The History of Peter the Great

Original Pieces

RELATIVE TO THIS HISTORY, AGREEABLE TO THE TRANSLATIONS MADE AT THEIR FIRST PUBLICATION, BY ORDER OF CZAR PETER I.

Sentence — Pronounced Against the Czarowitz Alexis, June 24th, 1718

By virtue of an express ordinance issued by his czarish majesty, and signed by his own hand, on the 13th of June, for the judgment of the czarowitz Alexis Petrowitz, in relation to his crimes and transgressions against his father and sovereign; the undernamed ministers and senators, estates military and civil, after having assembled several times in the regency chamber of the senate of Petersburg, and having heard read the original writings and testimonies given against the czarowitz, as also his majesty’s admonitory letters to that prince, and his answers to them in his own writing, and other acts relating to the process, and likewise the criminal informations, declarations and confessions of the czarowitz, partly written with his own hand, and partly delivered by word of mouth to his father and sovereign, before the several persons undernamed, constituted by his czarish majesty’s authority to the effect of the present judgment, do acknowledge and declare, that though according to the laws of the Russian empire, it belongs not to them, the natural subjects of his czarish majesty’s sovereign dominions, to take cognizance of an affair of this nature, which for its importance depends solely on the absolute will of the sovereign, whose power, unlimited by any law, is derived from God alone; yet, in submission to his ordinance who hath given them this liberty, and after mature reflection, observing the dictates of their consciences without fear, flattery, or respect of persons, having nothing before their eyes but the divine laws applicable to the present case, the canons and rules of councils, the authority of the holy fathers and doctors of the church, and taking also for their rule the instruction of the archbishops and clergy assembled at Petersburg on this occasion, and conforming themselves to the laws and constitutions of this empire, which are agreeable to those of other nations, especially the Greeks and the Romans, and other Christian princes; they unanimously agreed and pronounced the czarowitz Alexis Petrowitz to be worthy of death, for the aforesaid crimes and capital transgressions against his sovereign and father, he being his czarish majesty’s son and subject; and that, notwithstanding the promise given by his czarish majesty to the czarowitz, in a letter sent by M. Tolstoy and captain Romanzoff, dated from Spaw, the 10th of July, 1717, to pardon his elopement if he voluntarily returned, as the czarowitz himself acknowledges with gratitude, in his answer to that letter, dated from Naples, the 4th of October, 1717, wherein he returns thanks to his majesty for the pardon he had promised him solely on condition of his speedy and voluntary return; yet he hath forfeited and rendered himself unworthy of that pardon, by renewing and continuing his former transgressions, as is fully set forth in his majesty’s manifesto of the 3d of February, in this present year, and for not returning voluntarily and of his own accord.

And although his majesty did, upon the arrival of the czarowitz at Moscow, and his humbly confessing in writing his crimes, and asking pardon for them, take pity on him, as is natural for every father to act towards a son, and at the audience, held in the great hall of the castle, dated the said 3d day of February, did promise him full pardon for all his crimes and transgressions, it was only on condition that he would declare, without reserve or restriction, all his designs, and who were his counsellors and abettors therein, but that if he concealed any one person or thing, that in such case the promised pardon should be null and void, which conditions the czarowitz did at that time accept and receive, with all outward tokens of gratitude and obedience, solemnly swearing on the holy cross and the blessed evangelists, and in the presence of all those assembled at that time and for that purpose in the cathedral church, that he would faithfully, and without reserve, declare the whole truth.

His majesty did also the next day confirm to the czarowitz in writing the said promise, in the interrogatories which hereafter follow, and which his majesty caused to be delivered to him, having first written at the begining what follows:

‘As you did yesterday receive your pardon, on condition that you would confess all the circumstances of your flight, and whatever relates thereto; but if you concealed any part thereof, you should answer for it with your life; and, as you have already made some confessions, it is expected of you, for our more full satisfaction, and your own safety, to commit the same to writing, in such order as shall in the course of your examination be pointed out to you.’

And at the end, under the seventh question, there was again written, with his czarish majesty’s own hand:

‘Declare to us, and discover whatever hath any relation to this affair, though it be not here expressed, and clear yourself as if it were at confession; for if you conceal any thing that shall by any other means be afterwards discovered, do not impute the consequence to us, since you have been already told, that in such case the pardon granted you should be null and void.’

Notwithstanding all which, the answers and confessions of the czarowitz were delivered without any sincerity; he not only concealing many of his accomplices, but also the capital circumstances relating to his own transgressions, particularly his rebellious design in usurping the throne even in the life-time of his father, flattering himself that the populace would declare in his favour; all which hath since been fully discovered in the criminal process, after he had refused to make a discovery himself, as hath appeared by the above presents.

Thus it hath appeared by the whole conduct of the czarowitz, as well as by the confessions which he both delivered in writing, and by word of mouth, particularly, that he was not disposed to wait for the succession in the manner in which his father had left it to him after his death, according to equity, and the order of nature which God has established; but intended to take the crown off the head of his father, while living, and set it upon his own, not only by a civil insurrection, but by the assistance of a foreign force, which he had actually requested.

The czarowitz has hereby rendered himself unworthy of the clemency and pardon, promised him by the emperor his father; and since the laws divine and ecclesiastical, civil and military, condemn to death, without mercy, not only those whose attempts against their father and sovereign have been proved by testimonies and writings; but even such as have been convicted of an intention to rebel, and of having formed a base design to kill their sovereign, and usurp the throne; what shall we think of a rebellious design, almost unparalleled in history, joined to that of a horrid parricide, against him who was his father in a double capacity; a father of great lenity and indulgence, who brought up the czarowitz from the cradle with more than paternal care and tenderness; who earnestly endeavoured to form him for government, and with incredible pains, and indefatigable application, to instruct him in the military art, and qualify him to succeed to so great an empire? with how much stronger reason does such a design deserve to be punished with death?

It is therefore with hearts full of affliction, and eyes streaming with tears, that we, as subjects and servants, pronounce this sentence; considering that it belongs not to us to give judgment in a case of so great importance, and especially to pronounce against the son of our most precious sovereign lord the czar. Nevertheless, it being his pleasure that we should act in this capacity, we, by these presents, declare our real opinion, and pronounce this sentence of condemnation with a pure and Christian conscience, as we hope to be able to answer for it at the just, awful, and impartial tribunal of Almighty God.

We submit, however, this sentence, which we now pass, to the sovereign power, the will, and merciful revisal of his czarish majesty, our most gracious sovereign.

The Peace of Nystadt

In the name of the Most Holy and undivided Trinity.

Be it known by these presents, that whereas a bloody, long, and expensive war has arisen and subsisted for several years past, between his late majesty king Charles XII. of glorious memory, king of Sweden, of the Goths, and Vandals, &c. &c. his successors to the throne of Sweden, the lady Ulrica queen of Sweden, of the Goths and Vandals, &c. and the kingdom of Sweden, on the one part; and between his czarish majesty Peter the First, emperor of all the Russias, &c. and the empire of Russia, on the other part; the two powers have thought proper to exert their endeavours to find out means to put a period to those troubles, and prevent the further effusion of so much innocent blood; and it has pleased the Almighty to dispose the hearts of both powers, to appoint a meeting of their ministers plenipotentiary, to treat of, and conclude a firm, sincere and lasting peace, and perpetual friendship between the two powers, their dominions, provinces, countries, vassals, subjects, and inhabitants; namely, Mr. John Liliensted, one of the most honourable privy-council to his majesty the king of Sweden, his kingdom and chancery, and baron Otto Reinhold Stroemfeld, intendant of the copper mines and fiefs of Dalders, on the part of his said majesty; and on the part of his czarish majesty, count Jacob Daniel Bruce, his general adjutant, president of the colleges of mines and manufactories, and knight of the order of St. Andrew and the White Eagle, and Mr. Henry John Frederic Osterman, one of his said majesty’s privy-counsellors in his chancery: which plenipotentiary ministers, being assembled at Nystadt, and having communicated to each other their respective commissions, and imploring the divine assistance, did enter upon this important and salutary enterprise, and have, by the grace and blessing of God, concluded the following peace between the crown of Sweden and his czarish majesty.

Art. 1. There shall be now and henceforward a perpetual and inviolable peace, sincere union, and indissoluble friendship, between his majesty Frederic the First, king of Sweden, of the Goths and Vandals, his successors to the crown and kingdom of Sweden, his dominions, provinces, countries, villages, vassals, subjects, and inhabitants, as well within the Roman empire as out of said empire, on the one side; and his czarish majesty Peter the First, emperor of all the Russias, &c. his successors to the throne of Russia, and all his countries, villages, vassals, subjects, and inhabitants, on the other side; in such wise, that for the future, neither of the two reconciled powers shall commit, or suffer to be committed, any hostility, either privately or publicly, directly or indirectly, nor shall in any wise assist the enemies of each other, on any pretext whatever, not contract any alliance with them, that may be contrary to this peace, but shall always maintain and preserve a sincere friendship towards each other, and as much as in them lies, support their mutual honour, advantage and safety; as likewise prevent, to the utmost of their power, any injury or vexation with which either of the reconciled parties may be threatened by any other power.

Art. 2. It is further mutually agreed upon betwixt the two parties, that a general pardon and act of oblivion for all hostilities committed during the war, either by arms or otherwise, shall be strictly observed, so far as that neither party shall ever henceforth either call to mind, or take vengeance for the same, particularly in regard to persons of state, and subjects who have entered into the service of either of the two parties during the war, and have thereby become enemies to the other, except only the Russian Cossacks, who enlisted in the service of the king of Sweden, and whom his czarish majesty will not consent to have included in the said general pardon, notwithstanding the intercession made for them by the king of Sweden.

Art. 3. All hostilities, both by sea and land, shall cease both here and in the grand duchy of Finland in fifteen days, or sooner, if possible, after the regular exchange of the ratifications; and to this intent the conclusion of the peace shall be published without delay. And in case that, after the expiration of the said term, any hostilities should be committed by either party, either by sea or land, in any manner whatsoever, through ignorance of the conclusion of the peace, such offence shall by no means prejudice the conclusion of said peace; on the contrary, each shall make a reciprocal exchange of both men and effects that may be taken after the said term.

Art. 4. His majesty the king of Sweden does, by the present treaty, as well for himself as for his successors to the throne and kingdom of Sweden, cede to his czarish majesty, and his successors to the Russian empire, in full, irrevocable and everlasting possession, the provinces which have been taken by his czarish majesty’s arms from the crown of Sweden during this war, viz. Livonia, Esthonia, Ingria, and a part of Carelia, as likewise the district of the fiefs of Wybourg specified hereafter in the article for regulating the limits; the towns and fortresses of Riga, Dunamund, Pernau, Revel, Dorpt, Nerva, Wybourg, Kexholm, and the other towns, fortresses, harbours, countries, districts, rivers, and coasts, belonging to the provinces: as likewise the islands of Oesel, Dagoe, Moen, and all the other islands from the frontiers of Courland, towards the coasts of Livonia, Esthonia, and Ingria, and on the east side of Revel, and in the road of Wybourg, towards the south-east, with all the present inhabitants of those islands, and of the aforesaid provinces, towns, and countries; and in general, all their appurtenances, dependencies, prerogatives, rights, and advantages, without exception, in like manner as the crown of Sweden possessed them.

To which purpose, his majesty the king of Sweden renounces for ever, in the most solemn manner, as well for his own part, as for his successors, and for the whole kingdom of Sweden, all pretensions which they have hitherto had, or could have, to the said provinces, islands, countries, and towns; and all the inhabitants thereof shall, by virtue of these presents, be discharged from the oath of allegiance, which they have taken to the crown of Sweden, in such wise as that his Swedish majesty, and the kingdom of Sweden, shall never hereafter either claim or demand the same, on any pretence whatsoever; but, on the contrary, they shall be and remain incorporated for ever into the empire of Russia. Moreover, his Swedish majesty, and the kingdom of Sweden, promise by these presents to assist and support from henceforth his czarish majesty, and his successors to the empire of Russia, in the peaceable possession of the said provinces, islands, countries, and towns; and that they will find out and deliver up to the persons authorized by his czarish majesty for that purpose, all the records and papers principally belonging to those places which have been taken away and carried into Sweden during the war.

Art 5. His czarish majesty, in return, promises to evacuate and restore to his Swedish majesty, and the kingdom of Sweden, within the space of four weeks after the exchange of the ratifications of this treaty, or sooner if possible, the grand duchy of Finland, except only that part thereof which has been reserved by the following regulation of the limits which shall belong to his czarish majesty, so that his said czarish majesty, and his successors, never shall have or bring the least claim or demand on the said duchy, on any pretence whatever. His czarish majesty further declares and promises, that certain and prompt payment of two millions of crowns shall be made without any discount to the deputies of the king of Sweden, on condition that they produce and give sufficient receipts, as agreed upon; and the said payment shall be made in such coin as shall be agreed upon by a separate article, which shall be of equal force as if inserted in the body of this treaty.

Art. 6. His majesty the king of Sweden does further reserve to himself, in regard to trade, the liberty of buying corn yearly at Riga, Revel, and Arensbourg, to the amount of fifty thousand rubles, which corn shall be transported from thence into Sweden, without paying duty or any other taxes, on producing a certificate, shewing that such corn has been purchased for the use of his Swedish majesty, or by his subjects, charged with the care of making this purchase by his said majesty; and such right shall not be subject to, or depend on any exigency, wherein his czarish majesty may find it necessary, either on account of a bad harvest, or some other important reasons, to prohibit in general the exportation of corn to any other nation.

Art. 7. His czarish majesty does also promise, in the most solemn manner, that he will in no wise interfere with the private affairs of the kingdom of Sweden, nor with the form of government, which has been regulated and established by the oath of allegiance, and unanimous consent of the states of said kingdom; neither will he assist therein any person whatever, in any manner, directly or indirectly; but, on the contrary, will endeavour to hinder and prevent any disturbance happening, provided his czarish majesty has timely notice of the same, who will on all such occasions act as a sincere friend and good neighbour to the crown of Sweden.

Art. 8. And as they mutually intend to establish a firm sincere and lasting peace, to which purpose it is very necessary to regulate the limits so, that neither of the parties can harbour any jealousy, but that each shall peaceably possess whatever has been surrendered to him by this treaty of peace, they have thought proper to declare, that the two empires shall from henceforth and for ever have the following limits, beginning on the northern coast of the Bothnic gulf, near Wickolax, from whence they shall extend to within half a league of the sea-coast inland, and from the distance of half a league from the sea as far as opposite to Willayoki, and from thence further inland; so that from the sea-side, and opposite to Rohel, there shall be a distance of about three-quarters of a league, in a direct line, to the road which leads from Wibourg to Lapstrand, at three leagues distance from Wibourg, and which proceeds the same distance of three leagues towards the north by Wibourg, in a direct line to the former limits between Russia and Sweden, even before the reduction of the district of Kexholm under the government of the king of Sweden. Those ancient limits extend eight leagues towards the north, from thence they run in a direct line through the district of Kexholm, to the place where the harbour of Porogerai, which begins near the town of Kudumagube, joins to the ancient limits, between Russia and Sweden, so that his majesty the king and kingdom of Sweden, shall henceforth possess all that part lying west and north beyond the above specified limits, and his czarish majesty and the empire of Russia all that part which is situated east and south of the said limits. And as his czarish majesty surrenders from henceforth to his Swedish majesty and the kingdom of Sweden, a part of the district of Kexholm, which belonged heretofore to the empire of Russia, he promises, in the most solemn manner, in regard to himself and successors to the throne of Russia, that he never will make any future claim to this said district of Kexholm, on any account whatever; but the said district shall hereafter be and remain incorporated into the kingdom of Sweden. As to the limits in the country of Lamparque, they shall remain on the same footing as they were before the beginning of this war between the two empires. It is further agreed upon, that commissaries shall be appointed by each party, immediately after the ratification of this treaty to regulate the limits as aforesaid.

Art. 9. His czarish majesty further promises to maintain all the inhabitants of the provinces of Livonia, Esthonia, and Oesel, as well nobles as plebeians, and the towns, magistrates, companies, and trades, in the full enjoyment of the said privileges, customs and prerogatives, which they have enjoyed under the dominion of his Swedish majesty.

Art. 10. There shall not hereafter be any violence offered to the consciences of the inhabitants of the ceded countries; on the contrary, his czarish majesty engages on his side to preserve and maintain the evangelical (Lutheran) religion on the same footing as under the Swedish government, provided there is likewise a free liberty of conscience allowed to those of the Greek religion.

Art. 11. In regard to the reductions and liquidations made in the reign of the late king of Sweden in Livonia, Esthonia, and Oesel, to the great injury of the subjects and inhabitants of those countries, which, conformable to the justice of the affair in question, obliged his late majesty the king of Sweden, of glorious memory, to promise, by an ordinance (which was published the 13th day of April, 1700, that if any one of his subjects could fairly prove, that the goods which had been confiscated were their property justice should be done them, whereby several subjects of the said countries have had such their confiscated effects restored to them) his czarish majesty engages and promises, that justice shall be done to every person, whether residing or not, who has a just claim or pretension to any lands in Livonia, Esthonia, or the province of Oesel, and can make full proof thereof, and that such person shall be reinstated in the possession of his lands and effects.

Art. 12. There shall likewise be immediate restitution made, conformable to the general amnesty regulated and agreed by the second article, to such of the inhabitants of Livonia, Esthonia, and the island of Oesel, who may during this war have joined the king of Sweden, together with all their effects, lands, and houses, which have been confiscated and given to others, as well in the towns of these provinces, as in those of Narva and Wibourg, notwithstanding they may have passed during the said war by inheritance or otherwise into other hands, with any exception or restraint, even though the proprietors should be actually in Sweden, either as prisoners or otherwise; and such restitution shall take place so soon as each person is re-naturalized by his respective government, and produces his documents relating to his right; on the other hand, these proprietors shall by no means lay claim to, or pretend to any part of, the revenues, which may have been received by those who were in possession in consequence of the confiscation, nor to any other compensation for their losses in the war or otherwise. And all persons, who are thus put in re-possession of their effects and lands, shall be obliged to do homage to his czarish majesty, their present sovereign, and further to behave themselves as faithful vassals and subjects; and when they have taken the usual oath of allegiance, they shall be at liberty to leave their own country to go and live in any other, which is in alliance and friendship with the Russian empire, as also to enter into the service of neutral powers, or to continue therein, if already engaged, as they shall think proper. On the other hand, in regard to those, who do not choose to do homage to his czarish majesty, they shall be allowed the space of three years from the publication of the peace, to sell or dispose of their effects, lands, and all belonging to them, to the best advantage, without paying any more than is paid by every other person, agreeably to the laws and statutes of the country. And if hereafter, it should happen that an inheritance should devolve to any person according to the laws of the country, and that such person shall not as yet have taken the oath of allegiance to his czarish majesty, he shall in such case be obliged to take the same at the time of entering on the possession of his inheritance, otherwise to sell off all his effects in the space of one year.

Also those who have advanced money on lands in Livonia, Esthonia, and the island of Oesel, and have lawful security for the same, shall enjoy their mortgages peaceably, until both capital and interest are discharged; on the other hand, the mortgages shall not claim any interest, which expired during the war, and which have not been demanded or paid; but those who in either of these cases have the administration of the said effects, shall be obliged to do homage to his czarish majesty. This likewise extends to all those who remain in his czarish majesty’s dominions, and who shall have the same liberty to dispose of their effects in Sweden, and in those countries which have been surrendered to that crown by this peace. Moreover, the subjects of each of the reconciled powers shall be mutually supported in all their lawful claims and demands, whether on the public, or on individuals within the dominions of the two powers, and immediate justice shall be done them, so that every person may be reinstated in the possession of what justly belongs to him.

Art. 13. All contributions in money shall from the signing of this treaty cease in the grand duchy of Finland, which his czarish majesty by the fifth article of this treaty cedes to his Swedish majesty and the kingdom of Sweden; on the other hand the duchy of Finland shall furnish his czarish majesty’s troops with the necessary provisions and forage gratis, until they shall have entirely evacuated the said duchy, on the said footing as has been practised heretofore; and his czarish majesty shall prohibit and forbid, under the severest penalties, the dislodging any ministers or peasants of the Finnish nation, contrary to their inclinations, or that the least injury be done to them. In consideration of which, and as it will be permitted his czarish majesty, upon evacuating the said countries and towns, to take with him his great and small cannon, with their carriages and other appurtenances, and the magazines and other warlike stores which he shall think fit. The inhabitants shall furnish a sufficient number of horse and waggons as far as the frontiers; and also, if the whole of this cannot be executed according to the stipulated terms, and that any part of such artillery, &c. is necessitated to be left behind, then, and in such cases, that which is so left shall be properly taken care of, and afterwards delivered to his czarish majesty’s deputies, whenever it shall be agreeable to them, and likewise be transported to the frontiers in manner as above. If his czarish majesty’s troops shall have found and sent out of the country any deeds or papers belonging to the grand duchy of Finland, strict search shall be made for the same, and all of them that can be found shall be faithfully restored to deputies of his Swedish majesty.

Art. 14. All the prisoners on each side, of whatsoever nation, rank, and condition, shall be set at liberty immediately after the ratification of this treaty, without any ransom, at the same time every prisoner shall either pay or give sufficient security for the payment of all debts by them contracted. The prisoners on each side shall be furnished with the necessary horses and waggons gratis during the time allotted for their return home, in proportion to the distance from the frontiers. In regard to such prisoners, who shall have sided with one or the other party, or who shall choose to settle in the dominions of either of the two powers, they shall have full liberty so to do without restriction: and this liberty shall likewise extend to all those who have been compelled to serve either party during the war, who may in like manner remain where they are, or return home; except such who have voluntarily embraced the Greek religion, in compliance to his czarish majesty; for which purpose each party shall order that the edicts be published and made known in their respective dominions.

Art. 15. His majesty the king, and the republic of Poland, as allies to his czarish majesty, are expressly comprehended in this treaty of peace, and have equal right thereto, as if the treaty of peace between them and the crown of Sweden had been inserted here at full length: to which purpose all hostilities whatsoever shall cease in general throughout all the kingdoms, countries, and patrimonies belonging to the two reconciled parties, whether situated within or out of the Roman empire, and there shall be a solid and lasting peace established between the two aforesaid powers. And as no plenipotentiary on the part of his Polish majesty and the republic of Poland has assisted at this treaty of peace, held at Nystadt, and that consequently they could not at one and the same time renew the peace by a solemn treaty between his majesty the king of Poland and the crown of Sweden, his majesty the king of Sweden does therefore engage and promise, that he will send plenipotentiaries to open the conferences, so soon as a place shall be appointed for the said meeting, in order to conclude, through the mediation of his czarish majesty, a lasting peace between the two crowns, provided nothing is therein contained which may be prejudicial to the treaty of perpetual peace made with his czarish majesty.

Art. 16. A free trade shall be regulated and established as soon as possible, which shall subsist both by sea and land between the two powers, their dominions, subjects, and inhabitants, by means of a separate treaty on this head, to the good and advantage of their respective dominions; and in the mean time the subjects of Russia and Sweden shall have leave to trade freely in the empire of Russia and kingdom of Sweden, so soon as the treaty of peace is ratified, after paying the usual duties on the several kinds of merchandise; so that, the subjects of Russia and Sweden shall reciprocally enjoy the same privileges and prerogatives as are enjoyed by the closest friends of either of the said states.

Art. 17. Restitution shall be made on both sides, after the ratification of the peace, not only of the magazines which were before the commencement of the war established in certain trading towns belonging to the two powers, but also liberty shall be reciprocally granted to the subjects of his czarish majesty and the king of Sweden to establish magazines in the towns, harbours, and other places subject to both or either of the said powers.

Art. 18. If any Swedish ships of war or merchant vessels shall have the misfortune to be wrecked, or cast away by stress of weather, or any other accident, on the coasts and harbours of Russia, his czarish majesty’s subjects shall be obliged to give them all aid and assistance in their power to save their rigging and effects, and faithfully to restore whatever may be drove on shore, if demanded, provided they are properly rewarded. And the subjects of his majesty the king of Sweden shall do the same in regard to such Russian ships and effects as may have the misfortune to be wrecked or otherwise lost on the coasts of Sweden; for which purpose, and to prevent all ill treatment, robbing, and plundering, which commonly happens on such melancholy occasions, his czarish majesty and the king of Sweden will cause a most rigorous prohibition to be issued, and all who shall be found transgressing in this point shall be punished on the spot.

Art. 19. And to prevent all possible cause or occasion of misunderstanding between the two parties, in relation to sea affairs, they have concluded and determined, that any Swedish ships of war, of whatever number or size, that shall hereafter pass by any of his czarish majesty’s forts or castles, shall salute the same with their cannon, which compliment shall be directly returned in the same manner by the Russian fort or castle; and, vice versa, any Russian ships of war, of whatever number or size, that shall hereafter pass by any fort or castle belonging to his Swedish majesty, shall salute the same with a discharge of their cannon, which compliment shall be instantly returned in the same manner by the Swedish fort; and in case any one or more Swedish and Russian ships shall meet at sea, or in any harbour or elsewhere, they shall salute each other with a common discharge, as is usually practised on such occasions between the ships of Sweden and Denmark.

Art. 20. It is mutually agreed between the two powers, no longer to defray the expenses of the ministers of the two powers, as have been done hitherto; but their representative ministers, plenipotentiaries, and envoys, shall hereafter defray their own expenses and those of their own attendants, as well on their journey as during their stay, and back to their respective place of residence. On the other hand, either of the two parties, on receiving timely notice of the arrival of an envoy, shall order that their subjects give them all the assistance that may be necessary to escort them safe on their journey.

Art. 21. His majesty the king of Sweden does on his part comprehend his majesty the king of Great Britain in this treaty of peace, reserving only the differences subsisting between their czarish and his Britannic majesties, which they shall immediately endeavour to terminate in a friendly manner; and such other powers, who shall be named by the two reconciled parties within the space of three months, shall likewise be included in this treaty of peace.

Art. 22. In case any misunderstanding shall hereafter arise between the states and subjects of Sweden and Russia, it shall by no means prejudice this treaty of perpetual peace; which shall nevertheless always be and remain in full force agreeable to its intent, and commissaries shall without delay be appointed on each side to inquire into and adjust all disputes.

Art. 23. All those who have been guilty of high treason, murder, theft, and other crimes, and those who deserted from Sweden to Russia, and from Russia to Sweden, either singly or with their wives and children, shall be immediately sent back, provided the complaining party of the country from whence they made their escape, shall think fit to recal them, let them be of what nation soever, and in the same condition as they were at their arrival, together with their wives and children, as likewise with all they had stolen, plundered, or taken away with them in their flight.

Art. 24. The exchange of the ratification of this treaty of peace, shall be reciprocally made at Nystadt within the space of three weeks, after the day of signing the same, or sooner, if possible. In witness whereof, two copies of this treaty, exactly corresponding with each other, have been drawn up, and confirmed by the plenipotentiary ministers on each side, in virtue of the authority they have received from their respective sovereigns; which copies they have signed with their own hands, and sealed with their own seals. Done at Nystadt, this 30th day of August, in the year of our Lord 1721. O. S.

Jean Liliensted.
Otto Reinhold Stroemfeld.
Jacob Daniel Bruce.
Henry-John-Frederic Osterman.

Ordinance of the Emperor Peter I. for the Crowning of the Empress Catherine

We, Peter the First, emperor and autocrator of all the Russias, &c. to all our officers ecclesiastical, civil, and military, and all others of the Russian nation, our faithful subjects.

No one can be ignorant that it has been a constant and invariable custom among the monarchs of all Christian states, to cause their consorts to be crowned, and that the same is at present practised, and hath frequently been in former times by those emperors who professed the holy faith of the Greek church; to wit, by the emperor Basilides, who caused his wife Zenobia to be crowned; the emperor Justinian, his wife Lucipina; the emperor Heraclius, his wife Martina: the emperor Leo, the philosopher, his wife Mary; and many others, who have in like manner placed the imperial crown on the head of their consorts, and whom it would be too tedious here to enumerate.

It is also well known to every one how much we have exposed our person, and faced the greatest dangers, for the good of our country during the one and twenty years’ course of the late war, which we have by the assistance of God terminated in so honourable and advantageous a manner, that Russia hath never beheld such a peace, nor ever acquired so great glory as in the late war. Now the empress Catherine, our dearly beloved wife, having greatly comforted and assisted us during the said war, and also in several other our expeditions, wherein she voluntarily and cheerfully accompanied us, assisting us with her counsel and advice in every exigence, notwithstanding the weakness of her sex, particularly in the battle against the Turks, on the banks of the river Pruth, wherein our army was reduced to twenty thousand men, while that of the Turks amounted to two hundred and seventy thousand, and on which desperate occasion she signalized herself in a particular manner, by a courage and presence of mind superior to her sex, which is well known to all our army, and to the whole Russian empire: therefore, for these reasons, and in virtue of the power which God has given us, we have resolved to honour our said consort Catherine with the imperial crown, as a reward for her painful services; and we propose, God willing, that this ceremony shall be performed the ensuing winter at Moscow. And we do hereby give notice of this our resolution to all who are faithful subjects, in favour of whom our imperial affection is unalterable.

The End

S. Johnson & Son, Printers, Livesey St., Manchester.

Footnotes

1 A French league contains three English miles.

2 The Boristhenes, or Dnieper, is one of the largest rivers in Europe; it rises in the Walchonske Forest, runs through Lithuania, the country of the Zoporag Cossacks, and that of the Nagisch Tartars, and falls into the Black Sea near Oczakow. It has thirteen cataracts within a small distance.

3 The reader will easily perceive, that the whole of this paragraph relates only to the French language, for in English we make no such distinctions in the name of these people, but always call them Russians.

4 A collection of water lying between the gulf of Finland and lake Onega; it is the largest, and said to contain a greater number of fish than any other in Europe.

5 We must not confound this river with another of the same name that runs through Lithuania in Poland, and dividing Livonia and Courland, falls into the Baltic at Dunamunder fort, below Riga.

6 This was by the ancients reckoned among the most famous rivers in the world, and the boundary between Asia and Europe. It issues from St. John’s Lake, not far from Tula, and after a long course, divides itself into three arms, and falls into the sea below Azoph.

7 A promontory of the island of Maggero in the north of Norway, and is the most northern point in Europe.

8 Grod, or gorod, signifies city in the Russian language.

9 Memoirs of Strahlemberg, confirmed by those sent me from Russia.

10 Memoirs sent from Petersburg.

11 Memoirs sent from Petersburg.

12 Called also the Ob. This large river issues from the lake Altin in Calmuck Tartary, in Asia, from whence running north it forms the boundary between Europe and Asia, and after traversing a vast tract of above two thousand miles, it falls into a bay of the Frozen Sea.

13 In the Russian language Irtish. This river runs from N. to S. through all Russia, and falling into the former river, forms part of the boundary between Asia and Europe.

14 In the Russian language Tobolsky.

15 His name was Sowastowslaw.

16 This anecdote is taken from a private MS. entitled ‘The Ecclesiastical Government of Russia,’ which is like wise deposited in the public library.

17 See page 35.

18 Thus the Russians call this young man; but in all French authors we find Romano, that language having no such letter as the W; others again call him Romanoff.

19 Or Chotsin, a town of Upper Moldavia in European Turkey, well fortified both by nature and art, situated on the Dniester, and subject to the Turks, from whom it was taken by the Russians in 1739.

20 This must certainly be a mistake of M. de Voltaire, or an error in the press; for the lady here spoken of was the daughter of Matthias Apraxim, a person on whom Theodore had lately conferred nobility.

21 Extracted wholly from the memoirs sent from Moscow and Petersburg.

22 Here M. de Voltaire seems to have greatly mistaken the sense of this word. Raspop not being a proper name, in which sense he takes it, but signifies a degraded priest.

23 We suppose the author means Moscow.

24 Or Cossano, a small town and abbey in the Milanese. On the Adda, near this place, an obstinate battle was fought between the Germans and French, in 1705, when prince Eugene defeated the duke of Vendome.

25 A town and abbey on the borders of Westphalia, in Germany; the abbot of which is a sovereign prince, and has a seat in the imperial diet.

26 Or Fuld, a town and abbey of Hesse, in Germany; situate on a river of the same name. It is governed by an abbot, who is a prince of the empire.

27 An imperial city of Suabia, in Germany, situate on the Ifar.

28 How are we to reconcile this with what the author tells us in the latter part of the third chapter, where he says, that this princess, perceiving that her brother Theodore was near his end, declined retiring to a convent, as was the usual custom of the princesses of the imperial family.

29 We find, in the memoirs of count Strahlemberg, a Swedish officer, who was taken prisoner at the battle of Pultowa, and continued many years at the court of czar Peter, the following account of the true cause of this extraordinary kind of hydrophobia. When Peter was about five years of age, his mother took him with her in a coach for an airing, and having to pass a dam, where there was a great fall of water the child, who was then sleeping in his nurse’s lap, was so terrified by the rushing of the water (the noise of which waked him suddenly out of his sleep), that he was seized with a violent fever, and, after his recovery, he retained such a dread of that element, that he could not bear the sight even of any standing water, much less to hear a running stream.

30 Memoirs of Petersburg and Moscow.

31 This should certainly be four years; as we can hardly suppose a boy of fourteen years and a half, would be received into the military service of any country, and much less by the Dutch at that period of time, when they stood in need of able and experienced soldiers, to withstand the attacks of the French, who breathed nothing less than the utter subversion of their state.

32 General Le Fort’s MSS.

33 General Le Fort’s MSS.

34 Extracted from memoirs sent from China; also from Petersburg, and from letters published in Du Halde’s History of China.

35 A famous and considerable river of the Asiatic part of the empire of Russia, which falls into the eastern ocean. It was formerly called Charan Muran, but at present the Chinese and Mauschurs give it the name of Sagalin Ula. It also bears the several appellations of Jamur, Onon, Helong, Kiang, and Skilka. It is formed by the junction of the rivers Sckilk and Argun, and is navigable to the sea.

36 Busching, the famous geographer, says, that its whole length is no more than four hundred miles, so that there must be a very great error in one or other of these authors.

37 Memoirs of the jesuits Pereira and Gerbillon.

38 1689, Sept. 8, new style. Memoirs of China.

39 The present reigning empress Catharine seems even to exceed her aunt in lenity, which together with the superior qualifications of this princess, affords her people the most happy presage of a glorious reign; and it is not without reason, that the most sensible amongst them flatter themselves with the hope, that under this august princess, the Russian empire will arrive at its highest pinnacle of glory.

40 Le Fort’s Memoirs.

41 It is in consequence of this glorious and equitable distinction, that at this day we find nobility gives no precedence in the court of Russia; nor can the son of a prince appear there in any other rank, than that which his situation in the army gives him; while a private citizen, who by his merit has raised himself above his condition, receives all the honours due to his post; or more properly speaking, to the merit which obtained him that post. A reputation of this kind would, methinks, be attended with great advantages, both in England and France, as it would be a means to raise in the youth of all ranks, a virtuous and noble emulation.

42 General Le Fort’s MSS.

43 The Petersburg Memoirs, and Memoirs of Le Fort.

44 Le Fort’s MS. memoirs.

45 Precop, or Perekop, once a fortress on the Isthmus, which joins the peninsula of Crim Tartary to the main land of little Tartary, in European Turkey, and thence considered as the key to that country. It has its name from the ditches cut across for the defence of the peninsula.

46 These were two scholars from Christ Church Hospital, commonly called blue coat boys.

47 The czar was particularly fond of this nobleman, because he was a great lover of maritime affairs, frequently rowed and sailed with him upon the water, and gave him what information he could concerning shipping.

48 Le Fort’s MSS. and those of Petersburg.

49 Le Fort’s MSS.

50 A most extraordinary instance of the obstinate attachment of the Russians to their old customs, happened in the time of the czar Bassilowitz, and undoubtedly influenced him not a little in the severity with which he treated his people. The king of Poland, Stephen Battori, having recovered Livonia, went himself into that province to establish a new form of government. According to the constant custom there, when any peasant, all of whom were treated as slaves, had committed a fault, he was whipped with a rod till the blood came. The king was willing to commute this barbarous punishment for one that was more moderate; but the peasants, insensible of the favour designed them, threw themselves at his feet, and intreated him not to make any alterations in their ancient customs, because they had experienced, that all innovations, far from procuring them the least redress, had always made their burthens sit the heavier on them.

51 Memoirs of captain Perry, the engineer, employed by Peter the Great, in Russia, and MSS. of Le Fort.

52 Captain Perry, in p. 184 of his memoirs, says, that these executions being performed in the depth of winter, their bodies were immediately frozen; those who were beheaded, were ordered to be left in the same posture as when executed, in ranks upon the ground, with their heads lying by them: and those who were hanged round the three walls of the city, were left hanging the whole winter, to the view of the people, till the warm weather began to come on in the spring, when they were taken down and buried together in a pit, to prevent infection. This author adds, that there were other gibbets placed on all the public roads leading to Moscow, where others of these rebels were hanged.

53 MSS. of Le Fort.

54 Somewhat like those of our blue coat boys in England.

55 20th Sept. 1698. It is to be observed, that I always follow the new style in my dates.

56 Norberg, chaplain and confessor to Charles XII. says, in his history, ‘That he had the insolence to complain of oppressions, and that he was condemned to lose his honour and life.’ This is speaking like the high-priest of despotism. He should have observed, that no one can deprive a citizen of his honour for doing his duty.

57 See the History of Charles XII.

58 A town on the river Lycus, in the province of Assyria, now called Curdestan, where Alexander the Great fought his third and decisive battle, with Darius, king of Persia.

59 Vol. I. p. 439, of the 4to. edition, printed at the Hague.

60 The chaplain Norberg, pretends, that, immediately after the battle of Narva, the Grand Seignior wrote a letter of congratulation to the king of Sweden, in these terms. ‘The sultan Basha, by the grace of God, to Charles XII. &c.’ The letter was dated from the æra of the creation of the world.

61 See History of Charles XII.

62 This chapter and the following, are taken entirely from the journal of Peter the Great, sent me from Petersburg.

63 We must beg leave to remark in this place, that a king of England has the power of doing good in virtue of his own authority, and may do evil if so disposed, by having a majority in a corrupt parliament; whereas, a king of Poland can neither do good nor evil, not having it in his power to dispose even of a pair of colours.

64 This seems a mistake; our author probably meant to say Kercholme, because Wibourg is not on the lake Ladoga, but on the gulf of Finland.

65 Taken from the journal of Peter the Great.

66 Some writers call it Nyenschantz.

67 Petersburg was founded on Whitsunday, the 27th May, 1703.

68 About sixty thousand pounds sterling.

69 All the foregoing chapters, and likewise those which follow, are taken from the journals of Peter the Great, and the papers sent me from Petersburg, carefully compared with other memoirs.

70 Menzikoff’s parents were vassals of the monastery of Cosmopoly: at the age of thirteen, he went to Moscow, and was taken into the service of a pastry-cook. His employment was singing ballads, and crying puffs and cakes about the streets. One day, as he was following this occupation, the czar happening to hear him, and to be diverted with one of his songs, sent for him, and asked him if he would sell his pies and his basket? The boy answered, that his business was to sell his pies, but he must ask his master’s leave to sell his basket; yet as every thing belonged to his prince, his majesty had only to lay his commands upon him. The czar was so pleased with this answer, that he immediately ordered him to court, where he gave him at first a mean employment; but being every day more pleased with his wit, he thought fit to place him about his person, and to make him groom of his bed-chamber, from whence he gradually raised him to the highest preferments. He was tall and well shaped. At his first coming into the czar’s service, he inlisted in Le Fort’s company, and acquired, under that general’s instruction, such a degree of knowledge and skill, as enabled him to command armies, and to become one of the bravest and most successful generals in Russia.

71 M. de Voltaire calls this city Wibourg, in this and some other places of his history. The French are not always very attentive to the right names of places, but here it is of some consequence. Wibourg is the capital of Jutland in Denmark. Wiburn, the city here meant, is the capital of Carelia in Russian Finland.

72 The czar’s manifesto in the Ukraine, 1709.

73 The impartiality of an historian obliges us in this place to advertise our readers, that it was not the fault of Augustus, that Patkul was delivered up to the king of Sweden; Augustus having privately sent orders to the commandant of the fort of Konigstein, where Patkul was then confined, to suffer his prisoner to make his escape in time. But the avarice of this officer proved fatal to the life of the unhappy captive, and to the character of his own prince; for while he was endeavouring to make the best bargain he could for himself, the time slipped inconceivably away; and while they were yet debating upon the price of the proposed releasement, the guards sent by Charles came and demanded Patkul in the name of their sovereign. The commandant was forced to obey, and the unhappy victim was delivered up, contrary to the intentions of Augustus.

74 What would those Swedes say, were they living, to see the pitiful figure their descendants have made in this war.

75 In the Russian language, Soeza.

76 This is acknowledged by Norberg himself, vol. ii. p. 263.

77 Vol. II. page 279.

78 The Memoirs of Peter the Great, by the pretended boyard Iwan Nestesuranoy, printed at Amsterdam, in 1730, say, that the king of Sweden, before he passed the Boristhenes, sent a general officer with proposals of peace to the czar. The four volumes of these Memoirs are either a collection of untruths and absurdities, or compilations from common newspapers.

79 This fact is likewise found in a letter, printed before the Anecdotes of Russia, p. 23.

80 La Motraye, in the relation of his travels, quotes a letter from Charles XII. to the grand vizier; but this letter is false, as are most of the relations of that mercenary writer; and Norberg himself acknowledges that the king of Sweden never could be prevailed on to write to the grand vizier.

81 The czar, says the preface to lord Whitworth’s account of Russia, who had been absolute enough to civilize savages, had no idea, could conceive none, of the privileges of a nation civilized in the only rational manner by laws and liberties. He demanded immediate and severe punishment of the offenders: he demanded it of a princess, whom he thought interested, to assert the sacredness of the persons of monarchs, even in their representatives; and he demanded it with threats of wreaking his vengeance on all English merchants and subjects established in his dominions. In this light the menaces were formidable; otherwise, happily, the rights of the whole people were more sacred here than the persons of foreign ministers. The czar’s memorials urged the queen with the satisfaction which she herself had extorted, when only the boat and servants of the earl of Manchester had been insulted at Venice. That state had broken through the fundamental laws, to content the queen of Great Britain. How noble a picture of government, when a monarch, that can force another nation to infringe its constitution, dare not violate his own? One may imagine with what difficulty our secretaries of state must have laboured through all the ambages of phrase in English, French, German, and Russ, to explain to Muscovite ears and Muscovite understandings, the meaning of indictments, pleadings, precedents, juries, and verdicts; and how impatiently Peter must have listened to promises of a hearing next term? With what astonishment must he have beheld a great queen, engaging to endeavour to prevail on her parliament to pass an act to prevent any such outrage for the future? What honour does it not reflect on the memory of that princess to own to an arbitrary emperor, that even to appease him she dare not put the meanest of her subjects to death uncondemned by law!—There are, says she, in one of her dispatches to him, insuperable difficulties, with respect to the ancient and fundamental laws of the government of our people; which we fear do not permit so severe and rigorous a sentence to be given, as your imperial majesty at first seemed to expect in this case; and we persuade ourself, that your imperial majesty, who are a prince famous for clemency and exact justice, will not require us, who are the guardian and protectress of the laws, to inflict a punishment upon our subjects, which the law does not impower us to do. Words so venerable and heroic, that this broil ought to become history, and be exempted from the oblivion due to the silly squabbles of ambassadors and their privileges. If Anne deserved praise for her conduct on this occasion, it reflects still greater glory on Peter, that this ferocious man should listen to these details, and had moderation and justice enough to be persuaded by the reason of them.

82 Afterwards created lord Whitworth, by king George I.

83 The account this chaplain gives of the demands of the grand seignior is equally false and puerile. He says, that sultan Achmet, previous to his declaring war against the czar, sent to that prince a paper, containing the conditions on which he was willing to grant him peace. These conditions, Norberg tells us, were as follows: ‘That Peter should renounce his alliance with Augustus, reinstate Stanislaus in the possession of the crown of Poland, restore all Livonia to Charles XII., and pay that prince the value in ready money of what he had taken from him at the battle of Pultowa; and, lastly, that the czar should demolish his newly-built city of Petersburg.’ This piece was forged by one Brazey, a half-starved pamphleteer, and author of a work entitled, Memoirs, Satirical, Historical, and Entertaining. It was from this fountain Norberg drew his intelligence; and however he may have been the confessor of Charles XII. he certainly does not appear to have been his confidant.

84 The new vizier embraced every opportunity of affronting the czar, in the person of his envoy, and particularly in giving the French ambassador the preference. It was customary, on the promotion of the grand vizier, for all the foreign ministers to request an audience of congratulation. Count Tolstoy was the first who demanded that audience; but was answered—That the precedence had always been given to the ambassador of France: whereupon Tolstoy informed the vizier—That he must be deprived of the pleasure of waiting on him at all: which, being maliciously represented, as expressing the utmost contempt of his person, and the khan of Tartary being at the same time instigated to make several heavy complaints against the conduct of the Russians on the frontiers, count Tolstoy was immediately committed to the castle of the Seven Towers.

85 It is very strange that so many writers always confound Walachia and Moldavia together.

86 This duke of Holstein, at the time he married the daughter of Peter I. was a prince of very inconsiderable power, though of one of the most ancient houses in Germany. His ancestors had been stripped of great part of their dominions by the kings of Denmark; so that, at the time of this marriage, he found himself greatly circumscribed in point of possessions; but, from this epoch of his alliance with the czar of Muscovy, we may date the rise of the ducal branch of Holstein, which now fills the thrones of Russia and Sweden, and is likewise in possession of the bishopric of Lubec, which, in all probability, will fall to this house, notwithstanding the late election, which at present is the subject of litigation, the issue of which will, to all appearance, terminate in favour of the prince, son to the present bishop, through the protection of the courts of Vienna and Petersburg. The empress Catherine, who now sits on the throne of Russia is herself descended from this august house, by the side of her mother, who was sister to the king of Sweden, to the prince-bishop of Lubec, and to the famous prince George of Holstein, whose achievements made so much noise during the war. This princess, whose name was Elizabeth, married the reigning prince of Anbak Zerbst, whose house was indisputably the most ancient; and, in former times, the most powerful in all Germany, since they can trace their pedigree from the dukes of Ascania, who were formerly masters of the two electorates of Saxony and Brandenburg, as appears by their armorial bearings, which are, quarterly, the arms of Saxony and Brandenburg. Of this branch of Zerbst there is remaining only the present reigning prince, brother to the empress Catherine, who, in case he should die without issue, will succeed to the principality of Yevern, in East Friesland; from all which it appears already, that the family of Holstein is at present the most powerful in Europe, as being in possession of three crowns in the North.—[Since the above was written important changes have taken place.]

87 This same count Poniatowsky, who was at that time in the service of Charles XII., died afterwards castellan of Cracovia, and first senator of the republic of Poland, after having enjoyed all the dignities to which a nobleman of that country can attain. His connexions with Charles XII. during that prince’s retirement at Bender, first made him taken notice of; and, it is to be wished, for the honour of his memory, that he had waited till the conclusion of a peace between Sweden and Poland, to be reconciled to king Augustus; but following the dictates of ambition, rather than those of strict honour, he sacrificed the interests of both Charles and Stanislaus, to the care of his own fortune; and, while he appeared the most zealous in their cause, he secretly did them all the ill services he could at the Ottoman Porte: to this double dealing he owed the immense fortune of which he was afterwards possessed. He married the princess Czartoriski, daughter of the castellan of Vilna, a lady, for her heroic spirit, worthy to have been born in the times of ancient Rome: when her eldest son, the present grand chamberlain of the crown, had that famous dispute with Count Tarlo, palatine of Lublin; a dispute which made so much noise in all the public papers in the year 1742, this lady, after having made him shoot at a mark every day, for three weeks, in order to be expert at firing, said to him, as he was mounting his horse, to go to meet his adversary—‘Go, my son; but, if you do not acquit yourself with honour in this affair, never appear before me again.’ This anecdote may serve as a specimen of the character of our heroine. The family of Czartoriski is descended from the ancient Jagellins, who were, for several ages, in lineal possession of the crown of Poland; and is, at this day, extremely rich and powerful, by the alliances it has contracted, but they have never been able to acquire popularity; and so long as count Tarlo (who was killed in a duel with the young count Poniatowsky) lived, had no influence in the dictines, or lesser assembly of the states, because Tarlo, who was the idol of the nobles, and a sworn enemy to the Czartoriski family, carried every thing before him, and nothing was done but according to his pleasure.

88 About seventy pounds sterling.

89 French money, which is always counted by livres and makes about three millions sterling.

90 A town in Bohemia famous for its mineral springs.

91 About fifty thousand pounds sterling.

92 Private memoirs of Bassowitz, Jan. 21, 1712.

93 A town of Sleswic, in Denmark, situated on the river Eyder, fourteen miles from the German Ocean, having a very commodious harbour.

94 About twelve hundred pounds sterling.

95 In the preamble to this institution, the czar declared, that it was to perpetuate the memory of her love in his distressed condition on the banks of the river Pruth. He invested her with full power to bestow it on such of her own sex as she should think proper. The ensigns of this order are, a broad white riband, and wore over the right shoulder, with a medal of St. Catherine, adorned with precious stones, and the motto, ‘Out of love and fidelity.’

96 Inhabitants of a small town of Hungarian Dalmatia, with a harbour, from whence the neighbouring sea takes the name of Golfo di Bickariga.

97 The conspiracy carried on in France by cardinal Alberoni, was discovered in a very singular manner. The Spanish ambassador’s secretary, who used frequently to go to the house of one La Follon, a famous procuress of Paris, to amuse himself for an hour or two after the fatigues of business, had appointed a young nymph, whom he was fond of, to meet him there at nine o’clock in the evening, but did not come to her till near two o’clock in the morning. The lady, as may be supposed, reproached him with the little regard he paid to her charms, or his own promise; but he excused himself, by saying, that he had been obliged to stay to finish a long dispatch in ciphers, which was to be sent away that very night by a courier to Spain: so saying, he undressed and threw himself into bed, where he quietly fell asleep. In pulling off his clothes, he had, by accident, dropped a paper out of his pocket, which, by its bulk, raised in the nymph that curiosity so natural to her sex. She picked it up, and read it partly over, when the nature of its contents made her resolve to communicate them to La Follon: accordingly, she framed some excuse for leaving the room, and immediately went to the apartment of the old lady, and opened her budget. La Follon, who was a woman of superior understanding to most in her sphere, immediately saw the whole consequence of the affair; and, after having recommended to the girl, to amuse her gallant as long as possible, she immediately went to waken the regent, to whom she had access at all hours, for matters of a very different nature to the present. This prince, whose presence of mind was equal to every exigency, immediately dispatched different couriers to the frontiers; in consequence of which, the Spanish ambassador’s messenger was stopped at Bayonne, and his dispatches taken from him; upon deciphering of which, they were found exactly to agree with the original delivered to the regent by La Follon: upon this the prince of Cellamar, the Spanish ambassador was put under an arrest, and all his papers seized; after which he was sent under a strong guard to the frontiers, where they left him to make the best of his way to his own country. Thus an event, which would have brought the kingdom of France to the verge of destruction, was frustrated by a votary of Venus, and a priestess of the temple of pleasure.

98 As these letters and answers afford the most striking evidence of the czar’s prudence, and the prince’s insincerity, and will convey to the reader a clear idea of the grounds and motives of this extraordinary transaction, we have inserted the following translation of them. The first letter from the czar to his son, is dated the 27th of October, 1715, and displays a noble spirit of religion, with the most ardent desire of leaving a successor who should perpetuate his name and glory to future ages.
‘Son,’ says the czar to him, ‘you cannot be ignorant of what is known to all the world, that our people groaned under the oppression of the Swedes, before the beginning of this present war. By the usurped possession of many of our maritime ports, so necessary to our state, they cut us off from all commerce with the rest of mankind; and we saw, with deep regret, that they had even cast a mist over the eyes of persons of the greatest discernment, who tamely brooked their slavery, and made no complaints to us. You know how much it cost us at the beginning of this war, to make ourselves thoroughly experienced, and to stand our ground in spite of all the advantages which our irreconcileable enemies gained over us. The Almighty alone has conducted us by his hand, and conducts us still. We submitted to that probationary state with resignation to the will of God, not doubting but it was he who made us pass through it: he has accepted our submission; and the same enemy, before whom we were wont to tremble, now trembles before us. These are effects, which, under God’s assistance, we owe to our labour, and those of our faithful and affectionate sons, and Russian subjects. But while I survey the successes with which God has blessed our arms, if I turn my eyes on the posterity that is to succeed me, my soul is pierced with anguish; and I have no enjoyment of my present happiness, when I carry my views into futurity. All my felicity vanishes away like a dream, since you, my son, reject all means of rendering yourself capable of governing well after me. Your incapacity is voluntary; for you cannot excuse yourself from want of genius: it is inclination alone you want. Far less can you plead the want of bodily strength, as if God had not furnished you sufficiently in that respect: for though your constitution be none the strongest, it cannot be reckoned weak. Yet you will not so much as hear of warlike exercises; though it is by those means we are risen from that obscurity in which we were buried, and have made ourselves known to the nations about us, whose esteem we now enjoy. I am far from desiring you to cherish in yourself a disposition to make war for its own sake, and without just reasons: all I demand of you is, that you would apply yourself to learn the military art; because, without understanding the rules of war, it is impossible to be qualified for government. I might set before your eyes many examples of what I propose to you; but shall only mention the Greeks, with whom we are united by the same profession of faith. Whence came the declension of their empire, but from the neglect of arms? Sloth and inaction have subjected them to tyrants, and that slavery under which they have groaned. You are much mistaken if you imagine it is enough for a prince that he have good generals to act under his orders: no, my son, it is upon the chief himself that the eyes of the world are fixed; they study his inclinations, and easily slide into the imitation of his manners. My brother, during his reign, loved magnificence in dress, and splendid equipages, and horses richly caparisoned; the taste of this country was not much formed that way; but the pleasures of the prince soon became those of the subjects, who are readily led to imitate him both in the objects of his love and disgust. If people are so easily disengaged from things that are only for pleasure, will they not be still more prone to forget, and in process of time wholly to lay aside the use of arms, the exercise of which grows the more irksome the less they are habituated to them? You have no inclination to learn the profession of war; you do not apply yourself to it; and consequently will never know it. How then will you be able to command others, and to judge of the rewards which those subjects deserve who do their duty, or of the punishment due to such as fall short of obedience? You must judge only by other people’s eyes; and will be considered as a young bird, which reaching out its beak, is as ready to receive poison as proper nourishment. You say, the infirm state of your health makes you unfit to bear the fatigues of war; but that is a frivolous excuse. I desire you not to undergo the fatigues of that profession, though it is there that all great captains are begun; but I wish you had an inclination to the military art; and reason may give it you, if you have it not from nature. Had you once this inclination, it would occupy your thoughts at all times, even in your hours of sickness. Ask those who remember my brother’s reign: his state of health was much more infirm than your’s; he could not manage a horse of never so little mettle, nor hardly mount him: yet he loved horses, and perhaps there never will be in the country finer stables than his. Hence you see, that success does not always depend upon personal labour, but upon the inclination. If you think that there are princes, whose affairs fail not to succeed, though they go not to war in person, you are in the right; but if they go not to the field of battle, they have, however, an inclination to go, and are acquainted with the military art. For instance, the late king of France did not always take the field himself; but we know to what a degree he was a lover of war, and how many glorious exploits he performed therein; which made his campaigns be called the theatre and school of the world. The bent of that prince’s mind was not turned to military affairs only, he had also a taste for the polite arts, for manufactures, and other institutions, which have made his kingdom more flourishing than any other. After all these remonstrances which I have laid before you, I return to my first subject, which immediately concerns yourself. I am a man, and consequently must die: to whom shall I leave the care of finishing what, by God’s grace, I have begun, and of preserving what I have in part recovered? To a son who, like that slothful servant in the gospel, buries his talent in the earth, and neglects to improve what God has committed to his trust? How often have I reproached you for your sullenness and indocility? I have been obliged to chastise you on that account. For these several years past I have hardly spoke to you, because I almost despair of bringing you back to the right way; discouraged and disheartened by the fruitlessness of all my endeavours. You loiter on in supine indolence; abandoning yourself to shameful pleasures, without extending your foresight to the dangerous consequences which such a conduct must produce both to yourself and the whole state: you confine yourself to the government of your own house, and in that station you acquit yourself very ill; St. Paul has told us, ‘he that knows not how to govern his own house, how shall he be able to rule the church of God?’ In like manner I say to you, since you know not how to manage your domestic affairs, how can you be able to govern a kingdom? I am determined, at last, to signify to you my final purpose; being willing, however, to defer the execution of it for a short time, to see if you will reform: if not, know that I am resolved to deprive you of the succession, as I would lop off a useless branch. Do not imagine, that because I have no other child but you,99 I mean by this only to intimidate you: I will most certainly execute my resolution; and God requires it of me: for, since I spare not my own life for the sake of my country, and the welfare of my people, why should I allow an effeminate prince to ascend the throne after me, who would sacrifice the interest of the subject to his pleasures? and should he be obliged to expose his life in their behalf, would leave them to perish, rather than redress their grievances. I will call in a mere stranger to the crown, if he be but worthy of that honour, sooner than my own son, if he is unworthy.
‘PETER.’
To this letter the czarowitz replied: ’Most gracious sovereign and father, I have read the letter which your majesty sent me of the 27th of October, 1715, after the interment of my wife; and all the answer I can make to it is, that if your majesty is determined to deprive me of the succession to the crown of Russia, on account of my inability, your will be done. I even request it of you very earnestly; because I judge not myself fit for government. My memory is greatly impaired; and without memory there is no managing affairs. The powers both of my body and mind are much weakened by the diseases to which I have been incident, and I am thereby incapacitated for the rule of so great a people. Such a charge requires a man far more vigorous than I am. For these reasons I am not ambitious to succeed you (whom God preserve through a length of years) in the crown of Russia, even though I had no brother, as I have one at present, whom God long preserve. As little will I for the future set up any claim to the succession: to the truth of which I solemnly swear, taking God to be my witness; and in testimony thereof I write and sign these presents. I put my children into your hands: and for myself I ask no more of you than a bare maintenance during my life, leaving the whole to your pleasure.
‘Your humble servant and son,
‘ALEXIS.’
Peter soon penetrated through the disguise his son had assumed, and therefore wrote him the above letter, dated January 19, 1716, and which he called his ‘Last Admonition.’

99 This letter was written about eight days before the birth of Peter Patrowitz, the czar’s second son.

100 This letter was couched in the following terms:—‘Most gracious sovereign and father, yesterday morning I received your letter, of the 19th of this month: my indisposition hinders me from writing to you at large, but I am willing to embrace the monastic state, and I beg your gracious consent thereto. ‘Your servant, and unworthy son, ‘ALEXIS.’

101 The prince’s renunciation was couched in the following terms:—‘I, the undernamed, declare upon the holy gospel, that on account of the crimes I have committed against his czarish majesty, my father and sovereign, as set forth in his manifesto, I am, through my own fault, excluded from the throne of Russia. Therefore I confess and acknowledge that exclusion to be just, as having merited it by my own fault and unworthiness; and I hereby oblige myself, and swear in the presence of Almighty God, in unity of nature, and trinity of persons, as my supreme Judge, to submit in all things to my father’s will, never to set up a claim or pretension to the succession, or accept of it under any pretext whatever, acknowledging my brother Peter Petrowitz as lawful successor to the crown. In testimony whereof, I kiss the holy cross, and sign these presents with my own hand. ‘ALEXIS.’

102 As this extraordinary piece cannot fail of being interesting to most part of our readers, we have ventured to subjoin the whole of it in a note, our author having only given some few extracts.

The Czar’s Declaration

Peter I. by the grace of God, czar, emperor of Russia, &c. to all our faithful subjects, ecclesiastical, military, and civil, of all the states of the Russian nation. It is notorious, and well known to the greatest part of our faithful subjects, and chiefly to those who live in the places of our residence, or who are in our service, with how much care and application we have caused our eldest son Alexis to be brought up and educated; having given him for that purpose, from his infancy, tutors to teach him the Russian tongue, and foreign languages, and to instruct him in all arts and sciences, in order not only to bring him up in our Christian orthodox faith of the Greek profession, but also in the knowledge of political and military affairs, and likewise in the constitution of foreign countries, their customs and languages; through the reading of history, and other books, in all manner of sciences, becoming a prince of his high rank, he might acquire the qualifications worthy of a successor to our throne of Great Russia. Nevertheless, we have seen with grief, that all attention and care, for the education and instruction of our son, proved ineffectual and useless, seeing he always swerved from his filial obedience, shewing no application for what was becoming a worthy successor, and slighting the precepts of the masters we had appointed for him; but, on the contrary, frequenting disorderly persons, from whom he could learn nothing good, or that would be advantageous and useful to him. We have not neglected often to endeavour to reclaim, and bring him back to his duty, sometimes by caresses and gentle means, sometimes by reprimands, sometimes by paternal corrections. We have more than once taken him with us into our army and the field, that he might be instructed in the art of war, as one of the chief sciences for the defence of his country; guarding him, at the same time, from all hazard of the succession, though we exposed ourself to manifest perils and dangers. We have at other times left him at Moscow, putting into his hands a sort of regency in the empire, in order to form him in the art of government, and that he might learn how to reign after us. We have likewise sent him into foreign countries, in hopes and expectation, that seeing, in his travels, governments so well regulated, this would excite in him some emulation and an inclination to apply himself to do well. But all our care has been fruitless, and like the seed of the doctrine fallen upon a rock; for he has not only refused to follow that which is good, but even is come to hate it, without shewing any inclination, or disposition, either for military or political affairs; hourly and continually conversing with base and disorderly persons, whose morals are rude and abominable. As we were resolved to endeavour, by all imaginable means, to reclaim him from that disorderly course, and to inspire him with an inclination to converse with persons of virtue and honour; we exhorted him to choose a consort among the chief foreign houses, as is usual in other countries, and hath been practised by our ancestors, the czars of Russia, who have contracted alliances by marriages with other sovereign houses, and we have left him at liberty to make a choice. He declared his inclination for the princess, grand-daughter of the duke of Wolfenbuttle, then reigning, sister-in-law to his imperial majesty the emperor of the Romans, now reigning, and cousin to the king of Great Britain; and having desired us to procure him that alliance, and permit him to marry that princess, we readily consented thereunto, without any regard to the great expense which was necessarily occasioned by that marriage: but, after its consummation, we found ourselves disappointed of the hopes we had, that the change in the condition of our son would produce good fruits, and change his bad inclinations; for, notwithstanding his spouse was, as far as we have been able to observe, a wise, sprightly princess, and of a virtuous conduct, and that he himself had chosen her, he nevertheless lived with her in the greatest disunion, while he redoubled his affection for lewd people, bringing thereby a disgrace upon our house in the eyes of foreign powers to whom that princess was related, which drew upon us many complaints and reproaches. Our frequent advices and exhortations to him, to reform his conduct, proved ineffectual, and he at last violated the conjugal faith, and gave his affection to a prostitute of the most servile and low condition, living publicly in that crime with her, to the great contempt of his lawful spouse, who soon after died; and it was believed that her grief, occasioned by the disorderly life of her husband, hastened the end of her days. When we saw his resolution to persevere in his vicious courses, we declared to him, at the funeral of his consort, that if he did not for the future conform to our will, and apply himself to things becoming a prince, presumptive heir to so great an empire, we would deprive him of the succession, without any regard to his being our only son (our second son was not then born) and that he ought not to rely upon his being such, because we would rather choose for our successor a stranger worthy thereof, than an unworthy son; that we would not leave our empire to such a successor, who would ruin and destroy what we have, by God’s assistance, established, and tarnish the glory and honour of the Russian nation, for the acquiring of which we had sacrificed our ease and our health, and willingly exposed our life on several occasions; besides, that the fear of God’s judgment would not permit us to leave the government of such vast territories in the hands of one whose insufficiency and unworthiness we were not ignorant of. In short, we exhorted him in the most pressing terms we could make use of, to behave himself with discretion, and gave him time to repent and return to his duty. His answer to these remonstrances was, that he acknowledged himself guilty in all these points; but alleged the weakness of his parts and genius, which did not permit him to apply himself to the sciences, and other functions recommended to him: he owned himself incapable of our succession, and desired us to discharge him from the same. Nevertheless, we continued to exhort him with a paternal affection, and joining menaces to our exhortations; we forgot nothing to bring him back to the right way. The operations of the war having obliged us to repair to Denmark, we left him at Petersburg, to give him time to return to his duty, and amend his ways; and, afterwards, upon the repeated advices we received of the continuance of his disorderly life, we sent him orders to come to us at Copenhagen, to make the campaign, that he might thereby the better form himself. But, forgetting the fear and commandments of God, who enjoins obedience even to private parents, and much more to those who are at the same time sovereigns, our paternal cares had no other return than unheard-of ingratitude; for, instead of coming to us as we ordered, he withdrew, with large sums of money, and his infamous concubine, with whom he continued to live in a criminal course, and put himself under the protection of the emperor, raising against us, his father and his lord, numberless calumnies and false reports, as if we did persecute him, and intended, without cause, to deprive him of the succession; alleging, moreover, that even his life was not safe if he continued with us, and desired the emperor not only to give him refuge in his dominions, but also to protect him against us by force of arms. Every one may judge, what shame and dishonour this conduct of our son hath drawn upon us and our empire, in the face of the whole world; the like instance is hardly to be found in history. The emperor, though informed of his excesses, and how he had lived with his consort, sister-in-law to his imperial majesty, thought fit, however, upon these pressing instances, to appoint him a place where he might reside; and he desired farther, that he might be so private there, that we might not come to the knowledge of it. Meanwhile his long stay having made us fear, out of a tender and fatherly affection for him, that some misfortune had befallen him, we sent persons several ways to get intelligence of him, and, after a great deal of trouble, we were at last informed by the captain of our guard, Alexander Romanzoff, that he was privately kept in an imperial fortress at Tyrol; whereupon we wrote a letter, with our own hand, to the emperor, to desire that he might be sent back to us: but, notwithstanding the emperor acquainted him with our demands, and exhorted him to return to us, and submit to our will, as being his father and lord; yet he alleged, with a great many calumnies against us, that he ought not to be delivered into our hands, as if we had been his enemy, and a tyrant, from whom he had nothing to expect but death. In short, he persuaded his imperial majesty, instead of sending him back at that time to us, to remove him to some remote place in his dominions, namely, Naples in Italy, and keep him there secretly in the castle, under a borrowed name. Nevertheless, we having notice of the place where he was, did thereupon dispatch to the emperor our privy-counsellor, Peter Tolstoy, and the captain of our guard, aforesaid, with a most pressing letter, representing how unjust it would be to detain our son, contrary to all laws, divine and human, according to which private parents, and with much more reason those who are besides invested with a sovereign authority as we are, have an unlimited power over their children, independently of any other judge; and we set forth on one side, the just and affectionate manner with which we had always used our son, and, on the other, his disobedience; representing, in the conclusion, the ill consequences and animosities which the refusal of delivering up our son to us might occasion, because we would not leave this affair in that condition. We, at the same time, ordered those we sent with that letter, to make verbal remonstrances even in more pressing terms, and to declare that we should be obliged to revenge, by all possible methods, such detaining our son. We wrote likewise a letter to him with our own hand, to represent to him the horror and impiety of his conduct, and the enormity of the crime he had committed against us his father, and how God threatened in his laws to punish disobedient children with eternal death: we threatened him, as a father, with our curses, and, as his lord, to declare him a traitor to his country, unless he returned, and obeyed our commands; and gave him assurance, that if he did as we desired, and returned, we would pardon his crime. Our envoys, after many solicitations, and the above representation, made by us in writing, at last obtained leave of the emperor to go and speak to our son, in order to dispose him to return home. The imperial minister gave them at the same time to understand, that our son had informed the emperor that we persecuted him, and that his life was not safe with us, whereby he moved the emperor’s compassion, and induced him to take him into his protection; but that the emperor, taking now into his consideration our true and solid representations, promised to use his utmost endeavour to dispose him to return to us; and would, moreover, declare to him, that he could not in justice and equity refuse to deliver him to his father, or have any difference with us on that account. Our envoys, upon their arrival at Naples, having desired to deliver to him our letter, written with our hand, sent us word, that he did refuse to admit them; but that the emperor’s viceroy had found means, by inviting him to his house, to present them to him afterwards, much against his will. He did then, indeed, receive our letter, containing our paternal exhortation, and threatening our curse, but without shewing the least inclination to return; alleging still a great many falsities and calumnies against us, as if, by reason of several dangers he had to apprehend from us, he could not, nor would not return; and boasting, that the emperor had not only promised to defend and protect him against us, but even to set him upon the throne of Russia against our will, by force of arms. Our envoys perceiving this evil disposition, tried all imaginable ways to prevail with him to return, they intreated him, they expatiated by turns upon the graciousness of our assurances towards him, and upon our threats in case of disobedience, and that we would even bring him away by force of arms; they declared to him that the emperor would not enter into a war with us on his account, and many other such-like representations did they make to him. But he paid no regard to all this, nor shewed any inclination to return to us, until the imperial viceroy, convinced at last of his obstinacy, told him in the emperor’s name, that he ought to return; for that his imperial majesty could not by any law keep him from us, nor, during the present war with Turkey, and also in Italy with Spain, embroil himself with us upon his account. When he saw how the case stood, fearing he should be delivered up to us, whether he would or not, he at length resolved to return home; and declared his mind to our envoys, and to the imperial viceroy: he likewise wrote the same thing to us, acknowledging himself to be a criminal, and blameworthy. Now although our son, by so long a course of criminal disobedience against us, his father and lord, for many years, and particularly for the dishonour he hath cast upon us in the face of the world, by withdrawing himself, and raising calumnies against us, as if we were an unnatural father, and for opposing his sovereign, hath deserved to be punished with death; yet our paternal affection inclines us to have mercy upon him, and we therefore pardon his crimes, and exempt him from all punishment for the same. But considering his unworthiness, we cannot in conscience, leave him after us the succession to the throne of Russia; foreseeing that, by his vicious courses, he would entirely destroy the glory of our nation and the safety of our dominions, which, through God’s assistance, we have acquired and established by incessant application; for it is notorious and known to every one, how much it hath cost us, and with what efforts we have not only recovered the provinces which the enemy had usurped from our empire, but also conquered several considerable towns and countries, and with what care we have caused our people to be instructed in all sorts of civil and military sciences, to the glory and advantage of the nation and empire. Now, as we should pity our states and faithful subjects, if, by such a successor, we should throw them back into a much worse condition than ever they were yet; so, by the paternal authority, in virtue of which, by the laws of our empire, any of our subjects may disinherit a son, and give his succession to such other of his sons, as he pleases; and, in quality of sovereign prince, in consideration of the safety of our dominions, we do deprive our said son Alexis, for his crimes and unworthiness, of the succession after us to the throne of Russia, even though there should not remain one single person of our family after us. And we do constitute and declare successor to the said throne after us, our second son Peter, though yet very young, having no successor that is older. We lay upon our said son Alexis our paternal curse, if ever at any time he pretends to, or reclaims, the said succession; and we desire our faithful subjects, whether ecclesiastics or seculars, of all ranks and conditions, and the whole Russian nation, in conformity to this constitution and our will, to acknowledge and consider our said son Peter, appointed by our constitution, to confirm the whole by oath, before the holy altar, upon the holy gospel, kissing the cross; and all those who shall ever, at any time, oppose this our will, and who, from this day forward, shall dare to consider our son Alexis, as successor, or to assist him for that purpose, declare them traitors to us and their country. And we have ordered that these presents shall be every where published and promulgated, to the end that no person may pretend ignorance.—Given at Moscow, the third of February, 1718. Signed with our hand, and sealed with our seal.

‘PETER.’

103 This was the son of the empress Catherine, who died April 15, 1719.

104 At the same time confirming it by an oath, the form of which was as follows: ‘I swear before Almighty God, and upon his holy gospel, that whereas our most gracious sovereign, the czar Peter Alexiowitz, has caused circular letters to be published through his empire, to notify that he has thought fit to exclude his son, prince Alexis Petrowitz, from the throne of Russia, and to appoint for his successor to the crown his second son, the prince royal Peter Petrowitz; I do acknowledge this order and regulation made by his majesty in favour of the said prince Peter Petrowitz, to be just and lawful, and entirely conform and submit myself to the same; promising always to acknowledge the said prince royal Peter Petrowitz for his lawful successor, and to stand by him on all occasions, even to the loss of my life, against all such as shall presume to oppose the said succession; and that I never will, on any pretence whatsoever assist the prince Alexis Petrowitz, nor in any manner whatsoever contribute to procure him the succession. And this I solemnly promise by my oath on the holy gospel, kissing the holy cross thereupon.’

105 His declaration to the clergy concluded in this manner:—‘Though this affair does not fall within the verge of the spiritual, but of the civil jurisdiction, and we have this day referred it to the imperial decision of the secular court, but remembering that passage in the word of God, which requires us on such occasions to consult the priests and elders of the church, in order to know the will of Heaven, and being desirous of receiving all possible instructions in a matter of such importance, we desire of you, the archbishops, and the whole ecclesiastical state, as teachers of the word of God, not to pronounce judgment in this case, but to examine and give us your opinion concerning it, according to the sacred oracles, from whom we may be best informed what punishment my son deserves, and that you will give it us in writing under your hands, that being properly instructed herein, we may lay no burthen on our conscience. We therefore repose our confidence in you, that, as guardians of the divine laws, as faithful pastors of the Christian flock, and as well affected towards your country, you will act suitable to your dignity, conjuring you by that dignity, and the holiness of your function, to proceed without fear or dissimulation.

106 Besides the particular passages in holy writ cited on this occasion, which were, Levit. xx. 1, 9. Deut. xxxi. Matt. xx. 1. Mark vii. 9. Rom. i. 28. Ephes vi. 1. those from the constitutions of the empire were as follows: ‘If any person, by any ill design, forms any attempt against the health of the czar, or does any thing to his prejudice, and is found inclined to execute his pernicious designs, let him be put to death, after he is convicted thereof.’ Stat. 1. ‘In like manner, if any one, during the reign of his czarian majesty, through a desire to reign in the empire of Russia, and put the czar to death, shall begin to raise troops with this pernicious view; or if any one shall form an alliance with the enemies of his czarian majesty, or hold a correspondence with them, or assist them to arrive at the government, or raise any other disorder; if any one declare it, and the truth be found out upon such declaration, let the traitor suffer death upon conviction of the treason.’ Stat. 2. From the military laws the following citations were made; chap. 3. art. 19. ‘If any subject raises men, and takes up arms against the czarian majesty; or if any person forms a design of taking his majesty prisoner, or killing him; or if he offers any violence to him; he and all his abettors and adherents shall be quartered, as guilty of treason, and their goods confiscated.’ To which article the following explanation was added: ‘They also shall suffer the same punishment, who, though they have not been able to execute their crime, shall be convicted of inclination and desire to commit it; and likewise, those who shall not have discovered it when it came to their knowledge,’ chap. 26. art. 37. ‘He who forms a design of committing any treason, or any other matter of the like nature, shall be punished with the same capital punishments as if he had actually executed his design.’

107 M. de Voltaire is mistaken in this point; for, by our laws, no peer of the realm can absent himself from the service of the parliament during its session, without the liberty of the king or the house.

108 This is another mistake; for it is death by our law to compass or imagine the death of the sovereign.

109 Or Nions, the capital of Montauban, in Dauphine, in France, situate on the river Aigues, over which is a bridge, said to be a Roman work.

110 At twenty-four to the pound sterling.

111 About three thousand pounds sterling.

112 The czar celebrated this victory by a naval triumph at Petersburg, caused a gold medal to be struck to perpetuate the glory of the action, presented prince Galitzin with a sword set with diamonds, and distributed a large sum of money among the officers and sailors who had given such signal proofs of their valour.

113 A little town of the Bothnick gulf in North Finland.

114 Notwithstanding the great rejoicings made on this occasion, Peter was noways inattentive to the affairs of state; but held frequent councils thereon: and being desirous, as his son Peter Petrowitz was dead, to settle the succession on a prince who would follow his maxims, and prosecute the great designs which he had begun for civilizing his people, he ordered public notice to be given, on the 23d of February, to all his subjects inhabiting the city of Moscow, to repair the next day to Castle-church; which they having done, printed papers were delivered to them all, signifying, ‘That it was his imperial majesty’s pleasure, that every man should swear, and give under his hand, that he would not only approve the choice his majesty would make of a successor, but acknowledge the person he should appoint as emperor and sovereign.’ An order was likewise published a few days after at Petersburg, requiring the magistrates and all persons to subscribe the same declaration; and all the grandees of the empire were commanded, on pain of death and confiscation, to repair to Moscow by the latter end of March for that purpose, except those inhabiting Astracan and Siberia, who, living at too great a distance, were excused from giving their personal attendance, and permitted to subscribe before their respective governors. This oath was readily taken by all ranks and degrees of the people, who were well assured that their emperor would make choice of one who was every way worthy of the succession, and capable of supporting the dignity intended for him: but they were still in the dark as to the identical person, though it was generally believed to be prince Nariskin, who was nearly related to the emperor, and allowed to have all the qualities requisite for his successor: but a little time shewed them, that this conjecture was groundless.

115 These he published and distributed along the borders of the Caspian Sea, therein declaring—That he came not upon the frontiers of Persia, with an intention of reducing any of the provinces of that kingdom to his obedience, but only to maintain the lawful possessor of them on his throne, and to defend him powerfully, together with his faithful subjects, against the tyranny of Mir Mahmoud, and to obtain satisfaction from him and his Tartars, for the robberies and mischiefs which they had committed in the Russian empire.

116 Memoirs of Bassewitz.

117 MS. memoirs of count de Bassewitz.

118 Catherine paid the last duties to her husband’s ashes, with a pomp becoming the greatest monarch that Russia, or perhaps any other country, had ever known; and though there is no court of Europe where splendour and magnificence is carried to a greater height on these occasions than in that of Russia, yet it may with great truth be said, that she even surpassed herself in the funeral honours paid to her great Peter. She purchased the most precious kinds of marble, and employed some of the ablest sculptors of Italy to erect a mausoleum to this hero, which might, if possible, transmit the remembrance of his great actions to the most distant ages. Not satisfied with this, she caused a medal to be struck, worthy of the ancients. On one side was represented the bust of the late emperor, with these words—‘Peter the Great, Emperor and Sovereign of all Russia, born May 30, 1672. On the reverse was the empress sitting, with the crown on her head, the globe and sceptre by her side on a table, and before her were a sphere, sea charts, plans, mathematical instruments, arms, and a caduceus. At distances, in three different places, were represented an edifice on the sea coast, with a platform before it, a ship and galley at sea, and the late emperor in the clouds, supported by eternity, looking on the empress, and shewing her with his right hand all the treasures he had left her, with these words, ‘Behold what I have left you.’ In the exergue, ‘Deceased 28 January, 1725.’ Several of these medals she ordered to be struck in gold, to the weight of fifty ducats and distributed among the foreign ministers, and all the grandees of the empire, as a testimony of her respect and gratitude to the memory of her late husband, to whose generosity she took a pleasure in owning herself indebted for her present elevated station.
Mottley gives us the following, as the czar’s epitaph:
Here lieth,
All that could die of a man immortal,
PETER ALEXIOWITZ:
It is almost superfluous to add,
Great Emperor of Russia!
A title,
Which, instead of adding to his glory,
Became glorious by his wearing it.
Let antiquity be dumb,
Nor boast her Alexander, or her Cæsar.
How easy was victory
To leaders who were followed by heroes!
And whose soldiers felt a noble disdain
At being thought less vigilant than their generals!
But he,
Who in this place first knew rest,
Found subjects base and inactive,
Unwarlike, unlearned, untractable;
Neither covetous of fame, nor fearless of danger;
Creatures with the names of men,
But with qualities rather brutal than rational!
Yet, even these
He polished from their native ruggedness;
And, breaking out like a new sun,
To illuminate the minds of a people,
Dispelled their night of hereditary darkness;
And, by force of his invincible influence,
Taught them to conquer
Even the conquerors of Germany.
Other princes have commanded victorious armies;
This commander created them.
Blush, O Art! at a hero who owed thee nothing
Exult, O Nature! for thine was this prodigy.

119 The distinguished regard which this princess shews for the arts and sciences, and her endeavours to attract the great geniuses of all nations to reside in her dominions, by every possible encouragement, affords the strongest presumptions, that in her reign we shall see a second age of Louis XIV. and of this we have had a recent proof, in the obliging letter which this august princess wrote with her own hand to M. d’Alembert, and the choice she has since made of M. Duplex, a member of the royal academy of sciences at Paris, when the beforementioned gentleman thought fit to decline the gracious offers she made him. In which choice she has shewn that it is not birth nor rank, but true merit and virtue, which she considers as the essential qualifications in a person to whom she would confide the most sacred of all trusts, that of the education of the grand duke, her son. What then may not be expected from the administration of a sovereign so superior to vulgar prejudice? And especially when assisted by a Woronzoff and a Galitzin, both the professed friends and patrons of literature and the fine arts, which they themselves have not disdained to cultivate, when business and the weighty affairs of state have allowed them a few moments leisure.

120 The following anecdote, communicated by a nobleman of the strictest probity, who was himself an eye-witness of the fact, will give us a clear insight into the character and disposition of Peter I. In one of the many plots which was formed against the life and government of this monarch, there was among the number of those seized a soldier, belonging to his own regiment of guards. Peter being told by his officers that this man had always behaved extremely well, had a curiosity to see him, and learn from his own mouth what might have been his inducement to be concerned in a plot against him; and to this purpose he dressed himself in a plain garb, and so as not to be known by the man again, and went to the prison where he was confined, when, after some conversation, ‘I should be glad to know, friend,’ said Peter, ‘what were your reasons for being concerned in an attempt against the emperor your master, as I am certain that he never did you any injury, but on the contrary, has a regard for you, as being a brave soldier, and one who have always done your duty in the field; and therefore, if you were to shew the least remorse for what you have done, I am persuaded that the emperor would forgive you: but before I interest myself in your behalf, you must tell me what motives you had to join the mutineers; and repeat to you again, that the emperor is naturally so good and compassionate, that I am certain he will give you your pardon.’
‘I know little or nothing of the emperor,’ replied the soldier, ‘for I never saw him but at a distance; but he caused my father’s head to be cut off some time ago, for being concerned in a former rebellion, and it is the duty of a son to revenge the death of his father, by that of the person who took away his life. If then the emperor is really so good and merciful as you have represented him, counsel him, for his own safety not to pardon me; for were he to restore me my liberty, the first use I should make of it would be, to engage in some new attempt against his life, nor should I ever rest till I had accomplished my design; therefore the securest method he can take, will be to order my head to be struck off immediately, without which his own life is not in safety.’ The czar in vain used all the arguments he could think of, to set before this desperado the folly and injustice of such sentiments; he still persisted in what he had declared, and Peter departed, greatly chagrined at the bad success of his visit, and gave orders for the execution of this man and the rest of his accomplices.

of procelain, the court magazines, the foundery,
of porcelain, the court magazines, the foundery,

and brought martins and black foxes,
and brought martens and black foxes,

Labourers in the mines belonging to the crown 3000
Labourers in the mines belonging to the crown 30000

dicipline by land: nay, the most common
discipline by land: nay, the most common

and encouragement on the part of a govornment;
and encouragement on the part of a government;

situated on the Driester, and subject to the Turks,
situated on the Dniester, and subject to the Turks,

in a word, he was worthy of being the father of
In a word, he was worthy of being the father of

to the empire, the reigns of which she intended
to the empire, the reins of which she intended

He led a retired life, and died in 1646.
He led a retired life, and died in 1696.

retook from Lewis XIV. in 1694. After this,
retook from Lewis XIV. in 1674. After this,

up the renegado, Jacob, to the conquerors.
up the renegade, Jacob, to the conquerors.

cruizing on the coast of Crim Tartary. The Ottoman
cruising on the coast of Crim Tartary. The Ottoman

Marshal Sheremeto, the general Gordons and Schein,
Marshal Sheremeto, the generals Gordon and Schein,

Accordingly, in the month of March 1677, he sent
Accordingly, in the month of March 1697, he sent

by king Willian with a spectacle worthy such a
by king William with a spectacle worthy such a

is signed, and they cad no longer go from their
is signed, and they can no longer go from their

This is speaking like the high-priest of depotism.
This is speaking like the high-priest of despotism.

he invited all the boyards, and principa lladies
he invited all the boyards, and principal ladies

gained a pitched battle, againsr an enemy who
gained a pitched battle, against an enemy who

ignorant of the place where these two princes where,
ignorant of the place where these two princes were,

gave up those Zoporavians who had engaged in
gave up those Zaporavians who had engaged in

prisoners. Is has been the custom of the
prisoners. It has been the custom of the

Demetrius Cantemir, was at this time Waiwod of Moldavia.
Demetrius Cantemir was at this time Waiwod of Moldavia.

perish with famine. other memoirs pretend, on
perish with famine. Other memoirs pretend, on

and six thousand six hundred and nine-two
and six thousand six hundred and ninety-two

almost every century: Gustavus Adolphus get possession almost every century: Gustavus Adolphus got possession

took great delight in the ancient Green historians,
took great delight in the ancient Greek historians,

he gave orders that the man, whom he had exmained
he gave orders that the man, whom he had examined

transmitted to the latest postesity.
transmitted to the latest posterity.

And here we cannnot forbear recalling to the
And here we cannot forbear recalling to the

Caspian Sea, in the neigbourhood of Daghestan,
Caspian Sea, in the neighbourhood of Daghestan,

head of James II. in London, as he had before
head of James III. in London, as he had before

not been attested by a a public minister, who was
not been attested by a public minister, who was

Gods’s assistance, we owe to our labour, and those of our
God’s assistance, we owe to our labour, and those of our

of the country, and his ill-behaviour to his wife.’
of the country, and his ill-behaviour to his wife.

us word, that he did rufuse to admit them; but that the us word, that he did refuse to admit them; but that the

materials for reparing this great structure, which
materials for repairing this great structure, which

who, was to have Stanislaus again for her king.
who was to have Stanislaus again for her king.

of renouncing arbitary government. Charles
of renouncing arbitrary government. Charles

in this situation during the whole of the pear 1719.
in this situation during the whole of the year 1719.

them on his throne, and to defend him powerfully, toge-
them on his throne, and to defend him powerfully, together