surrounded by fifteen hundred Holstein troops, and came to Peterhoff,
accompanied by Elizabeth Voronzoff, Godowitz, and Michael Ismaïloff.
There, as a guard, I assigned him five officers and some soldiers. This
was on the 29th of June, the Feast of St. Peter, at noon. While dinner
was being prepared for every one, the soldiers got it into their heads
that Peter III had been brought by the Field-Marshal Prince Troubetzkoy,
and that the latter was endeavouring to make peace between us. Instantly
they charged all the passers-by, among others the Hetman, the Orloffs,
and many others, saying that they had not seen me for three hours, and
that they were dying with fear lest that old rogue, Troubetzkoy, should
deceive me "by making," they said, "a pretended peace between your
husband and you, and thus ruining you and us also, but we will cut them
in pieces." These were their expressions. I went and spoke to
Troubetzkoy, and said to him, "Pray get into your carriage, while I
make, on foot, the tour of these troops." I related what had occurred;
he was much frightened, and instantly set off for the city, while I was
received by the soldiers with unbounded joy. After this, I placed the
deposed Emperor under the command of Alexis Orloff, with four chosen
officers, and a detachment of quiet and sober men, and sent him to a
distance of twenty-seven verstes from St. Petersburg, to a place called
Rapscha, very retired, but very pleasant, where he was to remain, while
decent and comfortable apartments were prepared for him at
Schlusselburg, and relays of horses placed on the road. But it pleased
God to dispose otherwise. Terror had brought on a dysentery, which
continued for three days, and stopped on the fourth. He drank to excess
on that day, for he had everything he wanted except his liberty. He
had, however, asked me for nothing but his mistress, big dog, his negro,
and his violin; but, for fear of scandal, and not wishing to increase
the general excitement, I sent him only the three last named. The
hemorrhoidal cholic again came on, accompanied by delirium; he was two
days in this condition, which was followed by excessive weakness, and,
notwithstanding the efforts of the physicians, he at last sunk,
demanding a Lutheran clergyman. I was afraid the officers might have
poisoned him, so much was he hated. I had him opened, but not a trace of
poison could be discovered. The stomach was very healthy, but the bowels
were inflamed, and he had been carried off by a stroke of apoplexy. His
heart was excessively small, and also dried up.
After his departure from Peterhoff, I was advised to go straight to the
city. I foresaw that the troops would be alarmed, and I therefore had
the report spread, under the pretext of ascertaining at what hour they
would be in a condition to march. After three days of such excessive
fatigue, they fixed the time for ten o'clock that night, "provided,"
they added, "that she comes with us." I departed, therefore, with them,
and midway stopped to rest at the country residence of Kourakin, where I
flung myself on a bed, dressed as I was. An officer took off my boots. I
slept two hours and a half, and then we resumed our march by the
Catherinoff road. I was on horseback; a regiment of hussars marched in
front; then my escort, which was the horse-guards; then immediately
after me came my court; behind which marched the regiments of the
guards, according to seniority, and three country regiments. I entered
the city amid loud acclamations, and proceeded thus to the Summer
Palace, where the court, the synod, my son, and all privileged to
approach me, were awaiting me. I went to mass; then the _Te Deum_ was
sung; then I had to receive felicitations--I who had scarcely eaten, or
drank, or slept since six o'clock on Friday morning. I was very glad to
be able to retire to rest on Sunday night.
Scarcely was I asleep, when, at midnight, Captain Pacik entered my room
and awoke me, saying, "Our people are horribly drunk: a hussar, in the
same condition, has gone among them crying, 'To arms! three thousand
Prussians are coming; they want to carry off our mother!' Upon this they
have seized their arms, and have come to inquire how you are, saying
that it is three hours since they have seen you, and that they will go
quietly home, provided they find that you are well. They will not listen
to their chiefs, nor even to the Orloffs." So I had to get up again;
and, not to alarm the guard of the court, which consisted of a
battalion, I first went to them, and explained the reason of my going
out at such an hour. I then entered my carriage with two officers, and
proceeded to the troops. I told them I was quite well, that they must go
home to bed, and allow me also to have some rest, as I had only just
laid down, having had no sleep for three nights, and that I trusted they
would in future listen to their officers. They replied that they had
been frightened with those cursed Prussians, and that they were ready to
die for me. "Very well, then," I said, "I am very much obliged to you,
but go to bed." Upon this they wished me good night and good health, and
went off like lambs, every now and then turning back to look at my
carriage as they went. The next day they sent me their apologies and
regrets for having broken my rest.
It would require a volume to describe the conduct of each of the chiefs.
The Orloffs have shone by their skill in guiding others, their prudent
daring, their great presence of mind, and the authority which this
conduct gave them. They have a great deal of good sense, a generous
courage, an enthusiastic patriotism, and an honourable mind. They are
passionately devoted to me, and united amongst each other to a degree
that I have never before seen in brothers. There are five of them, but
only three were here. Captain Pacik has greatly distinguished himself by
remaining for twelve hours under arrest, although the soldiers opened
doors and windows for him; and this he did in order not to alarm his
regiment before my arrival, although he expected every moment to be led
to Oranienbaum, and put to the question. Fortunately this order from
Peter III did not arrive until I had entered St. Petersburg. The
Princess Dashkoff, the youngest sister of Elizabeth Voronzoff, although
she wishes to arrogate to herself all the honour of this revolution, was
in very bad odour on account of her connections, while her age, which is
only nineteen, was not calculated to inspire confidence. She pretends
that everything passed through her to reach me, yet I was in
communication with all the chiefs for six months before she even knew
one of their names. It is quite true that she has great talent, but it
is spoilt by her excessive ostentation and her naturally quarrelsome
disposition. She is hated by the chiefs, and liked by the giddy and
rash, who communicated to her all they knew, which was only the minor
details. Ivan Schouvaloff, the basest and most cowardly of men, has
written, I am told, to Voltaire, that a woman of nineteen had overturned
the government of this empire. Pray undeceive this distinguished writer.
It was necessary to conceal from the Princess Dashkoff the channels
through which others reached me, five months before she knew anything;
and, during the last four weeks, no more was told her than was
absolutely unavoidable. The strength of mind of Prince Baratinsky, who
concealed this secret from a beloved brother, adjutant to the late
Emperor, simply because a disclosure would have been in this case
useless, also deserves great commendation. In the horse-guards an
officer named Chitron(?), only twenty-two years old, and an inferior
officer of seventeen, named Potemkin, directed everything with great
courage and activity.
Such, pretty nearly, is our history. The whole was managed, I confess,
under my immediate direction, and towards the end I had to check its
progress, as our departure for the country prevented the execution;
everything, in fact, was more than ripe a fortnight beforehand. The late
Emperor, when he heard of the tumult in the city, was hindered by the
women about him from following the counsel of old Field-Marshal Munich,
who advised him to throw himself into Cronstadt, or proceed with a small
retinue to the army; and when, finally, he went in a galley to
Cronstadt, the place was in our hands by the good management of Admiral
Talieszin, who disarmed General Lievers, previously sent there on the
part of the Emperor. After the arrival of Talieszin, an officer of the
port, on his own responsibility, threatened to open fire on the galley
of the unfortunate Prince if he attempted a landing. In a word, God has
brought everything about in his own good pleasure, and the whole is more
of a miracle than a merely human contrivance, for assuredly nothing but
the Divine will could have produced so many felicitous combinations.
_We will close this letter of Catherine II. by a short extract from a
dispatch of M. Bérenger, Chargé d'Affaires of France, dated the 23d of
June, and bearing on these occurrences:_
"What a sight for the nation itself, a calm spectator of these
events! On one side, the grandson of Peter I dethroned and put to
death; on the other, the grandson of the Czar Ivan languishing in
fetters; while a Princess of Anhalt usurps the throne of their
ancestors, clearing her way to it by a regicide."
THE END.
* * * * *
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
OF
D. APPLETON & COMPANY,
346 & 348 BROADWAY.
Passages from the Autobiography of Sidney, Lady Morgan.
1 vol. 12mo. cloth, $1.
Onward; or, The Mountain Clamberers. A Tale of Progress. By JANE
ANNE WINSCOM.
1 vol. 12mo., cloth, 75 cents.
Legends and Lyrics. By ANNE ADELAIDE PROCTOR, (daughter of Barry
Cornwall.)
1 vol. 12mo. 75 cents.
Shakers. Compendium of the Origin, History, Principles, Rules and
Regulations, Government and Doctrines of the United Society of
Believers in Christ's Second Appearing. By F. W. EVANS.
1 vol. 12mo. 75 cents.
The Banks of New York. Their Dealers; the Clearing House, and the
Panic of 1857. With a Financial Chart. By J. S. GIBBONS. With
thirty illustrations. By HERRICK.
1 vol. 12mo. 400 pages, cloth, $1 50.
The Manual of Chess. Containing the Elementary Principles of the
Game. Illustrated with numerous Diagrams, Recent Games, and
Original Problems. By CHARLES KENNY.
1 volume, 18mo. 50 cents.
Le Cabinet des Fées; or, Recreative Readings. Arranged for the
express use of Students in French. By GEORGE GERARD, A. M.
1 volume, 12mo. $1.
Halleck's Poetical Works.
In blue and gold. 24mo. 88 cents.
Letters from Spain and other Countries. By WM. CULLEN BRYANT.
1 volume, 12mo. Cloth.
The Foster Brothers. Being the History of the School and College
Life of Two Young Men.
1 volume, 12mo.
Life of James Watt. The Inventor of the Modern Steam Engine. With
Selections from his Private Correspondence. By JAMES P. MUIRHEAD.
Portrait and Wood Cuts.
History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. By
SAMUEL GREENE ARNOLD. Vol. 1, 1636 to 1700.
8vo. Price, $2 50
A Text Book of Vegetable and Animal Physiology. Designed for
Schools, Colleges and Seminaries in the United States. By HENRY
GOADBY, M. D. Embellished with 450 illustrations. (A new edition.)
Price, $2.
Meta Gray; or, What Makes Home Happy. By MARIA J. MCINTOSH, Author
of "Aunt Kitty's Tales."
1 vol., 12mo. 75 cents.
The Emancipation of Faith. By the late HENRY EDWARD SCHEDEL, M. D.
Edited by GEORGE SCHEDEL.
2 vols., 8vo. Cloth, $4
The Ministry of Life. By MARIA LOUISA CHARLESWORTH, Author of
"Ministering Children".
1 volume, 12mo. Cloth, with 2 engravings, $1
Bertram Noel: A Story of Youth. By E. J. MAY, Author of "Edgar
Clifton."
1 volume, 16mo. Illustrated, 75 cents.
Benton's Thirty Years' View; or, A History of the Working of the
American Government for Thirty Years, from 1820 to 1850. New
edition, with Autobiography and a General Index.
2 volumes, 8vo. Cloth, $5.
The Household Book of Poetry. Collected and Edited by CHARLES A.
DANA. Third Edition.
1 volume, half morocco, $3 50.
New York to Delhi, by the way of Rio de Janeiro, Australia, and
China. By ROBERT B. MINTURN, JR.
1 volume, 12mo. Illustrated with a Map, $1 25. (Second edt.)
History of Civilization in England. By HENRY THOMAS BUCKLE.
Vol. I, 8vo. 677 pages. From the 2d London edt., $2 50.
Rational Cosmology; or, The Eternal Principles and the Necessary
Laws of the Universe. By LAURENS P. HICKOK, D. D.
1 volume, 8vo. 397 pages, $1 75.
Whewell's History of the Inductive Sciences. First American, from
the third London edition.
2 vols. 8vo. Cloth, $4.
The Coopers; or, Getting Under Way. By ALICE B. HAVEN.
1 volume, 12mo. 336 pages, 75 cents.
Appleton's New American Cyclopædia. A Popular Dictionary of General
Knowledge. Volume V. Just published. To be completed in fifteen
volumes.
Cloth, $3; leather, $3 50; hf. mor. $4; hf. Russia, $4 50.
Published by subscription.
Benton's Abridgment of the Congressional Debates. Volume X. Just
published. Sold by Subscription.
Cloth, $3; law sheep, $3 50; half morocco, $4. Each volume payable
as delivered.
Burton's Cyclopædia of Wit and Humor. Two large volumes, 8vo.
Profusely illustrated with Wood Engravings and twenty-four
Portraits on Steel.
Extra cloth, $7; sheep extra, $8; hf mor. $9; hf calf, $10.
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See Memoirs of the Princess Daschkaw. London. 1840.
[2] Du Développement des idées révolutionnaires en Russie. 2 Ed.,
London, 1853.
[3] Official?--ED.
[4] Diplomatic?--ED.
[5] That is, went to confession and communion.--TR.
[6] Devierre?--ED.
[7] That is, from meat.--TR.
[8] Montagnes russes.--ED.
[9] Probably _Dartres_.--ED.
[10] "Quoi, pas une mouche!" Je me mis à rire et lui répondis que
c'était pour être plus légèrement habillée.--The English word fails to
convey the playfulness of the reply.--TR.
[11] To make a history of a thing is a common Russian phrase for "to
season it with scandal and exaggeration."--TR.
[12] Sir Charles Hanbury Williams.--TR.
[13] A fool (DOURA, in Russian).--ED.
[14] This letter was sent by one of the Grand Duke's servants, named
André, but it was intercepted by Steholin, and the Grand Duchess never
received it.
[15] After the perusal of the foregoing Memoirs, it will be
interesting to turn to the account which Catherine has given of the
revolution which placed her on the throne. It is in the form of a
letter, written or dictated by the Empress herself, and appears to
have been addressed to Poniatowsky. Although already printed, it is
but little known, and the reader, we doubt not, will be glad to have
it in this place. We take it from a most interesting work, published
at Berlin in 1843, by Schneider, _La Cour de la Russie, il y cent ans_
(The Court of Russia, a hundred years ago).
* * * * *
Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber:
I told hiin=> I told him {pg 31}
I bey your pardon=> I beg your pardon {pg 64}
placed with me bebause=> placed with me because {pg 66}
Pepnine=> Repnine {pg 75}
the Prineess Repnine=> the Princess Repnine {pg 75}
Yevrienoff entreated me=> Yevreinoff entreated me {pg 79}
seven vertses=> seven verstes {pg 110}
The fits thing=> The first thing {pg 243}