied with the condition of the European portion of his dominions, +and with schemes for introducing more and more fully the arts and +improvements of western Europe among his people. He was ready to seize +upon every occasion which could furnish any hint or suggestion to this +end. +</P> + +<P> +The manner in which his attention was first turned to the subject of +ship-building illustrated this. In those days Holland was the great +centre of commerce and navigation for the whole world, and the art of +ship-building had made more progress in that nation than in any other. +The Dutch held colonies in every quarter of the globe. Their +men-of-war and their fleets of merchantmen penetrated to every sea, and +their naval commanders were universally renowned for their enterprise, +their bravery, and their nautical skill. +</P> + +<P> +The Dutch not only built ships for themselves, but orders were sent to +their ship-yards from all parts of the world, inasmuch as in these +yards all sorts of vessels, whether for war, commerce, or pleasure, +could be built better and cheaper than in any other place. +</P> + +<P> +One of the chief centres in which these ship and boat building +operations were carried on was the town of Saardam. This town lies +near Amsterdam, the great commercial capital of the country. It +extends for a mile or two along the banks of a deep and still river, +which furnish most complete and extensive facilities for the docks and +ship-yards. +</P> + +<P> +Now it happened that, one day when Peter was with Le Fort at one of his +country palaces where there was a little lake, and a canal connected +with it, which had been made for pleasure-sailing on the grounds, his +attention was attracted to the form and construction of a yacht which +was lying there. This yacht having been sent for from Holland at the +time when the palace grounds were laid out, the emperor fell into +conversation with Le Fort in respect to it, and this led to the subject +of ships and ship-building in general. Le Fort represented so strongly +to his master the advantages which Holland and the other maritime +powers of Europe derived from their ships of war, that Peter began +immediately to feel a strong desire to possess a navy himself. There +were, of course, great difficulties in the way. Russia was almost +entirely an inland country. There were no good sea-ports, and Moscow, +the capital, was situated very far in the interior. Then, besides, +Peter not only had no ships, but there were no mechanics or artisans in +Russia that knew how to build them. +</P> + +<P> +Le Fort, however, when he perceived how deep was the interest which +Peter felt in the subject, made inquiries, and at length succeeded in +finding among the Dutch merchants that were in Moscow the means of +procuring some ship-builders to build him several small vessels, which, +when they were completed, were launched upon a lake not far from the +city. Afterward other vessels were built in the same place, in the +form of frigates; and these, when they were launched, were properly +equipped and armed, under Le Fort's direction, and the emperor took +great interest in sailing about in them on the lake, in learning +personally all the evolutions necessary for the management of them, and +in performing sham-fights by setting one of them against another. He +took command of one of the vessels as captain, and thenceforward +assumed that designation as one of his most honorable titles. All this +took place when Peter was about twenty-two years old. +</P> + +<P> +Not very long after this the emperor had an opportunity to make a +commencement in converting his nautical knowledge to actual use by +engaging in something like a naval operation against an enemy, in +conjunction with several other European powers, he declared war anew +against the Turks and Tartars, and the chief object of the first +campaign was the capture of the city of Azof, which is situated on the +shores of the Sea of Azof, near the mouth of the River Don. Peter not +only approached and invested the city by land, but he also took +possession of the river leading to it by means of a great number of +boats and vessels which he caused to be built along the banks. In this +way he cut off all supplies from the city, and pressed it so closely +that he would have taken it, it was said, had it not been for the +treachery of an officer of artillery, who betrayed to the enemy the +principal battery which had been raised against the town just as it was +ready to be opened upon the walls. This artilleryman, who was not a +native Russian, but one of the foreigners whom the Czar had enlisted in +his service, became exasperated at some ill treatment which he received +from the Russian nobleman who commanded his corps; so he secretly drove +nails into the touchholes of all the guns in the battery, and then, in +the night, went over to the Turks and informed them what he had done. +Accordingly, very early in the morning the Turks sallied forth and +attacked the battery, and the men who were charged with the defense of +it, on rushing to the guns, found that they could not be fired. The +consequence was that the battery was taken, the men put to flight, and +the guns destroyed. This defeat entirely disconcerted the Russian +army, and so effectually deranged their plans that they were obliged to +raise the siege and withdraw, with the expectation, however, of +renewing the attempt in another campaign. +</P> + +<P> +Accordingly, the next year the attempt was renewed, and many more boats +and vessels were built upon the river to co-operate with the besiegers. +The Turks had ships of their own, which they brought into the Sea of +Azof for the protection of the town. But Peter sent down a few of his +smaller vessels, and by means of them contrived to entice the Turkish +commander up a little way into the river. Peter then came down upon +him with all his fleet, and the Turkish ships were overpowered and +taken. Thus Peter gained his first naval victory almost, as we might +say, on the land. He conquered and captured a fleet of sea-going ships +by enticing them among the boats and other small craft which he had +built up country on the banks of a river. +</P> + +<P> +Soon after this Azof was taken. One of the conditions of the surrender +was that the treacherous artilleryman should be delivered up to the +Czar. He was taken to Moscow, and there put to death with tortures too +horrible to be described. They did not deny that the man had been +greatly injured by his Russian commander, but they told him that what +he ought to have done was to appeal to the emperor for redress, and not +to seek his revenge by traitorously giving up to the enemy the trust +committed to his charge. +</P> + +<P> +The emperor acquired great fame throughout Europe by the success of his +operations in the siege of Azof. This success also greatly increased +his interest in the building of ships, especially as he now, since Azof +had fallen into his hands, had a port upon an open sea. +</P> + +<P> +In a word, Peter was now very eager to begin at once the building ships +of war. He was determined that he would have a fleet which would +enable him to go out and meet the Turks in the Black Sea. The great +difficulty was to provide the necessary funds. To accomplish this +purpose, Peter, who was never at all scrupulous in respect to the means +which he adopted for attaining his ends, resorted at once to very +decided measures. Besides the usual taxes which were laid upon the +people to maintain the war, he ordained that a certain number of +wealthy noblemen should each pay for one ship, which, however, as some +compensation for the cost which the nobleman was put to in building it, +he was at liberty to call by his own name. The same decree was made in +respect to a number of towns, monasteries, companies, and public +institutions. The emperor also made arrangements for having a large +number of workmen sent into Russia from Holland, and from Venice, and +from other maritime countries. The emperor laid his plans in this way +for the construction and equipment of a fleet of about one hundred +ships and vessels, consisting of frigates, store-ships, bomb-vessels, +galleys, and galliasses. These were all to be built, equipped, and +made in all respects ready for sea in the space of three years; and if +any person or party failed to have his ship ready at that time, the +amount of the tax which had been assessed to him was to be doubled. +</P> + +<P> +In all these proceedings, the Czar, as might have been expected from +his youth and his headstrong character, acted in a very summary, and in +many respects in an arbitrary and despotic manner. His decrees +requiring the nobles to contribute such large sums for the building of +his fleet occasioned a great deal of dissatisfaction and complaint. +And very soon he resorted to some other measures, which increased the +general discontent exceedingly. +</P> + +<P> +He appointed a considerable number of the younger nobility, and the +sons of other persons of wealth and distinction, to travel in the +western countries of Europe while the fleet was preparing, giving them +special instructions in respect to the objects of interest which they +should severally examine and study. The purpose of this measure was to +advance the general standard of intelligence in Russia by affording to +these young men the advantages of foreign travel, and enlarging their +ideas in respect to the future progress of their own country in the +arts and appliances of civilized life. The general idea of the emperor +in this was excellent, and the effect of the measure would have been +excellent too if it had been carried out in a more gentle and moderate +way. But the fathers of the young men were incensed at having their +sons ordered thus peremptorily out of the country, whether they liked +to go or not, and however inconvenient it might be for the fathers to +provide the large amounts of money which were required for such +journeys. It is said that one young man was so angry at being thus +sent away that he determined that his country should not derive any +benefit from the measure, so far as his case was concerned, and +accordingly, when he arrived at Venice, which was the place where he +was sent, he shut himself up in his house, and remained there all the +time, in order that he might not see or learn any thing to make use of +on his return. +</P> + +<P> +This seems almost incredible. Indeed, the story has more the air of a +witticism, invented to express the sullen humor with which many of the +young men went away, than the sober statement of a fact. Still, it is +not impossible that such a thing may have actually occurred; for the +veneration of the old Russian families for their own country, and the +contempt with which they had been accustomed for many generations to +look upon foreigners, and upon every thing connected with foreign +manners and customs, were such as might lead in extreme cases, to +almost any degree of fanaticism in resisting the emperor's measures. +At any rate, in a short time there was quite a powerful party formed in +opposition to the foreign influences which Peter was introducing into +the country. +</P> + +<P> +There was no one in the imperial family to whom this party could look +for a leader and head except the Princess Sophia. The Czar John, +Peter's feeble brother, was dead, otherwise they might have made his +name their rallying cry. Sophia was still shut up in the convent to +which Peter had sent her on the discovery of her conspiracy against +him. She was kept very closely guarded there. Still, the leaders of +the opposition contrived to open a communication with her. They took +every means to increase and extend the prevailing discontent. To +people of wealth and rank they represented the heavy taxes which they +were obliged to pay to defray the expenses of the emperor's wild +schemes, and the loss of their own proper influence and power in the +government of the country, they themselves being displaced to make room +for foreigners, or favorites like Menzikoff, that were raised from the +lowest grades of life to posts of honor and profit which ought to be +bestowed upon the ancient nobility alone. To the poor and ignorant +they advanced other arguments, which were addressed chiefly to their +religious prejudices. The government were subverting all the ancient +usages of the country, they said, and throwing every thing into the +hands of infidel or heretical foreigners. The course which the Czar +was pursuing was contrary to the laws of God, they said, who had +forbidden the children of Israel to have any communion with the +unbelieving nations around them, in order that they might not be led +away by them into idolatry. And so in Russia, they said, the extensive +power of granting permission to any Russian subject to leave the +country vested, according to the ancient usages of the empire, with the +patriarch, the head of the Church—and Peter had violated these usages +in sending away so many of the sons of the nobility without the +patriarch's consent. There were many other measures, too, which Peter +had adopted, or which he had then in contemplation, that were equally +obnoxious to the charge of impiety. For instance, he had formed a +plan—and he had even employed engineers to take preliminary steps in +reference to the execution of it—for making a canal from the River +Wolga to the River Don, thus presumptuously and impiously undertaking +to turn the streams one way, when Providence had designed them to flow +in another! Absurd as many of these representations were, they had +great influence with the mass of the common people. +</P> + +<P> +At length this opposition party became so extended and so strong that +the leaders thought the time had arrived for them to act. They +accordingly arranged the details of their plot, and prepared to put it +in execution. +</P> + +<P> +The scheme which they formed was this: they were to set fire to some +houses in the night, not far from the royal palace, and when the +emperor came out, as it is said was his custom to do, in order to +assist in extinguishing the flames, they were to set upon him and +assassinate him. +</P> + +<P> +It may seem strange that it should be the custom of the emperor himself +to go out and assist personally in extinguishing fires. But it so +happened that the houses of Moscow at this time were almost all built +of wood, and they were so combustible, and were, moreover, so much +exposed, on account of the many fires required in the winter season in +so cold a climate, that the city was subject to dreadful +conflagrations. So great was the danger, that the inhabitants were +continually in dread of it, and all classes vied with each other in +efforts to avert the threatened calamity whenever a fire broke out. +Besides this, there were in those days no engines for throwing water, +and no organized department of firemen. All this, of course, is +entirely different at the present day in modern cities, where houses +are built of brick or stone, and the arrangements for extinguishing +fires are so complete that an alarm of fire creates no sensation, but +people go on with their business or saunter carelessly along the +streets, while the firemen are gathering, without feeling the least +concern. +</P> + +<P> +As soon as they had made sure of the death of the Czar, the +conspirators were to repair to the convent where Sophia was imprisoned, +release her from her confinement, and proclaim her queen. They were +then to reorganize the Guards, restore all the officers who had been +degraded at the time of Couvansky's rebellion, then massacre all the +foreigners whom Peter had brought into the country, especially his +particular favorites, and so put every thing back upon its ancient +footing. +</P> + +<P> +The time fixed for the execution of this plot was the night of the 2d +of February, 1697; but the whole scheme was defeated by what the +conspirators would probably call the treachery of two of their number. +These were two officers of the Guards who had been concerned in the +plot, but whose hearts failed them when the hour arrived for putting it +into execution. Falling into conversation with each other just before +the time, and finding that they agreed in feeling on the subject, they +resolved at once to go and make a full confession to the Czar. +</P> + +<P> +So they went immediately to the house of Le Fort, where the Czar then +was, and made a confession of the whole affair. They related all the +details of the plot, and gave the names of the principal persons +concerned in it. +</P> + +<P> +The emperor was at table with Le Fort at the time that he received this +communication. He listened to it very coolly—manifested no +surprise—but simply rose from the table, ordered a small body of men +to attend him, and, taking the names of the principal conspirators, he +went at once to their several houses and arrested them on the spot. +</P> + +<P> +The leaders having been thus seized, the execution of the plot was +defeated. The prisoners were soon afterward put to the torture, in +order to compel them to confess their crime, and to reveal the names of +all their confederates. Whether the names thus extorted from them by +suffering were false or true would of course be wholly uncertain, but +all whom they named were seized, and, after a brief and very informal +trial, all, or nearly all, were condemned to death. The sentence of +death was executed on them in the most barbarous manner. A great +column was erected in the market-place in Moscow, and fitted with iron +spikes and hooks, which were made to project from it on every side, +from top to bottom. The criminals were then brought out one by one, +and first their arms were cut off, then their legs, and finally their +heads. The amputated limbs were then hung up upon the column by the +hooks, and the heads were fixed to the spikes. There they remained—a +horrid spectacle, intended to strike terror into all beholders—through +February and March, as long as the weather continued cold enough to +keep them frozen. When at length the spring came on, and the flesh of +these dreadful trophies began to thaw, they were taken down and thrown +together into a pit, among the bodies of common thieves and murderers. +</P> + +<P> +This was the end of the second conspiracy formed against the life of +Peter the Great. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap06"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE EMPEROR'S TOUR. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +1697 +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +Objects of the tour—An embassy to be sent—The emperor to go +incognito—His associates—The regency—Disposition of the Guards—The +embassy leaves Moscow—Riga—Not allowed to see the +fortifications—Arrival at Konigsberg—Grand procession in entering the +city—The pages—Curiosity of the people—The escort—Crowds in the +streets—The embassy arrives at its lodgings—Audience of the +king—Presents—Delivery of the letter from the Czar—Its contents—The +king's reply—Grand banquet—Effects of such an embassy—The policy of +modern governments—The people now reserve their earnings for their own +use—How Peter occupied his time—Dantzic—Peter preserves his +incognito—Presents—His dress—His interest in the shipping—Grand +entrance into Holland—Curiosity of the people—Peter enters Amsterdam +privately—Views of the Hollanders—Residence of the Czar—The East India +Company—Peter goes to work—His real object in pursuing this course—His +taste for mechanics—The opportunities and facilities he enjoyed—His old +workshop—Mode of preserving it—The workmen in the yard—Peter's visits +to his friends in Amsterdam—The rich merchant—Peter's manners and +character—The Hague—The embassy at the Hague +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +At the time when the emperor issued his orders to so many of the sons of +the nobility, requiring them to go and reside for a time in the cities of +western Europe, he formed the design of going himself to make a tour in +that part of the world, for the purpose of visiting the courts and +capitals, and seeing with his own eyes what arts and improvements were to +be found there which might be advantageously introduced into his own +dominions. In the spring of the year 1697, he thought that the time had +come for carrying this idea into effect. +</P> + +<P> +The plan which he formed was not to travel openly in his own name, for he +knew that in this case a great portion of his time and attention, in the +different courts and capitals, would be wasted in the grand parades, +processions, and ceremonies with which the different sovereigns would +doubtless endeavor to honor his visit. He therefore determined to travel +incognito, in the character of a private person in the train of an +embassy. An embassy could proceed more quietly from place to place than +a monarch traveling in his own name; and then besides, if the emperor +occupied only a subordinate place in the train of the embassy, he could +slip away from it to pursue his own inquiries in a private manner +whenever he pleased, leaving the embassadors themselves and those of +their train who enjoyed such scenes to go through all the public +receptions and other pompous formalities which would have been so +tiresome to him. +</P> + +<P> +General Le Fort, who had by this time been raised to a very high position +under Peter's government, was placed at the head of this embassy. Two +other great officers of state were associated with him. Then came +secretaries, interpreters, and subordinates of all kinds, in great +numbers, among whom Peter was himself enrolled under a fictitious name. +Peter took with him several young men of about his own age. Two or three +of these were particular friends of his, whom he wished to have accompany +him for the sake of their companionship on the journey. There were some +others whom he selected on account of the talent which they had evinced +for mechanical and mathematical studies. These young men he intended to +have instructed in the art of ship-building in some of the countries +which the embassy were to visit. +</P> + +<P> +Besides these arrangements in respect to the embassy, provision was, of +course, to be made by the emperor for the government of the country +during his absence. He left the administration in the hands of three +great nobles, the first of whom was one of his uncles, his mother's +brother. The name of this prince was Naraskin. The other two nobles +were associated with Naraskin in the regency. These commissioners were +to have the whole charge of the government of the country during the +Czar's absence. Peter's little son, whose name was Alexis, and who was +now about seven years old, was also committed to their keeping. +</P> + +<P> +Not having entire confidence in the fidelity of the old Guards, Peter did +not trust the defense of Moscow to them, but he garrisoned the +fortifications in and around the capital with a force of about twelve +thousand men that he had gradually brought together for that purpose. A +great many of these troops, both officers and men, were foreigners. +Peter placed greater reliance on them on that account, supposing that +they would be less likely to sympathize with and join the people of the +city in case of any popular discontent or disturbances. The Guards were +sent off into the interior and toward the frontiers, where they could do +no great mischief; even if disposed. +</P> + +<P> +At length, when every thing was ready, the embassy set out from Moscow. +The departure of the expedition from the gates of the city made quite an +imposing scene, so numerous was the party which composed the embassadors' +train. There were in all about three hundred men. The principal persons +of the embassy were, of course, splendidly mounted and equipped, and they +were followed by a line of wagons conveying supplies of clothing, stores, +presents for foreign courts, and other baggage. This baggage-train was, +of course, attended by a suitable escort. Vast multitudes of people +assembled along the streets and at the gates of the city to see the grand +procession commence its march. +</P> + +<P> +The first place of importance at which the embassy stopped was the city +of Riga, on the shores of the Gulf of Riga, in the eastern part of the +Baltic Sea.[1] Riga and the province in which it was situated, though +now a part of the Russian empire, then belonged to Sweden. It was the +principal port on the Baltic in those days, and Peter felt a great +interest in viewing it, as there was then no naval outlet in that +direction from his dominions. The governor of Riga was very polite to +the embassy, and gave them a very honorable reception in the city, but he +refused to allow the embassadors to examine the fortifications. It had +been arranged beforehand between the embassadors and Peter that two of +them were to ask permission to see the fortifications, and that Peter +himself was to go around with them as their attendant when they made +their visit, in order that he might make his own observations in respect +to the strength of the works and the mode of their construction. Peter +was accordingly very much disappointed and vexed at the refusal of the +governor to allow the fortifications to be viewed, and he secretly +resolved that he would seize the first opportunity after his return to +open a quarrel with the King of Sweden, and take this city away from him. +</P> + +<P> +Leaving Riga, the embassy moved on toward the southward and westward +until, at length, they entered the dominions of the King of Prussia. +They came soon to the city of Konigsberg, which was at that time the +capital. The reception of the embassy at this city was attended with +great pomp and display. The whole party halted at a small village at the +distance of about a mile from the gates, in order to give time for +completing the arrangements, and to await the arrival of a special +messenger and an escort from the king to conduct them within the walls. +</P> + +<P> +At length, when all was ready, the procession formed about four o'clock +in the afternoon. First came a troop of horses that belonged to the +king. They were splendidly caparisoned, but were not mounted. They were +led by grooms. Then came an escort of troops of the Royal Guards. They +were dressed in splendid red uniform, and were preceded by kettle-drums. +Then a company of the Prussian nobility in beautifully-decorated coaches, +each drawn by six horses. Next came the state carriages of the king. +The king himself was not in either of them, it being etiquette for the +king to remain in his palace, and receive the embassy at a public +audience there after their arrival. The royal carriages were sent out, +however, as a special though indirect token of respect to the Czar, who +was known to be in the train. +</P> + +<P> +Then came a precession of pages, consisting of those of the king and +those of the embassadors marching together. These pages were all +beautiful boys, elegantly dressed in characteristic liveries of red laced +with gold. They marched three together, two of the king's pages in each +rank, with one of the embassadors' between them. The spectators were +very much interested in these boys, and the boys were likewise doubtless +much interested in each other; but they could not hold any conversation +with each other, for probably those of each set could speak only their +own language. +</P> + +<P> +Next after the pages came the embassy itself. First there was a line of +thirty-six carriages, containing the principal officers and attendants of +the three embassadors. In one of these carriages, riding quietly with +the rest as a subordinate in the train, was Peter. There was doubtless +some vague intimation circulating among the crowd that the Emperor of +Russia was somewhere in the procession, concealed in his disguise. But +there were no means of identifying him, and, of course, whatever +curiosity the people felt on the subject remained ungratified. +</P> + +<P> +Next after these carriages came the military escort which the embassadors +had brought with them. The escort was headed by the embassadors' band of +music, consisting of trumpets, kettle-drums, and other martial +instruments. Then came a body of foot-guards: their uniform was green, +and they were armed with silver battle-axes. Then came a troop of +horsemen, which completed the escort. Immediately after the escort there +followed the grand state carriage of the embassy, with the three +embassadors in it. +</P> + +<P> +The procession was closed by a long train of elegant carriages, conveying +various personages of wealth and distinction, who had come from the city +to join in doing honor to the strangers. +</P> + +<P> +As the procession entered the city, they found the streets through which +they were to pass densely lined on each side by the citizens who had +assembled to witness the spectacle. Through this vast concourse the +embassadors and their suite advanced, and were finally conducted to a +splendid palace which had been prepared for them in the heart of the +city. The garrison of the city was drawn up at the gates of the palace, +to receive them as they arrived. When the carriage reached the gate and +the embassadors began to alight, a grand salute was fired from the guns +of the fortress. The embassadors were immediately conducted to their +several apartments in the palace by the officers who had led the +procession, and then left to repose. When the officers were about to +withdraw, the embassadors accompanied them to the head of the stairs and +took leave of them there. The doors of the palace and the halls and +entrances leading to the apartments of the embassadors were guarded by +twenty-four soldiers, who were stationed there as sentinels to protect +the precincts from all intrusion. +</P> + +<P> +Four days after this there was another display, when the embassadors were +admitted to their first public audience with the king. There was again a +grand procession through the streets, with great crowds assembled to +witness it, and bands of music, and splendid uniforms, and gorgeous +equipages, all more magnificent, if possible, than before. The +embassadors were conducted in this way to the royal palace. They entered +the hall, dressed in cloth of gold and silver, richly embroidered, and +adorned with precious stones of great value. Here they found the king +seated on a throne, and attended by all the principal nobles of his +court. The embassadors advanced to pay their reverence to his majesty, +bearing in their hands, in a richly-ornamented box, a letter from the +Czar, with which they had been intrusted for him. There were a number of +attendants also, who were loaded with rich and valuable presents which +the embassadors had brought to offer to the king. The presents consisted +of the most costly furs, tissues of gold and silver, precious stones, and +the like, all productions of Russia, and of very great value. +</P> + +<P> +The king received the embassadors in a very honorable manner, and made +them an address of welcome in reply to the brief addresses of salutation +and compliment which they first delivered to him. He received the letter +from their hands and read it. The presents were deposited on tables +which had been set for the purpose. +</P> + +<P> +The letter stated that the Czar had sent the embassy to assure him of his +desire "to improve the affection and good correspondence which had always +existed, as well between his royal highness and himself as between their +illustrious ancestors." It said also that "the same embassy being from +thence to proceed to the court of Vienna, the Czar requested the king to +help them on their journey." And finally it expressed the thanks of the +Czar, for the "engineers and bombardiers" which the king had sent him +during the past year, and who had been so useful to him in the siege of +Azof. +</P> + +<P> +The king, having read the letter, made a verbal reply to the embassadors, +asking them to thank the Czar in his name for the friendly sentiments +which his letter expressed, and for the splendid embassy which he had +sent to him. +</P> + +<P> +All this time the Czar himself, the author of the letter, was standing +by, a quiet spectator of the scene, undistinguishable from the other +secretaries and attendants that formed the embassadors' train. +</P> + +<P> +After the ceremony of audience was completed the embassadors withdrew. +They were reconducted to their lodgings with the same ceremonies as were +observed in their coming out, and then spent the evening at a grand +banquet provided for them by the elector. All the principal nobility of +Prussia were present at this banquet, and after it was concluded the town +was illuminated with a great display of fireworks, which continued until +midnight. +</P> + +<P> +The sending of a grand embassage like this from one royal or imperial +potentate to another was a very common occurrence in those times. The +pomp and parade with which they were accompanied were intended equally +for the purpose of illustrating the magnificence of the government that +sent them, and of offering a splendid token of respect to the one to +which they were sent. Of course, the expense was enormous, both to the +sovereign who sent and to the one who received the compliment. But such +sovereigns as those were very willing to expend money in parades which +exhibited before the world the evidences of their own grandeur and power, +especially as the mass of the people, from whose toils the means of +defraying the cost was ultimately to come, were so completely held in +subjection by military power that they could not even complain, far less +could they take any effectual measures for calling their oppressors to +account. In governments that are organized at the present day, either by +the establishment of new constitutions, or by the remodeling and +reforming of old ones, all this is changed. The people understand now +that all the money which is expended by their governments is ultimately +paid by themselves, and they are gradually devising means by which they +can themselves exercise a greater and greater control over these +expenditures. They retain a far greater portion of the avails of their +labor in their own hands, and expend it in adorning and making +comfortable their own habitations, and cultivating the minds of their +children, while they require the government officials to live, and +travel, and transact their business in a more quiet and unpretending way +than was customary of yore. +</P> + +<P> +Thus, in traveling over most parts of the United States, you will find +the people who cultivate the land living in comfortable, well-furnished +houses, with separate rooms appropriately arranged for the different uses +of the family. There is a carpet on the parlor floor, and there are +books in the book-case, and good supplies of comfortable clothing in the +closets. But then our embassadors and ministers in foreign courts are +obliged to content themselves with what they consider very moderate +salaries, which do not at all allow of their competing in style and +splendor with the embassadors sent from the old despotic monarchies of +Europe, under which the people who till the ground live in bare and +wretched huts, and are supplied from year to year with only just enough +of food and clothing to keep them alive and enable them to continue their +toil. +</P> + +<P> +But to return to Peter and his embassy. When the public reception was +over Peter introduced himself privately to the king in his own name, and +the king, in a quiet and unofficial manner, paid him great attention. +There were to be many more public ceremonies, banquets, and parades for +the embassy in the city during their stay, but Peter withdrew himself +entirely from the scene, and went out to a certain bay, which extended +about one hundred and fifty miles along the shore between Konigsberg and +Dantzic, and occupied himself in examining the vessels which were there, +and in sailing to and fro in them. +</P> + +<P> +This bay you will find delineated on any map of Europe. It extends along +the coast for a considerable distance between Konigsberg and Dantzic, on +the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea. +</P> + +<P> +When the embassadors and their train had finished their banquetings and +celebrations in Konigsberg, Peter joined them again, and the expedition +proceeded to Dantzic. This was at that time, as it is now, a large +commercial city, being one of the chief ports on the Baltic for the +exportation of grain from Poland and other fertile countries in the +interior. +</P> + +<P> +By this time it began to be every where well known that Peter himself was +traveling with the embassy. Peter would not, however, allow himself to +be recognized at all, or permit any public notice to be taken of his +presence, but went about freely in all the places that he visited with +his own companions, just as if he were a private person, leaving all the +public parades and receptions, and all the banquetings, and other state +and civic ceremonies, to the three embassadors and their immediate train. +</P> + +<P> +A great many elegant and expensive presents, however, were sent in to +him, under pretense of sending them to the embassadors. +</P> + +<P> +The expedition traveled on in this way along the coasts of the Baltic +Sea, on the way toward Holland, which was the country that Peter was most +eager to see. At every city where they stopped Peter went about +examining the shipping. He was often attended by some important official +person of the place, but in other respects he went without any ceremony +whatever. He used to change his dress, putting on, in the different +places that he visited, that which was worn by the common people of the +town, so as not to attract any attention, and not even to be recognized +as a foreigner. At one port, where there were a great many Dutch vessels +that he wished to see, he wore the pea-jacket and the other sailor-like +dress of a common Dutch skipper,[2] in order that he might ramble about +at his ease along the docks, and mingle freely with the seafaring men, +without attracting any notice at all. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-127"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-127.jpg" ALT="Peter among the shipping." BORDER="2" WIDTH="343" HEIGHT="381"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 343px"> +Peter among the shipping. +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +The people of Holland were aware that the embassy was coming into their +country, and that Peter himself accompanied it, and they accordingly +prepared to receive the party with the highest marks of honor. As the +embassy, after crossing the frontier, moved on toward Amsterdam, salutes +were fired from the ramparts of all the great towns that they passed, the +soldiers were drawn out, and civic processions, formed of magistrates and +citizens, met them at the gates to conduct them through the streets. The +windows, too, and the roofs of all the houses, were crowded with +spectators. Wherever they stopped at night bonfires and illuminations +were made in honor of their arrival, and sometimes beautiful fireworks +were played off in the evening before their palace windows. +</P> + +<P> +Of course, there was a great desire felt every where among the spectators +to discover which of the personages who followed in the train of the +embassy was the Czar himself. They found it, however, impossible to +determine this point, so completely had Peter disguised his person, and +merged himself with the rest. Indeed, in some cases, when the procession +was moving forward with great ceremony, the object of the closest +scrutiny in every part for thousands of eyes, Peter himself was not in it +at all. This was particularly the case on the occasion of the grand +entry into Amsterdam. Peter left the party at a distance from the city, +in order to go in quietly the next day, in company with some merchants +with whom he had become acquainted. And, accordingly, while all +Amsterdam had gathered into the streets, and were watching with the most +intense curiosity every train as it passed, in order to discover which +one contained the great Czar, the great Czar himself was several miles +away, sitting quietly with his friends, the merchants, at a table in a +common country inn. +</P> + +<P> +The government and the people of Holland took a very great interest in +this embassy, not only on account of the splendor of it, and the +magnitude of the imperial power which it represented, but also on account +of the business and pecuniary considerations which were involved. They +wished very much to cultivate a good understanding with Russia, on +account of the trade and commerce of that country, which was already very +great, and was rapidly increasing. They determined, therefore, to show +the embassy every mark of consideration and honor. +</P> + +<P> +Besides the measures which they adopted for giving the embassy itself a +grand reception, the government set apart a spacious and splendid house +in Amsterdam for the use of the Czar during his stay. They did this in a +somewhat private and informal manner, it is true, for they knew that +Peter did not wish that his presence with the embassy should be openly +noticed in any way. They organized also a complete household for this +palace, including servants, attendants, and officers of all kinds, in a +style corresponding to the dignity of the exalted personage who was +expected to occupy it. +</P> + +<P> +But Peter, when he arrived, would not occupy the palace at all, but went +into a quiet lodging among the shipping, where he could ramble about +without constraint, and see all that was to be seen which could +illustrate the art of navigation. The Dutch East India Company, which +was then, perhaps, the greatest and most powerful association of +merchants which had ever existed, had large ship-yards, where their +vessels were built, at Saardam. Saardam was almost a suburb of +Amsterdam, being situated on a deep river which empties into the Y, so +called, which is the harbor of Amsterdam, and only a few miles from the +town. Peter immediately made arrangements for going to these ship-yards +and spending the time while the embassy remained in that part of the +country in studying the construction of ships, and in becoming acquainted +with the principal builders. Here, as the historians of the times say, +he entered himself as a common ship-carpenter, being enrolled in the list +of the company's workmen by the name Peter Michaelhoff, which was as +nearly as possible his real name. He lived here several months, and +devoted himself diligently to his work. He kept two or three of his +companions with him—those whom he had brought from Moscow as his friends +and associates on the tour; but they, it is said, did not take hold of +the hard work with nearly as much zeal and energy as Peter displayed. +Peter himself worked for the greatest part of every day among the other +workmen, wearing also the same dress that they wore. When he was tired +of work he would go out on the water, and sail and row about in the +different sorts of boats, so as to make himself practically acquainted +with the comparative effects of the various modes of construction. +</P> + +<P> +The object which Peter had in view in all this was, doubtless, in a great +measure, his own enjoyment for the time being. He was so much interested +in the subject of ships and ship-building, and in every thing connected +with navigation, that it was a delight to him to be in the midst of such +scenes as were to be witnessed in the company's yards. He was still but +a young man, and, like a great many other young men, he liked boats and +the water. It is not probable, notwithstanding what is said by +historians about his performances with the broad-axe, that he really did +much serious work. Still he was naturally fond of mechanical +occupations, as the fact of his making a wheelbarrow with which to +construct a fortification, in his schoolboy days, sufficiently indicates. +</P> + +<P> +Then, again, his being in the ship-yards so long, nominally as one of the +workmen, gave him undoubtedly great facilities for observing every thing +which it was important that he should know. Of course, he could not have +seriously intended to make himself an actual and practical +ship-carpenter, for, in the first place, the time was too short. A trade +like that of a ship-carpenter requires years of apprenticeship to make a +really good workman. Then, in the second place, the mechanical part of +the work was not the part which it devolved upon him, as a sovereign +intent on building up a navy for the protection of his empire, even to +superintend. He could not, therefore, have seriously intended to learn +to build ships himself, but only to make himself nominally a workman, +partly for the pleasure which it gave him to place himself so wholly at +home among the shipping, and partly for the sake of the increased +opportunities which he thereby obtained of learning many things which it +was important that he should know. +</P> + +<P> +Travelers visiting Holland at the present day often go out to Saardam to +see the little building that is still shown as the shop which Peter +occupied while he was there. It is a small wooden building, leaning and +bent with age and decrepitude and darkened by exposure and time. Within +the last half century, however, in order to save so curious a relic from +farther decay, the proprietors of the place have constructed around and +over it an outer building of brick, which incloses the hut itself like a +case. The sides of the outer building are formed of large, open arches, +which allow the hut within to be seen. The ground on which the hut +stands has also been laid out prettily as a garden, and is inclosed by a +wall. Within this wall, and near the gate, is a very neat and pretty +Dutch cottage, in which the custodian lives who shows the place to +strangers. +</P> + +<P> +While Peter was in the ship-yards the workmen knew who he was, but all +persons were forbidden to gather around or gaze at him, or to interfere +with him in any way by their notice or their attentions. They were to +allow him to go and come as he pleased, without any molestation. These +orders they obeyed as well as they could, as every one was desirous of +treating their visitor in a manner as agreeable to him as possible, so as +to prolong his stay. +</P> + +<P> +Peter varied his amusements, while he thus resided in Saardam, by making +occasional visits in a quiet and private way to certain friends in +Amsterdam. He very seldom attended any of the great parades and +celebrations which were continually taking place in honor of the embassy, +but went only to the houses of men eminent in private life for their +attainments in particular branches of knowledge, or for their experience +or success as merchants or navigators. There was one person in +particular that Peter became acquainted with in Amsterdam, whose company +and conversation pleased him very much, and whom he frequently visited. +This was a certain wealthy merchant, whose operations were on so vast a +scale that he was accustomed to send off special expeditions at his own +expense, all over the world, to explore new regions and discover new +fields for his commercial enterprise. In order also to improve the +accuracy of the methods employed by his ship-masters for ascertaining the +latitude and longitude in navigating their ships, he built an +observatory, and furnished it with the telescopes, quadrants, and other +costly instruments necessary for making the observations—all at his own +expense. +</P> + +<P> +With this gentleman, and with the other persons in Amsterdam that Peter +took a fancy to, he lived on very friendly and familiar terms. He often +came in from Saardam to visit them, and would sometimes spend a +considerable portion of the night in drinking and making merry with them. +He assumed with these friends none of the reserve and dignity of demeanor +that we should naturally associate with the idea of a king. Indeed, he +was very blunt, and often rough and overbearing in his manners, not +unfrequently doing and saying things which would scarcely be pardoned in +a person of inferior station. When thwarted or opposed in any way he was +irritable and violent, and he evinced continually a temper that was very +far from being amiable. In a word, though his society was eagerly sought +by all whom he was willing to associate with, he seems to have made no +real friends. Those who knew him admired his intelligence and his +energy, and they respected his power, but he was not a man that any one +could love. +</P> + +<P> +Amsterdam, though it was the great commercial centre of Holland—and, +indeed, at that time, of the world—was not the capital of the country. +The seat of government was then, as now, at the Hague. Accordingly, +after remaining as long at Amsterdam as Peter wished to amuse himself in +the ship-yards, the embassy moved on to the Hague, where it was received +in a very formal and honorable manner by the king and the government. +The presence of Peter could not be openly referred to, but very special +and unusual honors were paid to the embassy in tacit recognition of it. +At the Hague were resident ministers from all the great powers of Europe, +and these all, with one exception, came to pay visits of ceremony to the +embassadors, which visits were of course duly returned with great pomp +and parade. The exception was the minister of France. There was a +coolness existing at this time between the Russian and the French +governments on account of something Peter had done in respect to the +election of a king of Poland, which displeased the French king, and on +this account the French minister declined taking part in the special +honors paid to the embassy. +</P> + +<P> +The Hague was at this time perhaps the most influential and powerful +capital of Europe. It was the centre, in fact, of all important +political movements and intrigues for the whole Continent. The embassy +accordingly paused here, to take some rest from the fatigues and +excitements of their long journey, and to allow Peter time to form and +mature plans for future movements and operations. +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[1] For the situation of Riga in relation to Moscow, and for that of the +other places visited by the embassy, the reader must not fail to refer to +a map of Europe. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[2] A skipper is the captain of a small vessel. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap07"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CONCLUSION OF THE TOUR. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +1697 +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +Peter compares the shipping of different nations—He determines to +visit England—King William favors Peter's plans—Peter leaves +Holland—Helvoetsluys—Arrival in England—His reception in London—The +Duke of Leeds—Bishop Burnet—The bishop's opinion of Peter's +character—Designs of Providence—Peter's curiosity—His conversations +with the bishop—Peter takes a house "below bridge"—How he spent his +time—Peter's dress—Curiosity in respect to him—His visit to the +Tower—The various sights and shows of London—Workmen engaged—Peter's +visit to Portsmouth and Spithead—Situation of Spithead—Appearance of +the men-of-war—Grand naval spectacle—Present of a yacht—Peter sets +sail—His treatment of his workmen—Wages retained—The +engineer—Voyage to Holland—Peter rejoins the embassy—The Emperor +Leopold—Interview with the Emperor of Germany—Feasts and +festivities—Ceremonies—Bad tidings—Plans changed—Designs +abandoned—Return to Moscow +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +While the embassy itself was occupied with the parades and ceremonies +at the Hague, and at Utrecht, where they had a grand interview with the +States-General, and at other great political centres, Peter traveled to +and fro about Holland, visiting the different ports, and examining the +shipping that he found in them, with the view of comparing the +different models; for there were vessels in these ports from almost all +the maritime countries of Europe. His attention was at last turned to +some English ships, which pleased him very much. He liked the form of +them better than that of the Dutch ships that he had seen. He soon +made the acquaintance of a number of English ship-masters and +ship-carpenters, and obtained from them, through an interpreter of +course, a great deal of information in respect to the state of the art +of ship-building in their country. He heard that in England naval +carpentry had been reduced to a regular science, and that the forms and +models of the vessels built there were determined by fixed mathematical +principles, which every skillful and intelligent workman was expected +to understand and to practice upon; whereas in Holland the carpenters +worked by rote, each new set following their predecessors by a sort of +mechanical imitation, without being governed by any principles or +theory at all. +</P> + +<P> +Peter immediately determined that he would go to England, and study the +English methods himself on the spot, as he had already studied those of +Holland. +</P> + +<P> +The political relations between England and Holland were at this time +of a very intimate character, the King of England being William, Prince +of Orange.[1] The king, when he heard of Peter's intention, was much +pleased, and determined to do all in his power to promote his views in +making the journey. He immediately provided the Czar with a number of +English attendants to accompany him on his voyage, and to remain with +him in England during his stay. Among these were interpreters, +secretaries, valets, and a number of cooks and other domestic servants. +These persons were paid by the King of England himself, and were +ordered to accompany Peter to England, to remain with him all the time +that he was there, and then to return with him to Holland, so that +during the whole period of his absence he should have no trouble +whatever in respect to his personal comforts or wants. +</P> + +<P> +These preparations having been all made, the Czar left the embassy, and +taking with him the company of servants which the king had provided, +and also the few private friends who had been with him all the time +since leaving Moscow, he sailed from a certain port in the +south-western part of Holland, called Helvoetsluys, about the middle of +the month of January. +</P> + +<P> +He arrived without any accident at London. Here he at first took up +his abode in a handsome house which the king had ordered to be provided +and furnished for him. This house was in a genteel part of the town, +where the noblemen and other persons belonging to the court resided. +It was very pleasantly situated near the river, and the grounds +pertaining to it extended down to the water side. Still it was far +away from the part of the city which was devoted to commerce and the +shipping, and Peter was not very well satisfied with it on that +account. He, however, went to it at first, and continued to occupy it +for some time. +</P> + +<P> +In this house the Czar was visited by a great number of the nobility, +and he visited them in return. He also received particular attentions +from such members of the royal family as were then in London. But the +person whose society pleased him most was one of the nobility, who, +like himself, tools: a great interest in maritime affairs. This was +the Duke of Leeds. The duke kept a number of boats at the foot of his +gardens in London, and he and Peter used often to go out together in +the river, and row and sail in them. +</P> + +<P> +Among other attentions which were paid to Peter by the government +during his stay in London, one was the appointment of a person to +attend upon him for the purpose of giving him, at any time, such +explanations or such information as he might desire in respect to the +various institutions of England, whether those relating to government, +to education, or to religion. The person thus appointed was Bishop +Burnet, a very distinguished dignitary of the Church. The bishop +could, of course, only converse with Peter through interpreters, but +the practice of conversing in that way was very common in those days, +and persons were specially trained and educated to translate the +language of one person to another in an easy and agreeable manner. In +this way Bishop Burnet held from time to time various interviews with +the Czar, but it seems that he did not form a very favorable opinion of +his temper and character. The bishop, in an account of these +interviews which he subsequently wrote, said that Peter was a man of +strong capacity, and of much better general education than might have +been expected from the manner of life which he had led, but that he was +of a very hot and violent temper, and that he was very brutal in his +language and demeanor when he was in a passion. The bishop expressed +himself quite strongly on this point, saying that he could not but +adore the depth of the providence of God that had raised such a furious +man to so absolute an authority over so great a part of the world. +</P> + +<P> +It was seen in the end how wise was the arrangement of Providence in +the selection of this instrument for the accomplishment of its +designs—for the reforms which, notwithstanding the violence of his +personal character, and the unjust and cruel deeds which he sometimes +performed, Peter was the means of introducing, and those to which the +changes that he made afterward led, have advanced, and are still +advancing more and more every year, the whole moral, political, and +social condition of all the populations of Northern Europe and Asia, +and have instituted a course of progress and improvement which will, +perhaps, go on, without being again arrested, to the end of time. +</P> + +<P> +The bishop says that he found Peter somewhat curious to learn what the +political and religious institutions of England were, but that he did +not manifest any intention or desire to introduce them into his own +country. The chief topic which interested him, even in talking with +the bishop, was that of his purposes and plans in respect to ships and +shipping. He gave the bishop an account of what he had done, and of +what he intended to do, for the elevation and improvement of his +people; but all his plans of this kind were confined to such +improvements as would tend to the extension and aggrandizement of his +own power. In other words, the ultimate object of the reforms which he +was desirous of introducing was not the comfort and happiness of the +people themselves, but his own exaltation and glory among the +potentates of the earth as their hereditary and despotic sovereign. +</P> + +<P> +After remaining some time in the residence which the king had provided +for him at the court end of the town, Peter contrived to have a house +set apart for him "below bridge," as the phrase was—that is, among the +shipping. There was but one bridge across the Thames in those days, +and the position of that one, of course, determined the limit of that +part of the river and town that could be devoted to the purposes of +commerce and navigation, for ships, of course, could not go above it. +The house which was now provided for Peter was near the royal +ship-yard. There was a back gate which opened from the yard of the +house into the ship-yard, so that Peter could go and come when he +pleased. Peter remained in this new lodging for some time. He often +went into the ship-yard to watch the men at their operations, and while +there would often take up the tools and work with them. At other times +he would ramble about the streets of London in company with his two or +three particular friends, examining every thing which was new or +strange to him, and talking with his companions in respect to the +expediency or feasibility of introducing the article or the usage, +whatever it might be, as an improvement, into his own dominions. +</P> + +<P> +In these excursions Peter was sometimes dressed in the English +citizen's dress, and sometimes he wore the dress of a common sailor. +In the latter costume he found that he could walk about more freely on +the wharves and along the docks without attracting observation, but, +notwithstanding all that he could do to disguise himself, he was often +discovered. Some person, perhaps, who had seen him and his friends in +the ship-yard, would recognize him and point him out. Then it would be +whispered from one to another among the by-standers that that was the +Russian Emperor, and people would follow him where he went, or gather +around him where he was standing. In such cases as this, as soon as +Peter found that he was recognized, and was beginning to attract +attention, he always went immediately away. +</P> + +<P> +Among other objects of interest which attracted Peter's attention in +London was the Tower, where there was kept then, as now, an immense +collection of arms of all kinds. This collection consists not only of +a vast store of the weapons in use at the present day, laid up there to +be ready for service whenever they may be required, but also a great +number and variety of specimens of those which were employed in former +ages, but are now superseded by new inventions. Peter, as might +naturally have been expected, took a great deal of interest in +examining these collections. +</P> + +<P> +In respect to all the more ordinary objects of interest for strangers +in London, the shops, the theatres, the parks, the gay parties given by +the nobility at the West End, and other such spectacles, Peter saw them +all, but he paid very little attention to them. His thoughts were +almost entirely engrossed by subjects connected with his navy. He +found, as he had expected from what he heard in Holland, that the +English ship-carpenters had reduced their business quite to a system, +being accustomed to determine the proportions of the model by fixed +principles, and to work, in the construction of the ship, from drafts +made by rule. When he was in the ship-yard he studied this subject +very attentively; and although it was, of course, impossible that in so +short a time he should make himself fully master of it, he was still +able to obtain such a general insight into the nature of the method as +would very much assist him in making arrangements for introducing it +into his own country. +</P> + +<P> +There was another measure which he took that was even more important +still. He availed himself of every opportunity which was afforded him, +while engaged in the ship-yards and docks, to become acquainted with +the workmen, especially the head workmen of the yards, and he engaged a +number of them to go to Russia, and enter into his service there in the +work of building his navy. +</P> + +<P> +In a word, the Czar was much better pleased with the manner in which +the work of ship-building was carried on in England than with any thing +that he had seen in Holland; so much so that he said he wished that he +had come directly to England at first, inasmuch as now, since he had +seen how much superior were the English methods, he considered the long +stay which he had made in Holland as pretty nearly lost time. +</P> + +<P> +After remaining as long and learning as much in the dock-yards in and +below London as he thought the time at his command would allow, Peter +went to Portsmouth to visit the royal navy at anchor there. The +arrangement which nature has made of the southern coast of England +seems almost as if expressly intended for the accommodation of a great +national and mercantile marine. In the first place, at the town of +Portsmouth, there is a deep and spacious harbor entirely surrounded and +protected by land. Then at a few miles distant, off the coast, lies +the Isle of Wight, which brings under shelter a sheet of water not less +than five miles wide and twenty miles long, where all the fleets and +navies of the world might lie at anchor in safety. There is an open +access to this sound both from the east and from the west, and yet the +shores curve in such a manner that both entrances are well protected +from the ingress of storms. +</P> + +<P> +Directly opposite to Portsmouth, and within this inclosed sea, is a +place where the water is just of the right depth, and the bottom of +just the right conformation for the convenient anchoring of ships of +war. This place is called Spithead, and it forms one of the most +famous anchoring grounds in the world. It is here that the vast fleets +of the English navy assemble, and here the ships come to anchor, when +returning home from their distant voyages. The view of these +grim-looking sea-monsters, with their double and triple rows of guns, +lying quietly at their moorings, as seen by the spectator from the deck +of the steamer which glides through and among them, on the way from +Portsmouth to the Isle of Wight, is extremely imposing. Indeed, when +considered by a mind capable of understanding in some degree the vast +magnitude and extension of the power which lies thus reposing there, +the spectacle becomes truly sublime. +</P> + +<P> +In order to give Peter a favorable opportunity to see the fleet at +Spithead, the King of England commissioned the admiral in command of +the navy to accompany him to Portsmouth, and to put the fleet to sea, +with the view of exhibiting a mock naval engagement in the Channel. +Nothing could exceed the pleasure which this spectacle afforded to the +Czar. He expressed his admiration of it in the most glowing terms, and +said that he verily believed that an admiral of the English fleet was a +happier man than the Czar of Muscovy. +</P> + +<P> +At length, when the time arrived for Peter to set out on his return to +his own dominions, the King of England made him a present of a +beautiful yacht, which had been built for his own use in his voyages +between England and Holland. The name of the yacht was the Royal +Transport. It was an armed vessel, carrying twenty-four guns, and was +well-built, and richly finished and furnished in every respect. The +Czar set sail from England in this yacht, taking with him the +companions that he had brought with him into England, and also a +considerable number of the persons whom he had engaged to enter into +his service in Russia. Some of these persons were to be employed in +the building of ships, and others in the construction of a canal to +connect the River Don with the River Wolga. The Don flows into the +Black and the Wolga into the Caspian Sea, and the object of the canal +was to allow Peter's vessels to pass from one sea into the other at +pleasure. As soon as the canal should be opened, ships could be built +on either river for use in either sea. +</P> + +<P> +The persons who had been engaged for these various purposes were +promised, of course, very large rewards to induce them to leave their +country. Many of them afterward had occasion bitterly to regret their +having entered the service of such a master. They complained that, +after their arrival in Russia, Peter treated them in a very unjust and +arbitrary manner. They were held as prisoners more than as salaried +workmen, being very closely watched and guarded to prevent their making +their escape and going back to their own country before finishing what +Peter wished them to do. Then, a large portion of their pay was kept +back, on the plea that it was necessary for the emperor to have +security in his own hands for their fidelity in the performance of +their work, and for their remaining at their posts until their work was +done. There was one gentleman in particular, a Scotch mathematician +and engineer, who had been educated at the University of Aberdeen, that +complained of the treatment which he received in a full and formal +protest, which he addressed to Peter in writing, and which is still on +record. He makes out a very strong case in respect to the injustice +with which he was treated. +</P> + +<P> +But, however disappointed these gentlemen may have been in the end, +they left England in the emperor's beautiful yacht, much elated with +the honor they had received in being selected by such a potentate for +the execution of important trusts in a distant land, and with high +anticipations of the fame and fortune which they expected to acquire +before the time should arrive for them to return to their own country. +From England the yacht sailed to Holland, where Peter disembarked, in +order to join the embassy and accompany them in their visits to some +other courts in Central Europe before returning home. +</P> + +<P> +He first went to Vienna. He still nominally preserved his incognito; +but the Emperor Leopold, who was at that time the Emperor of Germany, +gave him a very peculiar sort of reception. He came out to the door of +his antechamber to meet Peter at the head of a certain back staircase +communicating with the apartment, which was intended for his own +private use. Peter was accompanied by General Le Fort, the chief +embassador, at this interview, and he was conducted up the staircase by +two grand officers of the Austrian court—the grand chamberlain and the +grand equerry. After the two potentates had been introduced to each +other, the emperor, who had taken off his hat to bow to the Czar, put +it on again, but Peter remained uncovered, on the ground that he was +not at that time acting in his own character as Czar. The emperor, +seeing this, took off his hat again, and both remained uncovered during +the interview. +</P> + +<P> +After this a great many parades and celebrations took place in Vienna, +all ostensibly in honor of the embassy, but really and truly in honor +of Peter himself, who still preserved his incognito. At many of these +festivities Peter attended, taking his place with the rest of the +subordinates in the train of the embassy, but he never appeared in his +own true character. Still he was known, and he was the object of a +great many indirect but very marked attentions. On one occasion, for +example, there was a masked ball in the palace of the emperor; Peter +appeared there dressed as a peasant of West Friesland, which is a part +of North Holland, where the costumes worn by the common people were +then, as indeed they are at the present day, very marked and peculiar. +The Emperor of Germany appeared also at this ball in a feigned +character—that of a host at an entertainment, and he had thirty-two +pages in attendance upon him, all dressed as butlers. In the course of +the evening one of the pages brought out to the emperor a very curious +and costly glass, which he filled with wine and presented to the +emperor, who then approached Peter and drank to the health of the +peasant of West Friesland, saying at the same time, with a meaning +look, that he was well aware of the inviolable affection which the +peasant felt for the Czar of Muscovy. Peter, in return, drank to the +health of the host, saying he was aware of the inviolable affection he +felt for the Emperor of Germany. +</P> + +<P> +These toasts were received by the whole company with great applause, +and after they were drunk the emperor gave Peter the curious glass from +which he had drunk, desiring him to keep it as a souvenir of the +occasion. +</P> + +<P> +These festivities in honor of the embassy at Vienna were at length +suddenly interrupted by the arrival of tidings from Moscow that a +rebellion had broken out there against Peter's government. This +intelligence changed at once all Peter's plans. He had intended to go +to Venice and to Rome, but he now at once abandoned these designs, and +setting out abruptly from Vienna, with General Le Fort, and a train of +about thirty persons, he traveled with the utmost possible dispatch to +Moscow. +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[1] William, Prince of Orange, was descended on the female side from +the English royal family, and was a Protestant. Accordingly, when +James II., and with him the Catholic branch of the royal family of +England, was expelled from the throne, the British Parliament called +upon William to ascend it, he being the next heir on the Protestant +side. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap08"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE REBELLION. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +1698 +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +Precautions taken by the Czar—His uneasiness—His fury against his +enemies—His revolting appearance—Imperfect +communication—Conspiracy—Arguments used—Details of the plot—Pretext +of the guards—They commence their march—Alarm in Moscow—General +Gordon—A parley with the rebels—Influence of the Church—The clergy on +the side of the rebels—Conservatism—The Russian clergy—The armies +prepare for battle—The insurgents defeated—Massacre of +prisoners—Confession—Peter's arrival at Moscow—His terrible +severity—Peter becomes himself an executioner—The Guards—Gibbets—The +writer of the address to Sophia—The old Russian nobility—Arrival of +artisans—Retirement of Sophia—Her death +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +It will be recollected by the reader that Peter, before he set out on his +tour, took every possible precaution to guard against the danger of +disturbances in his dominions during his absence. The Princess Sophia +was closely confined in her convent. All that portion of the old Russian +Guards that he thought most likely to be dissatisfied with his proposed +reforms, and to take part with Sophia, he removed to fortresses at a +great distance from Moscow. Moscow itself was garrisoned with troops +selected expressly with reference to their supposed fidelity to his +interests, and the men who were to command them, as well as the great +civil officers to whom the administration of the government was committed +during his absence, were appointed on the same principle. +</P> + +<P> +But, notwithstanding all these precautions, Peter did not feel entirely +safe. He was well aware of Sophia's ambition, and of her skill in +intrigue, and during the whole progress of his tour he anxiously watched +the tidings which he received from Moscow, ready to return at a moment's +warning in case of necessity. He often spoke on this subject to those +with whom he was on terms of familiar intercourse. On such occasions he +would get into a great rage in denouncing his enemies, and in threatening +vengeance against them in case they made any movement to resist his +authority while he was away. At such times he would utter most dreadful +imprecations against those who should dare to oppose him, and would work +himself up into such a fury as to give those who conversed with him an +exceedingly unfavorable opinion of his temper and character. The ugly +aspect which his countenance and demeanor exhibited at such times was +greatly aggravated by a nervous affection of the head and face which +attacked him, particularly when he was in a passion, and which produced +convulsive twitches of the muscles that drew his head by jerks to one +side, and distorted his face in a manner that was dreadful to behold. It +was said that this disorder was first induced in his childhood by some +one of the terrible frights through which he passed. However this may +have been, the affection seemed to increase as he grew older, and as the +attacks of it were most decided and violent when he was in a passion, +they had the effect, in connection with his coarse and dreadful language +and violent demeanor, to make him appear at such times more like some +ugly monster of fiction than like a man. +</P> + +<P> +The result, in respect to the conduct of his enemies during his absence, +was what he feared. After he had been gone away for some months they +began to conspire against him. The means of communication between +different countries were quite imperfect in those days, so that very +little exact information came back to Russia in respect to the emperor's +movements. The nobles who were opposed to him began to represent to the +people that he had gone nobody knew where, and that it was wholly +uncertain whether he would ever return. Besides, if he did return, they +said it would only be to bring with him a fresh importation of foreign +favorites and foreign manners, and to proceed more vigorously than ever +in his work of superseding and subverting all the good old customs of the +land, and displacing the ancient native families from all places of +consideration and honor, in order to make room for the swarms of +miserable foreign adventurers that he would bring home with him in his +train. +</P> + +<P> +By these and similar representations the opposition so far increased and +strengthened their party that, at length, they matured their arrangements +for an open outbreak. Their plan was, first, to take possession of the +city by means of the Guards, who were to be recalled for this purpose +from their distant posts, and by their assistance to murder all the +foreigners. They were then to issue a proclamation declaring that Peter, +by leaving the country and remaining so long away, had virtually +abdicated the government; and also a formal address to the Princess +Sophia, calling upon her to ascend the throne in his stead. +</P> + +<P> +In executing this plan, negotiations were first cautiously opened with +the Guards, and they readily acceded to the proposals made to them. A +committee of three persons was appointed to draw up the address to +Sophia, and the precise details of the movements which were to take place +on the arrival of the Guards at the gates of Moscow were all arranged. +The Guards, of course, required some pretext for leaving their posts and +coming toward the city, independent of the real cause, for the +conspirators within the city were not prepared to rise and declare the +throne vacant until the Guards had actually arrived. Accordingly, while +the conspirators remained quiet, the Guards began to complain of various +grievances under which they suffered, particularly that they were not +paid their wages regularly, and they declared their determination to +march to Moscow and obtain redress. The government—that is, the regency +that Peter had left in charge—sent out deputies, who attempted to pacify +them, but could not succeed. The Guards insisted that they would go with +their complaints to Moscow. They commenced their march. The number of +men was about ten thousand. They pretended that they were only going to +the city to represent their case themselves directly to the government, +and then to march back again in a peaceable manner. They wished to know, +too, they said, what had become of the Czar. They could not depend upon +the rumors which came to them at so great a distance, and they were +determined to inform themselves on the spot whether he were alive or +dead, and when he was coming home. +</P> + +<P> +The deputies returned with all speed to Moscow, and reported that the +Guards were on their march in full strength toward the city. The whole +city was thrown into a state of consternation. Many of the leading +families, anticipating serious trouble, moved away. Others packed up and +concealed their valuables. The government, too, though not yet +suspecting the real design of the Guards in the movement which they were +making, were greatly alarmed. They immediately ordered a large armed +force to go and meet the insurgents. This force was commanded by General +Gordon, the officer whom Peter had made general-in-chief of the army +before he set out on his tour. +</P> + +<P> +General Gordon came up with the rebels about forty miles from Moscow. As +soon as he came near to them he halted, and sent forward a deputation +from his camp to confer with the leaders, in the hope of coming to some +amicable settlement of the difficulty. This deputation consisted of +Russian nobles of ancient and established rank and consideration in the +country, who had volunteered to accompany the general in his expedition. +General Gordon himself was one of the hated foreigners, and of course his +appearance, if he had gone himself to negotiate with the rebels, would +have perhaps only exasperated and inflamed them more than ever. +</P> + +<P> +The deputation held a conference with the leaders of the Guards, and made +them very conciliatory offers. They promised that if they would return +to their duty the government would not only overlook the serious offense +which they had committed in leaving their posts and marching upon Moscow, +but would inquire into and redress all their grievances. But the Guards +refused to be satisfied. They were determined, they said, to march to +Moscow. They wished to ascertain for themselves whether Peter was dead +or alive, and if alive, what had become of him. They therefore were +going on, and, if General Gordon and his troops attempted to oppose them, +they would fight it out and see which was the strongest. +</P> + +<P> +In civil commotions of this kind occurring in any of the ancient +non-Protestant countries in Europe, it is always a question of the utmost +moment which side the Church and the clergy espouse. It is true that the +Church and the clergy do not fight themselves, and so do not add any +thing to the physical strength of the party which they befriend, but they +add enormously to its moral strength, that is, to its confidence and +courage. Men have a sort of instinctive respect and fear for constituted +authorities of any kind, and, though often willing to plot against them, +are still very apt to falter and fall back when the time comes for the +actual collision. The feeling that, after all, they are in the wrong in +fighting against the government of their country, weakens them extremely, +and makes them ready to abandon the struggle in panic and dismay on the +first unfavorable turn of fortune. But if they have the Church and the +clergy on their side, this state of things is quite changed. The +sanction of religion—the thought that they are fighting in the cause of +God and of duty, nerves their arms, and gives them that confidence in the +result which is almost essential to victory. +</P> + +<P> +It was so in this case. There was no class in the community more opposed +to the Czar's proposed improvements and reforms than the Church. Indeed, +it is always so. The Church and the clergy are always found in these +countries on the side of opposition to progress and improvement. It is +not that they are really opposed to improvement itself for its own sake, +but that they are so afraid of change. They call themselves +Conservatives, and wish to preserve every thing as it is. They hate the +process of pulling down. Now, if a thing is good, it is better, of +course, to preserve it; but, on the other hand, if it is bad, it is +better that it should be pulled down. When, therefore, you are asked +whether you are a Conservative or not, reply that that depends upon the +character of the institution or the usage which is attacked. If it is +good, let it stand. If it is bad, let it be destroyed. +</P> + +<P> +In the case of Peter's proposed improvements and reforms the Church and +the clergy were Conservatives of the most determined character. Of +course, the plotters of the conspiracy in Moscow were in communication +with the patriarch and the leading ecclesiastics in forming their plans; +and in arranging for the marching of the Guards to the capital they took +care to have priests with them to encourage them in the movement, and to +assure them that in opposing the present government and restoring Sophia +to power they were serving the cause of God and religion by promoting the +expulsion from the country of the infidel foreigners that were coming in +in such numbers, and subverting all the good old usages and customs of +the realm. +</P> + +<P> +It was this sympathy on the part of the clergy which gave the officers +and soldiers of the Guards their courage and confidence in daring to +persist in their march to Moscow in defiance of the army of General +Gordon, brought out to oppose them. +</P> + +<P> +The two armies approached each other. General Gordon, as is usual in +such cases, ordered a battery of artillery which he had brought up in the +road before the Guards to fire, but he directed that the guns should be +pointed so high that the balls should go over the heads of the enemy. +His object was to intimidate them. But the effect was the contrary. The +priests, who had come into the army of the insurgents to encourage them +in the fight, told them that a miracle had been performed. God had +averted the balls from them, they said. They were fighting for the honor +of his cause and for the defense of his holy religion, and they might +rely upon it that he would not suffer them to be harmed. +</P> + +<P> +But these assurances of the priests proved, unfortunately for the poor +Guards, to be entirely unfounded. When General Gordon found that firing +over the heads of the rebels did no good, ho gave up at once all hope of +any adjustment of the difficulty, and he determined to restrain himself +no longer, but to put forth the whole of his strength, and kill and +destroy all before him in the most determined and merciless manner. A +furious battle followed, in which the Guards were entirely defeated. Two +or three thousand of them were killed, and all the rest were surrounded +and made prisoners. +</P> + +<P> +The first step taken by General Gordon, with the advice of the Russian +nobles who had accompanied him, was to count off the prisoners and hang +every tenth man. The next was to put the officers to the torture, in +order to compel them to confess what their real object was in marching to +Moscow. After enduring their tortures as long as human nature could bear +them, they confessed that the movement was a concerted one, made in +connection with a conspiracy within the city, and that the object was to +subvert the present government, and to liberate the Princess Sophia and +place her upon the throne. They also gave the names of a number of +prominent persons in Moscow who, they said, were the leaders of the +conspiracy. +</P> + +<P> +It was in this state of the affair that the tidings of what had occurred +reached Peter in Vienna, as is related in the last chapter. He +immediately set out on his return to Moscow in a state of rage and fury +against the rebels that it would be impossible to describe. As he +arrived at the capital, he commenced an inquisition into the affair by +putting every body to the torture whom he supposed to be implicated as a +leader in it. From the agony of these sufferers he extorted the names of +innumerable victims, who, as fast as they were named, were seized and put +to death. There were a great many of the ancient nobles thus condemned, +a great many ladies of high rank, and large numbers of priests. These +persons were all executed, or rather massacred, in the most reckless and +merciless manner. Some were beheaded; some were broken on the wheel, and +then left to die in horrible agonies. Many were buried alive, their +heads only being left above the ground. It is said that Peter took such +a savage delight in these punishments, that he executed many of the +victims with his own hands. At one time, when half intoxicated at a +banquet, he ordered twenty of his prisoners to be brought in, and then, +with his brandy before him, which was his favorite drink, and which he +often drank to excess, he caused them to be led, one after another, to +the block, that he might cut off their heads himself. He took a drink of +brandy after each execution while the officers were bringing forward the +next man. He was just an hour, it was said, in cutting off the twenty +heads, which allows of an average of three minutes to each man. This +story is almost too horrible to be believed, but, unfortunately, it +comports too well with the general character which Peter has always +sustained in the opinion of mankind in respect to the desperate and +reckless cruelty to which he could be aroused under the influence of +intoxication and anger. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-168"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-168.jpg" ALT="Peter turning executioner." BORDER="2" WIDTH="513" HEIGHT="328"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 513px"> +Peter turning executioner. +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +About two thousand of the Guards were beheaded. The bodies of these men +were laid upon the ground in a public place, arranged in rows, with their +heads lying beside them. They covered more than an acre of ground. Here +they were allowed to lie all the remainder of the winter, as long, in +fact, as the flesh continued frozen, and then, when the spring came on, +they were thrown together into a deep ditch, dug to receive them, and +thus were buried. +</P> + +<P> +There were also a great number of gibbets set up on all the roads leading +to Moscow, and upon these gibbets men were hung, and the bodies allowed +to remain there, like the beheaded Guards upon the ground, until the +spring. +</P> + +<P> +As for the Princess Sophia, she was still in the convent where Peter had +placed her, the conspirators not having reached the point of liberating +her before their plot was discovered. Peter, however, caused the three +authors of the address, which was to have been made to Sophia, calling +upon her to assume the crown, to be sent to the convent, and there hung +before Sophia's windows. And then, by his orders, the arm of the +principal man among them was cut off, the address was put into his hand, +and, when the fingers had stiffened around it, the limb was fixed to the +wall in Sophia's chamber, as if in the act of offering her the address, +and ordered to remain so until the address should drop, of itself, upon +the floor. +</P> + +<P> +Such were the horrible means by which Peter attempted to strike terror +into his subjects, and to put down the spirit of conspiracy and +rebellion. He doubtless thought that it was only by such severities as +these that the end could be effectually attained. At all events, the end +was attained. The rebellion was completely suppressed, and all open +opposition to the progress of the Czar's proposed improvements and +reforms ceased. The few leading nobles who adhered to the old customs +and usages of the realm retired from all connection with public affairs, +and lived thenceforth in seclusion, mourning, like good Conservatives, +the triumph of the spirit of radicalism and innovation which was leading +the country, as they thought, to certain ruin. The old Guards, whom it +had been proved so utterly impossible to bring over to Peter's views, +were disbanded, and other troops, organized on a different system, were +embodied in their stead. By this time the English ship-builders, and the +other mechanics and artisans that Peter had engaged, began to arrive in +the country, and the way was open for the emperor to go on vigorously in +the accomplishment of his favorite and long-cherished plans. +</P> + +<P> +The Princess Sophia, worn out with the agitations and dangers through +which she had passed, and crushed in spirit by the dreadful scenes to +which her brother had exposed her, now determined to withdraw wholly from +the scene. She took the veil in the convent where she was confined, and +went as a nun into the cloisters with the other sisters. The name that +she assumed was Marpha. +</P> + +<P> +Of course, all her ambitious aspirations were now forever extinguished, +and the last gleam of earthly hope faded away from her mind. She pined +away under the influences of disappointment, hopeless vexation, and +bitter grief for about six years, and then the nuns of the convent +followed the body of sister Marpha to the tomb. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap09"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER IX. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +REFORMS. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +1700-1701 +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +Peter begins his proposed reforms—Remodeling the army—Changes of +dress—The officers—New appointments—Motives and object of the +Czar—Means of revenue—Mysterious power—The secret of it—Management +of a standing army—Artful contrivances—Despotism <I>versus</I> +freedom—Policy of the American people—Standing armies—The American +government is weak—The people reserve their strength—Peter's +policy—The Church—Conservatism of the clergy—The patriarch—Ancient +custom—The emperor on the procession—Emblems—Peter's reflections on +the subject—Peter's determination—He proceeds cautiously—Contest +with the bishops—Peter is victorious—Other reforms—Collection of the +revenues—New revenue system—Manners and customs of the +people—Mustaches and beards—The long dresses suppressed—Effect of +ridicule—The jester's marriage—Curious sleeves—Mode of manoeuvring +the sleeve—The boyars in the streets—Long trains of attendants—Peter +changes the whole system—Motives of the Czar—Ultimate effect of his +reforms +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +As soon as Peter had sufficiently glutted his vengeance on those whom +he chose to consider, whether justly or unjustly, as implicated in the +rebellion, he turned his attention at once to the work of introducing +the improvements and reforms which had been suggested to him by what he +had seen in the western countries of Europe. There was a great deal of +secret hostility to the changes which he thus wished to make, although +every thing like open opposition to his will had been effectually put +down by the terrible severity of his dealings with the rebels. He +continued to urge his plans of reform during the whole course of his +reign, and though he met from time to time with a great variety of +difficulties in his efforts to carry them into effect, he was in the +end triumphantly successful in establishing and maintaining them. I +shall proceed to give a general account of these reforms in this +chapter, notwithstanding that the work of introducing them extended +over a period of many years subsequent to this time. +</P> + +<P> +The first thing to which the Czar gave his attention was the complete +remodeling of his army. He established new regiments in place of the +old Guards, and put his whole army on a new footing. He abolished the +dress which the Guards had been accustomed to wear—an ancient +Muscovite costume, which, like the dress of the Highlanders of +Scotland, was strongly associated in the minds of the men with ancient +national customs, many of which the emperor now wished to abolish. +Instead of this old costume the emperor dressed his new troops in a +modern military uniform. This was not only much more convenient than +the old dress, but the change exerted a great influence in +disenthralling the minds of the men from the influence of old ideas and +associations. It made them feel at once as if they were new men, +belonging to a new age—one marked by a new and higher civilization +than they had been accustomed to in former years. The effect which was +produced by this simple change was very marked—so great is the +influence of dress and other outward symbols on the sentiments of the +mind and on the character. +</P> + +<P> +Peter had made a somewhat similar change to this, in the case of his +household troops and private body-guard, at the suggestion of General +Le Fort, some time previous to this period, but now he carried the same +reform into effect in respect to his whole army. +</P> + +<P> +In addition to these improvements in the dress and discipline of the +men, Peter adopted an entirely new system in officering his troops. A +great many of the old officers—all those who were proved or even +suspected of being hostile to him and to his measures—had been +beheaded or sent into banishment, and others still had been dismissed +from the service. Peter filled all these vacant posts by bringing +forward and appointing the sons of the nobility, making his selections +from those families who were either already inclined to his side, or +who he supposed might be brought over by the influence of appointments +and honors conferred upon their sons. +</P> + +<P> +Of course, the great object of the Czar in thus reorganizing his army +and increasing the military strength of the empire was not the more +effectual protection of the country from foreign enemies, or from any +domestic violence which might threaten to disturb the peace or endanger +the property of the public, but only the confirming and perpetuating +his own power as the sovereign ruler of it. It is true that such +potentates as Peter really desire that the countries over which they +rule should prosper, and should increase in wealth and population; but +then they do this usually only as the proprietor of an estate might +wish to improve his property, that is, simply with an eye to his own +interest as the owner of it. In reforming his army, and placing it, as +he did, on a new and far more efficient footing than before, Peter's +main inducement was to increase and secure his own power. He wished +also, doubtless, to preserve the peace of the country, in order that +the inhabitants might go on regularly in the pursuit of their +industrial occupations, for their ability to pay the taxes required for +the large revenues which he wished to raise would increase or diminish, +he knew very well, just in proportion to the productiveness of the +general industry; still, his own exaltation and grandeur were the +ultimate objects in view. +</P> + +<P> +Young persons, when they read in history of the power which many great +tyrants have exercised, and the atrocious crimes which they have +committed against the rights of their fellow-men, sometimes wonder how +it is that one man can acquire or retain so absolute a dominion over so +many millions as to induce them to kill each other in such vast numbers +at his bidding; for, of course, it is but a very small number of the +victims of a tyrant's injustice or cruelty that are executed by his own +hand. How is it, then, that one weak and often despicable and hateful +man can acquire and retain such an ascendency over those that stand +around him, that they shall all be ready to draw their swords +instantaneously at his bidding, and seize and destroy, without +hesitation and without mercy, whomsoever he may choose to designate as +the object of his rage and vengeance? How is it that the wealthiest, +the most respected, and the most popular citizens of the state, though +surrounded with servants and with multitudes of friends, have no power +to resist when one of these Neros conceives the idea of striking him +down, but must yield without a struggle to his fate, as if to +inevitable destiny? +</P> + +<P> +The secret of this extraordinary submission of millions to one is +always an army. The tyrant, under the pretense of providing the means +for the proper execution of just and righteous laws, and the +maintenance of peace and order in the community, organizes an army. He +contrives so to arrange and regulate this force as to separate it +completely from the rest of the community, so as to extinguish as far +as possible all the sympathies which might otherwise exist between the +soldiers and the citizens. Marriage is discouraged, so that the troops +may not be bound to the community by any family ties. The regiments +arc quartered in barracks built and appropriated to their especial use, +and they are continually changed from one set of barracks to another, +in order to prevent their forming too intimate an acquaintance with any +portion of the community, or learning to feel any common interest or +sympathy with them. Then, as a reward for their privations, the +soldiers are allowed, with very little remonstrance or restraint, to +indulge freely in all such habits of dissipation and vice as will not +at once interfere with military discipline, or deteriorate from the +efficiency of the whole body as a military corps. The soldiers soon +learn to love the idle and dissolute lives which they are allowed to +lead. The officers, especially those in the higher grades of rank, are +paid large salaries, are clothed in a gaudy dress which is adorned with +many decorations, and they are treated every where with great +consideration. Thus they become devoted to the will of the government, +and lose gradually all regard for, and all sympathy with the rights and +welfare of the people. There is a tacit agreement between them and the +government, by which they are bound to keep the people in a state of +utter and abject submission to the despot's will, while he, on his +part, is bound to collect from the people thus subdued the sums of +money necessary for their pay. Thus it is the standing army which is +that great and terrible sword by means of which one man is able to +strike awe into the hearts of so many millions, and hold them all so +entirely subject to his will. +</P> + +<P> +It is in consequence of having observed the effect of such armaments in +the despotisms of Europe and Asia that the free governments of modern +times take good care not to allow large standing armies to be formed. +Instead of this the people organize themselves into armed bands, in +connection with which they meet and practice military evolutions on +appointed days, and then separate and go back to their wives and to +their children, and to their usual occupations, while in the despotic +countries where large standing armies are maintained, the people are +strictly forbidden to possess arms, or to form organizations, or to +take measures of any kind that could tend to increase their means of +defense against their oppressors in the event of a struggle. +</P> + +<P> +The consequence is, that under the free governments of the present day +the people are strong and the government is weak. The standing army of +France consists at the present time[1] of five hundred thousand men, +completely armed and equipped, and devoted all the time to the study +and practice of the art of war. By means of this force one man is able +to keep the whole population of the country in a state of complete and +unquestioning submission to his will. In the United States, on the +other hand, with a population nearly as great, the standing army seldom +amounts to an effective force of fifteen thousand men; and if a +president of the United States were to attempt by means of it to +prolong his term of office, or to accomplish any other violent end, +there is, perhaps, not a single state in the Union, the population of +which would not alone be able to put him down—so strong are the people +with us, and so weak, in opposition to them, the government and the +army. +</P> + +<P> +It is often made a subject of reproach by European writers and +speakers, in commenting on the state of things in America, that the +government is so weak; but this we consider not our reproach, but our +glory. The government is indeed weak. The people take good care to +keep it weak. But the nation is not weak; the nation is strong. The +difference is, that in our country the nation chooses to retain its +power in its own hands. The people make the government strong enough +from time to time for all the purposes which they wish it to +accomplish. When occasion shall arise, the strength thus to be +imparted to it may be increased almost indefinitely, according to the +nature of the emergency. In the mean time, the people consider +themselves the safest depositary of their reserved power. +</P> + +<P> +But to return to Peter. Of course, his policy was the reverse of ours. +He wished to make his army as efficient as possible, and to cut it off +as completely as possible from all communion and sympathy with the +people, so as to keep it in close and absolute subjection to his own +individual will. The measures which he adopted were admirably adapted +to this purpose. By means of them he greatly strengthened his power, +and established it on a firm and permanent basis. +</P> + +<P> +Peter did not forget that, during the late rebellion, the influence of +the Church and that of all the leading ecclesiastics had been against +him. This was necessarily the case; for, in a Church constituted as +that of Russia then was, the powers and prerogatives of the priests +rested, not on reason or right, but on ancient customs. The priests +would therefore naturally be opposed to all changes—even +improvements—in the usages and institutions of the realm, for fear +that the system of reform, if once entered upon, might extend to and +interfere with their ancient prerogatives and privileges. An +established Church in any country, where, by means of the +establishment, the priests or the ministers hold positions which secure +to them the possession of wealth or power, is always opposed to every +species of change. It hates even the very name of reform. +</P> + +<P> +Peter determined to bring the Russian Church more under his own +control. Up to that time it had been, in a great measure, independent. +The head of it was an ecclesiastic of great power and dignity, called +the Patriarch. The jurisdiction of this patriarch extended over all +the eastern portion of the Christian world, and his position and power +were very similar to those of the Pope of Rome, who reigned over the +whole western portion. +</P> + +<P> +Indeed, so exalted was the position and dignity of the patriarch, and +so great was the veneration in which he was held by the people, that he +was, as it were, the spiritual sovereign of the country, just as Peter +was the civil and military sovereign; and on certain great religious +ceremonies he even took precedence of the Czar himself, and actually +received homage from him. At one of the great religious anniversaries, +which was always celebrated with great pomp and parade, it was +customary for the patriarch to ride through the street on horseback, +with the Czar walking before him holding the bridle of the horse. The +bridle used, on these occasions was very long, like a pair of reins, +and was made of the richest material, and ornamented with golden +embroidery. The Czar walked on in advance, with the loop of the bridle +lying over his arm. Then came three or four great nobles of the court, +who held up the reins behind the Czar, one of them taking hold close to +the horse's head, so as to guide and control the movements of the +animal. The patriarch, who, as is the custom with priests, was dressed +in long robes, which prevented his mounting the horse in the usual +manner, sat upon a square flat seat which was placed upon the horse's +back by way of saddle, and rode in that manner, with his feet hanging +down upon one side. Of course, his hands were at liberty, and with +these he held a cross, which he displayed to the people as he rode +along, and gave them his benediction. +</P> + +<P> +After the patriarch, there followed, on these occasions, an immensely +long train of priests, all clothed in costly and gorgeous sacerdotal +robes, and bearing a great number and variety of religious emblems. +Some carried very costly copies of the Gospels, bound in gold and +adorned with precious stones; others crosses, and others pictures of +the Virgin Mary. All these objects of veneration were enriched with +jewels and gems of the most costly description. +</P> + +<P> +So far, however, as these mere pageants and ceremonies were concerned, +Peter would probably have been very easily satisfied, and would have +made no objection to paying such a token of respect to the patriarch as +walking before him through the street once a year, and holding the +bridle of his horse, if this were all. But he saw very clearly that +these things were by no means to be considered as mere outward show. +The patriarch was at the head of a vast organization, which extended +throughout the empire, all the members of which were closely banded +together in a system the discipline of which made them dependent upon +and entirely devoted to their spiritual head. These priests, moreover, +exercised individually a vast influence over the people in the towns +and villages where they severally lived and performed their functions. +Thus the patriarch wielded a great and very extended power, almost +wholly independent of any control on the part of the Czar—a power +which had already been once turned against him, and which might at some +future day become very dangerous. Peter determined at once that he +would not allow such a state of things to continue. +</P> + +<P> +He, however, resolved to proceed cautiously. So he waited quietly +until the patriarch who was then in office died. Then, instead of +allowing the bench of bishops, as usual, to elect another in his place, +he committed the administration of the Church to an ecclesiastic whom +he appointed for this purpose from among his own tried friends. He +instructed this officer, who was a very learned and a very devout man, +to go on as nearly as possible as his predecessors, the patriarchs, had +done, in the ordinary routine of duty, so as not to disturb the Church +by any apparent and outward change; but he directed him to consider +himself, the Czar, as the real head of the Church, and to refer all +important questions which might arise to him for decision. He thus, in +fact, abrogated the office of patriarch, and made himself the supreme +head of the Church. +</P> + +<P> +The clergy throughout the empire, as soon as they understood this +arrangement, were greatly disturbed, and expressed their discontent and +dissatisfaction among themselves very freely. The Czar heard of this; +and, selecting one of the bishops, who had spoken more openly and +decidedly than the rest, he ordered him to be degraded from his office +for his contumacy. But this the other bishops objected to very +strongly. They did not see, in fact, they said, how it could be done. +It was a thing wholly unknown that a person of the rank and dignity of +a bishop in the Church should be degraded from his office; and that, +besides, there was no authority that could degrade him, for they were +all bishops of equal rank, and no one had any jurisdiction or power +over the others. Still, notwithstanding this, they were willing, they +said, to sacrifice their brother if by that means the Church could be +saved from the great dangers which were now threatening her; and they +said that they would depose the bishop who was accused on condition +that Peter would restore the rights of the Church which he had +suspended, by allowing them to proceed to the election of a new +patriarch, to take the place of the one who had died. +</P> + +<P> +Peter would not listen to this proposal; but he created a new bishop +expressly to depose the one who had offended him. The latter was +accordingly deposed, and the rest were compelled to submit. None of +them dared any longer to speak openly against the course which the Czar +was pursuing, but writings were mysteriously dropped about the streets +which contained censures of his proceedings in respect to the Church, +and urged the people to resist them. Peter caused large rewards to be +immediately offered for the discovery of the persons by whom these +writings were dropped, but it was of no avail, and at length the +excitement gradually passed away, leaving the victory wholly in Peter's +hands. +</P> + +<P> +After this the Czar effected a great many important reforms in the +administration of the affairs of the empire, especially in those +relating to the government of the provinces, and to the collection of +the revenues in them. This business had been hitherto left almost +wholly in the hands of the governors, by whom it had been grossly +mismanaged. The governors had been in the habit both of grievously +oppressing the people in the collection of the taxes, and also of +grossly defrauding the emperor in remitting the proceeds to the +treasury. +</P> + +<P> +Peter now made arrangements for changing the system entirely. He +established a central office at the capital for the transaction of all +business connected with the collecting of the revenues, and then +appointed collectors for all the provinces of the empire, who were to +receive their instructions from the minister who presided over this +central office, and make their returns directly to him. Thus the whole +system was remodeled, and made far more efficient than it ever had been +before. Of course, the old governors, who, in consequence of this +reform, lost the power of enriching themselves by their oppressions and +frauds, complained bitterly of the change, and mourned, like good +Conservatives, the ruin which this radicalism was bringing upon the +country, but they were forced to submit. +</P> + +<P> +Whenever there was any thing in the private manners and customs of the +people which Peter thought was likely to impede in any way the +effectual accomplishment of his plans, he did not hesitate at all to +ordain a change; and some of the greatest difficulties which he had to +encounter in his reforms arose from the opposition which the people +made to the changes that he wished to introduce in the dress that they +wore, and in several of the usages of common life. The people of the +country had been accustomed to wear long gowns, similar to those worn +to this day by many Oriental nations. This costume was very +inconvenient, not only for soldiers, but also for workmen, and for all +persons engaged in any of the common avocations of life. Peter +required the people to change this dress; and he sent patterns of the +coats worn in western Europe to all parts of the country, and had them +put up in conspicuous places, where every body could see them, and +required every body to imitate them. He, however, met with a great +deal of difficulty in inducing them to do so. He found still greater +difficulty in inducing the people to shave off their mustaches and +their beards. Finding that they would not shave their faces under the +influence of a simple regulation to that effect, he assessed a tax upon +beards, requiring that every gentleman should pay a hundred rubles a +year for the privilege of wearing one; and as for the peasants and +common people, every one who wore a beard was stopped every time he +entered a city or town, and required to pay a penny at the gate by way +of tax or fine. +</P> + +<P> +The nuisance of long clothes he attempted to abate in a similar way. +The officers of the customs, who were stationed at the gates of the +towns, were ordered to stop every man who wore a long dress, and compel +him either to pay a fine of about fifty cents, or else kneel down and +have all that part of their coat or gown which lay upon the ground, +while they were in that posture, cut off with a pair of big shears. +</P> + +<P> +Still, such was the attachment of the people to their old fashions, +that great numbers of the people, rather than submit to this curtailing +of their vestments, preferred to pay the fine. +</P> + +<P> +On one occasion the Czar, laying aside for the moment the system of +severity and terror which was his usual reliance for the accomplishment +of his ends, concluded to try the effect of ridicule upon the +attachment of the people to old and absurd fashions in dress. It +happened that one of the fools or jesters of the court was about to be +married. The young woman who was to be the jester's bride was very +pretty, and she was otherwise a favorite with those who knew her, and +the Czar determined to improve the occasion of the wedding for a grand +frolic. He accordingly made arrangements for celebrating the nuptials +at the palace, and he sent invitations to all the great nobles and +officers of state, with their wives, and to all the other great ladies +of the court, giving them all orders to appear dressed in the fashions +which prevailed in the Russian court one or two hundred years before. +With the exception of some modes of dress prevalent at the present day, +there is nothing that can be conceived more awkward, inconvenient, and +ridiculous than the fashions which were reproduced on this occasion. +Among other things, the ladies wore a sort of dress of which the +sleeves, so it is said, were ten or twelve yards long. These sleeves +were made very full, and were drawn up upon the arm in a sort of a +puff, it being the fashion to have as great a length to the sleeve as +could possibly be crowded on between the shoulder and the wrist. It is +said, too, that the customary salutation between ladies and gentlemen +meeting in society, when this dress was in fashion, was performed +through the intervention of these sleeves. On the approach of the +gentleman, the lady, by a sudden and dexterous motion other arm, would +throw off the end of her sleeve to him. The sleeve, being very long, +could be thrown in this way half across the room. The gentleman would +take the end of the sleeve, which represented, we are to suppose, the +hand of the lady, and, after kissing and saluting it in a most +respectful manner, he would resign it, and then the lady would draw it +back again upon her arm. This would be too ridiculous to be believed +if it were possible that any thing could be too ridiculous to be +believed in respect to the absurdities of fashion. +</P> + +<P> +A great many of the customs and usages of social life which prevailed +in those days, as well as the fashions of dress, were inconvenient and +absurd. These the Czar did not hesitate to alter and reform by +proceedings of the most arbitrary and summary character. For instance, +it was the custom of all the great nobles, or boyars, as they were +called, to go in grand state whenever they moved about the city or in +the environs of it, attended always by a long train of their servants +and retainers. Now, as these followers were mostly on foot, the nobles +in the carriages, or, in the winter, in their sledges or sleighs, were +obliged to move very slowly in order to enable the train to keep up +with them. Thus the streets were full of these tedious processions, +moving slowly along, sometimes through snow and sometimes through rain, +the men bareheaded, because they must not be covered in the presence of +their master, and thus exposed to all the inclemency of an almost +Arctic climate. And what made the matter worse was, that it was not +the fashion for the nobleman to move on even as fast as his followers +might easily have walked. They considered it more dignified and grand +to go slowly. Thus, the more aristocratic a grandee was in spirit, and +the greater his desire to make a display of his magnificence in the +street, the more slowly he moved. If it had not been for the banners +and emblems, and the gay and gaudy colors in which many of the +attendants were dressed, these processions would have produced the +effect of particularly solemn funerals. +</P> + +<P> +The Czar determined to change all this. First he set an example +himself of rapid motion through the streets. When he went out in his +carriage or in his sleigh, he was attended only by a very few persons, +and they were dressed in a neat uniform and mounted on good horses, and +his coachman was ordered to drive on at a quick pace. The boyars were +slow to follow this example, but the Czar assisted them considerably in +their progress toward the desired reform by making rules limiting the +number of idle attendants which they were allowed to have about them; +and then, if they would not dismiss the supernumeraries, he himself +caused them to be taken from them and sent into the army. +</P> + +<P> +The motive of the Czar in making all these improvements and reforms was +his desire to render his own power as the sovereign of the country more +compact and efficient, and not any real and heartfelt interest in the +welfare and happiness of the people. Still, in the end, very excellent +results followed from the innovations which he thus introduced. They +were the commencement of a series of changes which so developed the +power and advanced the civilization of the country, as in the course of +a few subsequent reigns had the effect of bringing Russia into the +foremost rank among the nations of Europe. The progress which these +changes introduced continues to go on to the present time, and will, +perhaps, go on unimpeded for centuries to come. +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[1] 1858. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap10"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER X. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE BATTLE OF NARVA. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +1700-1701 +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +Origin of the war with Sweden—Peace with the Turks—Charles XII—Siege +of Narva—The frontier—Plan of the campaign—Indignation of the King +of Sweden—Remonstrances of Holland and England—The King of Sweden at +Riga—the Czar a subordinate—General Croy—His plans—Operations of +the king—Surprise and defeat of the Russians—Terrible +slaughter—Whimsical plan for disposing of the prisoners—Effect upon +the Czar—New plans and arrangements +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +The reader will perhaps recollect how desirous Peter had long been to +extend his dominions toward the west, so as to have a sea-port under +his control on the Baltic Sea; for, at the time when he succeeded to +the throne, the eastern shores of the Baltic belonged to Poland and to +Sweden, so that the Russians were confined, in a great measure, in +their naval operations to the waters of the Black and Caspian Seas, and +to the rivers flowing into them. You will also recollect that when, at +the commencement of his tour, he arrived at the town of Riga, which +stands at the head of the Gulf of Riga, a sort of branch of the Baltic, +he had been much offended at the refusal of the governor of the place, +acting under the orders of the King of Sweden, to allow him to view the +fortifications there. He then resolved that Riga, and the whole +province of which it was the capital, should one day be his. The year +after he returned from his travels—that is, in 1699, the country being +by that time restored to its ordinary state of repose after the +suppression of the rebellion—he concluded that the time had arrived +for carrying his resolution into effect. +</P> + +<P> +So he set a train of negotiations on foot for making a long truce with +the Turks, not wishing to have two wars on his hands at the same time. +When he had accomplished this object, he formed a league with the +kingdoms of Poland and Denmark to make war upon Sweden. So exactly +were all his plans laid, that the war with Sweden was declared on the +very next day after the truce of the Turks was concluded. +</P> + +<P> +The King of Sweden at this time was Charles XII. He was a mere boy, +being only at that time eighteen years of age, and he had just +succeeded to the throne. He was, however, a prince of remarkable +talents and energy, and in his subsequent campaigns against Peter and +his allies he distinguished himself so much that he acquired great +renown, and finally took his place among the most illustrious military +heroes in history. +</P> + +<P> +The first operation of the war was the siege of the city of Narva. +Narva was a port on the Baltic; the situation of it, as well as that of +the other places mentioned in this chapter, is seen by the adjoining +map, which shows the general features of the Russian and Swedish +frontier as it existed at that time. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-197"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-197.jpg" ALT="Map of the Russian and Swedish frontier." BORDER="2" WIDTH="303" HEIGHT="341"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 400px"> +Map of the Russian and Swedish frontier. +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +Narva, as appears by the map, is situated on the sea-coast, near the +frontier—much nearer than Riga. Peter expected that by the conquest +of this city he should gain access to the sea, and so be able to build +ships which would aid him in his ulterior operations. He also +calculated that when Narva was in his hands the way would be open for +him to advance on Riga. Indeed, at the same time while he was +commencing the siege of Narva, his ally, the King of Poland, advanced +from his own dominions to Riga, and was now prepared to attack that +city at the same time that the Czar was besieging Narva. +</P> + +<P> +In the mean while the news of these movements was sent by couriers to +the King of Sweden, and the conduct of Peter in thus suddenly making +war upon him, and invading his dominions, made him exceedingly +indignant. The only cause of quarrel which Peter pretended to have +against the king was the uncivil treatment which he had received at the +hands of the Governor of Riga in refusing to allow him to see the +fortifications when he passed through that city on his tour. Peter +had, it is true, complained of this insult, as he called it, and had +sent commissioners to Sweden to demand satisfaction; and certain +explanations had been made, though Peter professed not to be satisfied +with them. Still, the negotiations had not been closed, and the +government of Sweden had no idea that the misunderstanding would lead +to war. Indeed, the commissioners were still at the Swedish court, +continuing the negotiations, when the news arrived that Peter had at +once brought the question to an issue by declaring war and invading the +Swedish territory. The king immediately collected a large army, and +provided a fleet of two hundred transports to convey them to the scene +of action. The preparations were made with great dispatch, and the +fleet sailed for Riga. +</P> + +<P> +The news, too, of this war occasioned great dissatisfaction among the +governments of western Europe. The government of Holland was +particularly displeased, on account of the interference and +interruption which the war would occasion to all their commerce in the +Baltic. They immediately determined to remonstrate with the Czar +against the course which he was pursuing, and they induced King +William, of England, to join them in the remonstrance. They also, at +the same time, sent a messenger to the King of Poland, urging him by +all means to suspend his threatened attack on Riga until some measures +could be taken for accommodating the quarrel. Riga was a very +important commercial port, and there were a great many wealthy Dutch +merchants there, whose interests the Dutch government were very anxious +to protect. +</P> + +<P> +The King of Sweden arrived at Riga with his fleet at just about the +same time that the remonstrance of the Dutch government reached the +King of Poland, who was advancing to attack it. Augustus, for that was +the name of the King of Poland, finding that now, since so great a +force had arrived to succor and strengthen the place, there was no hope +for success in any of his operations against it, concluded to make a +virtue of necessity, and so he drew off his army, and sent word to the +Dutch government that he did so in compliance with their wishes. +</P> + +<P> +The King of Sweden had, of course, nothing now to do but to advance +from Riga to Narva and attack the army of the Czar. +</P> + +<P> +This army was not, however, commanded by the Czar in person. In +accordance with what seems to have been his favorite plan in all his +great undertakings, he did not act directly himself as the head of the +expedition, but, putting forward another man, an experienced and +skillful general, as responsible commander, he himself took a +subordinate position as lieutenant. Indeed, he took a pride in +entering the army at one of the very lowest grades, and so advancing, +by a regular series of promotions, through all the ranks of the +service. The person whom the Czar had made commander-in-chief at the +siege of Narva was a German officer. His name was General Croy. +</P> + +<P> +General Croy had been many weeks before Narva at the time when the King +of Sweden arrived at Riga, but he had made little progress in taking +the town. The place was strongly fortified, and the garrison, though +comparatively weak, defended it with great bravery. The Russian army +was encamped in a very strong position just outside the town. As soon +as news of the coming of the King of Sweden arrived, the Czar went off +into the interior of the country to hasten a large re-enforcement which +had been ordered, and, at the same time, General Croy sent forward +large bodies of men to lay in ambuscade along the roads and defiles +through which the King of Sweden would have to pass on his way from +Riga. +</P> + +<P> +But all these excellent arrangements were entirely defeated by the +impetuous energy, and the extraordinary tact and skill of the King of +Sweden. Although his army was very much smaller than that of the +Russians, he immediately set out on his march to Narva; but, instead of +moving along the regular roads, and so falling into the ambuscade which +the Russians had laid for him, he turned off into back and circuitous +by-ways, so as to avoid the snare altogether. It was in the dead of +winter, and the roads which he followed, besides being rough and +intricate, were obstructed with snow, and the Russians had thought +little of them, so that at last, when the Swedish army arrived at their +advanced posts, they were taken entirely by surprise. The advanced +posts were driven in, and the Swedes pressed on, the Russians flying +before them, and carrying confusion to the posts in the rear. The +surprise of the Russians, and the confusion consequent upon it, were +greatly increased by the state of the weather; for there was a violent +snow-storm at the time, and the snow, blowing into the Russians' faces, +prevented their seeing what the numbers were of the enemy so suddenly +assaulting them, or taking any effectual measures to restore their own +ranks to order when once deranged. +</P> + +<P> +When at length the Swedes, having thus driven in the advanced posts, +reached the Russian camp itself, they immediately made an assault upon +it. The camp was defended by a rampart and by a double ditch, but on +went the assaulting soldiers over all the obstacles, pushing their way +with their bayonets, and carrying all before them. The Russians were +entirely defeated and put to flight. +</P> + +<P> +In a rout like this, the conquering army, maddened by rage and by all +the other dreadful excitements of the contest, press on furiously upon +their flying and falling foes, and destroy them with their bayonets in +immense numbers before the officers can arrest them. Indeed, the +officers do not wish to arrest them until it is sure that the enemy is +so completely overwhelmed that their rallying again is utterly +impossible. In this case twenty thousand of the Russian soldiers were +left dead upon the field. The Swedes, on the other hand, lost only two +or three thousand. +</P> + +<P> +Besides those who were killed, immense numbers were taken prisoners. +General Croy, and all the other principal generals in command, were +among the prisoners. It is very probable that, if Peter had not been +absent at the time, he would himself have been taken too. +</P> + +<P> +The number of prisoners was so very great that it was not possible for +the Swedes to retain them, on account of the expense and trouble of +feeding them, and keeping them warm at that season of the year; so they +determined to detain the officers only, and to send the men away. In +doing this, besides disarming the men, they adopted a very whimsical +expedient for making them helpless and incapable of doing mischief on +their march. They cut their clothes in such a manner that they could +only be prevented from falling off by being held together by both +hands; and the weather was so cold—the ground, moreover, being covered +with snow—that the men could only save themselves from perishing by +keeping their clothes around them. +</P> + +<P> +In this pitiful plight the whole body of prisoners were driven off, +like a flock of sheep, by a small body of Swedish soldiery, for a +distance of about a league on the road toward Russia, and then left to +find the rest of the way themselves. +</P> + +<P> +The Czar, when he heard the news of this terrible disaster, did not +seem much disconcerted by it. He said that he expected to be beaten at +first by the Swedes. "They have beaten us once," said he, "and they +may beat us again; but they will teach us in time to beat them." +</P> + +<P> +He immediately began to adopt the most efficient and energetic measures +for organizing a new army. He set about raising recruits in all parts +of the empire. He introduced many new foreign officers into his +service; and to provide artillery, after exhausting all the other +resources at his command, he ordered the great bells of many churches +and monasteries to be taken down and cast into cannon. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap11"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE BUILDING OF ST. PETERSBURG. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +1700-1704 +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +Continuation of the war—Stratagems of the Swedes—Peculiar kind of +boat—Making a smoke—Peter determines to build a city—The site—Peter's +first visit to the Neva—Cronstadt—A stratagem—Contest on the +island—Peter examines the locality—He matures his plans—Mechanics and +artisans—Ships and merchandise—Laborers—The boyars—The building +commenced—Wharves and piers—Palace—Confusion—Variety of labors—Want +of tools and implements—Danger from the enemy—Supplies of +provisions—The supplies often fall short—Consequent sickness—Great +mortality—Peter's impetuosity of spirit—Streets and buildings—Private +dwellings—What the King of Sweden said—Map—Situation of +Cronstadt—Peter plans a fortress—Mode of laying the foundations—Danger +from the Swedes—Plan of their attack—The Swedes beaten off—The attempt +entirely fails—Mechanics and artisans—Various improvements—Scientific +institutions +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +The struggle thus commenced between the Czar Peter and Charles XII. of +Sweden, for the possession of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, +continued for many years. At first the Russians were every where beaten +by the Swedes; but at last, as Peter had predicted, the King of Sweden +taught them to beat him. +</P> + +<P> +The commanders of the Swedish army were very ingenious in expedients, as +well as bold and energetic in action, and they often gained an advantage +over their enemy by their wit as well as by their bravery. One instance +of this was their contrivance for rendering their prisoners helpless on +their march homeward after the battle of Narva, by cutting their clothes +in such a manner as to compel the men to keep both hands employed, as +they walked along the roads, in holding them together. On another +occasion, when they had to cross a river in the face of the Russian +troops posted on the other side, they invented a peculiar kind of boat, +which was of great service in enabling them to accomplish the transit in +safety. These boats were flat-bottomed and square; the foremost end of +each of them was guarded by a sort of bulwark, formed of plank, and made +very high. This bulwark was fixed on hinges at the lower end, so that it +could be raised up and down. It was, of course, kept up during the +passage across the river, and so served to defend the men in the boat +from the shots of the enemy. But when the boat reached the shore it was +let down, and then it formed a platform or bridge by which the men could +all rush out together to the shore. +</P> + +<P> +At the same time, while they were getting these boats ready, and placing +the men in them, the Swedes, having observed that the wind blew across +from their side of the river to the other, made great fires on the bank, +and covered them with wet straw, so as to cause them to throw out a +prodigious quantity of smoke. The smoke was blown over to the other side +of the river, where it so filled the air as to prevent the Russians from +seeing what was going on. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-207"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-207.jpg" ALT="Stratagems of the Swedes." BORDER="2" WIDTH="512" HEIGHT="323"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 512px"> +Stratagems of the Swedes. +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +It was about a year after the first breaking out of the war that the tide +of fortune began to turn, in some measure, in favor of the Russians. +About that time the Czar gained possession of a considerable portion of +the Baltic shore; and as soon as he had done so, he conceived the design +of laying the foundation of a new city there, with the view of making it +the naval and commercial capital of his kingdom. This plan was carried +most successfully into effect in the building of the great city of St. +Petersburg. The founding of this city was one of the most important +transactions in Peter's reign. Indeed, it was probably by far the most +important, and Peter owes, perhaps, more of his great fame to this +memorable enterprise than to any thing else that he did. +</P> + +<P> +The situation of St. Petersburg will be seen by the map in the preceding +chapter. At a little distance from the shore is a large lake, called the +Lake of Ladoga. The outlet of the Lake of Ladoga is a small river called +the Neva. The Lake of Ladoga is supplied with water by many rivers, +which flow into it from the higher lands lying to the northward and +eastward of it; and it is by the Neva that the surplus of these waters is +carried off to the sea. +</P> + +<P> +The circumstances under which the attention of the Czar was called to the +advantages of this locality were these. He arrived on the banks of the +Neva, at some distance above the mouth of the river, in the course of his +campaign against the Swedes in the year 1702. He followed the river +down, and observed that it was pretty wide, and that the water was +sufficiently deep for the purpose of navigation. When he reached the +mouth of the river, he saw that, there was an island,[1] at some distance +from the shore, which might easily be fortified, and that, when +fortified, it would completely defend the entrance to the stream. He +took with him a body of armed men, and went off to the island in boats, +in order to examine it more closely. The name of this island was then +almost unknown, but it is now celebrated throughout the world as the seat +of the renowned and impregnable fortress of Cronstadt. +</P> + +<P> +There was a Swedish ship in the offing at the time when Peter visited the +island, and this ship drew near to the island and began to fire upon it +as soon as those on board saw that the Russian soldiers had landed there. +This cannonading drove the Russians back from the shores, but instead of +retiring from the island they went and concealed themselves behind some +rocks. The Swedes supposed that the Russians had gone around to the +other side of the island, and that they had there taken to their boats +again and returned to the main land; so they determined to go to the +island themselves, and examine it, in order to find out what the Russians +had been doing there. +</P> + +<P> +They accordingly let down their boats, and a large party of Swedes +embarking in them rowed to the island. Soon after they had landed the +Russians rushed out upon them from their ambuscade, and, after a sharp +contest, drove them back to their boats. Several of the men were killed, +but the rest succeeded in making their way to the ship, and the ship soon +afterward weighed anchor and put to sea. +</P> + +<P> +Peter was now at liberty to examine the island, the mouth of the river, +and all the adjacent shores, as much as he pleased. He found that the +situation of the place was well adapted to the purposes of a sea-port. +The island would serve to defend the mouth of the river, and yet there +was deep water along the side of it to afford an entrance for ships. The +water, too, was deep in the river, and the flow of the current smooth. +It is true that in many places the land along the banks of the river was +low and marshy, but this difficulty could be remedied by the driving of +piles for the foundation of the buildings, which had been done so +extensively in Holland. +</P> + +<P> +There was no town on the spot at the time of Peter's visit to it, but +only a few fishermen's huts near the outlet of the river, and the ruins +of an old fort a few miles above. Peter examined the whole region with +great care, and came decidedly to the conclusion that he would make the +spot the site of a great city. +</P> + +<P> +He matured his plans during the winter, and in the following spring he +commenced the execution of them. The first building that was erected was +a low one-story structure, made of wood, to be used as a sort of office +and place of shelter for himself while superintending the commencement of +the works that he had projected. This building was afterward preserved a +long time with great care, as a precious relic and souvenir of the +foundation of the city. +</P> + +<P> +The Czar had sent out orders to the governments of the different +provinces of the empire requiring each of them to send his quota of +artificers and laborers to assist in building the city. This they could +easily do, for in those days all the laboring classes of the people were +little better than slaves, and were almost entirely at the disposal of +the nobles, their masters. In the same manner he sent out agents to all +the chief cities in western Europe, with orders to advertise there for +carpenters, masons, engineers, ship-builders, and persons of all the +other trades likely to be useful in the work of building the city. These +men were to be promised good wages and kind treatment, and were to be at +liberty at any time to return to their respective homes. +</P> + +<P> +The agents also, at the same time, invited the merchants of the countries +that they visited to send vessels to the new port, laden with food for +the people that were to be assembled there, and implements for work, and +other merchandise suitable for the wants of such a community. The +merchants were promised good prices for their goods, and full liberty to +come and go at their pleasure. +</P> + +<P> +The Czar also sent orders to a great many leading boyars or nobles, +requiring them to come and build houses for themselves in the new town. +They were to bring with them a sufficient number of their serfs and +retainers to do all the rough work which would be required, and money to +pay the foreign mechanics for the skilled labor. The boyars were not at +all pleased with this summons. They already possessed their town houses +in Moscow, with gardens and pleasure-grounds in the environs. The site +for the new city was very far to the northward, in a comparatively cold +and inhospitable climate; and they knew very well that, even if Peter +should succeed, in the end, in establishing his new city, several years +must elapse before they could live there in comfort. Still, they did not +dare to do otherwise than to obey the emperor's summons. +</P> + +<P> +In consequence of all these arrangements and preparations, immense +numbers of people came in to the site of the new city in the course of +the following spring and summer. The numbers were swelled by the +addition of the populations of many towns and villages along the coast +that had been ravaged or destroyed by the Swedes in the course of the +war. The works were immediately commenced on a vast scale, and they were +carried on during the summer with great energy. The first thing to be +secured was, of course, the construction of the fortress which was to +defend the town. There were wharves and piers to be built too, in order +that the vessels bringing stores and provisions might land their goods. +The land was surveyed, streets laid out, building lots assigned to +merchants for warehouses and shops, and to the boyars for palaces and +gardens. The boyars commenced the building of their houses, and the Czar +himself laid the foundation of an imperial palace. +</P> + +<P> +But, notwithstanding all the precautions which Peter had taken to secure +supplies of every thing required for such an undertaking, and to regulate +the work by systematic plans and arrangements, the operations were for a +time attended with a great deal of disorder and confusion, and a vast +amount of personal suffering. For a long time there was no proper +shelter for the laborers. Men came to the ground much faster than huts +could be built to cover them, and they were obliged to lie on the marshy +ground without any protection from the weather. There was also a great +scarcity of tools and implements suitable for the work that was required, +in felling and transporting trees, and in excavating and filling up, +where changes in the surface were required. In constructing the +fortifications, for example, which, in the first instance, were made of +earth, it was necessary to dig deep ditches and to raise great +embankments. There was a great deal of the same kind of work necessary +on the ground where the city was to stand before the work of erecting +buildings could be commenced. There were dikes and levees to be made +along the margin of the stream to protect the land from the inundations +to which it was subject when the river was swollen with rains. There +were roads to be made, and forests to be cleared away, and many other +such labors to be performed. Now, in order to employ at once the vast +concourse of laborers that were assembled on the ground in such works as +these, an immense number of implements were required, such as pickaxes, +spades, shovels, and wheelbarrows; but so limited was the supply of these +conveniences, that a great portion of the earth which was required for +the dikes and embankments was brought by the men in their aprons, or in +the skirts of their clothes, or in bags made for the purpose out of old +mats, or any other material that came to hand. It was necessary to push +forward the work promptly and without any delay, notwithstanding all +these disadvantages, for the Swedes were still off the coast with their +ships, and no one knew how soon they might draw near and open a cannonade +upon the place, or even land and attack the workmen in the midst of their +labors. +</P> + +<P> +What greatly increased the difficulties of the case was the frequent +falling short of the supply of provisions. The number of men to be fed +was immensely large; for, in consequence of the very efficient measures +which the Czar had taken for gathering men from all parts of his +dominions, it is said that there were not less than three hundred +thousand collected on the spot in the course of the summer. And as there +were at that time no roads leading to the place, all the supplies were +necessarily to be brought by water. But the approach from the Baltic +side was well-nigh cut off by the Swedes, who had at that time full +possession of the sea. Vessels could, however, come from the interior by +way of Lake Ladoga; but when for several days or more the wind was from +the west, these vessels were all kept back, and then sometimes the +provisions fell short, and the men were reduced to great distress. To +guard as much as possible against the danger of coming to absolute want +at the times when the supplies were thus entirely cut off, the men were +often put on short allowance beforehand. The emperor, it is true, was +continually sending out requisitions for more food; but the men increased +in number faster, after all, than the means for feeding them. The +consequence was, that immense multitudes of them sickened and died. The +scarcity of food, combined with the influence of fatigue and +exposure—men half fed, working all day in the mud and rain, and at night +sleeping without any shelter—brought on fevers and dysenteries, and +other similar diseases, which always prevail in camps, and among large +bodies of men exposed to such influences as these. It is said that not +less than a hundred thousand men perished from these causes at St. +Petersburg in the course of the year. +</P> + +<P> +Peter doubtless regretted this loss of life, as it tended to impede the +progress of the work; but, after all, it was a loss which he could easily +repair by sending out continually to the provinces for fresh supplies of +men. Those whom the nobles and governors selected from among the serfs +and ordered to go had no option; they were obliged to submit. And thus +the supply of laborers was kept full, notwithstanding the dreadful +mortality which was continually tending to diminish it. +</P> + +<P> +If Peter had been willing to exercise a little patience and moderation in +carrying out his plans, it is very probable that most of this suffering +might have been saved. If he had sent a small number of men to the +ground the first year, and had employed them in opening roads, +establishing granaries, and making other preliminary arrangements, and, +in the mean time, had caused stores of food to be purchased and laid up, +and ample supplies of proper tools and implements to be procured and +conveyed to the ground, so as to have had every thing ready for the +advantageous employment of a large number of men in the following year, +every thing would, perhaps, have gone well. But the qualities of +patience and moderation formed no part of Peter's character. What he +conceived of and determined to do must be done at once, at whatever cost; +and a cost of human life seems to have been the one that he thought less +of than any other. He rushed headlong on, notwithstanding the suffering +which his impetuosity occasioned, and thus the hymn which solemnized the +entrance into being of the new-born city was composed of the groans of a +hundred thousand men, dying in agony, of want, misery, and despair. +</P> + +<P> +Peter was a personal witness of this suffering, for he remained, during a +great part of the time, on the ground, occupying himself constantly in +superintending and urging on the operations. Indeed, it is said that he +acted himself as chief engineer in planning the fortifications, and in +laying out the streets of the city. He drew many of the plans with his +own hands; for, among the other accomplishments which he had acquired in +the early part of his life, he had made himself quite a good practical +draughtsman. +</P> + +<P> +When the general plan of the city had been determined upon, and proper +places had been set apart for royal palaces and pleasure-grounds, and +public edifices of all sorts that might be required, and also for open +squares, docks, markets, and the like, a great many streets were thrown +open for the use of any persons who might choose to build houses in them. +A vast number of the mechanics and artisans who had been attracted to the +place by the offers of the Czar availed themselves of this opportunity to +provide themselves with homes, and they proceeded at once to erect +houses. A great many of the structures thus built were mere huts or +shanties, made of any rude materials that came most readily to hand, and +put up in a very hasty manner. It was sufficient that the tenement +afforded a shelter from the rain, and that it was enough of a building to +fulfill the condition on which the land was granted to the owner of it. +The number of these structures was, however, enormous. It was said that +in one year there were erected thirty thousand of them. There is no +instance in the history of the world of so great a city springing into +existence with such marvelous rapidity as this. +</P> + +<P> +During the time while Peter was thus employed in laying the foundations +of his new city, the King of Sweden was carrying on the war in Poland +against the conjoined forces of Russia and Poland, which were acting +together there as allies. When intelligence was brought to him of the +operations in which Peter was engaged on the banks of the Neva, he said, +"It is all very well. He may amuse himself as much as he likes in +building his city there; but by-and-by, when I am a little at leisure, I +will go and take it away from him. Then, if I like the town, I will keep +it; and if not, I will burn it down." +</P> + +<A NAME="img-221"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-221.jpg" ALT="Situation at St. Petersburg." BORDER="2" WIDTH="330" HEIGHT="288"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 330px"> +Situation at St. Petersburg. +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +Peter, however, determined that it should not be left within the power of +the King of Sweden to take his town, or even to molest his operations in +the building of it, if any precautions on his part could prevent it. He +had caused a number of redoubts and batteries to be thrown up during the +summer. These works were situated at different points near the outlet of +the river, and on the adjacent shores. +</P> + +<P> +There was an island off the mouth of the river which stood in a suitable +position to guard the entrance. This island was several miles distant +from the place where the city was to stand, and it occupied the middle of +the bay leading toward it. Thus there was water on both sides of it, but +the water was deep enough only on one side to allow of the passage of +ships of war. Peter now determined to construct a large and strong +fortress on the shores of this island, placing it in such a position that +the guns could command the channel leading up the bay. It was late in +the fall when he planned this work, and the winter came on before he was +ready to commence operations. This time for commencing was, however, a +matter of design on his part, as the ice during the winter would assist +very much, he thought, in the work of laying the necessary foundations; +for the fortress was not to stand on the solid land, but on a sandbank +which projected from the land on the side toward the navigable channel. +The site of the fortress was to be about a cannon-shot from the and, +where, being surrounded by shallow water on every side, it could not be +approached either by land or sea. +</P> + +<P> +Peter laid the foundations of this fortress on the ice by building +immense boxes of timber and plank, and loading them with stones. When +the ice melted in the spring these structures sank into the sand, and +formed a stable and solid foundation on which he could afterward build at +pleasure. This was the origin of the famous Castle of Cronstadt, which +has since so well fulfilled its purpose that it has kept the powerful +navies of Europe at bay in time of war, and prevented their reaching the +city. +</P> + +<P> +Besides this great fortress, Peter erected several detached batteries at +different parts of the island, so as to prevent the land from being +approached at all by the boats of the enemy. +</P> + +<P> +At length the King of Sweden began to be somewhat alarmed at the accounts +which he received of what Peter was doing, and he determined to attack +him on the ground, and destroy his works before he proceeded any farther +with them. He accordingly ordered the admiral of the fleet to assemble +his ships, to sail up the Gulf of Finland, and there attack and destroy +the settlement which Peter was making. +</P> + +<P> +The admiral made the attempt, but he found that he was too late. The +works were advanced too far, and had become too strong for him. It was +on the 4th of July, 1704, that the Russian scouts, who were watching on +the shores of the bay, saw the Swedish ships coming up. The fleet +consisted of twenty-two men-of-war, and many other vessels. Besides the +forts and batteries, the Russians had a number of ships of their own at +anchor in the waters, and as the fleet advanced a tremendous cannonade +was opened on both sides, the ships of the Swedes against the ships and +batteries of the Russians. When the Swedish fleet had advanced as far +toward the island as the depth of the water would allow, they let down +from the decks of their vessels a great number of flat-bottomed boats, +which they had brought for the purpose, and filled them with armed men. +Their plan was to land these men on the island, and carry the Russian +batteries there at the point of the bayonet. +</P> + +<P> +But they did not succeed. They were received so hotly by the Russians +that, after an obstinate contest, they were forced to retreat. They +endeavored to get back to their boats, but were pursued by the Russians; +and now, as their backs were turned, they could no longer defend +themselves, and a great many were killed. Even those that were not +killed did not all succeed in making their escape. A considerable +number, finding that they should not be able to get to the boats, threw +down their arms, and surrendered themselves prisoners; and then, of +course, the boats which they belonged to were taken. Five of the boats +thus fell into the hands of the Russians. The others were rowed back +with all speed to the ships, and then the ships withdrew. Thus the +attempt failed entirely. The admiral reported the ill success of his +expedition to the king, and not long afterward another similar attempt +was made, but with no better success than before. +</P> + +<P> +The new city was now considered as firmly established, and from this time +it advanced very rapidly in wealth and population. Peter gave great +encouragement to foreign mechanics and artisans to come and settle in the +town, offering to some lands, to others houses, and to others high wages +for their work. The nobles built elegant mansions there in the streets +set apart for them, and many public buildings of great splendor were +planned and commenced. The business of building ships, too, was +introduced on an extended scale. The situation was very favorable for +this purpose, as the shores of the river afforded excellent sites for +dock-yards, and the timber required could be supplied in great quantities +from the shores of Lake Ladoga. +</P> + +<P> +In a very few years after the first foundation of the city, Peter began +to establish literary and scientific institutions there. Many of these +institutions have since become greatly renowned, and they contribute a +large share, at the present day, to the <I>éclat</I> which surrounds this +celebrated city, and which makes it one of the most splendid and renowned +of the European capitals. +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[1] See map on page 221. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap12"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE REVOLT OF MAZEPPA. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +1708 +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +Progress of the war—Peter's fleet—The King of Sweden's +successes—Peter wishes to make peace—The reply—Plan changed—Mazeppa +and the Cossacks—Plans for reforming the Cossacks—Mazeppa opposes +them—The quarrel—Mazeppa's treasonable designs—The plot +defeated—Precautions of the Czar—Mazeppa's plans—He goes on step by +step—He sends his nephew to the Czar—The envoy is arrested—Commotion +among the Cossacks—Failure of the plot—Mazeppa's trial and +condemnation—The effigy—Execution of the sentence upon the +effigy—New chieftain chosen +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +In the mean time the war with Sweden went on. Many campaigns were +fought, for the contest was continued through several successive years. +The King of Sweden made repeated attempts to destroy the new city of +St. Petersburg, but without success. On the contrary, the town grew +and prospered more and more; and the shelter and protection which the +fortifications around it afforded to the mouth of the river and to the +adjacent roadsteads enabled the Czar to go on so rapidly in building +new ships, and in thus increasing and strengthening his fleet, that +very soon he was much stronger than the King of Sweden in all the +neighboring waters, so that he not only was able to keep the enemy very +effectually at bay, but he even made several successful descents upon +the Swedish territory along the adjoining coasts. +</P> + +<P> +But, while the Czar was thus rapidly increasing his power at sea, the +King of Sweden proved himself the strongest on land. He extended his +conquests very rapidly in Poland and in the adjoining provinces, and at +last, in the summer of 1708, he conceived the design of crossing the +Dnieper and threatening Moscow, which was still Peter's capital. He +accordingly pushed his forces forward until he approached the bank of +the river. He came up to it at a certain point, as if he was intending +to cross there. Peter assembled all his troops on the opposite side of +the river at that point in order to oppose him. But the demonstration +which the king made of an intention to cross at that point was only a +pretense. He left a sufficient number of men there to make a show, and +secretly marched away the great body of his troops in the night to a +point about three miles farther up the river, where he succeeded in +crossing with them before the emperor's forces had any suspicion of his +real design. The Russians, who were not strong enough to oppose him in +the open field, were obliged immediately to retreat, and leave him in +full possession of the ground. +</P> + +<P> +Peter was now much alarmed. He sent an officer to the camp of the King +of Sweden with a flag of truce, to ask on what terms the king would +make peace with him. But Charles was too much elated with his success +in crossing the river, and placing himself in a position from which he +could advance, without encountering any farther obstruction, to the +very gates of the capital, to be willing then to propose any terms. So +he declined entering into any negotiation, saying only in a haughty +tone "that he would treat with his brother Peter at Moscow." +</P> + +<P> +On mature reflection, however, he seems to have concluded that it would +be more prudent for him not to march at once to Moscow, and so he +turned his course for a time toward the southward, in the direction of +the Crimea and the Black Sea. +</P> + +<P> +There was one secret reason which induced the King of Sweden to move +thus to the southward which Peter did not for a time understand. The +country of the Cossacks lay in that direction, and the famous Mazeppa, +of whom some account has already been given in this volume, was the +chieftain of the Cossacks, and he, as it happened, had had a quarrel +with the Czar, and in consequence of it had opened a secret negotiation +with the King of Sweden, and had agreed that if the king would come +into his part of the country he would desert the cause of the Czar, and +would come over to his side, with all the Cossacks under his command. +</P> + +<P> +The cause of Mazeppa's quarrel with the Czar was this: He was one day +paying a visit to his majesty, and, while seated at table, Peter began +to complain of the lawless and ungovernable character of the Cossacks, +and to propose that Mazeppa should introduce certain reforms in the +organization and discipline of the tribe, with a view of bringing them +under more effectual control. It is probable that the reforms which he +proposed were somewhat analogous to those which he had introduced so +successfully into the armies under his own more immediate command. +</P> + +<P> +Mazeppa opposed this suggestion. He said that the attempt to adopt +such measures with the Cossacks would never succeed; that the men were +so wild and savage by nature, and so fixed in the rude and irregular +habits of warfare to which they and their fathers had been so long +accustomed, that they could never be made to submit to such +restrictions as a regular military discipline would impose. +</P> + +<P> +Peter, who never could endure the least opposition or contradiction to +any of his ideas or plans, became quite angry with Mazeppa on account +of the objections which he made to his proposals, and, as was usual +with him in such cases, he broke out in the most rude and violent +language imaginable. He called Mazeppa an enemy and a traitor, and +threatened to have him impaled alive. It is true he did not really +mean what he said, his words being only empty threats dictated by the +brutal violence of his anger. Still, Mazeppa was very much offended. +He went away from the Czar's tent muttering his displeasure, and +resolving secretly on revenge. +</P> + +<P> +Soon after this Mazeppa opened the communication above referred to with +the King of Sweden, and at last an agreement was made between them by +which it was stipulated that the king was to advance into the southern +part of the country, where, of course, the Cossacks would be sent out +to meet him, and then Mazeppa was to revolt from the Czar, and go over +with all his forces to the King of Sweden's side. By this means the +Czar's army was sure, they thought, to be defeated; and in this case +the King of Sweden was to remain in possession of the Russian +territory, while the Cossacks were to retire to their own fortresses, +and live thenceforth as an independent tribe. +</P> + +<P> +The plot seemed to be very well laid; but, unfortunately for the +contrivers of it, it was not destined to succeed. In the first place, +Mazeppa's scheme of revolting with the Cossacks to the enemy was +discovered by the Czar, and almost entirely defeated, before the time +arrived for putting it into execution. Peter had his secret agents +every where, and through them he received such information in respect +to Mazeppa's movements as led him to suspect his designs. He said +nothing, however, but manoeuvred his forces so as to have a large body +of troops that he could rely upon always near Mazeppa and the Cossacks, +and between them and the army of the Swedes. He ordered the officers +of these troops to watch Mazeppa's movements closely, and to be ready +to act against him at a moment's notice, should occasion require. +Mazeppa was somewhat disconcerted in his plans by this state of things; +but he could not make any objection, for the troops thus stationed near +him seemed to be placed there for the purpose of co-operating with him +against the enemy. +</P> + +<P> +In the mean time, Mazeppa cautiously made known his plans to the +leading men among the Cossacks as fast as he thought it prudent to do +so. He represented to them how much better it would be for them to be +restored to their former liberty as an independent tribe, instead of +being in subjugation to such a despot as the Czar. He also enumerated +the various grievances which they suffered under Russian rule, and +endeavored to excite the animosity of his hearers as much as possible +against Peter's government. +</P> + +<P> +He found that the chief officers of the Cossacks seemed quite disposed +to listen to what he said, and to adopt his views. Some of them were +really so, and others pretended to be so for fear of displeasing him. +At length he thought it time to take some measures for preparing the +minds of the men generally for what was to come, and in order to do +this he determined on publicly sending a messenger to the Czar with the +complaints which he had to make in behalf of his men. The men, knowing +of this embassy, and understanding the grounds of the complaint which +Mazeppa was to make by means of it, would be placed, he thought, in +such a position that, in the event of an unfavorable answer being +returned, as he had no doubt would be the case, they could be the more +easily led into the revolt which he proposed. +</P> + +<P> +Mazeppa accordingly made out a statement of his complaints, and +appointed his nephew a commissioner to proceed to head-quarters and lay +them before the Czar. The name of the nephew was Warnarowski. As soon +as Warnarowski arrived at the camp, Peter, instead of granting him an +audience, and listening to the statement which he had to make, ordered +him to be seized and sent to prison, as if he were guilty of a species +of treason in coming to trouble his sovereign with complaints and +difficulties at such a time, when the country was suffering under an +actual invasion from a foreign enemy. +</P> + +<P> +As soon as Mazeppa heard that his nephew was arrested, he was convinced +that his plots had been discovered, and that he must not lose a moment +in carrying them into execution, or all would be lost. He accordingly +immediately put his whole force in motion to march toward the place +where the Swedish army was then posted, ostensibly for the purpose of +attacking them. He crossed a certain river which lay between him and +the Swedes, and then, when safely over, he stated to his men what he +intended to do. +</P> + +<P> +The men were filled with indignation at this proposal, which, being +wholly unexpected, came upon them by surprise. They refused to join in +the revolt. A scene of great excitement and confusion followed. A +portion of the Cossacks, those with whom Mazeppa had come to an +understanding beforehand, were disposed to go with him, but the rest +were filled with vexation and rage. They declared that they would +seize their chieftain, bind him hand and foot, and send him to the +Czar. Indeed, it is highly probable that the two factions would have +come soon to a bloody fight for the possession of the person of their +chieftain, in which case he would very likely have been torn to pieces +in the struggle, if those who were disposed to revolt had not fled +before the opposition to their movement had time to become organized. +Mazeppa and those who adhered to him—about two thousand men in +all—went over in a body to the camp of the Swedes. The rest, led by +the officers that still remained faithful, marched at once to the +nearest body of Russian forces, and put themselves under the command of +the Russian general there. +</P> + +<P> +A council of war was soon after called in the Russian camp for the +purpose of bringing Mazeppa to trial. He was, of course, found guilty, +and sentence of death—with a great many indignities to accompany the +execution—was passed upon him. The sentence, however, could not be +executed upon Mazeppa himself, for he was out of the reach of his +accusers, being safe in the Swedish camp. So they made a wooden image +or effigy to represent him, and inflicted the penalties upon the +substitute instead. +</P> + +<P> +In the first place, they dressed the effigy to imitate the appearance +of Mazeppa, and put upon it representations of the medals, ribbons, and +other decorations which he was accustomed to wear. They brought this +figure out before the camp, in presence of the general and of all the +leading officers, the soldiers being also drawn up around the spot. A +herald appeared and read the sentence of condemnation, and then +proceeded to carry it into execution, as follows. First, he tore +Mazeppa's patent of knighthood in pieces, and threw the fragments into +the air. Then he tore off the medals and decorations from the image, +and, throwing them upon the ground, he trampled them under his feet. +Then he struck the effigy itself a blow by which it was overturned and +left prostrate in the dust. +</P> + +<P> +The hangman then came up, and, tying a halter round the neck of the +effigy, dragged it off to a place where a gibbet had been erected, and +hanged it there. +</P> + +<P> +Immediately after this ceremony, the Cossacks, according to their +custom, proceeded to elect a new chieftain in the place of Mazeppa. +The chieftain thus chosen came forward before the Czar to take the oath +of allegiance to him, and to offer him his homage. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap13"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE BATTLE OF PULTOWA. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +1709 +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +Invasion of the Swedes—Their progress through the country—Artificial +roads—Pultowa—Fame of the battle—Situation of Pultowa—It is +besieged—Menzikoff—Manoeuvres—Menzikoff most successful—King +Charles wounded—The Czar advances to Pultowa—The king resolves to +attack the camp—A battle determined upon—Military rank of the +Czar—His address to the army—The litter—The battle—Courage and +fortitude of the king—The Swedes defeated—Narrow escape of the +Czar—He discovers the broken litter—Escape of King Charles—Dreadful +defeat—Flight and adventures of the king—He offers now to make +peace—The king's followers—Peter's reply—Carriage for the +king—Flight to the Turkish frontier—Sufferings of the retreating +army—Deputation sent to the Turkish frontier—Reception of the +messenger—Boats collected—Crossing the river—Bender—Fate of the +Swedish army—The prisoners—Anecdote of the Czar—The Czar's +habits—Disposition of the prisoners—Adventures of the King of +Sweden—Military promotion of the Czar +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +In the mean time, while these transactions had been taking place among +the Russians, the King of Sweden had been gradually making his way +toward the westward and southward, into the very heart of the Russian +dominions. The forces of the emperor, which were not strong enough to +offer him battle, had been gradually retiring before him; but they had +devastated and destroyed every thing on their way, in their retreat, so +as to leave nothing for the support of the Swedish army. They broke up +all the bridges too, and obstructed the roads by every means in their +power, so as to impede the progress of the Swedes as much as possible, +since they could not wholly arrest it. +</P> + +<P> +The Swedes, however, pressed slowly onward. They sent off to great +distances to procure forage for the horses and food for the men. When +they found the bridges down, they made detours and crossed the rivers +at fording-places. When the roads were obstructed, they removed the +impediments if they could, and if not, they opened new roads. +Sometimes, in these cases, their way led them across swampy places +where no solid footing could be found, and then the men would cut down +an immense quantity of bushes and trees growing in the neighborhood, +and make up the branches into bundles called <I>fascines</I>. They would +lay these bundles close together on the surface of the swamp, and then +level them off on the top by loose branches, and so make a road firm +enough for the army to march over. +</P> + +<P> +Things went on in this way until, at last, the farther progress of King +Charles was arrested, and the tide of fortune was turned wholly against +him by a great battle which was fought at a place called Pultowa. This +battle, which, after so protracted a struggle, at length suddenly +terminated the contest between the king and the Czar, of course +attracted universal attention at the time, for Charles and Peter were +the greatest potentates and warriors of their age, and the struggle for +power which had so long been waged between them had been watched with +great interest, through all the stages of it, by the whole civilized +world. The battle of Pultowa was, in a word, one of those great final +conflicts by which, after a long struggle, the fate of an empire is +decided. It, of course, greatly attracted the attention of mankind, +and has since taken its place among the most renowned combats of +history. +</P> + +<P> +Pultowa is a town situated in the heart of the Russian territories +three or four hundred miles north of the Black Sea. It stands on a +small river which flows to the southward and westward into the Dnieper. +It was at that time an important military station, as it contained +great arsenals where large stores of food and of ammunition were laid +up for the use of Peter's army. The King of Sweden determined to take +this town. His principal object in desiring to get possession of it +was to supply the wants of his army by the provisions that were stored +there. The place was strongly fortified, and it was defended by a +garrison; but the king thought that he should be able to take it, and +he accordingly advanced to the walls, invested the place closely on +every side, and commenced the siege. +</P> + +<P> +The name of the general in command of the largest body of Russian +forces near the spot was Menzikoff, and as soon as the King of Sweden +had invested the place, Menzikoff began to advance toward it in order +to relieve it. Then followed a long series of manoeuvres and partial +combats between the two armies, the Swedes being occupied with the +double duty of attacking the town, and also of defending themselves +from Menzikoff; while Menzikoff, on the other hand, was intent, first +on harassing the Swedes and impeding as much as possible their siege +operations, and, secondly, on throwing succors into the town. +</P> + +<P> +In this contest Menzikoff was, on the whole, most successful. He +contrived one night to pass a detachment of his troops through the +gates of Pultowa into the town to strengthen the garrison. This +irritated the King of Sweden, and made him more determined and reckless +than ever to press the siege. Under this excitement he advanced so +near the walls one day, in a desperate effort to take possession of an +advanced part of the works, that he exposed himself to a shot from the +ramparts, and was badly wounded in the heel. +</P> + +<P> +This wound nearly disabled him. He was obliged by it to confine +himself to his tent, and to content himself with giving orders from his +couch or litter, where he lay helpless and in great pain, and in a +state of extreme mental disquietude. +</P> + +<P> +His anxiety was greatly increased in a few days in consequence of +intelligence which was brought into his camp by the scouts, that Peter +himself was advancing to the relief of Pultowa at the head of a very +large army. Indeed, the tidings were that this great force was close +at hand. The king found that he was in danger of being surrounded. +Nor could he well hope to escape the danger by a retreat, for the broad +and deep river Dnieper, which he had crossed to come to the siege of +Pultowa, was behind him, and if the Russians were to fall upon him +while attempting to cross it, he knew very well that his whole army +would be cut to pieces. +</P> + +<P> +He lay restless on his litter in his tent, his thoughts divided between +the anguish of the wound in his heel and the mental anxiety and +distress produced by the situation that he was in. He spent the night +in great perplexity and suffering. At length, toward morning, he came +to the desperate resolution of attacking the Russians in their camp, +inferior as his own numbers were now to theirs. +</P> + +<P> +He accordingly sent a messenger to the field-marshal, who was chief +officer in command under himself, summoning him to his tent. The +field-marshal was aroused from his sleep, for it was not yet day, and +immediately repaired to the king's tent. The king was lying on his +couch, quiet and calm, and, with an air of great serenity and +composure, he gave the marshal orders to beat to arms and march out to +attack the Czar in his intrenchments as soon as daylight should appear. +</P> + +<P> +The field-marshal was astonished at this order, for he knew that the +Russians were now far superior in numbers to the Swedes, and he +supposed that the only hope of the king would be to defend himself +where he was in his camp, or else to attempt a retreat. He, however, +knew that there was nothing to be done but to obey his orders. So he +received the instructions which the king gave him, said that he would +carry them into execution, and then retired. The king then at length +fell into a troubled sleep, and slept until the break of day. +</P> + +<P> +By this time the whole camp was in motion. The Russians, too, who in +their intrenchments had received the alarm, had aroused themselves and +were preparing for battle. The Czar himself was not the commander. He +had prided himself, as the reader will recollect, in entering the army +at the lowest point, and in advancing regularly, step by step, through +all the grades, as any other officer would have done. He had now +attained the rank of major general; and though, as Czar, he gave orders +through his ministers to the commander-in-chief of the armies directing +them in general what to do, still personally, in camp and in the field +of battle, he received orders from his military superior there; and he +took a pride and pleasure in the subordination to his superior's +authority which the rules of the service required of him. +</P> + +<P> +He, however, as it seems, did not always entirely lay aside his +imperial character while in camp, for in this instance, while the men +were formed in array, and before the battle commenced, he rode to and +fro along their lines, encouraging the men, and promising, as their +sovereign, to bestow rewards upon them in proportion to the valor which +they should severally display in the coming combat. +</P> + +<P> +The King of Sweden, too, was raised from his couch, placed upon a +litter, and in this manner carried along the lines of his own army just +before the battle was to begin. He told the men that they were about +to attack an enemy more numerous than themselves, but that they must +remember that at Narva eight thousand Swedes had overcome a hundred +thousand Russians in their own intrenchments, and what they had done +once, he said, they could do again. +</P> + +<P> +The battle was commenced very early in the morning. It was complicated +at the beginning with many marches, countermarches, and manoeuvres, in +which the several divisions of both the Russian and Swedish armies, and +the garrison of Pultowa, all took part. In some places and at some +times the victory was on one side, and at others on the other. King +Charles was carried in his litter into the thickest of the battle, +where, after a time, he became so excited by the contest that he +insisted on being put upon a horse. The attendants accordingly brought +a horse and placed him carefully upon it; but the pain of his wound +brought on faintness, and he was obliged to be put back in his litter +again. Soon after this a cannon ball struck the litter and dashed it +to pieces. The king was thrown out upon the ground. Those who saw him +fall supposed that he was killed, and they were struck with +consternation. They had been almost overpowered by their enemies +before, but they were now wholly disheartened and discouraged, and they +began to give way and fly in all directions. +</P> + +<P> +The king had, however, not been touched by the ball which struck the +litter. He was at once raised from the ground by the officers around +him, and borne away out of the immediate danger. He remonstrated +earnestly against being taken away, and insisted upon making an effort +to rally his men; but the officers soon persuaded him that for the +present, at least, all was lost, and that the only hope for him was to +make his escape as soon as possible across the river, and thence over +the frontier into Turkey, where he would be safe from pursuit, and +could then consider what it would be best to do. +</P> + +<P> +The king at length reluctantly yielded to these persuasions, and was +borne away. +</P> + +<P> +In the mean time, the Czar himself had been exposed to great danger in +the battle, and, like the King of Sweden, had met with some very narrow +escapes. His hat was shot through with a bullet which half an inch +lower would have gone through the emperor's head. General Menzikoff +had three horses shot under him. But, notwithstanding these dangers, +the Czar pressed on into the thickest of the fight, and was present at +the head of his men when the Swedes were finally overwhelmed and driven +from the field. Indeed, he was among the foremost who pursued them; +and when he came to the place where the royal litter was lying, broken +to pieces, on the ground, he expressed great concern for the fate of +his enemy, and seemed to regret the calamity which had befallen him as +if Charles had been his friend. He had always greatly admired the +courage and the military skill which the King of Sweden had manifested +in his campaigns, and was disposed to respect his misfortunes now that +he had fallen. He supposed that he was unquestionably killed, and he +gave orders to his men to search every where over the field for the +body, and to guard it, when found, from any farther violence or injury, +and take charge of it, that it might receive an honorable burial. +</P> + +<P> +The body was, of course, not found, for the king was alive, and, with +the exception of the wound in his heel, uninjured. He was borne off +from the field by a few faithful adherents, who took him in their arms +when the litter was broken up. As soon as they had conveyed him in +this manner out of immediate danger, they hastily constructed another +litter in order to bear him farther away. He was himself extremely +unwilling to go. He was very earnest to make an effort to rally his +men, and, if possible, save his army from total ruin. But he soon +found that it was in vain to attempt this. His whole force had been +thrown into utter confusion; and the broken battalions, flying in every +direction, were pursued so hotly by the Russians, who, in their +exultant fury, slaughtered all whom they could overtake, and drove the +rest headlong on in a state of panic and dismay which was wholly +uncontrollable. +</P> + +<P> +Of course some escaped, but great numbers were taken prisoners. Many +of the officers, separated from their men, wandered about in search of +the king, being without any rallying point until they could find him. +After suffering many cruel hardships and much exposure in the +lurking-places where they attempted to conceal themselves, great +numbers of them were hunted out by their enemies and made prisoners. +</P> + +<P> +In the mean time, those who had the king under their charge urged his +majesty to allow them to convey him with all speed out of the country. +The nearest way of escape was to go westward to the Turkish frontier, +which, as has already been said, was not far distant, though there were +three rivers to cross on the way—the Dnieper, the Bog, and the +Dniester. The king was very unwilling to listen to this advice. Peter +had several times sent a flag of truce to him since he had entered into +the Russian dominions, expressing a desire to make peace, and proposing +very reasonable terms for Charles to accede to. To all these proposals +Charles had returned the same answer as at first, which was, that he +should not be ready to treat with the Czar until he arrived at Moscow. +Charles now said that, before abandoning the country altogether, he +would send a herald to the Russian camp to say that he was now willing +to make peace on the terms which Peter had before proposed to him, if +Peter was still willing to adhere to them. +</P> + +<P> +Charles was led to hope that this proposal might perhaps be successful, +from the fact that there was a portion of his army who had not been +engaged at Pultowa that was still safe; and he had no doubt that a very +considerable number of men would succeed in escaping from Pultowa and +joining them. Indeed, the number was not small of those whom the king +had now immediately around him, for all that escaped from the battle +made every possible exertion to discover and rejoin the king, and so +many straggling parties came that he soon had under his command a force +of one or two thousand men. This was, of course, but a small remnant +of his army. Still, he felt that he was not wholly destitute of means +and resources for carrying on the struggle in case Peter should refuse +to make peace. +</P> + +<P> +So he sent a trumpeter to Peter's camp with the message; but Peter sent +word back that his majesty's assent to the terms of peace which he had +proposed to him came too late. The state of things had now, he said, +entirely changed; and as Charles had ventured to penetrate into the +Russian country without properly considering the consequences of his +rashness, he must now think for himself how he was to get out of it. +For his part, he added, he had got the birds in the net, and he should +do all in his power to secure them. +</P> + +<P> +After due consultation among the officers who were with the king, it +was finally determined that it was useless to think for the present of +any farther resistance, and the king, at last, reluctantly consented to +be conveyed to the Turkish frontier. He was too ill from the effects +of his wound to ride on horseback, and the distance was too great for +him to be conveyed in a litter. So they prepared a carriage for him. +It was a carriage which belonged to one of his generals, and which, by +some means or other, had been saved in the flight of the army. The +route which they were to take led across the country where there were +scarcely any roads, and a team of twelve horses was harnessed to draw +the carriage which conveyed the king. +</P> + +<P> +No time was to be lost. The confused mass of officers and men who had +escaped from the battle, and had succeeded in rejoining the king, were +marshaled into something like a military organization, and the march, +or rather the flight, commenced. The king's carriage, attended by such +a guard as could be provided for it, went before, and was followed by +the remnant of the army. Some of the men were on horseback, others +were on foot, and others still, sick or wounded, were conveyed on +little wagons of the country, which were drawn along in a very +difficult and laborious manner. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-251"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-251.jpg" ALT="Flight of the King of Sweden." BORDER="2" WIDTH="522" HEIGHT="331"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 522px"> +Flight of the King of Sweden. +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +This mournful train moved slowly on across the country, seeking, of +course, the most retired and solitary ways to avoid pursuit, and yet +harassed by the continual fear that the enemy might at any time come up +with them. The men all suffered exceedingly from want of food, and +from the various other hardships incident to their condition. Many +became so worn out by fatigue and privation that they could not +proceed, and were left by the road sides to fall into the hands of the +enemy, or to perish of want and exhaustion; while those who still had +strength enough remaining pressed despairingly onward, but little less +to be pitied than those who were left behind. +</P> + +<P> +When at length the expedition drew near to the Turkish borders, the +king sent forward a messenger to the pasha in command on the frontier, +asking permission for himself and his men to pass through the Turkish +territory on his way to his own dominions. He had every reason to +suppose that the pasha would grant this request, for the Turks and +Russians had long been enemies, and he knew very well that the +sympathies of the Turks had been entirely on his side in this war. +</P> + +<P> +Nor was he disappointed in his expectations. The pasha received the +messenger very kindly, offered him food, and supplied all his wants. +He said, moreover, that he would not only give the king leave to enter +and pass through the Turkish territories, but he would give him +efficient assistance in crossing the river which formed the frontier. +This was, indeed, necessary, for a large detachment of the Russian army +which had been sent in pursuit of the Swedes was now coming close upon +them, and there was danger of their being overtaken and cut to pieces +or taken prisoners before they should have time to cross the stream. +The principal object which the Czar had in view in sending a detachment +in pursuit of the fugitives was the hope of capturing the king himself. +He spoke of this his design to the Swedish officers who were already +his prisoners, saying to them jocosely, for he was in excellent humor +with every body after the battle, "I have a great desire to see my +brother the king, and to enjoy his society; so I have sent to bring +him. You will see him here in a few days." +</P> + +<P> +The force dispatched for this purpose had been gradually gaining upon +the fugitives, and was now very near, and the pasha, on learning the +facts, perceived that the exigency was very urgent. He accordingly +sent off at once up and down the river to order all the boats that +could be found to repair immediately to the spot where the King of +Sweden wished to cross. A considerable number of boats were soon +collected, and the passage was immediately commenced. The king and his +guards were brought over safely, and also a large number of the +officers and men. But the boats were, after all, so few that the +operation proceeded slowly, and the Russians, who had been pressing on +with all speed, arrived at the banks of the river in time to interrupt +it before all the troops had passed, and thus about five hundred men +fell into their hands. They were all made prisoners, and the king had +the mortification of witnessing the spectacle of their capture from the +opposite bank, which he had himself reached in safety. +</P> + +<P> +The king was immediately afterward conveyed to Bender, a considerable +town not far from the frontier, where, for the present, he was safe, +and where he remained quiet for some weeks, in order that his wound +might have opportunity to heal. Peter was obliged to content himself +with postponing for a time the pleasure which he expected to derive +from the enjoyment of his brother's society. +</P> + +<P> +The portion of the Swedish army which remained in Russia was soon after +this surrounded by so large a Russian force that the general in command +was forced to capitulate, and all the troops were surrendered as +prisoners of war. Thus, in all, a great number of prisoners, both of +officers and men, fell into Peter's hands. The men were sent to +various parts of the empire, and distributed among the people, in order +that they might settle permanently in the country, and devote +themselves to the trades or occupations to which they had been trained +in their native land. The officers were treated with great kindness +and consideration. Peter often invited them to his table, and +conversed with them in a very free and friendly manner in respect to +the usages and customs which prevailed in their own country, especially +those which related to the military art. Still, they were deprived of +their swords and kept close prisoners. +</P> + +<P> +One day, when some of these officers were dining with Peter in his +tent, and he had been for some time conversing with them about the +organization and discipline of the Swedish army, and had expressed +great admiration for the military talent and skill which they had +displayed in the campaigns which they had fought, he at last poured out +some wine and drank to the health of "his masters in the art of war." +One of the officers who was present asked who they were that his +majesty was pleased to honor with so great a title. +</P> + +<P> +"It is yourselves, gentlemen," replied the Czar; "the Swedish generals. +It is you who have been my best instructors in the art of war." +</P> + +<P> +"Then," replied the officer, "is not your majesty a little ungrateful +to treat the masters to whom you owe so much so severely?" +</P> + +<P> +Peter was so much pleased with the readiness and wit of this reply, +that he ordered the swords of the officers all to be restored to them. +It is said that he even unbuckled his own sword from his side and +presented it to one of the generals. +</P> + +<P> +It ought, perhaps, to be added, however, that the habit of drinking to +excess, which Peter seems to have formed early in life, had before this +time become quite confirmed, and he often became completely intoxicated +at his convivial entertainments, so that it is not improbable that the +sudden generosity of the Czar on this occasion may have been due, in a +considerable degree, to the excitement produced by the brandy which he +had been drinking. +</P> + +<P> +Although the swords of the officers were thus restored to them, they +were themselves still held as prisoners until arrangements could be +made for exchanging them. In order, however, that they might all be +properly provided for, he distributed them around among his own +generals, giving to each Russian officer the charge of a Swedish +officer of his own rank, granting, of course, to each one a proper +allowance for the maintenance and support of his charge. The Russian +generals were severally responsible for the safe-keeping of their +prisoners; but the surveillance in such cases is never strict, for it +is customary for the prisoners to give their <I>parole</I> of honor that +they will not attempt to escape, and then they are allowed, within +reasonable limits, their full personal liberty, so that they live more +like the guests and companions of their keepers than as their captives. +</P> + +<P> +The King of Sweden met with many remarkable adventures and encountered +very serious difficulties before he reached his own kingdom, but it +would be foreign to the subject of this history to relate them here. +As to Mazeppa, he made his escape too, with the King of Sweden, across +the frontier. The Czar offered a very large reward to whoever should +bring him back, either dead or alive; but he never was taken. He died +afterward at Constantinople at a great age. +</P> + +<P> +One of the most curious and characteristic results which followed from +the battle of Pultowa was the promotion of Peter in respect to his rank +in the army. It was gravely decided by the proper authorities, after +due deliberation, that in consequence of the vigor and bravery which he +had displayed on the field, and of the danger which he had incurred in +having had a shot through his hat, he deserved to be advanced a grade +in the line of promotion. So he was made a major general. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +Thus ended the great Swedish invasion of Russia, which was the occasion +of the greatest and, indeed, of almost the only serious danger, from +any foreign source, which threatened the dominions of Peter during the +whole course of his reign. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap14"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XIV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE EMPRESS CATHARINE. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +1709-1715 +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +Duration of the war with Sweden—Catharine—Her origin—Destitution—Her +kind teacher—Dr. Gluck—She goes to Marienburg—Her character—Mode of +life at Marienburg—Her lover—His person and character—Catharine is +married—The town captured—Catharine made prisoner—Her anxiety and +sorrow—The Russian general—Catharine saved—Catharine in the general's +service—Seen by Menzikoff—Transferred to his service—Transferred to +the Czar—Privately married—Affairs on the Pruth—The emperor's +danger—Catharine in camp—A bribe—Catharine saves her husband—The +vizier's excuses—A public marriage determined on—Arrangements—The +little bridesmaids—Wedding ceremonies—Festivities and rejoicings—Birth +of Catharine's son—Importance of the event—The baptism—Dwarfs in the +pies—Influence of Catharine over her husband—Use which she made of her +power—Peter's jealousy—Dreadful punishment—Catharine's usefulness to +the Czar—Her imperfect education—Her final exaltation to the throne +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +It was about the year 1690 that Peter the Great commenced his reign, and +he died in 1725, as will appear more fully in the sequel of this volume. +Thus the duration of the reign was thirty-five years. The wars between +Russia and Sweden occupied principally the early part of the reign +through a period of many years. The battle of Pultowa, by which the +Swedish invasion of the Russian territories was repelled, was fought in +1709, nearly twenty years after the Czar ascended the throne. +</P> + +<P> +During the period while the Czar was thus occupied in his mortal struggle +with the King of Sweden, there appeared upon the stage, in connection +with him, a lady, who afterward became one of the most celebrated +personages of history. This lady was the Empress Catharine. The +character of this lady, the wonderful and romantic incidents of her life, +and the great fame of her exploits, have made her one of the most +celebrated personages of history. We can, however, here only give a +brief account of that portion of her life which was connected with the +history of Peter. +</P> + +<P> +Catharine was born in a little village near the town of Marienburg, in +Livonia.[1] Her parents were in very humble circumstances, and they both +died when she was a little child, leaving her in a very destitute and +friendless condition. The parish clerk, who was the teacher of a little +school in which perhaps she had been a pupil—for she was then four or +five years old—felt compassion for her, and took her home with him to +his own house. He was the more disposed to do this as Catharine was a +bright child, full of life and activity, and, at the same time, amiable +and docile in disposition, so that she was easily governed. +</P> + +<P> +After Catharine had been some time at the house of the clerk, a certain +Dr. Gluck, who was the minister of Marienburg, happening to be on a visit +to the clerk, saw her and heard her story. The minister was very much +pleased with the appearance and manners of the child, and he proposed +that the clerk should give her up to him. This the clerk was willing to +do, as his income was very small, and the addition even of such a child +to his family of course somewhat increased his expenses. Besides, he +knew that it would be much more advantageous for Catharine, for the time +being, and also much more conducive to her future success in life, to be +brought up in the minister's family at Marienburg than in his own humble +home in the little village. So Catharine went to live with the +minister.[2] +</P> + +<P> +Here she soon made herself a great favorite. She was very intelligent +and active, and very ambitious to learn whatever the minister's wife was +willing to teach her. She also took great interest in making herself +useful in every possible way, and displayed in her household avocations, +and in all her other duties, a sort of womanly energy which was quite +remarkable in one of her years. She learned to knit, to spin, and to +sew, and she assisted the minister's wife very much in these and similar +occupations. She had learned to read in her native tongue at the clerk's +school, but now she conceived the idea of learning the German language. +She devoted herself to this task with great assiduity and success, and as +soon as she had made such progress as to be able to read in that +language, she spent all her leisure time in perusing the German books +which she found in the minister's library. +</P> + +<P> +Years passed away, and Catharine grew up to be a young woman, and then a +certain young man, a subaltern officer in the Swedish army—for this was +at the time when Livonia was ill possession of the Swedes—fell in love +with her. The story was, that Catharine one day, in some way or other, +fell into the hands of two Swedish soldiers, by whom she would probably +have been greatly maltreated; but the officer, coming by at that time, +rescued her and sent her safe to Dr. Gluck. The officer had lost one of +his arms in some battle, and was covered with the scars of other wounds; +but he was a very generous and brave man, and was highly regarded by all +who knew him. When he offered Catharine his hand, she was strongly +induced by her gratitude to him to accept it, but she said she must ask +the minister's approval of his proposal, for he had been a father to her, +she said, and she would take no important step without his consent. +</P> + +<P> +The minister, after suitable inquiry respecting the officer's character +and prospects, readily gave his consent, and so it was settled that +Catharine should be married. +</P> + +<P> +Now it happened that these occurrences took place not very long after the +war broke out between Sweden and Russia, and almost immediately after +Catharine's marriage—some writers say on the very same day of the +wedding, and others on the day following—a Russian army came suddenly up +to Marienburg, took possession of the town, and made a great many of the +inhabitants prisoners. Catharine herself was among the prisoners thus +taken. The story was, that in the confusion and alarm she hid herself +with others in an oven, and was found by the Russian soldiers there, and +carried off as a valuable prize. +</P> + +<P> +What became of the bridegroom is not certainly known. He was doubtless +called suddenly to his post when the alarm was given of the enemy's +approach, and a great many different stories were told in respect to what +afterward befell him. One thing is certain, and that is, that his young +bride never saw him again.[3] +</P> + +<P> +Catharine, when she found herself separated from her husband and shut up +a helpless prisoner with a crowd of other wretched and despairing +captives, was overwhelmed with grief at the sad reverse of fortune that +had befallen her. She had good reason not only to mourn for the +happiness which she had lost, but also to experience very anxious and +gloomy forebodings in respect to what was before her, for the main object +of the Russians in making prisoners of the young and beautiful women +which they found in the towns that they conquered, was to send them to +Turkey, and to sell them there as slaves. +</P> + +<P> +Catharine was, however, destined to escape this dreadful fate. One of +the Russian generals, in looking over the prisoners, was struck with her +appearance, and with the singular expression of grief and despair which +her countenance displayed. He called her to him and asked her some +questions; and he was more impressed by the intelligence and good sense +which her answers evinced than he had been by the beauty of her +countenance. He bid her quiet her fears, promising that he would himself +take care of her. He immediately ordered some trusty men to take her to +his tent, where there were some women who would take charge of and +protect her. +</P> + +<P> +These women were employed in various domestic occupations in the service +of the general. Catharine began at once to interest herself in these +employments, and to do all in her power to assist in them; and at length, +as one of the writers who gives an account of these transactions goes on +to say, "the general, finding Catharine very proper to manage his +household affairs, gave her a sort of authority and inspection over these +women and over the rest of the domestics, by whom she soon came to be +very much beloved by her manner of using them when she instructed them in +their duty. The general said himself that he never had been so well +served as since Catharine had been with him. +</P> + +<P> +"It happened one day that Prince Menzikoff, who was the general's +commanding officer and patron, saw Catharine, and, observing something +very extraordinary in her air and behavior, asked the general who she was +and in what condition she served him. The general related to him her +story, taking care, at the same time, to do justice to the merit of +Catharine. The prince said that he was himself very ill served, and had +occasion for just such a person about him. The general replied that he +was under too great obligations to his highness the prince to refuse him +any thing that he asked. He immediately called Catharine into his +presence, and told her that that was Prince Menzikoff, and that he had +occasion for a servant like herself, and that he was able to be a much +better friend to her than he himself could be, and that he had too much +kindness for her to prevent her receiving such a piece of honor and good +fortune. +</P> + +<P> +"Catharine answered only with a profound courtesy, which showed, if not +her consent to the change proposed, at least her conviction that it was +not then in her power to refuse the offer that was made to her. In +short, Prince Menzikoff took her with him, or she went to him the same +day." +</P> + +<P> +Catharine remained in the service of the prince for a year or two, and +was then transferred from the household of the prince to that of the Czar +almost precisely in the same way in which she had been resigned to the +prince by the general. The Czar saw her one day while he was at dinner +with the prince, and he was so much pleased with her appearance, and with +the account which the prince gave him of her character and history, that +he wished to have her himself; and, however reluctant the prince may have +been to lose her, he knew very well that there was no alternative for him +but to give his consent. So Catharine was transferred to the household +of the Czar. +</P> + +<P> +She soon acquired a great ascendency over the Czar, and in process of +time she was privately married to him. This private marriage took place +in 1707. For several years afterward the marriage was not publicly +acknowledged; but still Catharine's position was well understood, and her +power at court, as well as her personal influence over her husband, +increased continually. +</P> + +<P> +Catharine sometimes accompanied the emperor in his military campaigns, +and at one time was the means, it is thought, of saving him from very +imminent danger. It was in the year 1711. The Czar was at that time at +war with the Turks, and he had advanced into the Turkish territory with a +small, but very compact and well-organized army. The Turks sent out a +large force to meet him, and at length, after various marchings and +manoeuvrings, the Czar found himself surrounded by a Turkish force three +times as large as his own. The Russians fortified their camp, and the +Turks attacked them. The latter attempted for two or three successive +days to force the Russian lines, but without success, and at length the +grand vizier, who was in command of the Turkish troops, finding that he +could not force his enemy to quit their intrenchments, determined to +starve them out; so he invested the place closely on all sides. The Czar +now gave himself up for lost, for he had only a very small stock of +provisions, and there seemed no possible way of escape from the snare in +which he found himself involved. Catharine was with her husband in the +camp at this time, having had the courage to accompany him in the +expedition, notwithstanding its extremely dangerous character, and the +story is that she was the means of extricating him from his hazardous +position by dextrously bribing the vizier. +</P> + +<P> +The way in which she managed the affair was this. She arranged it with +the emperor that he was to propose terms of peace to the vizier, by +which, on certain conditions, he was to be allowed to retire with his +army. Catharine then secretly made up a very valuable present for the +vizier, consisting of jewels, costly decorations, and other such +valuables belonging to herself, which, as was customary in those times, +she had brought with her on the expedition, and also a large sum of +money. This present she contrived to send to the vizier at the same time +with the proposals of peace made by the emperor. The vizier was +extremely pleased with the present, and he at once agreed to the +conditions of peace, and thus the Czar and all his army escaped the +destruction which threatened them. +</P> + +<P> +The vizier was afterward called to account for having thus let off his +enemies so easily when he had them so completely in his power; but he +defended himself as well as he could by saying that the terms on which he +had made the treaty were as good as could be obtained in any way, adding, +hypocritically, that "God commands us to pardon our enemies when they ask +us to do so, and humble themselves before us." +</P> + +<P> +In the mean time, years passed away, and the emperor and Catharine lived +very happily together, though the connection which subsisted between +them, while it was universally known, was not openly or publicly +recognized. In process of time they had two or three children, and this, +together with the unassuming but yet faithful and efficient manner in +which Catharine devoted herself to her duties as wife and mother, +strengthened the bond which bound her to the Czar, and at length, in the +year 1712, Peter determined to place her before the world in the position +to which he had already privately and unofficially raised her, by a new +and public marriage. +</P> + +<P> +It was not pretended, however, that the Czar was to be married to +Catharine now for the first time, but the celebration was to be in honor +of the nuptials long before performed. Accordingly, in the invitations +that were sent out, the expression used to denote the occasion on which +the company was to be convened was "to celebrate his majesty's old +wedding." The place where the ceremony was to be performed was St. +Petersburg, for this was now many years after St. Petersburg had been +built. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-272"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-272.jpg" ALT="The Empress Catharine." BORDER="2" WIDTH="345" HEIGHT="466"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 345px"> +The Empress Catharine. +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +Very curious arrangements were made for the performance of this +extraordinary ceremony. The Czar appeared in the dress and character of +an admiral of the fleet, and the other officers of the fleet, instead of +the ministers of state and great nobility, were made most prominent on +the occasion, and were appointed to the most honorable posts. This +arrangement was made partly, no doubt, for the purpose of doing honor to +the navy, which the Czar was now forming, and increasing the +consideration of those who were connected with it in the eyes of the +country. As Catharine had no parents living, it was necessary to appoint +persons to act in their stead "to give away the bride." It was to the +vice admiral and the rear admiral of the fleet that the honor of acting +in this capacity was assigned. They represented the bride's father, +while Peter's mother, the empress dowager, and the lady of the vice +admiral of the fleet represented her mother. +</P> + +<P> +Two of Catharine's own daughters were appointed bridesmaids. Their +appointment was, however, not much more than an honorary one, for the +children were very young, one of them being five and the other only three +years old. They appeared for a little time pending the ceremony, and +then, becoming tired, they were taken away, and their places supplied by +two young ladies of the court, nieces of the Czar. +</P> + +<P> +The wedding ceremony itself was performed at seven o'clock in the +morning, in a little chapel belonging to Prince Menzikoff, and before a +small company, no person being present at that time except those who had +some official part to perform. The great wedding party had been invited +to meet at the Czar's palace later in the day. After the ceremony had +been performed in the chapel, the emperor and empress went from the +chapel into Menzikoff's palace, and remained there until the time arrived +to repair to the palace of the Czar. Then a grand procession was formed, +and the married pair were conducted through the streets to their own +palace with great parade. As it was winter, the bridal party were +conveyed in sleighs instead of carriages. These sleighs, or sledges as +they were called, were very elegantly decorated, and were drawn by six +horses each. The procession was accompanied by a band of music, +consisting of trumpets, kettle-drums, and other martial instruments. The +entertainment at the palace was very splendid, and the festivities were +concluded in the evening by a ball. The whole city, too, was lighted up +that night with bonfires and illuminations. +</P> + +<P> +Three years after this public solemnization of the marriage the empress +gave birth to a son. Peter was perfectly overjoyed at this event. It is +true that he had one son already, who was born of his first wife, who was +called the Czarewitz, and whose character and melancholy history will be +the subject of the next chapter. But this was the first son among the +children of Catharine. She had had only daughters before. It was in the +very crisis of the difficulties which the Czar had with his eldest son, +and when he was on the point of finally abandoning all hope of ever +reclaiming him from his vices and making him a fit inheritor of the +crown, that this child of Catharine's was born. These circumstances, +which will be explained more fully in the next chapter, gave great +political importance to the birth of Catharine's son, and Peter caused +the event to be celebrated with great public rejoicings. The rejoicings +were continued for eight days, and at the baptism of the babe, two kings, +those of Denmark and of Prussia, acted as godfathers. The name given to +the child was Peter Petrowitz. +</P> + +<P> +The baptism was celebrated with the greatest pomp, and it was attended +with banquetings and rejoicings of the most extraordinary character. +Among other curious contrivances were two enormous pies, one served in +the room of the gentlemen and the other in that of the ladies; for, +according to the ancient Russian custom on such occasions, the sexes were +separated at the entertainments, tables being spread for the ladies and +for the gentlemen in different halls. From the ladies' pie there stepped +out, when it was opened, a young dwarf, very small, and clothed in a very +slight and very fantastic manner. The dwarf brought out with him from +the pie some wine-glasses and a bottle of wine. Taking these in his +hand, he walked around the table drinking to the health of the ladies, +who received him wherever he came with screams of mingled surprise and +laughter. It was the same in the gentlemen's apartment, except that the +dwarf which appeared before the company there was a female. +</P> + +<P> +The birth of this son formed a new and very strong bond of attachment +between Peter and Catharine, and it increased very much the influence +which she had previously exerted over him. The influence which she thus +exercised was very great, and it was also, in the main, very salutary. +She alone could approach the Czar in the fits of irritation and anger +into which he often fell when any thing displeased him, and sometimes, +when his rage and fury were such, that no one else would have dared to +come near, Catharine knew how to quiet and calm him, and gradually bring +him back again to reason. She had great power over him, too, in respect +to the nervous affection—the convulsive twitchings of the head and +face—to which he was subject. Indeed, it was said that the soothing and +mysterious influence of her gentle nursing in allaying these dreadful +spasms, and relieving the royal patient from the distress which they +occasioned, gave rise to the first feeling of attachment which he formed +for her, and which led him, in the end, to make her his wife. +</P> + +<P> +Catharine often exerted the power which she acquired over her husband for +noble ends. A great many persons, who from time to time excited the +displeasure of the Czar, were rescued from undeserved death, and +sometimes from sufferings still more terrible than death, by her +interposition. In many ways she softened the asperities of Peter's +character, and lightened the heavy burden of his imperial despotism. +Every one was astonished at the ascendency which she acquired over the +violent and cruel temper of her husband, and equally pleased with the +good use which she made of her power. +</P> + +<P> +There was not, however, always perfect peace between Catharine and her +lord. Catharine was compelled sometimes to endure great trials. On one +occasion the Czar took it into his head, with or without cause, to feel +jealous. The object of his jealousy was a certain officer of his court +whose name was De la Croix. Peter had no certain evidence, it would +seem, to justify his suspicions, for he said nothing openly on the +subject, but he at once caused the officer to be beheaded on some other +pretext, and ordered his head to be set up on a pole in a great public +square in Moscow. He then took Catharine out into the square, and +conveyed her to and fro in all directions across it, in order that she +might see the head in every point of view. Catharine understood +perfectly well what it all meant, but, though thunderstruck and +overwhelmed with grief and horror at the terrible spectacle, she +succeeded in maintaining a perfect self-control through the whole scene, +until, at length, she was released, and allowed to return to her +apartment, when she burst into tears, and for a long time could not be +comforted or calmed. +</P> + +<P> +With the exception of an occasional outbreak like this, the Czar evinced +a very strong attachment to his consort, and she continued to live with +him a faithful and devoted wife for nearly twenty years; from the period +of her private marriage, in fact, to the death of her husband. During +all this time she was continually associated with him not only in his +personal and private, but also in his public avocations and cares. She +accompanied him on his journeys, she aided him with her counsels in all +affairs of state. He relied a great deal on her judgment in all +questions of policy, whether internal or external; and he took counsel +with her in all matters connected with his negotiations with foreign +states, with the sending and receiving of embassies, the making of +treaties with them, and even, when occasion occurred, in determining the +question of peace or war. +</P> + +<P> +And yet, notwithstanding the lofty qualities of statesmanship that +Catharine thus displayed in the counsel and aid which she rendered her +husband, the education which she had received while at the minister's in +Marienburg was so imperfect that she never learned to write, and +whenever, either during her husband's life or after his death, she had +occasion to put her signature to letters or documents of any kind, she +did not attempt to write the name herself, but always employed one of her +daughters to do it for her. +</P> + +<P> +At length, toward the close of his reign, Peter, having at that time no +son to whom he could intrust the government of his empire after he was +gone, caused Catharine to be solemnly crowned as empress, with a view of +making her his successor on the throne. But before describing this +coronation it is necessary first to give an account of the circumstances +which led to it, by relating the melancholy history of Alexis, Peter's +oldest son. +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[1] The situation of the place is shown in the map on page 197. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[2] The accounts which different historians give of the circumstances of +Catharine's early history vary very materially. One authority states +that the occasion of Gluck's taking Catharine away was the death of the +curate and of all his family by the plague. Gluck came, it is said, to +the house to see the family, and found them all dead. The bodies were +lying on the floor, and little Catharine was running about among them, +calling upon one after another to give her some bread. After Gluck came +in, and while he was looking at the bodies in consternation, she came up +behind him and pulled his robe, and asked him if he would not give her +some bread. So he took her with him to his own home. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[3] There was a story that he was taken among the prisoners at the battle +of Pultowa, and that, on making himself known, he was immediately put in +irons and sent off in exile to Siberia. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap15"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE PRINCE ALEXIS. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +1690-1716 +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +Birth of Alexis—His father's hopes—Advantages enjoyed by +Alexis—Marriage proposed—Account of the wedding—Alexis returns to +Russia—Cruel treatment of his wife—Her hardships and sufferings—The +Czar's displeasure—Birth of a son—Cruel neglect—The Czar sent +for—Death-bed scene—Grief of the attendants—The princess's +despair—High rank no guarantee for happiness—Peter's +ultimatum—Letter to Alexis—Positive declarations contained in it—The +real ground of complaint—Alexis's excuses—His reply to his father—He +surrenders his claim to the crown—Another letter from the Czar—New +threats—More positive declarations—Alexis's answer—Real state of his +health—His depraved character—The companions and counselors of +Alexis—Priests—Designs of Alexis's companions—General policy of an +opposition—The old Muscovite party—Views of Alexis—Peter at a +loss—One more final determination—Farewell conversation—Alexis's +duplicity—Letter from Copenhagen—Alternative offered—Peter's +unreasonable severity—Alexis made desperate—Alexis's resolution +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +The reader will perhaps recollect that Peter had a son by his first +wife, an account of whose birth was given in the first part of this +volume. The name of this son was Alexis, and he was destined to become +the hero of a most dreadful tragedy. The narrative of it forms a very +dark and melancholy chapter in the history of his father's reign. +</P> + +<P> +Alexis was born in the year 1690. In the early part of his life his +father took great interest in him, and made him the centre of a great +many ambitious hopes and projects. Of course, he expected that Alexis +would be his successor on the imperial throne, and he took great +interest in qualifying him for the duties that would devolve upon him +in that exalted station. While he was a child his father was proud of +him as his son and heir, and as he grew up he hoped that he would +inherit his own ambition and energy, and he took great pains to inspire +him with the lofty sentiments appropriate to his position, and to train +him to a knowledge of the art of war. +</P> + +<P> +But Alexis had no taste for these things, and his father could not, in +any possible way, induce him to take any interest in them whatever. He +was idle and spiritless, and nothing could arouse him to make any +exertion. He spent his time in indolence and in vicious indulgences. +These habits had the effect of undermining his health, and increasing +more and more his distaste for the duties which his father wished him +to perform. +</P> + +<P> +The Czar tried every possible means to produce a change in the +character of his son, and to awaken in him something like an honorable +ambition. To this end he took Alexis with him in his journeys to +foreign countries, and introduced him to the reigning princes of +eastern Europe, showed him their capitals, explained to him the various +military systems which were adopted by the different powers, and made +him acquainted with the principal personages in their courts. But all +was of no avail. Alexis could not be aroused to take an interest in +any thing but idle indulgences and vice. +</P> + +<P> +At length, when Alexis was about twenty years of age, that is, in the +year 1710, his father conceived the idea of trying the effect of +marriage upon him. So he directed his son to make choice of a wife. +It is not improbable that he himself really selected the lady. At any +rate, he controlled the selection, for Alexis was quite indifferent in +respect to the affair, and only acceded to the plan in obedience to his +father's commands. +</P> + +<P> +The lady chosen for the bride was a Polish princess, named Charlotta +Christina Sophia, Princess of Wolfenbuttel, and a marriage contract, +binding the parties to each other, was executed with all due formality. +</P> + +<P> +Two years after this marriage contract was formed the marriage was +celebrated. Alexis was then about twenty-two years of age, and the +princess eighteen. The wedding, however, was by no means a joyful one. +Alexis had not improved in character since he had been betrothed, and +his father continued to be very much displeased with him. Peter was at +one time so angry as to threaten that, if his son did not reform his +evil habits, and begin to show some interest in the performance of his +duties, he would have his head shaved and send him to a convent, and so +make a monk of him. +</P> + +<P> +How far the princess herself was acquainted with the facts in respect +to the character of her husband it is impossible to say, but every body +else knew them very well. The emperor was in very bad humor. The +princess's father wished to arrange for a magnificent wedding, but the +Czar would not permit it. The ceremony was accordingly performed in a +very quiet and unostentatious way, in one of the provincial towns of +Poland, and after it was over Alexis went home with his bride to her +paternal domains. +</P> + +<P> +The marriage of Alexis to the Polish princess took place the year +before his father's public marriage with his second wife, the Empress +Catharine. +</P> + +<P> +As Peter had anticipated, the promises of reform which Alexis had made +on the occasion of his marriage failed totally of accomplishment. +After remaining a short time in Poland with his wife, conducting +himself there tolerably well, he set out on his return to Russia, +taking his wife with him. But no sooner had he got back among his old +associates than he returned to his evil ways, and soon began to treat +his wife with the greatest neglect and even cruelty. He provided a +separate suite of apartments for her in one end of the palace, while he +himself occupied the other end, where he could be at liberty to do what +he pleased without restraint. Sometimes a week would elapse without +his seeing his wife at all. He purchased a small slave, named +Afrosinia, and brought her into his part of the palace, and lived with +her there in the most shameless manner, while his neglected wife, far +from all her friends, alone, and almost broken-hearted, spent her time +in bitterly lamenting her hard fate, and gradually wearing away her +life in sorrow and tears. +</P> + +<P> +She was not even properly provided with the necessary comforts of life. +Her rooms were neglected, and suffered to go out of repair. The roof +let in the rain, and the cold wind in the winter penetrated through the +ill-fitted windows and doors. Alexis paid no heed to these things; +but, leaving his wife to suffer, spent his time in drinking and +carousing with Afrosinia and his other companions in vice. +</P> + +<P> +During all this time the attention of the Czar was so much engaged with +the affairs of the empire that he could not interfere efficiently. +Sometimes he would upbraid Alexis for his undutiful and wicked +behavior, and threaten him severely; but the only effect of his +remonstrances would be to cause Alexis to go into the apartment of his +wife as soon as his father had left him, and assail her in the most +abusive manner, overwhelming her with rude and violent reproaches for +having, as he said, made complaints to his father, or "told tales," as +he called it, and so having occasioned his father to find fault with +him. This the princess would deny. She would solemnly declare that +she had not made any complaints whatever. Alexis, however, would not +believe her, but would repeat his denunciations, and then go away in a +rage. +</P> + +<P> +This state of things continued for three or four years. During that +time the princess had one child, a daughter; and at length the time +arrived when she was to give birth to a son; but even the approach of +such a time of trial did not awaken any feeling of kind regard or +compassion on the part of her husband. His neglect still continued. +No suitable arrangements were made for the princess, and she received +no proper attention during her confinement. The consequence was, that, +in a few days after the birth of the child, fever set in, and the +princess sank so rapidly under it that her life was soon despaired of. +</P> + +<P> +When she found that she was about to die, she asked that the Czar might +be sent for to come and see her. Peter was sick at this time, and +almost confined to his bed; but still—let it be remembered to his +honor—he would not refuse this request. A bed, or litter, was placed +for him on a sort of truck, and in this manner he was conveyed to the +palace where the princess was lying. She thanked him very earnestly +for coming to see her, and then begged to commit her children, and the +servants who had come with her from her native land, and who had +remained faithful to her through all her trials, to his protection and +care. She kissed her children, and took leave of them in the most +affecting manner, and then placed them in the arms of the Czar. The +Czar received them very kindly. He then bade the mother farewell, and +went away, taking the children with him. +</P> + +<P> +All this time, the room in which the princess was lying, the +antechamber, and all the approaches to the apartment, were filled with +the servants and friends of the princess, who mourned her unhappy fate +so deeply that they were unable to control their grief. They kneeled +or lay prostrate on the ground, and offered unceasing petitions to +heaven to save the life of their mistress, mingling their prayers with +tears, and sobs, and bitter lamentations. +</P> + +<P> +The physicians endeavored to persuade the princess to take some +medicines which they had brought, but she threw the phials away behind +the bed, begging the physicians not to torment her any more, but to let +her die in peace, as she had no wish to live. +</P> + +<P> +She lingered after this a few days, spending most of her time in +prayer, and then died. +</P> + +<P> +At the time of her death the princess was not much over twenty years of +age. Her sad and sorrowful fate shows us once more what unfortunately +we too often see exemplified, that something besides high worldly +position in a husband is necessary to enable the bride to look forward +with any degree of confidence to her prospects of happiness when +receiving the congratulations of her friends on her wedding-day. +</P> + +<P> +The death of his wife produced no good effect upon the mind of Alexis. +At the funeral, the Czar his father addressed him in a very stern and +severe manner in respect to his evil ways, and declared to him +positively that, if he did not at once reform and thenceforth lead a +life more in conformity with his position and his obligations, he would +cut him off from the inheritance to the crown, even if it should be +necessary, on that account, to call in some stranger to be his heir. +</P> + +<P> +The communication which the Czar made to his son on this occasion was +in writing, and the terms in which it was expressed were very severe. +It commenced by reciting at length the long and fruitless efforts which +the Czar had made to awaken something like an honorable ambition in the +mind of his son, and to lead him to reform his habits, and concluded, +substantially, as follows: +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +"How often have I reproached you with the obstinacy of your temper and +the perverseness of your disposition! How often, even, have I +corrected you for them! And now, for how many years have I desisted +from speaking any longer of them! But all has been to no purpose. My +reproofs have been fruitless. I have only lost my time and beaten the +air. You do not so much as strive to grow better, and all your +satisfaction seems to consist in laziness and inactivity. +</P> + +<P> +"Having, therefore, considered all these things, and fully reflected +upon them, as I see I have not been able to engage you by any motives +to do as you ought, I have come to the conclusion to lay before you, in +writing, this my last determination, resolving, however, to wait still +a little longer before I come to a final execution of my purpose, in +order to give you one more trial to see whether you will amend or no. +If you do not, I am fully resolved to cut you off from the succession. +</P> + +<P> +"Do not think that because I have no other son I will not really do +this, but only say it to frighten you. You may rely upon it that I +will certainly do what I say; for, as I spare not my own life for the +good of my country and the safety of my people, why should I spare you, +who will not take the pains to make yourself worthy of them? I shall +much prefer to transmit this trust to some worthy stranger than to an +unworthy son. +</P> + +<P> +"(Signed with his majesty's own hand),<BR> +<br> +"PETER."<BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +The reader will observe, from the phraseology of these concluding +paragraphs, what is made still more evident by the perusal of the whole +letter, that the great ground of Peter's complaint against his son was +not his immorality and wickedness, but his idleness and inefficiency. +If he had shown himself an active and spirited young man, full of +military ardor, and of ambition to rule, he might probably, in his +private life, have been as vicious and depraved as he pleased without +exciting his father's displeasure. But Peter was himself so full of +ambition and energy, and he had formed, moreover, such vast plans for +the aggrandizement of the empire, many of which could only be commenced +during his lifetime, and must depend for their full accomplishment on +the vigor and talent of his successor, that he had set his heart very +strongly on making his son one of the first military men of the age; +and he now lost all patience with him when he saw him stupidly +neglecting the glorious opportunity before him, and throwing away all +his advantages, in order to spend his time in ease and indulgence, thus +thwarting and threatening to render abortive some of his father's +favorite and most far-reaching plans. +</P> + +<P> +The excuse which Alexis made for his conduct was the same which bad +boys often offer for idleness and delinquency, namely, his ill health. +His answer to his father's letter was as follows. It was not written +until two or three weeks after his father's letter was received, and in +that interim a son was born to the Empress Catharine, as related in the +last chapter. It is to this infant son that Alexis alludes in his +letter: +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +"MY CLEMENT LORD AND FATHER,— +</P> + +<P> +"I have read the writing your majesty gave me on the 27th of October, +1715, after the interment of my late spouse. +</P> + +<P> +"I have nothing to reply to it but that if it is your majesty's +pleasure to deprive me of the crown of Russia by reason of my +inability—your will be done. I even earnestly request it at your +majesty's hands, as I do not think myself fit for the government. My +memory is much weakened, and without it there is no possibility of +managing affairs. My mind and body are much decayed by the distempers +to which I have been subject, which renders me incapable of governing +so many people, who must necessarily require a more vigorous man at +their head than I am. +</P> + +<P> +"For which reason I should not aspire to the succession of the crown of +Russia after you—whom God long preserve—even though I had no brother, +as I have at present, whom I pray God also to preserve. Nor will I +ever hereafter lay claim to the succession, as I call God to witness by +a solemn oath, in confirmation whereof I write and sign this letter +with my own hand. +</P> + +<P> +"I give my children into your hands, and, for my part, desire no more +than a bare maintenance so long as I live, leaving all the rest to your +consideration and good pleasure. +</P> + +<P> +"Your most humble servant and son,<BR> +<br> +"ALEXIS."<BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +The Czar did not immediately make any rejoinder to the foregoing +communication from his son. During the fall and winter months of that +year he was much occupied with public affairs, and his health, +moreover, was quite infirm. At length, however, about the middle of +June, he wrote to his son as follows: +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +"MY SON,—As my illness hath hitherto prevented me from letting you +know the resolutions I have taken with reference to the answer you +returned to my former letter, I now send you my reply. I observe that +you there speak of the succession as though I had need of your consent +to do in that respect what absolutely depends on my own will. But +whence comes it that you make no mention of your voluntary indolence +and inefficiency, and the aversion you constantly express to public +affairs, which I spoke of in a more particular manner than of your ill +health, though the latter is the only thing you take notice of? I also +expressed my dissatisfaction with your whole conduct and mode of life +for some years past. But of this you are wholly silent, though I +strongly insisted upon it. +</P> + +<P> +"From these things I judge that my fatherly exhortations make no +impression upon you. For this reason I have determined to write this +letter to you, and it shall be the last. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't find that you make any acknowledgment of the obligation you +owe to your father who gave you life. Have you assisted him, since you +came to maturity of years, in his labors and pains? No, certainly. +The world knows that you have not. On the other hand, you blame and +abhor whatever of good I have been able to do at the expense of my +health, for the love I have borne to my people, and for their +advantage, and I have all imaginable reason to believe that you will +destroy it all in case you should survive me. +</P> + +<P> +"I can not let you continue in this way. Either change your conduct, +and labor to make yourself worthy of the succession, or else take upon +you the monastic vow. I can not rest satisfied with your present +behavior, especially as I find that my health is declining. As soon, +therefore, as you shall have received this my letter, let me have your +answer in writing, or give it to me yourself in person. If you do not, +I shall at once proceed against you as a malefactor.—(Signed) PETER." +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +To this communication Alexis the next day returned the following reply: +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +"MOST CLEMENT LORD AND FATHER,— +</P> + +<P> +"I received yesterday in the morning your letter of the 19th of this +month. My indisposition will not allow me to write a long answer. I +shall enter upon a monastic life, and beg your gracious consent for so +doing. +</P> + +<P> +"Your most humble servant and son,<BR> +<br > +"ALEXIS."<BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +There is no doubt that there was some good ground for the complaints +which Alexis made with respect to his health. His original +constitution was not vigorous, and he had greatly impaired both his +mental and physical powers by his vicious indulgences. Still, his +excusing himself so much on this ground was chiefly a pretense, his +object being to gain time, and prevent his father from coming to any +positive decision, in order that he might continue his life of +indolence and vice a little longer undisturbed. Indeed, it was said +that the incapacity to attend to the studies and perform the duties +which his father required of him was mainly due to his continual +drunkenness, which kept him all the time in a sort of brutal stupor. +</P> + +<P> +Nor was the fault wholly on his side. His father was very harsh and +severe in his treatment of him, and perhaps, in the beginning, made too +little allowance for the feebleness of his constitution. Neither of +the two were sincere in what they said about Alexis becoming a monk. +Peter, in threatening to send him to a monastery, only meant to +frighten him; and Alexis, in saying that he wished to go, intended only +to circumvent his father, and save himself from being molested by him +any more. He knew very well that his becoming a monk would be the last +thing that his father would really desire. +</P> + +<P> +Besides, Alexis was surrounded by a number of companions and advisers, +most of them lewd and dissolute fellows like himself, but among them +were some much more cunning and far-sighted than he, and it was under +their advice that he acted in all the measures that he took, and in +every thing that he said and did in the course of this quarrel with his +father. Among these men were several priests, who, like the rest, +though priests, were vile and dissolute men. These priests, and +Alexis's other advisers, told him that he was perfectly safe in +pretending to accede to his father's plan to send him to a monastery, +for his father would never think of such a thing as putting the threat +in execution. Besides, if he did, it would do no harm; for the vows +that he would take, though so utterly irrevocable in the case of common +men, would all cease to be of force in his case, in the event of his +father's death, and his succeeding to the throne. And, in the mean +time, he could go on, they said, taking his ease and pleasure, and +living as he had always done. +</P> + +<P> +Many of the persons who thus took sides with Alexis, and encouraged him +in his opposition to his father, had very deep designs in so doing. +They were of the party who opposed the improvements and innovations +which Peter had introduced, and who had in former times made the +Princess Sophia their head and rallying-point in their opposition to +Peter's policy. It almost always happens thus, that when, in a +monarchical country, there is a party opposed to the policy which the +sovereign pursues, the disaffected persons endeavor, if possible, to +find a head, or leader, in some member of the royal family itself, and +if they can gain to their side the one next in succession to the crown, +so much the better. To this end it is for their interest to foment a +quarrel in the royal family, or, if the germ of a quarrel appears, +arising from some domestic or other cause, to widen the breach as much +as possible, and avail themselves of the dissension to secure the name +and the influence of the prince or princess thus alienated from the +king as their rallying-point and centre of action. +</P> + +<P> +This was just the case in the present instance. The old Muscovite +party, as it was called, that is, the party opposed to the reforms and +changes which Peter had made, and to the foreign influences which he +had introduced into the realm, gathered around Alexis. Some of them, +it was said, began secretly to form conspiracies for deposing Peter, +raising Alexis nominally to the throne, and restoring the old order of +things. Peter knew all this, and the fears which these rumors excited +in his mind greatly increased his anxiety in respect to the course +which Alexis was pursuing and the exasperation which he felt against +his son. Indeed, there was reason to believe that Alexis himself, so +far as he had any political opinions, had adopted the views of the +malcontents. It was natural that he should do so, for the old order of +things was much better adapted to the wishes and desires of a selfish +and dissolute despot, who only valued his exaltation and power for the +means of unlimited indulgence in sensuality and vice which they +afforded. It was this supposed bias of Alexis's mind against his +father's policy of reform that Peter referred to in his letter when he +spoke of Alexis's desire to thwart him in his measures and undo all +that he had done. +</P> + +<P> +When he received Alexis's letter informing him that he was ready to +enter upon the monastic life whenever his father pleased, Peter was for +a time at a loss what to do. He had no intention of taking Alexis at +his word, for in threatening to make a monk of him he had only meant to +frighten him. For a time, therefore, after receiving this reply, he +did nothing, but only vented his anger in useless imprecations and +mutterings. +</P> + +<P> +Peter was engaged at this time in very important public affairs arising +out of the wars in which he was engaged with some foreign nations, and +important negotiations which were going on with others. Not long after +receiving the short letter from Alexis last cited, he was called upon +to leave Russia for a time, to make a journey into central Europe. +Before he went away he called to see Alexis, in order to bid him adieu, +and to state to him once more what he called his final determination. +</P> + +<P> +Alexis, when he heard that his father was coming, got into his bed, and +received him in that way, as if he were really quite sick. +</P> + +<P> +Peter asked him what conclusion he had come to. Alexis replied, as +before, that he wished to enter a monastery, and that he was ready to +do so at any time. His father remonstrated with him long and earnestly +against this resolution. He represented in strong terms the folly of a +young man like himself, in the prime of his years, and with such +prospects before him, abandoning every thing, and shutting himself up +all his days to the gloomy austerities of a monastic life; and he +endeavored to convince him how much better it would be for him to +change his course of conduct, to enter vigorously upon the fulfillment +of his duties as a son and as a prince, and prepare himself for the +glorious destiny which awaited him on the Russian throne. +</P> + +<P> +Finally, the Czar said that he would give him six months longer to +consider of it, and then, bidding him farewell, went away. +</P> + +<P> +As soon as he was gone Alexis rose from his bed, and went away to an +entertainment with some of his companions. He doubtless amused them +during the carousal by relating to them what had taken place during the +interview with his father, and how earnestly the Czar had argued +against his doing what he had begun originally with threatening to make +him do. +</P> + +<P> +The Czar's business called him to Copenhagen. While there he received +one or two letters from Alexis, but there was nothing in them to denote +any change in his intentions, and, finally, toward the end of the +summer, the Czar wrote him again in the following very severe and +decided manner: +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +"Copenhagen, Aug. 26th, 1716. +</P> + +<P> +"MY SON,—Your first letter of the 29th of June, and your next of the +30th of July, were brought to me. As in them you speak only of the +condition of your health, I send you the present letter to tell you +that I demanded of you your resolution upon the affair of the +succession when I bade you farewell. You then answered me, in your +usual manner, that you judged yourself incapable of it by reason of +your infirmities, and that you should choose rather to retire into a +convent. I bade you seriously consider of it again, and then send me +the resolution you should take. I have expected it for these seven +months, and yet have heard nothing of you concerning it. You have had +time enough for consideration, and, therefore, as soon as you shall +receive my letter, resolve on one side or on the other. +</P> + +<P> +"If you determine to apply yourself to your duties, and qualify +yourself for the succession, I wish you to leave Petersburg and to come +to me here within a week, so as to be here in time to be present at the +opening of the campaign; but if, on the other hand, you resolve upon +the monastic life, let me know when, where, and on what day you will +execute your resolution, so that my mind may be at rest, and that I may +know what to expect of you. Send me back your final answer by the same +courier that shall bring you my letter. +</P> + +<P> +"Be particular to let me know the day when you will set out from +Petersburg, if you conclude to come to me, and, if not, precisely when +you will perform your vow. I again tell you that I absolutely insist +that you shall determine upon something, otherwise I shall conclude +that you are only seeking to gain time in order that you may spend it +in your customary laziness.—PETER." +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +When we consider that Alexis was at this time a man nearly thirty years +of age, and himself the father of a family, we can easily imagine that +language like this was more adapted to exasperate him and make him +worse than to win him to his duty. He was, in fact, driven to a +species of desperation by it, and he so far aroused himself from his +usual indolence and stupidity as to form a plan, in connection with +some of his evil advisers, to make his escape from his father's control +entirely by secretly absconding from the country, and seeking a retreat +under the protection of some foreign power. The manner in which he +executed this scheme, and the consequences which finally resulted from +it, will be related in the next chapter. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap16"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XVI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE FLIGHT OF ALEXIS. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +1717 +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +Alexis resolves to escape—Alexis makes arrangements for +flight—Secrecy—Alexis deceives Afrosinia—How Alexis obtained the +money—Alexander Kikin—Alexis sets out on his journey—Meets +Kikin—Arrangements—Plans matured—Kikin's cunning contrivances—False +letters—Kikin and Alexis concert their plans—Possibility of being +intercepted—More prevarications—Arrival at Vienna—The Czar sends for +Alexis—Interview with the envoys—Threats of Alexis—He returns to +Naples—St. Elmo—Long negotiations—Alexis resolves at last to +return—His letter to his father—Alexis delivers himself up +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +When Alexis received the letter from his father at Copenhagen, ordering +him to proceed at once to that city and join his father there, or else +to come to a definite and final conclusion in respect to the convent +that he would join, he at once determined, as intimated in the last +chapter, that he would avail himself of the opportunity to escape from +his father's control altogether. Under pretense of obeying his +father's orders that he should go to Copenhagen, he could make all the +necessary preparations for leaving the country without suspicion, and +then, when once across the frontier, he could go where he pleased. He +determined to make his escape to a foreign court, with a view of +putting himself under the protection there of some prince or potentate +who, from feelings of rivalry toward his father, or from some other +motive, might be disposed, he thought, to espouse his cause. +</P> + +<P> +He immediately began to make arrangements for his flight. What the +exact truth is in respect to the arrangements which he made could never +be fully ascertained, for the chief source of information in respect to +them is from confessions which Alexis made himself after he was brought +back. But in these confessions he made such confusion, first +confessing a little, then a little more, then contradicting himself, +then admitting, when the thing had been proved against him, what he had +before denied, that it was almost impossible to disentangle the truth +from his confused and contradictory declarations. The substance of the +case was, however, as follows: +</P> + +<P> +In the first place, he determined carefully to conceal his design from +all except the two or three intimate friends and advisers who +originally counseled him to adopt it. He intended to take with him his +concubine Afrosinia, and also a number of domestic servants and other +attendants, but he did not allow any of them to know where he was +going. He gave them to understand that he was going to Copenhagen to +join his father. He was afraid that, if any of those persons were to +know his real design, it would, in some way or other, be divulged. +</P> + +<P> +As to Afrosinia, he was well aware that she would know that he could +not intend to take her to Copenhagen into his father's presence, and so +he deceived her as to his real design, and induced her to set out with +him, without suspicion, by telling her that he was only going to take +her with him a part of the way. She was only to go, he said, as far as +Riga, a town on the shores of the Baltic, on the way toward Copenhagen. +Alexis was the less inclined to make a confidante of Afrosinia from the +fact that she had never been willingly his companion. She was a +Finland girl, a captive taken in war, and preserved to be sold as a +slave on account of her beauty. When she came into the possession of +Alexis he forced her to submit to his will. She was a slave, and it +was useless for her to resist or complain. It is said that Alexis only +induced her to yield to him by drawing his knife and threatening to +kill her on the spot if she made any difficulty. Thus, although he +seems to have become, in the end, strongly attached to her, he never +felt that she was really and cordially on his side. He accordingly, in +this case, concealed from her his real designs, and told her he was +only going to take her with him a little way. He would then send her +back, he said, to Petersburg. So Afrosinia made arrangements to +accompany him without feeling any concern. +</P> + +<P> +Alexis obtained all the money that he required by borrowing +considerable sums of the different members of the government and +friends of his father, under pretense that he was going to his father +at Copenhagen. He showed them the letter which his father had written +him, and this, they thought, was sufficient authority for them to +furnish him with the money. He borrowed in this way various sums of +different persons, and thus obtained an abundant supply. The largest +sum which he obtained from any one person was two thousand ducats, +which were lent him by Prince Menzikoff, a noble who stood very high in +Peter's confidence, and who had been left by him chief in command +during his absence. The prince gave Alexis some advice, too, about the +arrangements which he was to make for his journey, supposing all the +time that he was really going to Copenhagen. +</P> + +<P> +The chief instigator and adviser of Alexis in this affair was a man +named Alexander Kikin. This Kikin was an officer of high rank in the +navy department, under the government, and the Czar had placed great +confidence in him. But he was inclined to espouse the cause of the old +Muscovite party, and to hope for a revolution that would bring that +party again into power. He was not at this time in St. Petersburg, but +had gone forward to provide a place of retreat for Alexis. Alexis was +to meet him at the town of Libau, which stands on the shores of the +Baltic Sea, between St. Petersburg and Konigsberg, on the route which +Alexis would have to take in going to Copenhagen. Alexis communicated +with Kikin in writing, and Kikin arranged and directed all the details +of the plan. He kept purposely at a distance from Alexis, to avoid +suspicion. +</P> + +<P> +At length, when all was ready, Alexis set out from St. Petersburg, +taking with him Afrosinia and several other attendants, and journeyed +to Libau. There he met Kikin, and each congratulated the other warmly +on the success which had thus far attended their operations. +</P> + +<P> +Alexis asked Kikin what place he had provided for him, and Kikin +replied that he had made arrangements for him to go to Vienna. He had +been to Vienna himself, he said, under pretense of public business +committed to his charge by the Czar, and had seen and conferred with +the Emperor of Germany there, and the emperor agreed to receive and +protect him, and not to deliver him up to his father until some +permanent and satisfactory arrangement should have been made. +</P> + +<P> +"So you must go on," continued Kikin, "to Konigsberg and Dantzic; and +then, instead of going forward toward Copenhagen, you will turn off on +the road to Vienna, and when you get there the emperor will provide a +safe place of retreat for you. When you arrive there, if your father +should find out where you are, and send some one to try to persuade you +to return home, you must not, on any account, listen to him; for, as +certain as your father gets you again in his power, after your leaving +the country in this way, he will have you beheaded." +</P> + +<P> +Kikin contrived a number of very cunning devices for averting suspicion +from himself and those really concerned in the plot, and throwing it +upon innocent persons. Among other things, he induced Alexis to write +several letters to different individuals in St. Petersburg—Prince +Menzikoff among the rest—thanking them for the advice and assistance +that they had rendered him in setting out upon his journey, which +advice and assistance was given honestly, on the supposition that he +was really going to his father at Copenhagen. The letters of thanks, +however, which Kikin dictated were written in an ambiguous and +mysterious manner, being adroitly contrived to awaken suspicion in +Peter's mind, if he were to see them, that these persons were in the +secret of Alexis's plans, and really intended to assist him in his +escape. When the letters were written Alexis delivered them to Kikin, +who at some future time, in case of necessity, was to show them to +Peter, and pretend that he had intercepted them. Thus he expected to +avert suspicion from himself, and throw it upon innocent persons. +</P> + +<P> +Kikin also helped Alexis about writing a letter to his father from +Libau, saying to him that he left St. Petersburg, and had come so far +on his way toward Copenhagen. This letter was, however, not dated at +Libau, where Alexis then was, but at Konigsberg, which was some +distance farther on, and it was sent forward to be transmitted from +that place. +</P> + +<P> +When Alexis had thus arranged every thing with Kikin, he prepared to +set out on his journey again. He was to go on first to Konigsberg, +then to Dantzic, and there, instead of embarking on board a ship to go +to Copenhagen, according to his father's plan, he was to turn off +toward Vienna. It was at that point, accordingly, that his actual +rebellion against his father's commands would begin. He had some +misgivings about being able to reach that point. He asked Kikin what +he should do in case his father should have sent somebody to meet him +at Konigsberg or Dantzic. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, you must join them in the first instance," said Kikin, "and +pretend to be much pleased to meet them; and then you must contrive to +make your escape from them in the night, either entirely alone, or only +with one servant. You must abandon your baggage and every thing else. +</P> + +<P> +"Or, if you can not manage to do this," continued Kikin, "you must +pretend to be sick; and if there are two persons sent to meet you, you +can send one of them on before, with your baggage and attendants, +promising yourself to come on quietly afterward with the other; and +then you can contrive to bribe the other, or in some other way induce +him to escape with you, and so go to Vienna." +</P> + +<P> +Alexis did not have occasion to resort to either of these expedients, +for nobody was sent to meet him. He journeyed on without any +interruption till he came to Konigsberg, which was the place where the +road turned off to Vienna. It was now necessary to say something to +Afrosinia and his other attendants to account for the new direction +which his journey was to take; so he told them that he had received a +letter from his father, ordering him, before proceeding to Copenhagen, +to go to Vienna on some public business which was to be done there. +Accordingly, when he turned off, they accompanied him without any +apparent suspicion. +</P> + +<P> +Alexis proceeded in this way to Vienna, and there he appealed to the +emperor for protection. The emperor received him, listened to the +complaints which he made against the Czar—for Alexis, as might have +been expected, cast all the blame of the quarrel upon his father—and, +after entertaining him for a while in different places, he provided him +at last with a secret retreat in a fortress in the Tyrol. +</P> + +<P> +Here Alexis concealed himself, and it was a long time before his father +could ascertain what had become of him. At length the Czar learned +that he was in the emperor's dominions, and he wrote with his own hand +a very urgent letter to the emperor, representing the misconduct of +Alexis in its true light, and demanding that he should not harbor such +an undutiful and rebellious son, but should send him home. He sent two +envoys to act as the bearers of this letter, and to bring Alexis back +to his father in case the emperor should conclude to surrender him. +</P> + +<P> +The emperor communicated the contents of this letter to Alexis, but +Alexis begged him not to comply with his father's demand. He said that +the difficulty was owing altogether to his father's harshness and +cruelty, and that, if he were to be sent back, he should be in danger +of his life from his father's violence. +</P> + +<P> +After long negotiations and delays, the emperor allowed the envoys to +go and visit Alexis in the place of his retreat, with a view of seeing +whether they could not prevail upon him to return home with them. The +envoys carried a letter to Alexis which his father had written with his +own hand, representing to him, in strong terms, the impropriety and +wickedness of his conduct, and the enormity of the crime which he had +committed against his father by his open rebellion against his +authority, and denouncing against him, if he persisted in his wicked +course, the judgment of God, who had threatened in his Word to punish +disobedient children with eternal death. +</P> + +<P> +But all these appeals had no effect upon the stubborn will of Alexis. +He declared to the envoys that he would not return with them, and he +said, moreover, that the emperor had promised to protect him, and that, +if his father continued to persecute him in this way, he would resist +by force, and, with the aid which the emperor would render him, he +would make war upon his father, depose him from his power, and raise +himself to the throne in his stead. +</P> + +<P> +After this there followed a long period of negotiation and delay, +during which many events occurred which it would be interesting to +relate if time and space permitted. Alexis was transferred from one +place to another, with a view of eluding any attempt which his father +might make to get possession of him again, either by violence or +stratagem, and at length was conveyed to Naples, in Italy, and was +concealed in the castle of St. Elmo there. +</P> + +<P> +In the mean time Peter grew more and more urgent in his demands upon +the emperor to deliver up his son, and the emperor at last, finding +that the quarrel was really becoming serious, and being convinced, +moreover, by the representations which Peter caused to be made to him, +that Alexis had been much more to blame than he had supposed, seemed +disposed to change his ground, and began now to advise Alexis to return +home. Alexis was quite alarmed when he found that, after all, he was +not to be supported in his rebellion by the emperor, and at length, +after a great many negotiations, difficulties, and delays, he +determined to make a virtue of necessity and to go home. His father +had written him repeated letters, promising him a free pardon if he +would return, and threatening him in the most severe and decided manner +if he did not. To the last of these letters, when Alexis had finally +resolved to go back, he wrote the following very meek and submissive +reply. It was written from Naples in October, 1717: +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +"MY CLEMENT LORD AND FATHER,— +</P> + +<P> +"I have received your majesty's most gracious letter by Messrs. Tolstoi +and Rumanrow,[1] in which, as also by word of mouth, I am most +graciously assured of pardon for having fled without your permission in +case I return. I give you most hearty thanks with tears in my eyes, +and own myself unworthy of all favor. I throw myself at your feet, and +implore your clemency, and beseech you to pardon my crimes, for which I +acknowledge that I deserve the severest punishment. But I rely on your +gracious assurances, and, submitting to your pleasure, shall set out +immediately from Naples to attend your majesty at Petersburg with those +whom your majesty has sent. +</P> + +<P> +"Your most humble and unworthy servant, who deserves not to be called +your son, +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +"ALEXIS." +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +After having written and dispatched this letter Alexis surrendered +himself to Tolstoi and Rumanrow, and in their charge set out on his +return to Russia, there to be delivered into his father's hands; for +Peter was now in Russia, having returned there as soon as he heard of +Alexis's flight. +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[1] These were the envoys, officers of high rank in the government, +whom Peter had sent to bring Alexis back. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap17"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XVII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE TRIAL. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +1717-1718 +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +His father's manifesto on his return—Interview between Alexis and his +father—Anger of the Czar—Substantial cause for Peter's +excitement—Grand councils convened—Scene in the hall—Conditional +promise of pardon—Alexis humbled—Secret conference—Alexis +disinherited—The new heir—Oaths administered—Alexis +imprisoned—Investigation commenced—Prisoners—The torture—Arrest of +Kikin—The page—He fails to warn Kikin in time—Condemnation of +prisoners—Executions—Dishonest confessions of Alexis—His +excesses—Result of the examinations—Proofs against Alexis—An +admission—Testimony of Afrosinia +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +As soon as Alexis arrived in the country, his father issued a +manifesto, in which he gave a long and full account of his son's +misdemeanors and crimes, and of the patient and persevering, but +fruitless efforts which he himself had made to reclaim him, and +announced his determination to cut him off from the succession to the +crown as wholly and hopelessly irreclaimable. This manifesto was one +of the most remarkable documents that history records. It concluded +with deposing Alexis from all his rights as son and heir to his father, +and appointing his younger brother Peter, the little son of Catharine, +as inheritor in his stead; and finally laying the paternal curse upon +Alexis if he ever thereafter pretended to, or in any way claimed the +succession of which he had been deprived. +</P> + +<P> +This manifesto was issued as soon as Peter learned that Alexis had +arrived in the country under the charge of the officers who had been +appointed to bring him, and before the Czar had seen him. Alexis +continued his journey to Moscow, where the Czar then was. When he +arrived he went that same night to the palace, and there had a long +conference with his father. He was greatly alarmed and overawed by the +anger which his father expressed, and he endeavored very earnestly, by +expressions of penitence and promises of amendment, to appease him. +But it was now too late. The ire of the Czar was thoroughly aroused, +and he could not be appeased. He declared that he was fully resolved +on deposing his son, as he had announced in his manifesto, and that the +necessary steps for making the act of deposition in a formal and solemn +manner, so as to give it full legal validity as a measure of state, +would be taken on the following day. +</P> + +<P> +It must be confessed that the agitation and anger which Peter now +manifested were not wholly without excuse, for the course which Alexis +had pursued had been the means of exposing his father to a great and +terrible danger—to that, namely, of a rebellion among his subjects. +Peter did not even know but that such a rebellion was already planned +and was ripe for execution, and that it might not break out at any +time, notwithstanding his having succeeded in recovering possession of +the person of Alexis, and in bringing him home. Of such a rebellion, +if one had been planned, the name of Alexis would have been, of course, +the watch-word and rallying-point, and Peter had a great deal of ground +for apprehension that such a one had been extensively organized and was +ready to be carried into effect. He immediately set himself at work to +ferret out the whole affair, resolving, however, in the first place, to +disable Alexis himself from doing any farther mischief by destroying +finally and forever all claims on his part to the inheritance of the +crown. +</P> + +<P> +Accordingly, on the following morning, before daybreak, the garrison of +the city were put under arms, and a regiment of the Guards was posted +around the palace, so as to secure all the gates and avenues; and +orders were sent, at the same time, to the principal ministers, nobles, +and counselors of state, to repair to the great hall in the castle, and +to the bishops and clergy to assemble in the Cathedral. Every body +knew that the occasion on which they were convened was that they might +witness the disinheriting of the prince imperial by his father, in +consequence of his vices and crimes; and in coming together in +obedience to the summons, the minds of all men were filled with solemn +awe, like those of men assembling to witness an execution. +</P> + +<P> +When the appointed hour arrived the great bell was tolled, and Alexis +was brought into the hall of the castle, where the nobles were +assembled, bound as a prisoner, and deprived of his sword. The Czar +himself stood at the upper end of the hall, surrounded by the chief +officers of state. Alexis was brought before him. As he approached he +presented a writing to his father, and then fell down on his knees +before him, apparently overwhelmed with grief and shame. +</P> + +<P> +The Czar handed the paper to one of his officers who stood near, and +then asked Alexis what it was that he desired. Alexis, in reply, +begged that his father would have mercy upon him and spare his life. +The Czar said that he would spare his life, and forgive him for all his +treasonable and rebellious acts, on condition that he would make a full +and complete confession, without any restriction or reserve, of every +thing connected with his late escape from the country, explaining fully +all the details of the plan which he had formed, and reveal the names +of all his advisers and accomplices. But if his confession was not +full and complete—if he suppressed or concealed any thing, or the name +of any person concerned in the affair or privy to it, then this promise +of pardon should be null and void. +</P> + +<P> +The Czar also said that Alexis must renounce the succession to the +crown, and must confirm the renunciation by a solemn oath, and +acknowledge it by signing a declaration, in writing, to that effect +with his own hand. To all this, Alexis, who seemed overwhelmed with +contrition and anguish, solemnly agreed, and declared that he was ready +to make a full and complete confession. +</P> + +<P> +The Czar then asked his son who it was that advised him and aided him +in his late escape from the kingdom. Alexis seemed unwilling to reply +to this question in the midst of such an assemblage, but said something +to his father in a low voice, which the others could not hear. In +consequence of what he thus said his father took him into an adjoining +room, and there conversed with him in private for a few minutes, and +then both returned together into the public hall. It is supposed that +while they were thus apart Alexis gave his father the names of some of +those who had aided and abetted him in his absconding, for immediately +afterward three couriers were dispatched in three different directions, +as if with orders to arrest the persons who were thus accused. +</P> + +<P> +As soon as Alexis and his father had returned into the hall, the +document was produced which the prince was to sign, renouncing the +succession to the crown. The signature and seal of Alexis were affixed +to this document with all due formality. Then a declaration was made +on the part of the Czar, stating the reasons which had induced his +majesty to depose his eldest son from the succession, and to appoint +his younger son, Peter, in his place. This being done, all the +officers present were required to make a solemn oath on the Gospels, +and to sign a written declaration, of which several copies had +previously been prepared, importing that the Czar, having excluded from +the crown his son Alexis, and appointed his son Peter his successor in +his stead, they owned the legality and binding force of the decree, +acknowledged Peter as the true and rightful heir, and bound themselves +to stand by him with their lives against any or all who should oppose +him, and declared that they never would, under any pretense whatsoever, +adhere to Alexis, or assist him in recovering the succession. +</P> + +<P> +The whole company then repaired to the Cathedral, where the bishops and +other ecclesiastics were assembled, and there the whole body of the +clergy solemnly took the same oath and subscribed the same declaration. +The same oath was also afterward administered to all the officers of +the army, governors of the provinces, and other public functionaries +throughout the empire. +</P> + +<P> +When these ceremonies at the palace and at the Cathedral were +concluded, the company dispersed. Alexis was placed in confinement in +one of the palaces in Moscow, and none were allowed to have access to +him except those whom the Czar appointed to keep him in charge. +</P> + +<P> +Immediately after this the necessary proceedings for a full +investigation of the whole affair were commenced in a formal and solemn +manner. A series of questions were drawn up and given to Alexis, that +he might make out deliberate answers to them in writing. Grand courts +of investigation and inquiry were convened in Moscow, the great +dignitaries both of Church and state being summoned from all parts of +the empire to attend them. These persons came to the capital in great +state, and, in going to and fro to attend at the halls of judgment from +day to day, they moved through the streets with such a degree of pomp +and parade as to attract great crowds of spectators. As fast as the +names were discovered of persons who were implicated in Alexis's +escape, or who were suspected of complicity in it, officers were +dispatched to arrest them. Some were taken from their beds at +midnight, without a moment's warning, and shut up in dungeons in a +great fortress at Moscow. When questioned, if they seemed inclined to +return evasive answers, or to withhold any information of which the +judges thought they were possessed, they were taken into the +torturing-room and put to the torture. +</P> + +<P> +One of the first who was arrested was Alexander Kikin, who had been +Alexis's chief confidant and adviser in all his proceedings. Kikin had +taken extreme precautions to guard against having his agency in the +affair found out; but Alexis, in the answers that he gave to the first +series of questions that were put to him, betrayed him. Kikin was +aware of the danger, and, in order to secure for himself some chance of +escape in case Alexis should make disclosures implicating him, had +bribed a page, who was always in close attendance upon the Czar, to let +him know immediately in case of any movement to arrest him. +</P> + +<P> +The name of this page was Baklanoffsky. He was in the apartment at the +time that the Czar was writing the order for Kikin's arrest, standing, +as was his wont, behind the chair of the Czar, so as to be ready at +hand to convey messages or to wait upon his master. He looked over, +and saw the order which the Czar was writing. He immediately contrived +some excuse to leave the apartment, and hurrying away, he went to the +post-house and sent on an express by post to Kikin at Petersburg to +warn him of the danger. +</P> + +<P> +But the Czar, noticing his absence, sent some one off after him, and +thus his errand at the post-house was discovered, but not until after +the express had gone. Another express was immediately sent off with +the order for Kikin's arrest, and both the couriers arrived in +Petersburg very nearly at the same time. The one, however, who brought +the warning was a little too late. When he arrived the house of the +commissioner was surrounded by a guard of fifty grenadiers, and +officers were then in Kikin's apartment taking him out of his bed. +They put him at once in irons and took him away, scarcely allowing him +time to bid his wife farewell. +</P> + +<P> +The page was, of course, arrested and sent to prison too. A number of +other persons, many of whom were of very high rank, were arrested in a +similar manner. +</P> + +<P> +The arrival of Alexis at Moscow took place early in February, and +nearly all of February and March were occupied with these arrests and +the proceedings of the court in trying the prisoners. At length, +toward the end of March, a considerable number, Kikin himself being +among them, were condemned to death, and executed in the most dreadful +manner in a great public square in the centre of Moscow. One was +impaled alive; that is, a great stake was driven through his body into +the ground, and he was left in that situation to die. Others were +broken on the wheel. One, a bishop, was burnt. The heads of the +principal offenders were afterward cut off and set up on poles at the +four corners of a square inclosure made for the purpose, the impaled +body lying in the middle. +</P> + +<P> +The page who had been bribed by Kikin was not put to death. His life +was spared, perhaps on account of his youth, but he was very severely +punished by scourging. +</P> + +<P> +During all this time Alexis continued to be confined to his prison, and +he was subjected to repeated examinations and cross-examinations, in +order to draw from him not only the whole truth in respect to his own +motives and designs in his flight, but also such information as might +lead to the full development of the plans and designs of the party in +Russia who were opposed to the government of Peter, and who had +designed to make use of the name and position of Alexis for the +accomplishment of their schemes. Alexis had promised to make a full +and complete confession, but he did not do so. In the answers to the +series of questions which were first addressed to him, he confessed as +much as he thought was already known, and endeavored to conceal the +rest. In a short time, however, many things that he had at first +denied or evaded were fully proved by other testimony taken in the +trial of the prisoners who have already been referred to. Then Alexis +was charged with the omissions or evasions in his confession which had +thus been made to appear, and asked for an explanation, and thereupon +he made new confessions, acknowledging the newly-discovered facts, and +excusing himself for not having mentioned them before by saying that he +had forgotten them, or else that he was afraid to divulge them for fear +of injuring the persons that would be implicated by them. Thus he went +on contradicting and involving himself more and more by every fresh +confession, until, at last, his father, and all the judges who had +convened to investigate the case, ceased to place any confidence in any +thing that he said, and lost almost all sympathy for him in his +distress. +</P> + +<P> +The examination was protracted through many months. The result of it, +on the whole, was, that it was fully proved that there was a powerful +party in Russia opposed to the reforms and improvements of the Czar, +and particularly to the introduction of the European civilization into +the country, who were desirous of effecting a revolution, and who +wished to avail themselves of the quarrel between Alexis and his father +to promote their schemes. Alexis was too much stupefied by his +continual drunkenness to take any very active or intelligent part in +these schemes, but he was more or less distinctly aware of them; and in +the offers which he had made to enter a monastery and renounce all +claims to the crown he had been utterly insincere, his only object +having been to blind his father by means of them and gain time. He +acknowledged that he had hated his father, and had wished for his +death, and when he fled to Vienna it was his intention to remain until +he could return and take possession of the empire in his father's +place. He, however, solemnly declared that it was never his intention +to take any steps himself toward that end during his father's lifetime, +though he admitted, at last, when the fact had been pretty well proved +against him by other evidence, that, in case an insurrection in his +behalf had broken out in Russia, and he had been called upon, he should +have joined the rebels. +</P> + +<P> +A great deal of information, throwing light upon the plans of Alexis +and of the conspirators in Russia connected with him, was obtained from +the disclosures made by Afrosinia. As has already been stated, she had +been taken by Alexis as a slave, and forced, against her will, to join +herself to him and to follow his fortunes. He had never admitted her +into his confidence, but had induced her, from time to time, to act as +he desired by telling her any falsehood which would serve the purpose. +She consequently was not bound to him by any ties of honor or +affection, and felt herself at liberty to answer freely all questions +which were put to her by the judges. Her testimony was of great value +in many points, and contributed very essentially toward elucidating the +whole affair. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap18"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XVIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE CONDEMNATION AND DEATH OF ALEXIS. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +1718 +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +Condition of Alexis—The two tribunals—Their powers—The Czar calls +for a decision—His addresses to the two councils—Deliberation of the +clergy—Their answer—Their quotations from Scripture—Cautious +language used by the bishops—They suggest clemency and +mercy—Additional confessions made by Alexis—The priest—Tolstoi sent +to Alexis—The Czar's three final questions—Alexis's three +answers—His account of the manner in which he had been educated—His +feelings toward his father—His attempts to maim himself—His +treasonable designs—Alexis's confession sent to the council—Decision +of the council—The promise of pardon—Forfeiture of it—Conclusion of +the sentence—The signatures—The 6th of July—The Czar's mental +struggles—Alexis brought out to hear his sentence—Overwhelmed with +dismay—Visit of his father—Sorrowful scene—Alexis sends a second +time for his father—His death—Czar's circular—The body laid in +state—Rumors circulated—Funeral ceremonies—The opposition broken +up—The mother of Alexis—Afrosinia—The Czar pardons her +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +The examinations and investigations described in the last chapter were +protracted through a period of several months. They were commenced in +February, and were not concluded until June. During all this time +Alexis had been kept in close confinement, except when he had been +brought out before his judges for the various examinations and +cross-examinations to which he had been subjected; and as the truth in +respect to his designs became more and more fully developed, and the +danger in respect to the result increased, he sank gradually into a +state of distress and terror almost impossible to be conceived. +</P> + +<P> +The tribunals before whom he was tried were not the regular judicial +tribunals of the country. They were, on the other hand, two grand +convocations of all the great official dignitaries of the Church and of +the state, that were summoned expressly for this purpose—not to +<I>decide</I> the case, for, according to the ancient customs of the Russian +empire, that was the sole and exclusive province of the Czar, but to +aid him in investigating it, and then, if called upon, to give him +their counsel in respect to the decision of it. One of these +assemblies consisted of the ecclesiastical authorities, the +archbishops, the bishops, and other dignitaries of the Church. The +other was composed of nobles, ministers of state, officers of the army +and navy in high command, and other great civil and military +functionaries. These two assemblies met and deliberated in separate +halls, and pursued their investigations in respect to the several +persons implicated in the affair, as they were successively brought +before them, under the direction of the Czar, though the final disposal +of each case rested, it was well understood, with him alone. +</P> + +<P> +At length, in the month of June, when all the other cases had been +disposed of, and the proof in respect to Alexis was considered +complete, the Czar sent in a formal address to each of these +conventions, asking their opinion and advice in respect to what he +ought to do with his son. +</P> + +<P> +In his address to the archbishops and bishops, he stated that, although +he was well aware that he had himself absolute power to judge his son +for his crimes, and to dispose of him according to his own will and +pleasure, without asking advice of any one, still, "as men were +sometimes less discerning," he said, "in their own affairs than in +those of others, so that even the most skillful physicians do not run +the hazard of prescribing for themselves, but call in the assistance of +others when they are indisposed," in the same manner he, having the +fear of God before his eyes, and being afraid to offend him, had +decided to bring the question at issue between himself and his son +before them, that they might examine the Word of God in relation to it, +and give their opinion, in writing, what the will of God in such a case +might be. He wished also, he said, that the opinion to which they +should come should be signed by each one of them individually, with his +own hand. +</P> + +<P> +He made a similar statement in his address to the grand council of +civil authorities, calling upon them also to give their opinion in +respect to what should be done with Alexis. "I beg of you," he said, +in the conclusion of his address, "to consider of the affair, to +examine it seriously and with attention, and see what it is that our +son has deserved, without flattering me, or apprehending that, if in +your judgment he deserves no more than slight punishment, it will be +disagreeable to me; for I swear to you, by the Great God and by his +judgments, that you have nothing to fear from me on this account. +</P> + +<P> +"Neither are you to allow the consideration that it is the son of your +sovereign that you are to pass judgment upon to have any effect upon +you. But do justice without respect of persons, so that your +conscience and mine may not reproach us at the great day of judgment." +</P> + +<P> +The convocation of clergy, in deliberating upon the answer which they +were to make to the Czar, deemed it advisable to proceed with great +caution. They were not quite willing to recommend directly and openly +that Alexis should be put to death, while, at the same time, they +wished to give the sanction of their approval for any measures of +severity which the Czar might be inclined to take. So they forbore to +express any positive opinion of their own, but contented themselves +with looking out in the Scriptures, both in the Old and New Testament, +the terrible denunciations which are therein contained against +disobedient and rebellious children, and the accounts of fearful +punishments which were inflicted upon them in Jewish history. They +began their statement by formally acknowledging that Peter himself had +absolute power to dispose of the case of his son according to his own +sovereign will and pleasure; that they had no jurisdiction in the case, +and could not presume to pronounce judgment, or say any thing which +could in any way restrain or limit the Czar in doing what he judged +best. But nevertheless, as the Czar had graciously asked them for +their counsel as a means of instructing his own mind previously to +coming to a decision, they would proceed to quote from the Holy +Scriptures such passages as might be considered to bear upon the +subject, and to indicate the will of God in respect to the action of a +sovereign and father in such a case. +</P> + +<P> +They then proceeded to quote the texts and passages of Scripture. Some +of these texts were denunciations of rebellious and disobedient +children, such as, "The eye that mocketh his father and that despiseth +to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pluck it out," and +the Jewish law providing that, "If a man have a stubborn and rebellious +son, who will not obey the voice of his father nor the voice of his +mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto +them, then shall his father and mother lay hold of him, and bring him +out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place, and +shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is rebellious: he +will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard. And all the +men of his city shall stone him with stones that he die." +</P> + +<P> +There were other passages quoted relating to actual cases which +occurred in the Jewish history of sons being punished with death for +crimes committed against their parents, such as that of Absalom, and +others. +</P> + +<P> +The bearing and tendency of all these extracts from the Scriptures was +to justify the severest possible treatment of the unhappy criminal. +The bishops added, however, at the close of their communication, that +they had made these extracts in obedience to the command of their +sovereign, not by way of pronouncing sentence, or making a decree, or +in any other way giving any authoritative decision on the question at +issue, but only to furnish to the Czar himself such spiritual guidance +and instruction in the case as the word of God afforded. It would be +very far from their duty, they said, to condemn any one to death, for +Jesus Christ had taught his ministers not to be governed by a spirit of +anger, but by a spirit of meekness. They had no power to condemn any +one to death, or to seek his blood. That, when necessary, was the +province of the civil power. Theirs was to bring men to repentance of +their sins, and to offer them forgiveness of the same through Jesus +Christ their Savior. +</P> + +<P> +They therefore, in submitting their communication to his imperial +majesty, did it only that he might do what seemed right in his own +eyes. "If he concludes to punish his fallen son," they said, +"according to his deeds, and in a manner proportionate to the enormity +of his crimes, he has before him the declarations and examples which we +have herein drawn from the Scriptures of the Old Testament. If, on the +other hand, he is inclined to mercy, he has the example of Jesus +Christ, who represented the prodigal son as received and forgiven when +he returned and repented, who dismissed the woman taken in adultery, +when by the law she deserved to be stoned, and who said that he would +have mercy and not sacrifice." +</P> + +<P> +The document concluded by the words, +</P> + +<P> +"The heart of the Czar is in the hand of God, and may he choose the +part to which the hand of God shall turn it." +</P> + +<P> +As for the other assembly, the one composed of the nobles and senators, +and other great civil and military functionaries, before rendering +their judgment they caused Alexis to be brought before them again, in +order to call for additional explanations, and to see if he still +adhered to the confessions that he had made. At these audiences Alexis +confirmed what he had before said, and acknowledged more freely than he +had done before the treasonable intentions of which he had been guilty. +His spirit seems by this time to have been completely broken, and he +appeared to have thought that the only hope for him of escape from +death was in the most humble and abject confessions and earnest +supplications for pardon. In these his last confessions, too, he +implicated some persons who had not before been accused. One was a +certain priest named James. Alexis said that at one time he was +confessing to this priest, and, among other sins which he mentioned, he +said "that he wished for the death of his father." The priest's reply +to this was, as Alexis said, "God will pardon you for that, my son, for +we all," meaning the priests, "wish it too." The priest was +immediately arrested, but, on being questioned, he denied having made +any such reply. The inquisitors then put him to the torture, and there +forced from him the admission that he had spoken those words. Whether +he had really spoken them, or only admitted it to put an end to the +torture, it is impossible to say. +</P> + +<P> +They asked him for the names of the persons whom he had heard express a +desire that the Czar should die, but he said he could not recollect. +He had heard it from several persons, but he could not remember who +they were. He said that Alexis was a great favorite among the people, +and that they sometimes used to drink his health under the designation +of the Hope of Russia. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +The Czar himself also obtained a final and general acknowledgment of +guilt from his son, which he sent in to the senate on the day before +their judgment was to be rendered. He obtained this confession by +sending Tolstoi, an officer of the highest rank in his court, and the +person who had been the chief medium of the intercourse and of the +communications which he had held with his son during the whole course +of the affair, with the following written instructions: +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +"To M. TOLSTOI, PRIVY COUNSELOR: +</P> + +<P> +"Go to my son this afternoon, and put down in writing the answers he +shall give to the following questions: +</P> + +<P> +"I. What is the reason why he has always been so disobedient to me, and +has refused to do what I required of him, or to apply himself to any +useful business, notwithstanding all the guilt and shame which he has +incurred by so strange and unusual a course? +</P> + +<P> +"II. Why is it that he has been so little afraid of me, and has not +apprehended the consequences that must inevitably follow from his +disobedience? +</P> + +<P> +"III. What induced him to desire to secure possession of the crown +otherwise than by obedience to me, and following me in the natural +order of succession? And examine him upon every thing else that bears +any relation to this affair." +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +Tolstoi went to Alexis in the prison, and read these questions to him. +Alexis wrote out the following statement in reply to them, which +Tolstoi carried to the Czar: +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +"I. Although I was well aware that to be disobedient as I was to my +father, and refuse to do what please him, was a very strange and +unusual course, and both a sin and a shame, yet I was led into it, in +the first instance, in consequence of having been brought up from 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. +</P> + +<P> +"The person to whom I was intrusted after I was removed from my +governess gave me no better instructions. +</P> + +<P> +"My father, afterward being anxious about my education, and desirous +that I should apply myself to what became the son of the Czar, ordered +me to learn the German language and other sciences, which I was very +averse to. I applied myself to them in a very negligent manner, and +only pretended to study at all in order to gain time, and without +having any inclination to learn any thing. +</P> + +<P> +"And as my father, who was then frequently with the army, was absent +from me a great deal, he ordered his serene highness, the Prince +Menzikoff, to have an eye upon me. While he was with me I was obliged +to apply myself, but, as soon as I was out of his sight, the persons +with whom I was left, observing that I was only bent on bigotry and +idleness, on keeping company with priests and monks, and drinking with +them, they not only encouraged me to neglect my business, but took +pleasure in doing as I did. As these persons had been about me from my +infancy, I was accustomed to observe their directions, to fear them, +and to comply with their wishes in every thing, and thus, by degrees, +they alienated my affections from my father by diverting me with +pleasures of this nature; so that, by little and little, I came to have +not only the military affairs and other actions of my father in horror, +but also his person itself, which made me always wish to be at a +distance from him. Alexander Kikin especially, when he was with me, +took a great deal of pains to confirm me in this way of life. +</P> + +<P> +"My father, having compassion on me, and desiring still to make me +worthy of the state to which I was called, sent me into foreign +countries; but, as I was already grown to man's estate, I made no +alteration in my way of living. +</P> + +<P> +"It is true, indeed, that my travels were of some advantage to me, but +they were insufficient to erase the vicious habits which had taken such +deep root in me. +</P> + +<P> +"II. It was this evil disposition which prevented my being apprehensive +of my father's correction for my disobedience. I was really afraid of +him, but it was not with a filial fear. I only sought for means to get +away from him, and was in no wise concerned to do his will, but to +avoid, by every means in my power, what he required of me. Of this I +will now freely confess one plain instance. +</P> + +<P> +"When I came back to Petersburg to my father from abroad, at the end of +one of my journeys, he questioned me about my studies, and, among other +things, asked me if I had forgotten what I had learned, and I told him +no. He then asked me to bring him some of my drawings of plans. Then, +fearing that he would order me to draw something in his presence, which +I could not do, as I knew nothing of the matter, I set to work to +devise a way to hurt my hand so that it should be impossible for me to +do any thing at all. So I charged a pistol with ball, and, taking it +in my left hand, I let it off against the palm of my right, with a +design to have shot through it. The ball, however, missed my hand, +though the powder burned it sufficiently to wound it. The ball entered +the wall of my room, and it may be seen there still. +</P> + +<P> +"My father, observing my hand to be wounded, asked me how it came. I +told him an evasive story, and kept the truth to myself. By this means +you may see that I was afraid of my father, but not with a proper +filial fear.[1] +</P> + +<P> +"III. As to my having desired to obtain the crown otherwise than by +obedience to my father, and following him in regular order of +succession, all the world may easily understand the reason; for, when I +was once out of the right way, and resolved to imitate my father in +nothing, I naturally sought to obtain the succession by any, even the +most wrongful method. I confess that I was even willing to come into +possession of it by foreign assistance, if it had been necessary. If +the emperor had been ready to fulfill the promise that he made me of +procuring for me the crown of Russia, even with an armed force, I +should have spared nothing to have obtained it. +</P> + +<P> +"For instance, if the emperor had demanded that I should afterward +furnish him with Russian troops against any of his enemies, in exchange +for his service in aiding me, or large sums of money, I should have +done whatever he pleased. I would have given great presents to his +ministers and generals over and above. In a word, I would have thought +nothing too much to have obtained my desire." +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +This confession, after it was brought to the Czar by Tolstoi, to whom +Alexis gave it, was sent by him to the great council of state, to aid +them in forming their opinion. +</P> + +<P> +The council were occupied for the space of a week in hearing the case, +and then they drew up and signed their decision. +</P> + +<P> +The statement which they made began by acknowledging that they had not +of themselves any original right to try such a question, the Czar +himself, according to the ancient constitution of the empire, having +sole and exclusive jurisdiction in all such affairs, without being +beholden to his subjects in regard to them in any manner whatever; but, +nevertheless, as the Czar had deemed it expedient to refer it to them, +they accepted the responsibility, and, after having fully investigated +the case, were now ready to pronounce judgment. +</P> + +<P> +They then proceeded to declare that, after a full hearing and careful +consideration of all the evidence, both oral and written, which had +been laid before them, including the confessions of Alexis himself, +they found that he had been guilty of treason and rebellion against his +father and sovereign, and deserved to suffer death. +</P> + +<P> +"And although," said the council, in continuation, "although, both +before and since his return to Russia, the Czar his father had promised +him pardon on certain conditions, yet those conditions were +particularly and expressly specified, especially the one which provided +that he should make a full and complete confession of all his designs, +and of the names of all the persons who had been privy to them or +concerned in the execution of them. With these conditions, and +particularly the last, Alexis had not complied, but had returned +insincere and evasive answers to the questions which had been put to +him, and had concealed not only the names of a great many of the +principal persons that were involved in the conspiracy, but also the +most important designs and intentions of the conspirators, thus making +it appear that he had determined to reserve to himself an opportunity +hereafter, when a favorable occasion should present itself, of resuming +his designs and putting his wicked enterprise into execution against +his sovereign and father. He thus had rendered himself unworthy of the +pardon which his father had promised him, and had forfeited all claim +to it." +</P> + +<P> +The sentence of the council concluded in the following words: +</P> + +<P> +"It is with hearts full of affliction and eyes streaming down with +tears that we, as subjects and servants, pronounce this sentence, +considering that, being such, it does not belong to us to enter into a +judgment of so great importance, and particularly to pronounce sentence +against the son of the most mighty and merciful Czar our lord. +However, since it has been his will that we should enter into judgment, +we herein declare our real opinion, and pronounce this condemnation, +with a conscience so pure and Christian that we think we can answer for +it at the terrible, just, and impartial judgment of the Great God. +</P> + +<P> +"To conclude, we submit this sentence which we now give, and the +condemnation which we make, to the sovereign power and will, and to the +merciful review of his Czarian majesty, our most merciful monarch." +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +This document was signed in the most solemn manner by all the members +of the council, nearly one hundred in number. Among the signatures are +the names of a great number of ministers of state, counselors, +senators, governors, generals, and other personages of high civil and +military rank. The document, when thus formally authenticated, was +sent, with much solemn and imposing ceremony, to the Czar. +</P> + +<P> +The Czar, after an interval of great suspense and solicitude, during +which he seems to have endured much mental suffering, confirmed the +judgment of the council, and a day was appointed on which Alexis was to +be arraigned, in order that sentence of death, in accordance with it, +might be solemnly pronounced upon him. +</P> + +<P> +The day appointed was the 6th of July, nearly a fortnight after the +judgment of the court was rendered to the Czar. The length of this +delay indicates a severe struggle in the mind of the Czar between his +pride and honor as a sovereign, feelings which prompted him to act in +the most determined and rigorous manner in punishing a rebel against +his government, and what still remained of his parental affection for +his son. He knew well that after what had passed there could never be +any true and genuine reconciliation, and that, as long as his son +lived, his name would be the watchword of opposition and rebellion, and +his very existence would act as a potent and perpetual stimulus to the +treasonable designs which the foes of civilization and progress were +always disposed to form. He finally, therefore, determined that the +sentence of death should at least be pronounced. What his intention +was in respect to the actual execution of it can never be known. +</P> + +<P> +When the appointed day arrived a grand session of the council was +convened, and Alexis was brought out from the fortress where he was +imprisoned, and arraigned before it for the last time. He was attended +by a strong guard. On being placed at the bar of the tribunal, he was +called upon to repeat the confessions which he had made, and then the +sentence of death, as it had been sent to the Czar, was read to him. +He was then taken back again to his prison as before. +</P> + +<P> +Alexis was overwhelmed with terror and distress at finding himself thus +condemned; and the next morning intelligence was brought to the Czar +that, after suffering convulsions at intervals through the night, he +had fallen into an apoplectic fit. About noon another message was +brought, saying that he had revived in some measure from the fit, yet +his vital powers seemed to be sinking away, and the physician thought +that his life was in great danger. +</P> + +<P> +The Czar sent for the principal ministers of state to come to him, and +he waited with them in great anxiety and agitation for farther tidings. +</P> + +<P> +At length a third messenger came, and said that it was thought that +Alexis could not possibly outlive the evening, and that he longed to +see his father. The Czar immediately requested the ministers to +accompany him, and set out from his palace to go to the fortress where +Alexis was confined. On entering the room where his dying son was +lying, he was greatly moved, and Alexis himself, bursting into tears, +folded his hands and began to entreat his father's forgiveness for his +sins against him. He said that he had grievously and heinously +offended the majesty of God Almighty and of the Czar; that he hoped he +should not recover from his illness, for if he should recover he should +feel that he was unworthy to live. But he begged and implored his +father, for God's sake, to take off the curse that he had pronounced +against him, to forgive him for all the heinous crimes which he had +committed, to bestow upon him his paternal blessing, and to cause +prayers to be put up for his soul. +</P> + +<P> +While Alexis was speaking thus, the Czar himself, and all the ministers +and officers who had come with him, were melted in tears. The Czar +replied kindly to him. He referred, it is true, to the sins and crimes +of which Alexis had been guilty, but he gave him his forgiveness and +his blessing, and then took his leave with tears and lamentations which +rendered it impossible for him to speak, and in which all present +joined. The scene was heart-rending. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-349"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-349.jpg" ALT="The Czar's visit to Alexis in prison." BORDER="2" WIDTH="334" HEIGHT="376"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 334px"> +The Czar's visit to Alexis in prison. +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +At five o'clock in the evening a major of the Guards came across the +water from the fortress to the Czar's palace with a message that Alexis +was extremely desirous to see his father once more. The Czar was at +first unwilling to comply with this request. He could not bear, he +thought, to renew the pain of such an interview. But his ministers +advised him to go. They represented to him that it was hard to deny +such a request from his dying son, who was probably tormented by the +stings of a guilty conscience, and felt relieved and comforted when his +father was near. So Peter consented to go. But just as he was going +on board the boat which was to take him over to the fortress, another +messenger came saying that it was too late. Alexis had expired. +</P> + +<P> +On the next day after the death of his son, the Czar, in order to +anticipate and preclude the false rumors in respect to the case which +he knew that his enemies would endeavor to spread throughout the +Continent, caused a brief but full statement of his trial and +condemnation, and of the circumstances of his death, to be drawn up and +sent to all his ministers abroad, in order that they might communicate +the facts in an authentic form to the courts to which they were +respectfully accredited.[2] +</P> + +<P> +The ninth day of July, the third day after the death of Alexis, was +appointed for the funeral. The body was laid in a coffin covered with +black velvet. A pall of rich gold tissue was spread over the coffin, +and in this way the body was conveyed to the church of the Holy +Trinity, where it was laid in state. It remained in this condition +during the remainder of that day and all of the next, and also on the +third day until evening. It was visited by vast crowds of people, who +were permitted to come up and kiss the hands of the deceased. +</P> + +<P> +On the evening of the third day after the body was conveyed to the +church, the funeral service was performed, and the body was conveyed to +the tomb. A large procession, headed by the Czar, the Czarina, and all +the chief nobility of the court, followed in the funeral train. The +Czar and all the other mourners carried in their hands a small wax +taper burning. The ladies were all dressed in black silks. It was +said by those who were near enough in the procession to observe the +Czar that he went weeping all the way. +</P> + +<P> +At the service in the church a funeral sermon was pronounced by the +priest from the very appropriate text, "O Absalom! my son! my son +Absalom!" +</P> + +<P> +Thus ended this dreadful tragedy. The party who had been opposed to +the reforms and improvements of the Czar seems to have become +completely disorganized after the death of Alexis, and they never again +attempted to organize any resistance to Peter's plans. Indeed, most of +the principal leaders had been executed or banished to Siberia. As to +Ottokesa, the first wife of the Czar, and the mother of Alexis, who was +proved to have been privy to his designs, she was sent away to a strong +castle, and shut up for the rest of her days in a dungeon. So close +was her confinement that even her food was put in to her through a hole +in the wall. +</P> + +<P> +It remains only to say one word in conclusion in respect to Afrosinia. +When Alexis was first arrested, it was supposed that she, having been +the slave and companion of Alexis, was a party with him in his +treasonable designs; but in the course of the examinations it appeared +very fully that whatever of connection with the affair, or +participation in it, she may have had, was involuntary and innocent, +and the testimony which she gave was of great service in unraveling the +mystery of the whole transaction. In the end, the Czar expressed his +satisfaction with her conduct in strong terms. He gave her a full +pardon for the involuntary aid which she had rendered Alexis in +carrying out his plans. He ordered every thing which had been taken +away from her to be restored, made her presents of handsome jewelry, +and said that if she would like to be married he would give her a +handsome portion out of the royal treasury. But she promptly declined +this proposal. "I have been compelled," she said, "to yield to one +man's will by force; henceforth no other shall ever come near my side." +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[1] This incident shows to what a reckless and brutal state of +desperation Alexis had been reduced by the obstinacy of his opposition +to his father, and by the harshness of his father's treatment of him. +He confessed, on another occasion, that he had often taken medicine to +produce an apparent sickness, in order to have an excuse for not +attending to duties which his father required of him. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[2] There were, in fact, a great many rumors put in circulation, and +they spread very far, and were continued in circulation a long time. +One story was that Alexis was poisoned. Another, that his father +killed him with his own hands in the prison. It was said in London +that he beat him to death with an iron chain. The extent to which +these and similar stories received currency indicates pretty clearly +what ideas prevailed in men's minds at that time in respect to the +savage ferocity of Peter's character. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap19"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XIX. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CONCLUSION. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +1719-1725 +</H3> + +<P CLASS="intro"> +Death of little Peter—Excessive grief of the Czar—The Czar shuts +himself up—Device of his minister—Subsequent reign—His plan for the +succession—Oath required of the people—Prince +Naraskin—Proclamation—Catharine's usefulness—Splendour of the +preparations—The interior of the church—The dais—The canopy—The +regalia—The ceremonies—Sickness and death of Peter—Natalia—The double +funeral—General character of Peter—Compared with other +sovereigns—Playful vein in his character—Examples—The Little +Grandfather—Taken to Cronstadt—Triumphal procession—Display before the +fleet—Closing festivities—Catharine proclaimed empress—Catharine's +brief reign—Her beneficent character +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +At the time of the death of Alexis the Czar's hopes in respect to a +successor fell upon his little son, Peter Petrowitz, the child of +Catharine, who was born about the time of the death of Alexis's wife, +when the difficulties between himself and Alexis were first beginning to +assume an alarming form. This child was now about three years old, but +he was of a very weak and sickly constitution, and the Czar watched him +with fear and trembling. His apprehensions proved to be well founded, +for about a year after the unhappy death of Alexis he also died. +</P> + +<P> +Peter was entirely overwhelmed with grief at this new calamity. He was +seized with the convulsions to which he was subject when under any strong +excitement, his face was distorted, and his neck was twisted and +stiffened in a most frightful manner. In ordinary attacks of this kind +Catharine had power to soothe and allay the spasmodic action of the +muscles, and gradually release her husband from the terrible gripe of the +disease, but now he would not suffer her to come near him. He could not +endure it, for the sight of her renewed so vividly the anguish that he +felt for the loss of their child, that it made the convulsions and the +suffering worse than before. +</P> + +<P> +It is said that on this occasion Peter shut himself up alone for three +days and three nights in his own chamber, where he lay stretched on the +ground in anguish and agony, and would not allow any body to come in. At +length one of his ministers of state came, and, speaking to him through +the door, appealed to him, in the most earnest manner, to come forth and +give them directions in respect to the affairs of the empire, which, he +said, urgently required his attention. The minister had brought with him +a large number of senators to support and enforce his appeal. At length +the Czar allowed the door to be opened, and the minister, with all the +senators, came together into the room. The sudden appearance of so many +persons, and the boldness of the minister in taking this decided step, +made such an impression on the mind of the Czar as to divert his mind for +the moment from his grief, and he allowed himself to be led forth and to +be persuaded to take some food. +</P> + +<P> +The death of Petrowitz took place in 1719, and the Czar continued to live +and reign himself after this period for about sixteen [Transcriber's +note: six? (Peter died in 1725)] years. During all that time he went on +vigorously and successfully in completing the reforms which he had +undertaken in the internal condition of his empire, and increasing the +power and influence of his government among surrounding nations. He had +no farther serious difficulty with the opponents of his policy, though he +was always under apprehensions that difficulties might arise after his +death. He had the right, according to the ancient constitution of the +monarchy, to designate his own successor, choosing for this purpose +either one of his sons or any other person. And now, since both his sons +were dead, his mind revolved anxiously the question what provision he +should make for the government of the empire after his decease. He +finally concluded to leave it in the hands of Catharine herself, and, to +prepare the way for this, he resolved to cause her to be solemnly crowned +empress during his lifetime. +</P> + +<P> +As a preliminary measure, however, before publicly announcing Catharine +as his intended successor, Peter required all the officers of the empire, +both civil and military, and all the nobles and other chief people of the +country, to subscribe a solemn declaration and oath that they +acknowledged the right of the Czar to appoint his successor, and that +after his death they would sustain and defend whomsoever he should name +as their emperor and sovereign. +</P> + +<P> +This declaration, printed forms of which were sent all over the kingdom, +was signed by the people very readily. No one, however, imagined that +Catharine would be the person on whom the Czar's choice would fall. It +was generally supposed that a certain Prince Naraskin would be appointed +to the succession. The Czar himself said nothing of his intention, but +waited until the time should arrive for carrying it into effect. +</P> + +<P> +The first step to be taken in carrying the measure into effect was to +issue a grand proclamation announcing his design and explaining the +reasons for it. In this proclamation Peter cited many instances from +history in which great sovereigns had raised their consorts to a seat on +the throne beside them, and then he recapitulated the great services +which Catharine had rendered to him and to the state, which made her +peculiarly deserving of such an honor. She had been a tried and devoted +friend and counselor to him, he said, for many years. She had shared his +labors and fatigues, had accompanied him on his journeys, and had even +repeatedly encountered all the discomforts and dangers of the camp in +following him in his military campaigns. By so doing she had rendered +him the most essential service, and on one occasion she had been the +means of saving his whole army from destruction. He therefore declared +his intention of joining her with himself in the supreme power, and to +celebrate this event by a solemn coronation. +</P> + +<P> +The place where the coronation was to be performed was, of course, the +ancient city of Moscow, and commands were issued to all the great +dignitaries of Church and state, and invitations to all the foreign +embassadors, to repair to that city, and be ready on the appointed day to +take part in the ceremony. +</P> + +<P> +It would be impossible to describe or to conceive, without witnessing it, +the gorgeousness and splendor of the spectacle which the coronation +afforded. The scene of the principal ceremony was the Cathedral, which +was most magnificently decorated for the occasion. The whole interior of +the building was illumined with an immense number of wax candles, +contained in chandeliers and branches of silver and gold, which were +suspended from the arches or attached to the walls. The steps of the +altar, and all that part of the pavement of the church over which the +Czarina would have to walk in the performance of the ceremonies, were +covered with rich tapestry embroidered with gold, and the seats on which +the bishops and other ecclesiastical dignitaries were to sit were covered +with crimson cloth. +</P> + +<P> +The ceremony of the coronation itself was to be performed on a dais, or +raised platform, which was set up in the middle of the church. This +platform, with the steps leading to it, was carpeted with crimson velvet, +and it was surmounted by a splendid canopy made of silk, embroidered with +gold. The canopy was ornamented, too, on every side with fringes, +ribbons, tufts, tassels, and gold lace, in the richest manner. Under the +canopy was the double throne for the emperor and empress, and near it +seats for the royal princesses, all covered with crimson velvet trimmed +with gold. +</P> + +<P> +When the appointed hour arrived the procession was formed at the royal +palace, and moved toward the Cathedral through a dense and compact mass +of spectators that every where thronged the way. Every window was +filled, and the house-tops, wherever there was space for a footing, were +crowded. There were troops of guards mounted on horseback and splendidly +caparisoned—there were bands of music, and heralds, and great officers +of state, bearing successively, on cushions ornamented with gold and +jewels, the imperial mantle, the globe, the sceptre, and the crown. In +this way the royal party proceeded to the Cathedral, and there, after +going through a great many ceremonies, which, from the magnificence of +the dresses, of the banners, and the various regal emblems that were +displayed, was very gorgeous to behold, but which it would be tedious to +describe, the crown was placed upon Catharine's head, the moment being +signalized to all Moscow by the ringing of bells, the music of trumpets +and drums, and the firing of cannon. +</P> + +<P> +The ceremonies were continued through two days by several other imposing +processions, and were closed on the night of the second day by a grand +banquet held in a spacious hall which was magnificently decorated for the +occasion. And while the regal party within the hall were being served +with the richest viands from golden vessels, the populace without were +feasted by means of oxen roasted whole in the streets, and public +fountains made to run with exhaustless supplies of wine. +</P> + +<P> +The coronation of Catharine as empress was not a mere empty ceremony. +There were connected with it formal legal arrangements for transferring +the supreme power into her hands on the death of the Czar. Nor were +these arrangements made any too soon; for it was in less than a year +after that time that the Czar, in the midst of great ceremonies of +rejoicing, connected with the betrothal of one of his daughters, the +Princess Anna Petrowna, to a foreign duke, was attacked suddenly by a +very painful disease, and, after suffering great distress and anguish for +many days, he at length expired. His death took place on the 28th of +January, 1725. +</P> + +<P> +One of his daughters, the Princess Natalia Petrowna, the third of +Catharine's children, died a short time after her father, and the bodies +of both parent and child were interred together at the same funeral +ceremony, which was conducted with the utmost possible pomp and parade. +The obsequies were so protracted that it was more than six weeks from the +death of the Czar before the bodies were finally committed to the tomb; +and a volume might be filled with an account of the processions, the +ceremonies, the prayers, the chantings, the costumes, the plumes and +trappings of horses, the sledges decked in mourning, the requiems sung, +the salvos of artillery fired, and all the various other displays and +doings connected with the occasion. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +Thus was brought to an end the earthly personal career of Peter the +Great. He well deserves his title, for he was certainly one of the +greatest as well as one of the most extraordinary men that ever lived. +Himself half a savage, he undertook to civilize twenty millions of +people, and he pursued the work during his whole lifetime through +dangers, difficulties, and discouragements which it required a surprising +degree of determination and energy to surmount. He differs from other +great military monarchs that have appeared from time to time in the +world's history, and by their exploits have secured for themselves the +title of The Great, in this, that, while they acquired their renown by +conquests gained over foreign nations, which, in most cases, after the +death of their conquerors, lapsed again into their original condition, +leaving no permanent results behind, the triumphs which Peter achieved +were the commencement of a work of internal improvement and reform which +is now, after the lapse of a century and a half since he commenced it, +still going on. The work is, in fact, advancing at the present day with +perhaps greater and more successful progress than ever before. +</P> + +<P> +Notwithstanding the stern severity of Peter's character, the terrible +violence of his passions, and the sort of savage grandeur which marked +all his great determinations and plans, there was a certain vein of +playfulness running through his mind; and, when he was in a jocose or +merry humor, no one could be more jocose and merry than he. The interest +which he took in the use of tools, and in working with his own hands at +various handicrafts—his notion of entering the army as a drummer, the +navy as a midshipman, and rising gravely, by regular promotion in both +services, through all the grades—the way in which he often amused +himself, when on his travels, in going about in disguise among all sorts +of people, and a thousand other circumstances which are related of him by +historians, are indications of what might be called a sort of boyish +spirit, which strongly marked his character, and was seen continually +coming out into action during the whole course of his life. +</P> + +<P> +It was only two years before his death that a striking instance of this +occurred. The first vessel that was built in Russia was a small skiff, +which was planned and built almost entirely by Peter's own hands. This +skiff was built at Moscow, where it remained for twenty or thirty years, +an object all this time, in Peter's mind, of special affection and +regard. At length, when the naval power of the empire was firmly +established, Peter conceived the idea of removing this skiff from Moscow +to Petersburg, and consecrating it solemnly there as a sort of souvenir +to be preserved forever in commemoration of the small beginnings from +which all the naval greatness of the empire had sprung. The name which +he had given to the skiff was The Little Grandfather, the name denoting +that the little craft, frail and insignificant as it was, was the parent +and progenitor of all the great frigates and ships of the line which were +then at anchor in the Roads about Cronstadt and off the mouth of the Neva. +</P> + +<P> +A grand ceremony was accordingly arranged for the "consecration of the +Little Grandfather." The little vessel was brought in triumph from +Moscow to Petersburg, where it was put on board a sort of barge or +galliot to be taken to Cronstadt. All the great officers of state and +all the foreign ministers were invited to be present at the consecration. +The company embarked on board yachts provided for them, and went down the +river following the Little Grandfather, which was borne on its galliot in +the van—drums beating, trumpets sounding, and banners waving all the way. +</P> + +<P> +The next day the whole fleet, which had been collected in the bay for +this purpose, was arranged in the form of an amphitheatre. The Little +Grandfather was let down from his galliot into the water. The emperor +went on board of it. He was accompanied by the admirals and vice +admirals of the fleet, who were to serve as crew. The admiral stationed +himself at the helm to steer, and the vice admirals took the oars. These +grand officials were not required, however, to do much hard work at +rowing, for there were two shallops provided, manned by strong men, to +tow the skiff. In this way the skiff rowed to and fro over the sea, and +then passed along the fleet, saluted every where by the shouts of the +crews upon the yards and in the rigging, and by the guns of the ships. +Three thousand guns were discharged by the ships in these salvos in honor +of their humble progenitor. The Little Grandfather returned the salutes +of the guns with great spirit by means of three small swivels which had +been placed on board. +</P> + +<P> +The Empress Catharine saw the show from an elevation on the shore, where +she sat with the ladies of her court in a pavilion or tent which had been +erected for the purpose. +</P> + +<P> +At the close of the ceremonies the skiff was deposited with great +ceremony in the place which had been prepared to receive it in the Castle +of Cronstadt, and there, when one more day had been spent in banquetings +and rejoicings, the company left the Little Grandfather to his repose, +and returned in their yachts to the town. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +Not many days after the death of Peter, Catharine, in accordance with the +arrangements that Peter had previously made, was proclaimed empress by a +solemn act of the senate and ministers of state, and she at once entered +upon the exercise of the sovereign power. She signalized her accession +by a great many acts of clemency—liberating prisoners, recalling exiles, +removing bodies from gibbets and wheels, and heads from poles, and +delivering them to friends for burial, remitting the sentence of death +pronounced upon political offenders, and otherwise mitigating and +assuaging sufferings which Peter's remorseless ideas of justice and +retribution had caused. Catharine did not, however, live long to +exercise her beneficial power. She died suddenly about two years after +her husband, and was buried with great pomp in a grand monumental tomb in +one of the churches of St. Petersburg, which she had been engaged ever +since his death in constructing for him. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR><BR> +<hr class="full" noshade> + +<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PETER THE GREAT***</p> +<p>******* This file should be named 21889-h.txt or 21889-h.zip *******</p> +<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> +<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/1/8/8/21889">http://www.gutenberg.org/2/1/8/8/21889</a></p> +<p>Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed.</p> + +<p>Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Peter the Great + + +Author: Jacob Abbott + + + +Release Date: June 21, 2007 [eBook #21889] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PETER THE GREAT*** + + +E-text prepared by Al Haines + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 21889-h.htm or 21889-h.zip: + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/1/8/8/21889/21889-h/21889-h.htm) + or + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/1/8/8/21889/21889-h.zip) + + + + + +Makers of History + +PETER THE GREAT + +by + +JACOB ABBOTT + +With Engravings + + + + + + + +[Illustration: PORTRAIT OF PETER THE GREAT.] + + + +New York and London +Harper & Brothers Publishers +1902 + +Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight +hundred and fifty-nine, by +Harper & Brothers, +In the Clerk's office of the District Court of the Southern District of +New York. + +Copyright, 1887, by Benjamin Vaughan Abbott, Austin Abbott, Lyman +Abbott, and Edward Abbott. + + + + +PREFACE. + +There are very few persons who have not heard of the fame of Peter the +Great, the founder, as he is generally regarded by mankind, of Russian +civilization. The celebrity, however, of the great Muscovite sovereign +among young persons is due in a great measure to the circumstance of +his having repaired personally to Holland, in the course of his efforts +to introduce the industrial arts among his people, in order to study +himself the art and mystery of shipbuilding, and of his having worked +with his own hands in a ship-yard there. The little shop where Peter +pursued these practical studies still stands in Saardam, a +ship-building town not far from Amsterdam. The building is of wood, +and is now much decayed; but, to preserve it from farther injury, it +has been incased in a somewhat larger building of brick, and it is +visited annually by great numbers of curious travelers. + +The whole history of Peter, as might be expected from the indications +of character developed by this incident, forms a narrative that is full +of interest and instruction for all. + + + +[Transcriber's note: In the original book, each page had a header +summarizing the contents of that page. These headers have been +collected into introductory paragraphs at the start of each chapter. +The headers also contain the year in which the events on the page took +place. These dates have been placed between the chapter title and the +introductory paragraph, in the form of a date range, e.g., for Chapter +I, "1676-1684."] + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +Chapter + + I. THE PRINCESS SOPHIA + II. THE PRINCESS'S DOWNFALL + III. THE CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH OF PETER + IV. LE FORT AND MENZIKOFF + V. COMMENCEMENT OF THE REIGN + VI. THE EMPEROR'S TOUR + VII. CONCLUSION OF THE TOUR + VIII. THE REBELLION + IX. REFORMS + X. THE BATTLE OF NARVA + XI. THE BUILDING OF ST. PETERSBURG + XII. THE REVOLT OF MAZEPPA + XIII. THE BATTLE OF PULTOWA + XIV. THE EMPRESS CATHARINE + XV. THE PRINCE ALEXIS + XVI. THE FLIGHT OF ALEXIS + XVII. THE TRIAL + XVIII. THE CONDEMNATION AND DEATH OF ALEXIS + XIX. CONCLUSION + + + + +ENGRAVINGS. + + + PORTRAIT OF PETER . . . . . . . . . . . . _Frontispiece_. + + THE ESCAPE + + MENZIKOFF SELLING HIS CAKES + + PETER AMONG THE SHIPPING + + PETER TURNING EXECUTIONER + + MAP OF THE RUSSIAN AND SWEDISH FRONTIER + + STRATAGEMS OF THE SWEDES + + SITUATION OF ST. PETERSBURG + + FLIGHT OF THE KING OF SWEDEN + + THE EMPRESS CATHARINE + + THE CZAR'S VISIT TO ALEXIS IN PRISON + + + + +PETER THE GREAT. + + +CHAPTER I. + +THE PRINCESS SOPHIA. + +1676-1684 + +Parentage of Peter--His father's double marriage--Death of his +father--The princesses--Their places of seclusion--Theodore and +John--Sophia uneasy in the convent--Her request--Her probable +motives--Her success--Increase of her influence--Jealousies--Parties +formed--The imperial guards--Their character and +influence--Dangers--Sophia and the soldiers--Sophia's continued +success--Death of Theodore--Peter proclaimed--Plots formed by +Sophia--Revolution--Means of exciting the people--Poisoning--Effect of +the stories that were circulating--Peter and his mother--The Monastery of +the Trinity--Natalia's flight--Narrow escape of Peter--Commotion in the +city--Sophia is unsuccessful--Couvansky's schemes--Sophia's attempt to +appease the soldiers--No effect produced--Couvansky's views--His plan of +a marriage for his son--Indignation of Sophia--A stratagem--Couvansky +falls into the snare--Excitement produced by his +death--Galitzin--Measures adopted by him--They are successful + + +The circumstances under which Peter the Great came to the throne form a +very remarkable--indeed, in some respects, quite a romantic story. + +The name of his father, who reigned as Emperor of Russia from 1645 to +1676, was Alexis Michaelowitz. In the course of his life, this Emperor +Alexis was twice married. By his first wife he had two sons, whose names +were Theodore and John,[1] and four daughters. The names of the +daughters were Sophia, Catharine, Mary, and Sediassa. By his second wife +he had two children--a son and a daughter. The name of the son was +Peter, and that of the daughter was Natalia Alexowna. Of all these +children, those with whom we have most to do are the two oldest sons, +Theodore and John, and the oldest daughter, Sophia, by the first wife; +and Peter, the oldest son by the second wife, the hero of this history. +The name of the second wife, Peter's mother, was Natalia. + +Of course, Theodore, at his father's death, was heir to the throne. Next +to him in the line of succession came John; and next after John came +Peter, the son of the second wife; for, by the ancient laws and usages of +the Muscovite monarchy, the daughters were excluded from the succession +altogether. Indeed, not only were the daughters excluded themselves from +the throne, but special precautions were taken to prevent their ever +having sons to lay claim to it. They were forbidden to marry, and, in +order to make it impossible that they should ever violate this rule, they +were all placed in convents before they arrived at a marriageable age, +and were compelled to pass their lives there in seclusion. Of course, +the convents where these princesses were lodged were very richly and +splendidly endowed, and the royal inmates enjoyed within the walls every +comfort and luxury which could possibly be procured for them in such +retreats, and which could tend in any measure to reconcile them to being +forever debarred from all the pleasures of love and the sweets of +domestic life. + +Now it so happened that both Theodore and John were feeble and sickly +children, while Peter was robust and strong. The law of descent was, +however, inexorable, and, on the death of Alexis, Theodore ascended to +the throne. Besides, even if it had been possible to choose among the +sons of Alexis, Peter was at this time altogether too young to reign, for +at his father's death he was only about four years old. He was born in +1672, and his father died in 1676. + +Theodore was at this time about sixteen. Of course, however, being so +young, and his health being so infirm, he could not take any active part +in the administration of government, but was obliged to leave every thing +in the hands of his counselors and ministers of state, who managed +affairs as they thought proper, though they acted always in Theodore's +name. + +There were a great many persons who were ambitious of having a share of +the power which the young Czar thus left in the hands of his +subordinates; and, among these, perhaps the most ambitious of all was the +Princess Sophia, Theodore's sister, who was all this time shut up in the +convent to which the rules and regulations of imperial etiquette +consigned her. She was very uneasy in this confinement, and wished very +much to get released, thinking that if she could do so she should be able +to make herself of considerable consequence in the management of public +affairs. So she made application to the authorities to be allowed to go +to the palace to see and take care of her brother in his sickness. This +application was at length complied with, and Sophia went to the palace. +Here she devoted herself with so much assiduity to the care of her +brother, watching constantly at his bedside, and suffering no one to +attend upon him or to give him medicines but herself, that she won not +only his heart, but the hearts of all the nobles of the court, by her +seemingly disinterested sisterly affection. + +Indeed, it is not by any means impossible that Sophia might have been at +first disinterested and sincere in her desire to minister to the wants of +her brother, and to solace and comfort him in his sickness. But, however +this may have been at the outset, the result was that, after a time, she +acquired so much popularity and influence that she became quite an +important personage at court. She was a very talented and accomplished +young woman, and was possessed, moreover, of a strong and masculine +character. Yet she was very agreeable and insinuating in her manners; +and she conversed so affably, and at the same time so intelligently, with +all the grandees of the empire, as they came by turns to visit her +brother in his sick chamber, that they all formed a very high estimate of +her character. + +She also obtained a great ascendency over the mind of Theodore himself, +and this, of itself, very much increased her importance in the eyes of +the courtiers. They all began to think that, if they wished to obtain +any favor of the emperor, it was essential that they should stand well +with the princess. Thus every one, finding how fast she was rising in +influence, wished to have the credit of being her earliest and most +devoted friend; so they all vied with each other in efforts to aid in +aggrandizing her. + +Things went on in this way very prosperously for a time; but at length, +as might have been anticipated, suspicions and jealousies began to arise, +and, after a time, the elements of a party opposed to the princess began +to be developed. These consisted chiefly of the old nobles of the +empire, the heads of the great families who had been accustomed, under +the emperors, to wield the chief power of the state. These persons were +naturally jealous of the ascendency which they saw that the princess was +acquiring, and they began to plot together in order to devise means for +restricting or controlling it. + +But, besides these nobles, there was another very important power at the +imperial court at this time, namely, the army. In all despotic +governments, it is necessary for the sovereign to have a powerful +military force under his command, to maintain him in his place; and it is +necessary for him to keep this force as separate and independent as +possible from the people. There was in Russia at this time a very +powerful body of troops, which had been organized by the emperors, and +was maintained by them as an imperial guard. The name of this body of +troops was the Strelitz; but, in order not to encumber the narrative +unnecessarily with foreign words, I shall call them simply the Guards. + +Of course, a body of troops like these, organized and maintained by a +despotic dynasty for the express purpose, in a great measure, of +defending the sovereign against his subjects, becomes in time a very +important element of power in the state. The officers form a class by +themselves, separate from, and jealous of the nobles of the country; and +this state of things has often led to very serious collisions and +outbreaks. The guards have sometimes proved too strong for the dynasty +that created them, and have made their own generals the real monarchs of +the country. When such a state of things as this exists, the government +which results is called a military despotism. This happened in the days +of the Roman empire. The army, which was originally formed by the +regular authorities of the country, and kept for a time in strict +subjection to them, finally became too powerful to be held any longer +under control, and they made their own leading general emperor for many +successive reigns, thus wholly subverting the republic which originally +organized and maintained them. + +It was such a military body as this which now possessed great influence +and power at Moscow. The Princess Sophia, knowing how important it would +be to her to secure the influence of such a power upon her side, paid +great attention to the officers, and omitted nothing in her power which +was calculated to increase her popularity with the whole corps. The +result was that the Guards became her friends, while a great many of the +old nobles were suspicious and jealous of her, and were beginning to +devise means to curtail her increasing influence. + +But, notwithstanding all that they could do, the influence of Sophia +increased continually, until the course of public affairs came to be, in +fact, almost entirely under her direction. The chief minister of state +was a certain Prince Galitzin, who was almost wholly devoted to her +interests. Indeed, it was through her influence that he was appointed to +his office. Things continued in this state for about six years, and +then, at length, Theodore was taken suddenly sick. It soon became +evident that he could not live. On his dying bed he designated Peter as +his successor, passing over his brother John. The reason for this was +that John was so extremely feeble and infirm that he seemed to be wholly +unfit to reign over such an empire. Besides various other maladies under +which he suffered, he was afflicted with epilepsy, a disease which +rendered it wholly unsuitable that he should assume any burdens whatever +of responsibility and care. + +It is probable that it was through the influence of some of the nobles +who were opposed to Sophia that Theodore was induced thus to designate +Peter as his successor. However this may be, Peter, though then only ten +years old, was proclaimed emperor by the nobles immediately after +Theodore's death. Sophia was much disappointed, and became greatly +indignant at these proceedings. John was her own brother, while Peter, +being a son of the second wife, was only her half-brother. John, too, on +account of his feeble health, would probably never be able to take any +charge of the government, and she thought that, if he had been allowed to +succeed Theodore, she herself might have retained the real power in her +hands, as regent, as long as she lived; whereas Peter promised to have +strength and vigor to govern the empire himself in a few years, and, in +the mean time, while he remained in his minority, it was natural to +expect that he would be under the influence of persons connected with his +own branch of the family, who would be hostile to her, and that thus her +empire would come to an end. + +So she determined to resist the transfer of the supreme power to Peter. +She secretly engaged the Guards on her side. The commander-in-chief of +the Guards was an officer named Couvansky. He readily acceded to her +proposals, and, in conjunction with him, she planned and organized a +revolution. + +In order to exasperate the people and the Guards, and excite them to the +proper pitch of violence, Sophia and Couvansky spread a report that the +late emperor had not died a natural death, but had been poisoned. This +murder had been committed, they said, by a party who hoped, by setting +Theodore and his brother John aside, to get the power into their hands in +the name of Peter, whom they intended to make emperor, in violation of +the rights of John, Theodore's true heir. There was a plan also formed, +they said, to poison all the principal officers of the Guards, who, the +conspirators knew, would oppose their wicked proceedings, and perhaps +prevent the fulfillment of them if they were not put out of the way. The +poison by which Theodore had been put to death was administered, they +said, by two physicians who attended upon him in his sickness, and who +had been bribed to give him poison with his medicine. The Guards were to +have been destroyed by means of poison, which was to have been mixed with +the brandy and the beer that was distributed to them on the occasion of +the funeral. + +These stories produced a great excitement among the Guards, and also +among a considerable portion of the people of Moscow. The guards came +out into the streets and around the palaces in great force. They first +seized the two physicians who were accused of having poisoned the +emperor, and killed them on the spot. Then they took a number of nobles +of high rank, and officers of state, who were supposed to be the leaders +of the party in favor of Peter, and the instigators of the murder of +Theodore, and, dragging them out into the public squares, slew them +without mercy. Some they cut to pieces. Others they threw down from the +wall of the imperial palace upon the soldiers' pikes below, which the men +held up for the purpose of receiving them. + +Peter was at this time with his mother in the palace. Natalia was +exceedingly alarmed, not for herself, but for her son. As soon as the +revolution broke out she made her escape from the palace, and set out +with Peter in her arms to fly to a celebrated family retreat of the +emperor's, called the Monastery of the Trinity. This monastery was a +sort of country palace of the Czar's, which, besides being a pleasant +rural retreat, was also, from its religious character, a sanctuary where +fugitives seeking refuge in it might, under all ordinary circumstances, +feel themselves beyond the reach of violence and of every species of +hostile molestation. + +Natalia fled with Peter and a few attendants to this refuge, hotly +pursued, however, all the way by a body of the Guards. If the fugitives +had been overtaken on the way, both mother and son would doubtless have +been cut to pieces without mercy. As it was, they very narrowly escaped, +for when Natalia arrived at the convent the soldiers were close upon her. +Two of them followed her in before the doors could be closed. Natalia +rushed into the church, which formed the centre of the convent inclosure, +and took refuge with her child at the foot of the altar. The soldiers +pursued her there, brandishing their swords, and were apparently on the +point of striking the fatal blow; but the sacredness of the place seemed +to arrest them at the last moment, and, after pausing an instant with +their uplifted swords in their hands, and uttering imprecations against +their victims for having thus escaped them, they sullenly retired. + +In the mean time the commotion in the city went on, and for several days +no one could foresee how it would end. At length a sort of compromise +was effected, and it was agreed by the two parties that John should be +proclaimed Czar, not alone, but in conjunction with his brother Peter, +the regency to remain for the present, as it had been, in the hands of +Sophia. Thus Sophia really gained all her ends; for the retaining of +Peter's name, as nominally Czar in conjunction with his brother, was of +no consequence, since her party had proved itself the strongest in the +struggle, and all the real power remained in her hands. She had obtained +this triumph mainly through Couvansky and the Guards; and now, having +accomplished her purposes by means of their military violence, she +wished, of course, that they should retire to their quarters, and resume +their habits of subordination, and of submission to the civil authority. +But this they would not do. Couvansky, having found how important a +personage he might become through the agency of the terrible organization +which was under his direction and control, was not disposed at once to +lay aside his power; and the soldiers, intoxicated with the delights of +riot and pillage, could not now be easily restrained. Sophia found, as a +great many other despotic rulers have done in similar cases, that she had +evoked a power which she could not now control. Couvansky and the troops +under his command continued their ravages in the city, plundering the +rich houses of every thing that could gratify their appetites and +passions, and murdering all whom they imagined to belong to the party +opposed to them. + +Sophia first tried to appease them and reduce them to order by +conciliatory measures. From the Monastery of the Trinity, to which she +had herself now retreated for safety, she sent a message to Couvansky and +to the other chiefs of the army, thanking them for the zeal which they +had shown in revenging the death of her brother, the late emperor, and in +vindicating the rights of the true successor, John, and promising to +remember, and in due time to reward, the great services which they had +rendered to the state. She added that, now, since the end which they all +had in view in the movement which they had made had been entirely and +happily accomplished, the soldiers should be restrained from any farther +violence, and recalled to their quarters. + +This message had no effect. Indeed, Couvansky, finding how great the +power was of the corps which he commanded, began to conceive the idea +that he might raise himself to the supreme command. He thought that the +Guards were all devoted to him, and would do whatever he required of +them. He held secret conferences with the principal officers under his +command, and endeavored to prepare their minds for the revolution which +he contemplated by representing to them that neither of the princes who +had been proclaimed were fit to reign. John, he said, was almost an +imbecile, on account of the numerous and hopeless bodily infirmities to +which he was subject. Peter was yet a mere boy; and then, besides, even +when he should become a man, he would very likely be subject to the same +diseases with his brother. These men would never have either the +intelligence to appreciate or the power to reward such services as the +Guards were capable of rendering to the state; whereas he, their +commander, and one of their own body, would be both able and disposed to +do them ample justice. + +Couvansky also conceived the design of securing and perpetuating the +power which he hoped thus to acquire through the army by a marriage of +his son with one of the princesses of the imperial family. He selected +Catharine, who was Sophia's sister--the one next in age to her--for the +intended bride. He cautiously proposed this plan to Sophia, hoping that +she might be induced to approve and favor it, in which case he thought +that every obstacle would be removed from his way, and the ends of his +ambition would be easily and permanently attained. + +But Sophia was perfectly indignant at such a proposal. It seemed to her +the height of presumption and audacity for a mere general in the army to +aspire to a connection by marriage with the imperial family, and to a +transfer, in consequence, of the supreme power to himself and to his +descendants forever. She resolved immediately to adopt vigorous measures +to defeat these schemes in the most effectual manner. She determined to +kill Couvansky. But, as the force which he commanded was so great that +she could not hope to accomplish any thing by an open contest, she +concluded to resort to stratagem. She accordingly pretended to favor +Couvansky's plans, and seemed to be revolving in her mind the means of +carrying them into effect. Among other things, she soon announced a +grand celebration of the Princess Catharine's fete-day, to be held at the +Monastery of the Trinity, and invited Couvansky to attend it.[2] +Couvansky joyfully accepted this invitation, supposing that the occasion +would afford him an admirable opportunity to advance his views in respect +to his son. So Couvansky, accompanied by his son, set out on the +appointed day from Moscow to proceed to the monastery. Not suspecting +any treachery, he was accompanied by only a small escort. On the road he +was waylaid by a body of two hundred horsemen, whom Galitzin, Sophia's +minister of state, had sent to the spot. Couvansky's guard was at once +overpowered, and both he and his son were taken prisoners. They were +hurried at once to a house, where preparations for receiving them had +already been made, and there, without any delay, sentence of death +against them both, on a charge of treason, was read to them, and their +heads were cut off on the spot. + +The news of this execution spread with great rapidity, and it produced, +of course, an intense excitement and commotion among all the Guards as +fast as it became known to them. They threatened vengeance against the +government for having thus assassinated, as they expressed it, their +chief and father. They soon put themselves in motion, and began +murdering, plundering, and destroying more furiously than ever. The +violence which they displayed led to a reaction. A party was formed, +even among the Guards, of persons that were disposed to discountenance +these excesses, and even to submit to the government. The minister +Galitzin took advantage of these dissensions to open a communication with +those who were disposed to return to their duty. He managed the affair +so well that, in the end, the great body of the soldiers were brought +over, and, finally, they themselves, of their own accord, slew the +officers who had been most active in the revolt, and offered their heads +to the minister in token of their submission. They also implored pardon +of the government for the violence and excess into which they had been +led. Of course, this pardon was readily granted. The places of +Couvansky and of the other officers who had been slain were filled by new +appointments, who were in the interest of the Princess Sophia, and the +whole corps returned to their duty. Order was now soon fully restored in +Moscow, rendering it safe for Sophia and her court to leave the monastery +and return to the royal palace in the town. Galitzin was promoted to a +higher office, and invested with more extended powers than he had yet +held, and Sophia found herself finally established as the real sovereign +of the country, though, of course, she reigned, in the name of her +brothers. + + + +[1] The Russian form of these names is Foedor [Transcriber's note: +Feodor?] and Ivan. + +[2] These celebrations were somewhat similar to the birthday celebrations +of England and America, only the day on which they were held was not the +birth-day of the lady, but the fete-day, as it was called, of her patron +saint--that is, of the saint whose name she bore. All the names for +girls used in those countries where the Greek or the Catholic Church +prevails are names of saints, each one of whom has in the calendar a +certain day set apart as her fete-day. Each girl considers the saint +from whom she is named as her patron saint, and the fete-day of this +saint, instead of her own birth-day, is the anniversary which is +celebrated in honor of her. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +THE PRINCESS'S DOWNFALL. + +1684-1869 + +Sophia at the height of her power--Military expeditions--The Cham of +Tartary--Mazeppa--Origin and history--His famous punishment--Subsequent +history--The war unsuccessful--Sophia's artful policy--Rewards and +honors to the army--The opposition--Their plans--Reasons for the +proposed marriage--The intended wife--Motives of politicians--Results +of Peter's marriage--Peter's country house--Return of Galitzin--The +princess's alarm--The Cossacks--Sophia's plot--The commander of the +Guards--Prince Galitzin--Details of the plot--Manner in which the plot +was discovered--Messengers dispatched--The sentinels--The detachment +arrives--Peter's place of refuge--Sophia's pretenses--The +Guards--Sophia attempts to secure them--They adhere to the cause of +Peter--Sophia's alarm--Her first deputation--Failure of the +deputation--Sophia appeals to the patriarch--His mission +fails--Sophia's despair--Her final plans--She is repulsed from the +monastery--The surrender of Thekelavitaw demanded--He is brought to +trial--He is put to the torture--His confessions--Value of them--Modes +of torture applied--Various punishments inflicted--Galitzin is +banished--His son shares his fate--Punishment of Thekelavitaw--Decision +in respect to Sophia--Peter's public entry into Moscow--He gains sole +power--Character and condition of John--Subsequent history of Sophia + + +The Princess Sophia was now in full possession of power, so that she +reigned supreme in the palaces and in the capital, while, of course, +the ordinary administration of the affairs of state, and the relations +of the empire with foreign nations, were left to Galitzin and the other +ministers. It was in 1684 that she secured possession of this power, +and in 1689 her regency came to an end, so that she was, in fact, the +ruler of the Russian empire for a period of about five years. + +During this time one or two important military expeditions were set on +foot by her government. The principal was a campaign in the southern +part of the empire for the conquest of the Crimea, which country, +previous to that time, had belonged to the Turks. Poland was at that +period a very powerful kingdom, and the Poles, having become involved +in a war with the Turks, proposed to the Russians, or Muscovites, as +they were then generally called, to join them in an attempt to conquer +the Crimea. The Tartars who inhabited the Crimea and the country to +the northeastward of it were on the side of the Turks, so that the +Russians had two enemies to contend with. + +The supreme ruler of the Tartars was a chieftain called a Cham. He was +a potentate of great power and dignity, superior, indeed, to the Czars +who ruled in Muscovy. In fact, there had been an ancient treaty by +which this superiority of the Cham was recognized and acknowledged in a +singular way--one which illustrates curiously the ideas and manners of +those times. The treaty stipulated, among other things, that whenever +the Czar and the Cham should chance to meet, the Czar should hold the +Cham's stirrup while he mounted his horse, and also feed the horse with +oats out of his cap. + +In the war between the Muscovites and the Tartars for the possession of +the Crimea, a certain personage appeared, who has since been made very +famous by the poetry of Byron. It was Mazeppa, the unfortunate +chieftain whose frightful ride through the tangled thickets of an +uncultivated country, bound naked to a wild horse, was described with +so much graphic power by the poet, and has been so often represented in +paintings and engravings. + +Mazeppa was a Polish gentleman. He was brought up as a page in the +family of the King of Poland. When he became a man he mortally +offended a certain Polish nobleman by some improprieties in which he +became involved with the nobleman's wife. The husband caused him to be +seized and cruelly scourged, and then to be bound upon the back of a +wild, ungovernable horse. When all was ready the horse was turned +loose upon the Ukrain, and, terrified with the extraordinary burden +which he felt upon his back, and uncontrolled by bit or rein, he rushed +madly on through the wildest recesses of the forest, until at length he +fell down exhausted with terror and fatigue. Some Cossack peasants +found and rescued Mazeppa, and took care of him in one of their huts +until he recovered from his wounds. + +Mazeppa was a well-educated man, and highly accomplished in the arts of +war as they were practiced in those days. He soon acquired great +popularity among the Cossacks, and, in the end, rose to be a chieftain +among them, and he distinguished himself greatly in these very +campaigns in the Crimea, fought by the Muscovites against the Turks and +Tartars during the regency of the Princess Sophia. + +If the war thus waged by the government of the empress had been +successful, it would have greatly strengthened the position of her +party in Moscow, and increased her own power; but it was not +successful. Prince Galitzin, who had the chief command of the +expedition, was obliged, after all, to withdraw his troops from the +country, and make a very unsatisfactory peace; but he did not dare to +allow the true result of the expedition to be known in Moscow, for fear +of the dissatisfaction which, he felt convinced, would be occasioned +there by such intelligence; and the distance was so great, and the +means of communication in those days were so few, that it was +comparatively easy to falsify the accounts. So, after he had made +peace with the Tartars, and began to draw off his army, he sent +couriers to Moscow to the Czars, and also to the King in Poland, with +news of great victories which he had obtained against the Tartars, of +conquests which he made in their territories, and of his finally having +compelled them to make peace on terms extremely favorable. The +Princess Sophia, as soon as this news reached her in Moscow, ordered +that arrangements should be made for great public rejoicings throughout +the empire on account of the victories which had been obtained. +According to the custom, too, of the Muscovite government, in cases +where great victories had been won, the council drew up a formal letter +of thanks and commendations to the officers and soldiers of the army, +and sent it to them by a special messenger, with promotions and other +honors for the chiefs, and rewards in money for the men. The princess +and her government hoped, by these means, to conceal the bad success of +their enterprise, and to gain, instead of losing, credit and strength +with the people. + +But during all this time a party opposed to Sophia and her plans had +been gradually forming, and it was now increasing in numbers and +influence every day. The men of this party naturally gathered around +Peter, intending to make him their leader. Peter had now grown up to +be a young man. In the next chapter we shall give some account of the +manner in which his childhood and early youth were spent; but he was +now about eighteen years old, and the party who adhered to him formed +the plan of marrying him. So they proceeded to choose him a wife. + +The reasons which led them to advocate this measure were, of course, +altogether political. They thought that if Peter were to be married, +and to have children, all the world would see that the crown must +necessarily descend in his family, since John had no children, and he +was so sickly and feeble that it was not probable that even he himself +would long survive. They knew very well, therefore, that the marriage +of Peter and the birth of an heir would turn all men's thoughts to him +as the real personage whose favor it behooved them to cultivate; and +this, they supposed, would greatly increase his importance, and so add +to the strength of the party that acted in his name. + +It turned out just as they had anticipated. The wife whom the +councilors chose for Peter was a young lady of noble birth, the +daughter of one of the great boiars, as they were called, of the +empire. Her name was Ottokessa Federowna. The Princess Sophia did all +in her power to prevent the match, but her efforts were of no avail. +Peter was married, and the event greatly increased his importance among +the nobles and among the people, and augmented the power and influence +of his party. In all cases of this kind, where a contest is going on +between rival claimants to a throne, or rival dynasties, there are some +persons, though not many, who are governed in their conduct, in respect +to the side which they take, by principles of honor and duty, and of +faithful adherence to what they suppose to be the right. But a vast +majority of courtiers and politicians in all countries and in all ages +are only anxious to find out, not which side is right, but which is +likely to be successful. Accordingly, in this case, as the marriage of +Peter made it still more probable than it was before that he would in +the end secure to his branch of the family the supreme power, it +greatly increased the tendency among the nobles to pay their court to +him and to his friends. This tendency was still more strengthened by +the expectation which soon after arose, that Peter's wife was about to +give birth to a son. The probability of the appearance of a son and +heir on Peter's side, taken in connection with the hopeless +childlessness of John, seemed to turn the scales entirely in favor of +Peter's party. This was especially the case in respect to all the +young nobles as they successively arrived at an age to take an interest +in public affairs. All these young men seemed to despise the +imbecility, and the dark and uncertain prospects of John, and to be +greatly charmed with the talents and energy of Peter, and with the +brilliant future which seemed to be opening before him. Thus even the +nobles who still adhered to the cause of Sophia and of John had the +mortification to find that their sons, as fast as they came of age, all +went over to the other side. + +Peter lived at this time with his young wife at a certain country +palace belonging to him, situated on the banks of a small river a few +miles from Moscow. The name of this country-seat was Obrogensko. + +Such was the state of things at Moscow when Prince Galitzin returned +from his campaigns in the Crimea. The prince found that the power of +Sophia and her party was rapidly waning, and that Sophia herself was in +a state of great anxiety and excitement in respect to the future. The +princess gave Galitzin a very splendid reception, and publicly rewarded +him for his pretended success in the war by bestowing upon him great +and extraordinary honors. Still many people were very suspicious of +the truth of the accounts which were circulated. The partisans of +Peter called for proofs that the victories had really been won. Prince +Galitzin brought with him to the capital a considerable force of +Cossacks, with Mazeppa at their head. The Cossacks had never before +been allowed to come into Moscow; but now, Sophia having formed a +desperate plan to save herself from the dangers that surrounded her, +and knowing that these men would unscrupulously execute any commands +that were given to them by their leaders, directed Galitzin to bring +them within the walls, under pretense to do honor to Mazeppa for the +important services which he had rendered during the war. But this +measure was very unpopular with the people, and, although the Cossacks +were actually brought within the walls, they were subjected to such +restrictions there that, after all, Sophia could not employ them for +the purpose of executing her plot, but was obliged to rely on the +regular Muscovite troops of the imperial Guard. + +The plot which she formed was nothing else than the assassination of +Peter. She saw no other way by which she could save herself from the +dangers which surrounded her, and make sure of retaining her power. +Her brother, the Czar John, was growing weaker and more insignificant +every day; while Peter and his party, who looked upon her, she knew, +with very unfriendly feelings, were growing stronger and stronger. If +Peter continued to live, her speedy downfall, she was convinced, was +sure. She accordingly determined that Peter should die. + +The commander-in-chief of the Guards at this time was a man named +Theodore Thekelavitaw. He had been raised to this exalted post by +Sophia herself on the death of Couvansky. She had selected him for +this office with special reference to his subserviency to her +interests. She determined now, accordingly, to confide to him the +execution of her scheme for the assassination of Peter. + +When Sophia proposed her plan to Prince Galitzin, he was at first +strongly opposed to it, on account of the desperate danger which would +attend such an undertaking. But she urged upon him so earnestly the +necessity of the case, representing to him that unless some very +decisive measures were adopted, not only would she herself soon be +deposed from power, but that he and all his family and friends would be +involved in the same common ruin, he at length reluctantly consented. + +The plan was at last fully matured. Thekelavitaw, the commander of the +Guards, selected six hundred men to go with him to Obrogensko. They +were to go in the night, the plan being to seize Peter in his bed. +When the appointed night arrived, the commander marshaled his men and +gave them their instructions, and the whole body set out upon their +march to Obrogensko with every prospect of successfully accomplishing +the undertaking. + +But the whole plan was defeated in a very remarkable manner. While the +commander was giving his instructions to the men, two of the soldiers, +shocked with the idea of being made the instruments of such a crime, +stole away unobserved in the darkness, and ran with all possible speed +to Obrogensko to warn Peter of his danger. Peter leaped from his bed +in consternation, and immediately sent to the apartments where his +uncles, the brothers of his mother, were lodging, to summon them to +come to him. When they came, a hurried consultation was held. There +was some doubt in the minds of Peter's uncles whether the story which +the soldiers told was to be believed. They thought it could not +possibly be true that so atrocious a crime could be contemplated by +Sophia. Accordingly, before taking any measures for sending Peter and +his family away, they determined to send messengers toward the city to +ascertain whether any detachment of Guards was really coming toward +Obrogensko. + +These messengers set off at once; but, before they had reached half way +to Moscow, they met Thekelavitaw's detachment of Guards, with +Thekelavitaw himself at the head of them, stealing furtively along the +road. The messengers hid themselves by the wayside until the troop had +gone by. Then hurrying away round by a circuitous path, they got +before the troop again, and reached the palace before the assassins +arrived. Peter had just time to get into a coach, with his wife, his +sister, and one or two other members of his family, and to drive away +from the palace before Thekelavitaw, with his band, arrived. The +sentinels who were on duty at the gates of the palace had been much +surprised at the sudden departure of Peter and his family, and now they +were astonished beyond measure at the sudden appearance of so large a +body of their comrades arriving at midnight, without any warning, from +the barracks in Moscow. + +[Illustration: The escape.] + +Immediately on his arrival at the palace, Thekelavitaw's men searched +every where for Peter, but of course could not find him. They then +questioned the sentinels, and were told that Peter had left the palace +with his family in a very hurried manner but a very short time before. +No one knew where they had gone. + +There was, of course, nothing now for Thekelavitaw to do but to return, +discomfited and alarmed, to the Princess Sophia, and report the failure +of their scheme. + +In the mean time Peter had fled to the Monastery of the Trinity, the +common refuge of the family in all cases of desperate danger. The news +of the affair spread rapidly, and produced universal excitement. +Peter, from his retreat in the monastery, sent a message to Sophia, +charging her with having sent Thekelavitaw and his band to take his +life. Sophia was greatly alarmed at the turn which things had taken. +She, however, strenuously denied being guilty of the charge which Peter +made against her. She said that the soldiers under Thekelavitaw had +only gone out to Obrogensko for the purpose of relieving the guard. +This nobody believed. The idea of taking such a body of men a league +or more into the country at midnight for the purpose of relieving the +guard of a country palace was preposterous. + +The excitement increased. The leading nobles of the country began to +flock to the monastery to declare their adhesion to Peter, and their +determination to sustain and protect him. Sophia, at the same time, +did all that she could do to rally her friends. Both sides endeavored +to gain the good-will of the Guards. The princess caused them to be +assembled before her palace in Moscow, and there she appeared on a +balcony before them, accompanied by the Czar John; and the Czar made +them a speech--one, doubtless, which Sophia had prepared for him. In +this speech John stated to the Guards that his brother Peter had +retired to the Monastery of the Trinity, though for what reason he knew +not. He had, however, too much reason to fear, he said, that he was +plotting some schemes against the state. + +"We have heard," he added, "that he has summoned you to repair thither +and attend him, but we forbid your going on pain of death." + +Sophia then herself addressed the Guards, confirming what John had +said, and endeavoring artfully to awaken an interest in their minds in +her favor. The Guards listened in silence; but it seems that very +little effect was produced upon them by these harangues, for they +immediately afterward marched in a body to the monastery, and there +publicly assured Peter of their adhesion to his cause. + +Sophia was now greatly alarmed. She began to fear that all was lost. +She determined to send an embassage to Peter to deprecate his +displeasure, and, if possible, effect a reconciliation. She employed +on this commission two of her aunts, her father's sisters, who were, of +course, the aunts likewise of Peter, and the nearest family relatives, +who were equally the relatives of herself and of him. These ladies +were, of course, princesses of very high rank, and their age and family +connection were such as to lead Sophia to trust a great deal to their +intercession. + +She charged these ladies to assure Peter that she was entirely innocent +of the crime of which she was suspected, and that the stories of her +having sent the soldiers to his palace with any evil design were +fabricated by her enemies, who wished to sow dissension between herself +and him. She assured him that there had been no necessity at all for +his flight, and that he might now at any time return to Moscow with +perfect safety. + +Peter received his aunts in a very respectful manner, and listened +attentively to what they had to say; but, after they had concluded +their address to him, he assured them that his retreat to the monastery +was not without good cause: and he proceeded to state and explain all +the circumstances of the case, and to show so many and such conclusive +proofs that a conspiracy to destroy him had actually been formed, and +was on the eve of being executed, that the princesses could no longer +doubt that Sophia was really guilty. They were overwhelmed with grief +in coming to this conviction, and they declared, with tears in their +eyes, that they would not return to Moscow, but would remain at the +monastery and share the fortunes of their nephew. + +When Sophia learned what had been the result of her deputation she was +more alarmed than ever. After spending some time in perplexity and +distress, she determined to apply to the patriarch, who was the head of +the Church, and, of course, the highest ecclesiastical dignitary in the +empire. She begged and implored him to act as mediator between her and +her brother, and he was at length so moved by her tears and entreaties +that he consented to go. + +This embassage was no more successful than the other. Peter, it seems, +was provided with proof, which he offered to the patriarch, not only of +the reality of the conspiracy which had been formed, but also of the +fact that, if it had been successful, the patriarch himself was to have +been taken off, in order that another ecclesiastic more devoted to +Sophia's interests might be put in his place. The patriarch was +astonished and shocked at this intelligence, and was so much alarmed by +it that he did not dare to return to Sophia to make his report, and +decided, as the ladies had done before him, to take up his abode with +Peter in the monastery until the crisis should be passed. + +The princess was now almost in a state of despair. Prince Galitzin, it +is true, still remained with her, and there were some others in the +palace who adhered to her cause. She called these few remaining +friends together, and with them held a sorrowful and anxious +consultation, in order to determine what should now be done. It was +resolved that Thekelavitaw and one or two others who were deeply +implicated in the plot for the assassination of Peter should be secured +in a place of close concealment in the palace, and then, that the +princess herself, accompanied by Galitzin and her other leading +friends, should proceed in a body to the Monastery of the Trinity, and +there make a personal appeal to Peter, in hopes of appeasing him, and +saving themselves, if possible, from their impending fate. This plan +they proceeded to carry into effect; but before Sophia, and those who +were with her, had reached half way to the palace, they were met by a +nobleman who had been sent from the monastery to intercept them, and +order them, in Peter's name, to return to Moscow. If the princess were +to go on, she would not be received at the monastery, the messenger +said, but would find the gates closed against her. + +So Sophia and her train turned, and despairingly retraced their steps +to Moscow. + +The next day an officer, at the head of a body of the Guards three +hundred in number, was dispatched from the monastery to demand of the +Princess Sophia, at her palace, that she should give up Thekelavitaw, +in order that he might be brought to trial on a charge of treason. +Sophia was extremely unwilling to comply with this demand. She may +naturally be supposed to have desired to save her instrument and agent +from suffering the penalties of the crime which she herself had planned +and had instigated him to attempt; but the chief source of her extreme +reluctance to surrender the prisoner was her fear of the revelations +which he would be likely to make implicating her. After hesitating for +a time, being in a state during the interval of great mental distress +and anguish, she concluded that she must obey, and so Thekelavitaw was +brought out from his retreat and surrendered. The soldiers immediately +took him and some other persons who were surrendered with him, and, +securing them safely with irons, they conveyed them rapidly to the +monastery. + +Thekelavitaw was brought to trial in the great hall of the monastery, +where a court, consisting of the leading nobles, was organized to hear +his cause. He was questioned closely by his judges for a long time, +but his answers were evasive and unsatisfactory, and at length it was +determined to put him to torture, in order to compel him to confess his +crime, and to reveal the names of his confederates. This was a very +unjust and cruel mode of procedure, but it was in accordance with the +rude ideas which prevailed in those times. + +The torture which was applied to Thekelavitaw was scourging with a +knout. The knout was a large and strong whip, the lash of which +consists of a tough, thick thong of leather, prepared in a particular +way, so as greatly to increase the intensity of the agony caused by the +blows inflicted with it. Thekelavitaw endured a few strokes from this +dreadful instrument, and then declared that he was ready to confess +all; so they took him back to prison and there heard what he had to +say. He made a full statement in respect to the plot. He said that +the design was to kill Peter himself, his mother, and several other +persons, near connections of Peter's branch of the family. The +Princess Sophia was the originator of the plot, he said, and he +specified many other persons who had taken a leading part in it. + +These statements of the unhappy sufferer may have been true or they may +have been false. It is now well known that no reliance whatever can be +placed upon testimony that is extorted in this way, as men under such +circumstances will say any thing which they think will be received by +their tormentors, and be the means of bringing their sufferings to an +end. + +However it may have been in fact in this case, the testimony of +Thekelavitaw was believed. On the faith of it many more arrests were +made, and many other persons were put to the torture to compel them to +reveal additional particulars of the plot. It is said that one of the +modes of torment of the sufferers in these trials consisted in first +shaving the head and tying it in a fixed position, and then causing +boiling water to be poured, drop by drop, upon it, which in a very +short time produced, it is said, an exquisite and dreadful agony which +no mortal heroism could long endure. + +After all these extorted confessions had been received, and the persons +accused by the wretched witnesses had been secured, the court was +employed two days in determining the relative guilt of the different +criminals, and in deciding upon the punishments. Some of the prisoners +were beheaded; others were sentenced to perpetual imprisonment; others +were banished. The punishment of Prince Galitzin was banishment for +life to Siberia. He was brought before the court to hear his sentence +pronounced by the judges in form. It was to this effect, namely, "That +he was ordered to go to Karga, a town under the pole, there to remain, +as long as he lived, in disgrace with his majesty, who had, +nevertheless, of his great goodness, allowed him threepence a day for +his subsistence; but that his justice had ordained all his goods to be +forfeited to his treasury." + +Galitzin had a son who seems to have been implicated in some way with +his father in the conspiracy. At any rate, he was sentenced to share +his father's fate. Whether the companionship of his son on the long +and gloomy journey was a comfort to the prince, or whether it only +redoubled the bitterness of his calamity to see his son compelled to +endure it too, it would be difficult to say. The female members of the +family were sent with them too. + +As soon as the prince had been sent away, officers were dispatched to +take possession of his palace, and to make an inventory of the property +contained in it. The officers found a vast amount of treasure. Among +other things, they discovered a strong box buried in a vault, which +contained an immense sum of money. There were four hundred vessels of +silver of great weight, and many other rich and costly articles. All +these things were confiscated, and the proceeds put into the imperial +treasury. + +Thekelavitaw, the commander-in-chief of the Guards, had his head cut +off. The subordinate officer who had the immediate command of the +detachment which marched out to Obrogensko was punished by being first +scourged with the knout, then having his tongue cut out, and then being +sent to Siberia in perpetual banishment, with an allowance for his +subsistence of one third the pittance which had been granted to +Galitzin. Some of the private soldiers of the detachment were also +sentenced to have their tongues cut out, and then to be sent to Siberia +to earn their living there by hunting sables. + +Peter was not willing that the Princess Sophia, being his sister, +should be publicly punished or openly disgraced in any way, so it was +decreed that she should retire to a certain convent, situated in a +solitary place a little way out of town, where she could be closely +watched and guarded. Sophia was extremely unwilling to obey this +decree, and she would not go to the convent of her own accord. The +commander of the Guards was thereupon directed to send a body of armed +men to convey her there, with orders to take her by force if she would +not go willingly; so Sophia was compelled to submit, and, when she was +lodged in the convent, soldiers were placed not only to keep sentinel +at the doors, but also to guard all the avenues leading to the place, +so as effectually to cut the poor prisoner off from all possible +communication with any who might be disposed to sympathize with her or +aid her. She remained in this condition, a close prisoner, for many +years. + +Two days after this--every thing connected with the conspiracy having +been settled--it was determined that Peter should return to Moscow. He +made a grand triumphant entry into the city, attended by an armed +escort of eighteen thousand of the Guards. Peter himself rode +conspicuously at the head of the troops on horseback. His wife and his +mother followed in a coach. + +On arriving at the royal palace, he was met on the staircase by his +brother John, who was not supposed to have taken any part in Sophia's +conspiracy. Peter greeted his brother kindly, and said he hoped that +they were friends. John replied in the same spirit, and so the two +brothers were reinstated again as joint possessors, nominally, of the +supreme power, but, now that Sophia was removed out of the way, and all +her leading friends and partisans were either beheaded or banished, the +whole control of the government fell, in fact, into the hands of Peter +and of his counselors and friends. + +John, his brother Czar, was too feeble and inefficient to take any part +whatever in the management of public affairs. He was melancholy and +dejected in spirit, in consequence of his infirmities and sufferings, +and he spent most of his time in acts of devotion, according to the +rites and usages of the established church of the country, as the best +means within his knowledge of preparing himself for another and happier +world. He died about seven years after this time. + +The Princess Sophia lived for fifteen years a prisoner. During this +period several efforts were made by those who still adhered to her +cause to effect her release and her restoration to power, but they were +all unsuccessful. She remained in close confinement as long as she +lived. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +THE CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH OF PETER. + +1677-1688 + +Troublous times in the family--Peter's first governor--His +qualifications--Peter's earliest studies--His disposition and +character--Sophia's jealousy of him--Her plans for corrupting his +morals--The governor is dismissed--New system adopted--Sophia's +expectations--Peter's fifty playmates--The plot does not succeed--Peter +organizes a military school--Peter a practical mechanic--His ideas and +intentions--His drumming--His wheelbarrow--Progress of the +school--Results of Peter's energy of character + + +We must now go back a little in our narrative, in order to give some +account of the manner in which the childhood and early youth of Peter +were spent, and of the indications which appeared in this early period +of his life to mark his character. He was only eighteen years of age +at the time of his marriage, and, of course, all those contests and +dissensions which, for so many years after his father Alexis's death, +continued to distract the family, took place while he was very young. +He was only about nine years old when they began, at the time of the +death of his father. + +The person whom Peter's father selected to take charge of his little +son's education, in the first instance, was a very accomplished general +named Menesius. General Menesius was a Scotchman by birth, and he had +been well educated in the literary seminaries of his native country, so +that, besides his knowledge and skill in every thing which pertained to +the art of war, he was well versed in all the European languages, and, +having traveled extensively in the different countries of Europe, he +was qualified to instruct Peter, when he should become old enough to +take an interest in such inquiries, in the arts and sciences of western +Europe, and in the character of the civilization of the various +countries, and the different degrees of progress which they had +respectively made. + +At the time, however, when Peter was put under his governor's charge he +was only about five years old, and, consequently, none but the most +elementary studies were at that time suited to his years. Of course, +it was not the duty of General Menesius to attend personally to the +instruction of his little pupil in these things, but only to see to it +that the proper teachers were appointed, and that they attended to +their duties in a faithful manner. + +Every thing went on prosperously and well under this arrangement as +long as the Czar Alexis, Peter's father, continued to live. General +Menesius resided in the palace with his charge, and he gradually began +to form a strong attachment to him. Indeed, Peter was so full of life +and spirit, and evinced so much intelligence in all that he did and +said, and learned what was proper to be taught him at that age with so +much readiness and facility, that he was a favorite with all who knew +him; that is, with all who belonged to or were connected with his +mother's branch of the family. With those who were connected with the +children of Alexis' first wife he was an object of continual jealousy +and suspicion, and the greater the proofs that he gave of talent and +capacity, the more jealous of him these his natural rivals became. + +At length, when Alexis, his father, died, and his half-brother Theodore +succeeded to the throne, the division between the two branches of the +family became more decided than ever; and when Sophia obtained her +release from the convent, and managed to get the control of public +affairs, in consequence of Theodore's imbecility, as related in the +first chapter, one of the first sources of uneasiness for her, in +respect to the continuance of her power, was the probability that Peter +would grow up to be a talented and energetic young man, and would +sooner or later take the government into his own hands. She revolved +in her mind many plans for preventing this. The one which seemed to +her most feasible at first was to attempt to spoil the boy by +indulgence and luxury. + +She accordingly, it is said, attempted to induce Menesius to alter the +arrangements which he had made for Peter, so as to release him from +restraint, and allow him to do as he pleased. Her plan was also to +supply him with means of pleasure and indulgence very freely, thinking +that a boy of his age would not have the good sense or the resolution +to resist these temptations. Thus she thought that his progress in +study would be effectually impeded, and that, perhaps, he would +undermine his health and destroy his constitution by eating and +drinking, or by other hurtful indulgences. + +But Sophia found that she could not induce General Menesius to +co-operate with her in any such plans. He had set his heart on making +his pupil a virtuous and an accomplished man, and he knew very well +that the system of laxity and indulgence which Sophia recommended would +end in his ruin. After a considerable contest, Sophia, finding that +Menesius was inflexible, manoeuvred to cause him to be dismissed from +his office, and to have another arrangement made for the boy, by which +she thought her ends would be attained. So Menesius bade his young +charge farewell, not, however, without giving him, in parting, most +urgent counsels to persevere, as he had begun, in the faithful +performance of his duty, to resist every temptation to idleness or +excess, and to devote himself, while young, with patience, +perseverance, and industry to the work of storing his mind with useful +knowledge, and of acquiring every possible art and accomplishment which +could be of advantage to him when he became a man. + +After General Menesius had been dismissed, Sophia adopted an entirely +new system for the management of Peter. Before this time Theodore had +died, and Peter, in conjunction with John, had been proclaimed emperor, +Sophia governing as regent in their names. The princess now made an +arrangement for establishing Peter in a household of his own, at a +palace situated in a small village at some distance from Moscow, and +she appointed fifty boys to live with him as his playmates and amusers. +These boys were provided with every possible means of indulgence, and +were subject to very little restraint. The intention of Sophia was +that they should do just as they pleased, and she had no doubt that +they would spend their time in such a manner that they would all grow +up idle, vicious, and good for nothing. There was even some hope that +Peter would impair his health to such an extent by excessive +indulgences as to bring him to an early grave. + +Indeed, the plot was so well contrived that there are probably not many +boys who would not, under such circumstances, have fallen into the +snare so adroitly laid for them and been ruined; but Peter escaped it. +Whether it was from the influence of the counsels and instructions of +his former governor, or from his own native good sense, or from both +combined, he resisted the temptations that were laid before him, and, +instead of giving up his studies, and spending his time in indolence +and vice, he improved such privileges as he enjoyed to the best of his +ability. He even contrived to turn the hours of play, and the +companions who had been given to him as mere instruments of pleasure, +into means of improvement. He caused the boys to be organized into a +sort of military school, and learned with them all the evolutions, and +practiced all the discipline necessary in a camp. He himself began at +the very beginning. He caused himself to be taught to drum, not merely +as most boys do, just to make a noise for his amusement, but regularly +and scientifically, so as to enable him to understand and execute all +the beats and signals used in camp and on the field of battle. He +studied fortification, and set the boys at work, himself among them, in +constructing a battery in a regular and scientific manner. He learned +the use of tools, too, practically, in a shop which had been provided +for the boys as a place for play; and the wheelbarrow with which he +worked in making the fortification was one which he had constructed +with his own hands. + +He did not assume any superiority over his companions in these +exercises, but took his place among them as an equal, obeying the +commands which were given to him, when it came to his turn to serve, +and taking his full share of all the hardest of the work which was to +be done. + +Nor was this all mere boys' play, pursued for a little time as long as +the novelty lasted, and then thrown aside for something more amusing. +Peter knew that when he became a man he would be emperor of all Russia. +He knew that among the populations of that immense country there were a +great many wild and turbulent tribes, half savage in habits and +character, that would never be controlled but by military force, and +that the country, too, was surrounded by other nations that would +sometimes, unless he was well prepared for them, assume a hostile +attitude against his government, and perhaps make great aggressions +upon his territories. He wished, therefore, to prepare himself for the +emergencies that might in future arise by making himself thoroughly +acquainted with all the details of the military art. He did not +expect, it is true, that he should ever be called upon to serve in any +of his armies as an actual drummer, or to wheel earth and construct +fortifications with his own hands, still less to make the wheelbarrows +by which the work was to be done; but he was aware that he could +superintend these things far more intelligently and successfully if he +knew in detail precisely how every thing ought to be done, and that was +the reason why he took so much pains to learn himself how to do them. + +As he grew older he contrived to introduce higher and higher branches +of military art into the school, and to improve and perfect the +organization of it in every way. After a while he adopted improved +uniforms and equipments for the pupils, such as were used at the +military schools of the different nations of Europe; and he established +professors of different branches of military science as fast as he +himself and his companions advanced in years and in power of +appreciating studies more and more elevated. The result was, that +when, at length, he was eighteen years of age, and the time arrived for +him to leave the place, the institution had become completely +established as a well-organized and well-appointed military school, and +it continued in successful operation as such for a long time afterward. + +It was in a great measure in consequence of the energy and talent which +Peter thus displayed that so many of the leading nobles attached +themselves to his cause, by which means he was finally enabled to +depose Sophia from her regency, and take the power into his own hands, +even before he was of age, as related in the last chapter. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +LE FORT AND MENZIKOFF. + +1689-1691 + +Conditions of success in life--The selection of agents--Building a +house--Secret of success--Peter's youth--Le Fort and Menzikoff--Merchants +of Amsterdam--Le Fort in the counting-house--He goes to Copenhagen--He +becomes acquainted with military life--The ambassador--Le Fort an +interpreter--He attracts the attention of the emperor--His judicious +answers--Gratification of the emperor--The embassador's opinion--The +glass of wine--Le Fort given up to the emperor--His appointment at +court--His subsequent career--Uniforms--Le Fort's suggestion--An +embassador's train--Surprise and pleasure of the Czar--Le Fort undertakes +a commission--Making of the uniforms--He enlists a company--The company +appears before the emperor--The result--New improvements +proposed--Changes--Remodeling of the tariff--Effects of the change--The +finances--Carpenters and masons brought in--New palace--Le Fort's +increasing influence--His generosity--Peter's violent temper--Le Fort an +intercessor--Prince Menzikoff--His early history--He sets off to seek his +fortune--His pies and cakes--Negotiations with the emperor--Menzikoff in +Le Fort's company--Menzikoff's real character--Quarrel between Peter and +his wife--Cause of the quarrel--Ottokesa's cruel fate--Grave faults in +Peter's character + + +Whatever may be a person's situation in life, his success in his +undertakings depends not more, after all, upon his own personal ability +to do what is required to be done, than it does upon his sagacity and the +soundness of his judgment in selecting the proper persons to co-operate +with him and assist him in doing it. In all great enterprises undertaken +by men, it is only a very small part which they can execute with their +own hands, and multitudes of most excellently contrived plans fail for +want of wisdom in the choice of the men who are depended upon for the +accomplishment of them. + +This is true in all things, small as well as great. A man may form a +very wise scheme for building a house. He may choose an excellent place +for the location of it, and draw up a good plan, and make ample +arrangements for the supply of funds, but if he does not know how to +choose, or where to find good builders, his scheme will come to a +miserable end. He may choose builders that are competent but dishonest, +or they may be honest but incompetent, or they may be subject to some +other radical defect; in either of which cases the house will be badly +built, and the scheme will be a failure. + +Many men say, when such a misfortune as this happens to them, "Ah! it was +not my fault. It was the fault of the builders;" to which the proper +reply would be, "It _was_ your fault. You should not have undertaken to +build a house unless, in addition to being able to form the general plan +and arrangements wisely, you had also had the sagacity to discern the +characters of the men whom you were to employ to execute the work." This +latter quality is as important to success in all undertakings as the +former. Indeed, it is far more important, for good _men_ may correct or +avoid the evils of a bad plan, but a good plan can never afford security +against the evil action of bad men. + +The sovereigns and great military commanders that have acquired the +highest celebrity in history have always been remarkable for their tact +and sagacity in discovering and bringing forward the right kind of talent +for the successful accomplishment of their various designs. + +When Peter first found himself nominally in possession of the supreme +power, after the fall of the Princess Sophia, he was very young, and the +administration of the government was really in the hands of different +nobles and officers of state, who managed affairs in his name. From time +to time there were great dissensions among these men. They formed +themselves into cliques and coteries, each of which was jealous of the +influence of the others. As Peter gradually grew older, and felt +stronger and stronger in his position, he took a greater part in the +direction and control of the public policy, and the persons whom he first +made choice of to aid him in his plans were two very able men, whom he +afterward raised to positions of great responsibility and honor. These +men became, indeed, in the end, highly distinguished as statesmen, and +were very prominent and very efficient instruments in the development and +realization of Peter's plans. The name of the first of these statesmen +was Le Fort; that of the second was Menzikoff. The story which is told +by the old historians of both of these men is quite romantic. + +Le Fort was the son of a merchant of Geneva. He had a strong desire from +his childhood to be a soldier, but his father, considering the hardships +and dangers to which a military life would expose him, preferred to make +him a merchant, and so he provided him with a place in the counting-house +of one of the great merchants of Amsterdam. The city of Amsterdam was in +those days one of the greatest and wealthiest marts of commerce in the +world. + +Very many young men, in being thus restrained by their fathers from +pursuing the profession which they themselves chose, and placed, instead, +in a situation which they did not like, would have gone to their duty in +a discontented and sullen manner, and would have made no effort to +succeed in the business or to please their employers; but Le Fort, it +seems, was a boy of a different mould from this. He went to his work in +the counting-house at Amsterdam with a good heart, and devoted himself to +his business with so much industry and steadiness, and evinced withal so +much amiableness of disposition in his intercourse with all around him, +that before long, as the accounts say, the merchant "loved him as his own +child." After some considerable time had elapsed, the merchant, who was +constantly sending vessels to different parts of the world, was on one +occasion about dispatching a ship to Copenhagen, and Le Fort asked +permission to go in her. The merchant was not only willing that he +should go, but also gave him the whole charge of the cargo, with +instructions to attend to the sale of it, and the remittance of the +proceeds on the arrival of the ship in port. Le Fort accordingly sailed +in the ship, and on his arrival at Copenhagen he transacted the business +of selling the cargo and sending back the money so skillfully and well +that the merchant was very well pleased with him. + +Copenhagen is the capital of Denmark, and the Danes were at that time +quite a powerful and warlike nation. Le Fort, in walking about the +streets of the town while his ship was lying there, often saw the Danish +soldiers marching to and fro, and performing their evolutions, and the +sight revived in his mind his former interest in being a soldier. He +soon made acquaintance with some of the officers, and, in hearing them +talk of their various adventures, and of the details of their mode of +life, he became very eager to join them. They liked him, too, very much. +He had made great progress in learning the different languages spoken in +that part of the world, and the officers found, moreover, that he was +very quick in understanding the military principles which they explained +to him, and in learning evolutions of all kinds. + +About this time it happened that an embassador was to be sent from +Denmark to Russia, and Le Fort, who had a great inclination to see the +world as well as to be a soldier, was seized with a strong desire to +accompany the expedition in the embassador's train. He already knew +something of the Russian language, and he set himself at work with all +diligence to study it more. He also obtained recommendations from those +who had known him--probably, among others, from the merchant in +Amsterdam, and he secured the influence in his favor of the officers in +Copenhagen with whom he had become acquainted. When these preliminary +steps had been taken, he made application for the post of interpreter to +the embassy; and after a proper examination had been made in respect to +his character and his qualifications, he received the appointment. Thus, +instead of going back to Amsterdam after his cargo was sold, he went to +Russia in the suite of the embassador. + +The embassador soon formed a very strong friendship for his young +interpreter, and employed him confidentially, when he arrived in Moscow, +in many important services. The embassador himself soon acquired great +influence at Moscow, and was admitted to quite familiar intercourse, not +only with the leading Russian noblemen, but also with Peter himself. On +one occasion, when Peter was dining at the embassador's--as it seems he +was sometimes accustomed to do--he took notice of Le Fort, who was +present as one of the party, on account of his prepossessing appearance +and agreeable manners. He also observed that, for a foreigner, he spoke +the Russian language remarkably well. The emperor asked Le Fort some +questions concerning his origin and history, and, being very much pleased +with his answers, and with his general air and demeanor, he asked him +whether he should be willing to enter into his service. Le Fort replied +in a very respectful manner, "That, whatever ambition he might have to +serve so great a monarch, yet the duty and gratitude which he owed to his +present master, the embassador, would not allow him to promise any thing +without first asking his consent." + +"Very well," replied the Czar; "_I_ will ask your master's consent." + +"But I hope," said Le Fort, "that your majesty will make use of some +other interpreter than myself in asking the question." + +Peter was very much pleased with both these answers of Le Fort--the one +showing his scrupulous fidelity to his engagements in not being willing +to leave one service for another, however advantageous to himself the +change might be, until he was honorably released by his first employer, +and the other marking the delicacy of mind which prompted him to wish not +to take any part in the conversation between the emperor and the +embassador respecting himself, as his office of interpreter would +naturally lead him to do, but to prefer that the communication should be +made through an indifferent person, in order that the embassador might be +perfectly free to express his real opinion without any reserve. + +Accordingly, the Czar, taking another interpreter with him, went to the +embassador and began to ask him about Le Fort. + +"He speaks very good Russian," said Peter. + +"Yes, please your majesty," said the embassador, "he has a genius for +learning any thing that he pleases. When he came to me four months ago +he knew very little of German, but now he speaks it very well. I have +two German interpreters in my train, and he speaks the language as well +as either of them. He did not know a word of Russian when he came to my +country, but your majesty can judge yourself how well he speaks it now." + +In the mean time, while Peter and the embassador were talking thus about +Le Fort, he himself had withdrawn to another part of the room. The Czar +was very much pleased with the modesty of the young gentleman's behavior; +and, after finishing the conversation with the embassador, without, +however, having asked him to release Le Fort from his service, he +returned to the part of the room where Le Fort was, and presently asked +him to bring him a glass of wine. He said no more to him at that time in +respect to entering his service, but Le Fort understood very well from +his countenance, and from the manner in which he asked him for the wine, +that nothing had occurred in his conversation with the embassador to lead +him to change his mind. + +The next day Peter, having probably in the mean time made some farther +inquiries about Le Fort, introduced the subject again in conversation +with the embassador. He told the embassador that he had a desire to have +the young man Le Fort about him, and asked if he should be willing to +part with him. The embassador replied that, notwithstanding any desire +he might feel to retain so agreeable and promising a man in his own +service, still the exchange was too advantageous to Le Fort, and he +wished him too well to make any objection to it; and besides, he added, +he knew too well his duty to his majesty not to consent readily to any +arrangement of that kind that his majesty might desire. + +The next day Peter sent for Le Fort, and formally appointed him his first +interpreter. The duties of this office required Le Fort to be a great +deal in the emperor's presence, and Peter soon became extremely attached +to him. Le Fort, although we have called him a young man, was now about +thirty-five years of age, while Peter himself was yet not twenty. It was +natural, therefore, that Peter should soon learn to place great +confidence in him, and often look to him for information, and this the +more readily on account of Le Fort's having been brought up in the heart +of Europe, where all the arts of civilization, both those connected with +peace and war, were in a much more advanced state than they were at this +time in Russia. + +Le Fort continued in the service of the emperor until the day of his +death, which happened about ten years after this time; and during this +period he rose to great distinction, and exercised a very important part +in the management of public affairs, and more particularly in aiding +Peter to understand and to introduce into his own dominions the arts and +improvements of western Europe. + +The first improvement which Le Fort was the means of introducing in the +affairs of the Czar related to the dress and equipment of the troops. +The Guards had before that time been accustomed to wear an old-fashioned +Russian uniform, which was far from being convenient. The outside +garment was a sort of long coat or gown, which considerably impeded the +motion of the limbs. One day, not long after Le Fort entered the service +of the emperor, Peter, being engaged in conversation with him, asked him +what he thought of his soldiers. + +"The men themselves are very well," replied Le Port, "but it seems to me +that the dress which they wear is not so convenient for military use as +the style of dress now usually adopted among the western nations." + +Peter asked what this style was, and Le Fort replied that if his majesty +would permit him to do so, he would take measures for affording him an +opportunity to see. + +Accordingly, Le Fort repaired immediately to the tailor of the Danish +embassador. This tailor the embassador had brought with him from +Copenhagen, for it was the custom in those days for personages of high +rank and station, like the embassador, to take with them, in their train, +persons of all the trades and professions which they might require, so +that, wherever they might be, they could have the means of supplying all +their wants within themselves, and without at all depending upon the +people whom they visited. Le Fort employed the tailor to make him two +military suits, in the style worn by the royal guards at Copenhagen--one +for an officer, and another for a soldier of the ranks. The tailor +finished the first suit in two days. Le Fort put the dress on, and in +the morning, at the time when, according to his usual custom, he was to +wait upon the emperor in his chamber, he went in wearing the new uniform. + +The Czar was surprised at the unexpected spectacle. At first he did not +know Le Fort in his new garb; and when at length he recognized him, and +began to understand the case, he was exceedingly pleased. He examined +the uniform in every part, and praised not only the dress itself, but +also Le Fort's ingenuity and diligence in procuring him so good an +opportunity to know what the military style of the western nations really +was. + +Soon after this Le Fort appeared again in the emperor's presence wearing +the uniform of a common soldier. The emperor examined this dress too, +and saw the superiority of it in respect to its convenience, and its +adaptedness to the wants and emergencies of military life. He said at +once that he should like to have a company of guards dressed and equipped +in that manner, and should be also very much pleased to have them +disciplined and drilled according to the western style. Le Fort said +that if his majesty was pleased to intrust him with the commission, he +would endeavor to organize such a company. + +The emperor requested him to do so, and Le Port immediately undertook the +task. He went about Moscow to all the different merchants to procure the +materials necessary--for many of these materials were such as were not +much in use in Moscow, and so it was not easy to procure them in +sufficient quantities to make the number of suits that Le Fort required. +He also sought out all the tailors that he could find at the houses of +the different embassadors, or of the great merchants who came from +western Europe, and were consequently acquainted with the mode of cutting +and making the dresses in the proper manner. Of course, a considerable +number of tailors would be necessary to make up so many uniforms in the +short space of time which Le Fort wished to allot to the work. + +Le Fort then went about among the strangers and foreigners at Moscow, +both those connected with the embassadors and others, to find men that +were in some degree acquainted with the drill and tactics of the western +armies, who were willing to serve in the company that he was about to +organize. He soon made up a company of fifty men. When this company was +completed, and clothed in the new uniform, and had been properly drilled, +Le Fort put himself at the head of them one morning, and marched them, +with drums beating and colors flying, before the palace gate. The Czar +came to the window to see them as they passed. He was much surprised at +the spectacle, and very much pleased. He came down to look at the men +more closely; he stood by while they went through the exercises in which +Le Fort had drilled them. The emperor was so much pleased that he said +he would join the company himself. He wished to learn to perform the +exercise personally, so as to know in a practical manner precisely how +others ought to perform it. He accordingly caused a dress to be made for +himself, and he took his place afterward in the ranks as a common +soldier, and was drilled with the rest in all the exercises. + +From this beginning the change went on until the style of dress and the +system of tactics for the whole imperial army was reformed by the +introduction of the compact and scientific system of western Europe, in +the place of the old-fashioned and cumbrous usages which had previously +prevailed. + +The emperor having experienced the immense advantages which resulted from +the adoption of western improvements in his army, wished now to make an +experiment of introducing, in the same way, the elements of western +civilization into the ordinary branches of industry and art. He proposed +to Le Fort to make arrangements for bringing into the country a great +number of mechanics and artisans from Denmark, Germany, France, and other +European countries, in order that their improved methods and processes +might be introduced into Russia. Le Fort readily entered into this +proposal, but he explained to the emperor that, in order to render such a +measure successful on the scale necessary for the accomplishment of any +important good, it would be first requisite to make some considerable +changes in the general laws of the land, especially in relation to +intercourse with foreign nations. On his making known fully and in +detail what these changes would be, the emperor readily acceded to them, +and the proposed modifications of the laws were made. The tariff of +duties on the products and manufactures of foreign countries was greatly +reduced. This produced a two-fold effect. + +In the first place, it greatly increased the importations of goods from +foreign countries, and thus promoted the intercourse of the Russians with +foreign merchants, manufacturers, and artisans, and gradually accustomed +the people to a better style of living, and to improved fashions in +dress, furniture, and equipage, and thus prepared the country to furnish +an extensive market for the encouragement of Russian arts and +manufactures as fast as they could be introduced. + +In the second place, the new system greatly increased the revenues of the +empire. It is true that the tariff was reduced, so that the articles +that were imported paid only about half as much in proportion after the +change as before. But then the new laws increased the importations so +much, that the loss was very much more than made up to the treasury, and +the emperor found in a very short time that the state of his finances was +greatly improved. This enabled him to take measures for introducing into +the country great numbers of foreign manufacturers and artisans from +Germany, France, Scotland, and other countries of western Europe. These +men were brought into the country by the emperor, and sustained there at +the public expense, until they had become so far established in their +several professions and trades that they could maintain themselves. +Among others, he brought in a great many carpenters and masons to teach +the Russians to build better habitations than those which they had been +accustomed to content themselves with, which were, in general, wooden +huts of very rude and inconvenient construction. One of the first +undertakings in which the masons were employed was the building of a +handsome palace of hewn stone in Moscow for the emperor himself, the +first edifice of that kind which had ever been built in that city. The +sight of a palace formed of so elegant and durable a material excited the +emulation of all the wealthy noblemen, so that, as soon as the masons +were released from their engagement with the emperor, they found plenty +of employment in building new houses and palaces for these noblemen. + +These and a great many other similar measures were devised by Le Fort +during the time that he continued in the service of the Czar, and the +success which attended all his plans and proposals gave him, in the end, +great influence, and was the means of acquiring for him great credit and +renown. And yet he was so discreet and unpretending in his manners and +demeanor, if the accounts which have come down to us respecting him are +correct, that the high favor in which he was held by the emperor did not +awaken in the hearts of the native nobles of the land any considerable +degree of that jealousy and ill-will which they might have been expected +to excite. Le Fort was of a very self-sacrificing and disinterested +disposition. He was generous in his dealings with all, and he often +exerted the ascendency which he had acquired over the mind of the emperor +to save other officers from undeserved or excessive punishment when they +displeased their august master; for it must be confessed that Peter, +notwithstanding all the excellences of his character, had the reputation +at this period of his life of being hasty and passionate. He was very +impatient of contradiction, and he could not tolerate any species of +opposition to his wishes. Being possessed himself of great decision of +character, and delighting, as he did, in promptness and energy of action, +he lost all patience sometimes, when annoyed by the delays, or the +hesitation, or the inefficiency of others, who were not so richly endowed +by nature as himself. In these cases he was often unreasonable, and +sometimes violent; and he would in many instances have acted in an +ungenerous and cruel manner if Le Fort had not always been at hand to +restrain and appease him. + +Le Fort always acted as intercessor in cases of difficulty of this sort; +so that the Russian noblemen, or boyars as they were called, in the end +looked upon him as their father. It is said that he actually saved the +lives of great numbers of them, whom Peter, without his intercession, +would have sentenced to death. Others he saved from the knout, and +others from banishment. At one time, when the emperor in a passion, was +going to cause one of his officers to be scourged, although, as Le Fort +thought, he had been guilty of no wrong which could deserve such a +punishment, Le Fort, after all other means had failed, bared his own +breast and shoulders, and bade the angry emperor to strike or cut there +if he would, but to spare the innocent person. The Czar was entirely +overcome by this noble generosity, and, clasping Le Fort in his arms, +thanked him for his interposition, at the same time allowing the +trembling prisoner to depart in peace, with his heart full of gratitude +toward the friend who had so nobly saved him. + +Another of the chief officers in Peter's service during the early part of +his reign was the Prince Menzikoff. His origin was very humble. His +Christian name was Alexander, and his father was a laboring man in the +service of a monastery on the banks of the Volga. The monasteries of +those times were endowed with large tracts of valuable land, which were +cultivated by servants or vassals, and from the proceeds of this +cultivation the monks were supported, and the monastery buildings kept in +repair or enlarged. + +Alexander spent the early years of his life in working with his father on +the monastery lands; but, being a lad of great spirit and energy, he +gradually became dissatisfied with this mode of life; for the peasants of +those days, such as his father, who tilled the lands of the nobles or of +the monks, were little better than slaves. Alexander, then, when he +arrived at the age of thirteen or fourteen, finding his situation and +prospects at home very gloomy and discouraging, concluded to go out into +the world and seek his fortune. + +So he left his father's hut and set out for Moscow. After meeting with +various adventures on the way and in the city, he finally found a place +in a pastry-cook's shop; but, instead of being employed in making and +baking the pies and tarts, he was sent out into the streets to sell them. +In order to attract customers to his merchandise, he used to sing songs +and tell stories in the streets. Indeed, it was the talent which he +evinced in these arts, doubtless, which led his master to employ him in +this way, instead of keeping him at work at home in the baking. + +The story which is told of the manner in which the emperor's attention +was first attracted to young Menzikoff is very curious, but, as is the +case with all other such personal anecdotes related of great sovereigns, +it is very doubtful how far it is to be believed. It is said that Peter, +passing along the street one day, stopped to listen to Menzikoff as he +was singing a song or telling a story to a crowd of listeners. He was +much diverted by one of the songs that he heard, and at the close of it +he spoke to the boy, and finally asked him what he would take for his +whole stock of cakes and pies, basket and all. The boy named the sum for +which he would sell all the cakes and pies, but as for the basket he said +that belonged to his master, and he had no power to sell it. + +[Illustration: Menzikoff selling his cakes.] + +"Still," he added, "every thing belongs to your majesty, and your majesty +has, therefore, only to give me the command, and I shall deliver it up to +you." + +This reply pleased the Czar so much that he sent for the boy to come to +him, and on conversing with him farther, and after making additional +inquiries respecting him, he was so well satisfied that he took him at +once into his service. + +All this took place before Le Fort's plan was formed for organizing a +company to exhibit to the emperor the style of uniform and the system of +military discipline adopted in western Europe, as has already been +described. Menzikoff joined this company, and he took so much interest +in the exercises and evolutions, and evinced so great a degree of +intelligence, and so much readiness in comprehending and in practicing +the various manoeuvres, that he attracted Le Fort's special attention. +He was soon promoted to office in the company, and ultimately he became +Le Fort's principal co-operator in his various measures and plans. From +this he rose by degrees, until in process of time he became one of the +most distinguished generals in Peter's army, and took a very important +part in some of his most celebrated campaigns. + +In reading stories like these, we are naturally led to feel a strong +interest in the persons who are the subjects of them, and we sometimes +insensibly form opinions of their characters which are far too favorable. +This Menzikoff, for example, notwithstanding the enterprising spirit +which he displayed in his boyhood, in setting off alone to Moscow to seek +his fortune, and his talent for telling stories and singing songs, and +the interest which he felt, and the success that he met with, in learning +Le Fort's military manoeuvres, and the great distinction which he +subsequently acquired as a military commander, may have been, after all, +in relation to any just and proper standards of moral duty, a very bad +man. Indeed, there is much reason to suppose that he was so. At all +events, he became subsequently implicated in a dreadful quarrel which +took place between Peter and his wife, under circumstances which appear +very much against him. This quarrel occurred after Peter had been +married only about two years, and when he was yet not quite twenty years +old. As usual in such cases, very different stories are told by the +friends respectively of the husband and the wife. On the part of the +empress it was said that the difficulty arose from Peter's having been +drawn away into bad company, and especially the company of bad women, +through the instrumentality of Menzikoff when he first came into Peter's +service. Menzikoff was a dissolute young man, it was said, while he was +in the service of the pastry-cook, and was accustomed to frequent the +haunts of the vicious and depraved about the town; and after he entered +into Peter's service, Peter himself began to go with him to these places, +disguised, of course, so as not to be known. This troubled Ottokesa, and +made her jealous; and when she remonstrated with her husband he was +angry, and by way of recrimination accused her of being unfaithful to +him. Menzikoff too was naturally filled with resentment at the empress's +accusations against him, and he took Peter's part against his wife. +Whatever may have been the truth in regard to the grounds of the +complaints made by the parties against each other, the power was on +Peter's side. He repudiated his wife, and then shut her up in a place of +seclusion, where he kept her confined all the remainder of her days. + +Besides the unfavorable inferences which we might justly draw from this +case, there are unfortunately other indications that Peter, +notwithstanding the many and great excellences of his character, was at +this period of his life violent and passionate in temper, very impatient +of contradiction or opposition, and often unreasonable and unjust in his +treatment of those who for any reason became the objects of his suspicion +or dislike. Various incidents and occurrences illustrating these traits +in his character will appear in the subsequent chapters of his history. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +COMMENCEMENT OF THE REIGN. + +1691-1697 + +Peter's unlimited power--Extent of his dominions--Character--His wishes +in respect to his dominion--Embassy to China--Siberia--Inhospitable +climate--The exiles--Western civilization--Ship-building--The Dutch +ship-yards--Saardam--The barge at the country palace--The emperor's +first vessels--Sham-fights--Azof--Naval operations against +Azof--Treachery of the artilleryman--Defeat--New attempt--The Turkish +fleet taken--Fall of Azof--Fame of the emperor--His plans for building +a fleet--Foreign workmen--Penalties--His arbitrary proceedings--He +sends the young nobility abroad--Opposition--Sullen mood of +mind--National prejudices offended--The opposition party--Arguments of +the disaffected--Religious feelings of the people--The patriarch--An +impious scheme--Plan of the conspirators--Fires--Dread of them in +Moscow--Modern cities--Plan for massacring the foreigners--The day--The +plot revealed--Measures taken by Peter--Torture--Punishment of the +conspirators--The column in the market-place + + +Peter was now not far from twenty years of age, and he was in full +possession of power as vast, perhaps--if we consider both the extent of +it and its absoluteness--as was ever claimed by any European sovereign. +There was no written constitution to limit his prerogatives, and no +Legislature or Parliament to control him by laws. In a certain sense, +as Alexander Menzikoff said when selling his cakes, every thing +belonged to him. His word was law. Life and death hung upon his +decree. His dominions extended so far that, on an occasion when he +wished to send an embassador to one of his neighbors--the Emperor of +China--it took the messenger more than _eighteen months_ of constant +and diligent traveling to go from the capital to the frontier. + +Such was Peter's position. As to character, he was talented, +ambitious, far-seeing, and resolute; but he was also violent in temper, +merciless and implacable toward his enemies, and possessed of an +indomitable will. + +He began immediately to feel a strong interest in the improvement of +his empire, in order to increase his own power and grandeur as the +monarch of it, just as a private citizen might wish to improve his +estate in order to increase his wealth and importance as the owner of +it. He sent the embassador above referred to to China in order to make +arrangements for increasing and improving the trade between the two +countries. This mission was arranged in a very imposing manner. The +embassador was attended with a train of twenty-one persons, who went +with him in the capacity of secretaries, interpreters, legal +councilors, and the like, besides a large number of servants and +followers to wait upon the gentlemen of the party, and to convey and +take care of the baggage. The baggage was borne in a train of wagons +which followed the carriages of the embassador and his suite, so that +the expedition moved through the country quite like a little army on a +march. + +It was nearly three years before the embassage returned. The measure, +however, was eminently successful. It placed the relations of the two +empires on a very satisfactory footing. + +The dominions of the Czar extended then, as now, through all the +northern portions of Europe and Asia, to the shores of the Icy Sea. A +very important part of this region is the famous Siberia. The land +here is not of much value for cultivation, on account of the long and +dreary winters and the consequent shortness of the summer season. But +this very coldness of the climate causes it to produce a great number +of fine fur-bearing animals, such as the sable, the mink, the ermine, +and the otter; for nature has so arranged it that, the colder any +climate is, the finer and the warmer is the fur which grows upon the +animals that live there. + +The inhabitants of Siberia are employed, therefore, chiefly in hunting +wild animals for their flesh or their fur, and in working the mines; +and, from time immemorial, it has been the custom to send criminals +there in banishment, and compel them to spend the remainder of their +lives in these toilsome and dangerous occupations. Of course, the +cold, the exposure, and the fatigue, joined to the mental distress and +suffering which the thought of their hard fate and the recollections of +home must occasion, soon bring far the greater proportion of these +unhappy outcasts to the grave. + +Peter interested himself very much in efforts to open communications +with these retired and almost inaccessible regions, and to improve and +extend the working of the mines. But his thoughts were chiefly +occupied with the condition of the European portion of his dominions, +and with schemes for introducing more and more fully the arts and +improvements of western Europe among his people. He was ready to seize +upon every occasion which could furnish any hint or suggestion to this +end. + +The manner in which his attention was first turned to the subject of +ship-building illustrated this. In those days Holland was the great +centre of commerce and navigation for the whole world, and the art of +ship-building had made more progress in that nation than in any other. +The Dutch held colonies in every quarter of the globe. Their +men-of-war and their fleets of merchantmen penetrated to every sea, and +their naval commanders were universally renowned for their enterprise, +their bravery, and their nautical skill. + +The Dutch not only built ships for themselves, but orders were sent to +their ship-yards from all parts of the world, inasmuch as in these +yards all sorts of vessels, whether for war, commerce, or pleasure, +could be built better and cheaper than in any other place. + +One of the chief centres in which these ship and boat building +operations were carried on was the town of Saardam. This town lies +near Amsterdam, the great commercial capital of the country. It +extends for a mile or two along the banks of a deep and still river, +which furnish most complete and extensive facilities for the docks and +ship-yards. + +Now it happened that, one day when Peter was with Le Fort at one of his +country palaces where there was a little lake, and a canal connected +with it, which had been made for pleasure-sailing on the grounds, his +attention was attracted to the form and construction of a yacht which +was lying there. This yacht having been sent for from Holland at the +time when the palace grounds were laid out, the emperor fell into +conversation with Le Fort in respect to it, and this led to the subject +of ships and ship-building in general. Le Fort represented so strongly +to his master the advantages which Holland and the other maritime +powers of Europe derived from their ships of war, that Peter began +immediately to feel a strong desire to possess a navy himself. There +were, of course, great difficulties in the way. Russia was almost +entirely an inland country. There were no good sea-ports, and Moscow, +the capital, was situated very far in the interior. Then, besides, +Peter not only had no ships, but there were no mechanics or artisans in +Russia that knew how to build them. + +Le Fort, however, when he perceived how deep was the interest which +Peter felt in the subject, made inquiries, and at length succeeded in +finding among the Dutch merchants that were in Moscow the means of +procuring some ship-builders to build him several small vessels, which, +when they were completed, were launched upon a lake not far from the +city. Afterward other vessels were built in the same place, in the +form of frigates; and these, when they were launched, were properly +equipped and armed, under Le Fort's direction, and the emperor took +great interest in sailing about in them on the lake, in learning +personally all the evolutions necessary for the management of them, and +in performing sham-fights by setting one of them against another. He +took command of one of the vessels as captain, and thenceforward +assumed that designation as one of his most honorable titles. All this +took place when Peter was about twenty-two years old. + +Not very long after this the emperor had an opportunity to make a +commencement in converting his nautical knowledge to actual use by +engaging in something like a naval operation against an enemy, in +conjunction with several other European powers, he declared war anew +against the Turks and Tartars, and the chief object of the first +campaign was the capture of the city of Azof, which is situated on the +shores of the Sea of Azof, near the mouth of the River Don. Peter not +only approached and invested the city by land, but he also took +possession of the river leading to it by means of a great number of +boats and vessels which he caused to be built along the banks. In this +way he cut off all supplies from the city, and pressed it so closely +that he would have taken it, it was said, had it not been for the +treachery of an officer of artillery, who betrayed to the enemy the +principal battery which had been raised against the town just as it was +ready to be opened upon the walls. This artilleryman, who was not a +native Russian, but one of the foreigners whom the Czar had enlisted in +his service, became exasperated at some ill treatment which he received +from the Russian nobleman who commanded his corps; so he secretly drove +nails into the touchholes of all the guns in the battery, and then, in +the night, went over to the Turks and informed them what he had done. +Accordingly, very early in the morning the Turks sallied forth and +attacked the battery, and the men who were charged with the defense of +it, on rushing to the guns, found that they could not be fired. The +consequence was that the battery was taken, the men put to flight, and +the guns destroyed. This defeat entirely disconcerted the Russian +army, and so effectually deranged their plans that they were obliged to +raise the siege and withdraw, with the expectation, however, of +renewing the attempt in another campaign. + +Accordingly, the next year the attempt was renewed, and many more boats +and vessels were built upon the river to co-operate with the besiegers. +The Turks had ships of their own, which they brought into the Sea of +Azof for the protection of the town. But Peter sent down a few of his +smaller vessels, and by means of them contrived to entice the Turkish +commander up a little way into the river. Peter then came down upon +him with all his fleet, and the Turkish ships were overpowered and +taken. Thus Peter gained his first naval victory almost, as we might +say, on the land. He conquered and captured a fleet of sea-going ships +by enticing them among the boats and other small craft which he had +built up country on the banks of a river. + +Soon after this Azof was taken. One of the conditions of the surrender +was that the treacherous artilleryman should be delivered up to the +Czar. He was taken to Moscow, and there put to death with tortures too +horrible to be described. They did not deny that the man had been +greatly injured by his Russian commander, but they told him that what +he ought to have done was to appeal to the emperor for redress, and not +to seek his revenge by traitorously giving up to the enemy the trust +committed to his charge. + +The emperor acquired great fame throughout Europe by the success of his +operations in the siege of Azof. This success also greatly increased +his interest in the building of ships, especially as he now, since Azof +had fallen into his hands, had a port upon an open sea. + +In a word, Peter was now very eager to begin at once the building ships +of war. He was determined that he would have a fleet which would +enable him to go out and meet the Turks in the Black Sea. The great +difficulty was to provide the necessary funds. To accomplish this +purpose, Peter, who was never at all scrupulous in respect to the means +which he adopted for attaining his ends, resorted at once to very +decided measures. Besides the usual taxes which were laid upon the +people to maintain the war, he ordained that a certain number of +wealthy noblemen should each pay for one ship, which, however, as some +compensation for the cost which the nobleman was put to in building it, +he was at liberty to call by his own name. The same decree was made in +respect to a number of towns, monasteries, companies, and public +institutions. The emperor also made arrangements for having a large +number of workmen sent into Russia from Holland, and from Venice, and +from other maritime countries. The emperor laid his plans in this way +for the construction and equipment of a fleet of about one hundred +ships and vessels, consisting of frigates, store-ships, bomb-vessels, +galleys, and galliasses. These were all to be built, equipped, and +made in all respects ready for sea in the space of three years; and if +any person or party failed to have his ship ready at that time, the +amount of the tax which had been assessed to him was to be doubled. + +In all these proceedings, the Czar, as might have been expected from +his youth and his headstrong character, acted in a very summary, and in +many respects in an arbitrary and despotic manner. His decrees +requiring the nobles to contribute such large sums for the building of +his fleet occasioned a great deal of dissatisfaction and complaint. +And very soon he resorted to some other measures, which increased the +general discontent exceedingly. + +He appointed a considerable number of the younger nobility, and the +sons of other persons of wealth and distinction, to travel in the +western countries of Europe while the fleet was preparing, giving them +special instructions in respect to the objects of interest which they +should severally examine and study. The purpose of this measure was to +advance the general standard of intelligence in Russia by affording to +these young men the advantages of foreign travel, and enlarging their +ideas in respect to the future progress of their own country in the +arts and appliances of civilized life. The general idea of the emperor +in this was excellent, and the effect of the measure would have been +excellent too if it had been carried out in a more gentle and moderate +way. But the fathers of the young men were incensed at having their +sons ordered thus peremptorily out of the country, whether they liked +to go or not, and however inconvenient it might be for the fathers to +provide the large amounts of money which were required for such +journeys. It is said that one young man was so angry at being thus +sent away that he determined that his country should not derive any +benefit from the measure, so far as his case was concerned, and +accordingly, when he arrived at Venice, which was the place where he +was sent, he shut himself up in his house, and remained there all the +time, in order that he might not see or learn any thing to make use of +on his return. + +This seems almost incredible. Indeed, the story has more the air of a +witticism, invented to express the sullen humor with which many of the +young men went away, than the sober statement of a fact. Still, it is +not impossible that such a thing may have actually occurred; for the +veneration of the old Russian families for their own country, and the +contempt with which they had been accustomed for many generations to +look upon foreigners, and upon every thing connected with foreign +manners and customs, were such as might lead in extreme cases, to +almost any degree of fanaticism in resisting the emperor's measures. +At any rate, in a short time there was quite a powerful party formed in +opposition to the foreign influences which Peter was introducing into +the country. + +There was no one in the imperial family to whom this party could look +for a leader and head except the Princess Sophia. The Czar John, +Peter's feeble brother, was dead, otherwise they might have made his +name their rallying cry. Sophia was still shut up in the convent to +which Peter had sent her on the discovery of her conspiracy against +him. She was kept very closely guarded there. Still, the leaders of +the opposition contrived to open a communication with her. They took +every means to increase and extend the prevailing discontent. To +people of wealth and rank they represented the heavy taxes which they +were obliged to pay to defray the expenses of the emperor's wild +schemes, and the loss of their own proper influence and power in the +government of the country, they themselves being displaced to make room +for foreigners, or favorites like Menzikoff, that were raised from the +lowest grades of life to posts of honor and profit which ought to be +bestowed upon the ancient nobility alone. To the poor and ignorant +they advanced other arguments, which were addressed chiefly to their +religious prejudices. The government were subverting all the ancient +usages of the country, they said, and throwing every thing into the +hands of infidel or heretical foreigners. The course which the Czar +was pursuing was contrary to the laws of God, they said, who had +forbidden the children of Israel to have any communion with the +unbelieving nations around them, in order that they might not be led +away by them into idolatry. And so in Russia, they said, the extensive +power of granting permission to any Russian subject to leave the +country vested, according to the ancient usages of the empire, with the +patriarch, the head of the Church--and Peter had violated these usages +in sending away so many of the sons of the nobility without the +patriarch's consent. There were many other measures, too, which Peter +had adopted, or which he had then in contemplation, that were equally +obnoxious to the charge of impiety. For instance, he had formed a +plan--and he had even employed engineers to take preliminary steps in +reference to the execution of it--for making a canal from the River +Wolga to the River Don, thus presumptuously and impiously undertaking +to turn the streams one way, when Providence had designed them to flow +in another! Absurd as many of these representations were, they had +great influence with the mass of the common people. + +At length this opposition party became so extended and so strong that +the leaders thought the time had arrived for them to act. They +accordingly arranged the details of their plot, and prepared to put it +in execution. + +The scheme which they formed was this: they were to set fire to some +houses in the night, not far from the royal palace, and when the +emperor came out, as it is said was his custom to do, in order to +assist in extinguishing the flames, they were to set upon him and +assassinate him. + +It may seem strange that it should be the custom of the emperor himself +to go out and assist personally in extinguishing fires. But it so +happened that the houses of Moscow at this time were almost all built +of wood, and they were so combustible, and were, moreover, so much +exposed, on account of the many fires required in the winter season in +so cold a climate, that the city was subject to dreadful +conflagrations. So great was the danger, that the inhabitants were +continually in dread of it, and all classes vied with each other in +efforts to avert the threatened calamity whenever a fire broke out. +Besides this, there were in those days no engines for throwing water, +and no organized department of firemen. All this, of course, is +entirely different at the present day in modern cities, where houses +are built of brick or stone, and the arrangements for extinguishing +fires are so complete that an alarm of fire creates no sensation, but +people go on with their business or saunter carelessly along the +streets, while the firemen are gathering, without feeling the least +concern. + +As soon as they had made sure of the death of the Czar, the +conspirators were to repair to the convent where Sophia was imprisoned, +release her from her confinement, and proclaim her queen. They were +then to reorganize the Guards, restore all the officers who had been +degraded at the time of Couvansky's rebellion, then massacre all the +foreigners whom Peter had brought into the country, especially his +particular favorites, and so put every thing back upon its ancient +footing. + +The time fixed for the execution of this plot was the night of the 2d +of February, 1697; but the whole scheme was defeated by what the +conspirators would probably call the treachery of two of their number. +These were two officers of the Guards who had been concerned in the +plot, but whose hearts failed them when the hour arrived for putting it +into execution. Falling into conversation with each other just before +the time, and finding that they agreed in feeling on the subject, they +resolved at once to go and make a full confession to the Czar. + +So they went immediately to the house of Le Fort, where the Czar then +was, and made a confession of the whole affair. They related all the +details of the plot, and gave the names of the principal persons +concerned in it. + +The emperor was at table with Le Fort at the time that he received this +communication. He listened to it very coolly--manifested no +surprise--but simply rose from the table, ordered a small body of men +to attend him, and, taking the names of the principal conspirators, he +went at once to their several houses and arrested them on the spot. + +The leaders having been thus seized, the execution of the plot was +defeated. The prisoners were soon afterward put to the torture, in +order to compel them to confess their crime, and to reveal the names of +all their confederates. Whether the names thus extorted from them by +suffering were false or true would of course be wholly uncertain, but +all whom they named were seized, and, after a brief and very informal +trial, all, or nearly all, were condemned to death. The sentence of +death was executed on them in the most barbarous manner. A great +column was erected in the market-place in Moscow, and fitted with iron +spikes and hooks, which were made to project from it on every side, +from top to bottom. The criminals were then brought out one by one, +and first their arms were cut off, then their legs, and finally their +heads. The amputated limbs were then hung up upon the column by the +hooks, and the heads were fixed to the spikes. There they remained--a +horrid spectacle, intended to strike terror into all beholders--through +February and March, as long as the weather continued cold enough to +keep them frozen. When at length the spring came on, and the flesh of +these dreadful trophies began to thaw, they were taken down and thrown +together into a pit, among the bodies of common thieves and murderers. + +This was the end of the second conspiracy formed against the life of +Peter the Great. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +THE EMPEROR'S TOUR. + +1697 + +Objects of the tour--An embassy to be sent--The emperor to go +incognito--His associates--The regency--Disposition of the Guards--The +embassy leaves Moscow--Riga--Not allowed to see the +fortifications--Arrival at Konigsberg--Grand procession in entering the +city--The pages--Curiosity of the people--The escort--Crowds in the +streets--The embassy arrives at its lodgings--Audience of the +king--Presents--Delivery of the letter from the Czar--Its contents--The +king's reply--Grand banquet--Effects of such an embassy--The policy of +modern governments--The people now reserve their earnings for their own +use--How Peter occupied his time--Dantzic--Peter preserves his +incognito--Presents--His dress--His interest in the shipping--Grand +entrance into Holland--Curiosity of the people--Peter enters Amsterdam +privately--Views of the Hollanders--Residence of the Czar--The East India +Company--Peter goes to work--His real object in pursuing this course--His +taste for mechanics--The opportunities and facilities he enjoyed--His old +workshop--Mode of preserving it--The workmen in the yard--Peter's visits +to his friends in Amsterdam--The rich merchant--Peter's manners and +character--The Hague--The embassy at the Hague + + +At the time when the emperor issued his orders to so many of the sons of +the nobility, requiring them to go and reside for a time in the cities of +western Europe, he formed the design of going himself to make a tour in +that part of the world, for the purpose of visiting the courts and +capitals, and seeing with his own eyes what arts and improvements were to +be found there which might be advantageously introduced into his own +dominions. In the spring of the year 1697, he thought that the time had +come for carrying this idea into effect. + +The plan which he formed was not to travel openly in his own name, for he +knew that in this case a great portion of his time and attention, in the +different courts and capitals, would be wasted in the grand parades, +processions, and ceremonies with which the different sovereigns would +doubtless endeavor to honor his visit. He therefore determined to travel +incognito, in the character of a private person in the train of an +embassy. An embassy could proceed more quietly from place to place than +a monarch traveling in his own name; and then besides, if the emperor +occupied only a subordinate place in the train of the embassy, he could +slip away from it to pursue his own inquiries in a private manner +whenever he pleased, leaving the embassadors themselves and those of +their train who enjoyed such scenes to go through all the public +receptions and other pompous formalities which would have been so +tiresome to him. + +General Le Fort, who had by this time been raised to a very high position +under Peter's government, was placed at the head of this embassy. Two +other great officers of state were associated with him. Then came +secretaries, interpreters, and subordinates of all kinds, in great +numbers, among whom Peter was himself enrolled under a fictitious name. +Peter took with him several young men of about his own age. Two or three +of these were particular friends of his, whom he wished to have accompany +him for the sake of their companionship on the journey. There were some +others whom he selected on account of the talent which they had evinced +for mechanical and mathematical studies. These young men he intended to +have instructed in the art of ship-building in some of the countries +which the embassy were to visit. + +Besides these arrangements in respect to the embassy, provision was, of +course, to be made by the emperor for the government of the country +during his absence. He left the administration in the hands of three +great nobles, the first of whom was one of his uncles, his mother's +brother. The name of this prince was Naraskin. The other two nobles +were associated with Naraskin in the regency. These commissioners were +to have the whole charge of the government of the country during the +Czar's absence. Peter's little son, whose name was Alexis, and who was +now about seven years old, was also committed to their keeping. + +Not having entire confidence in the fidelity of the old Guards, Peter did +not trust the defense of Moscow to them, but he garrisoned the +fortifications in and around the capital with a force of about twelve +thousand men that he had gradually brought together for that purpose. A +great many of these troops, both officers and men, were foreigners. +Peter placed greater reliance on them on that account, supposing that +they would be less likely to sympathize with and join the people of the +city in case of any popular discontent or disturbances. The Guards were +sent off into the interior and toward the frontiers, where they could do +no great mischief; even if disposed. + +At length, when every thing was ready, the embassy set out from Moscow. +The departure of the expedition from the gates of the city made quite an +imposing scene, so numerous was the party which composed the embassadors' +train. There were in all about three hundred men. The principal persons +of the embassy were, of course, splendidly mounted and equipped, and they +were followed by a line of wagons conveying supplies of clothing, stores, +presents for foreign courts, and other baggage. This baggage-train was, +of course, attended by a suitable escort. Vast multitudes of people +assembled along the streets and at the gates of the city to see the grand +procession commence its march. + +The first place of importance at which the embassy stopped was the city +of Riga, on the shores of the Gulf of Riga, in the eastern part of the +Baltic Sea.[1] Riga and the province in which it was situated, though +now a part of the Russian empire, then belonged to Sweden. It was the +principal port on the Baltic in those days, and Peter felt a great +interest in viewing it, as there was then no naval outlet in that +direction from his dominions. The governor of Riga was very polite to +the embassy, and gave them a very honorable reception in the city, but he +refused to allow the embassadors to examine the fortifications. It had +been arranged beforehand between the embassadors and Peter that two of +them were to ask permission to see the fortifications, and that Peter +himself was to go around with them as their attendant when they made +their visit, in order that he might make his own observations in respect +to the strength of the works and the mode of their construction. Peter +was accordingly very much disappointed and vexed at the refusal of the +governor to allow the fortifications to be viewed, and he secretly +resolved that he would seize the first opportunity after his return to +open a quarrel with the King of Sweden, and take this city away from him. + +Leaving Riga, the embassy moved on toward the southward and westward +until, at length, they entered the dominions of the King of Prussia. +They came soon to the city of Konigsberg, which was at that time the +capital. The reception of the embassy at this city was attended with +great pomp and display. The whole party halted at a small village at the +distance of about a mile from the gates, in order to give time for +completing the arrangements, and to await the arrival of a special +messenger and an escort from the king to conduct them within the walls. + +At length, when all was ready, the procession formed about four o'clock +in the afternoon. First came a troop of horses that belonged to the +king. They were splendidly caparisoned, but were not mounted. They were +led by grooms. Then came an escort of troops of the Royal Guards. They +were dressed in splendid red uniform, and were preceded by kettle-drums. +Then a company of the Prussian nobility in beautifully-decorated coaches, +each drawn by six horses. Next came the state carriages of the king. +The king himself was not in either of them, it being etiquette for the +king to remain in his palace, and receive the embassy at a public +audience there after their arrival. The royal carriages were sent out, +however, as a special though indirect token of respect to the Czar, who +was known to be in the train. + +Then came a precession of pages, consisting of those of the king and +those of the embassadors marching together. These pages were all +beautiful boys, elegantly dressed in characteristic liveries of red laced +with gold. They marched three together, two of the king's pages in each +rank, with one of the embassadors' between them. The spectators were +very much interested in these boys, and the boys were likewise doubtless +much interested in each other; but they could not hold any conversation +with each other, for probably those of each set could speak only their +own language. + +Next after the pages came the embassy itself. First there was a line of +thirty-six carriages, containing the principal officers and attendants of +the three embassadors. In one of these carriages, riding quietly with +the rest as a subordinate in the train, was Peter. There was doubtless +some vague intimation circulating among the crowd that the Emperor of +Russia was somewhere in the procession, concealed in his disguise. But +there were no means of identifying him, and, of course, whatever +curiosity the people felt on the subject remained ungratified. + +Next after these carriages came the military escort which the embassadors +had brought with them. The escort was headed by the embassadors' band of +music, consisting of trumpets, kettle-drums, and other martial +instruments. Then came a body of foot-guards: their uniform was green, +and they were armed with silver battle-axes. Then came a troop of +horsemen, which completed the escort. Immediately after the escort there +followed the grand state carriage of the embassy, with the three +embassadors in it. + +The procession was closed by a long train of elegant carriages, conveying +various personages of wealth and distinction, who had come from the city +to join in doing honor to the strangers. + +As the procession entered the city, they found the streets through which +they were to pass densely lined on each side by the citizens who had +assembled to witness the spectacle. Through this vast concourse the +embassadors and their suite advanced, and were finally conducted to a +splendid palace which had been prepared for them in the heart of the +city. The garrison of the city was drawn up at the gates of the palace, +to receive them as they arrived. When the carriage reached the gate and +the embassadors began to alight, a grand salute was fired from the guns +of the fortress. The embassadors were immediately conducted to their +several apartments in the palace by the officers who had led the +procession, and then left to repose. When the officers were about to +withdraw, the embassadors accompanied them to the head of the stairs and +took leave of them there. The doors of the palace and the halls and +entrances leading to the apartments of the embassadors were guarded by +twenty-four soldiers, who were stationed there as sentinels to protect +the precincts from all intrusion. + +Four days after this there was another display, when the embassadors were +admitted to their first public audience with the king. There was again a +grand procession through the streets, with great crowds assembled to +witness it, and bands of music, and splendid uniforms, and gorgeous +equipages, all more magnificent, if possible, than before. The +embassadors were conducted in this way to the royal palace. They entered +the hall, dressed in cloth of gold and silver, richly embroidered, and +adorned with precious stones of great value. Here they found the king +seated on a throne, and attended by all the principal nobles of his +court. The embassadors advanced to pay their reverence to his majesty, +bearing in their hands, in a richly-ornamented box, a letter from the +Czar, with which they had been intrusted for him. There were a number of +attendants also, who were loaded with rich and valuable presents which +the embassadors had brought to offer to the king. The presents consisted +of the most costly furs, tissues of gold and silver, precious stones, and +the like, all productions of Russia, and of very great value. + +The king received the embassadors in a very honorable manner, and made +them an address of welcome in reply to the brief addresses of salutation +and compliment which they first delivered to him. He received the letter +from their hands and read it. The presents were deposited on tables +which had been set for the purpose. + +The letter stated that the Czar had sent the embassy to assure him of his +desire "to improve the affection and good correspondence which had always +existed, as well between his royal highness and himself as between their +illustrious ancestors." It said also that "the same embassy being from +thence to proceed to the court of Vienna, the Czar requested the king to +help them on their journey." And finally it expressed the thanks of the +Czar, for the "engineers and bombardiers" which the king had sent him +during the past year, and who had been so useful to him in the siege of +Azof. + +The king, having read the letter, made a verbal reply to the embassadors, +asking them to thank the Czar in his name for the friendly sentiments +which his letter expressed, and for the splendid embassy which he had +sent to him. + +All this time the Czar himself, the author of the letter, was standing +by, a quiet spectator of the scene, undistinguishable from the other +secretaries and attendants that formed the embassadors' train. + +After the ceremony of audience was completed the embassadors withdrew. +They were reconducted to their lodgings with the same ceremonies as were +observed in their coming out, and then spent the evening at a grand +banquet provided for them by the elector. All the principal nobility of +Prussia were present at this banquet, and after it was concluded the town +was illuminated with a great display of fireworks, which continued until +midnight. + +The sending of a grand embassage like this from one royal or imperial +potentate to another was a very common occurrence in those times. The +pomp and parade with which they were accompanied were intended equally +for the purpose of illustrating the magnificence of the government that +sent them, and of offering a splendid token of respect to the one to +which they were sent. Of course, the expense was enormous, both to the +sovereign who sent and to the one who received the compliment. But such +sovereigns as those were very willing to expend money in parades which +exhibited before the world the evidences of their own grandeur and power, +especially as the mass of the people, from whose toils the means of +defraying the cost was ultimately to come, were so completely held in +subjection by military power that they could not even complain, far less +could they take any effectual measures for calling their oppressors to +account. In governments that are organized at the present day, either by +the establishment of new constitutions, or by the remodeling and +reforming of old ones, all this is changed. The people understand now +that all the money which is expended by their governments is ultimately +paid by themselves, and they are gradually devising means by which they +can themselves exercise a greater and greater control over these +expenditures. They retain a far greater portion of the avails of their +labor in their own hands, and expend it in adorning and making +comfortable their own habitations, and cultivating the minds of their +children, while they require the government officials to live, and +travel, and transact their business in a more quiet and unpretending way +than was customary of yore. + +Thus, in traveling over most parts of the United States, you will find +the people who cultivate the land living in comfortable, well-furnished +houses, with separate rooms appropriately arranged for the different uses +of the family. There is a carpet on the parlor floor, and there are +books in the book-case, and good supplies of comfortable clothing in the +closets. But then our embassadors and ministers in foreign courts are +obliged to content themselves with what they consider very moderate +salaries, which do not at all allow of their competing in style and +splendor with the embassadors sent from the old despotic monarchies of +Europe, under which the people who till the ground live in bare and +wretched huts, and are supplied from year to year with only just enough +of food and clothing to keep them alive and enable them to continue their +toil. + +But to return to Peter and his embassy. When the public reception was +over Peter introduced himself privately to the king in his own name, and +the king, in a quiet and unofficial manner, paid him great attention. +There were to be many more public ceremonies, banquets, and parades for +the embassy in the city during their stay, but Peter withdrew himself +entirely from the scene, and went out to a certain bay, which extended +about one hundred and fifty miles along the shore between Konigsberg and +Dantzic, and occupied himself in examining the vessels which were there, +and in sailing to and fro in them. + +This bay you will find delineated on any map of Europe. It extends along +the coast for a considerable distance between Konigsberg and Dantzic, on +the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea. + +When the embassadors and their train had finished their banquetings and +celebrations in Konigsberg, Peter joined them again, and the expedition +proceeded to Dantzic. This was at that time, as it is now, a large +commercial city, being one of the chief ports on the Baltic for the +exportation of grain from Poland and other fertile countries in the +interior. + +By this time it began to be every where well known that Peter himself was +traveling with the embassy. Peter would not, however, allow himself to +be recognized at all, or permit any public notice to be taken of his +presence, but went about freely in all the places that he visited with +his own companions, just as if he were a private person, leaving all the +public parades and receptions, and all the banquetings, and other state +and civic ceremonies, to the three embassadors and their immediate train. + +A great many elegant and expensive presents, however, were sent in to +him, under pretense of sending them to the embassadors. + +The expedition traveled on in this way along the coasts of the Baltic +Sea, on the way toward Holland, which was the country that Peter was most +eager to see. At every city where they stopped Peter went about +examining the shipping. He was often attended by some important official +person of the place, but in other respects he went without any ceremony +whatever. He used to change his dress, putting on, in the different +places that he visited, that which was worn by the common people of the +town, so as not to attract any attention, and not even to be recognized +as a foreigner. At one port, where there were a great many Dutch vessels +that he wished to see, he wore the pea-jacket and the other sailor-like +dress of a common Dutch skipper,[2] in order that he might ramble about +at his ease along the docks, and mingle freely with the seafaring men, +without attracting any notice at all. + +[Illustration: Peter among the shipping.] + +The people of Holland were aware that the embassy was coming into their +country, and that Peter himself accompanied it, and they accordingly +prepared to receive the party with the highest marks of honor. As the +embassy, after crossing the frontier, moved on toward Amsterdam, salutes +were fired from the ramparts of all the great towns that they passed, the +soldiers were drawn out, and civic processions, formed of magistrates and +citizens, met them at the gates to conduct them through the streets. The +windows, too, and the roofs of all the houses, were crowded with +spectators. Wherever they stopped at night bonfires and illuminations +were made in honor of their arrival, and sometimes beautiful fireworks +were played off in the evening before their palace windows. + +Of course, there was a great desire felt every where among the spectators +to discover which of the personages who followed in the train of the +embassy was the Czar himself. They found it, however, impossible to +determine this point, so completely had Peter disguised his person, and +merged himself with the rest. Indeed, in some cases, when the procession +was moving forward with great ceremony, the object of the closest +scrutiny in every part for thousands of eyes, Peter himself was not in it +at all. This was particularly the case on the occasion of the grand +entry into Amsterdam. Peter left the party at a distance from the city, +in order to go in quietly the next day, in company with some merchants +with whom he had become acquainted. And, accordingly, while all +Amsterdam had gathered into the streets, and were watching with the most +intense curiosity every train as it passed, in order to discover which +one contained the great Czar, the great Czar himself was several miles +away, sitting quietly with his friends, the merchants, at a table in a +common country inn. + +The government and the people of Holland took a very great interest in +this embassy, not only on account of the splendor of it, and the +magnitude of the imperial power which it represented, but also on account +of the business and pecuniary considerations which were involved. They +wished very much to cultivate a good understanding with Russia, on +account of the trade and commerce of that country, which was already very +great, and was rapidly increasing. They determined, therefore, to show +the embassy every mark of consideration and honor. + +Besides the measures which they adopted for giving the embassy itself a +grand reception, the government set apart a spacious and splendid house +in Amsterdam for the use of the Czar during his stay. They did this in a +somewhat private and informal manner, it is true, for they knew that +Peter did not wish that his presence with the embassy should be openly +noticed in any way. They organized also a complete household for this +palace, including servants, attendants, and officers of all kinds, in a +style corresponding to the dignity of the exalted personage who was +expected to occupy it. + +But Peter, when he arrived, would not occupy the palace at all, but went +into a quiet lodging among the shipping, where he could ramble about +without constraint, and see all that was to be seen which could +illustrate the art of navigation. The Dutch East India Company, which +was then, perhaps, the greatest and most powerful association of +merchants which had ever existed, had large ship-yards, where their +vessels were built, at Saardam. Saardam was almost a suburb of +Amsterdam, being situated on a deep river which empties into the Y, so +called, which is the harbor of Amsterdam, and only a few miles from the +town. Peter immediately made arrangements for going to these ship-yards +and spending the time while the embassy remained in that part of the +country in studying the construction of ships, and in becoming acquainted +with the principal builders. Here, as the historians of the times say, +he entered himself as a common ship-carpenter, being enrolled in the list +of the company's workmen by the name Peter Michaelhoff, which was as +nearly as possible his real name. He lived here several months, and +devoted himself diligently to his work. He kept two or three of his +companions with him--those whom he had brought from Moscow as his friends +and associates on the tour; but they, it is said, did not take hold of +the hard work with nearly as much zeal and energy as Peter displayed. +Peter himself worked for the greatest part of every day among the other +workmen, wearing also the same dress that they wore. When he was tired +of work he would go out on the water, and sail and row about in the +different sorts of boats, so as to make himself practically acquainted +with the comparative effects of the various modes of construction. + +The object which Peter had in view in all this was, doubtless, in a great +measure, his own enjoyment for the time being. He was so much interested +in the subject of ships and ship-building, and in every thing connected +with navigation, that it was a delight to him to be in the midst of such +scenes as were to be witnessed in the company's yards. He was still but +a young man, and, like a great many other young men, he liked boats and +the water. It is not probable, notwithstanding what is said by +historians about his performances with the broad-axe, that he really did +much serious work. Still he was naturally fond of mechanical +occupations, as the fact of his making a wheelbarrow with which to +construct a fortification, in his schoolboy days, sufficiently indicates. + +Then, again, his being in the ship-yards so long, nominally as one of the +workmen, gave him undoubtedly great facilities for observing every thing +which it was important that he should know. Of course, he could not have +seriously intended to make himself an actual and practical +ship-carpenter, for, in the first place, the time was too short. A trade +like that of a ship-carpenter requires years of apprenticeship to make a +really good workman. Then, in the second place, the mechanical part of +the work was not the part which it devolved upon him, as a sovereign +intent on building up a navy for the protection of his empire, even to +superintend. He could not, therefore, have seriously intended to learn +to build ships himself, but only to make himself nominally a workman, +partly for the pleasure which it gave him to place himself so wholly at +home among the shipping, and partly for the sake of the increased +opportunities which he thereby obtained of learning many things which it +was important that he should know. + +Travelers visiting Holland at the present day often go out to Saardam to +see the little building that is still shown as the shop which Peter +occupied while he was there. It is a small wooden building, leaning and +bent with age and decrepitude and darkened by exposure and time. Within +the last half century, however, in order to save so curious a relic from +farther decay, the proprietors of the place have constructed around and +over it an outer building of brick, which incloses the hut itself like a +case. The sides of the outer building are formed of large, open arches, +which allow the hut within to be seen. The ground on which the hut +stands has also been laid out prettily as a garden, and is inclosed by a +wall. Within this wall, and near the gate, is a very neat and pretty +Dutch cottage, in which the custodian lives who shows the place to +strangers. + +While Peter was in the ship-yards the workmen knew who he was, but all +persons were forbidden to gather around or gaze at him, or to interfere +with him in any way by their notice or their attentions. They were to +allow him to go and come as he pleased, without any molestation. These +orders they obeyed as well as they could, as every one was desirous of +treating their visitor in a manner as agreeable to him as possible, so as +to prolong his stay. + +Peter varied his amusements, while he thus resided in Saardam, by making +occasional visits in a quiet and private way to certain friends in +Amsterdam. He very seldom attended any of the great parades and +celebrations which were continually taking place in honor of the embassy, +but went only to the houses of men eminent in private life for their +attainments in particular branches of knowledge, or for their experience +or success as merchants or navigators. There was one person in +particular that Peter became acquainted with in Amsterdam, whose company +and conversation pleased him very much, and whom he frequently visited. +This was a certain wealthy merchant, whose operations were on so vast a +scale that he was accustomed to send off special expeditions at his own +expense, all over the world, to explore new regions and discover new +fields for his commercial enterprise. In order also to improve the +accuracy of the methods employed by his ship-masters for ascertaining the +latitude and longitude in navigating their ships, he built an +observatory, and furnished it with the telescopes, quadrants, and other +costly instruments necessary for making the observations--all at his own +expense. + +With this gentleman, and with the other persons in Amsterdam that Peter +took a fancy to, he lived on very friendly and familiar terms. He often +came in from Saardam to visit them, and would sometimes spend a +considerable portion of the night in drinking and making merry with them. +He assumed with these friends none of the reserve and dignity of demeanor +that we should naturally associate with the idea of a king. Indeed, he +was very blunt, and often rough and overbearing in his manners, not +unfrequently doing and saying things which would scarcely be pardoned in +a person of inferior station. When thwarted or opposed in any way he was +irritable and violent, and he evinced continually a temper that was very +far from being amiable. In a word, though his society was eagerly sought +by all whom he was willing to associate with, he seems to have made no +real friends. Those who knew him admired his intelligence and his +energy, and they respected his power, but he was not a man that any one +could love. + +Amsterdam, though it was the great commercial centre of Holland--and, +indeed, at that time, of the world--was not the capital of the country. +The seat of government was then, as now, at the Hague. Accordingly, +after remaining as long at Amsterdam as Peter wished to amuse himself in +the ship-yards, the embassy moved on to the Hague, where it was received +in a very formal and honorable manner by the king and the government. +The presence of Peter could not be openly referred to, but very special +and unusual honors were paid to the embassy in tacit recognition of it. +At the Hague were resident ministers from all the great powers of Europe, +and these all, with one exception, came to pay visits of ceremony to the +embassadors, which visits were of course duly returned with great pomp +and parade. The exception was the minister of France. There was a +coolness existing at this time between the Russian and the French +governments on account of something Peter had done in respect to the +election of a king of Poland, which displeased the French king, and on +this account the French minister declined taking part in the special +honors paid to the embassy. + +The Hague was at this time perhaps the most influential and powerful +capital of Europe. It was the centre, in fact, of all important +political movements and intrigues for the whole Continent. The embassy +accordingly paused here, to take some rest from the fatigues and +excitements of their long journey, and to allow Peter time to form and +mature plans for future movements and operations. + + + +[1] For the situation of Riga in relation to Moscow, and for that of the +other places visited by the embassy, the reader must not fail to refer to +a map of Europe. + +[2] A skipper is the captain of a small vessel. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +CONCLUSION OF THE TOUR. + +1697 + +Peter compares the shipping of different nations--He determines to +visit England--King William favors Peter's plans--Peter leaves +Holland--Helvoetsluys--Arrival in England--His reception in London--The +Duke of Leeds--Bishop Burnet--The bishop's opinion of Peter's +character--Designs of Providence--Peter's curiosity--His conversations +with the bishop--Peter takes a house "below bridge"--How he spent his +time--Peter's dress--Curiosity in respect to him--His visit to the +Tower--The various sights and shows of London--Workmen engaged--Peter's +visit to Portsmouth and Spithead--Situation of Spithead--Appearance of +the men-of-war--Grand naval spectacle--Present of a yacht--Peter sets +sail--His treatment of his workmen--Wages retained--The +engineer--Voyage to Holland--Peter rejoins the embassy--The Emperor +Leopold--Interview with the Emperor of Germany--Feasts and +festivities--Ceremonies--Bad tidings--Plans changed--Designs +abandoned--Return to Moscow + + +While the embassy itself was occupied with the parades and ceremonies +at the Hague, and at Utrecht, where they had a grand interview with the +States-General, and at other great political centres, Peter traveled to +and fro about Holland, visiting the different ports, and examining the +shipping that he found in them, with the view of comparing the +different models; for there were vessels in these ports from almost all +the maritime countries of Europe. His attention was at last turned to +some English ships, which pleased him very much. He liked the form of +them better than that of the Dutch ships that he had seen. He soon +made the acquaintance of a number of English ship-masters and +ship-carpenters, and obtained from them, through an interpreter of +course, a great deal of information in respect to the state of the art +of ship-building in their country. He heard that in England naval +carpentry had been reduced to a regular science, and that the forms and +models of the vessels built there were determined by fixed mathematical +principles, which every skillful and intelligent workman was expected +to understand and to practice upon; whereas in Holland the carpenters +worked by rote, each new set following their predecessors by a sort of +mechanical imitation, without being governed by any principles or +theory at all. + +Peter immediately determined that he would go to England, and study the +English methods himself on the spot, as he had already studied those of +Holland. + +The political relations between England and Holland were at this time +of a very intimate character, the King of England being William, Prince +of Orange.[1] The king, when he heard of Peter's intention, was much +pleased, and determined to do all in his power to promote his views in +making the journey. He immediately provided the Czar with a number of +English attendants to accompany him on his voyage, and to remain with +him in England during his stay. Among these were interpreters, +secretaries, valets, and a number of cooks and other domestic servants. +These persons were paid by the King of England himself, and were +ordered to accompany Peter to England, to remain with him all the time +that he was there, and then to return with him to Holland, so that +during the whole period of his absence he should have no trouble +whatever in respect to his personal comforts or wants. + +These preparations having been all made, the Czar left the embassy, and +taking with him the company of servants which the king had provided, +and also the few private friends who had been with him all the time +since leaving Moscow, he sailed from a certain port in the +south-western part of Holland, called Helvoetsluys, about the middle of +the month of January. + +He arrived without any accident at London. Here he at first took up +his abode in a handsome house which the king had ordered to be provided +and furnished for him. This house was in a genteel part of the town, +where the noblemen and other persons belonging to the court resided. +It was very pleasantly situated near the river, and the grounds +pertaining to it extended down to the water side. Still it was far +away from the part of the city which was devoted to commerce and the +shipping, and Peter was not very well satisfied with it on that +account. He, however, went to it at first, and continued to occupy it +for some time. + +In this house the Czar was visited by a great number of the nobility, +and he visited them in return. He also received particular attentions +from such members of the royal family as were then in London. But the +person whose society pleased him most was one of the nobility, who, +like himself, tools: a great interest in maritime affairs. This was +the Duke of Leeds. The duke kept a number of boats at the foot of his +gardens in London, and he and Peter used often to go out together in +the river, and row and sail in them. + +Among other attentions which were paid to Peter by the government +during his stay in London, one was the appointment of a person to +attend upon him for the purpose of giving him, at any time, such +explanations or such information as he might desire in respect to the +various institutions of England, whether those relating to government, +to education, or to religion. The person thus appointed was Bishop +Burnet, a very distinguished dignitary of the Church. The bishop +could, of course, only converse with Peter through interpreters, but +the practice of conversing in that way was very common in those days, +and persons were specially trained and educated to translate the +language of one person to another in an easy and agreeable manner. In +this way Bishop Burnet held from time to time various interviews with +the Czar, but it seems that he did not form a very favorable opinion of +his temper and character. The bishop, in an account of these +interviews which he subsequently wrote, said that Peter was a man of +strong capacity, and of much better general education than might have +been expected from the manner of life which he had led, but that he was +of a very hot and violent temper, and that he was very brutal in his +language and demeanor when he was in a passion. The bishop expressed +himself quite strongly on this point, saying that he could not but +adore the depth of the providence of God that had raised such a furious +man to so absolute an authority over so great a part of the world. + +It was seen in the end how wise was the arrangement of Providence in +the selection of this instrument for the accomplishment of its +designs--for the reforms which, notwithstanding the violence of his +personal character, and the unjust and cruel deeds which he sometimes +performed, Peter was the means of introducing, and those to which the +changes that he made afterward led, have advanced, and are still +advancing more and more every year, the whole moral, political, and +social condition of all the populations of Northern Europe and Asia, +and have instituted a course of progress and improvement which will, +perhaps, go on, without being again arrested, to the end of time. + +The bishop says that he found Peter somewhat curious to learn what the +political and religious institutions of England were, but that he did +not manifest any intention or desire to introduce them into his own +country. The chief topic which interested him, even in talking with +the bishop, was that of his purposes and plans in respect to ships and +shipping. He gave the bishop an account of what he had done, and of +what he intended to do, for the elevation and improvement of his +people; but all his plans of this kind were confined to such +improvements as would tend to the extension and aggrandizement of his +own power. In other words, the ultimate object of the reforms which he +was desirous of introducing was not the comfort and happiness of the +people themselves, but his own exaltation and glory among the +potentates of the earth as their hereditary and despotic sovereign. + +After remaining some time in the residence which the king had provided +for him at the court end of the town, Peter contrived to have a house +set apart for him "below bridge," as the phrase was--that is, among the +shipping. There was but one bridge across the Thames in those days, +and the position of that one, of course, determined the limit of that +part of the river and town that could be devoted to the purposes of +commerce and navigation, for ships, of course, could not go above it. +The house which was now provided for Peter was near the royal +ship-yard. There was a back gate which opened from the yard of the +house into the ship-yard, so that Peter could go and come when he +pleased. Peter remained in this new lodging for some time. He often +went into the ship-yard to watch the men at their operations, and while +there would often take up the tools and work with them. At other times +he would ramble about the streets of London in company with his two or +three particular friends, examining every thing which was new or +strange to him, and talking with his companions in respect to the +expediency or feasibility of introducing the article or the usage, +whatever it might be, as an improvement, into his own dominions. + +In these excursions Peter was sometimes dressed in the English +citizen's dress, and sometimes he wore the dress of a common sailor. +In the latter costume he found that he could walk about more freely on +the wharves and along the docks without attracting observation, but, +notwithstanding all that he could do to disguise himself, he was often +discovered. Some person, perhaps, who had seen him and his friends in +the ship-yard, would recognize him and point him out. Then it would be +whispered from one to another among the by-standers that that was the +Russian Emperor, and people would follow him where he went, or gather +around him where he was standing. In such cases as this, as soon as +Peter found that he was recognized, and was beginning to attract +attention, he always went immediately away. + +Among other objects of interest which attracted Peter's attention in +London was the Tower, where there was kept then, as now, an immense +collection of arms of all kinds. This collection consists not only of +a vast store of the weapons in use at the present day, laid up there to +be ready for service whenever they may be required, but also a great +number and variety of specimens of those which were employed in former +ages, but are now superseded by new inventions. Peter, as might +naturally have been expected, took a great deal of interest in +examining these collections. + +In respect to all the more ordinary objects of interest for strangers +in London, the shops, the theatres, the parks, the gay parties given by +the nobility at the West End, and other such spectacles, Peter saw them +all, but he paid very little attention to them. His thoughts were +almost entirely engrossed by subjects connected with his navy. He +found, as he had expected from what he heard in Holland, that the +English ship-carpenters had reduced their business quite to a system, +being accustomed to determine the proportions of the model by fixed +principles, and to work, in the construction of the ship, from drafts +made by rule. When he was in the ship-yard he studied this subject +very attentively; and although it was, of course, impossible that in so +short a time he should make himself fully master of it, he was still +able to obtain such a general insight into the nature of the method as +would very much assist him in making arrangements for introducing it +into his own country. + +There was another measure which he took that was even more important +still. He availed himself of every opportunity which was afforded him, +while engaged in the ship-yards and docks, to become acquainted with +the workmen, especially the head workmen of the yards, and he engaged a +number of them to go to Russia, and enter into his service there in the +work of building his navy. + +In a word, the Czar was much better pleased with the manner in which +the work of ship-building was carried on in England than with any thing +that he had seen in Holland; so much so that he said he wished that he +had come directly to England at first, inasmuch as now, since he had +seen how much superior were the English methods, he considered the long +stay which he had made in Holland as pretty nearly lost time. + +After remaining as long and learning as much in the dock-yards in and +below London as he thought the time at his command would allow, Peter +went to Portsmouth to visit the royal navy at anchor there. The +arrangement which nature has made of the southern coast of England +seems almost as if expressly intended for the accommodation of a great +national and mercantile marine. In the first place, at the town of +Portsmouth, there is a deep and spacious harbor entirely surrounded and +protected by land. Then at a few miles distant, off the coast, lies +the Isle of Wight, which brings under shelter a sheet of water not less +than five miles wide and twenty miles long, where all the fleets and +navies of the world might lie at anchor in safety. There is an open +access to this sound both from the east and from the west, and yet the +shores curve in such a manner that both entrances are well protected +from the ingress of storms. + +Directly opposite to Portsmouth, and within this inclosed sea, is a +place where the water is just of the right depth, and the bottom of +just the right conformation for the convenient anchoring of ships of +war. This place is called Spithead, and it forms one of the most +famous anchoring grounds in the world. It is here that the vast fleets +of the English navy assemble, and here the ships come to anchor, when +returning home from their distant voyages. The view of these +grim-looking sea-monsters, with their double and triple rows of guns, +lying quietly at their moorings, as seen by the spectator from the deck +of the steamer which glides through and among them, on the way from +Portsmouth to the Isle of Wight, is extremely imposing. Indeed, when +considered by a mind capable of understanding in some degree the vast +magnitude and extension of the power which lies thus reposing there, +the spectacle becomes truly sublime. + +In order to give Peter a favorable opportunity to see the fleet at +Spithead, the King of England commissioned the admiral in command of +the navy to accompany him to Portsmouth, and to put the fleet to sea, +with the view of exhibiting a mock naval engagement in the Channel. +Nothing could exceed the pleasure which this spectacle afforded to the +Czar. He expressed his admiration of it in the most glowing terms, and +said that he verily believed that an admiral of the English fleet was a +happier man than the Czar of Muscovy. + +At length, when the time arrived for Peter to set out on his return to +his own dominions, the King of England made him a present of a +beautiful yacht, which had been built for his own use in his voyages +between England and Holland. The name of the yacht was the Royal +Transport. It was an armed vessel, carrying twenty-four guns, and was +well-built, and richly finished and furnished in every respect. The +Czar set sail from England in this yacht, taking with him the +companions that he had brought with him into England, and also a +considerable number of the persons whom he had engaged to enter into +his service in Russia. Some of these persons were to be employed in +the building of ships, and others in the construction of a canal to +connect the River Don with the River Wolga. The Don flows into the +Black and the Wolga into the Caspian Sea, and the object of the canal +was to allow Peter's vessels to pass from one sea into the other at +pleasure. As soon as the canal should be opened, ships could be built +on either river for use in either sea. + +The persons who had been engaged for these various purposes were +promised, of course, very large rewards to induce them to leave their +country. Many of them afterward had occasion bitterly to regret their +having entered the service of such a master. They complained that, +after their arrival in Russia, Peter treated them in a very unjust and +arbitrary manner. They were held as prisoners more than as salaried +workmen, being very closely watched and guarded to prevent their making +their escape and going back to their own country before finishing what +Peter wished them to do. Then, a large portion of their pay was kept +back, on the plea that it was necessary for the emperor to have +security in his own hands for their fidelity in the performance of +their work, and for their remaining at their posts until their work was +done. There was one gentleman in particular, a Scotch mathematician +and engineer, who had been educated at the University of Aberdeen, that +complained of the treatment which he received in a full and formal +protest, which he addressed to Peter in writing, and which is still on +record. He makes out a very strong case in respect to the injustice +with which he was treated. + +But, however disappointed these gentlemen may have been in the end, +they left England in the emperor's beautiful yacht, much elated with +the honor they had received in being selected by such a potentate for +the execution of important trusts in a distant land, and with high +anticipations of the fame and fortune which they expected to acquire +before the time should arrive for them to return to their own country. +From England the yacht sailed to Holland, where Peter disembarked, in +order to join the embassy and accompany them in their visits to some +other courts in Central Europe before returning home. + +He first went to Vienna. He still nominally preserved his incognito; +but the Emperor Leopold, who was at that time the Emperor of Germany, +gave him a very peculiar sort of reception. He came out to the door of +his antechamber to meet Peter at the head of a certain back staircase +communicating with the apartment, which was intended for his own +private use. Peter was accompanied by General Le Fort, the chief +embassador, at this interview, and he was conducted up the staircase by +two grand officers of the Austrian court--the grand chamberlain and the +grand equerry. After the two potentates had been introduced to each +other, the emperor, who had taken off his hat to bow to the Czar, put +it on again, but Peter remained uncovered, on the ground that he was +not at that time acting in his own character as Czar. The emperor, +seeing this, took off his hat again, and both remained uncovered during +the interview. + +After this a great many parades and celebrations took place in Vienna, +all ostensibly in honor of the embassy, but really and truly in honor +of Peter himself, who still preserved his incognito. At many of these +festivities Peter attended, taking his place with the rest of the +subordinates in the train of the embassy, but he never appeared in his +own true character. Still he was known, and he was the object of a +great many indirect but very marked attentions. On one occasion, for +example, there was a masked ball in the palace of the emperor; Peter +appeared there dressed as a peasant of West Friesland, which is a part +of North Holland, where the costumes worn by the common people were +then, as indeed they are at the present day, very marked and peculiar. +The Emperor of Germany appeared also at this ball in a feigned +character--that of a host at an entertainment, and he had thirty-two +pages in attendance upon him, all dressed as butlers. In the course of +the evening one of the pages brought out to the emperor a very curious +and costly glass, which he filled with wine and presented to the +emperor, who then approached Peter and drank to the health of the +peasant of West Friesland, saying at the same time, with a meaning +look, that he was well aware of the inviolable affection which the +peasant felt for the Czar of Muscovy. Peter, in return, drank to the +health of the host, saying he was aware of the inviolable affection he +felt for the Emperor of Germany. + +These toasts were received by the whole company with great applause, +and after they were drunk the emperor gave Peter the curious glass from +which he had drunk, desiring him to keep it as a souvenir of the +occasion. + +These festivities in honor of the embassy at Vienna were at length +suddenly interrupted by the arrival of tidings from Moscow that a +rebellion had broken out there against Peter's government. This +intelligence changed at once all Peter's plans. He had intended to go +to Venice and to Rome, but he now at once abandoned these designs, and +setting out abruptly from Vienna, with General Le Fort, and a train of +about thirty persons, he traveled with the utmost possible dispatch to +Moscow. + + + +[1] William, Prince of Orange, was descended on the female side from +the English royal family, and was a Protestant. Accordingly, when +James II., and with him the Catholic branch of the royal family of +England, was expelled from the throne, the British Parliament called +upon William to ascend it, he being the next heir on the Protestant +side. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +THE REBELLION. + +1698 + +Precautions taken by the Czar--His uneasiness--His fury against his +enemies--His revolting appearance--Imperfect +communication--Conspiracy--Arguments used--Details of the plot--Pretext +of the guards--They commence their march--Alarm in Moscow--General +Gordon--A parley with the rebels--Influence of the Church--The clergy on +the side of the rebels--Conservatism--The Russian clergy--The armies +prepare for battle--The insurgents defeated--Massacre of +prisoners--Confession--Peter's arrival at Moscow--His terrible +severity--Peter becomes himself an executioner--The Guards--Gibbets--The +writer of the address to Sophia--The old Russian nobility--Arrival of +artisans--Retirement of Sophia--Her death + + +It will be recollected by the reader that Peter, before he set out on his +tour, took every possible precaution to guard against the danger of +disturbances in his dominions during his absence. The Princess Sophia +was closely confined in her convent. All that portion of the old Russian +Guards that he thought most likely to be dissatisfied with his proposed +reforms, and to take part with Sophia, he removed to fortresses at a +great distance from Moscow. Moscow itself was garrisoned with troops +selected expressly with reference to their supposed fidelity to his +interests, and the men who were to command them, as well as the great +civil officers to whom the administration of the government was committed +during his absence, were appointed on the same principle. + +But, notwithstanding all these precautions, Peter did not feel entirely +safe. He was well aware of Sophia's ambition, and of her skill in +intrigue, and during the whole progress of his tour he anxiously watched +the tidings which he received from Moscow, ready to return at a moment's +warning in case of necessity. He often spoke on this subject to those +with whom he was on terms of familiar intercourse. On such occasions he +would get into a great rage in denouncing his enemies, and in threatening +vengeance against them in case they made any movement to resist his +authority while he was away. At such times he would utter most dreadful +imprecations against those who should dare to oppose him, and would work +himself up into such a fury as to give those who conversed with him an +exceedingly unfavorable opinion of his temper and character. The ugly +aspect which his countenance and demeanor exhibited at such times was +greatly aggravated by a nervous affection of the head and face which +attacked him, particularly when he was in a passion, and which produced +convulsive twitches of the muscles that drew his head by jerks to one +side, and distorted his face in a manner that was dreadful to behold. It +was said that this disorder was first induced in his childhood by some +one of the terrible frights through which he passed. However this may +have been, the affection seemed to increase as he grew older, and as the +attacks of it were most decided and violent when he was in a passion, +they had the effect, in connection with his coarse and dreadful language +and violent demeanor, to make him appear at such times more like some +ugly monster of fiction than like a man. + +The result, in respect to the conduct of his enemies during his absence, +was what he feared. After he had been gone away for some months they +began to conspire against him. The means of communication between +different countries were quite imperfect in those days, so that very +little exact information came back to Russia in respect to the emperor's +movements. The nobles who were opposed to him began to represent to the +people that he had gone nobody knew where, and that it was wholly +uncertain whether he would ever return. Besides, if he did return, they +said it would only be to bring with him a fresh importation of foreign +favorites and foreign manners, and to proceed more vigorously than ever +in his work of superseding and subverting all the good old customs of the +land, and displacing the ancient native families from all places of +consideration and honor, in order to make room for the swarms of +miserable foreign adventurers that he would bring home with him in his +train. + +By these and similar representations the opposition so far increased and +strengthened their party that, at length, they matured their arrangements +for an open outbreak. Their plan was, first, to take possession of the +city by means of the Guards, who were to be recalled for this purpose +from their distant posts, and by their assistance to murder all the +foreigners. They were then to issue a proclamation declaring that Peter, +by leaving the country and remaining so long away, had virtually +abdicated the government; and also a formal address to the Princess +Sophia, calling upon her to ascend the throne in his stead. + +In executing this plan, negotiations were first cautiously opened with +the Guards, and they readily acceded to the proposals made to them. A +committee of three persons was appointed to draw up the address to +Sophia, and the precise details of the movements which were to take place +on the arrival of the Guards at the gates of Moscow were all arranged. +The Guards, of course, required some pretext for leaving their posts and +coming toward the city, independent of the real cause, for the +conspirators within the city were not prepared to rise and declare the +throne vacant until the Guards had actually arrived. Accordingly, while +the conspirators remained quiet, the Guards began to complain of various +grievances under which they suffered, particularly that they were not +paid their wages regularly, and they declared their determination to +march to Moscow and obtain redress. The government--that is, the regency +that Peter had left in charge--sent out deputies, who attempted to pacify +them, but could not succeed. The Guards insisted that they would go with +their complaints to Moscow. They commenced their march. The number of +men was about ten thousand. They pretended that they were only going to +the city to represent their case themselves directly to the government, +and then to march back again in a peaceable manner. They wished to know, +too, they said, what had become of the Czar. They could not depend upon +the rumors which came to them at so great a distance, and they were +determined to inform themselves on the spot whether he were alive or +dead, and when he was coming home. + +The deputies returned with all speed to Moscow, and reported that the +Guards were on their march in full strength toward the city. The whole +city was thrown into a state of consternation. Many of the leading +families, anticipating serious trouble, moved away. Others packed up and +concealed their valuables. The government, too, though not yet +suspecting the real design of the Guards in the movement which they were +making, were greatly alarmed. They immediately ordered a large armed +force to go and meet the insurgents. This force was commanded by General +Gordon, the officer whom Peter had made general-in-chief of the army +before he set out on his tour. + +General Gordon came up with the rebels about forty miles from Moscow. As +soon as he came near to them he halted, and sent forward a deputation +from his camp to confer with the leaders, in the hope of coming to some +amicable settlement of the difficulty. This deputation consisted of +Russian nobles of ancient and established rank and consideration in the +country, who had volunteered to accompany the general in his expedition. +General Gordon himself was one of the hated foreigners, and of course his +appearance, if he had gone himself to negotiate with the rebels, would +have perhaps only exasperated and inflamed them more than ever. + +The deputation held a conference with the leaders of the Guards, and made +them very conciliatory offers. They promised that if they would return +to their duty the government would not only overlook the serious offense +which they had committed in leaving their posts and marching upon Moscow, +but would inquire into and redress all their grievances. But the Guards +refused to be satisfied. They were determined, they said, to march to +Moscow. They wished to ascertain for themselves whether Peter was dead +or alive, and if alive, what had become of him. They therefore were +going on, and, if General Gordon and his troops attempted to oppose them, +they would fight it out and see which was the strongest. + +In civil commotions of this kind occurring in any of the ancient +non-Protestant countries in Europe, it is always a question of the utmost +moment which side the Church and the clergy espouse. It is true that the +Church and the clergy do not fight themselves, and so do not add any +thing to the physical strength of the party which they befriend, but they +add enormously to its moral strength, that is, to its confidence and +courage. Men have a sort of instinctive respect and fear for constituted +authorities of any kind, and, though often willing to plot against them, +are still very apt to falter and fall back when the time comes for the +actual collision. The feeling that, after all, they are in the wrong in +fighting against the government of their country, weakens them extremely, +and makes them ready to abandon the struggle in panic and dismay on the +first unfavorable turn of fortune. But if they have the Church and the +clergy on their side, this state of things is quite changed. The +sanction of religion--the thought that they are fighting in the cause of +God and of duty, nerves their arms, and gives them that confidence in the +result which is almost essential to victory. + +It was so in this case. There was no class in the community more opposed +to the Czar's proposed improvements and reforms than the Church. Indeed, +it is always so. The Church and the clergy are always found in these +countries on the side of opposition to progress and improvement. It is +not that they are really opposed to improvement itself for its own sake, +but that they are so afraid of change. They call themselves +Conservatives, and wish to preserve every thing as it is. They hate the +process of pulling down. Now, if a thing is good, it is better, of +course, to preserve it; but, on the other hand, if it is bad, it is +better that it should be pulled down. When, therefore, you are asked +whether you are a Conservative or not, reply that that depends upon the +character of the institution or the usage which is attacked. If it is +good, let it stand. If it is bad, let it be destroyed. + +In the case of Peter's proposed improvements and reforms the Church and +the clergy were Conservatives of the most determined character. Of +course, the plotters of the conspiracy in Moscow were in communication +with the patriarch and the leading ecclesiastics in forming their plans; +and in arranging for the marching of the Guards to the capital they took +care to have priests with them to encourage them in the movement, and to +assure them that in opposing the present government and restoring Sophia +to power they were serving the cause of God and religion by promoting the +expulsion from the country of the infidel foreigners that were coming in +in such numbers, and subverting all the good old usages and customs of +the realm. + +It was this sympathy on the part of the clergy which gave the officers +and soldiers of the Guards their courage and confidence in daring to +persist in their march to Moscow in defiance of the army of General +Gordon, brought out to oppose them. + +The two armies approached each other. General Gordon, as is usual in +such cases, ordered a battery of artillery which he had brought up in the +road before the Guards to fire, but he directed that the guns should be +pointed so high that the balls should go over the heads of the enemy. +His object was to intimidate them. But the effect was the contrary. The +priests, who had come into the army of the insurgents to encourage them +in the fight, told them that a miracle had been performed. God had +averted the balls from them, they said. They were fighting for the honor +of his cause and for the defense of his holy religion, and they might +rely upon it that he would not suffer them to be harmed. + +But these assurances of the priests proved, unfortunately for the poor +Guards, to be entirely unfounded. When General Gordon found that firing +over the heads of the rebels did no good, ho gave up at once all hope of +any adjustment of the difficulty, and he determined to restrain himself +no longer, but to put forth the whole of his strength, and kill and +destroy all before him in the most determined and merciless manner. A +furious battle followed, in which the Guards were entirely defeated. Two +or three thousand of them were killed, and all the rest were surrounded +and made prisoners. + +The first step taken by General Gordon, with the advice of the Russian +nobles who had accompanied him, was to count off the prisoners and hang +every tenth man. The next was to put the officers to the torture, in +order to compel them to confess what their real object was in marching to +Moscow. After enduring their tortures as long as human nature could bear +them, they confessed that the movement was a concerted one, made in +connection with a conspiracy within the city, and that the object was to +subvert the present government, and to liberate the Princess Sophia and +place her upon the throne. They also gave the names of a number of +prominent persons in Moscow who, they said, were the leaders of the +conspiracy. + +It was in this state of the affair that the tidings of what had occurred +reached Peter in Vienna, as is related in the last chapter. He +immediately set out on his return to Moscow in a state of rage and fury +against the rebels that it would be impossible to describe. As he +arrived at the capital, he commenced an inquisition into the affair by +putting every body to the torture whom he supposed to be implicated as a +leader in it. From the agony of these sufferers he extorted the names of +innumerable victims, who, as fast as they were named, were seized and put +to death. There were a great many of the ancient nobles thus condemned, +a great many ladies of high rank, and large numbers of priests. These +persons were all executed, or rather massacred, in the most reckless and +merciless manner. Some were beheaded; some were broken on the wheel, and +then left to die in horrible agonies. Many were buried alive, their +heads only being left above the ground. It is said that Peter took such +a savage delight in these punishments, that he executed many of the +victims with his own hands. At one time, when half intoxicated at a +banquet, he ordered twenty of his prisoners to be brought in, and then, +with his brandy before him, which was his favorite drink, and which he +often drank to excess, he caused them to be led, one after another, to +the block, that he might cut off their heads himself. He took a drink of +brandy after each execution while the officers were bringing forward the +next man. He was just an hour, it was said, in cutting off the twenty +heads, which allows of an average of three minutes to each man. This +story is almost too horrible to be believed, but, unfortunately, it +comports too well with the general character which Peter has always +sustained in the opinion of mankind in respect to the desperate and +reckless cruelty to which he could be aroused under the influence of +intoxication and anger. + +[Illustration: Peter turning executioner.] + +About two thousand of the Guards were beheaded. The bodies of these men +were laid upon the ground in a public place, arranged in rows, with their +heads lying beside them. They covered more than an acre of ground. Here +they were allowed to lie all the remainder of the winter, as long, in +fact, as the flesh continued frozen, and then, when the spring came on, +they were thrown together into a deep ditch, dug to receive them, and +thus were buried. + +There were also a great number of gibbets set up on all the roads leading +to Moscow, and upon these gibbets men were hung, and the bodies allowed +to remain there, like the beheaded Guards upon the ground, until the +spring. + +As for the Princess Sophia, she was still in the convent where Peter had +placed her, the conspirators not having reached the point of liberating +her before their plot was discovered. Peter, however, caused the three +authors of the address, which was to have been made to Sophia, calling +upon her to assume the crown, to be sent to the convent, and there hung +before Sophia's windows. And then, by his orders, the arm of the +principal man among them was cut off, the address was put into his hand, +and, when the fingers had stiffened around it, the limb was fixed to the +wall in Sophia's chamber, as if in the act of offering her the address, +and ordered to remain so until the address should drop, of itself, upon +the floor. + +Such were the horrible means by which Peter attempted to strike terror +into his subjects, and to put down the spirit of conspiracy and +rebellion. He doubtless thought that it was only by such severities as +these that the end could be effectually attained. At all events, the end +was attained. The rebellion was completely suppressed, and all open +opposition to the progress of the Czar's proposed improvements and +reforms ceased. The few leading nobles who adhered to the old customs +and usages of the realm retired from all connection with public affairs, +and lived thenceforth in seclusion, mourning, like good Conservatives, +the triumph of the spirit of radicalism and innovation which was leading +the country, as they thought, to certain ruin. The old Guards, whom it +had been proved so utterly impossible to bring over to Peter's views, +were disbanded, and other troops, organized on a different system, were +embodied in their stead. By this time the English ship-builders, and the +other mechanics and artisans that Peter had engaged, began to arrive in +the country, and the way was open for the emperor to go on vigorously in +the accomplishment of his favorite and long-cherished plans. + +The Princess Sophia, worn out with the agitations and dangers through +which she had passed, and crushed in spirit by the dreadful scenes to +which her brother had exposed her, now determined to withdraw wholly from +the scene. She took the veil in the convent where she was confined, and +went as a nun into the cloisters with the other sisters. The name that +she assumed was Marpha. + +Of course, all her ambitious aspirations were now forever extinguished, +and the last gleam of earthly hope faded away from her mind. She pined +away under the influences of disappointment, hopeless vexation, and +bitter grief for about six years, and then the nuns of the convent +followed the body of sister Marpha to the tomb. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +REFORMS. + +1700-1701 + +Peter begins his proposed reforms--Remodeling the army--Changes of +dress--The officers--New appointments--Motives and object of the +Czar--Means of revenue--Mysterious power--The secret of it--Management +of a standing army--Artful contrivances--Despotism _versus_ +freedom--Policy of the American people--Standing armies--The American +government is weak--The people reserve their strength--Peter's +policy--The Church--Conservatism of the clergy--The patriarch--Ancient +custom--The emperor on the procession--Emblems--Peter's reflections on +the subject--Peter's determination--He proceeds cautiously--Contest +with the bishops--Peter is victorious--Other reforms--Collection of the +revenues--New revenue system--Manners and customs of the +people--Mustaches and beards--The long dresses suppressed--Effect of +ridicule--The jester's marriage--Curious sleeves--Mode of manoeuvring +the sleeve--The boyars in the streets--Long trains of attendants--Peter +changes the whole system--Motives of the Czar--Ultimate effect of his +reforms + + +As soon as Peter had sufficiently glutted his vengeance on those whom +he chose to consider, whether justly or unjustly, as implicated in the +rebellion, he turned his attention at once to the work of introducing +the improvements and reforms which had been suggested to him by what he +had seen in the western countries of Europe. There was a great deal of +secret hostility to the changes which he thus wished to make, although +every thing like open opposition to his will had been effectually put +down by the terrible severity of his dealings with the rebels. He +continued to urge his plans of reform during the whole course of his +reign, and though he met from time to time with a great variety of +difficulties in his efforts to carry them into effect, he was in the +end triumphantly successful in establishing and maintaining them. I +shall proceed to give a general account of these reforms in this +chapter, notwithstanding that the work of introducing them extended +over a period of many years subsequent to this time. + +The first thing to which the Czar gave his attention was the complete +remodeling of his army. He established new regiments in place of the +old Guards, and put his whole army on a new footing. He abolished the +dress which the Guards had been accustomed to wear--an ancient +Muscovite costume, which, like the dress of the Highlanders of +Scotland, was strongly associated in the minds of the men with ancient +national customs, many of which the emperor now wished to abolish. +Instead of this old costume the emperor dressed his new troops in a +modern military uniform. This was not only much more convenient than +the old dress, but the change exerted a great influence in +disenthralling the minds of the men from the influence of old ideas and +associations. It made them feel at once as if they were new men, +belonging to a new age--one marked by a new and higher civilization +than they had been accustomed to in former years. The effect which was +produced by this simple change was very marked--so great is the +influence of dress and other outward symbols on the sentiments of the +mind and on the character. + +Peter had made a somewhat similar change to this, in the case of his +household troops and private body-guard, at the suggestion of General +Le Fort, some time previous to this period, but now he carried the same +reform into effect in respect to his whole army. + +In addition to these improvements in the dress and discipline of the +men, Peter adopted an entirely new system in officering his troops. A +great many of the old officers--all those who were proved or even +suspected of being hostile to him and to his measures--had been +beheaded or sent into banishment, and others still had been dismissed +from the service. Peter filled all these vacant posts by bringing +forward and appointing the sons of the nobility, making his selections +from those families who were either already inclined to his side, or +who he supposed might be brought over by the influence of appointments +and honors conferred upon their sons. + +Of course, the great object of the Czar in thus reorganizing his army +and increasing the military strength of the empire was not the more +effectual protection of the country from foreign enemies, or from any +domestic violence which might threaten to disturb the peace or endanger +the property of the public, but only the confirming and perpetuating +his own power as the sovereign ruler of it. It is true that such +potentates as Peter really desire that the countries over which they +rule should prosper, and should increase in wealth and population; but +then they do this usually only as the proprietor of an estate might +wish to improve his property, that is, simply with an eye to his own +interest as the owner of it. In reforming his army, and placing it, as +he did, on a new and far more efficient footing than before, Peter's +main inducement was to increase and secure his own power. He wished +also, doubtless, to preserve the peace of the country, in order that +the inhabitants might go on regularly in the pursuit of their +industrial occupations, for their ability to pay the taxes required for +the large revenues which he wished to raise would increase or diminish, +he knew very well, just in proportion to the productiveness of the +general industry; still, his own exaltation and grandeur were the +ultimate objects in view. + +Young persons, when they read in history of the power which many great +tyrants have exercised, and the atrocious crimes which they have +committed against the rights of their fellow-men, sometimes wonder how +it is that one man can acquire or retain so absolute a dominion over so +many millions as to induce them to kill each other in such vast numbers +at his bidding; for, of course, it is but a very small number of the +victims of a tyrant's injustice or cruelty that are executed by his own +hand. How is it, then, that one weak and often despicable and hateful +man can acquire and retain such an ascendency over those that stand +around him, that they shall all be ready to draw their swords +instantaneously at his bidding, and seize and destroy, without +hesitation and without mercy, whomsoever he may choose to designate as +the object of his rage and vengeance? How is it that the wealthiest, +the most respected, and the most popular citizens of the state, though +surrounded with servants and with multitudes of friends, have no power +to resist when one of these Neros conceives the idea of striking him +down, but must yield without a struggle to his fate, as if to +inevitable destiny? + +The secret of this extraordinary submission of millions to one is +always an army. The tyrant, under the pretense of providing the means +for the proper execution of just and righteous laws, and the +maintenance of peace and order in the community, organizes an army. He +contrives so to arrange and regulate this force as to separate it +completely from the rest of the community, so as to extinguish as far +as possible all the sympathies which might otherwise exist between the +soldiers and the citizens. Marriage is discouraged, so that the troops +may not be bound to the community by any family ties. The regiments +arc quartered in barracks built and appropriated to their especial use, +and they are continually changed from one set of barracks to another, +in order to prevent their forming too intimate an acquaintance with any +portion of the community, or learning to feel any common interest or +sympathy with them. Then, as a reward for their privations, the +soldiers are allowed, with very little remonstrance or restraint, to +indulge freely in all such habits of dissipation and vice as will not +at once interfere with military discipline, or deteriorate from the +efficiency of the whole body as a military corps. The soldiers soon +learn to love the idle and dissolute lives which they are allowed to +lead. The officers, especially those in the higher grades of rank, are +paid large salaries, are clothed in a gaudy dress which is adorned with +many decorations, and they are treated every where with great +consideration. Thus they become devoted to the will of the government, +and lose gradually all regard for, and all sympathy with the rights and +welfare of the people. There is a tacit agreement between them and the +government, by which they are bound to keep the people in a state of +utter and abject submission to the despot's will, while he, on his +part, is bound to collect from the people thus subdued the sums of +money necessary for their pay. Thus it is the standing army which is +that great and terrible sword by means of which one man is able to +strike awe into the hearts of so many millions, and hold them all so +entirely subject to his will. + +It is in consequence of having observed the effect of such armaments in +the despotisms of Europe and Asia that the free governments of modern +times take good care not to allow large standing armies to be formed. +Instead of this the people organize themselves into armed bands, in +connection with which they meet and practice military evolutions on +appointed days, and then separate and go back to their wives and to +their children, and to their usual occupations, while in the despotic +countries where large standing armies are maintained, the people are +strictly forbidden to possess arms, or to form organizations, or to +take measures of any kind that could tend to increase their means of +defense against their oppressors in the event of a struggle. + +The consequence is, that under the free governments of the present day +the people are strong and the government is weak. The standing army of +France consists at the present time[1] of five hundred thousand men, +completely armed and equipped, and devoted all the time to the study +and practice of the art of war. By means of this force one man is able +to keep the whole population of the country in a state of complete and +unquestioning submission to his will. In the United States, on the +other hand, with a population nearly as great, the standing army seldom +amounts to an effective force of fifteen thousand men; and if a +president of the United States were to attempt by means of it to +prolong his term of office, or to accomplish any other violent end, +there is, perhaps, not a single state in the Union, the population of +which would not alone be able to put him down--so strong are the people +with us, and so weak, in opposition to them, the government and the +army. + +It is often made a subject of reproach by European writers and +speakers, in commenting on the state of things in America, that the +government is so weak; but this we consider not our reproach, but our +glory. The government is indeed weak. The people take good care to +keep it weak. But the nation is not weak; the nation is strong. The +difference is, that in our country the nation chooses to retain its +power in its own hands. The people make the government strong enough +from time to time for all the purposes which they wish it to +accomplish. When occasion shall arise, the strength thus to be +imparted to it may be increased almost indefinitely, according to the +nature of the emergency. In the mean time, the people consider +themselves the safest depositary of their reserved power. + +But to return to Peter. Of course, his policy was the reverse of ours. +He wished to make his army as efficient as possible, and to cut it off +as completely as possible from all communion and sympathy with the +people, so as to keep it in close and absolute subjection to his own +individual will. The measures which he adopted were admirably adapted +to this purpose. By means of them he greatly strengthened his power, +and established it on a firm and permanent basis. + +Peter did not forget that, during the late rebellion, the influence of +the Church and that of all the leading ecclesiastics had been against +him. This was necessarily the case; for, in a Church constituted as +that of Russia then was, the powers and prerogatives of the priests +rested, not on reason or right, but on ancient customs. The priests +would therefore naturally be opposed to all changes--even +improvements--in the usages and institutions of the realm, for fear +that the system of reform, if once entered upon, might extend to and +interfere with their ancient prerogatives and privileges. An +established Church in any country, where, by means of the +establishment, the priests or the ministers hold positions which secure +to them the possession of wealth or power, is always opposed to every +species of change. It hates even the very name of reform. + +Peter determined to bring the Russian Church more under his own +control. Up to that time it had been, in a great measure, independent. +The head of it was an ecclesiastic of great power and dignity, called +the Patriarch. The jurisdiction of this patriarch extended over all +the eastern portion of the Christian world, and his position and power +were very similar to those of the Pope of Rome, who reigned over the +whole western portion. + +Indeed, so exalted was the position and dignity of the patriarch, and +so great was the veneration in which he was held by the people, that he +was, as it were, the spiritual sovereign of the country, just as Peter +was the civil and military sovereign; and on certain great religious +ceremonies he even took precedence of the Czar himself, and actually +received homage from him. At one of the great religious anniversaries, +which was always celebrated with great pomp and parade, it was +customary for the patriarch to ride through the street on horseback, +with the Czar walking before him holding the bridle of the horse. The +bridle used, on these occasions was very long, like a pair of reins, +and was made of the richest material, and ornamented with golden +embroidery. The Czar walked on in advance, with the loop of the bridle +lying over his arm. Then came three or four great nobles of the court, +who held up the reins behind the Czar, one of them taking hold close to +the horse's head, so as to guide and control the movements of the +animal. The patriarch, who, as is the custom with priests, was dressed +in long robes, which prevented his mounting the horse in the usual +manner, sat upon a square flat seat which was placed upon the horse's +back by way of saddle, and rode in that manner, with his feet hanging +down upon one side. Of course, his hands were at liberty, and with +these he held a cross, which he displayed to the people as he rode +along, and gave them his benediction. + +After the patriarch, there followed, on these occasions, an immensely +long train of priests, all clothed in costly and gorgeous sacerdotal +robes, and bearing a great number and variety of religious emblems. +Some carried very costly copies of the Gospels, bound in gold and +adorned with precious stones; others crosses, and others pictures of +the Virgin Mary. All these objects of veneration were enriched with +jewels and gems of the most costly description. + +So far, however, as these mere pageants and ceremonies were concerned, +Peter would probably have been very easily satisfied, and would have +made no objection to paying such a token of respect to the patriarch as +walking before him through the street once a year, and holding the +bridle of his horse, if this were all. But he saw very clearly that +these things were by no means to be considered as mere outward show. +The patriarch was at the head of a vast organization, which extended +throughout the empire, all the members of which were closely banded +together in a system the discipline of which made them dependent upon +and entirely devoted to their spiritual head. These priests, moreover, +exercised individually a vast influence over the people in the towns +and villages where they severally lived and performed their functions. +Thus the patriarch wielded a great and very extended power, almost +wholly independent of any control on the part of the Czar--a power +which had already been once turned against him, and which might at some +future day become very dangerous. Peter determined at once that he +would not allow such a state of things to continue. + +He, however, resolved to proceed cautiously. So he waited quietly +until the patriarch who was then in office died. Then, instead of +allowing the bench of bishops, as usual, to elect another in his place, +he committed the administration of the Church to an ecclesiastic whom +he appointed for this purpose from among his own tried friends. He +instructed this officer, who was a very learned and a very devout man, +to go on as nearly as possible as his predecessors, the patriarchs, had +done, in the ordinary routine of duty, so as not to disturb the Church +by any apparent and outward change; but he directed him to consider +himself, the Czar, as the real head of the Church, and to refer all +important questions which might arise to him for decision. He thus, in +fact, abrogated the office of patriarch, and made himself the supreme +head of the Church. + +The clergy throughout the empire, as soon as they understood this +arrangement, were greatly disturbed, and expressed their discontent and +dissatisfaction among themselves very freely. The Czar heard of this; +and, selecting one of the bishops, who had spoken more openly and +decidedly than the rest, he ordered him to be degraded from his office +for his contumacy. But this the other bishops objected to very +strongly. They did not see, in fact, they said, how it could be done. +It was a thing wholly unknown that a person of the rank and dignity of +a bishop in the Church should be degraded from his office; and that, +besides, there was no authority that could degrade him, for they were +all bishops of equal rank, and no one had any jurisdiction or power +over the others. Still, notwithstanding this, they were willing, they +said, to sacrifice their brother if by that means the Church could be +saved from the great dangers which were now threatening her; and they +said that they would depose the bishop who was accused on condition +that Peter would restore the rights of the Church which he had +suspended, by allowing them to proceed to the election of a new +patriarch, to take the place of the one who had died. + +Peter would not listen to this proposal; but he created a new bishop +expressly to depose the one who had offended him. The latter was +accordingly deposed, and the rest were compelled to submit. None of +them dared any longer to speak openly against the course which the Czar +was pursuing, but writings were mysteriously dropped about the streets +which contained censures of his proceedings in respect to the Church, +and urged the people to resist them. Peter caused large rewards to be +immediately offered for the discovery of the persons by whom these +writings were dropped, but it was of no avail, and at length the +excitement gradually passed away, leaving the victory wholly in Peter's +hands. + +After this the Czar effected a great many important reforms in the +administration of the affairs of the empire, especially in those +relating to the government of the provinces, and to the collection of +the revenues in them. This business had been hitherto left almost +wholly in the hands of the governors, by whom it had been grossly +mismanaged. The governors had been in the habit both of grievously +oppressing the people in the collection of the taxes, and also of +grossly defrauding the emperor in remitting the proceeds to the +treasury. + +Peter now made arrangements for changing the system entirely. He +established a central office at the capital for the transaction of all +business connected with the collecting of the revenues, and then +appointed collectors for all the provinces of the empire, who were to +receive their instructions from the minister who presided over this +central office, and make their returns directly to him. Thus the whole +system was remodeled, and made far more efficient than it ever had been +before. Of course, the old governors, who, in consequence of this +reform, lost the power of enriching themselves by their oppressions and +frauds, complained bitterly of the change, and mourned, like good +Conservatives, the ruin which this radicalism was bringing upon the +country, but they were forced to submit. + +Whenever there was any thing in the private manners and customs of the +people which Peter thought was likely to impede in any way the +effectual accomplishment of his plans, he did not hesitate at all to +ordain a change; and some of the greatest difficulties which he had to +encounter in his reforms arose from the opposition which the people +made to the changes that he wished to introduce in the dress that they +wore, and in several of the usages of common life. The people of the +country had been accustomed to wear long gowns, similar to those worn +to this day by many Oriental nations. This costume was very +inconvenient, not only for soldiers, but also for workmen, and for all +persons engaged in any of the common avocations of life. Peter +required the people to change this dress; and he sent patterns of the +coats worn in western Europe to all parts of the country, and had them +put up in conspicuous places, where every body could see them, and +required every body to imitate them. He, however, met with a great +deal of difficulty in inducing them to do so. He found still greater +difficulty in inducing the people to shave off their mustaches and +their beards. Finding that they would not shave their faces under the +influence of a simple regulation to that effect, he assessed a tax upon +beards, requiring that every gentleman should pay a hundred rubles a +year for the privilege of wearing one; and as for the peasants and +common people, every one who wore a beard was stopped every time he +entered a city or town, and required to pay a penny at the gate by way +of tax or fine. + +The nuisance of long clothes he attempted to abate in a similar way. +The officers of the customs, who were stationed at the gates of the +towns, were ordered to stop every man who wore a long dress, and compel +him either to pay a fine of about fifty cents, or else kneel down and +have all that part of their coat or gown which lay upon the ground, +while they were in that posture, cut off with a pair of big shears. + +Still, such was the attachment of the people to their old fashions, +that great numbers of the people, rather than submit to this curtailing +of their vestments, preferred to pay the fine. + +On one occasion the Czar, laying aside for the moment the system of +severity and terror which was his usual reliance for the accomplishment +of his ends, concluded to try the effect of ridicule upon the +attachment of the people to old and absurd fashions in dress. It +happened that one of the fools or jesters of the court was about to be +married. The young woman who was to be the jester's bride was very +pretty, and she was otherwise a favorite with those who knew her, and +the Czar determined to improve the occasion of the wedding for a grand +frolic. He accordingly made arrangements for celebrating the nuptials +at the palace, and he sent invitations to all the great nobles and +officers of state, with their wives, and to all the other great ladies +of the court, giving them all orders to appear dressed in the fashions +which prevailed in the Russian court one or two hundred years before. +With the exception of some modes of dress prevalent at the present day, +there is nothing that can be conceived more awkward, inconvenient, and +ridiculous than the fashions which were reproduced on this occasion. +Among other things, the ladies wore a sort of dress of which the +sleeves, so it is said, were ten or twelve yards long. These sleeves +were made very full, and were drawn up upon the arm in a sort of a +puff, it being the fashion to have as great a length to the sleeve as +could possibly be crowded on between the shoulder and the wrist. It is +said, too, that the customary salutation between ladies and gentlemen +meeting in society, when this dress was in fashion, was performed +through the intervention of these sleeves. On the approach of the +gentleman, the lady, by a sudden and dexterous motion other arm, would +throw off the end of her sleeve to him. The sleeve, being very long, +could be thrown in this way half across the room. The gentleman would +take the end of the sleeve, which represented, we are to suppose, the +hand of the lady, and, after kissing and saluting it in a most +respectful manner, he would resign it, and then the lady would draw it +back again upon her arm. This would be too ridiculous to be believed +if it were possible that any thing could be too ridiculous to be +believed in respect to the absurdities of fashion. + +A great many of the customs and usages of social life which prevailed +in those days, as well as the fashions of dress, were inconvenient and +absurd. These the Czar did not hesitate to alter and reform by +proceedings of the most arbitrary and summary character. For instance, +it was the custom of all the great nobles, or boyars, as they were +called, to go in grand state whenever they moved about the city or in +the environs of it, attended always by a long train of their servants +and retainers. Now, as these followers were mostly on foot, the nobles +in the carriages, or, in the winter, in their sledges or sleighs, were +obliged to move very slowly in order to enable the train to keep up +with them. Thus the streets were full of these tedious processions, +moving slowly along, sometimes through snow and sometimes through rain, +the men bareheaded, because they must not be covered in the presence of +their master, and thus exposed to all the inclemency of an almost +Arctic climate. And what made the matter worse was, that it was not +the fashion for the nobleman to move on even as fast as his followers +might easily have walked. They considered it more dignified and grand +to go slowly. Thus, the more aristocratic a grandee was in spirit, and +the greater his desire to make a display of his magnificence in the +street, the more slowly he moved. If it had not been for the banners +and emblems, and the gay and gaudy colors in which many of the +attendants were dressed, these processions would have produced the +effect of particularly solemn funerals. + +The Czar determined to change all this. First he set an example +himself of rapid motion through the streets. When he went out in his +carriage or in his sleigh, he was attended only by a very few persons, +and they were dressed in a neat uniform and mounted on good horses, and +his coachman was ordered to drive on at a quick pace. The boyars were +slow to follow this example, but the Czar assisted them considerably in +their progress toward the desired reform by making rules limiting the +number of idle attendants which they were allowed to have about them; +and then, if they would not dismiss the supernumeraries, he himself +caused them to be taken from them and sent into the army. + +The motive of the Czar in making all these improvements and reforms was +his desire to render his own power as the sovereign of the country more +compact and efficient, and not any real and heartfelt interest in the +welfare and happiness of the people. Still, in the end, very excellent +results followed from the innovations which he thus introduced. They +were the commencement of a series of changes which so developed the +power and advanced the civilization of the country, as in the course of +a few subsequent reigns had the effect of bringing Russia into the +foremost rank among the nations of Europe. The progress which these +changes introduced continues to go on to the present time, and will, +perhaps, go on unimpeded for centuries to come. + + + +[1] 1858. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +THE BATTLE OF NARVA. + +1700-1701 + +Origin of the war with Sweden--Peace with the Turks--Charles XII--Siege +of Narva--The frontier--Plan of the campaign--Indignation of the King +of Sweden--Remonstrances of Holland and England--The King of Sweden at +Riga--the Czar a subordinate--General Croy--His plans--Operations of +the king--Surprise and defeat of the Russians--Terrible +slaughter--Whimsical plan for disposing of the prisoners--Effect upon +the Czar--New plans and arrangements + + +The reader will perhaps recollect how desirous Peter had long been to +extend his dominions toward the west, so as to have a sea-port under +his control on the Baltic Sea; for, at the time when he succeeded to +the throne, the eastern shores of the Baltic belonged to Poland and to +Sweden, so that the Russians were confined, in a great measure, in +their naval operations to the waters of the Black and Caspian Seas, and +to the rivers flowing into them. You will also recollect that when, at +the commencement of his tour, he arrived at the town of Riga, which +stands at the head of the Gulf of Riga, a sort of branch of the Baltic, +he had been much offended at the refusal of the governor of the place, +acting under the orders of the King of Sweden, to allow him to view the +fortifications there. He then resolved that Riga, and the whole +province of which it was the capital, should one day be his. The year +after he returned from his travels--that is, in 1699, the country being +by that time restored to its ordinary state of repose after the +suppression of the rebellion--he concluded that the time had arrived +for carrying his resolution into effect. + +So he set a train of negotiations on foot for making a long truce with +the Turks, not wishing to have two wars on his hands at the same time. +When he had accomplished this object, he formed a league with the +kingdoms of Poland and Denmark to make war upon Sweden. So exactly +were all his plans laid, that the war with Sweden was declared on the +very next day after the truce of the Turks was concluded. + +The King of Sweden at this time was Charles XII. He was a mere boy, +being only at that time eighteen years of age, and he had just +succeeded to the throne. He was, however, a prince of remarkable +talents and energy, and in his subsequent campaigns against Peter and +his allies he distinguished himself so much that he acquired great +renown, and finally took his place among the most illustrious military +heroes in history. + +The first operation of the war was the siege of the city of Narva. +Narva was a port on the Baltic; the situation of it, as well as that of +the other places mentioned in this chapter, is seen by the adjoining +map, which shows the general features of the Russian and Swedish +frontier as it existed at that time. + +[Illustration: Map of the Russian and Swedish frontier.] + +Narva, as appears by the map, is situated on the sea-coast, near the +frontier--much nearer than Riga. Peter expected that by the conquest +of this city he should gain access to the sea, and so be able to build +ships which would aid him in his ulterior operations. He also +calculated that when Narva was in his hands the way would be open for +him to advance on Riga. Indeed, at the same time while he was +commencing the siege of Narva, his ally, the King of Poland, advanced +from his own dominions to Riga, and was now prepared to attack that +city at the same time that the Czar was besieging Narva. + +In the mean while the news of these movements was sent by couriers to +the King of Sweden, and the conduct of Peter in thus suddenly making +war upon him, and invading his dominions, made him exceedingly +indignant. The only cause of quarrel which Peter pretended to have +against the king was the uncivil treatment which he had received at the +hands of the Governor of Riga in refusing to allow him to see the +fortifications when he passed through that city on his tour. Peter +had, it is true, complained of this insult, as he called it, and had +sent commissioners to Sweden to demand satisfaction; and certain +explanations had been made, though Peter professed not to be satisfied +with them. Still, the negotiations had not been closed, and the +government of Sweden had no idea that the misunderstanding would lead +to war. Indeed, the commissioners were still at the Swedish court, +continuing the negotiations, when the news arrived that Peter had at +once brought the question to an issue by declaring war and invading the +Swedish territory. The king immediately collected a large army, and +provided a fleet of two hundred transports to convey them to the scene +of action. The preparations were made with great dispatch, and the +fleet sailed for Riga. + +The news, too, of this war occasioned great dissatisfaction among the +governments of western Europe. The government of Holland was +particularly displeased, on account of the interference and +interruption which the war would occasion to all their commerce in the +Baltic. They immediately determined to remonstrate with the Czar +against the course which he was pursuing, and they induced King +William, of England, to join them in the remonstrance. They also, at +the same time, sent a messenger to the King of Poland, urging him by +all means to suspend his threatened attack on Riga until some measures +could be taken for accommodating the quarrel. Riga was a very +important commercial port, and there were a great many wealthy Dutch +merchants there, whose interests the Dutch government were very anxious +to protect. + +The King of Sweden arrived at Riga with his fleet at just about the +same time that the remonstrance of the Dutch government reached the +King of Poland, who was advancing to attack it. Augustus, for that was +the name of the King of Poland, finding that now, since so great a +force had arrived to succor and strengthen the place, there was no hope +for success in any of his operations against it, concluded to make a +virtue of necessity, and so he drew off his army, and sent word to the +Dutch government that he did so in compliance with their wishes. + +The King of Sweden had, of course, nothing now to do but to advance +from Riga to Narva and attack the army of the Czar. + +This army was not, however, commanded by the Czar in person. In +accordance with what seems to have been his favorite plan in all his +great undertakings, he did not act directly himself as the head of the +expedition, but, putting forward another man, an experienced and +skillful general, as responsible commander, he himself took a +subordinate position as lieutenant. Indeed, he took a pride in +entering the army at one of the very lowest grades, and so advancing, +by a regular series of promotions, through all the ranks of the +service. The person whom the Czar had made commander-in-chief at the +siege of Narva was a German officer. His name was General Croy. + +General Croy had been many weeks before Narva at the time when the King +of Sweden arrived at Riga, but he had made little progress in taking +the town. The place was strongly fortified, and the garrison, though +comparatively weak, defended it with great bravery. The Russian army +was encamped in a very strong position just outside the town. As soon +as news of the coming of the King of Sweden arrived, the Czar went off +into the interior of the country to hasten a large re-enforcement which +had been ordered, and, at the same time, General Croy sent forward +large bodies of men to lay in ambuscade along the roads and defiles +through which the King of Sweden would have to pass on his way from +Riga. + +But all these excellent arrangements were entirely defeated by the +impetuous energy, and the extraordinary tact and skill of the King of +Sweden. Although his army was very much smaller than that of the +Russians, he immediately set out on his march to Narva; but, instead of +moving along the regular roads, and so falling into the ambuscade which +the Russians had laid for him, he turned off into back and circuitous +by-ways, so as to avoid the snare altogether. It was in the dead of +winter, and the roads which he followed, besides being rough and +intricate, were obstructed with snow, and the Russians had thought +little of them, so that at last, when the Swedish army arrived at their +advanced posts, they were taken entirely by surprise. The advanced +posts were driven in, and the Swedes pressed on, the Russians flying +before them, and carrying confusion to the posts in the rear. The +surprise of the Russians, and the confusion consequent upon it, were +greatly increased by the state of the weather; for there was a violent +snow-storm at the time, and the snow, blowing into the Russians' faces, +prevented their seeing what the numbers were of the enemy so suddenly +assaulting them, or taking any effectual measures to restore their own +ranks to order when once deranged. + +When at length the Swedes, having thus driven in the advanced posts, +reached the Russian camp itself, they immediately made an assault upon +it. The camp was defended by a rampart and by a double ditch, but on +went the assaulting soldiers over all the obstacles, pushing their way +with their bayonets, and carrying all before them. The Russians were +entirely defeated and put to flight. + +In a rout like this, the conquering army, maddened by rage and by all +the other dreadful excitements of the contest, press on furiously upon +their flying and falling foes, and destroy them with their bayonets in +immense numbers before the officers can arrest them. Indeed, the +officers do not wish to arrest them until it is sure that the enemy is +so completely overwhelmed that their rallying again is utterly +impossible. In this case twenty thousand of the Russian soldiers were +left dead upon the field. The Swedes, on the other hand, lost only two +or three thousand. + +Besides those who were killed, immense numbers were taken prisoners. +General Croy, and all the other principal generals in command, were +among the prisoners. It is very probable that, if Peter had not been +absent at the time, he would himself have been taken too. + +The number of prisoners was so very great that it was not possible for +the Swedes to retain them, on account of the expense and trouble of +feeding them, and keeping them warm at that season of the year; so they +determined to detain the officers only, and to send the men away. In +doing this, besides disarming the men, they adopted a very whimsical +expedient for making them helpless and incapable of doing mischief on +their march. They cut their clothes in such a manner that they could +only be prevented from falling off by being held together by both +hands; and the weather was so cold--the ground, moreover, being covered +with snow--that the men could only save themselves from perishing by +keeping their clothes around them. + +In this pitiful plight the whole body of prisoners were driven off, +like a flock of sheep, by a small body of Swedish soldiery, for a +distance of about a league on the road toward Russia, and then left to +find the rest of the way themselves. + +The Czar, when he heard the news of this terrible disaster, did not +seem much disconcerted by it. He said that he expected to be beaten at +first by the Swedes. "They have beaten us once," said he, "and they +may beat us again; but they will teach us in time to beat them." + +He immediately began to adopt the most efficient and energetic measures +for organizing a new army. He set about raising recruits in all parts +of the empire. He introduced many new foreign officers into his +service; and to provide artillery, after exhausting all the other +resources at his command, he ordered the great bells of many churches +and monasteries to be taken down and cast into cannon. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +THE BUILDING OF ST. PETERSBURG. + +1700-1704 + +Continuation of the war--Stratagems of the Swedes--Peculiar kind of +boat--Making a smoke--Peter determines to build a city--The site--Peter's +first visit to the Neva--Cronstadt--A stratagem--Contest on the +island--Peter examines the locality--He matures his plans--Mechanics and +artisans--Ships and merchandise--Laborers--The boyars--The building +commenced--Wharves and piers--Palace--Confusion--Variety of labors--Want +of tools and implements--Danger from the enemy--Supplies of +provisions--The supplies often fall short--Consequent sickness--Great +mortality--Peter's impetuosity of spirit--Streets and buildings--Private +dwellings--What the King of Sweden said--Map--Situation of +Cronstadt--Peter plans a fortress--Mode of laying the foundations--Danger +from the Swedes--Plan of their attack--The Swedes beaten off--The attempt +entirely fails--Mechanics and artisans--Various improvements--Scientific +institutions + + +The struggle thus commenced between the Czar Peter and Charles XII. of +Sweden, for the possession of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, +continued for many years. At first the Russians were every where beaten +by the Swedes; but at last, as Peter had predicted, the King of Sweden +taught them to beat him. + +The commanders of the Swedish army were very ingenious in expedients, as +well as bold and energetic in action, and they often gained an advantage +over their enemy by their wit as well as by their bravery. One instance +of this was their contrivance for rendering their prisoners helpless on +their march homeward after the battle of Narva, by cutting their clothes +in such a manner as to compel the men to keep both hands employed, as +they walked along the roads, in holding them together. On another +occasion, when they had to cross a river in the face of the Russian +troops posted on the other side, they invented a peculiar kind of boat, +which was of great service in enabling them to accomplish the transit in +safety. These boats were flat-bottomed and square; the foremost end of +each of them was guarded by a sort of bulwark, formed of plank, and made +very high. This bulwark was fixed on hinges at the lower end, so that it +could be raised up and down. It was, of course, kept up during the +passage across the river, and so served to defend the men in the boat +from the shots of the enemy. But when the boat reached the shore it was +let down, and then it formed a platform or bridge by which the men could +all rush out together to the shore. + +At the same time, while they were getting these boats ready, and placing +the men in them, the Swedes, having observed that the wind blew across +from their side of the river to the other, made great fires on the bank, +and covered them with wet straw, so as to cause them to throw out a +prodigious quantity of smoke. The smoke was blown over to the other side +of the river, where it so filled the air as to prevent the Russians from +seeing what was going on. + +[Illustration: Stratagems of the Swedes.] + +It was about a year after the first breaking out of the war that the tide +of fortune began to turn, in some measure, in favor of the Russians. +About that time the Czar gained possession of a considerable portion of +the Baltic shore; and as soon as he had done so, he conceived the design +of laying the foundation of a new city there, with the view of making it +the naval and commercial capital of his kingdom. This plan was carried +most successfully into effect in the building of the great city of St. +Petersburg. The founding of this city was one of the most important +transactions in Peter's reign. Indeed, it was probably by far the most +important, and Peter owes, perhaps, more of his great fame to this +memorable enterprise than to any thing else that he did. + +The situation of St. Petersburg will be seen by the map in the preceding +chapter. At a little distance from the shore is a large lake, called the +Lake of Ladoga. The outlet of the Lake of Ladoga is a small river called +the Neva. The Lake of Ladoga is supplied with water by many rivers, +which flow into it from the higher lands lying to the northward and +eastward of it; and it is by the Neva that the surplus of these waters is +carried off to the sea. + +The circumstances under which the attention of the Czar was called to the +advantages of this locality were these. He arrived on the banks of the +Neva, at some distance above the mouth of the river, in the course of his +campaign against the Swedes in the year 1702. He followed the river +down, and observed that it was pretty wide, and that the water was +sufficiently deep for the purpose of navigation. When he reached the +mouth of the river, he saw that, there was an island,[1] at some distance +from the shore, which might easily be fortified, and that, when +fortified, it would completely defend the entrance to the stream. He +took with him a body of armed men, and went off to the island in boats, +in order to examine it more closely. The name of this island was then +almost unknown, but it is now celebrated throughout the world as the seat +of the renowned and impregnable fortress of Cronstadt. + +There was a Swedish ship in the offing at the time when Peter visited the +island, and this ship drew near to the island and began to fire upon it +as soon as those on board saw that the Russian soldiers had landed there. +This cannonading drove the Russians back from the shores, but instead of +retiring from the island they went and concealed themselves behind some +rocks. The Swedes supposed that the Russians had gone around to the +other side of the island, and that they had there taken to their boats +again and returned to the main land; so they determined to go to the +island themselves, and examine it, in order to find out what the Russians +had been doing there. + +They accordingly let down their boats, and a large party of Swedes +embarking in them rowed to the island. Soon after they had landed the +Russians rushed out upon them from their ambuscade, and, after a sharp +contest, drove them back to their boats. Several of the men were killed, +but the rest succeeded in making their way to the ship, and the ship soon +afterward weighed anchor and put to sea. + +Peter was now at liberty to examine the island, the mouth of the river, +and all the adjacent shores, as much as he pleased. He found that the +situation of the place was well adapted to the purposes of a sea-port. +The island would serve to defend the mouth of the river, and yet there +was deep water along the side of it to afford an entrance for ships. The +water, too, was deep in the river, and the flow of the current smooth. +It is true that in many places the land along the banks of the river was +low and marshy, but this difficulty could be remedied by the driving of +piles for the foundation of the buildings, which had been done so +extensively in Holland. + +There was no town on the spot at the time of Peter's visit to it, but +only a few fishermen's huts near the outlet of the river, and the ruins +of an old fort a few miles above. Peter examined the whole region with +great care, and came decidedly to the conclusion that he would make the +spot the site of a great city. + +He matured his plans during the winter, and in the following spring he +commenced the execution of them. The first building that was erected was +a low one-story structure, made of wood, to be used as a sort of office +and place of shelter for himself while superintending the commencement of +the works that he had projected. This building was afterward preserved a +long time with great care, as a precious relic and souvenir of the +foundation of the city. + +The Czar had sent out orders to the governments of the different +provinces of the empire requiring each of them to send his quota of +artificers and laborers to assist in building the city. This they could +easily do, for in those days all the laboring classes of the people were +little better than slaves, and were almost entirely at the disposal of +the nobles, their masters. In the same manner he sent out agents to all +the chief cities in western Europe, with orders to advertise there for +carpenters, masons, engineers, ship-builders, and persons of all the +other trades likely to be useful in the work of building the city. These +men were to be promised good wages and kind treatment, and were to be at +liberty at any time to return to their respective homes. + +The agents also, at the same time, invited the merchants of the countries +that they visited to send vessels to the new port, laden with food for +the people that were to be assembled there, and implements for work, and +other merchandise suitable for the wants of such a community. The +merchants were promised good prices for their goods, and full liberty to +come and go at their pleasure. + +The Czar also sent orders to a great many leading boyars or nobles, +requiring them to come and build houses for themselves in the new town. +They were to bring with them a sufficient number of their serfs and +retainers to do all the rough work which would be required, and money to +pay the foreign mechanics for the skilled labor. The boyars were not at +all pleased with this summons. They already possessed their town houses +in Moscow, with gardens and pleasure-grounds in the environs. The site +for the new city was very far to the northward, in a comparatively cold +and inhospitable climate; and they knew very well that, even if Peter +should succeed, in the end, in establishing his new city, several years +must elapse before they could live there in comfort. Still, they did not +dare to do otherwise than to obey the emperor's summons. + +In consequence of all these arrangements and preparations, immense +numbers of people came in to the site of the new city in the course of +the following spring and summer. The numbers were swelled by the +addition of the populations of many towns and villages along the coast +that had been ravaged or destroyed by the Swedes in the course of the +war. The works were immediately commenced on a vast scale, and they were +carried on during the summer with great energy. The first thing to be +secured was, of course, the construction of the fortress which was to +defend the town. There were wharves and piers to be built too, in order +that the vessels bringing stores and provisions might land their goods. +The land was surveyed, streets laid out, building lots assigned to +merchants for warehouses and shops, and to the boyars for palaces and +gardens. The boyars commenced the building of their houses, and the Czar +himself laid the foundation of an imperial palace. + +But, notwithstanding all the precautions which Peter had taken to secure +supplies of every thing required for such an undertaking, and to regulate +the work by systematic plans and arrangements, the operations were for a +time attended with a great deal of disorder and confusion, and a vast +amount of personal suffering. For a long time there was no proper +shelter for the laborers. Men came to the ground much faster than huts +could be built to cover them, and they were obliged to lie on the marshy +ground without any protection from the weather. There was also a great +scarcity of tools and implements suitable for the work that was required, +in felling and transporting trees, and in excavating and filling up, +where changes in the surface were required. In constructing the +fortifications, for example, which, in the first instance, were made of +earth, it was necessary to dig deep ditches and to raise great +embankments. There was a great deal of the same kind of work necessary +on the ground where the city was to stand before the work of erecting +buildings could be commenced. There were dikes and levees to be made +along the margin of the stream to protect the land from the inundations +to which it was subject when the river was swollen with rains. There +were roads to be made, and forests to be cleared away, and many other +such labors to be performed. Now, in order to employ at once the vast +concourse of laborers that were assembled on the ground in such works as +these, an immense number of implements were required, such as pickaxes, +spades, shovels, and wheelbarrows; but so limited was the supply of these +conveniences, that a great portion of the earth which was required for +the dikes and embankments was brought by the men in their aprons, or in +the skirts of their clothes, or in bags made for the purpose out of old +mats, or any other material that came to hand. It was necessary to push +forward the work promptly and without any delay, notwithstanding all +these disadvantages, for the Swedes were still off the coast with their +ships, and no one knew how soon they might draw near and open a cannonade +upon the place, or even land and attack the workmen in the midst of their +labors. + +What greatly increased the difficulties of the case was the frequent +falling short of the supply of provisions. The number of men to be fed +was immensely large; for, in consequence of the very efficient measures +which the Czar had taken for gathering men from all parts of his +dominions, it is said that there were not less than three hundred +thousand collected on the spot in the course of the summer. And as there +were at that time no roads leading to the place, all the supplies were +necessarily to be brought by water. But the approach from the Baltic +side was well-nigh cut off by the Swedes, who had at that time full +possession of the sea. Vessels could, however, come from the interior by +way of Lake Ladoga; but when for several days or more the wind was from +the west, these vessels were all kept back, and then sometimes the +provisions fell short, and the men were reduced to great distress. To +guard as much as possible against the danger of coming to absolute want +at the times when the supplies were thus entirely cut off, the men were +often put on short allowance beforehand. The emperor, it is true, was +continually sending out requisitions for more food; but the men increased +in number faster, after all, than the means for feeding them. The +consequence was, that immense multitudes of them sickened and died. The +scarcity of food, combined with the influence of fatigue and +exposure--men half fed, working all day in the mud and rain, and at night +sleeping without any shelter--brought on fevers and dysenteries, and +other similar diseases, which always prevail in camps, and among large +bodies of men exposed to such influences as these. It is said that not +less than a hundred thousand men perished from these causes at St. +Petersburg in the course of the year. + +Peter doubtless regretted this loss of life, as it tended to impede the +progress of the work; but, after all, it was a loss which he could easily +repair by sending out continually to the provinces for fresh supplies of +men. Those whom the nobles and governors selected from among the serfs +and ordered to go had no option; they were obliged to submit. And thus +the supply of laborers was kept full, notwithstanding the dreadful +mortality which was continually tending to diminish it. + +If Peter had been willing to exercise a little patience and moderation in +carrying out his plans, it is very probable that most of this suffering +might have been saved. If he had sent a small number of men to the +ground the first year, and had employed them in opening roads, +establishing granaries, and making other preliminary arrangements, and, +in the mean time, had caused stores of food to be purchased and laid up, +and ample supplies of proper tools and implements to be procured and +conveyed to the ground, so as to have had every thing ready for the +advantageous employment of a large number of men in the following year, +every thing would, perhaps, have gone well. But the qualities of +patience and moderation formed no part of Peter's character. What he +conceived of and determined to do must be done at once, at whatever cost; +and a cost of human life seems to have been the one that he thought less +of than any other. He rushed headlong on, notwithstanding the suffering +which his impetuosity occasioned, and thus the hymn which solemnized the +entrance into being of the new-born city was composed of the groans of a +hundred thousand men, dying in agony, of want, misery, and despair. + +Peter was a personal witness of this suffering, for he remained, during a +great part of the time, on the ground, occupying himself constantly in +superintending and urging on the operations. Indeed, it is said that he +acted himself as chief engineer in planning the fortifications, and in +laying out the streets of the city. He drew many of the plans with his +own hands; for, among the other accomplishments which he had acquired in +the early part of his life, he had made himself quite a good practical +draughtsman. + +When the general plan of the city had been determined upon, and proper +places had been set apart for royal palaces and pleasure-grounds, and +public edifices of all sorts that might be required, and also for open +squares, docks, markets, and the like, a great many streets were thrown +open for the use of any persons who might choose to build houses in them. +A vast number of the mechanics and artisans who had been attracted to the +place by the offers of the Czar availed themselves of this opportunity to +provide themselves with homes, and they proceeded at once to erect +houses. A great many of the structures thus built were mere huts or +shanties, made of any rude materials that came most readily to hand, and +put up in a very hasty manner. It was sufficient that the tenement +afforded a shelter from the rain, and that it was enough of a building to +fulfill the condition on which the land was granted to the owner of it. +The number of these structures was, however, enormous. It was said that +in one year there were erected thirty thousand of them. There is no +instance in the history of the world of so great a city springing into +existence with such marvelous rapidity as this. + +During the time while Peter was thus employed in laying the foundations +of his new city, the King of Sweden was carrying on the war in Poland +against the conjoined forces of Russia and Poland, which were acting +together there as allies. When intelligence was brought to him of the +operations in which Peter was engaged on the banks of the Neva, he said, +"It is all very well. He may amuse himself as much as he likes in +building his city there; but by-and-by, when I am a little at leisure, I +will go and take it away from him. Then, if I like the town, I will keep +it; and if not, I will burn it down." + +[Illustration: Situation at St. Petersburg.] + +Peter, however, determined that it should not be left within the power of +the King of Sweden to take his town, or even to molest his operations in +the building of it, if any precautions on his part could prevent it. He +had caused a number of redoubts and batteries to be thrown up during the +summer. These works were situated at different points near the outlet of +the river, and on the adjacent shores. + +There was an island off the mouth of the river which stood in a suitable +position to guard the entrance. This island was several miles distant +from the place where the city was to stand, and it occupied the middle of +the bay leading toward it. Thus there was water on both sides of it, but +the water was deep enough only on one side to allow of the passage of +ships of war. Peter now determined to construct a large and strong +fortress on the shores of this island, placing it in such a position that +the guns could command the channel leading up the bay. It was late in +the fall when he planned this work, and the winter came on before he was +ready to commence operations. This time for commencing was, however, a +matter of design on his part, as the ice during the winter would assist +very much, he thought, in the work of laying the necessary foundations; +for the fortress was not to stand on the solid land, but on a sandbank +which projected from the land on the side toward the navigable channel. +The site of the fortress was to be about a cannon-shot from the and, +where, being surrounded by shallow water on every side, it could not be +approached either by land or sea. + +Peter laid the foundations of this fortress on the ice by building +immense boxes of timber and plank, and loading them with stones. When +the ice melted in the spring these structures sank into the sand, and +formed a stable and solid foundation on which he could afterward build at +pleasure. This was the origin of the famous Castle of Cronstadt, which +has since so well fulfilled its purpose that it has kept the powerful +navies of Europe at bay in time of war, and prevented their reaching the +city. + +Besides this great fortress, Peter erected several detached batteries at +different parts of the island, so as to prevent the land from being +approached at all by the boats of the enemy. + +At length the King of Sweden began to be somewhat alarmed at the accounts +which he received of what Peter was doing, and he determined to attack +him on the ground, and destroy his works before he proceeded any farther +with them. He accordingly ordered the admiral of the fleet to assemble +his ships, to sail up the Gulf of Finland, and there attack and destroy +the settlement which Peter was making. + +The admiral made the attempt, but he found that he was too late. The +works were advanced too far, and had become too strong for him. It was +on the 4th of July, 1704, that the Russian scouts, who were watching on +the shores of the bay, saw the Swedish ships coming up. The fleet +consisted of twenty-two men-of-war, and many other vessels. Besides the +forts and batteries, the Russians had a number of ships of their own at +anchor in the waters, and as the fleet advanced a tremendous cannonade +was opened on both sides, the ships of the Swedes against the ships and +batteries of the Russians. When the Swedish fleet had advanced as far +toward the island as the depth of the water would allow, they let down +from the decks of their vessels a great number of flat-bottomed boats, +which they had brought for the purpose, and filled them with armed men. +Their plan was to land these men on the island, and carry the Russian +batteries there at the point of the bayonet. + +But they did not succeed. They were received so hotly by the Russians +that, after an obstinate contest, they were forced to retreat. They +endeavored to get back to their boats, but were pursued by the Russians; +and now, as their backs were turned, they could no longer defend +themselves, and a great many were killed. Even those that were not +killed did not all succeed in making their escape. A considerable +number, finding that they should not be able to get to the boats, threw +down their arms, and surrendered themselves prisoners; and then, of +course, the boats which they belonged to were taken. Five of the boats +thus fell into the hands of the Russians. The others were rowed back +with all speed to the ships, and then the ships withdrew. Thus the +attempt failed entirely. The admiral reported the ill success of his +expedition to the king, and not long afterward another similar attempt +was made, but with no better success than before. + +The new city was now considered as firmly established, and from this time +it advanced very rapidly in wealth and population. Peter gave great +encouragement to foreign mechanics and artisans to come and settle in the +town, offering to some lands, to others houses, and to others high wages +for their work. The nobles built elegant mansions there in the streets +set apart for them, and many public buildings of great splendor were +planned and commenced. The business of building ships, too, was +introduced on an extended scale. The situation was very favorable for +this purpose, as the shores of the river afforded excellent sites for +dock-yards, and the timber required could be supplied in great quantities +from the shores of Lake Ladoga. + +In a very few years after the first foundation of the city, Peter began +to establish literary and scientific institutions there. Many of these +institutions have since become greatly renowned, and they contribute a +large share, at the present day, to the _eclat_ which surrounds this +celebrated city, and which makes it one of the most splendid and renowned +of the European capitals. + + + +[1] See map on page 221. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +THE REVOLT OF MAZEPPA. + +1708 + +Progress of the war--Peter's fleet--The King of Sweden's +successes--Peter wishes to make peace--The reply--Plan changed--Mazeppa +and the Cossacks--Plans for reforming the Cossacks--Mazeppa opposes +them--The quarrel--Mazeppa's treasonable designs--The plot +defeated--Precautions of the Czar--Mazeppa's plans--He goes on step by +step--He sends his nephew to the Czar--The envoy is arrested--Commotion +among the Cossacks--Failure of the plot--Mazeppa's trial and +condemnation--The effigy--Execution of the sentence upon the +effigy--New chieftain chosen + + +In the mean time the war with Sweden went on. Many campaigns were +fought, for the contest was continued through several successive years. +The King of Sweden made repeated attempts to destroy the new city of +St. Petersburg, but without success. On the contrary, the town grew +and prospered more and more; and the shelter and protection which the +fortifications around it afforded to the mouth of the river and to the +adjacent roadsteads enabled the Czar to go on so rapidly in building +new ships, and in thus increasing and strengthening his fleet, that +very soon he was much stronger than the King of Sweden in all the +neighboring waters, so that he not only was able to keep the enemy very +effectually at bay, but he even made several successful descents upon +the Swedish territory along the adjoining coasts. + +But, while the Czar was thus rapidly increasing his power at sea, the +King of Sweden proved himself the strongest on land. He extended his +conquests very rapidly in Poland and in the adjoining provinces, and at +last, in the summer of 1708, he conceived the design of crossing the +Dnieper and threatening Moscow, which was still Peter's capital. He +accordingly pushed his forces forward until he approached the bank of +the river. He came up to it at a certain point, as if he was intending +to cross there. Peter assembled all his troops on the opposite side of +the river at that point in order to oppose him. But the demonstration +which the king made of an intention to cross at that point was only a +pretense. He left a sufficient number of men there to make a show, and +secretly marched away the great body of his troops in the night to a +point about three miles farther up the river, where he succeeded in +crossing with them before the emperor's forces had any suspicion of his +real design. The Russians, who were not strong enough to oppose him in +the open field, were obliged immediately to retreat, and leave him in +full possession of the ground. + +Peter was now much alarmed. He sent an officer to the camp of the King +of Sweden with a flag of truce, to ask on what terms the king would +make peace with him. But Charles was too much elated with his success +in crossing the river, and placing himself in a position from which he +could advance, without encountering any farther obstruction, to the +very gates of the capital, to be willing then to propose any terms. So +he declined entering into any negotiation, saying only in a haughty +tone "that he would treat with his brother Peter at Moscow." + +On mature reflection, however, he seems to have concluded that it would +be more prudent for him not to march at once to Moscow, and so he +turned his course for a time toward the southward, in the direction of +the Crimea and the Black Sea. + +There was one secret reason which induced the King of Sweden to move +thus to the southward which Peter did not for a time understand. The +country of the Cossacks lay in that direction, and the famous Mazeppa, +of whom some account has already been given in this volume, was the +chieftain of the Cossacks, and he, as it happened, had had a quarrel +with the Czar, and in consequence of it had opened a secret negotiation +with the King of Sweden, and had agreed that if the king would come +into his part of the country he would desert the cause of the Czar, and +would come over to his side, with all the Cossacks under his command. + +The cause of Mazeppa's quarrel with the Czar was this: He was one day +paying a visit to his majesty, and, while seated at table, Peter began +to complain of the lawless and ungovernable character of the Cossacks, +and to propose that Mazeppa should introduce certain reforms in the +organization and discipline of the tribe, with a view of bringing them +under more effectual control. It is probable that the reforms which he +proposed were somewhat analogous to those which he had introduced so +successfully into the armies under his own more immediate command. + +Mazeppa opposed this suggestion. He said that the attempt to adopt +such measures with the Cossacks would never succeed; that the men were +so wild and savage by nature, and so fixed in the rude and irregular +habits of warfare to which they and their fathers had been so long +accustomed, that they could never be made to submit to such +restrictions as a regular military discipline would impose. + +Peter, who never could endure the least opposition or contradiction to +any of his ideas or plans, became quite angry with Mazeppa on account +of the objections which he made to his proposals, and, as was usual +with him in such cases, he broke out in the most rude and violent +language imaginable. He called Mazeppa an enemy and a traitor, and +threatened to have him impaled alive. It is true he did not really +mean what he said, his words being only empty threats dictated by the +brutal violence of his anger. Still, Mazeppa was very much offended. +He went away from the Czar's tent muttering his displeasure, and +resolving secretly on revenge. + +Soon after this Mazeppa opened the communication above referred to with +the King of Sweden, and at last an agreement was made between them by +which it was stipulated that the king was to advance into the southern +part of the country, where, of course, the Cossacks would be sent out +to meet him, and then Mazeppa was to revolt from the Czar, and go over +with all his forces to the King of Sweden's side. By this means the +Czar's army was sure, they thought, to be defeated; and in this case +the King of Sweden was to remain in possession of the Russian +territory, while the Cossacks were to retire to their own fortresses, +and live thenceforth as an independent tribe. + +The plot seemed to be very well laid; but, unfortunately for the +contrivers of it, it was not destined to succeed. In the first place, +Mazeppa's scheme of revolting with the Cossacks to the enemy was +discovered by the Czar, and almost entirely defeated, before the time +arrived for putting it into execution. Peter had his secret agents +every where, and through them he received such information in respect +to Mazeppa's movements as led him to suspect his designs. He said +nothing, however, but manoeuvred his forces so as to have a large body +of troops that he could rely upon always near Mazeppa and the Cossacks, +and between them and the army of the Swedes. He ordered the officers +of these troops to watch Mazeppa's movements closely, and to be ready +to act against him at a moment's notice, should occasion require. +Mazeppa was somewhat disconcerted in his plans by this state of things; +but he could not make any objection, for the troops thus stationed near +him seemed to be placed there for the purpose of co-operating with him +against the enemy. + +In the mean time, Mazeppa cautiously made known his plans to the +leading men among the Cossacks as fast as he thought it prudent to do +so. He represented to them how much better it would be for them to be +restored to their former liberty as an independent tribe, instead of +being in subjugation to such a despot as the Czar. He also enumerated +the various grievances which they suffered under Russian rule, and +endeavored to excite the animosity of his hearers as much as possible +against Peter's government. + +He found that the chief officers of the Cossacks seemed quite disposed +to listen to what he said, and to adopt his views. Some of them were +really so, and others pretended to be so for fear of displeasing him. +At length he thought it time to take some measures for preparing the +minds of the men generally for what was to come, and in order to do +this he determined on publicly sending a messenger to the Czar with the +complaints which he had to make in behalf of his men. The men, knowing +of this embassy, and understanding the grounds of the complaint which +Mazeppa was to make by means of it, would be placed, he thought, in +such a position that, in the event of an unfavorable answer being +returned, as he had no doubt would be the case, they could be the more +easily led into the revolt which he proposed. + +Mazeppa accordingly made out a statement of his complaints, and +appointed his nephew a commissioner to proceed to head-quarters and lay +them before the Czar. The name of the nephew was Warnarowski. As soon +as Warnarowski arrived at the camp, Peter, instead of granting him an +audience, and listening to the statement which he had to make, ordered +him to be seized and sent to prison, as if he were guilty of a species +of treason in coming to trouble his sovereign with complaints and +difficulties at such a time, when the country was suffering under an +actual invasion from a foreign enemy. + +As soon as Mazeppa heard that his nephew was arrested, he was convinced +that his plots had been discovered, and that he must not lose a moment +in carrying them into execution, or all would be lost. He accordingly +immediately put his whole force in motion to march toward the place +where the Swedish army was then posted, ostensibly for the purpose of +attacking them. He crossed a certain river which lay between him and +the Swedes, and then, when safely over, he stated to his men what he +intended to do. + +The men were filled with indignation at this proposal, which, being +wholly unexpected, came upon them by surprise. They refused to join in +the revolt. A scene of great excitement and confusion followed. A +portion of the Cossacks, those with whom Mazeppa had come to an +understanding beforehand, were disposed to go with him, but the rest +were filled with vexation and rage. They declared that they would +seize their chieftain, bind him hand and foot, and send him to the +Czar. Indeed, it is highly probable that the two factions would have +come soon to a bloody fight for the possession of the person of their +chieftain, in which case he would very likely have been torn to pieces +in the struggle, if those who were disposed to revolt had not fled +before the opposition to their movement had time to become organized. +Mazeppa and those who adhered to him--about two thousand men in +all--went over in a body to the camp of the Swedes. The rest, led by +the officers that still remained faithful, marched at once to the +nearest body of Russian forces, and put themselves under the command of +the Russian general there. + +A council of war was soon after called in the Russian camp for the +purpose of bringing Mazeppa to trial. He was, of course, found guilty, +and sentence of death--with a great many indignities to accompany the +execution--was passed upon him. The sentence, however, could not be +executed upon Mazeppa himself, for he was out of the reach of his +accusers, being safe in the Swedish camp. So they made a wooden image +or effigy to represent him, and inflicted the penalties upon the +substitute instead. + +In the first place, they dressed the effigy to imitate the appearance +of Mazeppa, and put upon it representations of the medals, ribbons, and +other decorations which he was accustomed to wear. They brought this +figure out before the camp, in presence of the general and of all the +leading officers, the soldiers being also drawn up around the spot. A +herald appeared and read the sentence of condemnation, and then +proceeded to carry it into execution, as follows. First, he tore +Mazeppa's patent of knighthood in pieces, and threw the fragments into +the air. Then he tore off the medals and decorations from the image, +and, throwing them upon the ground, he trampled them under his feet. +Then he struck the effigy itself a blow by which it was overturned and +left prostrate in the dust. + +The hangman then came up, and, tying a halter round the neck of the +effigy, dragged it off to a place where a gibbet had been erected, and +hanged it there. + +Immediately after this ceremony, the Cossacks, according to their +custom, proceeded to elect a new chieftain in the place of Mazeppa. +The chieftain thus chosen came forward before the Czar to take the oath +of allegiance to him, and to offer him his homage. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +THE BATTLE OF PULTOWA. + +1709 + +Invasion of the Swedes--Their progress through the country--Artificial +roads--Pultowa--Fame of the battle--Situation of Pultowa--It is +besieged--Menzikoff--Manoeuvres--Menzikoff most successful--King +Charles wounded--The Czar advances to Pultowa--The king resolves to +attack the camp--A battle determined upon--Military rank of the +Czar--His address to the army--The litter--The battle--Courage and +fortitude of the king--The Swedes defeated--Narrow escape of the +Czar--He discovers the broken litter--Escape of King Charles--Dreadful +defeat--Flight and adventures of the king--He offers now to make +peace--The king's followers--Peter's reply--Carriage for the +king--Flight to the Turkish frontier--Sufferings of the retreating +army--Deputation sent to the Turkish frontier--Reception of the +messenger--Boats collected--Crossing the river--Bender--Fate of the +Swedish army--The prisoners--Anecdote of the Czar--The Czar's +habits--Disposition of the prisoners--Adventures of the King of +Sweden--Military promotion of the Czar + + +In the mean time, while these transactions had been taking place among +the Russians, the King of Sweden had been gradually making his way +toward the westward and southward, into the very heart of the Russian +dominions. The forces of the emperor, which were not strong enough to +offer him battle, had been gradually retiring before him; but they had +devastated and destroyed every thing on their way, in their retreat, so +as to leave nothing for the support of the Swedish army. They broke up +all the bridges too, and obstructed the roads by every means in their +power, so as to impede the progress of the Swedes as much as possible, +since they could not wholly arrest it. + +The Swedes, however, pressed slowly onward. They sent off to great +distances to procure forage for the horses and food for the men. When +they found the bridges down, they made detours and crossed the rivers +at fording-places. When the roads were obstructed, they removed the +impediments if they could, and if not, they opened new roads. +Sometimes, in these cases, their way led them across swampy places +where no solid footing could be found, and then the men would cut down +an immense quantity of bushes and trees growing in the neighborhood, +and make up the branches into bundles called _fascines_. They would +lay these bundles close together on the surface of the swamp, and then +level them off on the top by loose branches, and so make a road firm +enough for the army to march over. + +Things went on in this way until, at last, the farther progress of King +Charles was arrested, and the tide of fortune was turned wholly against +him by a great battle which was fought at a place called Pultowa. This +battle, which, after so protracted a struggle, at length suddenly +terminated the contest between the king and the Czar, of course +attracted universal attention at the time, for Charles and Peter were +the greatest potentates and warriors of their age, and the struggle for +power which had so long been waged between them had been watched with +great interest, through all the stages of it, by the whole civilized +world. The battle of Pultowa was, in a word, one of those great final +conflicts by which, after a long struggle, the fate of an empire is +decided. It, of course, greatly attracted the attention of mankind, +and has since taken its place among the most renowned combats of +history. + +Pultowa is a town situated in the heart of the Russian territories +three or four hundred miles north of the Black Sea. It stands on a +small river which flows to the southward and westward into the Dnieper. +It was at that time an important military station, as it contained +great arsenals where large stores of food and of ammunition were laid +up for the use of Peter's army. The King of Sweden determined to take +this town. His principal object in desiring to get possession of it +was to supply the wants of his army by the provisions that were stored +there. The place was strongly fortified, and it was defended by a +garrison; but the king thought that he should be able to take it, and +he accordingly advanced to the walls, invested the place closely on +every side, and commenced the siege. + +The name of the general in command of the largest body of Russian +forces near the spot was Menzikoff, and as soon as the King of Sweden +had invested the place, Menzikoff began to advance toward it in order +to relieve it. Then followed a long series of manoeuvres and partial +combats between the two armies, the Swedes being occupied with the +double duty of attacking the town, and also of defending themselves +from Menzikoff; while Menzikoff, on the other hand, was intent, first +on harassing the Swedes and impeding as much as possible their siege +operations, and, secondly, on throwing succors into the town. + +In this contest Menzikoff was, on the whole, most successful. He +contrived one night to pass a detachment of his troops through the +gates of Pultowa into the town to strengthen the garrison. This +irritated the King of Sweden, and made him more determined and reckless +than ever to press the siege. Under this excitement he advanced so +near the walls one day, in a desperate effort to take possession of an +advanced part of the works, that he exposed himself to a shot from the +ramparts, and was badly wounded in the heel. + +This wound nearly disabled him. He was obliged by it to confine +himself to his tent, and to content himself with giving orders from his +couch or litter, where he lay helpless and in great pain, and in a +state of extreme mental disquietude. + +His anxiety was greatly increased in a few days in consequence of +intelligence which was brought into his camp by the scouts, that Peter +himself was advancing to the relief of Pultowa at the head of a very +large army. Indeed, the tidings were that this great force was close +at hand. The king found that he was in danger of being surrounded. +Nor could he well hope to escape the danger by a retreat, for the broad +and deep river Dnieper, which he had crossed to come to the siege of +Pultowa, was behind him, and if the Russians were to fall upon him +while attempting to cross it, he knew very well that his whole army +would be cut to pieces. + +He lay restless on his litter in his tent, his thoughts divided between +the anguish of the wound in his heel and the mental anxiety and +distress produced by the situation that he was in. He spent the night +in great perplexity and suffering. At length, toward morning, he came +to the desperate resolution of attacking the Russians in their camp, +inferior as his own numbers were now to theirs. + +He accordingly sent a messenger to the field-marshal, who was chief +officer in command under himself, summoning him to his tent. The +field-marshal was aroused from his sleep, for it was not yet day, and +immediately repaired to the king's tent. The king was lying on his +couch, quiet and calm, and, with an air of great serenity and +composure, he gave the marshal orders to beat to arms and march out to +attack the Czar in his intrenchments as soon as daylight should appear. + +The field-marshal was astonished at this order, for he knew that the +Russians were now far superior in numbers to the Swedes, and he +supposed that the only hope of the king would be to defend himself +where he was in his camp, or else to attempt a retreat. He, however, +knew that there was nothing to be done but to obey his orders. So he +received the instructions which the king gave him, said that he would +carry them into execution, and then retired. The king then at length +fell into a troubled sleep, and slept until the break of day. + +By this time the whole camp was in motion. The Russians, too, who in +their intrenchments had received the alarm, had aroused themselves and +were preparing for battle. The Czar himself was not the commander. He +had prided himself, as the reader will recollect, in entering the army +at the lowest point, and in advancing regularly, step by step, through +all the grades, as any other officer would have done. He had now +attained the rank of major general; and though, as Czar, he gave orders +through his ministers to the commander-in-chief of the armies directing +them in general what to do, still personally, in camp and in the field +of battle, he received orders from his military superior there; and he +took a pride and pleasure in the subordination to his superior's +authority which the rules of the service required of him. + +He, however, as it seems, did not always entirely lay aside his +imperial character while in camp, for in this instance, while the men +were formed in array, and before the battle commenced, he rode to and +fro along their lines, encouraging the men, and promising, as their +sovereign, to bestow rewards upon them in proportion to the valor which +they should severally display in the coming combat. + +The King of Sweden, too, was raised from his couch, placed upon a +litter, and in this manner carried along the lines of his own army just +before the battle was to begin. He told the men that they were about +to attack an enemy more numerous than themselves, but that they must +remember that at Narva eight thousand Swedes had overcome a hundred +thousand Russians in their own intrenchments, and what they had done +once, he said, they could do again. + +The battle was commenced very early in the morning. It was complicated +at the beginning with many marches, countermarches, and manoeuvres, in +which the several divisions of both the Russian and Swedish armies, and +the garrison of Pultowa, all took part. In some places and at some +times the victory was on one side, and at others on the other. King +Charles was carried in his litter into the thickest of the battle, +where, after a time, he became so excited by the contest that he +insisted on being put upon a horse. The attendants accordingly brought +a horse and placed him carefully upon it; but the pain of his wound +brought on faintness, and he was obliged to be put back in his litter +again. Soon after this a cannon ball struck the litter and dashed it +to pieces. The king was thrown out upon the ground. Those who saw him +fall supposed that he was killed, and they were struck with +consternation. They had been almost overpowered by their enemies +before, but they were now wholly disheartened and discouraged, and they +began to give way and fly in all directions. + +The king had, however, not been touched by the ball which struck the +litter. He was at once raised from the ground by the officers around +him, and borne away out of the immediate danger. He remonstrated +earnestly against being taken away, and insisted upon making an effort +to rally his men; but the officers soon persuaded him that for the +present, at least, all was lost, and that the only hope for him was to +make his escape as soon as possible across the river, and thence over +the frontier into Turkey, where he would be safe from pursuit, and +could then consider what it would be best to do. + +The king at length reluctantly yielded to these persuasions, and was +borne away. + +In the mean time, the Czar himself had been exposed to great danger in +the battle, and, like the King of Sweden, had met with some very narrow +escapes. His hat was shot through with a bullet which half an inch +lower would have gone through the emperor's head. General Menzikoff +had three horses shot under him. But, notwithstanding these dangers, +the Czar pressed on into the thickest of the fight, and was present at +the head of his men when the Swedes were finally overwhelmed and driven +from the field. Indeed, he was among the foremost who pursued them; +and when he came to the place where the royal litter was lying, broken +to pieces, on the ground, he expressed great concern for the fate of +his enemy, and seemed to regret the calamity which had befallen him as +if Charles had been his friend. He had always greatly admired the +courage and the military skill which the King of Sweden had manifested +in his campaigns, and was disposed to respect his misfortunes now that +he had fallen. He supposed that he was unquestionably killed, and he +gave orders to his men to search every where over the field for the +body, and to guard it, when found, from any farther violence or injury, +and take charge of it, that it might receive an honorable burial. + +The body was, of course, not found, for the king was alive, and, with +the exception of the wound in his heel, uninjured. He was borne off +from the field by a few faithful adherents, who took him in their arms +when the litter was broken up. As soon as they had conveyed him in +this manner out of immediate danger, they hastily constructed another +litter in order to bear him farther away. He was himself extremely +unwilling to go. He was very earnest to make an effort to rally his +men, and, if possible, save his army from total ruin. But he soon +found that it was in vain to attempt this. His whole force had been +thrown into utter confusion; and the broken battalions, flying in every +direction, were pursued so hotly by the Russians, who, in their +exultant fury, slaughtered all whom they could overtake, and drove the +rest headlong on in a state of panic and dismay which was wholly +uncontrollable. + +Of course some escaped, but great numbers were taken prisoners. Many +of the officers, separated from their men, wandered about in search of +the king, being without any rallying point until they could find him. +After suffering many cruel hardships and much exposure in the +lurking-places where they attempted to conceal themselves, great +numbers of them were hunted out by their enemies and made prisoners. + +In the mean time, those who had the king under their charge urged his +majesty to allow them to convey him with all speed out of the country. +The nearest way of escape was to go westward to the Turkish frontier, +which, as has already been said, was not far distant, though there were +three rivers to cross on the way--the Dnieper, the Bog, and the +Dniester. The king was very unwilling to listen to this advice. Peter +had several times sent a flag of truce to him since he had entered into +the Russian dominions, expressing a desire to make peace, and proposing +very reasonable terms for Charles to accede to. To all these proposals +Charles had returned the same answer as at first, which was, that he +should not be ready to treat with the Czar until he arrived at Moscow. +Charles now said that, before abandoning the country altogether, he +would send a herald to the Russian camp to say that he was now willing +to make peace on the terms which Peter had before proposed to him, if +Peter was still willing to adhere to them. + +Charles was led to hope that this proposal might perhaps be successful, +from the fact that there was a portion of his army who had not been +engaged at Pultowa that was still safe; and he had no doubt that a very +considerable number of men would succeed in escaping from Pultowa and +joining them. Indeed, the number was not small of those whom the king +had now immediately around him, for all that escaped from the battle +made every possible exertion to discover and rejoin the king, and so +many straggling parties came that he soon had under his command a force +of one or two thousand men. This was, of course, but a small remnant +of his army. Still, he felt that he was not wholly destitute of means +and resources for carrying on the struggle in case Peter should refuse +to make peace. + +So he sent a trumpeter to Peter's camp with the message; but Peter sent +word back that his majesty's assent to the terms of peace which he had +proposed to him came too late. The state of things had now, he said, +entirely changed; and as Charles had ventured to penetrate into the +Russian country without properly considering the consequences of his +rashness, he must now think for himself how he was to get out of it. +For his part, he added, he had got the birds in the net, and he should +do all in his power to secure them. + +After due consultation among the officers who were with the king, it +was finally determined that it was useless to think for the present of +any farther resistance, and the king, at last, reluctantly consented to +be conveyed to the Turkish frontier. He was too ill from the effects +of his wound to ride on horseback, and the distance was too great for +him to be conveyed in a litter. So they prepared a carriage for him. +It was a carriage which belonged to one of his generals, and which, by +some means or other, had been saved in the flight of the army. The +route which they were to take led across the country where there were +scarcely any roads, and a team of twelve horses was harnessed to draw +the carriage which conveyed the king. + +No time was to be lost. The confused mass of officers and men who had +escaped from the battle, and had succeeded in rejoining the king, were +marshaled into something like a military organization, and the march, +or rather the flight, commenced. The king's carriage, attended by such +a guard as could be provided for it, went before, and was followed by +the remnant of the army. Some of the men were on horseback, others +were on foot, and others still, sick or wounded, were conveyed on +little wagons of the country, which were drawn along in a very +difficult and laborious manner. + +[Illustration: Flight of the King of Sweden.] + +This mournful train moved slowly on across the country, seeking, of +course, the most retired and solitary ways to avoid pursuit, and yet +harassed by the continual fear that the enemy might at any time come up +with them. The men all suffered exceedingly from want of food, and +from the various other hardships incident to their condition. Many +became so worn out by fatigue and privation that they could not +proceed, and were left by the road sides to fall into the hands of the +enemy, or to perish of want and exhaustion; while those who still had +strength enough remaining pressed despairingly onward, but little less +to be pitied than those who were left behind. + +When at length the expedition drew near to the Turkish borders, the +king sent forward a messenger to the pasha in command on the frontier, +asking permission for himself and his men to pass through the Turkish +territory on his way to his own dominions. He had every reason to +suppose that the pasha would grant this request, for the Turks and +Russians had long been enemies, and he knew very well that the +sympathies of the Turks had been entirely on his side in this war. + +Nor was he disappointed in his expectations. The pasha received the +messenger very kindly, offered him food, and supplied all his wants. +He said, moreover, that he would not only give the king leave to enter +and pass through the Turkish territories, but he would give him +efficient assistance in crossing the river which formed the frontier. +This was, indeed, necessary, for a large detachment of the Russian army +which had been sent in pursuit of the Swedes was now coming close upon +them, and there was danger of their being overtaken and cut to pieces +or taken prisoners before they should have time to cross the stream. +The principal object which the Czar had in view in sending a detachment +in pursuit of the fugitives was the hope of capturing the king himself. +He spoke of this his design to the Swedish officers who were already +his prisoners, saying to them jocosely, for he was in excellent humor +with every body after the battle, "I have a great desire to see my +brother the king, and to enjoy his society; so I have sent to bring +him. You will see him here in a few days." + +The force dispatched for this purpose had been gradually gaining upon +the fugitives, and was now very near, and the pasha, on learning the +facts, perceived that the exigency was very urgent. He accordingly +sent off at once up and down the river to order all the boats that +could be found to repair immediately to the spot where the King of +Sweden wished to cross. A considerable number of boats were soon +collected, and the passage was immediately commenced. The king and his +guards were brought over safely, and also a large number of the +officers and men. But the boats were, after all, so few that the +operation proceeded slowly, and the Russians, who had been pressing on +with all speed, arrived at the banks of the river in time to interrupt +it before all the troops had passed, and thus about five hundred men +fell into their hands. They were all made prisoners, and the king had +the mortification of witnessing the spectacle of their capture from the +opposite bank, which he had himself reached in safety. + +The king was immediately afterward conveyed to Bender, a considerable +town not far from the frontier, where, for the present, he was safe, +and where he remained quiet for some weeks, in order that his wound +might have opportunity to heal. Peter was obliged to content himself +with postponing for a time the pleasure which he expected to derive +from the enjoyment of his brother's society. + +The portion of the Swedish army which remained in Russia was soon after +this surrounded by so large a Russian force that the general in command +was forced to capitulate, and all the troops were surrendered as +prisoners of war. Thus, in all, a great number of prisoners, both of +officers and men, fell into Peter's hands. The men were sent to +various parts of the empire, and distributed among the people, in order +that they might settle permanently in the country, and devote +themselves to the trades or occupations to which they had been trained +in their native land. The officers were treated with great kindness +and consideration. Peter often invited them to his table, and +conversed with them in a very free and friendly manner in respect to +the usages and customs which prevailed in their own country, especially +those which related to the military art. Still, they were deprived of +their swords and kept close prisoners. + +One day, when some of these officers were dining with Peter in his +tent, and he had been for some time conversing with them about the +organization and discipline of the Swedish army, and had expressed +great admiration for the military talent and skill which they had +displayed in the campaigns which they had fought, he at last poured out +some wine and drank to the health of "his masters in the art of war." +One of the officers who was present asked who they were that his +majesty was pleased to honor with so great a title. + +"It is yourselves, gentlemen," replied the Czar; "the Swedish generals. +It is you who have been my best instructors in the art of war." + +"Then," replied the officer, "is not your majesty a little ungrateful +to treat the masters to whom you owe so much so severely?" + +Peter was so much pleased with the readiness and wit of this reply, +that he ordered the swords of the officers all to be restored to them. +It is said that he even unbuckled his own sword from his side and +presented it to one of the generals. + +It ought, perhaps, to be added, however, that the habit of drinking to +excess, which Peter seems to have formed early in life, had before this +time become quite confirmed, and he often became completely intoxicated +at his convivial entertainments, so that it is not improbable that the +sudden generosity of the Czar on this occasion may have been due, in a +considerable degree, to the excitement produced by the brandy which he +had been drinking. + +Although the swords of the officers were thus restored to them, they +were themselves still held as prisoners until arrangements could be +made for exchanging them. In order, however, that they might all be +properly provided for, he distributed them around among his own +generals, giving to each Russian officer the charge of a Swedish +officer of his own rank, granting, of course, to each one a proper +allowance for the maintenance and support of his charge. The Russian +generals were severally responsible for the safe-keeping of their +prisoners; but the surveillance in such cases is never strict, for it +is customary for the prisoners to give their _parole_ of honor that +they will not attempt to escape, and then they are allowed, within +reasonable limits, their full personal liberty, so that they live more +like the guests and companions of their keepers than as their captives. + +The King of Sweden met with many remarkable adventures and encountered +very serious difficulties before he reached his own kingdom, but it +would be foreign to the subject of this history to relate them here. +As to Mazeppa, he made his escape too, with the King of Sweden, across +the frontier. The Czar offered a very large reward to whoever should +bring him back, either dead or alive; but he never was taken. He died +afterward at Constantinople at a great age. + +One of the most curious and characteristic results which followed from +the battle of Pultowa was the promotion of Peter in respect to his rank +in the army. It was gravely decided by the proper authorities, after +due deliberation, that in consequence of the vigor and bravery which he +had displayed on the field, and of the danger which he had incurred in +having had a shot through his hat, he deserved to be advanced a grade +in the line of promotion. So he was made a major general. + + +Thus ended the great Swedish invasion of Russia, which was the occasion +of the greatest and, indeed, of almost the only serious danger, from +any foreign source, which threatened the dominions of Peter during the +whole course of his reign. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +THE EMPRESS CATHARINE. + +1709-1715 + +Duration of the war with Sweden--Catharine--Her origin--Destitution--Her +kind teacher--Dr. Gluck--She goes to Marienburg--Her character--Mode of +life at Marienburg--Her lover--His person and character--Catharine is +married--The town captured--Catharine made prisoner--Her anxiety and +sorrow--The Russian general--Catharine saved--Catharine in the general's +service--Seen by Menzikoff--Transferred to his service--Transferred to +the Czar--Privately married--Affairs on the Pruth--The emperor's +danger--Catharine in camp--A bribe--Catharine saves her husband--The +vizier's excuses--A public marriage determined on--Arrangements--The +little bridesmaids--Wedding ceremonies--Festivities and rejoicings--Birth +of Catharine's son--Importance of the event--The baptism--Dwarfs in the +pies--Influence of Catharine over her husband--Use which she made of her +power--Peter's jealousy--Dreadful punishment--Catharine's usefulness to +the Czar--Her imperfect education--Her final exaltation to the throne + + +It was about the year 1690 that Peter the Great commenced his reign, and +he died in 1725, as will appear more fully in the sequel of this volume. +Thus the duration of the reign was thirty-five years. The wars between +Russia and Sweden occupied principally the early part of the reign +through a period of many years. The battle of Pultowa, by which the +Swedish invasion of the Russian territories was repelled, was fought in +1709, nearly twenty years after the Czar ascended the throne. + +During the period while the Czar was thus occupied in his mortal struggle +with the King of Sweden, there appeared upon the stage, in connection +with him, a lady, who afterward became one of the most celebrated +personages of history. This lady was the Empress Catharine. The +character of this lady, the wonderful and romantic incidents of her life, +and the great fame of her exploits, have made her one of the most +celebrated personages of history. We can, however, here only give a +brief account of that portion of her life which was connected with the +history of Peter. + +Catharine was born in a little village near the town of Marienburg, in +Livonia.[1] Her parents were in very humble circumstances, and they both +died when she was a little child, leaving her in a very destitute and +friendless condition. The parish clerk, who was the teacher of a little +school in which perhaps she had been a pupil--for she was then four or +five years old--felt compassion for her, and took her home with him to +his own house. He was the more disposed to do this as Catharine was a +bright child, full of life and activity, and, at the same time, amiable +and docile in disposition, so that she was easily governed. + +After Catharine had been some time at the house of the clerk, a certain +Dr. Gluck, who was the minister of Marienburg, happening to be on a visit +to the clerk, saw her and heard her story. The minister was very much +pleased with the appearance and manners of the child, and he proposed +that the clerk should give her up to him. This the clerk was willing to +do, as his income was very small, and the addition even of such a child +to his family of course somewhat increased his expenses. Besides, he +knew that it would be much more advantageous for Catharine, for the time +being, and also much more conducive to her future success in life, to be +brought up in the minister's family at Marienburg than in his own humble +home in the little village. So Catharine went to live with the +minister.[2] + +Here she soon made herself a great favorite. She was very intelligent +and active, and very ambitious to learn whatever the minister's wife was +willing to teach her. She also took great interest in making herself +useful in every possible way, and displayed in her household avocations, +and in all her other duties, a sort of womanly energy which was quite +remarkable in one of her years. She learned to knit, to spin, and to +sew, and she assisted the minister's wife very much in these and similar +occupations. She had learned to read in her native tongue at the clerk's +school, but now she conceived the idea of learning the German language. +She devoted herself to this task with great assiduity and success, and as +soon as she had made such progress as to be able to read in that +language, she spent all her leisure time in perusing the German books +which she found in the minister's library. + +Years passed away, and Catharine grew up to be a young woman, and then a +certain young man, a subaltern officer in the Swedish army--for this was +at the time when Livonia was ill possession of the Swedes--fell in love +with her. The story was, that Catharine one day, in some way or other, +fell into the hands of two Swedish soldiers, by whom she would probably +have been greatly maltreated; but the officer, coming by at that time, +rescued her and sent her safe to Dr. Gluck. The officer had lost one of +his arms in some battle, and was covered with the scars of other wounds; +but he was a very generous and brave man, and was highly regarded by all +who knew him. When he offered Catharine his hand, she was strongly +induced by her gratitude to him to accept it, but she said she must ask +the minister's approval of his proposal, for he had been a father to her, +she said, and she would take no important step without his consent. + +The minister, after suitable inquiry respecting the officer's character +and prospects, readily gave his consent, and so it was settled that +Catharine should be married. + +Now it happened that these occurrences took place not very long after the +war broke out between Sweden and Russia, and almost immediately after +Catharine's marriage--some writers say on the very same day of the +wedding, and others on the day following--a Russian army came suddenly up +to Marienburg, took possession of the town, and made a great many of the +inhabitants prisoners. Catharine herself was among the prisoners thus +taken. The story was, that in the confusion and alarm she hid herself +with others in an oven, and was found by the Russian soldiers there, and +carried off as a valuable prize. + +What became of the bridegroom is not certainly known. He was doubtless +called suddenly to his post when the alarm was given of the enemy's +approach, and a great many different stories were told in respect to what +afterward befell him. One thing is certain, and that is, that his young +bride never saw him again.[3] + +Catharine, when she found herself separated from her husband and shut up +a helpless prisoner with a crowd of other wretched and despairing +captives, was overwhelmed with grief at the sad reverse of fortune that +had befallen her. She had good reason not only to mourn for the +happiness which she had lost, but also to experience very anxious and +gloomy forebodings in respect to what was before her, for the main object +of the Russians in making prisoners of the young and beautiful women +which they found in the towns that they conquered, was to send them to +Turkey, and to sell them there as slaves. + +Catharine was, however, destined to escape this dreadful fate. One of +the Russian generals, in looking over the prisoners, was struck with her +appearance, and with the singular expression of grief and despair which +her countenance displayed. He called her to him and asked her some +questions; and he was more impressed by the intelligence and good sense +which her answers evinced than he had been by the beauty of her +countenance. He bid her quiet her fears, promising that he would himself +take care of her. He immediately ordered some trusty men to take her to +his tent, where there were some women who would take charge of and +protect her. + +These women were employed in various domestic occupations in the service +of the general. Catharine began at once to interest herself in these +employments, and to do all in her power to assist in them; and at length, +as one of the writers who gives an account of these transactions goes on +to say, "the general, finding Catharine very proper to manage his +household affairs, gave her a sort of authority and inspection over these +women and over the rest of the domestics, by whom she soon came to be +very much beloved by her manner of using them when she instructed them in +their duty. The general said himself that he never had been so well +served as since Catharine had been with him. + +"It happened one day that Prince Menzikoff, who was the general's +commanding officer and patron, saw Catharine, and, observing something +very extraordinary in her air and behavior, asked the general who she was +and in what condition she served him. The general related to him her +story, taking care, at the same time, to do justice to the merit of +Catharine. The prince said that he was himself very ill served, and had +occasion for just such a person about him. The general replied that he +was under too great obligations to his highness the prince to refuse him +any thing that he asked. He immediately called Catharine into his +presence, and told her that that was Prince Menzikoff, and that he had +occasion for a servant like herself, and that he was able to be a much +better friend to her than he himself could be, and that he had too much +kindness for her to prevent her receiving such a piece of honor and good +fortune. + +"Catharine answered only with a profound courtesy, which showed, if not +her consent to the change proposed, at least her conviction that it was +not then in her power to refuse the offer that was made to her. In +short, Prince Menzikoff took her with him, or she went to him the same +day." + +Catharine remained in the service of the prince for a year or two, and +was then transferred from the household of the prince to that of the Czar +almost precisely in the same way in which she had been resigned to the +prince by the general. The Czar saw her one day while he was at dinner +with the prince, and he was so much pleased with her appearance, and with +the account which the prince gave him of her character and history, that +he wished to have her himself; and, however reluctant the prince may have +been to lose her, he knew very well that there was no alternative for him +but to give his consent. So Catharine was transferred to the household +of the Czar. + +She soon acquired a great ascendency over the Czar, and in process of +time she was privately married to him. This private marriage took place +in 1707. For several years afterward the marriage was not publicly +acknowledged; but still Catharine's position was well understood, and her +power at court, as well as her personal influence over her husband, +increased continually. + +Catharine sometimes accompanied the emperor in his military campaigns, +and at one time was the means, it is thought, of saving him from very +imminent danger. It was in the year 1711. The Czar was at that time at +war with the Turks, and he had advanced into the Turkish territory with a +small, but very compact and well-organized army. The Turks sent out a +large force to meet him, and at length, after various marchings and +manoeuvrings, the Czar found himself surrounded by a Turkish force three +times as large as his own. The Russians fortified their camp, and the +Turks attacked them. The latter attempted for two or three successive +days to force the Russian lines, but without success, and at length the +grand vizier, who was in command of the Turkish troops, finding that he +could not force his enemy to quit their intrenchments, determined to +starve them out; so he invested the place closely on all sides. The Czar +now gave himself up for lost, for he had only a very small stock of +provisions, and there seemed no possible way of escape from the snare in +which he found himself involved. Catharine was with her husband in the +camp at this time, having had the courage to accompany him in the +expedition, notwithstanding its extremely dangerous character, and the +story is that she was the means of extricating him from his hazardous +position by dextrously bribing the vizier. + +The way in which she managed the affair was this. She arranged it with +the emperor that he was to propose terms of peace to the vizier, by +which, on certain conditions, he was to be allowed to retire with his +army. Catharine then secretly made up a very valuable present for the +vizier, consisting of jewels, costly decorations, and other such +valuables belonging to herself, which, as was customary in those times, +she had brought with her on the expedition, and also a large sum of +money. This present she contrived to send to the vizier at the same time +with the proposals of peace made by the emperor. The vizier was +extremely pleased with the present, and he at once agreed to the +conditions of peace, and thus the Czar and all his army escaped the +destruction which threatened them. + +The vizier was afterward called to account for having thus let off his +enemies so easily when he had them so completely in his power; but he +defended himself as well as he could by saying that the terms on which he +had made the treaty were as good as could be obtained in any way, adding, +hypocritically, that "God commands us to pardon our enemies when they ask +us to do so, and humble themselves before us." + +In the mean time, years passed away, and the emperor and Catharine lived +very happily together, though the connection which subsisted between +them, while it was universally known, was not openly or publicly +recognized. In process of time they had two or three children, and this, +together with the unassuming but yet faithful and efficient manner in +which Catharine devoted herself to her duties as wife and mother, +strengthened the bond which bound her to the Czar, and at length, in the +year 1712, Peter determined to place her before the world in the position +to which he had already privately and unofficially raised her, by a new +and public marriage. + +It was not pretended, however, that the Czar was to be married to +Catharine now for the first time, but the celebration was to be in honor +of the nuptials long before performed. Accordingly, in the invitations +that were sent out, the expression used to denote the occasion on which +the company was to be convened was "to celebrate his majesty's old +wedding." The place where the ceremony was to be performed was St. +Petersburg, for this was now many years after St. Petersburg had been +built. + +[Illustration: The Empress Catharine.] + +Very curious arrangements were made for the performance of this +extraordinary ceremony. The Czar appeared in the dress and character of +an admiral of the fleet, and the other officers of the fleet, instead of +the ministers of state and great nobility, were made most prominent on +the occasion, and were appointed to the most honorable posts. This +arrangement was made partly, no doubt, for the purpose of doing honor to +the navy, which the Czar was now forming, and increasing the +consideration of those who were connected with it in the eyes of the +country. As Catharine had no parents living, it was necessary to appoint +persons to act in their stead "to give away the bride." It was to the +vice admiral and the rear admiral of the fleet that the honor of acting +in this capacity was assigned. They represented the bride's father, +while Peter's mother, the empress dowager, and the lady of the vice +admiral of the fleet represented her mother. + +Two of Catharine's own daughters were appointed bridesmaids. Their +appointment was, however, not much more than an honorary one, for the +children were very young, one of them being five and the other only three +years old. They appeared for a little time pending the ceremony, and +then, becoming tired, they were taken away, and their places supplied by +two young ladies of the court, nieces of the Czar. + +The wedding ceremony itself was performed at seven o'clock in the +morning, in a little chapel belonging to Prince Menzikoff, and before a +small company, no person being present at that time except those who had +some official part to perform. The great wedding party had been invited +to meet at the Czar's palace later in the day. After the ceremony had +been performed in the chapel, the emperor and empress went from the +chapel into Menzikoff's palace, and remained there until the time arrived +to repair to the palace of the Czar. Then a grand procession was formed, +and the married pair were conducted through the streets to their own +palace with great parade. As it was winter, the bridal party were +conveyed in sleighs instead of carriages. These sleighs, or sledges as +they were called, were very elegantly decorated, and were drawn by six +horses each. The procession was accompanied by a band of music, +consisting of trumpets, kettle-drums, and other martial instruments. The +entertainment at the palace was very splendid, and the festivities were +concluded in the evening by a ball. The whole city, too, was lighted up +that night with bonfires and illuminations. + +Three years after this public solemnization of the marriage the empress +gave birth to a son. Peter was perfectly overjoyed at this event. It is +true that he had one son already, who was born of his first wife, who was +called the Czarewitz, and whose character and melancholy history will be +the subject of the next chapter. But this was the first son among the +children of Catharine. She had had only daughters before. It was in the +very crisis of the difficulties which the Czar had with his eldest son, +and when he was on the point of finally abandoning all hope of ever +reclaiming him from his vices and making him a fit inheritor of the +crown, that this child of Catharine's was born. These circumstances, +which will be explained more fully in the next chapter, gave great +political importance to the birth of Catharine's son, and Peter caused +the event to be celebrated with great public rejoicings. The rejoicings +were continued for eight days, and at the baptism of the babe, two kings, +those of Denmark and of Prussia, acted as godfathers. The name given to +the child was Peter Petrowitz. + +The baptism was celebrated with the greatest pomp, and it was attended +with banquetings and rejoicings of the most extraordinary character. +Among other curious contrivances were two enormous pies, one served in +the room of the gentlemen and the other in that of the ladies; for, +according to the ancient Russian custom on such occasions, the sexes were +separated at the entertainments, tables being spread for the ladies and +for the gentlemen in different halls. From the ladies' pie there stepped +out, when it was opened, a young dwarf, very small, and clothed in a very +slight and very fantastic manner. The dwarf brought out with him from +the pie some wine-glasses and a bottle of wine. Taking these in his +hand, he walked around the table drinking to the health of the ladies, +who received him wherever he came with screams of mingled surprise and +laughter. It was the same in the gentlemen's apartment, except that the +dwarf which appeared before the company there was a female. + +The birth of this son formed a new and very strong bond of attachment +between Peter and Catharine, and it increased very much the influence +which she had previously exerted over him. The influence which she thus +exercised was very great, and it was also, in the main, very salutary. +She alone could approach the Czar in the fits of irritation and anger +into which he often fell when any thing displeased him, and sometimes, +when his rage and fury were such, that no one else would have dared to +come near, Catharine knew how to quiet and calm him, and gradually bring +him back again to reason. She had great power over him, too, in respect +to the nervous affection--the convulsive twitchings of the head and +face--to which he was subject. Indeed, it was said that the soothing and +mysterious influence of her gentle nursing in allaying these dreadful +spasms, and relieving the royal patient from the distress which they +occasioned, gave rise to the first feeling of attachment which he formed +for her, and which led him, in the end, to make her his wife. + +Catharine often exerted the power which she acquired over her husband for +noble ends. A great many persons, who from time to time excited the +displeasure of the Czar, were rescued from undeserved death, and +sometimes from sufferings still more terrible than death, by her +interposition. In many ways she softened the asperities of Peter's +character, and lightened the heavy burden of his imperial despotism. +Every one was astonished at the ascendency which she acquired over the +violent and cruel temper of her husband, and equally pleased with the +good use which she made of her power. + +There was not, however, always perfect peace between Catharine and her +lord. Catharine was compelled sometimes to endure great trials. On one +occasion the Czar took it into his head, with or without cause, to feel +jealous. The object of his jealousy was a certain officer of his court +whose name was De la Croix. Peter had no certain evidence, it would +seem, to justify his suspicions, for he said nothing openly on the +subject, but he at once caused the officer to be beheaded on some other +pretext, and ordered his head to be set up on a pole in a great public +square in Moscow. He then took Catharine out into the square, and +conveyed her to and fro in all directions across it, in order that she +might see the head in every point of view. Catharine understood +perfectly well what it all meant, but, though thunderstruck and +overwhelmed with grief and horror at the terrible spectacle, she +succeeded in maintaining a perfect self-control through the whole scene, +until, at length, she was released, and allowed to return to her +apartment, when she burst into tears, and for a long time could not be +comforted or calmed. + +With the exception of an occasional outbreak like this, the Czar evinced +a very strong attachment to his consort, and she continued to live with +him a faithful and devoted wife for nearly twenty years; from the period +of her private marriage, in fact, to the death of her husband. During +all this time she was continually associated with him not only in his +personal and private, but also in his public avocations and cares. She +accompanied him on his journeys, she aided him with her counsels in all +affairs of state. He relied a great deal on her judgment in all +questions of policy, whether internal or external; and he took counsel +with her in all matters connected with his negotiations with foreign +states, with the sending and receiving of embassies, the making of +treaties with them, and even, when occasion occurred, in determining the +question of peace or war. + +And yet, notwithstanding the lofty qualities of statesmanship that +Catharine thus displayed in the counsel and aid which she rendered her +husband, the education which she had received while at the minister's in +Marienburg was so imperfect that she never learned to write, and +whenever, either during her husband's life or after his death, she had +occasion to put her signature to letters or documents of any kind, she +did not attempt to write the name herself, but always employed one of her +daughters to do it for her. + +At length, toward the close of his reign, Peter, having at that time no +son to whom he could intrust the government of his empire after he was +gone, caused Catharine to be solemnly crowned as empress, with a view of +making her his successor on the throne. But before describing this +coronation it is necessary first to give an account of the circumstances +which led to it, by relating the melancholy history of Alexis, Peter's +oldest son. + + + +[1] The situation of the place is shown in the map on page 197. + +[2] The accounts which different historians give of the circumstances of +Catharine's early history vary very materially. One authority states +that the occasion of Gluck's taking Catharine away was the death of the +curate and of all his family by the plague. Gluck came, it is said, to +the house to see the family, and found them all dead. The bodies were +lying on the floor, and little Catharine was running about among them, +calling upon one after another to give her some bread. After Gluck came +in, and while he was looking at the bodies in consternation, she came up +behind him and pulled his robe, and asked him if he would not give her +some bread. So he took her with him to his own home. + +[3] There was a story that he was taken among the prisoners at the battle +of Pultowa, and that, on making himself known, he was immediately put in +irons and sent off in exile to Siberia. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +THE PRINCE ALEXIS. + +1690-1716 + +Birth of Alexis--His father's hopes--Advantages enjoyed by +Alexis--Marriage proposed--Account of the wedding--Alexis returns to +Russia--Cruel treatment of his wife--Her hardships and sufferings--The +Czar's displeasure--Birth of a son--Cruel neglect--The Czar sent +for--Death-bed scene--Grief of the attendants--The princess's +despair--High rank no guarantee for happiness--Peter's +ultimatum--Letter to Alexis--Positive declarations contained in it--The +real ground of complaint--Alexis's excuses--His reply to his father--He +surrenders his claim to the crown--Another letter from the Czar--New +threats--More positive declarations--Alexis's answer--Real state of his +health--His depraved character--The companions and counselors of +Alexis--Priests--Designs of Alexis's companions--General policy of an +opposition--The old Muscovite party--Views of Alexis--Peter at a +loss--One more final determination--Farewell conversation--Alexis's +duplicity--Letter from Copenhagen--Alternative offered--Peter's +unreasonable severity--Alexis made desperate--Alexis's resolution + + +The reader will perhaps recollect that Peter had a son by his first +wife, an account of whose birth was given in the first part of this +volume. The name of this son was Alexis, and he was destined to become +the hero of a most dreadful tragedy. The narrative of it forms a very +dark and melancholy chapter in the history of his father's reign. + +Alexis was born in the year 1690. In the early part of his life his +father took great interest in him, and made him the centre of a great +many ambitious hopes and projects. Of course, he expected that Alexis +would be his successor on the imperial throne, and he took great +interest in qualifying him for the duties that would devolve upon him +in that exalted station. While he was a child his father was proud of +him as his son and heir, and as he grew up he hoped that he would +inherit his own ambition and energy, and he took great pains to inspire +him with the lofty sentiments appropriate to his position, and to train +him to a knowledge of the art of war. + +But Alexis had no taste for these things, and his father could not, in +any possible way, induce him to take any interest in them whatever. He +was idle and spiritless, and nothing could arouse him to make any +exertion. He spent his time in indolence and in vicious indulgences. +These habits had the effect of undermining his health, and increasing +more and more his distaste for the duties which his father wished him +to perform. + +The Czar tried every possible means to produce a change in the +character of his son, and to awaken in him something like an honorable +ambition. To this end he took Alexis with him in his journeys to +foreign countries, and introduced him to the reigning princes of +eastern Europe, showed him their capitals, explained to him the various +military systems which were adopted by the different powers, and made +him acquainted with the principal personages in their courts. But all +was of no avail. Alexis could not be aroused to take an interest in +any thing but idle indulgences and vice. + +At length, when Alexis was about twenty years of age, that is, in the +year 1710, his father conceived the idea of trying the effect of +marriage upon him. So he directed his son to make choice of a wife. +It is not improbable that he himself really selected the lady. At any +rate, he controlled the selection, for Alexis was quite indifferent in +respect to the affair, and only acceded to the plan in obedience to his +father's commands. + +The lady chosen for the bride was a Polish princess, named Charlotta +Christina Sophia, Princess of Wolfenbuttel, and a marriage contract, +binding the parties to each other, was executed with all due formality. + +Two years after this marriage contract was formed the marriage was +celebrated. Alexis was then about twenty-two years of age, and the +princess eighteen. The wedding, however, was by no means a joyful one. +Alexis had not improved in character since he had been betrothed, and +his father continued to be very much displeased with him. Peter was at +one time so angry as to threaten that, if his son did not reform his +evil habits, and begin to show some interest in the performance of his +duties, he would have his head shaved and send him to a convent, and so +make a monk of him. + +How far the princess herself was acquainted with the facts in respect +to the character of her husband it is impossible to say, but every body +else knew them very well. The emperor was in very bad humor. The +princess's father wished to arrange for a magnificent wedding, but the +Czar would not permit it. The ceremony was accordingly performed in a +very quiet and unostentatious way, in one of the provincial towns of +Poland, and after it was over Alexis went home with his bride to her +paternal domains. + +The marriage of Alexis to the Polish princess took place the year +before his father's public marriage with his second wife, the Empress +Catharine. + +As Peter had anticipated, the promises of reform which Alexis had made +on the occasion of his marriage failed totally of accomplishment. +After remaining a short time in Poland with his wife, conducting +himself there tolerably well, he set out on his return to Russia, +taking his wife with him. But no sooner had he got back among his old +associates than he returned to his evil ways, and soon began to treat +his wife with the greatest neglect and even cruelty. He provided a +separate suite of apartments for her in one end of the palace, while he +himself occupied the other end, where he could be at liberty to do what +he pleased without restraint. Sometimes a week would elapse without +his seeing his wife at all. He purchased a small slave, named +Afrosinia, and brought her into his part of the palace, and lived with +her there in the most shameless manner, while his neglected wife, far +from all her friends, alone, and almost broken-hearted, spent her time +in bitterly lamenting her hard fate, and gradually wearing away her +life in sorrow and tears. + +She was not even properly provided with the necessary comforts of life. +Her rooms were neglected, and suffered to go out of repair. The roof +let in the rain, and the cold wind in the winter penetrated through the +ill-fitted windows and doors. Alexis paid no heed to these things; +but, leaving his wife to suffer, spent his time in drinking and +carousing with Afrosinia and his other companions in vice. + +During all this time the attention of the Czar was so much engaged with +the affairs of the empire that he could not interfere efficiently. +Sometimes he would upbraid Alexis for his undutiful and wicked +behavior, and threaten him severely; but the only effect of his +remonstrances would be to cause Alexis to go into the apartment of his +wife as soon as his father had left him, and assail her in the most +abusive manner, overwhelming her with rude and violent reproaches for +having, as he said, made complaints to his father, or "told tales," as +he called it, and so having occasioned his father to find fault with +him. This the princess would deny. She would solemnly declare that +she had not made any complaints whatever. Alexis, however, would not +believe her, but would repeat his denunciations, and then go away in a +rage. + +This state of things continued for three or four years. During that +time the princess had one child, a daughter; and at length the time +arrived when she was to give birth to a son; but even the approach of +such a time of trial did not awaken any feeling of kind regard or +compassion on the part of her husband. His neglect still continued. +No suitable arrangements were made for the princess, and she received +no proper attention during her confinement. The consequence was, that, +in a few days after the birth of the child, fever set in, and the +princess sank so rapidly under it that her life was soon despaired of. + +When she found that she was about to die, she asked that the Czar might +be sent for to come and see her. Peter was sick at this time, and +almost confined to his bed; but still--let it be remembered to his +honor--he would not refuse this request. A bed, or litter, was placed +for him on a sort of truck, and in this manner he was conveyed to the +palace where the princess was lying. She thanked him very earnestly +for coming to see her, and then begged to commit her children, and the +servants who had come with her from her native land, and who had +remained faithful to her through all her trials, to his protection and +care. She kissed her children, and took leave of them in the most +affecting manner, and then placed them in the arms of the Czar. The +Czar received them very kindly. He then bade the mother farewell, and +went away, taking the children with him. + +All this time, the room in which the princess was lying, the +antechamber, and all the approaches to the apartment, were filled with +the servants and friends of the princess, who mourned her unhappy fate +so deeply that they were unable to control their grief. They kneeled +or lay prostrate on the ground, and offered unceasing petitions to +heaven to save the life of their mistress, mingling their prayers with +tears, and sobs, and bitter lamentations. + +The physicians endeavored to persuade the princess to take some +medicines which they had brought, but she threw the phials away behind +the bed, begging the physicians not to torment her any more, but to let +her die in peace, as she had no wish to live. + +She lingered after this a few days, spending most of her time in +prayer, and then died. + +At the time of her death the princess was not much over twenty years of +age. Her sad and sorrowful fate shows us once more what unfortunately +we too often see exemplified, that something besides high worldly +position in a husband is necessary to enable the bride to look forward +with any degree of confidence to her prospects of happiness when +receiving the congratulations of her friends on her wedding-day. + +The death of his wife produced no good effect upon the mind of Alexis. +At the funeral, the Czar his father addressed him in a very stern and +severe manner in respect to his evil ways, and declared to him +positively that, if he did not at once reform and thenceforth lead a +life more in conformity with his position and his obligations, he would +cut him off from the inheritance to the crown, even if it should be +necessary, on that account, to call in some stranger to be his heir. + +The communication which the Czar made to his son on this occasion was +in writing, and the terms in which it was expressed were very severe. +It commenced by reciting at length the long and fruitless efforts which +the Czar had made to awaken something like an honorable ambition in the +mind of his son, and to lead him to reform his habits, and concluded, +substantially, as follows: + + +"How often have I reproached you with the obstinacy of your temper and +the perverseness of your disposition! How often, even, have I +corrected you for them! And now, for how many years have I desisted +from speaking any longer of them! But all has been to no purpose. My +reproofs have been fruitless. I have only lost my time and beaten the +air. You do not so much as strive to grow better, and all your +satisfaction seems to consist in laziness and inactivity. + +"Having, therefore, considered all these things, and fully reflected +upon them, as I see I have not been able to engage you by any motives +to do as you ought, I have come to the conclusion to lay before you, in +writing, this my last determination, resolving, however, to wait still +a little longer before I come to a final execution of my purpose, in +order to give you one more trial to see whether you will amend or no. +If you do not, I am fully resolved to cut you off from the succession. + +"Do not think that because I have no other son I will not really do +this, but only say it to frighten you. You may rely upon it that I +will certainly do what I say; for, as I spare not my own life for the +good of my country and the safety of my people, why should I spare you, +who will not take the pains to make yourself worthy of them? I shall +much prefer to transmit this trust to some worthy stranger than to an +unworthy son. + +"(Signed with his majesty's own hand), + + "PETER." + + +The reader will observe, from the phraseology of these concluding +paragraphs, what is made still more evident by the perusal of the whole +letter, that the great ground of Peter's complaint against his son was +not his immorality and wickedness, but his idleness and inefficiency. +If he had shown himself an active and spirited young man, full of +military ardor, and of ambition to rule, he might probably, in his +private life, have been as vicious and depraved as he pleased without +exciting his father's displeasure. But Peter was himself so full of +ambition and energy, and he had formed, moreover, such vast plans for +the aggrandizement of the empire, many of which could only be commenced +during his lifetime, and must depend for their full accomplishment on +the vigor and talent of his successor, that he had set his heart very +strongly on making his son one of the first military men of the age; +and he now lost all patience with him when he saw him stupidly +neglecting the glorious opportunity before him, and throwing away all +his advantages, in order to spend his time in ease and indulgence, thus +thwarting and threatening to render abortive some of his father's +favorite and most far-reaching plans. + +The excuse which Alexis made for his conduct was the same which bad +boys often offer for idleness and delinquency, namely, his ill health. +His answer to his father's letter was as follows. It was not written +until two or three weeks after his father's letter was received, and in +that interim a son was born to the Empress Catharine, as related in the +last chapter. It is to this infant son that Alexis alludes in his +letter: + + +"MY CLEMENT LORD AND FATHER,-- + +"I have read the writing your majesty gave me on the 27th of October, +1715, after the interment of my late spouse. + +"I have nothing to reply to it but that if it is your majesty's +pleasure to deprive me of the crown of Russia by reason of my +inability--your will be done. I even earnestly request it at your +majesty's hands, as I do not think myself fit for the government. My +memory is much weakened, and without it there is no possibility of +managing affairs. My mind and body are much decayed by the distempers +to which I have been subject, which renders me incapable of governing +so many people, who must necessarily require a more vigorous man at +their head than I am. + +"For which reason I should not aspire to the succession of the crown of +Russia after you--whom God long preserve--even though I had no brother, +as I have at present, whom I pray God also to preserve. Nor will I +ever hereafter lay claim to the succession, as I call God to witness by +a solemn oath, in confirmation whereof I write and sign this letter +with my own hand. + +"I give my children into your hands, and, for my part, desire no more +than a bare maintenance so long as I live, leaving all the rest to your +consideration and good pleasure. + +"Your most humble servant and son, + + "ALEXIS." + + +The Czar did not immediately make any rejoinder to the foregoing +communication from his son. During the fall and winter months of that +year he was much occupied with public affairs, and his health, +moreover, was quite infirm. At length, however, about the middle of +June, he wrote to his son as follows: + + +"MY SON,--As my illness hath hitherto prevented me from letting you +know the resolutions I have taken with reference to the answer you +returned to my former letter, I now send you my reply. I observe that +you there speak of the succession as though I had need of your consent +to do in that respect what absolutely depends on my own will. But +whence comes it that you make no mention of your voluntary indolence +and inefficiency, and the aversion you constantly express to public +affairs, which I spoke of in a more particular manner than of your ill +health, though the latter is the only thing you take notice of? I also +expressed my dissatisfaction with your whole conduct and mode of life +for some years past. But of this you are wholly silent, though I +strongly insisted upon it. + +"From these things I judge that my fatherly exhortations make no +impression upon you. For this reason I have determined to write this +letter to you, and it shall be the last. + +"I don't find that you make any acknowledgment of the obligation you +owe to your father who gave you life. Have you assisted him, since you +came to maturity of years, in his labors and pains? No, certainly. +The world knows that you have not. On the other hand, you blame and +abhor whatever of good I have been able to do at the expense of my +health, for the love I have borne to my people, and for their +advantage, and I have all imaginable reason to believe that you will +destroy it all in case you should survive me. + +"I can not let you continue in this way. Either change your conduct, +and labor to make yourself worthy of the succession, or else take upon +you the monastic vow. I can not rest satisfied with your present +behavior, especially as I find that my health is declining. As soon, +therefore, as you shall have received this my letter, let me have your +answer in writing, or give it to me yourself in person. If you do not, +I shall at once proceed against you as a malefactor.--(Signed) PETER." + + +To this communication Alexis the next day returned the following reply: + + +"MOST CLEMENT LORD AND FATHER,-- + +"I received yesterday in the morning your letter of the 19th of this +month. My indisposition will not allow me to write a long answer. I +shall enter upon a monastic life, and beg your gracious consent for so +doing. + +"Your most humble servant and son, + + "ALEXIS." + + +There is no doubt that there was some good ground for the complaints +which Alexis made with respect to his health. His original +constitution was not vigorous, and he had greatly impaired both his +mental and physical powers by his vicious indulgences. Still, his +excusing himself so much on this ground was chiefly a pretense, his +object being to gain time, and prevent his father from coming to any +positive decision, in order that he might continue his life of +indolence and vice a little longer undisturbed. Indeed, it was said +that the incapacity to attend to the studies and perform the duties +which his father required of him was mainly due to his continual +drunkenness, which kept him all the time in a sort of brutal stupor. + +Nor was the fault wholly on his side. His father was very harsh and +severe in his treatment of him, and perhaps, in the beginning, made too +little allowance for the feebleness of his constitution. Neither of +the two were sincere in what they said about Alexis becoming a monk. +Peter, in threatening to send him to a monastery, only meant to +frighten him; and Alexis, in saying that he wished to go, intended only +to circumvent his father, and save himself from being molested by him +any more. He knew very well that his becoming a monk would be the last +thing that his father would really desire. + +Besides, Alexis was surrounded by a number of companions and advisers, +most of them lewd and dissolute fellows like himself, but among them +were some much more cunning and far-sighted than he, and it was under +their advice that he acted in all the measures that he took, and in +every thing that he said and did in the course of this quarrel with his +father. Among these men were several priests, who, like the rest, +though priests, were vile and dissolute men. These priests, and +Alexis's other advisers, told him that he was perfectly safe in +pretending to accede to his father's plan to send him to a monastery, +for his father would never think of such a thing as putting the threat +in execution. Besides, if he did, it would do no harm; for the vows +that he would take, though so utterly irrevocable in the case of common +men, would all cease to be of force in his case, in the event of his +father's death, and his succeeding to the throne. And, in the mean +time, he could go on, they said, taking his ease and pleasure, and +living as he had always done. + +Many of the persons who thus took sides with Alexis, and encouraged him +in his opposition to his father, had very deep designs in so doing. +They were of the party who opposed the improvements and innovations +which Peter had introduced, and who had in former times made the +Princess Sophia their head and rallying-point in their opposition to +Peter's policy. It almost always happens thus, that when, in a +monarchical country, there is a party opposed to the policy which the +sovereign pursues, the disaffected persons endeavor, if possible, to +find a head, or leader, in some member of the royal family itself, and +if they can gain to their side the one next in succession to the crown, +so much the better. To this end it is for their interest to foment a +quarrel in the royal family, or, if the germ of a quarrel appears, +arising from some domestic or other cause, to widen the breach as much +as possible, and avail themselves of the dissension to secure the name +and the influence of the prince or princess thus alienated from the +king as their rallying-point and centre of action. + +This was just the case in the present instance. The old Muscovite +party, as it was called, that is, the party opposed to the reforms and +changes which Peter had made, and to the foreign influences which he +had introduced into the realm, gathered around Alexis. Some of them, +it was said, began secretly to form conspiracies for deposing Peter, +raising Alexis nominally to the throne, and restoring the old order of +things. Peter knew all this, and the fears which these rumors excited +in his mind greatly increased his anxiety in respect to the course +which Alexis was pursuing and the exasperation which he felt against +his son. Indeed, there was reason to believe that Alexis himself, so +far as he had any political opinions, had adopted the views of the +malcontents. It was natural that he should do so, for the old order of +things was much better adapted to the wishes and desires of a selfish +and dissolute despot, who only valued his exaltation and power for the +means of unlimited indulgence in sensuality and vice which they +afforded. It was this supposed bias of Alexis's mind against his +father's policy of reform that Peter referred to in his letter when he +spoke of Alexis's desire to thwart him in his measures and undo all +that he had done. + +When he received Alexis's letter informing him that he was ready to +enter upon the monastic life whenever his father pleased, Peter was for +a time at a loss what to do. He had no intention of taking Alexis at +his word, for in threatening to make a monk of him he had only meant to +frighten him. For a time, therefore, after receiving this reply, he +did nothing, but only vented his anger in useless imprecations and +mutterings. + +Peter was engaged at this time in very important public affairs arising +out of the wars in which he was engaged with some foreign nations, and +important negotiations which were going on with others. Not long after +receiving the short letter from Alexis last cited, he was called upon +to leave Russia for a time, to make a journey into central Europe. +Before he went away he called to see Alexis, in order to bid him adieu, +and to state to him once more what he called his final determination. + +Alexis, when he heard that his father was coming, got into his bed, and +received him in that way, as if he were really quite sick. + +Peter asked him what conclusion he had come to. Alexis replied, as +before, that he wished to enter a monastery, and that he was ready to +do so at any time. His father remonstrated with him long and earnestly +against this resolution. He represented in strong terms the folly of a +young man like himself, in the prime of his years, and with such +prospects before him, abandoning every thing, and shutting himself up +all his days to the gloomy austerities of a monastic life; and he +endeavored to convince him how much better it would be for him to +change his course of conduct, to enter vigorously upon the fulfillment +of his duties as a son and as a prince, and prepare himself for the +glorious destiny which awaited him on the Russian throne. + +Finally, the Czar said that he would give him six months longer to +consider of it, and then, bidding him farewell, went away. + +As soon as he was gone Alexis rose from his bed, and went away to an +entertainment with some of his companions. He doubtless amused them +during the carousal by relating to them what had taken place during the +interview with his father, and how earnestly the Czar had argued +against his doing what he had begun originally with threatening to make +him do. + +The Czar's business called him to Copenhagen. While there he received +one or two letters from Alexis, but there was nothing in them to denote +any change in his intentions, and, finally, toward the end of the +summer, the Czar wrote him again in the following very severe and +decided manner: + + +"Copenhagen, Aug. 26th, 1716. + +"MY SON,--Your first letter of the 29th of June, and your next of the +30th of July, were brought to me. As in them you speak only of the +condition of your health, I send you the present letter to tell you +that I demanded of you your resolution upon the affair of the +succession when I bade you farewell. You then answered me, in your +usual manner, that you judged yourself incapable of it by reason of +your infirmities, and that you should choose rather to retire into a +convent. I bade you seriously consider of it again, and then send me +the resolution you should take. I have expected it for these seven +months, and yet have heard nothing of you concerning it. You have had +time enough for consideration, and, therefore, as soon as you shall +receive my letter, resolve on one side or on the other. + +"If you determine to apply yourself to your duties, and qualify +yourself for the succession, I wish you to leave Petersburg and to come +to me here within a week, so as to be here in time to be present at the +opening of the campaign; but if, on the other hand, you resolve upon +the monastic life, let me know when, where, and on what day you will +execute your resolution, so that my mind may be at rest, and that I may +know what to expect of you. Send me back your final answer by the same +courier that shall bring you my letter. + +"Be particular to let me know the day when you will set out from +Petersburg, if you conclude to come to me, and, if not, precisely when +you will perform your vow. I again tell you that I absolutely insist +that you shall determine upon something, otherwise I shall conclude +that you are only seeking to gain time in order that you may spend it +in your customary laziness.--PETER." + + +When we consider that Alexis was at this time a man nearly thirty years +of age, and himself the father of a family, we can easily imagine that +language like this was more adapted to exasperate him and make him +worse than to win him to his duty. He was, in fact, driven to a +species of desperation by it, and he so far aroused himself from his +usual indolence and stupidity as to form a plan, in connection with +some of his evil advisers, to make his escape from his father's control +entirely by secretly absconding from the country, and seeking a retreat +under the protection of some foreign power. The manner in which he +executed this scheme, and the consequences which finally resulted from +it, will be related in the next chapter. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +THE FLIGHT OF ALEXIS. + +1717 + +Alexis resolves to escape--Alexis makes arrangements for +flight--Secrecy--Alexis deceives Afrosinia--How Alexis obtained the +money--Alexander Kikin--Alexis sets out on his journey--Meets +Kikin--Arrangements--Plans matured--Kikin's cunning contrivances--False +letters--Kikin and Alexis concert their plans--Possibility of being +intercepted--More prevarications--Arrival at Vienna--The Czar sends for +Alexis--Interview with the envoys--Threats of Alexis--He returns to +Naples--St. Elmo--Long negotiations--Alexis resolves at last to +return--His letter to his father--Alexis delivers himself up + + +When Alexis received the letter from his father at Copenhagen, ordering +him to proceed at once to that city and join his father there, or else +to come to a definite and final conclusion in respect to the convent +that he would join, he at once determined, as intimated in the last +chapter, that he would avail himself of the opportunity to escape from +his father's control altogether. Under pretense of obeying his +father's orders that he should go to Copenhagen, he could make all the +necessary preparations for leaving the country without suspicion, and +then, when once across the frontier, he could go where he pleased. He +determined to make his escape to a foreign court, with a view of +putting himself under the protection there of some prince or potentate +who, from feelings of rivalry toward his father, or from some other +motive, might be disposed, he thought, to espouse his cause. + +He immediately began to make arrangements for his flight. What the +exact truth is in respect to the arrangements which he made could never +be fully ascertained, for the chief source of information in respect to +them is from confessions which Alexis made himself after he was brought +back. But in these confessions he made such confusion, first +confessing a little, then a little more, then contradicting himself, +then admitting, when the thing had been proved against him, what he had +before denied, that it was almost impossible to disentangle the truth +from his confused and contradictory declarations. The substance of the +case was, however, as follows: + +In the first place, he determined carefully to conceal his design from +all except the two or three intimate friends and advisers who +originally counseled him to adopt it. He intended to take with him his +concubine Afrosinia, and also a number of domestic servants and other +attendants, but he did not allow any of them to know where he was +going. He gave them to understand that he was going to Copenhagen to +join his father. He was afraid that, if any of those persons were to +know his real design, it would, in some way or other, be divulged. + +As to Afrosinia, he was well aware that she would know that he could +not intend to take her to Copenhagen into his father's presence, and so +he deceived her as to his real design, and induced her to set out with +him, without suspicion, by telling her that he was only going to take +her with him a part of the way. She was only to go, he said, as far as +Riga, a town on the shores of the Baltic, on the way toward Copenhagen. +Alexis was the less inclined to make a confidante of Afrosinia from the +fact that she had never been willingly his companion. She was a +Finland girl, a captive taken in war, and preserved to be sold as a +slave on account of her beauty. When she came into the possession of +Alexis he forced her to submit to his will. She was a slave, and it +was useless for her to resist or complain. It is said that Alexis only +induced her to yield to him by drawing his knife and threatening to +kill her on the spot if she made any difficulty. Thus, although he +seems to have become, in the end, strongly attached to her, he never +felt that she was really and cordially on his side. He accordingly, in +this case, concealed from her his real designs, and told her he was +only going to take her with him a little way. He would then send her +back, he said, to Petersburg. So Afrosinia made arrangements to +accompany him without feeling any concern. + +Alexis obtained all the money that he required by borrowing +considerable sums of the different members of the government and +friends of his father, under pretense that he was going to his father +at Copenhagen. He showed them the letter which his father had written +him, and this, they thought, was sufficient authority for them to +furnish him with the money. He borrowed in this way various sums of +different persons, and thus obtained an abundant supply. The largest +sum which he obtained from any one person was two thousand ducats, +which were lent him by Prince Menzikoff, a noble who stood very high in +Peter's confidence, and who had been left by him chief in command +during his absence. The prince gave Alexis some advice, too, about the +arrangements which he was to make for his journey, supposing all the +time that he was really going to Copenhagen. + +The chief instigator and adviser of Alexis in this affair was a man +named Alexander Kikin. This Kikin was an officer of high rank in the +navy department, under the government, and the Czar had placed great +confidence in him. But he was inclined to espouse the cause of the old +Muscovite party, and to hope for a revolution that would bring that +party again into power. He was not at this time in St. Petersburg, but +had gone forward to provide a place of retreat for Alexis. Alexis was +to meet him at the town of Libau, which stands on the shores of the +Baltic Sea, between St. Petersburg and Konigsberg, on the route which +Alexis would have to take in going to Copenhagen. Alexis communicated +with Kikin in writing, and Kikin arranged and directed all the details +of the plan. He kept purposely at a distance from Alexis, to avoid +suspicion. + +At length, when all was ready, Alexis set out from St. Petersburg, +taking with him Afrosinia and several other attendants, and journeyed +to Libau. There he met Kikin, and each congratulated the other warmly +on the success which had thus far attended their operations. + +Alexis asked Kikin what place he had provided for him, and Kikin +replied that he had made arrangements for him to go to Vienna. He had +been to Vienna himself, he said, under pretense of public business +committed to his charge by the Czar, and had seen and conferred with +the Emperor of Germany there, and the emperor agreed to receive and +protect him, and not to deliver him up to his father until some +permanent and satisfactory arrangement should have been made. + +"So you must go on," continued Kikin, "to Konigsberg and Dantzic; and +then, instead of going forward toward Copenhagen, you will turn off on +the road to Vienna, and when you get there the emperor will provide a +safe place of retreat for you. When you arrive there, if your father +should find out where you are, and send some one to try to persuade you +to return home, you must not, on any account, listen to him; for, as +certain as your father gets you again in his power, after your leaving +the country in this way, he will have you beheaded." + +Kikin contrived a number of very cunning devices for averting suspicion +from himself and those really concerned in the plot, and throwing it +upon innocent persons. Among other things, he induced Alexis to write +several letters to different individuals in St. Petersburg--Prince +Menzikoff among the rest--thanking them for the advice and assistance +that they had rendered him in setting out upon his journey, which +advice and assistance was given honestly, on the supposition that he +was really going to his father at Copenhagen. The letters of thanks, +however, which Kikin dictated were written in an ambiguous and +mysterious manner, being adroitly contrived to awaken suspicion in +Peter's mind, if he were to see them, that these persons were in the +secret of Alexis's plans, and really intended to assist him in his +escape. When the letters were written Alexis delivered them to Kikin, +who at some future time, in case of necessity, was to show them to +Peter, and pretend that he had intercepted them. Thus he expected to +avert suspicion from himself, and throw it upon innocent persons. + +Kikin also helped Alexis about writing a letter to his father from +Libau, saying to him that he left St. Petersburg, and had come so far +on his way toward Copenhagen. This letter was, however, not dated at +Libau, where Alexis then was, but at Konigsberg, which was some +distance farther on, and it was sent forward to be transmitted from +that place. + +When Alexis had thus arranged every thing with Kikin, he prepared to +set out on his journey again. He was to go on first to Konigsberg, +then to Dantzic, and there, instead of embarking on board a ship to go +to Copenhagen, according to his father's plan, he was to turn off +toward Vienna. It was at that point, accordingly, that his actual +rebellion against his father's commands would begin. He had some +misgivings about being able to reach that point. He asked Kikin what +he should do in case his father should have sent somebody to meet him +at Konigsberg or Dantzic. + +"Why, you must join them in the first instance," said Kikin, "and +pretend to be much pleased to meet them; and then you must contrive to +make your escape from them in the night, either entirely alone, or only +with one servant. You must abandon your baggage and every thing else. + +"Or, if you can not manage to do this," continued Kikin, "you must +pretend to be sick; and if there are two persons sent to meet you, you +can send one of them on before, with your baggage and attendants, +promising yourself to come on quietly afterward with the other; and +then you can contrive to bribe the other, or in some other way induce +him to escape with you, and so go to Vienna." + +Alexis did not have occasion to resort to either of these expedients, +for nobody was sent to meet him. He journeyed on without any +interruption till he came to Konigsberg, which was the place where the +road turned off to Vienna. It was now necessary to say something to +Afrosinia and his other attendants to account for the new direction +which his journey was to take; so he told them that he had received a +letter from his father, ordering him, before proceeding to Copenhagen, +to go to Vienna on some public business which was to be done there. +Accordingly, when he turned off, they accompanied him without any +apparent suspicion. + +Alexis proceeded in this way to Vienna, and there he appealed to the +emperor for protection. The emperor received him, listened to the +complaints which he made against the Czar--for Alexis, as might have +been expected, cast all the blame of the quarrel upon his father--and, +after entertaining him for a while in different places, he provided him +at last with a secret retreat in a fortress in the Tyrol. + +Here Alexis concealed himself, and it was a long time before his father +could ascertain what had become of him. At length the Czar learned +that he was in the emperor's dominions, and he wrote with his own hand +a very urgent letter to the emperor, representing the misconduct of +Alexis in its true light, and demanding that he should not harbor such +an undutiful and rebellious son, but should send him home. He sent two +envoys to act as the bearers of this letter, and to bring Alexis back +to his father in case the emperor should conclude to surrender him. + +The emperor communicated the contents of this letter to Alexis, but +Alexis begged him not to comply with his father's demand. He said that +the difficulty was owing altogether to his father's harshness and +cruelty, and that, if he were to be sent back, he should be in danger +of his life from his father's violence. + +After long negotiations and delays, the emperor allowed the envoys to +go and visit Alexis in the place of his retreat, with a view of seeing +whether they could not prevail upon him to return home with them. The +envoys carried a letter to Alexis which his father had written with his +own hand, representing to him, in strong terms, the impropriety and +wickedness of his conduct, and the enormity of the crime which he had +committed against his father by his open rebellion against his +authority, and denouncing against him, if he persisted in his wicked +course, the judgment of God, who had threatened in his Word to punish +disobedient children with eternal death. + +But all these appeals had no effect upon the stubborn will of Alexis. +He declared to the envoys that he would not return with them, and he +said, moreover, that the emperor had promised to protect him, and that, +if his father continued to persecute him in this way, he would resist +by force, and, with the aid which the emperor would render him, he +would make war upon his father, depose him from his power, and raise +himself to the throne in his stead. + +After this there followed a long period of negotiation and delay, +during which many events occurred which it would be interesting to +relate if time and space permitted. Alexis was transferred from one +place to another, with a view of eluding any attempt which his father +might make to get possession of him again, either by violence or +stratagem, and at length was conveyed to Naples, in Italy, and was +concealed in the castle of St. Elmo there. + +In the mean time Peter grew more and more urgent in his demands upon +the emperor to deliver up his son, and the emperor at last, finding +that the quarrel was really becoming serious, and being convinced, +moreover, by the representations which Peter caused to be made to him, +that Alexis had been much more to blame than he had supposed, seemed +disposed to change his ground, and began now to advise Alexis to return +home. Alexis was quite alarmed when he found that, after all, he was +not to be supported in his rebellion by the emperor, and at length, +after a great many negotiations, difficulties, and delays, he +determined to make a virtue of necessity and to go home. His father +had written him repeated letters, promising him a free pardon if he +would return, and threatening him in the most severe and decided manner +if he did not. To the last of these letters, when Alexis had finally +resolved to go back, he wrote the following very meek and submissive +reply. It was written from Naples in October, 1717: + + +"MY CLEMENT LORD AND FATHER,-- + +"I have received your majesty's most gracious letter by Messrs. Tolstoi +and Rumanrow,[1] in which, as also by word of mouth, I am most +graciously assured of pardon for having fled without your permission in +case I return. I give you most hearty thanks with tears in my eyes, +and own myself unworthy of all favor. I throw myself at your feet, and +implore your clemency, and beseech you to pardon my crimes, for which I +acknowledge that I deserve the severest punishment. But I rely on your +gracious assurances, and, submitting to your pleasure, shall set out +immediately from Naples to attend your majesty at Petersburg with those +whom your majesty has sent. + +"Your most humble and unworthy servant, who deserves not to be called +your son, + +"ALEXIS." + + +After having written and dispatched this letter Alexis surrendered +himself to Tolstoi and Rumanrow, and in their charge set out on his +return to Russia, there to be delivered into his father's hands; for +Peter was now in Russia, having returned there as soon as he heard of +Alexis's flight. + + + +[1] These were the envoys, officers of high rank in the government, +whom Peter had sent to bring Alexis back. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +THE TRIAL. + +1717-1718 + +His father's manifesto on his return--Interview between Alexis and his +father--Anger of the Czar--Substantial cause for Peter's +excitement--Grand councils convened--Scene in the hall--Conditional +promise of pardon--Alexis humbled--Secret conference--Alexis +disinherited--The new heir--Oaths administered--Alexis +imprisoned--Investigation commenced--Prisoners--The torture--Arrest of +Kikin--The page--He fails to warn Kikin in time--Condemnation of +prisoners--Executions--Dishonest confessions of Alexis--His +excesses--Result of the examinations--Proofs against Alexis--An +admission--Testimony of Afrosinia + + +As soon as Alexis arrived in the country, his father issued a +manifesto, in which he gave a long and full account of his son's +misdemeanors and crimes, and of the patient and persevering, but +fruitless efforts which he himself had made to reclaim him, and +announced his determination to cut him off from the succession to the +crown as wholly and hopelessly irreclaimable. This manifesto was one +of the most remarkable documents that history records. It concluded +with deposing Alexis from all his rights as son and heir to his father, +and appointing his younger brother Peter, the little son of Catharine, +as inheritor in his stead; and finally laying the paternal curse upon +Alexis if he ever thereafter pretended to, or in any way claimed the +succession of which he had been deprived. + +This manifesto was issued as soon as Peter learned that Alexis had +arrived in the country under the charge of the officers who had been +appointed to bring him, and before the Czar had seen him. Alexis +continued his journey to Moscow, where the Czar then was. When he +arrived he went that same night to the palace, and there had a long +conference with his father. He was greatly alarmed and overawed by the +anger which his father expressed, and he endeavored very earnestly, by +expressions of penitence and promises of amendment, to appease him. +But it was now too late. The ire of the Czar was thoroughly aroused, +and he could not be appeased. He declared that he was fully resolved +on deposing his son, as he had announced in his manifesto, and that the +necessary steps for making the act of deposition in a formal and solemn +manner, so as to give it full legal validity as a measure of state, +would be taken on the following day. + +It must be confessed that the agitation and anger which Peter now +manifested were not wholly without excuse, for the course which Alexis +had pursued had been the means of exposing his father to a great and +terrible danger--to that, namely, of a rebellion among his subjects. +Peter did not even know but that such a rebellion was already planned +and was ripe for execution, and that it might not break out at any +time, notwithstanding his having succeeded in recovering possession of +the person of Alexis, and in bringing him home. Of such a rebellion, +if one had been planned, the name of Alexis would have been, of course, +the watch-word and rallying-point, and Peter had a great deal of ground +for apprehension that such a one had been extensively organized and was +ready to be carried into effect. He immediately set himself at work to +ferret out the whole affair, resolving, however, in the first place, to +disable Alexis himself from doing any farther mischief by destroying +finally and forever all claims on his part to the inheritance of the +crown. + +Accordingly, on the following morning, before daybreak, the garrison of +the city were put under arms, and a regiment of the Guards was posted +around the palace, so as to secure all the gates and avenues; and +orders were sent, at the same time, to the principal ministers, nobles, +and counselors of state, to repair to the great hall in the castle, and +to the bishops and clergy to assemble in the Cathedral. Every body +knew that the occasion on which they were convened was that they might +witness the disinheriting of the prince imperial by his father, in +consequence of his vices and crimes; and in coming together in +obedience to the summons, the minds of all men were filled with solemn +awe, like those of men assembling to witness an execution. + +When the appointed hour arrived the great bell was tolled, and Alexis +was brought into the hall of the castle, where the nobles were +assembled, bound as a prisoner, and deprived of his sword. The Czar +himself stood at the upper end of the hall, surrounded by the chief +officers of state. Alexis was brought before him. As he approached he +presented a writing to his father, and then fell down on his knees +before him, apparently overwhelmed with grief and shame. + +The Czar handed the paper to one of his officers who stood near, and +then asked Alexis what it was that he desired. Alexis, in reply, +begged that his father would have mercy upon him and spare his life. +The Czar said that he would spare his life, and forgive him for all his +treasonable and rebellious acts, on condition that he would make a full +and complete confession, without any restriction or reserve, of every +thing connected with his late escape from the country, explaining fully +all the details of the plan which he had formed, and reveal the names +of all his advisers and accomplices. But if his confession was not +full and complete--if he suppressed or concealed any thing, or the name +of any person concerned in the affair or privy to it, then this promise +of pardon should be null and void. + +The Czar also said that Alexis must renounce the succession to the +crown, and must confirm the renunciation by a solemn oath, and +acknowledge it by signing a declaration, in writing, to that effect +with his own hand. To all this, Alexis, who seemed overwhelmed with +contrition and anguish, solemnly agreed, and declared that he was ready +to make a full and complete confession. + +The Czar then asked his son who it was that advised him and aided him +in his late escape from the kingdom. Alexis seemed unwilling to reply +to this question in the midst of such an assemblage, but said something +to his father in a low voice, which the others could not hear. In +consequence of what he thus said his father took him into an adjoining +room, and there conversed with him in private for a few minutes, and +then both returned together into the public hall. It is supposed that +while they were thus apart Alexis gave his father the names of some of +those who had aided and abetted him in his absconding, for immediately +afterward three couriers were dispatched in three different directions, +as if with orders to arrest the persons who were thus accused. + +As soon as Alexis and his father had returned into the hall, the +document was produced which the prince was to sign, renouncing the +succession to the crown. The signature and seal of Alexis were affixed +to this document with all due formality. Then a declaration was made +on the part of the Czar, stating the reasons which had induced his +majesty to depose his eldest son from the succession, and to appoint +his younger son, Peter, in his place. This being done, all the +officers present were required to make a solemn oath on the Gospels, +and to sign a written declaration, of which several copies had +previously been prepared, importing that the Czar, having excluded from +the crown his son Alexis, and appointed his son Peter his successor in +his stead, they owned the legality and binding force of the decree, +acknowledged Peter as the true and rightful heir, and bound themselves +to stand by him with their lives against any or all who should oppose +him, and declared that they never would, under any pretense whatsoever, +adhere to Alexis, or assist him in recovering the succession. + +The whole company then repaired to the Cathedral, where the bishops and +other ecclesiastics were assembled, and there the whole body of the +clergy solemnly took the same oath and subscribed the same declaration. +The same oath was also afterward administered to all the officers of +the army, governors of the provinces, and other public functionaries +throughout the empire. + +When these ceremonies at the palace and at the Cathedral were +concluded, the company dispersed. Alexis was placed in confinement in +one of the palaces in Moscow, and none were allowed to have access to +him except those whom the Czar appointed to keep him in charge. + +Immediately after this the necessary proceedings for a full +investigation of the whole affair were commenced in a formal and solemn +manner. A series of questions were drawn up and given to Alexis, that +he might make out deliberate answers to them in writing. Grand courts +of investigation and inquiry were convened in Moscow, the great +dignitaries both of Church and state being summoned from all parts of +the empire to attend them. These persons came to the capital in great +state, and, in going to and fro to attend at the halls of judgment from +day to day, they moved through the streets with such a degree of pomp +and parade as to attract great crowds of spectators. As fast as the +names were discovered of persons who were implicated in Alexis's +escape, or who were suspected of complicity in it, officers were +dispatched to arrest them. Some were taken from their beds at +midnight, without a moment's warning, and shut up in dungeons in a +great fortress at Moscow. When questioned, if they seemed inclined to +return evasive answers, or to withhold any information of which the +judges thought they were possessed, they were taken into the +torturing-room and put to the torture. + +One of the first who was arrested was Alexander Kikin, who had been +Alexis's chief confidant and adviser in all his proceedings. Kikin had +taken extreme precautions to guard against having his agency in the +affair found out; but Alexis, in the answers that he gave to the first +series of questions that were put to him, betrayed him. Kikin was +aware of the danger, and, in order to secure for himself some chance of +escape in case Alexis should make disclosures implicating him, had +bribed a page, who was always in close attendance upon the Czar, to let +him know immediately in case of any movement to arrest him. + +The name of this page was Baklanoffsky. He was in the apartment at the +time that the Czar was writing the order for Kikin's arrest, standing, +as was his wont, behind the chair of the Czar, so as to be ready at +hand to convey messages or to wait upon his master. He looked over, +and saw the order which the Czar was writing. He immediately contrived +some excuse to leave the apartment, and hurrying away, he went to the +post-house and sent on an express by post to Kikin at Petersburg to +warn him of the danger. + +But the Czar, noticing his absence, sent some one off after him, and +thus his errand at the post-house was discovered, but not until after +the express had gone. Another express was immediately sent off with +the order for Kikin's arrest, and both the couriers arrived in +Petersburg very nearly at the same time. The one, however, who brought +the warning was a little too late. When he arrived the house of the +commissioner was surrounded by a guard of fifty grenadiers, and +officers were then in Kikin's apartment taking him out of his bed. +They put him at once in irons and took him away, scarcely allowing him +time to bid his wife farewell. + +The page was, of course, arrested and sent to prison too. A number of +other persons, many of whom were of very high rank, were arrested in a +similar manner. + +The arrival of Alexis at Moscow took place early in February, and +nearly all of February and March were occupied with these arrests and +the proceedings of the court in trying the prisoners. At length, +toward the end of March, a considerable number, Kikin himself being +among them, were condemned to death, and executed in the most dreadful +manner in a great public square in the centre of Moscow. One was +impaled alive; that is, a great stake was driven through his body into +the ground, and he was left in that situation to die. Others were +broken on the wheel. One, a bishop, was burnt. The heads of the +principal offenders were afterward cut off and set up on poles at the +four corners of a square inclosure made for the purpose, the impaled +body lying in the middle. + +The page who had been bribed by Kikin was not put to death. His life +was spared, perhaps on account of his youth, but he was very severely +punished by scourging. + +During all this time Alexis continued to be confined to his prison, and +he was subjected to repeated examinations and cross-examinations, in +order to draw from him not only the whole truth in respect to his own +motives and designs in his flight, but also such information as might +lead to the full development of the plans and designs of the party in +Russia who were opposed to the government of Peter, and who had +designed to make use of the name and position of Alexis for the +accomplishment of their schemes. Alexis had promised to make a full +and complete confession, but he did not do so. In the answers to the +series of questions which were first addressed to him, he confessed as +much as he thought was already known, and endeavored to conceal the +rest. In a short time, however, many things that he had at first +denied or evaded were fully proved by other testimony taken in the +trial of the prisoners who have already been referred to. Then Alexis +was charged with the omissions or evasions in his confession which had +thus been made to appear, and asked for an explanation, and thereupon +he made new confessions, acknowledging the newly-discovered facts, and +excusing himself for not having mentioned them before by saying that he +had forgotten them, or else that he was afraid to divulge them for fear +of injuring the persons that would be implicated by them. Thus he went +on contradicting and involving himself more and more by every fresh +confession, until, at last, his father, and all the judges who had +convened to investigate the case, ceased to place any confidence in any +thing that he said, and lost almost all sympathy for him in his +distress. + +The examination was protracted through many months. The result of it, +on the whole, was, that it was fully proved that there was a powerful +party in Russia opposed to the reforms and improvements of the Czar, +and particularly to the introduction of the European civilization into +the country, who were desirous of effecting a revolution, and who +wished to avail themselves of the quarrel between Alexis and his father +to promote their schemes. Alexis was too much stupefied by his +continual drunkenness to take any very active or intelligent part in +these schemes, but he was more or less distinctly aware of them; and in +the offers which he had made to enter a monastery and renounce all +claims to the crown he had been utterly insincere, his only object +having been to blind his father by means of them and gain time. He +acknowledged that he had hated his father, and had wished for his +death, and when he fled to Vienna it was his intention to remain until +he could return and take possession of the empire in his father's +place. He, however, solemnly declared that it was never his intention +to take any steps himself toward that end during his father's lifetime, +though he admitted, at last, when the fact had been pretty well proved +against him by other evidence, that, in case an insurrection in his +behalf had broken out in Russia, and he had been called upon, he should +have joined the rebels. + +A great deal of information, throwing light upon the plans of Alexis +and of the conspirators in Russia connected with him, was obtained from +the disclosures made by Afrosinia. As has already been stated, she had +been taken by Alexis as a slave, and forced, against her will, to join +herself to him and to follow his fortunes. He had never admitted her +into his confidence, but had induced her, from time to time, to act as +he desired by telling her any falsehood which would serve the purpose. +She consequently was not bound to him by any ties of honor or +affection, and felt herself at liberty to answer freely all questions +which were put to her by the judges. Her testimony was of great value +in many points, and contributed very essentially toward elucidating the +whole affair. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +THE CONDEMNATION AND DEATH OF ALEXIS. + +1718 + +Condition of Alexis--The two tribunals--Their powers--The Czar calls +for a decision--His addresses to the two councils--Deliberation of the +clergy--Their answer--Their quotations from Scripture--Cautious +language used by the bishops--They suggest clemency and +mercy--Additional confessions made by Alexis--The priest--Tolstoi sent +to Alexis--The Czar's three final questions--Alexis's three +answers--His account of the manner in which he had been educated--His +feelings toward his father--His attempts to maim himself--His +treasonable designs--Alexis's confession sent to the council--Decision +of the council--The promise of pardon--Forfeiture of it--Conclusion of +the sentence--The signatures--The 6th of July--The Czar's mental +struggles--Alexis brought out to hear his sentence--Overwhelmed with +dismay--Visit of his father--Sorrowful scene--Alexis sends a second +time for his father--His death--Czar's circular--The body laid in +state--Rumors circulated--Funeral ceremonies--The opposition broken +up--The mother of Alexis--Afrosinia--The Czar pardons her + + +The examinations and investigations described in the last chapter were +protracted through a period of several months. They were commenced in +February, and were not concluded until June. During all this time +Alexis had been kept in close confinement, except when he had been +brought out before his judges for the various examinations and +cross-examinations to which he had been subjected; and as the truth in +respect to his designs became more and more fully developed, and the +danger in respect to the result increased, he sank gradually into a +state of distress and terror almost impossible to be conceived. + +The tribunals before whom he was tried were not the regular judicial +tribunals of the country. They were, on the other hand, two grand +convocations of all the great official dignitaries of the Church and of +the state, that were summoned expressly for this purpose--not to +_decide_ the case, for, according to the ancient customs of the Russian +empire, that was the sole and exclusive province of the Czar, but to +aid him in investigating it, and then, if called upon, to give him +their counsel in respect to the decision of it. One of these +assemblies consisted of the ecclesiastical authorities, the +archbishops, the bishops, and other dignitaries of the Church. The +other was composed of nobles, ministers of state, officers of the army +and navy in high command, and other great civil and military +functionaries. These two assemblies met and deliberated in separate +halls, and pursued their investigations in respect to the several +persons implicated in the affair, as they were successively brought +before them, under the direction of the Czar, though the final disposal +of each case rested, it was well understood, with him alone. + +At length, in the month of June, when all the other cases had been +disposed of, and the proof in respect to Alexis was considered +complete, the Czar sent in a formal address to each of these +conventions, asking their opinion and advice in respect to what he +ought to do with his son. + +In his address to the archbishops and bishops, he stated that, although +he was well aware that he had himself absolute power to judge his son +for his crimes, and to dispose of him according to his own will and +pleasure, without asking advice of any one, still, "as men were +sometimes less discerning," he said, "in their own affairs than in +those of others, so that even the most skillful physicians do not run +the hazard of prescribing for themselves, but call in the assistance of +others when they are indisposed," in the same manner he, having the +fear of God before his eyes, and being afraid to offend him, had +decided to bring the question at issue between himself and his son +before them, that they might examine the Word of God in relation to it, +and give their opinion, in writing, what the will of God in such a case +might be. He wished also, he said, that the opinion to which they +should come should be signed by each one of them individually, with his +own hand. + +He made a similar statement in his address to the grand council of +civil authorities, calling upon them also to give their opinion in +respect to what should be done with Alexis. "I beg of you," he said, +in the conclusion of his address, "to consider of the affair, to +examine it seriously and with attention, and see what it is that our +son has deserved, without flattering me, or apprehending that, if in +your judgment he deserves no more than slight punishment, it will be +disagreeable to me; for I swear to you, by the Great God and by his +judgments, that you have nothing to fear from me on this account. + +"Neither are you to allow the consideration that it is the son of your +sovereign that you are to pass judgment upon to have any effect upon +you. But do justice without respect of persons, so that your +conscience and mine may not reproach us at the great day of judgment." + +The convocation of clergy, in deliberating upon the answer which they +were to make to the Czar, deemed it advisable to proceed with great +caution. They were not quite willing to recommend directly and openly +that Alexis should be put to death, while, at the same time, they +wished to give the sanction of their approval for any measures of +severity which the Czar might be inclined to take. So they forbore to +express any positive opinion of their own, but contented themselves +with looking out in the Scriptures, both in the Old and New Testament, +the terrible denunciations which are therein contained against +disobedient and rebellious children, and the accounts of fearful +punishments which were inflicted upon them in Jewish history. They +began their statement by formally acknowledging that Peter himself had +absolute power to dispose of the case of his son according to his own +sovereign will and pleasure; that they had no jurisdiction in the case, +and could not presume to pronounce judgment, or say any thing which +could in any way restrain or limit the Czar in doing what he judged +best. But nevertheless, as the Czar had graciously asked them for +their counsel as a means of instructing his own mind previously to +coming to a decision, they would proceed to quote from the Holy +Scriptures such passages as might be considered to bear upon the +subject, and to indicate the will of God in respect to the action of a +sovereign and father in such a case. + +They then proceeded to quote the texts and passages of Scripture. Some +of these texts were denunciations of rebellious and disobedient +children, such as, "The eye that mocketh his father and that despiseth +to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pluck it out," and +the Jewish law providing that, "If a man have a stubborn and rebellious +son, who will not obey the voice of his father nor the voice of his +mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto +them, then shall his father and mother lay hold of him, and bring him +out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place, and +shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is rebellious: he +will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard. And all the +men of his city shall stone him with stones that he die." + +There were other passages quoted relating to actual cases which +occurred in the Jewish history of sons being punished with death for +crimes committed against their parents, such as that of Absalom, and +others. + +The bearing and tendency of all these extracts from the Scriptures was +to justify the severest possible treatment of the unhappy criminal. +The bishops added, however, at the close of their communication, that +they had made these extracts in obedience to the command of their +sovereign, not by way of pronouncing sentence, or making a decree, or +in any other way giving any authoritative decision on the question at +issue, but only to furnish to the Czar himself such spiritual guidance +and instruction in the case as the word of God afforded. It would be +very far from their duty, they said, to condemn any one to death, for +Jesus Christ had taught his ministers not to be governed by a spirit of +anger, but by a spirit of meekness. They had no power to condemn any +one to death, or to seek his blood. That, when necessary, was the +province of the civil power. Theirs was to bring men to repentance of +their sins, and to offer them forgiveness of the same through Jesus +Christ their Savior. + +They therefore, in submitting their communication to his imperial +majesty, did it only that he might do what seemed right in his own +eyes. "If he concludes to punish his fallen son," they said, +"according to his deeds, and in a manner proportionate to the enormity +of his crimes, he has before him the declarations and examples which we +have herein drawn from the Scriptures of the Old Testament. If, on the +other hand, he is inclined to mercy, he has the example of Jesus +Christ, who represented the prodigal son as received and forgiven when +he returned and repented, who dismissed the woman taken in adultery, +when by the law she deserved to be stoned, and who said that he would +have mercy and not sacrifice." + +The document concluded by the words, + +"The heart of the Czar is in the hand of God, and may he choose the +part to which the hand of God shall turn it." + +As for the other assembly, the one composed of the nobles and senators, +and other great civil and military functionaries, before rendering +their judgment they caused Alexis to be brought before them again, in +order to call for additional explanations, and to see if he still +adhered to the confessions that he had made. At these audiences Alexis +confirmed what he had before said, and acknowledged more freely than he +had done before the treasonable intentions of which he had been guilty. +His spirit seems by this time to have been completely broken, and he +appeared to have thought that the only hope for him of escape from +death was in the most humble and abject confessions and earnest +supplications for pardon. In these his last confessions, too, he +implicated some persons who had not before been accused. One was a +certain priest named James. Alexis said that at one time he was +confessing to this priest, and, among other sins which he mentioned, he +said "that he wished for the death of his father." The priest's reply +to this was, as Alexis said, "God will pardon you for that, my son, for +we all," meaning the priests, "wish it too." The priest was +immediately arrested, but, on being questioned, he denied having made +any such reply. The inquisitors then put him to the torture, and there +forced from him the admission that he had spoken those words. Whether +he had really spoken them, or only admitted it to put an end to the +torture, it is impossible to say. + +They asked him for the names of the persons whom he had heard express a +desire that the Czar should die, but he said he could not recollect. +He had heard it from several persons, but he could not remember who +they were. He said that Alexis was a great favorite among the people, +and that they sometimes used to drink his health under the designation +of the Hope of Russia. + + +The Czar himself also obtained a final and general acknowledgment of +guilt from his son, which he sent in to the senate on the day before +their judgment was to be rendered. He obtained this confession by +sending Tolstoi, an officer of the highest rank in his court, and the +person who had been the chief medium of the intercourse and of the +communications which he had held with his son during the whole course +of the affair, with the following written instructions: + + +"To M. TOLSTOI, PRIVY COUNSELOR: + +"Go to my son this afternoon, and put down in writing the answers he +shall give to the following questions: + +"I. What is the reason why he has always been so disobedient to me, and +has refused to do what I required of him, or to apply himself to any +useful business, notwithstanding all the guilt and shame which he has +incurred by so strange and unusual a course? + +"II. Why is it that he has been so little afraid of me, and has not +apprehended the consequences that must inevitably follow from his +disobedience? + +"III. What induced him to desire to secure possession of the crown +otherwise than by obedience to me, and following me in the natural +order of succession? And examine him upon every thing else that bears +any relation to this affair." + + +Tolstoi went to Alexis in the prison, and read these questions to him. +Alexis wrote out the following statement in reply to them, which +Tolstoi carried to the Czar: + + +"I. Although I was well aware that to be disobedient as I was to my +father, and refuse to do what please him, was a very strange and +unusual course, and both a sin and a shame, yet I was led into it, in +the first instance, in consequence of having been brought up from 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 person to whom I was intrusted after I was removed from my +governess gave me no better instructions. + +"My father, afterward being anxious about my education, and desirous +that I should apply myself to what became the son of the Czar, ordered +me to learn the German language and other sciences, which I was very +averse to. I applied myself to them in a very negligent manner, and +only pretended to study at all in order to gain time, and without +having any inclination to learn any thing. + +"And as my father, who was then frequently with the army, was absent +from me a great deal, he ordered his serene highness, the Prince +Menzikoff, to have an eye upon me. While he was with me I was obliged +to apply myself, but, as soon as I was out of his sight, the persons +with whom I was left, observing that I was only bent on bigotry and +idleness, on keeping company with priests and monks, and drinking with +them, they not only encouraged me to neglect my business, but took +pleasure in doing as I did. As these persons had been about me from my +infancy, I was accustomed to observe their directions, to fear them, +and to comply with their wishes in every thing, and thus, by degrees, +they alienated my affections from my father by diverting me with +pleasures of this nature; so that, by little and little, I came to have +not only the military affairs and other actions of my father in horror, +but also his person itself, which made me always wish to be at a +distance from him. Alexander Kikin especially, when he was with me, +took a great deal of pains to confirm me in this way of life. + +"My father, having compassion on me, and desiring still to make me +worthy of the state to which I was called, sent me into foreign +countries; but, as I was already grown to man's estate, I made no +alteration in my way of living. + +"It is true, indeed, that my travels were of some advantage to me, but +they were insufficient to erase the vicious habits which had taken such +deep root in me. + +"II. It was this evil disposition which prevented my being apprehensive +of my father's correction for my disobedience. I was really afraid of +him, but it was not with a filial fear. I only sought for means to get +away from him, and was in no wise concerned to do his will, but to +avoid, by every means in my power, what he required of me. Of this I +will now freely confess one plain instance. + +"When I came back to Petersburg to my father from abroad, at the end of +one of my journeys, he questioned me about my studies, and, among other +things, asked me if I had forgotten what I had learned, and I told him +no. He then asked me to bring him some of my drawings of plans. Then, +fearing that he would order me to draw something in his presence, which +I could not do, as I knew nothing of the matter, I set to work to +devise a way to hurt my hand so that it should be impossible for me to +do any thing at all. So I charged a pistol with ball, and, taking it +in my left hand, I let it off against the palm of my right, with a +design to have shot through it. The ball, however, missed my hand, +though the powder burned it sufficiently to wound it. The ball entered +the wall of my room, and it may be seen there still. + +"My father, observing my hand to be wounded, asked me how it came. I +told him an evasive story, and kept the truth to myself. By this means +you may see that I was afraid of my father, but not with a proper +filial fear.[1] + +"III. As to my having desired to obtain the crown otherwise than by +obedience to my father, and following him in regular order of +succession, all the world may easily understand the reason; for, when I +was once out of the right way, and resolved to imitate my father in +nothing, I naturally sought to obtain the succession by any, even the +most wrongful method. I confess that I was even willing to come into +possession of it by foreign assistance, if it had been necessary. If +the emperor had been ready to fulfill the promise that he made 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 that I should afterward +furnish him with Russian troops against any of his enemies, in exchange +for his service in aiding me, or large sums of money, I should have +done whatever he pleased. I would have given great presents to his +ministers and generals over and above. In a word, I would have thought +nothing too much to have obtained my desire." + + +This confession, after it was brought to the Czar by Tolstoi, to whom +Alexis gave it, was sent by him to the great council of state, to aid +them in forming their opinion. + +The council were occupied for the space of a week in hearing the case, +and then they drew up and signed their decision. + +The statement which they made began by acknowledging that they had not +of themselves any original right to try such a question, the Czar +himself, according to the ancient constitution of the empire, having +sole and exclusive jurisdiction in all such affairs, without being +beholden to his subjects in regard to them in any manner whatever; but, +nevertheless, as the Czar had deemed it expedient to refer it to them, +they accepted the responsibility, and, after having fully investigated +the case, were now ready to pronounce judgment. + +They then proceeded to declare that, after a full hearing and careful +consideration of all the evidence, both oral and written, which had +been laid before them, including the confessions of Alexis himself, +they found that he had been guilty of treason and rebellion against his +father and sovereign, and deserved to suffer death. + +"And although," said the council, in continuation, "although, both +before and since his return to Russia, the Czar his father had promised +him pardon on certain conditions, yet those conditions were +particularly and expressly specified, especially the one which provided +that he should make a full and complete confession of all his designs, +and of the names of all the persons who had been privy to them or +concerned in the execution of them. With these conditions, and +particularly the last, Alexis had not complied, but had returned +insincere and evasive answers to the questions which had been put to +him, and had concealed not only the names of a great many of the +principal persons that were involved in the conspiracy, but also the +most important designs and intentions of the conspirators, thus making +it appear that he had determined to reserve to himself an opportunity +hereafter, when a favorable occasion should present itself, of resuming +his designs and putting his wicked enterprise into execution against +his sovereign and father. He thus had rendered himself unworthy of the +pardon which his father had promised him, and had forfeited all claim +to it." + +The sentence of the council concluded in the following words: + +"It is with hearts full of affliction and eyes streaming down with +tears that we, as subjects and servants, pronounce this sentence, +considering that, being such, it does not belong to us to enter into a +judgment of so great importance, and particularly to pronounce sentence +against the son of the most mighty and merciful Czar our lord. +However, since it has been his will that we should enter into judgment, +we herein declare our real opinion, and pronounce this condemnation, +with a conscience so pure and Christian that we think we can answer for +it at the terrible, just, and impartial judgment of the Great God. + +"To conclude, we submit this sentence which we now give, and the +condemnation which we make, to the sovereign power and will, and to the +merciful review of his Czarian majesty, our most merciful monarch." + + +This document was signed in the most solemn manner by all the members +of the council, nearly one hundred in number. Among the signatures are +the names of a great number of ministers of state, counselors, +senators, governors, generals, and other personages of high civil and +military rank. The document, when thus formally authenticated, was +sent, with much solemn and imposing ceremony, to the Czar. + +The Czar, after an interval of great suspense and solicitude, during +which he seems to have endured much mental suffering, confirmed the +judgment of the council, and a day was appointed on which Alexis was to +be arraigned, in order that sentence of death, in accordance with it, +might be solemnly pronounced upon him. + +The day appointed was the 6th of July, nearly a fortnight after the +judgment of the court was rendered to the Czar. The length of this +delay indicates a severe struggle in the mind of the Czar between his +pride and honor as a sovereign, feelings which prompted him to act in +the most determined and rigorous manner in punishing a rebel against +his government, and what still remained of his parental affection for +his son. He knew well that after what had passed there could never be +any true and genuine reconciliation, and that, as long as his son +lived, his name would be the watchword of opposition and rebellion, and +his very existence would act as a potent and perpetual stimulus to the +treasonable designs which the foes of civilization and progress were +always disposed to form. He finally, therefore, determined that the +sentence of death should at least be pronounced. What his intention +was in respect to the actual execution of it can never be known. + +When the appointed day arrived a grand session of the council was +convened, and Alexis was brought out from the fortress where he was +imprisoned, and arraigned before it for the last time. He was attended +by a strong guard. On being placed at the bar of the tribunal, he was +called upon to repeat the confessions which he had made, and then the +sentence of death, as it had been sent to the Czar, was read to him. +He was then taken back again to his prison as before. + +Alexis was overwhelmed with terror and distress at finding himself thus +condemned; and the next morning intelligence was brought to the Czar +that, after suffering convulsions at intervals through the night, he +had fallen into an apoplectic fit. About noon another message was +brought, saying that he had revived in some measure from the fit, yet +his vital powers seemed to be sinking away, and the physician thought +that his life was in great danger. + +The Czar sent for the principal ministers of state to come to him, and +he waited with them in great anxiety and agitation for farther tidings. + +At length a third messenger came, and said that it was thought that +Alexis could not possibly outlive the evening, and that he longed to +see his father. The Czar immediately requested the ministers to +accompany him, and set out from his palace to go to the fortress where +Alexis was confined. On entering the room where his dying son was +lying, he was greatly moved, and Alexis himself, bursting into tears, +folded his hands and began to entreat his father's forgiveness for his +sins against him. He said that he had grievously and heinously +offended the majesty of God Almighty and of the Czar; that he hoped he +should not recover from his illness, for if he should recover he should +feel that he was unworthy to live. But he begged and implored his +father, for God's sake, to take off the curse that he had pronounced +against him, to forgive him for all the heinous crimes which he had +committed, to bestow upon him his paternal blessing, and to cause +prayers to be put up for his soul. + +While Alexis was speaking thus, the Czar himself, and all the ministers +and officers who had come with him, were melted in tears. The Czar +replied kindly to him. He referred, it is true, to the sins and crimes +of which Alexis had been guilty, but he gave him his forgiveness and +his blessing, and then took his leave with tears and lamentations which +rendered it impossible for him to speak, and in which all present +joined. The scene was heart-rending. + +[Illustration: The Czar's visit to Alexis in prison.] + +At five o'clock in the evening a major of the Guards came across the +water from the fortress to the Czar's palace with a message that Alexis +was extremely desirous to see his father once more. The Czar was at +first unwilling to comply with this request. He could not bear, he +thought, to renew the pain of such an interview. But his ministers +advised him to go. They represented to him that it was hard to deny +such a request from his dying son, who was probably tormented by the +stings of a guilty conscience, and felt relieved and comforted when his +father was near. So Peter consented to go. But just as he was going +on board the boat which was to take him over to the fortress, another +messenger came saying that it was too late. Alexis had expired. + +On the next day after the death of his son, the Czar, in order to +anticipate and preclude the false rumors in respect to the case which +he knew that his enemies would endeavor to spread throughout the +Continent, caused a brief but full statement of his trial and +condemnation, and of the circumstances of his death, to be drawn up and +sent to all his ministers abroad, in order that they might communicate +the facts in an authentic form to the courts to which they were +respectfully accredited.[2] + +The ninth day of July, the third day after the death of Alexis, was +appointed for the funeral. The body was laid in a coffin covered with +black velvet. A pall of rich gold tissue was spread over the coffin, +and in this way the body was conveyed to the church of the Holy +Trinity, where it was laid in state. It remained in this condition +during the remainder of that day and all of the next, and also on the +third day until evening. It was visited by vast crowds of people, who +were permitted to come up and kiss the hands of the deceased. + +On the evening of the third day after the body was conveyed to the +church, the funeral service was performed, and the body was conveyed to +the tomb. A large procession, headed by the Czar, the Czarina, and all +the chief nobility of the court, followed in the funeral train. The +Czar and all the other mourners carried in their hands a small wax +taper burning. The ladies were all dressed in black silks. It was +said by those who were near enough in the procession to observe the +Czar that he went weeping all the way. + +At the service in the church a funeral sermon was pronounced by the +priest from the very appropriate text, "O Absalom! my son! my son +Absalom!" + +Thus ended this dreadful tragedy. The party who had been opposed to +the reforms and improvements of the Czar seems to have become +completely disorganized after the death of Alexis, and they never again +attempted to organize any resistance to Peter's plans. Indeed, most of +the principal leaders had been executed or banished to Siberia. As to +Ottokesa, the first wife of the Czar, and the mother of Alexis, who was +proved to have been privy to his designs, she was sent away to a strong +castle, and shut up for the rest of her days in a dungeon. So close +was her confinement that even her food was put in to her through a hole +in the wall. + +It remains only to say one word in conclusion in respect to Afrosinia. +When Alexis was first arrested, it was supposed that she, having been +the slave and companion of Alexis, was a party with him in his +treasonable designs; but in the course of the examinations it appeared +very fully that whatever of connection with the affair, or +participation in it, she may have had, was involuntary and innocent, +and the testimony which she gave was of great service in unraveling the +mystery of the whole transaction. In the end, the Czar expressed his +satisfaction with her conduct in strong terms. He gave her a full +pardon for the involuntary aid which she had rendered Alexis in +carrying out his plans. He ordered every thing which had been taken +away from her to be restored, made her presents of handsome jewelry, +and said that if she would like to be married he would give her a +handsome portion out of the royal treasury. But she promptly declined +this proposal. "I have been compelled," she said, "to yield to one +man's will by force; henceforth no other shall ever come near my side." + + + +[1] This incident shows to what a reckless and brutal state of +desperation Alexis had been reduced by the obstinacy of his opposition +to his father, and by the harshness of his father's treatment of him. +He confessed, on another occasion, that he had often taken medicine to +produce an apparent sickness, in order to have an excuse for not +attending to duties which his father required of him. + +[2] There were, in fact, a great many rumors put in circulation, and +they spread very far, and were continued in circulation a long time. +One story was that Alexis was poisoned. Another, that his father +killed him with his own hands in the prison. It was said in London +that he beat him to death with an iron chain. The extent to which +these and similar stories received currency indicates pretty clearly +what ideas prevailed in men's minds at that time in respect to the +savage ferocity of Peter's character. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +CONCLUSION. + +1719-1725 + +Death of little Peter--Excessive grief of the Czar--The Czar shuts +himself up--Device of his minister--Subsequent reign--His plan for the +succession--Oath required of the people--Prince +Naraskin--Proclamation--Catharine's usefulness--Splendour of the +preparations--The interior of the church--The dais--The canopy--The +regalia--The ceremonies--Sickness and death of Peter--Natalia--The double +funeral--General character of Peter--Compared with other +sovereigns--Playful vein in his character--Examples--The Little +Grandfather--Taken to Cronstadt--Triumphal procession--Display before the +fleet--Closing festivities--Catharine proclaimed empress--Catharine's +brief reign--Her beneficent character + + +At the time of the death of Alexis the Czar's hopes in respect to a +successor fell upon his little son, Peter Petrowitz, the child of +Catharine, who was born about the time of the death of Alexis's wife, +when the difficulties between himself and Alexis were first beginning to +assume an alarming form. This child was now about three years old, but +he was of a very weak and sickly constitution, and the Czar watched him +with fear and trembling. His apprehensions proved to be well founded, +for about a year after the unhappy death of Alexis he also died. + +Peter was entirely overwhelmed with grief at this new calamity. He was +seized with the convulsions to which he was subject when under any strong +excitement, his face was distorted, and his neck was twisted and +stiffened in a most frightful manner. In ordinary attacks of this kind +Catharine had power to soothe and allay the spasmodic action of the +muscles, and gradually release her husband from the terrible gripe of the +disease, but now he would not suffer her to come near him. He could not +endure it, for the sight of her renewed so vividly the anguish that he +felt for the loss of their child, that it made the convulsions and the +suffering worse than before. + +It is said that on this occasion Peter shut himself up alone for three +days and three nights in his own chamber, where he lay stretched on the +ground in anguish and agony, and would not allow any body to come in. At +length one of his ministers of state came, and, speaking to him through +the door, appealed to him, in the most earnest manner, to come forth and +give them directions in respect to the affairs of the empire, which, he +said, urgently required his attention. The minister had brought with him +a large number of senators to support and enforce his appeal. At length +the Czar allowed the door to be opened, and the minister, with all the +senators, came together into the room. The sudden appearance of so many +persons, and the boldness of the minister in taking this decided step, +made such an impression on the mind of the Czar as to divert his mind for +the moment from his grief, and he allowed himself to be led forth and to +be persuaded to take some food. + +The death of Petrowitz took place in 1719, and the Czar continued to live +and reign himself after this period for about sixteen [Transcriber's +note: six? (Peter died in 1725)] years. During all that time he went on +vigorously and successfully in completing the reforms which he had +undertaken in the internal condition of his empire, and increasing the +power and influence of his government among surrounding nations. He had +no farther serious difficulty with the opponents of his policy, though he +was always under apprehensions that difficulties might arise after his +death. He had the right, according to the ancient constitution of the +monarchy, to designate his own successor, choosing for this purpose +either one of his sons or any other person. And now, since both his sons +were dead, his mind revolved anxiously the question what provision he +should make for the government of the empire after his decease. He +finally concluded to leave it in the hands of Catharine herself, and, to +prepare the way for this, he resolved to cause her to be solemnly crowned +empress during his lifetime. + +As a preliminary measure, however, before publicly announcing Catharine +as his intended successor, Peter required all the officers of the empire, +both civil and military, and all the nobles and other chief people of the +country, to subscribe a solemn declaration and oath that they +acknowledged the right of the Czar to appoint his successor, and that +after his death they would sustain and defend whomsoever he should name +as their emperor and sovereign. + +This declaration, printed forms of which were sent all over the kingdom, +was signed by the people very readily. No one, however, imagined that +Catharine would be the person on whom the Czar's choice would fall. It +was generally supposed that a certain Prince Naraskin would be appointed +to the succession. The Czar himself said nothing of his intention, but +waited until the time should arrive for carrying it into effect. + +The first step to be taken in carrying the measure into effect was to +issue a grand proclamation announcing his design and explaining the +reasons for it. In this proclamation Peter cited many instances from +history in which great sovereigns had raised their consorts to a seat on +the throne beside them, and then he recapitulated the great services +which Catharine had rendered to him and to the state, which made her +peculiarly deserving of such an honor. She had been a tried and devoted +friend and counselor to him, he said, for many years. She had shared his +labors and fatigues, had accompanied him on his journeys, and had even +repeatedly encountered all the discomforts and dangers of the camp in +following him in his military campaigns. By so doing she had rendered +him the most essential service, and on one occasion she had been the +means of saving his whole army from destruction. He therefore declared +his intention of joining her with himself in the supreme power, and to +celebrate this event by a solemn coronation. + +The place where the coronation was to be performed was, of course, the +ancient city of Moscow, and commands were issued to all the great +dignitaries of Church and state, and invitations to all the foreign +embassadors, to repair to that city, and be ready on the appointed day to +take part in the ceremony. + +It would be impossible to describe or to conceive, without witnessing it, +the gorgeousness and splendor of the spectacle which the coronation +afforded. The scene of the principal ceremony was the Cathedral, which +was most magnificently decorated for the occasion. The whole interior of +the building was illumined with an immense number of wax candles, +contained in chandeliers and branches of silver and gold, which were +suspended from the arches or attached to the walls. The steps of the +altar, and all that part of the pavement of the church over which the +Czarina would have to walk in the performance of the ceremonies, were +covered with rich tapestry embroidered with gold, and the seats on which +the bishops and other ecclesiastical dignitaries were to sit were covered +with crimson cloth. + +The ceremony of the coronation itself was to be performed on a dais, or +raised platform, which was set up in the middle of the church. This +platform, with the steps leading to it, was carpeted with crimson velvet, +and it was surmounted by a splendid canopy made of silk, embroidered with +gold. The canopy was ornamented, too, on every side with fringes, +ribbons, tufts, tassels, and gold lace, in the richest manner. Under the +canopy was the double throne for the emperor and empress, and near it +seats for the royal princesses, all covered with crimson velvet trimmed +with gold. + +When the appointed hour arrived the procession was formed at the royal +palace, and moved toward the Cathedral through a dense and compact mass +of spectators that every where thronged the way. Every window was +filled, and the house-tops, wherever there was space for a footing, were +crowded. There were troops of guards mounted on horseback and splendidly +caparisoned--there were bands of music, and heralds, and great officers +of state, bearing successively, on cushions ornamented with gold and +jewels, the imperial mantle, the globe, the sceptre, and the crown. In +this way the royal party proceeded to the Cathedral, and there, after +going through a great many ceremonies, which, from the magnificence of +the dresses, of the banners, and the various regal emblems that were +displayed, was very gorgeous to behold, but which it would be tedious to +describe, the crown was placed upon Catharine's head, the moment being +signalized to all Moscow by the ringing of bells, the music of trumpets +and drums, and the firing of cannon. + +The ceremonies were continued through two days by several other imposing +processions, and were closed on the night of the second day by a grand +banquet held in a spacious hall which was magnificently decorated for the +occasion. And while the regal party within the hall were being served +with the richest viands from golden vessels, the populace without were +feasted by means of oxen roasted whole in the streets, and public +fountains made to run with exhaustless supplies of wine. + +The coronation of Catharine as empress was not a mere empty ceremony. +There were connected with it formal legal arrangements for transferring +the supreme power into her hands on the death of the Czar. Nor were +these arrangements made any too soon; for it was in less than a year +after that time that the Czar, in the midst of great ceremonies of +rejoicing, connected with the betrothal of one of his daughters, the +Princess Anna Petrowna, to a foreign duke, was attacked suddenly by a +very painful disease, and, after suffering great distress and anguish for +many days, he at length expired. His death took place on the 28th of +January, 1725. + +One of his daughters, the Princess Natalia Petrowna, the third of +Catharine's children, died a short time after her father, and the bodies +of both parent and child were interred together at the same funeral +ceremony, which was conducted with the utmost possible pomp and parade. +The obsequies were so protracted that it was more than six weeks from the +death of the Czar before the bodies were finally committed to the tomb; +and a volume might be filled with an account of the processions, the +ceremonies, the prayers, the chantings, the costumes, the plumes and +trappings of horses, the sledges decked in mourning, the requiems sung, +the salvos of artillery fired, and all the various other displays and +doings connected with the occasion. + + +Thus was brought to an end the earthly personal career of Peter the +Great. He well deserves his title, for he was certainly one of the +greatest as well as one of the most extraordinary men that ever lived. +Himself half a savage, he undertook to civilize twenty millions of +people, and he pursued the work during his whole lifetime through +dangers, difficulties, and discouragements which it required a surprising +degree of determination and energy to surmount. He differs from other +great military monarchs that have appeared from time to time in the +world's history, and by their exploits have secured for themselves the +title of The Great, in this, that, while they acquired their renown by +conquests gained over foreign nations, which, in most cases, after the +death of their conquerors, lapsed again into their original condition, +leaving no permanent results behind, the triumphs which Peter achieved +were the commencement of a work of internal improvement and reform which +is now, after the lapse of a century and a half since he commenced it, +still going on. The work is, in fact, advancing at the present day with +perhaps greater and more successful progress than ever before. + +Notwithstanding the stern severity of Peter's character, the terrible +violence of his passions, and the sort of savage grandeur which marked +all his great determinations and plans, there was a certain vein of +playfulness running through his mind; and, when he was in a jocose or +merry humor, no one could be more jocose and merry than he. The interest +which he took in the use of tools, and in working with his own hands at +various handicrafts--his notion of entering the army as a drummer, the +navy as a midshipman, and rising gravely, by regular promotion in both +services, through all the grades--the way in which he often amused +himself, when on his travels, in going about in disguise among all sorts +of people, and a thousand other circumstances which are related of him by +historians, are indications of what might be called a sort of boyish +spirit, which strongly marked his character, and was seen continually +coming out into action during the whole course of his life. + +It was only two years before his death that a striking instance of this +occurred. The first vessel that was built in Russia was a small skiff, +which was planned and built almost entirely by Peter's own hands. This +skiff was built at Moscow, where it remained for twenty or thirty years, +an object all this time, in Peter's mind, of special affection and +regard. At length, when the naval power of the empire was firmly +established, Peter conceived the idea of removing this skiff from Moscow +to Petersburg, and consecrating it solemnly there as a sort of souvenir +to be preserved forever in commemoration of the small beginnings from +which all the naval greatness of the empire had sprung. The name which +he had given to the skiff was The Little Grandfather, the name denoting +that the little craft, frail and insignificant as it was, was the parent +and progenitor of all the great frigates and ships of the line which were +then at anchor in the Roads about Cronstadt and off the mouth of the Neva. + +A grand ceremony was accordingly arranged for the "consecration of the +Little Grandfather." The little vessel was brought in triumph from +Moscow to Petersburg, where it was put on board a sort of barge or +galliot to be taken to Cronstadt. All the great officers of state and +all the foreign ministers were invited to be present at the consecration. +The company embarked on board yachts provided for them, and went down the +river following the Little Grandfather, which was borne on its galliot in +the van--drums beating, trumpets sounding, and banners waving all the way. + +The next day the whole fleet, which had been collected in the bay for +this purpose, was arranged in the form of an amphitheatre. The Little +Grandfather was let down from his galliot into the water. The emperor +went on board of it. He was accompanied by the admirals and vice +admirals of the fleet, who were to serve as crew. The admiral stationed +himself at the helm to steer, and the vice admirals took the oars. These +grand officials were not required, however, to do much hard work at +rowing, for there were two shallops provided, manned by strong men, to +tow the skiff. In this way the skiff rowed to and fro over the sea, and +then passed along the fleet, saluted every where by the shouts of the +crews upon the yards and in the rigging, and by the guns of the ships. +Three thousand guns were discharged by the ships in these salvos in honor +of their humble progenitor. The Little Grandfather returned the salutes +of the guns with great spirit by means of three small swivels which had +been placed on board. + +The Empress Catharine saw the show from an elevation on the shore, where +she sat with the ladies of her court in a pavilion or tent which had been +erected for the purpose. + +At the close of the ceremonies the skiff was deposited with great +ceremony in the place which had been prepared to receive it in the Castle +of Cronstadt, and there, when one more day had been spent in banquetings +and rejoicings, the company left the Little Grandfather to his repose, +and returned in their yachts to the town. + + +Not many days after the death of Peter, Catharine, in accordance with the +arrangements that Peter had previously made, was proclaimed empress by a +solemn act of the senate and ministers of state, and she at once entered +upon the exercise of the sovereign power. She signalized her accession +by a great many acts of clemency--liberating prisoners, recalling exiles, +removing bodies from gibbets and wheels, and heads from poles, and +delivering them to friends for burial, remitting the sentence of death +pronounced upon political offenders, and otherwise mitigating and +assuaging sufferings which Peter's remorseless ideas of justice and +retribution had caused. Catharine did not, however, live long to +exercise her beneficial power. She died suddenly about two years after +her husband, and was buried with great pomp in a grand monumental tomb in +one of the churches of St. Petersburg, which she had been engaged ever +since his death in constructing for him. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PETER THE GREAT*** + + +******* This file should be named 21889.txt or 21889.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/1/8/8/21889 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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