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main unknown; but the accounts which were sent of it to court having so disguised the facts, they were not thought deserving of attention, and nothing more was said of the matter. "In the mean time the other Persian prince, named Sabli Khan, had been received at Astrakhan. It was in this town he learned the fate of his brother, and the loss of his treasures, entrusted to the same ship. Reduced to distress, he wrote to the empress, to ask the restitution of his property, an asylum for his person, and vengeance for his unfortunate brother, of whose tragical death he related the particulars. Catharine had yet no need of him, and the partisans of Potemkin were omnipotent. The governor of Astrakhan, the same Paul Potemkin, received orders to keep a watchful eye on the prince, to prevent hiin from coming to Petersburg, and to assign him a trifling pension.

"Among other maxims, from which the Russian government has never departed, must be remarked the following: To keep up clandestine correspondence in the circumjacent countries, there to foment troubles, create factions, and, above all, to attract and gain over traitors and malcontents, in order to make use of them as occasion might require. This is the reason why Sahli Khan was detained against his will at Astrakban.

"Exasperated at the unpunished murder of his brother, and by no 'means satisfied with the manner in which he himself had been treated, he wished, at the expiration of a little time, to return to Persia, either to form a new party, or be reconciled with Mehemet; but he was detained as an instrument that sooner or later might be wanted. An opportunity was waited for, and it presently occurred. Mehemet Khan having sub dued all Persia, and the flight of his brothers having left him master of the banks of the Caspian, and of the adjacent provinces, he at length ap peared in Georgia at the head of a formidable army. Heraclius, bending under the weight of fourscore years, being then summoned to acknowledge him for his sovereign, and to return under the dominion of Persia, of which he was the first vassal, found himself under a strange dilemma." 8. 7—11.

The prince of Georgia was defeated

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and driven from his government, and being a vassal to Catharine, as soon as she heard of the condition of Heraclius, she formed the ambitious design of conquering Persia, and then sent for the Persian prince, who had been neglected so long, loaded him with presents, and treated him as a king soon to be seated on his throne. A vast army was raised, and marched into Persia, but the unhealthiness of the country nearly destroyed it, and the sudden death of Catharine put an end to the design, as Paul altogether disapproved of it, and was by his passion soon hurried into an expedition still more vast and remote, towards France and Italy.

Chap. II. Finances. This chapter states the revenues under Catharine, and the imposts shewn to be clogs on commerce. Assignats are introduced, and soon fall into discredit. Foreign merchants are obliged to pay the duties on their merchandize in cash. The coin is adulterated, but not put in circulation. To remedy the scarcity of specie, an order was issued to melt down the services of plate which Catharine had given to the governors of the chief towns. Each of these consisted of eighty covers, and the smallest bad cost fifty thousand rubles, and those of the large towns double. But upon receiving the plate, it was found too insignificant to produce any adequate supply. It was therefore made into silver armour to encrease the splendour of the appearance of the gendarmes; but the imperial chest being again exhausted, the silver was given to the goldsmiths, who coined it for the price of their labour. Thus ended this financial ope ration. The prodigality of Paul in pulling down old buildings and erecting new ones, at the most exorbitant expence, is next noticed, and the chapter closes with some remarks.

Chap. III. The Kosaks, or Cos sacks.

In this chapter we have the origin of this people, their republics, and difference from the Russians. By the oppression of the Russians they were deprived of their independence and their ancient constitution-dispersed and transplanted into other nations like slaves. They have no pay, and subsist by plunder.-Their principal weapon is a lance, which they carry vertically, but upon meeting an enemy immediately couch it

they have also an indifferent sabre, a brace of pistols, and a carbine, but of these they make little use. Their manner of fighting is described, as also their address and sagacity, and mode of plundering. The chapter concludes with an account of their defeat by the Turks at Ismael, and an observation that they are by no means formidable to the French. N. B. This was written at the time of their marching into Germany.

Chap IV. Expeditions against the French into Italy.

This chapter begins with a description of the policy of Catharine, and her preparations against France, which were suspended by the accession of Paul to the throne, who refused to ratify the treaty concluded with Mr. Pitt, and actually countermanded the orders which the armies had received to march towards France and into Persia. Paul, however, from a natural aversion to the French, the progress of its armies, the solicitations of the British court, and the offers of English gold, soon restored the coalition, and equipped an army to operate against France. The author bere gives an account of the Russian officers and soldiers ; informs us of the complaints made from all quarters, on account of the violences of the Russian army, and in a note relates a circumstance which shews the dispoposition of the officers." Among the great number of extortions committed by the Russians on their march, those which the officers took the liberty of practising at the posthouses of the empire were the more conspicuous; as in Germany the postmasters are themselves rude and imposing towards foreigners, while in Russia they are, perhaps, too much abandoned to the direction of the military, who ill treat them, and especially their postillions, who are generally slaves. Some Russian officers, crossing the Austrian territories, in order to join their army, exasperated at the tardiness with which they were driven, beat a post-master and killed a postillion. On being arrested for this murder, they asked how much a postillion cost in Germany; that they would pay for him, in order that nothing more might be said of the matter." p. 165,

167.

An account is here given of the circumstances of the Russian army, as it respects the pay of the officers and men.

Upon their march into Germany, the former received their pay in paper, which in Poland lost sixty per cent, and in Austria was of no value. "Supposing that it had been regularly counted out to them, it would be utterly impossible for them to subsist on it in Germany, and especially on a march. The allowance of a captain of infantry is not a thousand livres (circa 421. sterling) a year, and the subalterns are paid in proportion. As for the soldiers, they are, as has been seen, fed and clothed, but they receive only about twenty-four livres (twenty shillings) a year in specie." p. 169. "There are in the regiment associations, independent of those of battalions and companies, called artel, which form a sort of common stock, where every recruit, on arriving at his corps, deposits the money that he has remaining, and the value of the clothes he sells on receiving his uniform. The few moveables of a comrade dead or killed likewise fall into it. In time of war the produce. of pillage or booty, which each member brings to it pretty faithfully, still increases this stock, which amounts sometimes to a no inconsiderable sum. It is generally entrusted to old corporals, at the choice of the soldiers, and these treasurers, called artelchiki, have frequently the talent of making the most of these funds, and increasing them. The Russian soldier, being enlisted for life, having no longer any other interest, nor any private inheritance to expect, accustoms himself to place all his hope in this sort of community, from which he frequently derives assistance. On a march, and in all extraordinary wants, recourse is had to the artel, whether for purchasing a horse which draws the baggage, or to procure some provisions when bread runs short, or to refresh himself after some great fatigue, or some scarcity, by a glass of brandy or a piece of bread; for in the provisions distributed to the Russians are included only rye-flour, peeled barley, and salt. With these provisions, generally very ill condi

soldier every month in kind. To each is given his paiok or bushet of flour, his garnitz

*These provisions are distributed to the

or measure of barley, and his little allowance of salt The captain, who makes this distribution to his company, also gains in the measure wherewith to feed his horse and his dogs.

tioned, the soldier himself prepares to his fancy, with po small dexterity, bread, biscuit, or a sort of mess called kascha, which he thinks himself happy in being able to season sometimes with hemp-oil, a bit of candle grease, or an ouion: he does more, with a little fermented flour, or the remains of his biscuit, he makes besides a drink called quass, which he prefers to plain water, but which would appear detestable to whoever was not accustomed to it. This is all the food of the Russian soldier in the field: it does not cost the crown five livres a month for a man, and never is any thing more added to this less than frugal fare." p. 169–171.

be on a very good footing, was not eager to conform to the orders of the emperor, and indulged himself in pleasantry when he received them. This was wounding to the quick Paul I. who gloried in reforming and improving, in his way, his military establishment, and discoursed about the button of a gaiter, and the queue of a soldier, as of things the most important to the glory of his arms. He immediately sent orders to the old general to resign the command, and to quit the army without delay. The Russian soldier, who, like the French, is a songster, had already turned into a song the bon mots of Suvarrof, which contributed not a little to throw ridicule on the new regulations.

"We have said above, that Suvarrof was a barbarian and a buffoon, but he was, perhaps, the fittest general for the genius of the Russians; the soldier loved him, and the officer, though he regarded him as a burlesque character, fought under his orders with confidence. If Paul, in dismissing him, had considered only his natural cruelty, or his folly, real or affected, perhaps the measure would have been applauded; but he appeared to aim at punishing the man devoted to his mother, and the thwarter of his mili tary innovations, which were too abrupt and too ill directed. When old Suvarrof received the order to resign his command, he chose to communicate it himself to his army, which he drew up in order of battle. In front of the line rose a pyramid of drums and cymbals. Dressed as a simple grenadier, but decorated with all his orders, with the portrait of the empress and that of Joseph II. Suvarrof harangued his companions in arms, and bade them a very pathetic farewell. He then stripped himself of his helmet, his coat, his sash, his musket, and all the marks of effective service, which he deposited on the pyramid, in the form of a trophy: Comrades," says he, there will come a time, perhaps, when 'Suvarrof will re-appear among you; he will then resume these spoils

As Suvarrof made a conspicuous figure in the late war, we presume the following account of that general will not be uninteresting to our readers. "At the time of Catharine's decease, Suvarrof, at the height of favour and fame, was at the head of a powerful army, which occupied all the south of Poland, and extended to the shores of the Euxine. Paul had never been partial to this bigoted, restless, volunteering, enterprising general, who was an enthusiastic admirer of Catharine, and her gigantic projects. On his part, Suvarrof, a Russian in the full import of the term, and consequently an enemy to that minute and pedantic German discipline with which his future emperor was so infatuated, had never cultivated his good graces. The corps which he commanded, so far from being remarkable for exact order and rigorous precision in the use of their arms, were almost always at the extreme borders of the empire, employed in fighting, and distinguished themselves only by that sort of disorder which characterises the soldier in the time of war. Paul, however, was afraid of this popular general, who was beloved by the troops; but he at first kept terms with him, and confirmed him in all his commands; he afterwards sent him orders to esta blish the army on another footing, and to carry into execution the new military regulations. Suvarrof, who was attached to the old Russian in-which he leaves to you, and which stitutions, and even to those of Potemkin, well adapted to the national character, with which he was perfectly acquainted; Suvarrof, persuaded that the troops, which had ever been victorious, could not but

'he always wore in his victories.' The soldiers were moved with indig. nation and grief; they murmured and lamented. Suvarrof quitted them in this manner, leaving the command to his lieutenant general.

He retired to a small house, which he had at Mosco; but a man so famous and so popular, whose dismission, after such signal services, caused a general sensation in the empire, gave umbrage to Paul in that capital where he was going to be crowned, and he issued an order for Suvarrof to be sent away from Mosco. A major of the police entered one day into the retreat of the old warrior, and presented to him this order, which banished him to an obscure village. With an air somewhat indifferent, Suvarrof asked how much time was granted him for settling his affairs? Four hours,' replied the officer. 'Oh, this is being overkind!' exclaimed the general; an hour is 'sufficient for Suvarrof.' He immediately put his gold and his jewels into a casket, and went out. A travelling coach was waiting for him at the door. 'Suvarrof going into ex'ile,' said he, has no need of a 'coach; he can repair thither in the 'same equipage that he made use of to repair to the court of Catha'rine, or to the head of the armies -Bring me a cart!' His will must be obeyed, and the officer was forced to perform with the old field-marshal a route of 500 versts in a kibitka: in summer, this carriage is the most inconvenient that can be imagined; but Suvarrof was accustomed to it, travelling only in this manner, laid on a mattress, and wrapped up in his cloak. Having arrived at the village appointed, he took up his quarters in a wooden hut, under the superintendance of the major and some subaltern officers of the police. No one durst see him or write to him; and the veteran, habituated to the tumult of camps, and to a life the most active and bustling, saw himself all at once completely insulated. Reading, and the reflections which he had time to make during this disgrace, had no small influence on the remainder of his life. At last his daughter, married to a brother of the favourite Zubof, was permitted to pay him a visit, which was short, but at which count Suvarrof seemed affected. The emperor, on his return to the residence, appeared also to relent by degrees, and wrote to him. A courier arrived, and delivered his dispatch; ; on the cover was, in large letters, To FIELD MARSHAL SU VARKOF. This letter is not for 'me,' said the old warrior coolly, on

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reading the direction; If Suvarrof were field-marshal, he would not be banished and guarded in a village; 'he would be seen at the head of the armies.' The courier, stupified, in vain said and repeated, that he had orders to deliver this letter to his excellency. However he was forced to carry it back sealed to the emperor. On receiving it Paul manifested no vexation; but Suvarrof from that time was guarded more strictly. Thus it is that a celebrated man, confident in his fame and the public opinion, can sometimes brave a despot." p. 181-188.

The officers of the Russian army were by no means such as satisfied the coalesced powers; they had expected the command would have been given to Suvarrof, and at last Paul complied with the solicitations made to him, and that general was placed at the head of the Russian tles in which it was engaged in army. This chapter details the bat Italy.

Chap. V. Expeditions against the French into Helvetia-the vast enterprizes of Russia-her four armies

the march of the second-its leaders, and the private motives of Paul, are specified in this chapter. The battle of Zurick and defeat of the Russians particularly noticed, after which "the army, exhausted by hunger, fatigue, and a thousand priva tions, contemplated with despair those summits covered with snow, which it was still necessary to reach. The soldiers murmured, stopped, and refused to go farther. Suvarrof caused a grave to be dug in the road, and laid himself in it: Cover me with ' earth,' said he, and here leave your dren; I am no longer your father; I 'general: you are no longer my chil Whereupon his grenadiers hastened have nothing more to do than die!' round him, requesting with loud cries that they might scale the summits of St. Gothard, and thence dislodge the French." p. 269.

4

detailed. Suvarrof repels Lecourbe,
The particulars of this march are
recals the Russians to battle, and re-
treats. His singularities are describ-
ed, as also his chagrin at the repulse
he met with. Remarks upon his re
cal and death.

troduced, and an anecdote of a young
The catastrophe in Holland is in-
Russian officer is inserted in a note,
well worthy of notice.
"In one of

the battles that were fought in Holland, an ensign fell wounded, defending his colours, and wrapped himself up in their folds. On coming to himself, his first thought was to secure them from the enemy. He tore them, and concealed them in his bosom. Picked up as a prisoner on the field of battle, he carefully preserved this emblem of honour entrusted to his valour, and carried it back to Russia. Paul, getting the better by degrees of his passion, and informed of this action, rewarded him, by reinstating in his rank this brave officer, who had been excluded from the service like all the other prisoners. Several had the same claims to the gratitude of their sovereign, and, on their return, expected nothing more than exile, or some other punishment. The Russian columns, on crossing the Rhine, received the account of the death of Paul, and the accession of Alexander; their joy was inexpressible; then only was it that the officers rejoiced in the expectation of seeing shortly their country." p. 293, 294.

From the Historical Anecdotes we select the following:

"The Bust of Catharine II. "One day Catharine was told that her bust, in Parian marble, carefully preserved in a crystal glass in one of the apartments of the Hermitage, had just been found painted. Great endeavours were made to irritate her against this insolence, and to cause its authors to be sought after in order to punish them severely for this insult to her imperial majesty. Catharine II. without appearing either incensed or surprised, contented herself with saying, It is, probably, one of the pages, who wanted to rally me " on the habit I have of wearing rouge. The only thing to be done is to wash my bust'." p. 368, 369.

The empress had harboured and adopted a little boy, whom the police had found abandoned in the streets: she sent him daily to take lessons at the German school. One day the child appeared on his return less gay than usual. Catharine took him on her knees, and asked him the cause of his grief. Ah, mamma,' said he, I have cried sadly; our master at the school is dead; his wife and children cry a great deal; 'every one is dressed in black, and they say that this woman and ⚫ her children are extremely unfortu

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nate, because they are very poor, and have nobody to give them a bit of dinner.' The empress immediately sent an aid-de-camp to the director of the school to enquire into the matter, and on learning that a teacher had just died, leaving his wife and children in the greatest distress, she sent instantly by the little boy three hundred rubles to the widow, with an order to the head master to have the three orphan children brought up at the expence of the crown. Here we see the heart of Catharine: thus it was that innocence sometimes brought her the complaints of suffering humanity, and that she hastened to afford it succour."

"Catharine's chemical Knowledge saves the life of some innocent Sailors.

"It is well known that an artificial cold may be produced by the mixture of snow and salt of nitre; a heat, and even an artificial fire, may likewise be obtained by the mixture of spirit of nitre and oil of turpentine: those two substances take fire as soon as they are mixed, as well as several others, by a chemical process suffciently known. Some years ago a fire broke out on board a frigate in the harbour of Cronstadt, and had like to have burnt the vessel. Inquiries were made to discover the cause of this unfortunate accident which was attributed to some ill disposed person. Several sailors even were apprehended on suspicion, and endeavours were employed in vain to make them confess the crime. The empress, being informed of this affair, said to the reporter, But, sir, 'it seems to me that I have learnt in 'my youth, that the mixture of some 'cold substances produces fire spon

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taneously perhaps this fire has 'been occasioned by an unlucky ac'cident, and it would be a sad thing to have the innocent punished." She appointed a commission to examine the frigate, and seek out the causes of the fire. Kraft, the professor of experimental physics and chemistry to the young grand dukes, was of this commission; and it was discovered that the fire had proceeded from a bottle of oil, which had been thrown down on a heap of soot in the corner of the chimney. This was at least what was conjectured, and what was reported to the empress, who ordered the parties ac

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