ONE thousand years ago, Russia was inhabited by disunited, Slavonic tribes, who were frequently at war with each other. Then Scandinavian tribes were called in, and the Russian nation grew from the two centres of Novgorod and KÍef. Christianity was introduced from Constantinople. Trade had been commenced with the west of Europe, when the whole country was over-run by the Mongols and Tartars, and the people were obliged to submit to their yoke. The country had been divided into various Russian states, which were not ruled directly by the Mongols, but became vassals. These states were each governed by its own prince, who were all subject to Tartary. One state after another was at length swallowed up by the Grand Duchy of Moscow, and the autocracy was established; which, after freeing Russia from the Mongol yoke, reached its highest development, under IvÁn the Terrible, in 1533. The death of IvÁn gave a blow to autocracy, and brought the nobility into power. In 1598, nearly the whole of the Russian people were reduced to serfdom, which was an institution then first legally established. Then came a period, called the Troublous Time, when pretender vied with pretender, and the son of the king of Poland was crowned Czar of Moscow. Finally, the Poles were turned out, and young Michael RomÁnof was elected Czar. Then followed continual wars with Poland and Sweden. In the reign of Alexis, in 1645-76, an arbitrary government was formed. Henceforth, the Czar managed all matters, both great and small, according to his own will and pleasure. The Czar Alexis was of a gentle and amiable nature, and was called by his subjects, “The most Debonnair.” But his good qualities, in the end, rendered him one of the worst sovereigns of Russia; for he was entirely in the hands of wicked men, who, as his favorites, exercised all the power, and, in reality, governed the country.

Then arose the dissent in the Russian Church. The Patriarch, Nikon, undertook the correction of all the printed and manuscript copies of the liturgy; and by a decree of an Ecclesiastical Council, the corrected books were ordered to be the only ones used, and the command was given that all others should be destroyed. This measure excited the greatest hostility. It seems strange that passions should be roused, and people be found willing to suffer martyrdom, for such seemingly unimportant questions,—as to whether the name of Jesus should be pronounced, “Isus,” or “Yisus”; whether, in a certain portion of the morning service, the word “Hallelujah” should be repeated twice or thrice; and whether the sign of the cross should be made with the two fore-fingers extended, or with the fore-fingers and the thumb, as denoting the Trinity. But such was the case; and so great was the commotion, that arms were resorted to by the Court, at Moscow, to enforce these innovations; and some of the most obstinate opposers were even executed. In the east of Russia, the inhabitants of whole villages shut themselves up in their houses, and setting fire to them, perished in the flames, rather than accept a new, and what they called a diabolical, religion. The government was at length successful, however, and revised service-books were introduced into the churches.

At the present day, nearly one-half of the Russians belong in spirit, if not openly, to the Dissenters; and the reconciliation between them and the official church has only been accomplished by relaxing the rigor of the laws of persecution. During the reign of Alexis, the father of Peter the Great, much importance was attached to the length and fulness of the Czar’s title. An accidental omission of a single word or letter from this long and cumbrous official title was considered an act of personal disrespect to the prince, almost equal to high treason, and was punished far more severely than many terrible crimes. The shortest title of the Czar that could possibly be used, and which it was necessary to repeat every time that the Czar’s name was mentioned in document, petition, or discourse, was “The Great Lord Czar and Grand Duke Alexis MichÁilovitch, of all Great and Little and White Russia Autocrat.” The complete title contained one hundred and twenty-three words, which we have not space to give. Alexis, having lost his first wife, in 1669, married for his second wife Natalia NarÝshkin, who was a ward of MatvÉief, the chief minister of the Czar. Their meeting was in this manner: One evening, when the Czar was at MatvÉief’s house, the wife and pretty ward of the prime minister came into the room, bringing the usual refreshments of cups of vodka, the caviare, and smoked fish, which are eaten by the Russians before dinner or supper. The widowed Czar was struck by the pretty face of the tall, shapely, black-eyed girl, and, on going away, said to MatvÉief that he would find a bridegroom for his pretty ward. It was the custom, when the Czar was in want of a bride, for all the Russian maidens, of suitable position and beauty, to assemble at the palace on a certain day, that a bride might be chosen from their number for the prince. Word was now sent to Natalia NarÝshkin to appear with the other maidens, and it was soon reported that she was the chosen bride. The daughters of the Czar objected to so young a step-mother; but, in spite of opposition, both political and from his family, Alexis was married to Natalia, on the 1st of February, 1671. The Czar had several daughters of his first wife still living, and two sons, Theodore, who was very infirm and sickly, and John, or IvÁn, who was almost blind, and had a defect of speech, and was nearly an idiot. But his favorite child was Peter, the son of his second wife, Natalia, who was born June 9, 1672. The birth of Peter was hailed with great joy, and Alexis ordered a most splendid ceremonial in honor of the event. Then came the christening. The ceremony was performed at the Cathedral of the Annunciation; and the infant Peter was borne to the church in a cradle placed on wheels, while the priest most venerated for his sanctity sprinkled the path with holy water. The next day after the christening the feast occurred. The expense and account books, which have been preserved, show that on this occasion the tables were loaded with large pieces of sugar-work, representing eagles, swans, and other birds, larger than life; also representations of the Muscovite arms and a model of the KrÉmlin, the palace of the Czar, and also a large fortress with cannon. One of the first ceremonies after the birth of a Russian prince was what was called “taking his measure.” The measure of Peter was taken on the third day after his birth, and was performed in this manner: a board of either cypress or linden-wood was cut the exact length and breadth of the child, which in his case was nineteen and a quarter inches long and five and a quarter inches broad. Upon this board a picture, representing the Holy Trinity, together with the Apostle Peter, was painted by a famous artist. This birth-measure of Peter was carefully preserved, and now hangs over his tomb in the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, in the fortress at St. Petersburg. A nurse and governess were then selected for the infant Peter; and he had a special staff of dwarfs who should be his companions and servants. The infant prince had his own apartments, some of which were hung with leather, stamped with silver, and others with fine red cloth; while the furniture was covered with crimson, embroidered with blue and yellow, and the walls and ceilings were decorated with paintings.

The curious books of accounts enumerate some of the articles ordered for him in the first years of his childhood. Among them were “cradles covered with gold-embroidered Turkish velvet; sheets and pillows of white silk; coverlets of gold and silver stuffs; coats, caps, stockings, and shoes of velvet, silk, and satin, embroidered with gold and pearls; buttons and tassels of pearls and emeralds; a chest for his clothes, covered with dark blue velvet, ornamented with mother-of-pearl; and a miniature carriage, drawn by ponies, in which he was taken out to drive. Among his toys were musical instruments of various kinds, and all sorts of military equipments.” Peter grew rapidly. He was able to walk when six months old. Being the pet of his parents, he accompanied them in all their excursions and visits. When he was three years of age, he was presented with a small carriage drawn by four ponies, in which he was driven by the court dwarfs, and he began to take part in the public processions of the court. One scene is thus described: “Immediately after the carriage of the Czar, there appeared from another gate of the palace the carriage of the Czarina. In front went the chamberlains with two hundred runners, after which twelve large snow-white horses, covered with silk housings, drew the Czarina. Then followed the small carriage of the youngest prince, all glittering with gold, drawn by four dwarf ponies. At the side of it rode four dwarfs on ponies, and another one behind.” The presentation of Peter at court is thus described:—

“The door on one side suddenly opened, and Peter, three years old, a curly-headed boy, was seen for a moment, holding his mother’s hand, and looking at the reception.”

At this time, there were a dozen princesses living at the palace,—the sisters and the aunts and the six daughters of the Czar Alexis. All were unmarried. They were forbidden to marry any below their own rank; and since the Tartar invasion, only two attempts had been made to marry a Russian princess to a foreigner. None of these princesses, except Sophia, who had shared the lessons of her brother Theodore, had more than the rudiments of an education. Most of the princesses were disposed of by placing them in convents. Natalia, the mother of Peter, having been brought up by a Scotchwoman, had seen more of society than the other royal ladies; and she was allowed a greater degree of freedom than had been vouchsafed to her predecessors, who had been rigidly secluded within their own apartments.

In 1676, the Czar Alexis died, and the throne descended to his eldest son, Theodore. It was the custom in Russia for the relations of the Czar’s wife to have great power at court; and when Theodore came to the throne, the MiloslÁvsky family, who were his mother’s relations, assumed great power, while the family of Peter’s mother, the Czarina Natalia, lost their influence for the time.

Both Theodore and IvÁn were feeble and sickly children, while Peter was strong and robust. But the law of descent was inexorable, and on the death of Alexis, Theodore became Czar. As he was only fourteen years of age, the administration of the government was left to the ministers of state. Now his sister, the Princess Sophia, who was very ambitious, formed schemes for getting the power into her own hands. She therefore so devoted herself to the care of Theodore, who was sick most of the time, that she gained complete ascendency over him; and she met all the courtiers, who came to visit the sick Czar, with such affable manners, and showed such intelligence, that she won a strong party of the nobles over to her support. There was in Russia, at this time, a very powerful body of troops, which had been organized by the emperors as an imperial guard. These troops were called the Streltsi. The Princess Sophia paid great attention to the officers of these guards, and thus gained their good-will. Theodore soon after died, and named Peter as his successor, passing over his brother IvÁn, as his many infirmities rendered it impossible for him to reign. It is probable that it was through the influence of some of the nobles who were opposed to Sophia, that Theodore was induced to name Peter as his successor. Peter, although but ten years of age, was proclaimed emperor by the nobles, immediately after Theodore’s death. Sophia now determined to resist the transfer of the supreme power to Peter. She secretly engaged the Streltsi, or guards, on her side. She caused a report to be spread, that the late emperor had been poisoned, and that the NarÝshkins had murdered the Czarewitz IvÁn, and that the NarÝshkins wished to kill all the royal family. Thus were the relations of the Czarina Natalia, the mother of Peter, accused of desiring the death of all the children of the first wife of Alexis, that Peter might gain the throne. Such was the falsehood that the Princess Sophia is said to have originated in order to secure the power. The cry then arose, “To arms! Punish the traitors! To the KrÉmlin! Save the Czar!” A general alarm was sounded. The Streltsi, fully armed, advanced from all sides towards the KrÉmlin, and surrounded the palace, demanding the Czarewitz IvÁn. The Czarina Natalia was advised to go out on the red staircase with the Czar Peter and the Czarewitz IvÁn, that the Streltsi might be convinced of the falsity of the rumor. Trembling with terror, Natalia took by the hand her son and stepson, and accompanied by the nobles, went out upon the red staircase. “Here is the Czar Peter and the Czarewitz IvÁn!” cried the nobles, to the mob below. “There are no traitors in the royal family!” The Streltsi placed ladders against the rails, and some of them climbed up to the platform where the little Czar stood. Peter looked at them without blanching, or showing any signs of fear. But even this did not quiet the disturbance, and the Streltsi burst into the palace. Natalia took Peter and fled for safety to the monastery of the Trinity. The soldiers pursued her even into the sanctuary, and to the foot of the altar; but there the sacredness of the spot arrested their vengeance, and they left their victims with sullen oaths. In the meantime, the commotion in the city continued for several days, and the brother of the Empress Natalia, and others of her friends, were slain. At last a compromise was effected, and it was agreed that IvÁn should be proclaimed Czar in conjunction with his brother Peter, and that the Princess Sophia should be regent. Sophia, knowing that IvÁn, the poor idiot, would be but a tool in her hands, endeavored in every way possible to prevent her half-brother Peter from becoming so intelligent and energetic that he would take the power away from her. She therefore caused his teacher to be dismissed, and commenced to carry out her plan to ruin the bright and talented boy, by taking away from him all restraint, and indulging him in every pleasure and whim. Peter was now established in a household of his own, at a palace in a small village some distance from Moscow, and Sophia selected fifty boys to live with him as playmates. These boys were provided with every possible means of indulgence, subject to little restraint. It was the intention of Sophia that they should do just as they chose, so that they would all grow up idle, vicious, and good-for-nothing; and she had also the hope that Peter might so impair his health as to bring him to an early grave.

But Peter had already been too well instructed, or possessed too much native good sense, to fall into this snare, and instead of giving up his studies, he even contrived to turn his companions into scholars also. He organized a kind of military school, where they practised the evolutions and discipline necessary in a camp. He caused himself to be taught to drum, so that he could execute all the signals used in camp and on the battle-field. He studied fortification, and set the boys to work with him to construct a battery in a regular and scientific manner. He learned the use of tools, and the wheelbarrow he used in making the fortification was one he made himself.

As he grew older, he continued to introduce higher branches of military art into the school, and he adopted the uniforms and equipments for the pupils, such as were used in the military schools of other nations of Europe. The result was, that when he was eighteen years of age, and the time came for him to leave the place, the institution had become a well-organized and well-appointed military school, and it continued in successful operation for a long time afterwards. So this wicked plan of the ambitious Sophia had completely failed. The energy and talent that Peter had displayed caused many of the leading nobles to attach themselves to his cause, by which means he was finally enabled to depose Sophia from her regency, and to take the power into his own hands. But before this took place, we must note a still more wicked and evil design of the ambitious princess.

The party of nobles who now espoused Peter’s cause thought it expedient that he should marry, and the councillors accordingly chose for his wife, Eudoxia LopÚkhin, a young lady of noble birth. The Princess Sophia did all in her power to prevent this match, but she was unsuccessful, and the marriage took place in February, 1689. It was thought that a good stay-at-home wife would be likely to keep him from taking his long excursions for military manoeuvres, and for ship-building, of which he was so fond. But he had scarcely been married two months before he started off again for his boat-building on Lake PlestchÉief. Here he immediately set to work with his carpenters to complete the boats, and he wrote to his mother as follows:—

“To my most beloved and, while bodily life endures, my dearest little mother, Lady Tsaritsa and Grand Duchess Natalia KirÍlovna. Thy little son, now here at work. PetrÚshka, I ask thy blessing, and desire to hear about thy health; and we, through thy prayers, are all well, and the lake is all got clear from the ice to-day, and all the boats, except the big ship, are finished, only we are waiting for ropes; and therefore I beg your kindness that these ropes, seven hundred fathoms long, be sent from the artillery department without delaying, for the work is waiting for them, and our sojourn here is being prolonged.”

And again he writes:—

“Hey! I wish to hear about thy health, and beg thy blessing. We are all well, and about the boats, I say again that they are mighty good, and TÍkhon NikÍtitch will tell you about all this himself. Thy unworthy Petrus.”

Peter with his young wife resided in a country palace a few miles from Moscow. This place was called Obrogensko. Meanwhile, the Russian government had been engaged in the Crimean War.

The Poles, having become involved in a war with the Turks, proposed to the Russians, or Muscovites as they were often called, that they should aid them in an attempt to conquer the Crimea. In this war occurred the incident relating to the famous Mazeppa, whose frightful ride through the tangled thickets of a wild country, bound naked to an untamed horse, was so graphically described by the poet Byron. Mazeppa was a Polish gentleman, and having offended a Polish nobleman, he was thus cruelly punished by his enemy. Some Cossack peasants rescued the poor Mazeppa from his terrible position, and he afterwards became a chieftain amongst them. He distinguished himself in these campaigns in the Crimean war, fought by the Muscovites against the Turks and Tartars during the regency of the Princess Sophia. This war was not successful, and Prince GolÍtsyn, who led the Russian forces, was obliged to retreat; but fearing to have the state of the case known, he sent word to Moscow that he had been successful, and was received by Sophia upon his return with great honors. But the young Peter, who had been studying military tactics, was so displeased and disgusted with the military operations of GolÍtsyn that, when that general was received by Sophia at Moscow with great state, the rewards could not then be read, as Peter had refused to sign them. He, however, was afterwards persuaded to grant them. But this unfortunate campaign of GolÍtsyn’s was the turning point in the struggle between the aristocratic party which espoused the side of Peter, and the government of Sophia. Now there was formed a dark and wicked plot, and some historians accuse Sophia of being a party to it, if she did not even propose it. This was the assassination of the young Czar Peter.

The commander of the Streltsi selected a band of six hundred of the imperial guards to go with him to Obrogensko. Their plan was to seize Peter at night while in his bed. This plot was, however, frustrated by two of the soldiers who revealed it to Peter. He could not at first believe that Sophia would resort to such a terrible crime, and messengers were sent to the city to learn the truth of the matter. These messengers met the imperial guards when they had gone half-way to Moscow; and, concealing themselves by the wayside until the troops had passed, they hastened back by a shorter route to inform Peter of his impending danger. Peter had just time to flee with his wife and mother to the monastery of the Trinity, when the Streltsi reached his palace, and sought him in vain. They returned, discomfited and alarmed, to the Princess Sophia, and reported that Peter had escaped. From his retreat in the monastery, Peter sent a message to Sophia, charging her with having sent the imperial guards to take his life. The princess, greatly alarmed, denied her guilt. The excitement increased. The leading nobles flocked to the monastery to declare their adherence to Peter. Sophia endeavored to keep the Streltsi upon her side, but they at last went over to Peter, and he demanded that the leader of the band who attempted his assassination should be delivered into his hands. This Sophia was obliged to do; and the man was put to the torture, and revealed the plot. He said that the design had been to kill Peter himself, his mother, and several other near relations. The Princess Sophia was accused of being the originator of the plot, and many other persons were also implicated, including Prince GolÍtsyn, the commander of the Russian forces in the Crimean War. The leader of the band of guards who thus attempted the life of Peter was beheaded, Prince GolÍtsyn and his family were banished to Siberia, and many others implicated were put to death, imprisoned for life, or banished. Thus ended this conspiracy against the young Czar Peter. The Princess Sophia was shut up in a convent, where she was imprisoned for fifteen years, when she died. IvÁn, the brother-Czar with Peter, was too feeble and inefficient to take any part in the government, and he died about seven years after this time. The aristocratic party now filled the offices of state, and administered the government.

As Peter was yet so young, he left everything in the hands of his counsellors, and for several years took merely a formal part in the administration. He employed himself in military exercises and boat-building, and in the indulgence of his mechanical tastes. As Peter grew older, and took more direction of the affairs of the government, he made choice of two very able men, whom he afterwards raised to positions of great honor. The name of one of these statesmen was Le Fort, and the other was MenshikÓf. Le Fort was the son of a merchant of Geneva. He had from childhood evinced a strong desire to be a soldier; but his father preferred that he should become a merchant, and he was taken into the counting-house of one of the great merchants of Amsterdam. This merchant was constantly sending vessels to different parts of the world, and Le Fort was sent in charge of the cargo of one vessel to Copenhagen. At this time, an ambassador was to be sent from Denmark to Russia; and, as Le Fort knew something of the Russian language, he secured the place of interpreter in the suite of the ambassador, and went with him to Moscow. On one occasion, when the Czar Peter was dining at the house of the ambassador, he noticed Le Fort, and observed that he spoke the Russian language remarkably for a foreigner. He was at once interested in him, and soon secured Le Fort as his own interpreter, as he found that he also spoke other languages. Le Fort became a great favorite of the emperor’s, and continued in his service until his death. The first improvement which Le Fort introduced into Russia related to the dress and equipment of the troops. The imperial guards had been accustomed to wear an old-fashioned Russian uniform, consisting of a long outer coat or gown, which much impeded their movements. In conversing with the Czar, Le Fort suggested that the dress of the soldiers of the western nations was more convenient for military use. Peter at once desired to see it; and Le Fort immediately repaired to the tailor of the Danish ambassador, and ordered him to make two military suits in the style worn by the royal guards at Copenhagen, one for an officer and the other for a soldier in the ranks. Peter was so pleased with these suits, when they were shown to him, that he said he should like to have a company of guards dressed and equipped in that manner, and drilled according to the western style. Le Fort undertook the task of organizing and equipping such a band. When this company was completed, and clothed in the new uniform, and had been properly drilled, Le Fort placed himself at their head, and marched them, with drums beating and colors flying, before the palace gates. The Czar came to the window to see them pass, and was so pleased that he said he would join the company himself. He accordingly ordered a dress to be made for his own use, and he took his place in the ranks, and drilled as a common soldier. From this beginning, the entire imperial army was reformed. The Czar now proposed to Le Fort to make arrangements for bringing into the country a great number of mechanics and artisans from Denmark, Germany, France, and other European countries, in order that their improved methods might be introduced into Russia. To accomplish this end, the tariff of duties on the products and manufactures of foreign countries was greatly reduced. This increased the importation of goods from foreign countries, and promoted the intercourse of the Russians with foreign merchants, manufacturers, and artisans, and accustomed the people to a better style of living by improving their dress, furniture, and equipages. Also, the new system greatly increased the revenues of the empire. Among other reforms instituted by Peter, was that of the dress of his people. The Russians had been accustomed to wear long gowns, similar to those worn now in Oriental countries. As this costume was inconvenient for soldiers, workmen, and artisans, Peter required it to be changed. This description is given of one strange style of dress among the ancient Russian ladies:—

“They wore a sort of dress, of which the sleeves were ten or twelve yards long. These sleeves were made very full, and were drawn up upon the arm, in a sort of puff; it being the fashion to have as great a length of sleeve as could possibly be crowded on, between the shoulder and the wrist. The customary salutation between ladies and gentlemen in society, when this dress was in fashion, was performed through the intervention of the sleeves. On the approach of the gentleman, the lady, by a sudden and dexterous motion of her arm, would throw off the end of her sleeve to him. The sleeve, being so very long, could be thrown in this way half across the room. The gentleman would take the end of the sleeve which represented, we are to suppose, the hand of the lady, and, after kissing and saluting it in a most respectful manner, he would resign it, and the lady would draw it back again upon her arm.”

Peter required the people to change this dress, and he sent patterns of the coats worn in Western Europe, to all parts of the country. He, however, met with a good deal of difficulty in inducing the people to follow these new fashions, especially regarding the shaving of their mustaches and beards. He thereupon assessed a tax upon beards, requiring every gentleman who wore one to pay a hundred rubles a year; and if any peasant entered the city wearing a beard, he was stopped at the gates, and rerequired to pay a fine of a penny. The officers of the customs, who were stationed at the gates of the towns, were ordered to stop every man who wore a long dress, and compel him to pay a fine of fifty cents, or else kneel down, and have all the part of his coat which lay upon the ground cut off with a pair of big shears. The Czar first set an example also, of rapid motion through the streets. It had been the custom for all the nobles to move about attended by a vast retinue; and as it was considered more stately to move slowly, and as all those lower in rank must stand, with uncovered heads, in the presence of their masters, the streets were often blocked in the snow and rain by these vast cavalcades of royalty; and crowds were obliged to stand in the cold and wet, with bare heads exposed to the inclemency of the weather. Peter the Great was attended, therefore, only by a few persons, when going out in carriage or sleigh, and his coachman was ordered to drive at a quick pace; and he limited the attendants of his nobles to a certain number. This story is told of the manner in which the Czar’s attention was attracted to young MenshikÓf, who became one of his chief officers. Alexander MenshikÓf was the son of a laboring man, in the service of a monastery, on the banks of the Volga. Young MenshikÓf afterwards went to Moscow, and was there employed in a pastry-cook’s shop. It was his part of the work to go out in the streets and sell pies and cakes. In order to attract customers, he often sang songs. At one time Peter was passing, and stopped to listen to the songs of the young pastry-boy. Finally, the Czar asked him what he would take for his whole stock of cakes and pies, basket and all. The boy promptly stated the sum he would take for his wares, but as for the basket, as it belonged to his master, he could not sell it; but he dryly added: “Still, everything belongs to Your Majesty, and Your Majesty has, therefore, only to give me the command, and I shall deliver it up to you.”

This reply so pleased the Czar, that he took the boy into his service. When Peter the Great first became the sole ruler of Russia, after the downfall of Sophia, he was about twenty years of age. His word was law. Life and death hung upon his will. His dominions extended so far, that, when he wished to send an ambassador to one of his neighbors—the emperor of China—it took the messenger more than eighteen months of constant travelling to go from the capital to the frontier. As to Peter’s character, he was talented, ambitious, energetic, and resolute; but he was also quick-tempered, imperious, merciless, towards his enemies, and possessed an indomitable will. Peter thus describes his first trial of the open sea:—

“For some years I had the fill of my desires on Lake PereyaslÁvl, but finally it grew too narrow for me. I then went to the KÚbensky Lake, but that was too shallow. I then decided to see the open sea, and began often to beg the permission of my mother to go to Archangel. She forbade me such a dangerous journey, but, seeing my great desire, and my unchangeable longing, allowed it, in spite of herself.”

So, in 1693, Peter set out from Moscow, with a suite of a hundred persons, to go to Archangel. Having arrived there, the smell of the salt water was too inviting to be resisted; and Peter put out to sea on a little yacht, called St. Peter, which had been built for him. His mother, who had exacted a promise that he would not go to sea, hearing that he had gone on a sea journey, was much alarmed, and wrote to him, urging his return. She even had a letter written to him, in the name of his little son, Alexis, then three years old, begging him to come back. To this he replied:—

“By thy letter I see, oh! oh! that thou hast been mightily grieved, and why? Why dost thou trouble thyself about me? Thou hast deigned to write that thou hast given me into the care of the Virgin. When thou hast such a guardian for me, why dost thou grieve?”

While at Archangel, besides the time which Peter gave to the study of commerce and ship-building, he found leisure for inspecting various industries and for practising both at the forge and at the lathe. A chandelier made of walrus teeth, turned by him, hangs now over his tomb in the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, at St. Petersburg; and carved work in bone and wood, and iron bars forged by him at this time, are still preserved. Besides the balls and dinners which he attended at Archangel, to which he had also been much given at Moscow, he frequently attended a neighboring church, where he himself read the Epistle, sang with the choir, and made great friends with the archbishop. In 1694 his mother Natalia died, and soon he repudiated his wife Eudoxia and shut her up in a convent, where he kept her confined all the rest of her life. Peter had only married this wife to please his mother and his nobles, and having never loved her, soon tired of her. She had been brought up in the old-fashioned Russian way, and was very ignorant; but as she appeared to love him devotedly, his treatment of her was wicked and cruel, and in his after domestic life there is much to condemn. Although he did much for the advancement of Russia, and his public enterprise and achievements are greatly to be admired, in character he was brutal and selfish, and his tastes were low and vicious. He was fond of drunken carousals, and sank the dignity of his rank in his associations with inferior and profligate companions. As a man, there is little to admire in him, but as a public benefactor of his country, he is greatly to be commended. As an artisan, statesman, and general, he introduced wise and good reforms into his realms, and raised his people from semi-barbarism to rank with the other civilized nations of Europe.

Though he was not a scholar, he encouraged learning. There was, about this time, a second attempt made to assassinate the Czar. As Peter was often accustomed to attend conflagrations in Moscow, these conspirators formed the plan of setting fire to some building near the royal palace, and when the emperor, as was his wont, should come out to help extinguish the flames, he was to be assassinated. They then determined to go to the convent where Sophia was confined, release her, and proclaim her empress. This plot was, however, revealed to the Czar, and he thereupon ordered a small body of men to attend him, and he went at once to the houses of the various conspirators and arrested them. They were afterwards executed in a most barbarous manner. The criminals were brought out one by one. First their arms were cut off, then their legs, and finally their heads. The amputated limbs and heads were then hung upon a column in the market-place in Moscow, where they were left as a bloody warning to others, as long as the weather remained cold enough to keep them frozen. Thus ended the second conspiracy against the life of Peter the Great. In 1695 the Czar, in conjunction with other European powers, declared war again against the Turks and Tartars. Peter acquired great renown throughout Europe for his successful siege against Azof, to obtain which was one of the chief objects of the campaign. This success also increased Peter’s interest in the building of ships. He determined to establish a large fleet on the Black Sea, and in order to ascertain the best modes of ship-building, Peter resolved to make a journey to Western Europe.

That he might not be burdened by fÊtes and ceremonies, he adopted a disguise. Macaulay said of this journey, “It is an epoch in the history, not only of his own country, but of ours and of the world.”

Various reasons have been given by different writers for this step of the Czar. Pleyer, the secret Austrian agent, wrote to the Emperor Leopold that the whole embassy was “merely a cloak for the freedom sought by the Czar, to get out of his own country and divert himself a little.” A document in the archives at Vienna states that the “cause of the journey was a vow made by Peter, when in danger on the White Sea, to make a pilgrimage to the tombs of the apostles St. Peter and St. Paul at Rome.” Voltaire said, “He resolved to absent himself for some years from his dominions, in order to learn how better to govern them.” Napoleon said, “He left his country to deliver himself for a while from the crown, so as to learn ordinary life, and remount by degrees to greatness.” But later writers say, “Peter went abroad, not to fulfil a vow, not to amuse himself, not to become more civilized, not to learn the art of government, but simply to become a good shipwright.”

His mind was filled with the idea of creating a navy on the Black Sea, and his tastes had always been mechanical. In order to give the Czar greater freedom of action, the purpose of his journey was concealed by means of a great embassy, which should visit the chief countries of western Europe. In the suite of the ambassadors were twenty nobles and thirty-five called volunteers, who were going for the study of ship-building. Among these was the Czar himself. These volunteers were chiefly young men who had been comrades of Peter in his play-regiments and boat-building. During the absence of the Czar the government was intrusted to a regency of three persons, the uncle of the Czar and two princes. We have not space to describe this journey in full, and can only mention certain incidents. The Czar is thus described by the electress of Hannover and her daughter, whom Peter met at KoppenbrÜgge:—

“My mother and I began to pay him our compliments, but he made Mr. Le Fort reply for him, for he seemed shy, hid his face in his hands, and said, ‘Ich kann nicht sprechen.’ But we tamed him a little, and then he sat down at the table between my mother and myself, and each of us talked to him in turn. Sometimes he replied with promptitude, at others, he made two interpreters talk, and assuredly he said nothing that was not to the point on all subjects that were suggested. As to his grimaces, I imagined them worse than I found them, and some are not in his power to correct. One can see also that he has had no one to teach him how to eat properly, but he has a natural unconstrained air which pleases me.”

Her mother also wrote: “The Czar is very tall, his features are fine, and his figure very noble. He has great vivacity of mind, and a ready and just repartee. But, with all the advantages with which nature has endowed him, it could be wished that his manners were a little less rustic. I asked him if he liked hunting. He replied that his father had been very fond of it, but that he himself, from his earliest youth, had had a real passion for navigation and for fireworks. He told us that he worked himself in building ships, showed us his hands, and made us touch the callous places that had been made by work. He has quite the manners of his country. If he had received a better education, he would be an accomplished man, for he has many good qualities, and an infinite amount of native wit.”

The Czar proceeded to Holland, and in the little town of Saardam, not far from Amsterdam, may still be seen the shop which Peter occupied while there. The historians say, he entered himself as a common ship-carpenter, at Amsterdam, and worked for several months among the other workmen, wearing the same dress they wore. In moments of rest, the Czar, sitting down on a log, with his hatchet between his knees, was willing to talk to any one who addressed him simply as carpenter Peter, but turned away without answering if called Sire or Your Majesty. Peter’s curiosity was insatiable. He visited workshops, factories, cabinets of coins, anatomical museums, botanical gardens, hospitals, theatres, and numerous other places; and inquired about everything he saw, until he was recognized by his usual questions, “What is that for? How does that work? That will I see.” He made himself acquainted with Dutch home and family life. Every market day he went to the Botermarkt, mingled with the people, and studied their trades.

He took lessons from a travelling dentist, and experimented on his servants. He mended his own clothes, and learned enough of cobbling to make himself a pair of slippers. He visited Protestant churches, and did not forget the beer-houses. The frigate upon which Peter worked so long, was at last launched, and proved a good ship. He had seen some English ships which pleased him so much, that he determined to set out for England, which he did in 1698, leaving his embassy in Holland.

King William of England made Peter a present of an English yacht, with which he was much delighted. Peter spent much of his time in England, looking for suitable persons to employ in arts and mechanics in Russia. He avoided all court pomp and etiquette during this journey, and travelled incognito, as much as possible. He visited also the mint in England, for he was pleased with the excellence of the English coinage, and he designed recoining the Russian money, which he afterwards accomplished, coining copper, silver, and gold to the extent of $18,000,000 in the space of three years, to replace the bits of stamped leather formerly used. At length he returned to Amsterdam, where his embassy awaited him. When Peter the Great was excited by anger or emotion, the ugly aspect of his countenance and demeanor was greatly aggravated by a nervous affection of the head and face, which attacked him, particularly when he was in a passion, and which produced convulsive twitches of the muscles, that drew his head by jerks to one side, and distorted his face in a manner dreadful to behold. It was said that this disorder was first induced in his childhood, by some one of the terrible frights through which he passed. This distortion, together with the coarse and savage language he employed when in a passion, made him appear at times more like some ugly monster of fiction than like a man. He disliked court etiquette, and avoided pompous ceremonies. Of course there was much curiosity to see him in the various cities he visited, but he generally avoided the crowds; and when his splendid embassy entered a city in royal state, and the people collected in vast numbers to behold the famous Czar, while they were straining their eyes, and peering into every carriage of the royal procession in hopes of seeing him, Peter himself would slip into the city by some quiet street, in disguise, and meeting the merchants, with whom he delighted to associate, he would go to some inn and indulge in his pipe and beer, leaving his embassy to represent royalty. At last his disguise was discovered, and then the news was circulated that the Czar could be easily recognized by his great height,—nearly seven feet,—by the twitching of his face, by his gesturing with his right hand, and by a small mole on the right cheek. His appearance is thus described by one who saw him at this time:—

“He is a prince of very great stature, but there is one circumstance which is unpleasant. He has convulsions, sometimes in his eyes, sometimes in his arms, and sometimes in his whole body. He at times turns his eyes so that one can see nothing but the whites. I do not know whence it arises, but we must believe that it is a lack of good breeding. Then he has also movements in the legs, so that he can scarcely keep in one place. He is very well made, and goes about dressed as a sailor, in the highest degree simple, and wishing nothing else than to be on the water.”

But the Cardinal Kollonitz, primate of Hungary, gives a more flattering picture of Peter the Great:—

“The Czar is a youth of from twenty-eight to thirty years of age, is tall, of an olive complexion, rather stout than thin, in aspect between proud and grave, and with a lively countenance. His left eye, as well as his left arm and leg, were injured by the poison given him during the life of his brother; but there remain now only a fixed and fascinated look in his eye, and a constant movement of his arm and leg, to hide which, he accompanies this forced motion with continual movements of his entire body, which, by many people in the countries which he has visited, has been attributed to natural causes, but really it is artificial. His wit is lively and ready; his manners rather civil than barbarous, the journey he has made having improved him, and the difference from the beginning of his travels and the present time being visible, although his native roughness may still be seen in him; but it is chiefly noticeable in his followers, whom he holds in check with great severity. He has a knowledge of geography and history, and, what is most to be noticed, he desires to know these subjects better; but his strongest inclination is for maritime affairs, at which he himself works mechanically, as he did in Holland; and this work, according to many people who have to do with him, is indispensable to divert the effects of the poison, which still very much troubles him. In person and in aspect, as well as in his manners, there is nothing which would distinguish him or declare him to be a prince.”

During his visit to Paris, the Czar often astonished the polite Parisians. “On one occasion he went with the duke of Orleans to the opera, where he sat on the front bench of the large box. During the performance the Czar asked if he could not have some beer. A large goblet on a saucer was immediately brought. The regent rose, took it, and presented it to the Czar, who, with a smile and bow of politeness, took the goblet without any ceremony, drank, and put it back on the saucer, which the regent kept holding. The duke then took a plate with a napkin, which he presented to the Czar, who, without rising, made use of it, at which scene the audience seemed astonished.”

Notwithstanding his rough manners, the history, character, and achievements of the Czar, together with his exact knowledge in so many directions, and his interest in everything that was scientific and technical, made a deep impression upon those who met him. St. Simon thus describes him: “He was a very tall man, well made, not too stout, with a roundish face, a high forehead, and fine eyebrows, a short nose—but not too short—large at the end; his lips were rather thick, his complexion a ruddy brown; fine black eyes, large, lively, piercing, and well apart; a majestic and gracious look when he wished, otherwise severe and stern, with a twitching which did not often return, but which disturbed his look and his whole expression, and inspired fear. That lasted but a moment, accompanied by a wild and terrible look, and passed away as quickly. His whole air showed his intellect, his reflection, and his greatness, and did not lack a certain grace. He wore only a linen collar, a round brown peruke without powder, which did not touch his shoulders; a brown, tight-fitting coat, plain, with gold buttons; a waistcoat, breeches, stockings, no gloves nor cuffs; the star of his order on his coat, and the ribbon underneath, his coat often quite unbuttoned; his hat on a table, and never on his head even out of doors. With all this simplicity, and whatever bad carriage or company he might be, one could not fail to perceive the air of greatness that was natural to him.”

While at Vienna, Peter learned of another revolt of the Streltsi, and thereupon hastened back to Moscow to put down the insurrection. The rebellion was soon quelled; but the tortures and executions which followed were barbarous. Some were beheaded; some were broken on the wheel, and then left to die in horrible agonies; many were buried alive, their heads only being left above the ground. It is said that Peter took such a savage delight in these punishments that he executed many of the victims with his own hand. At one time, when half intoxicated, at a banquet, he ordered twenty prisoners to be brought in, and between his drinks of brandy cut off their heads himself, being an hour in cutting off the twenty heads.

As Peter thought Sophia was implicated in this revolt, he ordered the arm of the ringleader of the plot to be cut off, and an address which he found, written to Sophia, to be placed in the stiffened hand, and by his order this ghastly relic was fastened to the wall in Sophia’s apartment. When the trials were over, a decree was issued, abolishing the Streltsi; and they were all sent into exile. Peter was now involved in a war with Sweden for the possession of the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. At first, the Swedes were victorious; but in about a year the Czar gained possession of a considerable portion of the Baltic shore, and he thereupon determined to build a new city there, with the view of making it the naval and commercial capital of his kingdom. This plan was successfully carried out, and the building of the great city of St. Petersburg was one of the most important events in the reign of Peter the Great.

At length, Charles XII., king of Sweden, began to be alarmed at the increasing power of the Czar in that part of the country, and he invaded Russia with an army. The famous battle of Pultowa, by which the invasion of the Swedes was repelled, was fought in 1709; and this was almost the only serious danger from any foreign source which threatened the dominions of Peter the Great during his reign.

Peter, having been previously privately married to Catherine, determined, in 1712, to have a public ceremony. Peter’s first wife had one son, Alexis, who occasioned his father the most serious trouble. Alexis was indolent and most vicious in his habits of life; and so outrageous was his conduct that at last his father caused him to be imprisoned. It was then discovered that Alexis had been planning a revolt, and Peter referred his case to a grand council of civil authorities, and also a convocation of the clergy to determine upon the sentence to be pronounced upon this rebellious son. The council declared that he was worthy of death, and the Czar confirmed the judgment of the council, and a day was appointed on which Alexis was to be arraigned in order that sentence of death might be solemnly pronounced upon him. But before the appointed day arrived, Alexis was attacked with convulsions, caused by his terror; and the Czar visited him in the fortress where he was dying.

The dying prince besought forgiveness of his father with such prayers and tears that Peter and his ministers were overcome with emotion. The Czar gave Alexis his forgiveness and his blessing, and took his leave with tears and lamentations. Soon after, Alexis expired. The funeral rites were performed by the Czar and his family with much solemnity. At the service in the church a funeral sermon was pronounced by the priest from the appropriate text, “O Absalom! my son! my son Absalom!” Thus ended this dreadful tragedy.

The heir to the throne was now the little son of Catherine, Peter Petrowitz. The birth of this son, which occurred about three years before the death of Alexis, was such a delight to Peter the Great that he celebrated the event with public rejoicings. At the baptism of the babe, two kings—those of Denmark and of Prussia—acted as godfathers. The christening was attended with most gorgeous banquets. Among other curious contrivances were two enormous pies,—one served in the room of the gentlemen and the other in that of the ladies. From the ladies’ pie, there stepped out, when it was opened, a young dwarf, very small, and clothed in a fantastic manner. The dwarf brought out with him from the pie some glasses and a bottle of wine, and he walked around the table, drinking to the health of the ladies, who were intensely amused by his droll manners. In the gentlemen’s room the pie was similar, from which a female dwarf stepped forth and performed the same ceremony. Peter the Great was much attached to his wife Catherine, whose romantic life we have not space to describe. Her influence over the Czar was most beneficial.

About a year after the death of Alexis, the little Peter Petrowitz, the idolized son of the Czar, also died. Peter the Great was completely overwhelmed with grief at this new calamity. Even Catherine, who usually had power to soothe his fits of frenzy, anger, or grief, and whose touch would often stop the contortions of his face, could not comfort him now; for the sight of her only reminded him more keenly of his loss. It was feared at this time that grief would kill the Czar; for he shut himself up alone, and would not allow any one to come near him for three days and nights. Peter the Great, however, lived sixteen years after this event. During these last years he continued the reforms in his empire and increased the power and influence of his government among surrounding nations. As both of his sons were dead, he determined to leave the government in the hands of Catherine, and she was crowned empress with most imposing ceremonies. In less than a year after this event, the Czar was attacked with a sudden illness during the ceremonies of rejoicings connected with the betrothal of one of his daughters to a foreign duke. His death took place on the 28th of January, 1725. Another of his daughters having died a short time after her father, their bodies were interred together. The funeral obsequies were so protracted, and were conducted with so much pomp and ceremony, that six weeks elapsed before the remains of Peter the Great were finally committed to the tomb. The fame of Peter the Great differs from that attained by other famous rulers of the world; for it was not consequent upon renowned foreign conquests, but the triumph which Peter achieved was the commencement of a work of internal improvement and reform which now, after a century and a half has passed, is still going on.